memeorandum: The point at which Mitt Romney loses his mind (Steve Benen/Washington Monthly)

7:20 PM ET, December 21, 2011

Top Items:

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: Bloomberg, Financial Times, Mediaite, New York Magazine, Washington Monthly, The Week, Washington Post, Rush Limbaugh, Los Angeles Times, The Politico, Gawker, American Prospect, Little Green Footballs, The New Republic, The Monkey Cage, msnbc.com, The Hill, ThinkProgress, The Atlantic Online, ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*, Business Insider, National Review, ABCNEWS, Campaign 2012, RedState, DownWithTyranny!, Big Journalism, DCCC, Washington Wire, Firedoglake, Slate, neo-neocon, The Mahablog, FiveThirtyEight, Outside the Beltway, Las Vegas Sun, FrumForum, Hot Air, Ballot Box, Taylor Marsh, Patterico's Pontifications, The Hill, NationalJournal.com, Daily Kos, Booman Tribune, Washington Times, The Moderate Voice, Talking Points Memo, New York Times, The Lonely Conservative and The Huffington Post, more at Mediagazer »

ABCNEWS:

Capitol Stand-off: Republicans Caving? — My prediction: House Republicans will soon - probably within 24 hours - cave in and accept the two-month extension of the payroll tax cut passed last week by the Senate. — I base this on conversations with House Republicans who know they are losing …

Discussion: The Reality-Based Community, National Review, Los Angeles Times, Daily Kos, Mediaite, Washington Monthly, The Hill, The New Republic and Booman Tribune

Alex Seitz-Wald / ThinkProgress:

Speaker Cuts Off C-SPAN Cameras When Dems Attempt To Bring Vote On Payroll Tax Cut — During a quick pro-forma session of the House this morning, Republicans rebuffed a Democratic attempt to force an up-or-down vote on the Senate-passed payroll tax holiday extension, which Republicans have thus far refused to allow.

Discussion: The Caucus, The Raw Story, Washington Post, NewsBusters.org, New York Times, Prairie Weather and ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*

Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:

Literally walking away from a fight — It was rather remarkable this morning to watch the proceedings on the House floor. House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) wanted to try again to bring up the Senate's bipartisan payroll-tax-break compromise, and instead of debating, Republicans literally walked away from the fight.

Discussion: The Maddow Blog and Washington Post

Jonathan Easley / The Hill:

Rove: Republicans should fold in payroll tax cut standoff — Former Bush adviser Karl Rove said he agreed with the Wall Street Journal's blistering assessment on the failure of House Republican leadership in the payroll-tax debate, and conceded that Republicans have “lost the optics” and should fold on the issue.

Discussion: National Review

Jonathan Weisman / Washington Wire:
Gingrich to House GOP: Give In on Payroll Tax

Discussion: ThinkProgress, National Review and The Huffington Post

Alex Seitz-Wald / ThinkProgress:
Romney Refuses To Take Position On Payroll Tax Holiday

Discussion: CBS News and Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Jennifer Epstein / Reuters:
With family away, Obama, Bo shop

Discussion: The Politico, White House.gov Blog and The Gateway Pundit

Amie Parnes / The Hill:
Obama's Hawaii Christmas dilemma

Discussion: Pundit & Pundette, Hawaii Reporter and Outside the Beltway

Pete Kasperowicz / The Hill:
House Republicans stiff attempt from Democrats to call up Senate payroll bill

Discussion: The Politico, Firedoglake, Washington Monthly, Wake up America, Hullabaloo and DownWithTyranny!

Marin Cogan / The Politico:
House Republicans who bucked their party

Discussion: Washington Monthly

Mj Lee / Reuters:
WSJ: GOP a ‘circular firing squad’

Discussion: The Caucus, Washington Monthly, Rush Limbaugh, Washington Post and The Reaction

Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:

The point at which Mitt Romney loses his mind — Mitt Romney unveiled a brand-new stump speech in New Hampshire last night, reading a carefully-crafted, poll-tested text from two teleprompters. Confident that his Republican primarily rivals simply won't (or can't) catch him …

Discussion: The Daily Dish, The Caucus and Balloon Juice

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: Mother Jones, American Prospect, Democracy in America and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:
Mitt Romney Goes Glenn Beck

Discussion: Daily Kos, Paul Krugman, The Reaction and No More Mister Nice Blog

Benjamin Kang Lim / Reuters:

Exclusive: North Korea's military to share power with Kim's heir — (Reuters) - North Korea will shift to collective rule from a strongman dictatorship after last week's death of Kim Jong-il, although his untested young son will be at the head of the ruling coterie, a source with close ties to Pyongyang and Beijing said.

Discussion: New York Times, Associated Press, Gothamist, Outside the Beltway, New York Magazine, ThinkProgress and neo-neocon

Victor Morton / Washington Times:

Ex-President Carter sends condolences to Kim Jong-un — Former President Jimmy Carter has sent North Korea a message of condolence over the death of Kim Jong-il and wished “every success” to the man expected to take over as dictator, according to the communist country's state-run news agency.

