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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 …
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The Hill, Washington Post, American Prospect, Little Green Footballs, Liberal Values, ThinkProgress, Big Journalism, Daily Kos, New York Magazine, Swampland, The Heritage Foundation, CBS News, Indecision Forever, Hot Air, Wake up America, Taylor Marsh, Mediaite, No More Mister Nice Blog, Washington Wire, The Daily Pulp, The Other McCain, Weasel Zippers, Don Surber, American Power, The New Republic, National Review, The Lonely Conservative, Lawyers, Guns & Money, INSTAPUTZ and JSOnline, more at Mediagazer »
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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.

PolitiFact ought to be ashamed of itself — The fact-checking website PolitiFact has announced its “Lie of the Year” for 2011. It made a poor, credibility-killing choice. … This is simply indefensible. Claims that are factually true shouldn't be eligible for a Lie of the Year designation.


Politifact's Bizarre “Lie of the Year” … - Lithwick: Newt Gingrich's Insanely Stupid Attack on the Judicial Branch — What I Learned From Coaching a Women's Basketball Team in Qatar — True Fact: Greeks and Italians Work Way Harder Than Germans Do — Can We Please Start Calling Kesha a Rapper?


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 …
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CNN, Los Angeles Times, New York Magazine, msnbc.com, ABCNEWS, The Humble Libertarian, Iowa Caucuses, Swampland, The Moderate Voice, Indecision Forever, American Prospect, Wall Street Journal, Christian Science Monitor, Campaign 2012, Booman Tribune, Washington Post, Betsy's Page, The Gateway Pundit, Hot Air, JustOneMinute, Washington Monthly, The Daily Dish, Vox Popoli and Public Policy Polling
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Vander Plaats Endorses Santorum — Bob Vander Plaats, speaking in Iowa in March, endorsed Rick Santorum on Tuesday. — 12:51 p.m. | Updated CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - Two weeks before the Republican nominating contest opens at the Iowa caucuses, former Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania …

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:
The Politico and Ballot Box

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:
Campaign 2012, National Review and Mediaite

2. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Obama is handling [ITEM]? Do you approve/disapprove strongly or somewhat?

Gingrich Campaign Steps Up Efforts to Qualify For Virginia Primary
Discussion:
National Review, Indecision Forever and Trail Blazers Blog

CNN Poll: Obama gains strength in 2012 matchups
Discussion:
2012 Decoded and ABCNEWS


House Republicans Find Smarmiest Way Possible to Reject Payroll Tax Deal — Speaker Boehner weeps over payroll tax cut (Image: DonkeyHotey) — The procedural wizards in the House Republican caucus stayed up late last night to concoct this scheme, a way to dispose of the Senate's payroll tax deal by voting affirmatively.
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Open Congress, Hullabaloo and The Hill
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Rep. Jackson Lee: Obama should use executive power to extend payroll tax cut
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The Politico, Michelle Malkin, Weasel Zippers and Ballot Box

House rebuffs Senate payroll tax cut extension, calls for conference
Discussion:
Hot Air and Outside the Beltway

Rep. Pelosi on Speaker Boehner: ‘He is not Lucy and we are not Charlie Brown’
Discussion:
CNN


BREAKING: House Republicans Walk Away From Bipartisan Compromise on Payroll Tax Cut, Jobless Benefits
Discussion:
American Prospect, The Politico and New York Magazine

Reid Won't Appoint Negotiators To Hammer Out Payroll Tax Cut Deal
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars, Naked Politics, Outside the Beltway and Daily Kos

Mr. Speaker, your weakness is showing
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Washington Post, Daily Kos and Balloon Juice

Schumer predicts GOP will fold in payroll fight
Discussion:
The Politico, Taylor Marsh, Weasel Zippers and CNN

GOP Sen. Brown slams House for ‘playing politics’ with tax vote
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers


Ron Paul's Shaggy Defense — The Times notes that Ron Paul's racism newsletters are, again, becoming an issue. The standard defense has generally been Paul didn't write the newsletters. I think an honest reckoning with that defense would have someone question the faculties of an adult …
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway, The Daily Dish, Little Green Footballs and Hot Air
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Paul, the Fringe Frontrunner
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Hit & Run, Eunomia, Campaign 2012, The Daily Dish, Rush Limbaugh, The Daily Caller and Bloomberg

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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Gallup, The Politico, American Prospect, Guardian, The Caucus, Balloon Juice, The Raw Story, Weasel Zippers and Booman Tribune
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Obama's job-approval rating is highest since summer, Post-ABC poll finds
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, ThinkProgress, 2012 Decoded, Hot Air, The Daily Dish and Outside the Beltway

Is Republican Infighting Helping Obama?
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NationalJournal.com, Hot Air, ThinkProgress, Connecting.the.Dots and Washington Post


Bankers Seek to Debunk ‘Imbecile’ Attack on Top 1% — Jamie Dimon, the highest-paid chief executive officer among the heads of the six biggest U.S. banks, turned a question at an investors' conference in New York this month into an occasion to defend wealth.


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:
Indecision Forever, The PJ Tatler, JustOneMinute and The Gateway Pundit


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:
Business Insider, Hullabaloo, The Hill and Trail Blazers Blog


Instead Of Extending Tax Cut For 160 Million Americans, House Commissioned Bust Of Winston Churchill — While House Republicans couldn't get their act together to approve an extension of the payroll tax holiday and unemployment benefits last night, they were able to do something far more frivolousness …
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Gawker, Daily Kos, The Hill, No More Mister Nice Blog, Mediaite and The Politico


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 …
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Atlas Shrugs, Weasel Zippers and Jihad Watch


Ugly inside & out — His face horribly charred from his alleged gasoline attack on a beloved Brooklyn mom, Jerome Isaac was jailed without bail yesterday, as the woman's devastated family pressed the DA to lock him up for life. — “I know this is the defendant's first offense …
Discussion:
Gothamist and CBS New York