memeorandum: What the House GOP conferees have in common (Steve Benen/Washington Monthly)

2:30 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.

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

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 Raw Story, NewsBusters.org, The Caucus, New York Times and Political Mojo

Pete Kasperowicz / The Hill:

House Republicans stiff attempt from Democrats to call up Senate payroll bill — House Republicans blocked a Democratic attempt Wednesday to call up the Senate payroll tax bill by quickly gaveling the day's pro forma session to a close. — Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) presided over the brief session …

Discussion: Firedoglake, Washington Monthly, Wake up America and Hullabaloo

Amie Parnes / 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 could be whether to join his family for Christmas in Hawaii or stay in lonely Washington.

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

Alex Seitz-Wald / ThinkProgress:

Romney Refuses To Take Position On Payroll Tax Holiday — In two TV interviews today, GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney refused to take a stance on the biggest issue in Washington today: the extension of the payroll tax holiday. A huge bipartisan majority in the Senate passed …

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Jonathan Weisman / Washington Wire:

Gingrich to House GOP: Give In on Payroll Tax — DES MOINES, Iowa - Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who famously lost budget battles to President Bill Clinton amid two government shutdowns, had some advice to House Republicans at loggerheads with another Democratic president: Give in.

Discussion: National Review

Daniel Strauss / The Hill:

GOP senator says Republicans need to resolve payroll tax fight and ‘move on’ — Sen. Bob Corker said Republicans are losing in negotiations over a payroll tax cut extension and should just agree to extend the tax cut and move on. — “Are Republicans getting killed now in public opinion?

Discussion: Washington Monthly and Daily Kos

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

Discussion: The Hill, Time, The Reaction, Mediaite and Business Insider

Brian Beutler / tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com:
TPMDC — Watch GOPer Literally Walk Out On Dem Attempt To Push Payroll Tax Cut

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland and The Daily Dish

Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:
Explaining Obama's Approval Rating Bounce

Discussion: The Reaction, Philly.com, Outside the Beltway and American Prospect

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

Discussion: Washington Monthly

Los Angeles Times:
With payroll tax cut unresolved, Congress packs up

Discussion: New York Times, ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*, The Other McCain and Hullabaloo

Manu Rajuand John Bresnahan / The Politico:
McConnell leaves Boehner on limb

Discussion: CNN, FrumForum, The Hill and Hot Air

Jonathan Easley / The Hill:
McCain: Payroll-tax fight ‘harming the Republican Party’

Discussion: The Caucus, Washington Monthly, Don Surber, Connecting.the.Dots and The Other McCain

Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
What the House GOP conferees have in common

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, Prairie Weather, Washington Post and DCCC

Major Garrett / NationalJournal.com:
Congress's Payroll Standoff — Who Blinks First?

Discussion: Firedoglake, Booman Tribune, The Mahablog, Swampland, Hot Air and The Hill

Jason Clayworth / Iowa Caucuses:

Newt Gingrich to gay Iowan: Vote for Obama — Gingrich and his wife Callista at tonight's event in Oskaloosa. Oskaloosa, Ia. - Newt Gingrich told a gay man and longtime resident of Oskaloosa here today that he should vote for President Obama. — “I asked him if he's elected, how does he plan to engage gay Americans.

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Daily Dish, The Politico, Mediaite, The Moderate Voice, Gawker, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, LGBTQ Nation, Towleroad News #gay, Outside the Beltway, Joe. My. God. and CNN

Faiz Shakir / ThinkProgress:
Newt Gingrich Tells Gay Iowan To Vote For Obama

Discussion: Fox News, Feministing and Prairie Weather

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, ThinkProgress, Gothamist, neo-neocon and New York Magazine

Scott Whitlock / NewsBusters.org:
Whoopi Goldberg: Communism Is ‘a Great Concept’ That ‘Makes Perfect Sense’ on Paper

Discussion: Doug Ross

Jordan Weissmann / The Atlantic Online:
How Kim Jong Il Starved North Korea

Discussion: Cafe Hayek, The Daily Dish, americanthinker.com and Hit & Run

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: No More Mister Nice Blog, New York Magazine, Paul Krugman and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

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: Balloon Juice and The Caucus

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: The Politico, Ballot Box, CNN and GOP 12

news.iastate.edu:
Paul now top pick in new ISU/Gazette/KCRG Poll, but voters still uncertain

Discussion: CNN, New York Times and msnbc.com

James Lynch / KCRG-TV:
Vote 2012: Ron Paul Takes Lead in KCRG/Gazette/ISU Poll

Discussion: The Other McCain, Wake up America, American Spectator, Unlikely Voter and Ricochet Conversations Feed

Paul Glastris / Washington Monthly:

Obama's Rising Poll Numbers: The Dog-That-Didn't-Bark Factor — As Steve noted yesterday there are plenty of reasons why, going into the Christmas break, Barack Obama is looking surprisingly strong politically. The economy is slowly improving. The troops are out of Iraq.

U.S. Census Bureau News:

Texas Gains the Most in Population Since the Census — First Population Estimates Since 2010 Show Slowest National Growth Since the 1940s — Texas gained more people than any other state between April 1, 2010, and July 1, 2011 (529,000), followed by California (438,000), Florida (256,000) …

Discussion: The Atlantic Online and The Politico

CNN:

CNN Poll: Americans agree on bringing troops home from Iraq — (CNN) - Most Americans agree with the decision to end the war in Iraq, according to a CNN/ORC International poll released Wednesday. Almost eight in ten said they support removal of combat troops from that country by the end of this year.

Discussion: The Politico

Neal Pollack / Salon:

I knew Christopher Hitchens better than you — Every writer who had a drink with Hitch has now told his story. But even Rushdie and Amis didn't know him like this — Christopher Hitchens and I were friends for 40 years, plus another five when we were enemies.

Discussion: ThinkProgress