Top Items:
Wall Street Journal:
The GOP's Payroll Tax Fiasco — How did Republicans manage to lose the tax issue to Obama? — GOP Senate leader Mitch McConnell famously said a year ago that his main task in the 112th Congress was to make sure that President Obama would not be re-elected.
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Washington Monthly, The Hill, Bloomberg, Financial Times, Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, Big Journalism, Mediaite, No More Mister Nice Blog, Business Insider, Ballot Box, The Politico, Daily Kos, The Lonely Conservative, The Moderate Voice, Washington Times, Hot Air and The Hill
RELATED:
Major Garrett / NationalJournal.com:
Congress's Payroll Standoff — Who Blinks First? — Less than two weeks remain - with a holiday in between - for Congress to keep alive a payroll-tax cut, unemployment insurance, and a “doc fix” patch. Here is how it could play out: — HOUSE GOP BLINKS: House Republicans see the futility …
Discussion:
The Mahablog, Swampland and The Hill
Jonathan Easley / The Hill:
McCain: Payroll-tax fight ‘harming the Republican Party’
McCain: Payroll-tax fight ‘harming the Republican Party’
Discussion:
The Caucus, Don Surber and New York Times
Washington Post:
Congress leaves town with an uneasy stalemate and looming payroll tax hike
Congress leaves town with an uneasy stalemate and looming payroll tax hike
Discussion:
New York Times, ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*, The Politico and CNN
Associated Press:
Obama blames Republicans for upcoming tax increase
Obama blames Republicans for upcoming tax increase
Discussion:
New York Magazine and Truthdig
Washington Post:
Obama blasts GOP after House Republicans defeat two-month payroll tax cut
Obama blasts GOP after House Republicans defeat two-month payroll tax cut
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, Indecision Forever, USA Today, Political Mojo, THEROOT.COM, The Moderate Voice and The Hill
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:
CNN, The Politico, The Hill, The Right Scoop, Michelle Malkin, Weasel Zippers, Ballot Box and Hot Air
Brian Knowlton / New York Times:
Republicans in House Reject Deal Extending Payroll Tax Cut
Republicans in House Reject Deal Extending Payroll Tax Cut
Discussion:
FiveThirtyEight, The Hill and Prairie Weather
Alexander Burns / The Politico:
You, sir, are no Teddy Roosevelt — In a speech to be delivered in Bedford, N.H., this evening, Mitt Romney will push back explicitly on Barack Obama's recent invocation of Teddy Roosevelt in a speech the president used to frame the 2012 campaign in terms of “fairness.” Here's what Romney will say:
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, The Caucus and New York Magazine
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Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
Romney leads Obama
Romney leads Obama
Discussion:
americanthinker.com, Ballot Box, The Politico and Althouse
Scott Clement / Washington Post:
Poll: Paul as third party candidate could doom GOP in 2012
Poll: Paul as third party candidate could doom GOP in 2012
Discussion:
CBS News, Daily Kos, Mediaite, Hit & Run, Los Angeles Times, National Review, Campaign 2012 and RedState
A.Killough / CNN:
CNN Poll: Obama gains strength in 2012 matchups
CNN Poll: Obama gains strength in 2012 matchups
Discussion:
Washington Post, Taylor Marsh, 2012 Decoded, Swampland, ABCNEWS, Indecision Forever, JustOneMinute and Campaign 2012
A.Killough / CNN:
Perry presses ‘outsider’ message as closing Iowa argument
Perry presses ‘outsider’ message as closing Iowa argument
Discussion:
The Politico, Daily Kos, Balloon Juice, ThinkProgress and The Humble Libertarian
Jason Clayworth / Iowa Caucuses:
Newt Gingrich to gay Iowan: Vote for Obama — Gingrich and his wife Callista at tonight's event in Oskaloosa. (Jason Clayworth/The Register) — Oskaloosa, Ia. - Newt Gingrich told a gay man and longtime resident of Oskaloosa here today that he should vote for President Obama.
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, LGBTQ Nation, Outside the Beltway and Joe. My. God.
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:
americanthinker.com and Hit & Run
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Scott Whitlock / NewsBusters.org:
Whoopi Goldberg: Communism Is ‘a Great Concept’ That ‘Makes Perfect Sense’ on Paper
Whoopi Goldberg: Communism Is ‘a Great Concept’ That ‘Makes Perfect Sense’ on Paper
Discussion:
Doug Ross
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 …
Ian Swanson / The Hill:
Obama's Hawaii Christmas dilemma — President Obama faces a most difficult decision with the payroll tax extension up in the air, and it isn't whether to compromise with Republicans. — The toughest call for the president this holiday season may be whether to join his family for Christmas in Hawaii or stay in lonely Washington.
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway and Pundit & Pundette
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Jim Newell / Gawker:
Why Republicans Are So Concerned about a Bust of Winston Churchill
Why Republicans Are So Concerned about a Bust of Winston Churchill
Discussion:
Political Mojo, Daily Kos, Mediaite and ThinkProgress
Frank Newport / Gallup:
Many Americans Dissatisfied With All Presidential Candidates — Nearly half say there is no candidate who would make a good president — PRINCETON, NJ — Americans are divided when asked if there is any candidate running who they think would make a good president, with 48% saying yes …
Discussion:
The Politico and National Review
BBC:
South American states ban Falklands vessels from ports — Argentina has long claimed sovereignty over the Falkland Islands, which lie 400 miles from its coast — A South American trading bloc has agreed to close its ports to ships flying the Falkland Islands flag.
Discussion:
The Other McCain and Biased BBC
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 …
Discussion:
Erick's blog, Hot Air and RedState
Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:
Romney Tortures Jennifer Rubin — Romney is making life hard for his Republican Jewish fans. — I've written before about the agonizing plight facing Jennifer Rubin, the Washington Post blogger. On the one hand, Rubin's deepest roots lie in ultra-hawkish pro-Israel neoconservatism.
Discussion:
Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and Riehl World View
William Booth / Washington Post:
More Predator drones fly U.S.-Mexico border — CORPUS CHRISTI, Tex. — In the dead of night, from a trailer humming with surveillance monitors, a pilot for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency was remotely flying a Predator drone more than 1,000 miles away.
Discussion:
ThinkProgress and The Agonist
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:
Mediaite, The Other McCain, CNN, Hot Air, Business Insider, Shakesville, Hullabaloo, Towleroad News #gay and The Hill
Lee Davidson / Salt Lake Tribune:
Romney has six. Jon Huntsman has four. And Rick Perry has one. — It may not be like capturing the upcoming Iowa caucuses, but Mitt Romney at least wins among Republican presidential candidates for having the most U.S. presidents in his distant family history with six.
Discussion:
The Caucus
Sheryl Gay Stolberg / New York Times:
The Long Run: Conservatives Remain Suspicious of Gingrich — WASHINGTON — Newt Gingrich arrived in Washington in January 1979 as a brash congressman dreaming of a Republican revival. Not quite four years later, frustrated at the pace of change, he quietly sought counsel from a man he had once worked to defeat: Richard M. Nixon.