memeorandum: Fiscal cliff: House GOP sends Obama counteroffer (Politico)

7:15 PM ET, December 3, 2012

Top Items:

Jonathan Karl / ABCNEWS:

Republican Doomsday Plan: Cave on Taxes, Vote ‘Present’ — Republicans are seriously considering a Doomsday Plan if fiscal cliff talks collapse entirely. It's quite simple: House Republicans would allow a vote on extending the Bush middle class tax cuts (the bill passed in August by the Senate) …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Washington Monthly, ABCNEWS, Hot Air, Truthdig, New York Magazine, Applesauce, The Daily Caller, “The Lid”, Talking Points Memo, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and Taylor Marsh

Russell Berman / The Hill:

House GOP makes a $2.2 trillion debt counteroffer to Obama on cliff — House Republican leaders have made a counteroffer to President Obama in the fiscal cliff negotiations, proposing to cut $2.2 trillion with a combination of spending cuts, entitlement reforms and $800 billion in new tax revenue.

Discussion: “The Lid”, Red Alert Politics, Washington Examiner, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and Vodkapundit

Zeke Miller / BuzzFeed:

Obama Rejects Boehner Fiscal Cliff Plan — “Their plan includes nothing new,” Pfeiffer says. — Image by Carolyn Kaster, File / AP — WASHINGTON — White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer rejected Speaker of the House John Boehner's counter-proposal to avert the fiscal cliff in a statement to reporters Monday afternoon.

Discussion: Weekly Standard, Washington Post, Hot Air and Weasel Zippers

David Corn / Mother Jones:

John Boehner's Hostage Crisis — As the fiscal cliff looms, the House speaker finds himself once again at the mercy of the tea partiers within his ranks. — In the past week or two, there's been crowing on the left about anti-tax crusader Grover Norquist's slipping influence, as a small …

Discussion: Power Line and Shakesville

Andrew Malcolm / Investor's Business Daily:

As Americans face a fiscal cliff, the Obamas make do with 54 Christmas trees — Jewel Samad / AFP / Getty Images (2011) — Amazing how a reelection can reshape an incumbent's thinking about many things. Now safely ensconced in the White House for 49 more months, the Obamas have decorated …

Discussion: CNN, Mediaite, Wonkette, The Daily Caller, Weasel Zippers, Ed Driscoll, Patterico's Pontifications and Althouse

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:

White House willing to go over fiscal cliff if absolutely necessary — David Corn has a piece up this morning arguing that John Boehner is hampered in the fiscal cliff talks by his right flank — the House Tea Partyers who oppose compromise with the White House at any cost, just as they did during the 2011 showdowns.

Discussion: The Impolitic, The Week, Booman Tribune, Daily Kos, Hullabaloo, Connecting.the.Dots and National Review

Daniel Gross / The Daily Beast:

On the Fiscal Cliff, Republicans Got Nothin' — It's Day 26 of the fiscal-cliff hostage situation, and it's clear that GOP negotiators have lost touch with reality. Daniel Gross on their astounding lack of a counteroffer to the Dems. — Adrenaline-filled, aggressive combatants paraded around …

Discussion: The Hill, The Daily Dish, CNN, Campaign for America's … and Talking Points Memo

Sahil Kapur / Talking Points Memo:

GOP Leaders May Be Pondering Surrender On Taxes — Republicans are working to quiet rumblings that, if all else fails, they may give in on the high income Bush tax cuts. But a newly reported “doomsday plan” to do just that may be the GOP's best way out of a bad situation: give a little …

Peter Baker / New York Times:

Criticized as Weak in Past Talks, Obama Takes Harder Line — WASHINGTON — Amid demands from Republicans that President Obama propose detailed new spending cuts to avert the year-end fiscal crisis, his answer boils down to this: you first. — Mr. Obama, scarred by failed negotiations …

Discussion: AMERICAblog, Mediaite, The Week, Weasel Zippers, Daily Kos, Taylor Marsh, Washington Examiner, msnbc.com, Wall Street Journal and ABCNEWS

Politico:
Fiscal cliff: House GOP sends Obama counteroffer

Discussion: Speaker.gov, AEIdeas, The Other McCain and Wake up America

Keith Hennessey / Wall Street Journal:
Time to Call the President's Budget Bluff

Discussion: Ricochet Conversations Feed, Hot Air and Keith Hennessey

Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
Do Democrats actually want to go over the fiscal cliff?

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's …, Hot Air, Washington Post, Roland Martin Reports, The BLT and Post Politics

Joshua Hersh / The Huffington Post:
Susan Rice Keystone XL Attacks Put White House In A Bind

Discussion: CNN, Firedoglake, The Week, Associated Press and Business Insider

David Dayen / Firedoglake:
Republican “Doomsday Plan” Allows Tax Increase, Uses Debt Limit For Future Leverage

Discussion: ABCNEWS

Janet Hook / Wall Street Journal: House GOP Makes Budget Counteroffer

First Read:
GOP offers own proposal to avert ‘fiscal cliff’

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Economy Watch, Business Insider and Daily Kos

Peter H. Stone / The Huffington Post:

Sheldon Adelson Spent Far More On Campaign Than Previously Known … REACT: — FOLLOW: — Elections 2012, John Boehner, Mitt Romney, Campaign Finance, Elections 2012, Newt Gingrich, Video, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, Las Vegas Sands, Sheldon Adelson, Fcpa, Mitt Romney 2012, Sands Casino …

Discussion: Mother Jones, msnbc.com, Washington Monthly, The Raw Story, Post Politics and Balloon Juice

Kenneth P. Vogel / Politico:

