Top Items:
Jonathan Easley / The Hill:
McCain: Payroll-tax fight ‘harming the Republican Party’ — Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said the failure of the House to approve the bipartisan Senate bill to extend the payroll-tax cut is “harming the Republican Party.” — Speaking Tuesday on CNN's “Situation Room,” McCain …
Discussion:
New York Times
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Erik Wasson / The Hill:
Rep. Pelosi on Speaker Boehner: ‘He is not Lucy and we are not Charlie Brown’ — House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and other House Democratic leaders on Tuesday denied that they share any blame for the stalemate over extending a payroll tax cut and jobless benefits that has ensued in Congress.
Alicia M. Cohn / The Hill:
Rep. Jackson Lee: Obama should use executive power to extend payroll tax cut
Rep. Jackson Lee: Obama should use executive power to extend payroll tax cut
Discussion:
The Politico, The Hill, Weasel Zippers, Ballot Box and Michelle Malkin
Alex Seitz-Wald / ThinkProgress:
Instead Of Extending Tax Cut For 160 Million Americans, House Commissioned Bust Of Winston Churchill
Instead Of Extending Tax Cut For 160 Million Americans, House Commissioned Bust Of Winston Churchill
Discussion:
Gawker, Daily Kos, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Mediaite, The Politico, No More Mister Nice Blog and The Hill
Daniel Strauss / The Hill:
GOP Sen. Brown slams House for ‘playing politics’ with tax vote
GOP Sen. Brown slams House for ‘playing politics’ with tax vote
Discussion:
The Politico and Weasel Zippers
Pete Kasperowicz / The Hill:
House rebuffs Senate payroll tax cut extension, calls for conference
House rebuffs Senate payroll tax cut extension, calls for conference
Discussion:
The Politico, Hot Air, ThinkProgress and Outside the Beltway
David Dayen / Firedoglake:
House Republicans Find Smarmiest Way Possible to Reject Payroll Tax Deal
House Republicans Find Smarmiest Way Possible to Reject Payroll Tax Deal
Discussion:
Hullabaloo, Open Congress and The Hill
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
Mr. Speaker, your weakness is showing
Mr. Speaker, your weakness is showing
Discussion:
Daily Kos, Balloon Juice and Washington Post
Gschwarzcnn / CNN:
CNN Poll: President's approval nearing 50% — Washington (CNN) - President Barack Obama's approval rating, a crucial indicator of his reelection chances, is on the rise, according to a new national survey. — A CNN/ORC International Poll out Tuesday also indicates that the partisan battle …
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A.Killough / CNN:
CNN Poll: Obama gains strength in 2012 matchups — Washington (CNN) - President Barack Obama's numbers are on the rise in two important indicators of his reelection chances, according to a new national survey. — A CNN/ORC International Poll out Tuesday indicates the president's margins …
Discussion:
2012 Decoded and Taylor Marsh
Scott Clement / Washington Post:
Poll: Paul as third party candidate could doom GOP in 2012 — Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul (R-Texas) is gaining steam in his race for the GOP nomination, up to his highest level yet — 15 percent — in the new Washington Post-ABC News national poll.
Discussion:
National Review, Campaign 2012, Daily Kos, Mediaite, RedState, News Desk and ThinkProgress
Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
Romney leads Obama — For the first time in PPP's monthly national polling since July 2010 Mitt Romney's taken a lead, albeit a small one, over Barack Obama. He's up 47-45. — Romney has two main things going for him. He leads the President 45-36 with independents.
Discussion:
Ballot Box
Jonathan Martinand Alexander Burns / The Politico:
Will Ron Paul kill the caucuses? — SIOUX CITY, IOWA -The alarms are sounding in Iowa. — Conservatives and Republican elites in the state are divided over who to support for the GOP nomination, but they almost uniformly express concern over the prospect that Ron Paul and his army …
Discussion:
Los Angeles Times, New York Magazine, The Daily Dish, Slate, CNN, Daily Kos, Swampland, ABCNEWS, Iowa Caucuses, The Moderate Voice, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Christian Science Monitor, Indecision Forever, Campaign 2012, American Prospect, The Gateway Pundit, Booman Tribune, JustOneMinute, Betsy's Page, msnbc.com, Hot Air, Vox Popoli, Washington Monthly and Public Policy Polling
A.Killough / CNN:
Perry presses ‘outsider’ message as closing Iowa argument
Perry presses ‘outsider’ message as closing Iowa argument
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, ABCNEWS and The Politico
PolitiFact:
Lie of the Year 2011: ‘Republicans voted to end Medicare’ — Republicans muscled a budget through the House of Representatives in April that they said would take an important step toward reducing the federal deficit. Introduced by U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, the plan kept Medicare intact …
Discussion:
The Politico, Washington Post, The Heritage Foundation, The Gateway Pundit, Swampland, Big Journalism, CBS News, Daily Kos, The Hill, ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*, Hot Air, Little Green Footballs, American Prospect, Indecision Forever, The New Republic, National Review, No More Mister Nice Blog, Mediaite, Washington Wire, The Daily Pulp, ThinkProgress, New York Magazine, Don Surber, Weasel Zippers and Lawyers, Guns & Money, more at Mediagazer »
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Paul Krugman:
Politifact, R.I.P. — This is really awful. Politifact, which is supposed to police false claims in politics, has announced its Lie of the Year — and it's a statement that happens to be true, the claim that Republicans have voted to end Medicare. — Steve Benen in the link above explains it, but let me just repeat the basics.
