memeorandum: On Guns, America Stands Out (Charles M. Blow/New York Times)

12:55 PM ET, December 20, 2012

Top Items:

CNN:

CNN Poll: Are GOP policies too extreme? — Washington (CNN) - Just over half the public says that the GOP should give up more than the Democrats in any bipartisan solution to the country's problems, according to a new national survey. — And a CNN/ORC International poll also indicates …

Discussion: Democracy in America, Daily Kos, Post Politics, No More Mister Nice Blog, Business Insider, The Hill, Wall Street Journal, Politico, Towleroad News #gay, Talking Points Memo and The Plum Line

CNN:

House set to vote on Boehner's Plan B — Washington (CNN) — The House is set to vote Thursday on Plan B, a GOP version of an agreement on the fiscal cliff, and another measure designed to lure support for the plan from hard-line Republicans. — The White House threatened Wednesday to veto that plan …

Discussion: The Agonist, National Review, Freedom's Lighthouse, Business Insider and Politico

Jennifer Rubin / Right Turn:
Republicans put Obama in a box

Discussion: AEIdeas, Balloon Juice and The Daily Caller

Politico:
Fiscal cliff: The lowest point

Discussion: americanthinker.com, The Hill, Talking Points Memo, The Plum Line, Washington Examiner, First Read and Quartz

Dana Milbank / Washington Post:
Obama in focus, yet all over the map

Discussion: Belmont Club, Betsy's Page and American Spectator

Bryan Preston / The PJ Tatler:
Disgraceful: Obama Invokes Newtown Massacre to Pressure Republicans to Go Along with His Tax Hikes

Discussion: protein wisdom, American Spectator and Chicago Boyz

Washington Post:
‘Cliff’ standoff: Boehner works to wrangle votes for ‘Plan B’; Obama threatens veto

Discussion: Off the Charts Blog, Firedoglake, PostPartisan, New York Magazine, Jared Bernstein, msnbc.com, Campaign for America's …, Post Politics, The Daily Caller, Prairie Weather and Americans for Tax Reform RSS

The Hill:
WHIP COUNT: House lawmakers' positions on GOP's ‘Plan B’

Discussion: BuzzFeed, Mediaite, Daily Kos, Hot Air, Slate, Politico, Michelle Malkin, Jared Bernstein and Post Politics

New York Times:
Obama and Boehner Split on Fiscal Plan

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Firedoglake, 2chambers and Business Insider

Brian Thompson / nbcnewyork.com:

Cory Booker Will Run for U.S. Senate in 2014: Sources — Newark Mayor Cory Booker will not challenge New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie in next year's gubernatorial race and will instead run for U.S. Senate in 2014, political sources familiar with his decision tell NBC 4 New York.

Discussion: The Hill, GOP 12, theGrio, Outside the Beltway, Runnin' Scared, First Read, National Review and Towleroad News #gay

Star-Ledger Guest / NJ Voices Guest blog:

Cory Booker: I'll explore U.S. Senate run — By Cory Booker — I love Newark. I did not come to this city through the providence of birth. I chose Newark, and Newark, thank God, accepted me, embraced me and allowed me the greatest privilege of my life - to serve as mayor.

Discussion: Politico and CNN

David Giambusso / New Jersey Online:
Cory Booker won't challenge Christie, eyes U.S. Senate instead

Discussion: The Fix, Post Politics and The Hinterland Gazette

Scott Keyes / ThinkProgress:

Florida Man Invokes ‘Stand Your Ground’ Law After Shooting Fellow Pizza Customer — A Florida man defended his decision to shoot an impatient pizza customer over the weekend, citing the state's infamous “Stand Your Ground” law. — Michael Jock, a 52-year-old resident of St. Petersburg …

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, Gawker and AMERICAblog

Fred Thys / WBUR:

WBUR Poll: Brown Would Be In Strong Position For Special Election — BOSTON — A WBUR poll of 500 registered voters (PDFs - topline, crosstabs) finds U.S. Sen. Scott Brown is in a strong position should there be a special election to fill U.S. Sen. John Kerry's seat.

