memeorandum: Rev. Mark Harris: Pastor hopes for ‘civil’ marriage debate (David Perlmutt/The Charlotte Observer)

6:35 PM ET, December 27, 2011

Top Items:

John Bresnahan / The Politico:

Ben Nelson retiring from Senate — Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska will announce today that he is retiring after two terms, a serious blow to Democratic efforts to hold onto their majority in the chamber next November. — Nelson is scheduled to hold a press conference back home …

Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
Ben Nelson to retire

Discussion: The Politico, The Raw Story and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
Sen. Ben Nelson won't seek reelection

Discussion: Crooks and Liars

Washington Examiner:

‘Mischief’ voters push Paul to front of GOP race — Ron Paul is surging in the Republican presidential race. Just not among Republicans. — The Texas congressman is leading some polls in Iowa and is in a tie for second in New Hampshire. A candidacy once dismissed as sideshow …

Discussion: Little Green Footballs, The TrogloPundit, Outside the Beltway, Weasel Zippers, Hot Air, Swampland, TheGazette, GayPatriot, Nice Deb, The Gateway Pundit, YID With LID and Libertarian Republican

Kevinliptak / CNN:

TRENDING: Gingrich wouldn't vote for Ron Paul — (CNN) - Newt Gingrich said Tuesday he wouldn't vote for Ron Paul if the Texas congressman won the 2012 GOP nomination. — Speaking to CNN's Wolf Blitzer, Gingrich slammed Paul as out of line with mainstream Republican viewpoints, including his stance on Israel, Iran, and September 11.

Discussion: The Politico

Judd Legum / ThinkProgress:

FACT CHECK: Ron Paul Personally Defended Racist Newsletters — Recently, Ron Paul has been subject to intense criticism over controversial newsletters written under his name in the 80s and 90s that frequently included racism, bigotry, and conspiracy theories.

Discussion: The Lonely Conservative, Alas, a Blog, Mediaite, The Atlantic Online, Outside the Beltway and Hullabaloo

Mark Blumenthal / The Huffington Post:
Iowa Caucus Polls: Ron Paul And Mitt Romney Lead, But Surprises Likely

Discussion: The Other McCain

Norman Horn / Washington Post:
Can a Christian be a libertarian? — U.S. Rep. Ron Paul …

Discussion: USCatholic.org

Charlie Riedel / ABCNEWS:

Gingrich '06 Memo: “Agree Entirely With Gov. Romney” on Health Care — To conservatives, the biggest strike against Mitt Romney is the health care plan he put in place in Massachusetts, but Newt Gingrich lavished praise on Romney's plan after it was passed in 2006.

Discussion: The Other McCain, Hot Air, NewsBusters.org blogs, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The PJ Tatler and The Moderate Voice

BuzzFeed:

In 2008 Video, Gingrich Is Passionate About The Mandate — Newt Gingrich has had a hard time attacking Mitt Romney's Massachusetts health care plan — which, like “Obamacare” — required all citizens to have health care. What's more — as The Wall Street Journal reports today — Gingrich actively praised Romney's plan.

Discussion: Rick Perry 2012 Campaign …, Mediaite, The Daily Caller and Outside the Beltway

Jason Clayworth / Iowa Caucuses:
Gingrich will make half of the number of Iowa stops announced last week

Discussion: CNN, Michelle Malkin, Ballot Box, Outside the Beltway, Scared Monkeys, blogs.telegraph.co.uk, Taylor Marsh, The Daily Caller and Fox News

Wall Street Journal:
Gingrich Applauded Romney's Health Plan

Discussion: Ballot Box, Fox News, Washington Post, The Caucus, Betsy's Page, San Francisco Chronicle, ABCNEWS, GOP 12, The Hill, msnbc.com, Outside the Beltway, The Politico and New York Times

Alexander Burns / The Politico:
Newt's incredible shrinking bus tour

Discussion: CNN and Iowa Caucuses

Cameron Joseph / Ballot Box:
Pro-Gingrich group up with first ad in Iowa

Discussion: The Politico and GOP 12

John Hawkins / Townhall.com:

7 Reasons Why Mitt Romney's Electability Is A Myth — Mitt Romney was a moderate governor in Massachusetts with an unimpressive record of governance, who left office with an approval rating in the thirties, and whose signature achievement was a Hurricane Katrina style disaster for the state.

