memeorandum: Dick Armey leaves as head of Tea Party-tied FreedomWorks (Associated Press)

5:10 PM ET, December 4, 2012

Top Items:

David Brooks / New York Times:

The Truly Grand Bargain — Sometimes you have to walk through the desert to get to the Promised Land. That's the way it is for Republicans right now. The Republicans are stuck in a miserable position at the end of 2012, but, if they handle things right, they can make 2013 an excellent year …

Discussion: Washington Post, First Read, JustOneMinute, the daily howler, driftglass, msnbc.com, Mother Jones, Opinionator and Firedoglake

Politico:

Conservative groups rebel against John Boehner — Several prominent conservative organizations lashed out against a pair of decisions by Speaker John Boehner's leadership team as House Republicans saw their tightly held grip on the right loosen a bit on Monday.

Discussion: CNN, Wonkblog, Roll Call, The Hill, The Week, Boston Globe, Vox Popoli, First Read and Booman Tribune

Ted Barrett / CNN:

Despite Dole appearance, Senate fails to ratify disabilities treaty — Washington (CNN) - Senate Republicans blocked ratification of a United Nations treaty aimed at promoting the rights of disabled people around the world, despite an appearance on the Senate floor by former Republican Sen. Bob Dole …

Discussion: Politico

Sahil Kapur / Talking Points Memo:
Senate Republicans Block Ratification Of U.N. Treaty On Rights For The Disabled, Citing Impact On Home-Schoolers

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Hill and Daily Kos

Jonathan Easley / The Hill:
Palin regrets calling GOP lawmakers ‘wusses’ on deficit talks

Discussion: Politico, CNN and Political Watch

Jonathan Strong / Roll Call:
Dissidents Pushed Off Prominent Committees

Discussion: Firedoglake, RedState, msnbc.com, The National Memo, Hot Air, Campaign for America's … and Hit & Run

Rosalind S. Helderman / Washington Post:
Senate rejects treaty to protect disabled around the world

Discussion: msnbc.com, Firedoglake and Right Wing Watch

CNN:
Distance between Boehner, Obama continued at holiday party

Discussion: Applesauce and Weasel Zippers

Katie Glueck / Politico:
Sarah Palin: Sorry for calling GOP ‘wusses’

Discussion: CNN and msnbc.com

New York Post:

Queens dad pushed to his death by madman in Times Square subway station — Ki Suk Han, 58, of Queens frantically tries to climb to safety yesterday as a train bears down on him in Midtown. He was fatally struck seconds later. — A Queens dad trying to protect fellow straphangers …

Discussion: The Atlantic Wire, Guardian, Gothamist, Capital New York, The PJ Tatler, BBC, City Room, Poynter, Forbes, New York Magazine, Daily Download, AMERICAblog, Gawker, Daily Mail and Outside the Beltway, more at Mediagazer »

Neetzan Zimmerman / Gawker:

Photo of Man's Imminent Demise Covers Front Page of the New York Post, Sparks Outrage — A freelance photographer working for the New York Post on an unrelated assignment happened to be standing on the 49th Street station platform when 58-year-old Queens resident Ki Suk Han was suddenly pushed onto …

Discussion: The New Republic, The Week, The Raw Story, Capital New York, Mediaite and Poynter, more at Mediagazer »

Ryan Grim / The Huffington Post:

Elizabeth Warren Wins Senate Banking Committee Seat: Sources … REACT: — FOLLOW: — Elizabeth Warren, Harry Reid , Video, Senate Banking Committee, Banking Committee, Elizabeth Warren Banking Committee, Elizabeth Warren Committees, Elizabeth Warren Senate, Elizabeth Warren Senate Banking …

Discussion: Bloomberg, Firedoglake, Boston Globe, Crooks and Liars, Mother Jones, OpenSecrets.org, The National Memo, New York Magazine, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Daily Kos, Taylor Marsh, Business Insider, The Raw Story, Balloon Juice and msnbc.com

Politico:
Elizabeth Warren headed to Senate Banking Committee

Discussion: Guardian

Vicki Needham / The Hill: Warren tapped for Senate Banking panel

Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:

Republicans not handling election results well — PPP's first post election national poll finds that Republicans are taking the results pretty hard...and also declining in numbers. — 49% of GOP voters nationally say they think that ACORN stole the election for President Obama.

Discussion: Alan Colmes'Alan Colmes', The National Memo, The Raw Story, Political Watch and Mother Jones

Pew Research Center for the People and the Press:

Pessimism About Fiscal Cliff Deal, Republicans Still Get More Blame — OVERVIEW — With Washington making little apparent progress in efforts to avoid going over the “fiscal cliff,” public opinion about the situation has changed little over the past three weeks.

