In Tax Fight, Republicans Seeking Fallback Position  —  WASHINGTON — With President Obama insisting on higher tax rates for affluent Americans and winning public support for the idea, Congressional Republicans find themselves in an increasingly difficult political spot and are quietly beginning the difficult search for a way out.

Jazz pianist Dave Brubeck dead at age 91  —  Arts critic  —  Dave Brubeck, a jazz musician who attained pop-star acclaim with recordings such as “Take Five” and “Blue Rondo a la Turk,” died Wednesday morning at Norwalk Hospital, in Norwalk, Conn., said his longtime manager-producer-conductor Russell Gloyd.

Top GOP Rep Wants ‘More Pain’ For Middle Class, While Preserving Tax Cuts For The Rich  —  Throughout the fiscal cliff negotiations Republicans have insisted on preserving tax cuts for the richest 2 percent of Americans, but have dogmatically opposed maintaing a payroll tax holiday that disproportionately benefits the middle class.

Democrats to Obamaland: Share your data  —  The hottest property to emerge from Barack Obama's lopsided victory over Mitt Romney is not the president's much lauded campaign team.  Nor is it the shrewd turnout operation that catapulted him to victory.  —  It is something far more valuable that's …

Detroit councilwoman to Obama: We voted for you, now bail us out  —  DETROIT (WJBK) — The city of Detroit faces a major financial crisis and one member of city council thinks President Barack Obama should step in and help.  —  City Council member JoAnn Watson said Tuesday the citizens support …

Hillary Clinton Wins High Popularity, Majority Support for a 2016 Bid  —  Carried by a new high in personal popularity and broad approval of her work as secretary of state, Hillary Clinton closes out her diplomatic career with majority support as a candidate for president in 2016.

Rubio: I Don't ‘Pass Judgment’ On The ‘Sin’ Of Homosexuality (Except When I Do)  —  Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), who has called for the Republican Party to be more inclusive of minorities, said Wednesday that while his faith teaches homosexuality is a sin, he does not judge sinners.

Vote: Worst Political Prediction of 2012  —  We have narrowed down our list of the best & worst political predictions this year and would like your help in making the final call.  —  Here are our three final candidates for the Worst Political Prediction of 2012

‘2016’ Oscar Snub Has Filmmakers Claiming Political Bias  —  Gerald Molen, who produced the Academy Award-winning 'Schindler's List,' said the box-office success of the anti-Obama documentary proves the film was a hit: “The action confirms my opinion that the bias against anything …

Reid: Filibuster Reform Is Happening Whether Republicans Like It Or Not  —  Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's (R-KY) fierce resistance to reforming the filibuster isn't fazing Harry Reid, who insists that he will weaken the minority party's power to obstruct legislative business with Republican support or without it.

Anguished fotog: Critics are unfair to condemn me  —  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. … I was on an assignment, waiting for a train at the 49th Street subway platform, when I suddenly heard people gasping.

Sununu: Democrats won election by turning out voters who are dependent on government  —  Former governor, John H. Sununu, right, was one of three former Republican governors of New Hampshire to attend a discussion at the Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy's second sponsored dinner …

The 60 Best Conservative Blogs For 2012 (6th Annual)  —  60) The Mental Recession (No link because I am getting a virus warning when I go there today) 59) Polipundit 58) Jihad Watch 57) This Ain't Hell 56) Hugh Hewitt 55) Patterico's Pontifications 54) Moe Lane 53) Counter Cultured 52) Wizbang!

Train Wreck: The New York Post's Subway Cover  —  “It all happened so fast.”  —  That's what R. Umar Abbasi, a freelance photographer for The New York Post, said of the fatal subway incident on Monday that he caught with his camera.  One man threw another into harm's way, causing him to be run over by an oncoming train.

Obama to Request $50 Billion for Sandy Relief  —  For a Congress spending every waking minute talking about deficits, they sure know how to spend gobs of money above and beyond requested budgets - as long as it goes to the hands of defense contractors.  The Senate version of the defense authorization bill costs $631 billion.

Taking the Threat of Default Out of the Debt Limit  —  On Sunday, December 2, Secretary Geithner appeared on NBC's Meet the Press, CBS' Face the Nation, ABC's This Week, FOX News Sunday, and CNN's State of the Union and made the case for the Administration's balanced approach to reducing the deficit and strengthening economic growth.

Global Warming Is Behind The Real War On Christmas  —  It's that time of year when Fox News and other conservative media outlets revive their imaginary “War on Christmas.”  But the actual threat to one Christmas tradition comes from something more insidious than Fox's perceived attacks …

Ohio Senator Confronted By Constituents Over Support For Medicare And Social Security Cuts  —  Ohio Senator Rob Portman (R) was one of a handful of Washington, D.C lawmakers and policy experts invited to participate in a panel discussion on the fiscal cliff on Tuesday morning …