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Patterico's Pontifications

Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
Romney's ‘carried interest’ problem

Discussion: Daily Kos

Matthew Putney / ABCNEWS:
Gingrich Campaign Says Romney Is Looking at ‘European Socialist’ Ideas

Discussion: Hot Air, Pundit Press and Campaign 2012

Maggie Haberman / The Politico:

Romney on Newt: ‘Lucille Ball’ — POLITICO's Jake Sherman reports this gem from the trail in Portsmouth, NH:

Discussion: CNN, Mediaite, Guardian, Frontloading HQ and The Lonely Conservative

Nbc'S Jo / msnbc.com:
Romney, citing 1950s TV series ‘I Love Lucy’, compares Gingrich to Lucy in chocolate factory

Discussion: The Hill

Daniel Strauss / The Hill:
Santorum says he'll exit presidential race if he does poorly in Iowa caucuses

Discussion: The Politico, CNN, Fox News, USA Today, Christian Science Monitor, Hot Air, Boston Globe, Outside the Beltway and GOP 12

Margaret Chadbourn / Reuters:

Obama to ask for debt limit hike: Treasury official — (Reuters) - The White House plans to ask Congress by the end of the week for an increase in the government's debt ceiling to allow the United States to pay its bills on time, according to a senior Treasury Department official on Tuesday.

Discussion: Firedoglake, Washington Post, Washington Monthly, Slate, White House Dossier, The Gateway Pundit, Daily Kos, Hot Air, The Lonely Conservative, GayPatriot and Jammie Wearing Fools

David Wessel / Wall Street Journal:
Obama to Name Two Fed Board Nominees

Discussion: The Politico, Swampland, The New Republic, msnbc.com and The Daily Caller

Daniel Kruger / Bloomberg:
Obama Wins Most Demand for Debt of U.S. Presidents Since Before First Bush

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, Washington Post, Firedoglake and The Right Sphere

Minneapolis Star Tribune:

Moving melee causes chaos at packed Mall of America — Some stores shut down Monday night as panicked shoppers fled. At least 10 youths were arrested. — A noisy, racing crowd of more than 200 young people created a chaotic scene at the packed Mall of America Monday evening …

Discussion: KARE-TV, msnbc.com, Mediaite, Power Line, The Daily What, Scared Monkeys and ABCNEWS

Tim Mak / Reuters:

SOPA is the end of us, say bloggers — The conservative and liberal blogospheres are unifying behind opposition to Congress's Stop Online Piracy Act, with right-leaning bloggers aruging their very existence could be wiped out if the anti-piracy bill passes.

Discussion: Wonkette, Boing Boing and Red Mass Group, more at Mediagazer »

Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:

What Obama didn't say on ‘60 Minutes’ — President Obama appeared on “60 Minutes” a couple of weeks ago, and as is always the case with longer interviews, some of the exchanges between him and Steve Kroft ended up on the editing-room floor. CBS went ahead and posted everything online …

Discussion: Liberal Values and Booman Tribune

Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:

How Can Romney Lose? — The conventional wisdom on the Republican nomination race has once again shifted. In the span of just two weeks, Mitt Romney has gone from seeming quite vulnerable to the near-inevitable Republican nominee. The odds attributed to Mr. Romney winning the nomination …

Discussion: msnbc.com, Des Moines Register, Iowa Caucuses, New York Magazine, Booman Tribune, Weasel Zippers, Mediaite, ABCNEWS, Rick Perry 2012 Campaign …, The Daily Caller, Althouse and Prairie Weather

Mike McCormick / WYFF-TV:

Caught On Tape: Clerk Punches, Knocks Out Armed Robber — Clerk Then Makes Suspect Clean Up His Own Blood — HENDERSONVILLE, N.C. — A clerk at a business in Western North Carolina punched a would-be robber and knocked him out cold just minutes after the man barged in with a gun and demanded money.

Discussion: Gates of Vienna, The Raw Story and BuzzFeed

Paul Krugman:

The Defeatism of Depression — A number of people have asked me to weigh in on David Brooks's piece today. Sorry, not gonna do a tit-for-tat. Let me instead just make a more general point. — All around, right now, there are people declaring that our best days are behind us …

Discussion: The New Republic

David Perlmutt / The Charlotte Observer:

Rev. Mark Harris: Pastor hopes for ‘civil’ marriage debate — On the day he was elected to lead the state's Baptist convention, the Rev. Mark Harris fielded a threatening voice mail that gave him a quick glimpse of the approaching battle over same-sex marriage in North Carolina.

Discussion: Firedoglake and Towleroad News #gay