Discussion: Firedoglake, CBS DC, Washington Wire and msnbc.com

Josh Barro / Bloomberg:

What's Wrong With the Republican Fiscal Cliff Counteroffer — Here are three big problems with the letter they sent to the White House: — 1. It's not really a proposal — it's just a set of headline numbers without specific policies. The letter says Republicans want to cut $900 billion …

Discussion: Paul Krugman, The Huffington Post, The Plum Line, Wake up America, CNN, Washington Free Beacon, Business Insider, The Daily Dish, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Hit & Run, Jared Bernstein and Wonkblog

BuzzFeed:
White House Calls GOP Fiscal Cliff Plan “Magic Beans And Fairy Dust”

Discussion: Mediaite

Bob Woodward / Washington Post:

Fox News chief's failed attempt to enlist Petraeus as presidential candidate — Roger Ailes, the longtime Republican media guru, founder of Fox News and its current chairman, had some advice last year for then-Gen. David H. Petraeus. — So in spring 2011, Ailes asked a Fox News analyst headed …

The Fix:

Republicans losing blame game on fiscal cliff — A majority of Americans say that if the country goes over the fiscal cliff on Dec. 31, congressional Republicans should bear the brunt of the blame, according to a new Washington Post-Pew Research Center poll, the latest sign that the GOP faces …

Discussion: Post Politics, Applesauce, Business Insider, Daily Kos, The Moderate Voice and The Agonist

Jonathan Easley / The Hill:
Poll finds majority would blame GOP if deficit negotiations fail

Discussion: CNN, The Plum Line, Politico and Prairie Weather

Manu Raju / Politico:

Ashley Judd exploring Senate run — Ashley Judd vs. Mitch McConnell? — It might not be as far-fetched as you think. — The Hollywood movie star and eighth-generation Kentuckian is seriously exploring a 2014 run for the Senate to take on the powerful Republican leader, four people familiar with the matter tell POLITICO.

Discussion: The Week, CBS DC, The Fix, Weasel Zippers, Hot Air, Post Politics, LifeNews.com, Outside the Beltway, msnbc.com, Zandar Versus The Stupid, The Gateway Pundit, In Session, Shakesville and The Powers That Be

Paul Waldman / American Prospect:
Better-Looking, Spunkier Senator From Kentucky Now a Possibility

Discussion: Politico

Associated Press:

Dick Armey leaves as head of Tea Party-tied FreedomWorks — Eased out with an $8 million payout provided by an influential GOP fundraiser, former Republican House Majority Leader Dick Armey says he has left a conservative Tea Party group, FreedomWorks, because of an internal split over the group's future direction.

Discussion: 24Ahead and LewRockwell.com Blog

Mother Jones:
Exclusive: Dick Armey Quits Tea Party Group in Split Over Direction

Discussion: BuzzFeed, CNN, Trail Blazers Blog, Outside the Beltway, Washington Examiner, Ballot Box, The Raw Story, Prairie Weather, New York Magazine, Post Politics, Politico and Connecting.the.Dots

Ted Nugent / Washington Times:

U.S. sailed off the ‘fiscal cliff’ long ago — We created Fedzilla; now it's time to kill it — Only a Fedzillacrat could possibly think raising taxes on the wealthy could accomplish anything toward restoring sanity in the financial insane asylum known as our federal government.

Discussion: Alan Colmes'Alan Colmes', Associated Press, Little Green Footballs, Taegan Goddard's … and The Raw Story

National Review:

Filibluster — Filibuster “reform” — intermittently called, over the last decade or so, the “nuclear option” — is something of a moving target. We have consistently maintained that a majority of the Senate may constitutionally curtail the filibuster or leave it as it is.

Discussion: Booman Tribune and A plain blog about politics

Ramesh Ponnuru / Bloomberg:
The Democrats' Strange Zeal for Filibuster Reform

Discussion: Washington Monthly

Lee Enterprises / Associated Press:

Brewer out of state; aide won't provide details — Gov. Jan Brewer has taken a nearly week-long out-of-state work trip that was shrouded in secrecy Monday as she skipped an event to certify election ballots and her spokesman refused to disclose her location.

Discussion: The Hill, Wonkette, Politico and Post Politics

Mary Jo Pitzl / Arizona Republic:
Brewer out of state; aide won't provide details

Discussion: Gawker and Truthdig

TMZ.com:

Mitt Romney Hits Costco — Buys Toy Car (Manufactured in China) — HITS COSTCO — Buys Toy Car (Manufactured in China) — EXCLUSIVE — Mitt Romney went on MASSIVE (and fiscally responsible) shopping spree at a Costco near his home in La Jolla, CA this week ... stocking up on all sorts of goods …

Discussion: BuzzFeed, The New Republic, Washington Examiner and Rightnewz Videos

Reuters:

Egypt's Mursi leaves palace as police battle protesters — (Reuters) - Egyptian police battled thousands of protesters outside President Mohamed Mursi's palace in Cairo on Tuesday, prompting the Islamist leader to leave the building, presidency sources said.

Discussion: Atlas Shrugs, Rush Limbaugh and “The Lid”

Pete Kasperowicz / The Hill:

House Democrats file petition to force vote on middle class tax rates — House Democrats on Tuesday filed a discharge petition that would force the House to vote on the Senate's bill to extend the Bush-era tax levels for the middle class, but allow rates to rise for the wealthy.

Discussion: Politico, Bluestem Prairie and Daily Kos