Discussion: Boston Globe, Politico, Hot Air, Ballot Box and National Review

Kevin Robillard / Politico:
Scott Brown backs assault gun ban

Discussion: New York Times, CNN and msnbc.com

Sam Stein / The Huffington Post:

Newt Gingrich On Mitt Romney: ‘I Would Have Probably Done Better’ Against Obama … REACT: — FOLLOW: — Elections 2012, Gingrich 2012, Newt Gingrich, Video, Mitt Romney 2012, Mitt Romney Gay Marriage, Newt Gingrich Gay Marriage, Newt Gingrich Immigration Reform, Newt Gingrich Mitt Romney, Rnc Review, Romney Media, Politics News

Discussion: BuzzFeed, Taegan Goddard's … and Right Wing Watch

John Hinderaker / Power Line:

Miss USA Wins the Crown — Say what you will about Donald Trump, he runs a pretty good pageant. I didn't live-blog tonight's Miss Universe show, but I kept notes as it went along, and so what follows are my impressions as the event unfolded. With a lot of stuff left out …

Discussion: Althouse

Walter Olson / New York Post:

Behind the smears — Why they feared Robert Bork — Here's something you may not know about the 1987 battle that kept Robert Bork off the Supreme Court: Opponents pursued a whispering campaign against him on the grounds that he wasn't enough of a religious believer.

Discussion: Slate, Hit & Run, PointOfLaw Forum, National Review and Overlawyered

Jeffrey Rosen / The New Republic:
We're Still Paying the Price for the Borking of Robert Bork

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money, SCOTUSblog, Wonkblog, National Review, USA Today, News Desk, The Reaction, The Volokh Conspiracy, Right Turn and The Heritage Foundation

Charlie Spiering / Washington Examiner:

Connecticut congressman: Rick Perry a ‘testosterone laden’ individual with blood on his hands … During a press conference on gun control yesterday, Rep. Jim Himes D-Conn. blasted Texas Governor Rick Perry for vocally supporting Second Amendment rights for American citizens after the horrific school shooting in Connecticut.

Discussion: Connecting.the.Dots, Riehl World News and Jammie Wearing Fools

Igor Volsky / ThinkProgress:

Fox News Brings On Santa Claus To Discuss The ‘War On Christmas’ — Fox and Friends took its coverage of the so-called “War on Christmas” to the front lines on Thursday morning by inviting Santa Claus to weigh in on America's changing culture and secularization.

Discussion: BuzzFeed, Gawker, The Raw Story and Towleroad News #gay

Lee Enterprises / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

Barber shop conversation in Wentzville about Connecticut shootings ends with shots fired at customer — • By Susan Weich sweich@post-dispatch.com 636-493-9674 — WENTZVILLE • A barber shop patron who fired three times at another customer discussing the Connecticut school shooting has been charged with three felonies.

Discussion: Alan Colmes'Alan Colmes', The Hinterland Gazette and protein wisdom

Katie Glueck / Politico:

Allen West: Hillary Clinton caught ‘Benghazi flu’ — Rep. Allen West said Thursday that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton seems to have a “case of Benghazi flu” on the day she was slated to testify before Congress regarding the deadly Sept. 11 attacks on the U.S. consulate in Libya.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Mediaite, Associated Press and New York Times

Zack Colman / The Hill:

Obama: Climate change among top three priorities for second term — President Obama has identified climate change as one of his top three priorities in his second term after coming under fire from environmentalists for giving the issue short shrift during the campaign.

Discussion: Questions and Observations, TIME, Right Wing News, Weasel Zippers, Booman Tribune, Hot Air, The Reaction and Wall Street Journal

David Lawder / Reuters:

Senate Republicans aim to cut Sandy aid bill down to $24 billion — (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Republicans sought to slash a $60.4 billion aid bill to cover reconstruction after Superstorm Sandy, proposing on Wednesday to fund only $23.8 billion in immediate disaster relief while assessing longer-term needs.