Top Items:
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 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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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.
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
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.
Matthew Yglesias / Slate:
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?
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:
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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The Caucus:
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 …
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:
The Politico and Ballot Box
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:
Campaign 2012, National Review and Mediaite
Newt Gingrich / Washington Post:
2. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Obama is handling [ITEM]? Do you approve/disapprove strongly or somewhat?
2. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Obama is handling [ITEM]? Do you approve/disapprove strongly or somewhat?
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, Indecision Forever and Trail Blazers Blog
A.Killough / CNN:
CNN Poll: Obama gains strength in 2012 matchups
CNN Poll: Obama gains strength in 2012 matchups
Discussion:
2012 Decoded and ABCNEWS
David Dayen / Firedoglake:
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.
Discussion:
Open Congress, Hullabaloo and The Hill
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Jonathan Easley / The Hill:
McCain: Payroll-tax fight ‘harming the Republican Party’
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, Michelle Malkin, Weasel Zippers and Ballot Box
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:
Hot Air and Outside the Beltway
Erik Wasson / The Hill:
Rep. Pelosi on Speaker Boehner: ‘He is not Lucy and we are not Charlie Brown’
Rep. Pelosi on Speaker Boehner: ‘He is not Lucy and we are not Charlie Brown’
Discussion:
CNN
Josh Dorner / ThinkProgress:
BREAKING: House Republicans Walk Away From Bipartisan Compromise on Payroll Tax Cut, Jobless Benefits
BREAKING: House Republicans Walk Away From Bipartisan Compromise on Payroll Tax Cut, Jobless Benefits
Discussion:
American Prospect, The Politico and New York Magazine
Sam Stein / The Huffington Post:
Reid Won't Appoint Negotiators To Hammer Out Payroll Tax Cut Deal
Reid Won't Appoint Negotiators To Hammer Out Payroll Tax Cut Deal
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars, Naked Politics, Outside the Beltway and Daily Kos
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
Mr. Speaker, your weakness is showing
Mr. Speaker, your weakness is showing
Discussion:
Washington Post, Daily Kos and Balloon Juice
Alicia M. Cohn / The Hill:
Schumer predicts GOP will fold in payroll fight
Schumer predicts GOP will fold in payroll fight
Discussion:
The Politico, Taylor Marsh, Weasel Zippers and CNN
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:
Weasel Zippers
Ta-Nehisi Coates / The Atlantic Online:
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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Rich Lowry / National Review:
Paul, the Fringe Frontrunner
Paul, the Fringe Frontrunner
Discussion:
Hit & Run, Eunomia, Campaign 2012, The Daily Dish, Rush Limbaugh, The Daily Caller and Bloomberg
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 …
Discussion:
Gallup, The Politico, American Prospect, Guardian, The Caucus, Balloon Juice, The Raw Story, Weasel Zippers and Booman Tribune
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Washington Post:
Obama's job-approval rating is highest since summer, Post-ABC poll finds
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
Michael D. Shear / The Caucus:
Is Republican Infighting Helping Obama?
Is Republican Infighting Helping Obama?
Discussion:
NationalJournal.com, Hot Air, ThinkProgress, Connecting.the.Dots and Washington Post
Max Abelson / Bloomberg:
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.
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:
Indecision Forever, The PJ Tatler, JustOneMinute and The Gateway Pundit
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:
Business Insider, Hullabaloo, The Hill and Trail Blazers Blog
Alex Seitz-Wald / ThinkProgress:
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
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
New York Post:
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