Discussion: Business Insider, Weasel Zippers, Hot Air and The Daily Caller

James Crugnale / Mediaite:

Rep. Ron Paul Gets Irked By Newsletter Questions, Walks Out Of CNN Interview — Ron Paul walked out of an interview with CNN's Gloria Borger following a heated exchange over the controversy regarding racist newsletters sent in his name during the 1990s. Borger asked the Congressman if he had ever read the newsletters.

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, National Review, Little Green Footballs, Business Insider and The PJ Tatler

Justin Sink / The Hill:

Paul abandons interview concerning controversial newsletters — Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) took off his microphone and left a contentious interview on Wednesday when a CNN reporter asked repeatedly about racist articles published in his newsletter in the 1980s and 1990s.

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Betsy Rothstein / FishbowlDC:

Lawmaker Says Michelle Obama Has ‘Large Posterior’ — Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wisc.), known for his cantankerous ways and for not speaking to media unless it's his idea, was overheard at the Delta Crown lounge at Reagan National Airport today talking on his cellphone about an incident …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit and Weasel Zippers

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:

Romney Reverses Position on Iraq — You people don't care about Iraq any more, do you? Didn't think so. — In an interview with MSNBC's Chuck Todd today, Mitt Romney asserts that “of course” invading Iraq was a bad idea now that we know Saddam Hussein had no weapons of mass destruction.

Discussion: Washington Monthly and msnbc.com

CNN:
CNN Poll: Americans agree on bringing troops home from Iraq

Discussion: The Politico

Derek Thompson / The Atlantic Online:

The Most Important Graphs of 2011 — What is it about graphs and economics? In a discipline where facts are murky and certainty is elusive, graphs offer a bright light of information and a small confidence that the world can be summed up between two axes.

Discussion: Business Insider and Real Time Economics

James Q. Lynch / Iowa Caucus 2012:

ISU/Gazette/KCRG Poll: Ron Paul new frontrunner — CEDAR RAPIDS — Just two weeks before Iowa's first-in-the-nation precinct caucuses there's a new leader, but the race remains “remarkably fluid,” according to a new Iowa State University/Gazette/KCRG poll of likely Republican caucusgoers.

Discussion: Ballot Box, news.iastate.edu, The Politico, CNN and GOP 12

Ron Paul / Washington Post:
Ron Paul becoming serious contender in Republican presidential race

Discussion: Ron Paul 2012 Presidential …

The United States Department of Justice:

Justice Department Reaches $335 Million Settlement to Resolve Allegations of Lending Discrimination by Countrywide Financial Corporation … The Department of Justice today filed its largest residential fair lending settlement in history to resolve allegations that Countrywide Financial Corporation …

Discussion: The Politico and ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*

Charlie Savage / New York Times: $335 Million Settlement on Countrywide Lending Bias

iMFdirect:

2011 In Review: Four Hard Truths — What a difference a year makes ... We started 2011 in recovery mode, admittedly weak and unbalanced, but nevertheless there was hope. The issues appeared more tractable: how to deal with excessive housing debt in the United States …

Discussion: Paul Krugman, Business Insider, Brad DeLong and Guardian

John Hawkins / Right Wing News:

The 50 Best Political Quotes For 2011 (Third Annual) — 50) Get the hell off the Beach in Asbury Park and get out. You're done. It's 4:30 PM. You've maximized your tan. Get off the beach. Get in you cars and get out of those areas. — Chris Christie 49) NPR is a very elitist …

Discussion: The Spectacle Blog, Betsy's Page and YID With LID

Gschwarzcnn / CNN:

RNC sees benefit to longer primary and caucus season — (CNN) - As polls continue to show the GOP presidential race has yet to establish a frontrunner with a clear advantage, the likelihood of a longer primary season continues to grow. — And according to the Republican National Committee, that could be a good thing for the GOP.

Discussion: The Politico

Tom Gantert / Michigan Capitol Confidential:

Chevy Volt Costing Taxpayers Up to $250K Per Vehicle — Analyst: ‘This might be the most government-supported car since the Trabant’ — Each Chevy Volt sold thus far may have as much as $250,000 in state and federal dollars in incentives behind it - a total of $3 billion altogether …

Discussion: Hit & Run, Weasel Zippers, Hot Air, Michelle Malkin and The Enterprise Blog

Gschwarzcnn / CNN:

Santorum: Faith leader asked me, others to consider dropping out — Fairfield, Iowa (CNN) - Prior to making his endorsement, influential Iowa conservative Bob Vander Plaats approached Rick Santorum and asked him to consider dropping out of the Republican presidential race, the candidate said Wednesday.

Discussion: The Politico

Grist:

New EPA mercury rules are a bona fide Big Deal — Wednesday, at long last, the EPA unveiled its new rule covering mercury and other toxic emissions from coal- and oil-fired power plants. — Anyone who pays attention to green news will have spent the last two years hearing a torrent …

Discussion: Firedoglake, USA Today, Washington Post, Washington Monthly, yosemite.epa.gov, Greenversations and Daily Kos

Associated Press:

34 Congress Members Call For NYPD-CIA Probe — WASHINGTON (AP) — More than two dozen members of Congress are calling for investigation into the CIA's relationship with the New York Police Department. — The members of Congress want to know more about the CIA's collaboration …

Discussion: Atlas Shrugs, Weasel Zippers and Jihad Watch