Matthew Yglesias / Slate:
Politifact's Bizarre “Lie of the Year”
Politifact's Bizarre “Lie of the Year”
Discussion:
The New Republic, Political Mojo and National Review
Reid J. Epstein / The Politico:
Gary Johnson to drop out of GOP primary to run as Libertarian — Gary Johnson will quit the Republican primaries and seek the Libertarian Party nomination instead, POLITICO has learned. — The former two-term New Mexico governor, whose campaign for the GOP nomination never caught fire …
Reid J. Epstein / The Politico:
Source: Bob Vander Plaats asked Michele Bachmann to quit — DES MOINES - Iowa evangelical leader Bob Vander Plaats called Michele Bachmann and urged her to drop out of the race and endorse Rick Santorum, a source with knowledge of the conversation told POLITICO Tuesday.
Discussion:
CNN, Business Insider, Hot Air, The Other McCain, Hullabaloo and The Hill
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Elizabeth Hartfield / ABCNEWS:
Gingrich Campaign Steps Up Efforts to Qualify For Virginia Primary
Gingrich Campaign Steps Up Efforts to Qualify For Virginia Primary
Discussion:
National Review, The Caucus, Indecision Forever and Wonkette
Stephen Gutowski / MRCTV:
Liberals Cry About New Tom Clancy Game — The next iteration of Tom Clancy's blockbuster Rainbow Six series has been announced. The series goes back over a decade and has produced some of the best shooters ever made. However, this release, Rainbow Six: The Patriots …
Rich Lowry / National Review:
Paul, the Fringe Frontrunner — Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul is in a bid to make history in Iowa. Can he become the first marginal, conspiracy-minded congressman with an embarrassing catalog of racist material published under his name to win the caucuses?
Discussion:
Eunomia, Hit & Run, Campaign 2012, The Daily Dish, Rush Limbaugh and The Daily Caller
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Jordan Weissmann / The Atlantic Online:
How Kim Jong Il Starved North Korea — What kind of disastrous economic policy results in the death by starvation of up to 3 million people in a nation with the population of Texas? — Reuters — When North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il died of a coronary this weekend after 17 years in power …
Discussion:
Hit & Run
Mj Lee / The Politico:
Blogs bash Obama's historic claim — NewsBusters calls Obama's statements made during his ‘60 Minutes’ interview ‘laughable.’ — Newt Gingrich isn't the only one on the campaign trail who sees himself as a towering historical figure. President Barack Obama has just joined the club.
Discussion:
Power Line, JustOneMinute, Indecision Forever, The PJ Tatler and The Gateway Pundit
Financial Times:
Strong take-up of ECB loans expected — By Tracy Alloway in London and Ralph Atkins in Frankfurt — The European Central Bank is expected to report strong demand for an offer of unlimited three-year loans after banks were urged to take the funds as part of concerted efforts …
Discussion:
Marginal Revolution, AMERICAN FUTURE and FT Alphaville
Patrick Goodenough / CNSNews:
U.N. Adopts ‘Religious Intolerance’ Resolution Championed by Obama Administration — (CNSNews.com) - The U.N. General Assembly on Monday adopted a resolution condemning the stereotyping, negative profiling and stigmatization of people based on their religion, and urging countries to take effective steps …
Discussion:
Atlas Shrugs, Weasel Zippers and Jihad Watch
Ynetnews:
Fire at Iran refinery prompts state of emergency — Malfunction in Isfahan refinery, the second largest in Iran, results in black out, burning of gas, oil residues — Dudi Cohen — A malfunction at an Isfahan refinery caused a leakage of cooling water from its generators - the latest in a string of mysterious mishaps in
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit and Israel Matzav