memeorandum: Randolph Linn pleads guilty to Islamic Center of Greater Toledo arson (Hal Brown/Sentinel-Tribune)

8:30 AM ET, December 21, 2012

Top Items:

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: The Tell, his vorpal sword, The Week and Business Insider

Politico:

Behind the scenes of a GOP meltdown — Things were so bad for Speaker John Boehner Thursday night, support for his Plan B tax bill so diminished, the limits of his power with his own party laid bare, that he stood in front of the House Republican Conference and recited the Serenity Prayer.

Discussion: Business Insider, Quartz, Gawker and The Hill

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

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

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 Post, Prairie Weather, Washington Examiner, The Caucus and The Raw Story

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: Outside the Beltway, Hot Air, Firedoglake, Mediaite and FreedomWorks

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: CNN, Wall Street Journal, Quartz, Weasel Zippers, Hot Air, The National Memo, Crooks and Liars, The Hill and The Plum Line

ABCNEWS:
House GOP Puts off Vote on ‘Plan B’

Discussion: Politico

Washington Post:
Boehner abandons plan to avoid ‘fiscal cliff’

Discussion: Bloomberg, The Fix, The Plum Line, The Big Picture, Power Line, A plain blog about politics, Rumproast, Right Turn, Wonkblog, The Lonely Conservative, Post Politics and FT Alphaville

Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
AFL-CIO to White House: Time to rescind your offer to Boehner

Discussion: Politico, Post Politics, Washington Free Beacon, Daily Kos and Hullabaloo

Daniel Halper / Weekly Standard:
Harry Reid: ‘We Are Not Going to Do Anything’

Discussion: NPR, Examiner, Michelle Malkin, Weasel Zippers, CNN, Booman Tribune, The Gateway Pundit and The Reaction

Michael McAuliff / The Huffington Post:
‘Plan B’ Vote Postponed In House

Discussion: Reuters and The Moderate Voice

Sam Stein / The Huffington Post:
Richard Trumka On Fiscal Cliff: Not Ready To Blow Up Deal Over Obama's Social Security Concession

Discussion: CRFB.org, msnbc.com, Daily Kos, The Hill, Corrente and AMERICAblog

Fox News:
House puts off vote on ‘Plan B’ tax bill, path to avert fiscal crisis uncertain

Discussion: Twitchy

Mark Landler / New York Times:

Chuck Hagel Is Criticized Over Gay Rights Record — WASHINGTON — Chuck Hagel, the former Nebraska senator on President Obama's short list for defense secretary, came under fire again on Thursday, this time for his record on gay rights and remarks he made 14 years ago about an openly gay nominee for a diplomatic post.

Discussion: The Page, Weekly Standard, Politico, Israel Matzav and Power Line

Jennifer Rubin / Right Turn: Is Chuck Hagel toast?

Zeke Miller / BuzzFeed:
Chuck Hagel Once Opposed Nominee Because He Was “Openly Aggressively Gay”

Discussion: Daily Kos, Politico, Post Politics, Mediaite, National Review, Weekly Standard and Washington Post

Chris Geidner / BuzzFeed:
LGBT Rights Groups Call Hagel's Comments About Gay Nominee “Unacceptable”

Discussion: Algemeiner.com, Towleroad News #gay and National Review

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

Lauren Effron / ABCNEWS:
Bloomberg Blasts NRA: ‘Connecticut Is Because of Some of Their Actions’

Discussion: CNN, ABCNEWS, The Hill, St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Washington Post

Kevin Sullivan / Washington Post:
In Newtown, Nancy Lanza a subject of sympathy for some, anger for others

Discussion: The Other McCain, Daily Kos and Shakesville

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: Ballot Box, Hot Air and The Fix

Alex Isenstadt / Politico:
Report: Ex-S.C. Gov. Mark Sanford to launch congressional bid

Discussion: Alan Colmes'Alan Colmes' and The Gateway Pundit

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: Firedoglake, Toledo Blade, News Corpse, Daily Kos, Little Green Footballs and NewsHounds blog

Hal Brown / Sentinel-Tribune:
Randolph Linn pleads guilty to Islamic Center of Greater Toledo arson

Discussion: Booman Tribune and Gawker

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

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 …

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, Media Decoder, The PJ Tatler, Towleroad News #gay, BuzzFeed, American Power, Politico and Washington Free Beacon, more at Mediagazer »

David Ford / ABCNEWS:
ABC News Announces New Correspondent Assignments in Washington D.C. Bureau

Discussion: Business Insider, Mediaite 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 »

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