Top Items:
David Kurtz / Talking Points Memo:
Boehner Calls Off Plan B Vote — Boehner issued the following statement as an emergency meeting of the House Republican Conference was ending:
Discussion:
Firedoglake and Crooks and Liars
RELATED:
Ezra Klein / Wonkblog:
Will Boehner's speakership survive until Plan C? — Has there been a House speaker in modern American history with less control over his members than John Boehner? — Sad trombone. (Charles Dharapak / AP) — Over the past three days, Boehner has focused all attention on “Plan B” …
Discussion:
Econbrowser and Business Insider
Peter Hamby / CNN:
FIRST ON CNN: Mark Sanford plans to run for Congress — Richmond, Virginia (CNN) - Former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford is launching a political comeback that may begin within days. — Sanford is planning to run for the Congressional seat he held almost a decade ago …
Discussion:
The Fix
Brian Beutler / Talking Points Memo:
Republicans Crush Boehner's Plan B — Plan B was supposed to have been John Boehner's masterstroke — and the only legislative tactic protecting him from an embarrassing defeat in fiscal cliff negotiations with President Obama. — But late Thursday, after a brief but contentious meeting …
Discussion:
Booman Tribune
Politico:
GOP calls emergency meeting to save ‘Plan B’ — In a setback for Speaker John Boehner, House Republicans have pulled their fiscal cliff bill known as “Plan B,” because they didn't have enough votes for it to pass. The bill would have raised taxes on people making more than $1 million a year.
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, Quartz, CNN, Weasel Zippers, Hot Air, The National Memo and The Plum Line
Erick Erickson / RedState:
URGENT: Last few hours to stop the Boehner Tax Hike — Later today, the House of Representatives will vote on a major tax increase. This disastrous idea is being pushed by Speaker John Boehner and Majority Leader Eric Cantor and will do nothing other than put Republicans …
Discussion:
Hot Air, Firedoglake, FreedomWorks and Mediaite
Jonathan Weisman / New York Times:
Boehner Tax Plan in House Is Pulled, Lacking Votes — WASHINGTON - House Republican leaders abruptly pulled their fallback tax bill from the floor Thursday night, conceding that they did not have the votes to pass it. — “The House did not take up the tax measure today …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, The Big Picture and The Raw Story
Michael McAuliff / The Huffington Post:
‘Plan B’ Vote Postponed In House
‘Plan B’ Vote Postponed In House
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice
Daniel Halper / Weekly Standard:
Harry Reid: ‘We Are Not Going to Do Anything’
Harry Reid: ‘We Are Not Going to Do Anything’
Discussion:
Michelle Malkin, Examiner, Freedom's Lighthouse, Weasel Zippers, Right Turn, CNN, Booman Tribune, The Gateway Pundit and The Reaction
Washington Post:
Boehner abandons plan to avoid ‘fiscal cliff’
Boehner abandons plan to avoid ‘fiscal cliff’
Discussion:
Power Line, The Fix, Right Turn, The Plum Line, Rumproast, Wonkblog, Post Politics and FT Alphaville
Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
AFL-CIO to White House: Time to rescind your offer to Boehner
AFL-CIO to White House: Time to rescind your offer to Boehner
Discussion:
Politico, Post Politics, msnbc.com, Daily Kos and Hullabaloo
Alex Isenstadt / Politico:
Report: Ex-S.C. Gov. Mark Sanford to launch congressional bid
Report: Ex-S.C. Gov. Mark Sanford to launch congressional bid
Discussion:
Alan Colmes'Alan Colmes' and The Gateway Pundit
Fox News:
House puts off vote on ‘Plan B’ tax bill, path to avert fiscal crisis uncertain
House puts off vote on ‘Plan B’ tax bill, path to avert fiscal crisis uncertain
Discussion:
Twitchy, The Lonely Conservative, The PJ Tatler, Riehl World News and Michelle Malkin
CNN:
CNN Poll: Are GOP policies too extreme?
CNN Poll: Are GOP policies too extreme?
