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

Attacks on Paul Ryan's Medicare reform proposal named ‘lie of the year’
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ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/* and Daily Kos


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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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.
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Ballot Box, The Politico and Fox News

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:
Mediaite, Campaign 2012 and National Review

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:
Taylor Marsh and 2012 Decoded

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?
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Eunomia, Hit & Run, Campaign 2012, Rush Limbaugh, The Daily Dish and The Daily Caller


Ron Paul's Shaggy Defense
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Outside the Beltway, Little Green Footballs and The Daily Dish

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 …
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New York Times
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Instead Of Extending Tax Cut For 160 Million Americans, House Commissioned Bust Of Winston Churchill
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Gawker, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Daily Kos, Mediaite, The Politico, The Hill and No More Mister Nice Blog

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

Rep. Jackson Lee: Obama should use executive power to extend payroll tax cut
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The Hill, The Politico, Michelle Malkin, Weasel Zippers and Ballot Box

House Republicans Find Smarmiest Way Possible to Reject Payroll Tax Deal
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Open Congress, Hullabaloo and The Hill

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

House rebuffs Senate payroll tax cut extension, calls for conference
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ThinkProgress, The Lonely Conservative, Hot Air and Outside the Beltway

Schumer predicts GOP will fold in payroll fight
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The Politico, NationalJournal.com, Hot Air, Taylor Marsh, Weasel Zippers and CNN

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


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.
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CNN, Hot Air, Business Insider, The Hill, Hullabaloo and Trail Blazers Blog
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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 …

Gingrich Campaign Steps Up Efforts to Qualify For Virginia Primary
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National Review, Indecision Forever, Trail Blazers Blog and Ricochet Conversations Feed


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 …
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CNN, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Business Insider, Booman Tribune and The Daily Caller

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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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 …
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Hit & Run
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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:
JustOneMinute, Indecision Forever, The PJ Tatler and The Gateway Pundit