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:
Washington Wire, Slate, American Prospect, ThinkProgress, CBS News, New York Magazine, Taylor Marsh, Hot Air, Swampland, Mediaite, Don Surber, American Power, Daily Kos, The Daily Pulp, The New Republic, The Lonely Conservative, National Review, Lawyers, Guns & Money 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.
Discussion:
Firedoglake, Washington Monthly, pandagon.net and Balloon Juice
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.
Discussion:
Michelle Malkin, Patterico's Pontifications, The New Republic, PolitiFact, US Politics and Poynter
Sam Baker / The Hill:
Attacks on Paul Ryan's Medicare reform proposal named ‘lie of the year’
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers
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 …
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James Hohmann / The Politico:
Paul's new ad calls him The One—Dave Camp to endorse Romney—Gingrich gets a pastor—Perry's new ad highlights populist message—DCCC outraised NRCC in November — Good morning from DUBUQUE, Iowa, where only two weeks remain until the caucuses. — EXCLUSIVE - PAUL'S NEW AD …
Discussion:
Washington Wire, The Gateway Pundit, Don Surber and Global Public Square
Newt Gingrich / Washington Post:
2. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Obama is handling [ITEM]? Do you approve/disapprove strongly or somewhat?
Discussion:
Pundits Blog, Firedoglake, Clemson University, Mediaite, Ballot Box, Outside the Beltway, CBS News and Hot Air
Rich Lowry / National Review:
Paul, the Fringe Frontrunner
Discussion:
Campaign 2012, Bloomberg, The Daily Dish and Rush Limbaugh
Jeff Zeleny / The Caucus:
Vander Plaats Endorses Santorum
Discussion:
Iowa Caucuses, Hot Air, The Other McCain, Towleroad News #gay, Right Wing Watch, The Huffington Post and New York Times
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:
Hullabaloo, Open Congress and The Hill
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Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
Mr. Speaker, your weakness is showing — On Saturday, None other than House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) seemed relieved by the Senate's bipartisan compromise on a payroll tax cut. He called it a “good deal” and a “victory,” and took it to his caucus hoping they'd follow his lead.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Daily Kos and Balloon Juice
The Politico:
Name calling prevails over compromising — ‘Do you want to do this for 60 days ... or do you want to solve the problem?’ Hensarling asks. AP Photo — Close — With a tax increase looming for 160 million Americans on New Year's day, House lawmakers spent Tuesday morning throwing names …
Discussion:
Taylor Marsh and Outside the Beltway
Alicia M. Cohn / The Hill:
Schumer predicts GOP will fold in payroll fight
Discussion:
CNN and Weasel Zippers
Sam Stein / The Huffington Post:
Reid Won't Appoint Negotiators To Hammer Out Payroll Tax Cut Deal
Discussion:
Daily Kos
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.
Discussion:
Felix Salmon, Outside the Beltway, The Future of Capitalism, Paul Krugman, New York Magazine, Gothamist, Corey Robin, Shakesville and Gawker
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, Guardian, The Politico, Balloon Juice, The Raw Story, Weasel Zippers and Booman Tribune
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New York Times:
In Kim's Death, an Extensive Intelligence Failure — Televisions at an electronics store in Seoul, South Korea, featured reports on Monday about the death of Kim Jong-il, the North Korean Leader. North Korea said Mr. Kim, 69, died on Saturday. More Photos »
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Wall Street Journal, Guardian, Washington Post, Gothamist, ABCNEWS, FP Passport, Belmont Club, Michael Totten and Gawker
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Mj Lee / The Politico:
Bill Clinton: Newt Gingrich tall tale on the budget — Former President Bill Clinton called out Newt Gingrich on Tuesday for claiming more credit than he deserves, saying the Republican presidential candidate actually led the opposition to efforts in 1993 to balance the nation's budget.
Discussion:
CNN
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Alexander Burns / The Politico:
Romney: ‘Get rid of these super PACs’
Discussion:
Political Mojo and CNN
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:
No More Mister Nice Blog, The Hill and The Politico
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Pete Kasperowicz / The Hill:
Boehner: We'll take Churchill bust in the Capitol
Discussion:
ThinkProgress
Washington Examiner:
GOP unhappiness with field fuels buzz for Jeb Bush — There's no doubt some Republicans remain unhappy with the GOP presidential field. They wish other candidates — Mitch Daniels, Chris Christie, Paul Ryan, Jeb Bush — had entered a long time ago. But the Iowa caucuses are in two weeks.
Discussion:
No More Mister Nice Blog, Don Surber, The Impolitic, americanthinker.com and Instapundit
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:
The PJ Tatler and The Gateway Pundit
Terence P. Jeffrey / CNSNews:
U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree Pays Homage to Obama—But Not Jesus — (CNSNews.com) - The 63-foot Sierra White Fir lighted at the U.S. Capitol Grounds on Dec. 6 as the official 2011 Capitol Christmas Tree includes a prominently displayed ornament paying homage to President Barack Obama …
Discussion:
The Jawa Report, The Gateway Pundit, Shakesville, Weasel Zippers and The Lonely Conservative
Ramya / YouTube Trends:
The Top Political Videos of 2011 — From candidate ads to pundit debates, speeches from the White House to impassioned pleas from the American heartland, this year's most-viewed political videos show us that a message that resonates can come from anywhere — and anyone.
Discussion:
CNN, FishbowlDC and Iowa Caucuses
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