memeorandum: Romney calls health care mandate a ‘tax,’ contradicts top aide (CNN)

4:05 PM ET, July 4, 2012

Top Items:

Alexander Burns / Politico:

Romney shifts, says mandate's a tax — Directly contradicting his senior adviser, Eric Fehrnstrom, presumptive GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney told CBS that the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate is “a tax.” — Earlier this week, Fehrnstrom said in a TV appearance that Romney …

Discussion: Daily Kos, ABCNEWS, Indecision Forever and Business Insider

Igor Volsky / ThinkProgress:

Romney Directly Contradicts His Campaign, Now Insists Health Mandate Is ‘A Tax’ — Earlier this week, Mitt Romney's top campaign adviser broke with the entire Republican party and insisted that the individual mandate at the center of the Affordable Care Act and Massachusetts' 2006 health care law is “not a tax.”

Discussion: Mediaite and rubber hose

CNN:

Romney calls health care mandate a ‘tax,’ contradicts top aide — (CNN) - Mitt Romney said the federal health care reform mandate constitutes a “tax” Wednesday, contradicting the way a senior adviser to his campaign characterized his position earlier this week.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, Politico and Mediaite

CNN:

CNN Poll: Economic optimism jumping — Washington (CNN) - Although most Americans think that the economy is currently in poor shape, economic optimism has skyrocketed since last fall, according to a new national poll. — And a CNN/ORC International poll released Tuesday also indicates …

Discussion: Ballot Box and Politico

Elise Foley / The Huffington Post:

Chris Collins: 'People Now Don't Die From Prostate Cancer, Breast Cancer' … REACT: — FOLLOW: — Health Care, Video, Affordable Care Act, Chris Collins Affordable Care Act, Chris Collins Health Care, Kathy Hochul, Chris Collins, Obamacare, Politics News

Discussion: Firedoglake, City & State, Daily Kos and ThinkProgress

Thomas Fleming / Wall Street Journal:

What Life Was Like in 1776 — Americans had the highest per capita income in the civilized world, paid the lowest taxes—and were determined to keep it that way. — Almost every American knows the traditional story of July Fourth—the soaring idealism of the Declaration of Independence …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, 24Ahead and Althouse

Randy Barnett / The Volokh Conspiracy:

The Declaration of Independence Annotated — [From the next edition of my casebook, Constitutional Law: Cases in Context:] — When reading the Declaration, it is worth keeping in mind two very important facts. The Declaration constituted high treason against the Crown and every person …

Discussion: The Agitator

Conrad Black / National Review:

Post-Colonial Killing Fields — It is an ever-growing matter of suspense how long it will take before there is general recognition of the fact that, although the spread of democracy is — next to its irreplaceable contribution to victory in World War II and the Cold War …

Discussion: Washington Monthly and Outside the Beltway

Scott Johnson / Power Line:

The eternal meaning of Independence Day — On July 9, 1858, Illinois Senator Stephen Douglas gave a campaign speech to a raucous throng from the balcony of the Tremont Hotel in Chicago. Abraham Lincoln was in the audience when Douglas prepared to speak. Douglas invited Lincoln to come join him on the balcony to watch the speech.

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, Scared Monkeys and Connecting.the.Dots

New York Times:

Too Quiet, Again, on Health Care — Nearly two dozen Pennsylvania residents, interviewed recently by Abby Goodnough of The Times, said they were opposed to President Obama's health care reform law. Though almost all of them would benefit from it, they expressed fears about a loss of control …

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Daily Kos

Matthew Yglesias / Slate:

The Recession-Proof Fireworks Industry … - Egypt's New President Is Awfully Critical of the United States. Should We Be Worried? — Manjoo: Apple's iPhone Used To Be the Best. But Its Competitors Have Caught Up. — Why the Higgs Boson Discovery Is Such a Big Deal …

Discussion: Sunlight Foundation …, Washington Post, Indecision Forever and ThinkProgress

New York Times:

As Weather Channel Buys Wunderground, Storm Clouds Brew Among Fans — It's stormy out there. — The announcement on Monday that the Weather Channel Companies, owners of television's Weather Channel and weather.com, would buy one of its rivals, Weather Underground, set off howls of displeasure …

Discussion: Democracy Now and Althouse

Vanity Fair:

Ben Bradlee's 20 Best Verbal or Written Barbs Microsoft's Downfall: Inside the Executive E-mails and Cannibalistic Culture That Felled a Tech Giant — Microsoft C.E.O. Steve Ballmer delivers the keynote address at the 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show, in Las Vegas, on January 9.

Discussion: Guardian, MarketBeat and TechCrunch

Mj Lee / Politico:

Fast and Furious: Grassley presses Holder on ‘false letter’ — Sen. Chuck Grassley is demanding to know who at the Justice Department saw a memo written by a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosive agent about the botched Fast and Furious gun-walking operation that was allegedly sent …

Debbie Siegelbaum / The Hill:

Obama hosts naturalization ceremony, presses Congress on immigration reform — President Obama helped celebrate the Fourth of July Wednesday by naturalizing more than two-dozen active duty service members, and used the opportunity to press lawmakers to take up comprehensive immigration reform.

Discussion: Politico and CNN

SOM - State of Michigan:

Snyder signs most of election reform legislation — LANSING, Mich. - Gov. Rick Snyder recently signed legislation to increase election transparency, prevent election fraud and provide consistency across all voting locations. — The election reform bills provide for better documentation …

Discussion: Politico and The Raw Story