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

2:25 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

Brian Beutler / tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com:

TPMDC — Watch GOPer Literally Walk Out On Dem Attempt To Push Payroll Tax Cut — While Republican leaders gathered in Speaker John Boehner's Capitol office Wednesday morning for a photo op with reporters — hectoring Democrats and making the case that they're on the right side of the payroll tax fight …

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland and The Daily Dish

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

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

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

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

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

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, The Moderate Voice, Mediaite, 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, Paul Krugman, New York Magazine 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: 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

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

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