2016 contenders court mega-donors — A week after Election Day, three Republican governors mentioned as 2016 presidential candidates — Bobby Jindal, John Kasich and Bob McDonnell — each stopped by the Venetian Resort Hotel Casino to meet privately with its owner Sheldon Adelson …

Discussion: CNN, msnbc.com, Roland Martin Reports, The Agonist, The Week and GOP 12

Fox Sports:

In KC, it's no time for a game — KANSAS CITY, MO. — Football is embarrassingly tone deaf. — Jovan Belcher, a starting linebacker for the Chiefs, murdered the mother of his child shortly before 8 a.m. Saturday. He hopped in his car, drove to the Kansas City Chiefs practice facility …

Roland Martin Reports:
LISTEN: Roland Martin Talks With Jason Whitlock About His Column About Jovan Belcher's Murder-Suicide

Discussion: NewsBusters.org, Ed Driscoll, The Daily Caller, Weasel Zippers and The PJ Tatler

Frank Newport / Gallup:

Congress Retains Low Honesty Rating — Nurses have highest honesty rating; car salespeople, lowest — PRINCETON, NJ — As Congress remains involved in protracted negotiations over the pending “fiscal cliff” that could disrupt the nation's economy if not addressed by Jan. 1 …

Discussion: ABCNEWS, Politico, Mediaite, CNN, BuzzFeed, msnbc.com, Poynter, The Hill and Post Politics

Allison Samuels / The Daily Beast:

Michelle Obama's Next Move — What's next for our incredibly popular first lady? Samuel L. Jackson and other super-fans weigh in. — Chatting with a group backstage on the set of Jimmy Kimmel Live! in October, Michelle Obama made it clear that she wasn't thinking about what she might do in the future.

Discussion: Associated Press, Weasel Zippers, Mediaite, The Daily Caller, Weekly Standard and National Review

Paul Krugman / New York Times:

The Big Budget Mumble — In the ongoing battle of the budget, President Obama has done something very cruel. Declaring that this time he won't negotiate with himself, he has refused to lay out a proposal reflecting what he thinks Republicans want. Instead, he has demanded that Republicans themselves say, explicitly, what they want.

Discussion: Daily Kos, Washington Post, xpostfactoid, the daily howler, Paul Krugman, New York Magazine, msnbc.com, Discourse.net, Prairie Weather and American Spectator

Christine Haughney / Media Decoder:

New York Times Seeks Buyouts From 30 in Newsroom — Aiming to cut costs in an increasingly troubled advertising environment, The New York Times announced on Monday morning that it would offer buyout packages to newsroom employees. While the primary goal of the buyout program is to trim managers …

Discussion: JIMROMENESKO.COM, Business Insider, driftglass, The Week, Capital New York, Poynter, Roger Ailes and New York Magazine, more at Mediagazer »

Facebook Site Governance / Facebook:

Responding to Your Feedback — by Elliot Schrage, Vice President, Communications, Public Policy and Marketing — Since announcing proposed updates to both our Data Use Policy and Statement of Rights and Responsibilities, we've heard from many of you through our comment process.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Daily Caller and TechCrunch

Lyle Denniston / SCOTUSblog:

Again, no gay marriage orders (FINAL UPDATE) — The Supreme Court on Monday released additional orders from its Friday Conference, but the list did not show any action on the ten cases dealing with the same-sex marriage issue. UPDATED: The Court later Monday morning posted on its electronic docket …

Discussion: Advocate and Outside the Beltway

New York Times:

Homeless Man Is Grateful for Officer's Gift of Boots. But He Again Is Barefoot. — After Officer Lawrence DePrimo knelt beside a barefoot man on a bitterly cold November night in Times Square, giving him a pair of boots, a photo of his random act of good will quickly took on a life of its own …

Discussion: ABCNEWS, BuzzFeed, msnbc.com, Outside the Beltway, Runnin' Scared, Gawker, New York Magazine and iOwnTheWorld.com

Jeremy Herb / The Hill:

Petition: Obama should build Death Star — Forget the White House beer recipe — what the American people really want is a Death Star. — Well, 495 of them anyway. — A petition on the White House's “We the People” website calls for the United States to find funding and begin construction on a Star Wars-style Death Star by 2016.

Discussion: Alan Colmes'Alan Colmes', Politico, Outside the Beltway and The PJ Tatler

Justin Sink / The Hill:

Santorum launches column for ‘birther’ website — Former Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum has taken a job as a columnist for World Net Daily, a conservative website best known for articles advancing “birther” conspiracy theories about President Obama.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Little Green Footballs, The National Memo, The Raw Story, Alan Colmes'Alan Colmes', Post Politics and The Agonist

BuzzFeed:

How Bobby Jindal Got His Mojo Back In 2012 — The Louisiana governor is back as a contender for the presidency four years from now. His secret weapon: Rick Perry. — Image by Brendan Hoffman / Getty Images — The last year has been a bad one for many Republicans, but 2012 was exceptionally kind to Bobby Jindal.

Discussion: Washington Monthly and No More Mister Nice Blog

CNN:

Obama to Syria: ‘World is watching’ — (CNN) — The United States warned Syria in no uncertain terms Monday not to use chemical weapons amid intelligence reports indicating President Bashar al-Assad's regime could be preparing to take that step as it escalates its fight against rebel forces.

Discussion: Wired and This Just In

Matthew Boyle / BREITBART.COM:

WHY I'M ENLISTING IN ANDREW BREITBART'S WAR — I'm enlisting to fight in Andrew Breitbart's war. — The political class in Washington has degraded America. Republicans and Democrats blame each other, and nothing gets done. The media exacerbates the problem, fans the flames …

Discussion: FishbowlDC, Washington Monthly and TBogg