Discussion:
The Plum Line, ABCNEWS, Quartz, PoliticusUSA, The Moderate Voice, The Hill, Politico, No More Mister Nice Blog, The National Memo, Crooks and Liars, ABCNEWS, Democracy in America, Daily Kos, Liberal Values, The Democratic Daily, Post Politics, Business Insider, Prairie Weather, Mother Jones, First Read, Towleroad News #gay, The Hill and Booman Tribune
Sam Stein / The Huffington Post:
Richard Trumka On Fiscal Cliff: Not Ready To Blow Up Deal Over Obama's Social Security Concession
Richard Trumka On Fiscal Cliff: Not Ready To Blow Up Deal Over Obama's Social Security Concession
Discussion:
Campaign for America's …, Daily Kos, CRFB.org, msnbc.com and AMERICAblog
Mike Lillis / The Hill:
Liberal Democrats say chained CPI is a deficit deal breaker - almost
Liberal Democrats say chained CPI is a deficit deal breaker - almost
Discussion:
Hullabaloo
Larry Alan Burns / Los Angeles Times:
A conservative case for an assault weapons ban — If we can't draw a sensible line on guns, we may as well call the American experiment in democracy a failure. — An assault weapon similar to the type used in the Newtown, Conn. shooting. (Joe Raedle / Getty Images / December 18, 2012)
Discussion:
Hot Air and Talking Points Memo
RELATED:
Lauren Effron / ABCNEWS:
Bloomberg Blasts NRA: ‘Connecticut Is Because of Some of Their Actions’
Bloomberg Blasts NRA: ‘Connecticut Is Because of Some of Their Actions’
Discussion:
CNN, ABCNEWS, The Hill, Washington Post, St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Connecting.the.Dots
Kevin Sullivan / Washington Post:
In Newtown, Nancy Lanza a subject of sympathy for some, anger for others
In Newtown, Nancy Lanza a subject of sympathy for some, anger for others
Discussion:
The Other McCain, Daily Kos and Shakesville
Zeke Miller / BuzzFeed:
Chuck Hagel Once Opposed Nominee Because He Was “Openly Aggressively Gay” — The man who would be secretary of defense also supported the ban on open military service for gays and lesbians. — Image by Ali Jarekji / Reuters — WASHINGTON — Former Sen. Chuck Hagel …
Discussion:
New York Times, Mediaite, Politico, Daily Kos, Post Politics, Weekly Standard, Capital J | JTA, National Review, Washington Post and Moe Lane
RELATED:
Chris Geidner / BuzzFeed:
LGBT Rights Groups Call Hagel's Comments About Gay Nominee “Unacceptable”
LGBT Rights Groups Call Hagel's Comments About Gay Nominee “Unacceptable”
Discussion:
Algemeiner.com, Towleroad News #gay and National Review
Jennifer Rubin / Right Turn:
Is Chuck Hagel toast?
Katy Steinmetz / TIME:
The Cost of Romney's Government-Assisted Transition: $8.9 Million — One of the less scintillating milestones of the 2012 election was marked by the General Services Administration, when Mitt Romney became the first candidate to take advantage of the Presidential Transition Act of 2010.
Discussion:
msnbc.com, PostPartisan, Politico and The Hill
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:
Truthdig, Advocate, Guardian, AMERICAblog, The Raw Story, BuzzFeed, Firedoglake, Right Wing Watch, GOP 12 and Towleroad News #gay
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Lois Romano / Politico:
The disappearing independent — As Republicans sift through …
The disappearing independent — As Republicans sift through …
Discussion:
americanthinker.com
George F. Will / Washington Post:
Mountain out of a molehill — The poet Carl Sandburg supposedly …
Mountain out of a molehill — The poet Carl Sandburg supposedly …
Discussion:
Daily Kos and The Atlantic Online
CNN:
Jake Tapper joins CNN as Anchor and Chief Washington Correspondent — Tapper to Anchor New Weekday Program Beginning in 2013 — Accomplished Washington journalist Jake Tapper, who has served the last four years as ABC's senior White House correspondent and is a best-selling author …
RELATED:
David Ford / ABCNEWS:
ABC News Announces New Correspondent Assignments in Washington D.C. Bureau
ABC News Announces New Correspondent Assignments in Washington D.C. Bureau
Discussion:
Mediaite, Business Insider and Politico
Carl Bernstein / Guardian:
Why the US media ignored Murdoch's brazen bid to hijack the presidency | Carl Bernstein — Did the Washington Post and others underplay the story through fear of the News Corp chairman, or simply tin-eared judgment? — So now we have it: what appears to be hard, irrefutable evidence …
Discussion:
No More Mister Nice Blog and Politico, more at Mediagazer »
Michelangelo Signorile / The Huffington Post:
Barney Frank On Westboro Baptist Church, Prostitution And ‘Bigot’ Antonin Scalia … FOLLOW: — Barney Frank, Civil Rights, Prop 8, Gay Marriage, Gay Rights, Gay Marriage, Antonin Scalia, Barney Frank Antonin Scalia, Congressman Barney Frank, Gay Politics, Proposition 8, Barney Frank Retirement …
Discussion:
The Raw Story and Weasel Zippers
Scott Sayare / New York Times:
Neighborhood Is Torn Over a Killer's Legacy — TOULOUSE, France — In the spring, shortly after her son's murder, Latifa Ibn Ziaten took a taxi to Les Izards, a hard-up immigrant neighborhood here, hoping to understand. She approached a group of young men to ask, “Do you know Mohammed Merah?”
Discussion:
NewsBusters.org and Jihad Watch
David Edwards / The Raw Story:
Mosque arsonist tells court: ‘I only know what I hear on Fox News’ — An Indiana man convicted of setting fire to a mosque in Ohio told a judge on Wednesday that he committed the crimes because Fox News and conservative talk radio had convinced him that “most Muslims are terrorists.”
Discussion:
Sentinel-Tribune, Toledo Blade, News Corpse, Daily Kos, Little Green Footballs, Gawker and NewsHounds blog