memeorandum: State Dept. focusing on ‘deteriorating security’ at diplomatic posts (Jonathan Easley/The Hill)

12:35 PM 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: Politico, The Tell, The Week, his vorpal sword, Business Insider and Connecting.the.Dots

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: Right Turn, National Review, Taylor Marsh, mobile.nationaljournal.com, Washington Examiner, americanthinker.com, The Plum Line, Business Insider, Quartz, Guardian, Gawker, First Read, Campaign for America's …, The Hill and The Mahablog

Robert Costa / National Review:

Inside the Meltdown — “How the hell can you do this?” — • followers — At a quarter to 8 p.m. on Thursday night, House Republicans gathered in the Capitol basement for an urgent, closed-door conference meeting. The scene was hushed and confused.

Discussion: Alan Colmes'Alan Colmes', Washington Wire, The Strata-Sphere, The PJ Tatler, Hot Air and NewsBusters.org

Paul Krugman / New York Times:

Playing Taxes Hold 'Em — A few years back, there was a boom in poker television — shows in which you got to watch the betting and bluffing of expert card players. Since then, however, viewers seem to have lost interest. But I have a suggestion: Instead of featuring poker experts …

Discussion: Off the Charts Blog, Robert Reich and Daily Kos

Matthew Yglesias / Slate:

The Failure of Last Night's “Plan B” Vote Makes a Fiscal Cliff Deal More Likely — WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 20: Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH) leaves a meeting with House Republicans, on Capitol Hill, December 20, 2012 in Washington, DC. — Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Discussion: Washington Examiner, New York Magazine, Hit & Run, Wonkblog, The New Republic and Wall Street Journal

David Kurtz / Talking Points Memo:

Does A Speaker Survive This? — The likely truth is that John Boehner never had the votes to cut a deal with President Obama. Any deal. Not a grand bargain of deficit reduction. Not a piecemeal deal that might have lessened the blow of all the Bush tax cuts expiring on Jan. 1. Nothing.

Discussion: Econbrowser

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: thenation.com/blogs/117, Towleroad News #gay, Commentary Magazine, msnbc.com, The Big Picture, The Huffington Post, Washington Examiner, The Caucus, Politico, The Raw Story and CNN

Washington Post:

How Boehner's Plan B for the ‘fiscal cliff’ began and fell apart — View Photo Gallery — The ‘fiscal cliff’: Meet the key players: With the election behind them, Obama and lawmakers have turned their attention to the fiscal cliff. Here's a look at some of the leaders …

Discussion: The Fix, Reuters, americanthinker.com, The Monkey Cage, Hullabaloo, Hot Air, US News, First Read, Prairie Weather, ABCNEWS and Mother Jones

Brian Beutler / Talking Points Memo:
Republicans Crush Boehner's Plan B

Discussion: Firedoglake, Business Insider, Politico, No More Mister Nice Blog, Booman Tribune, Shakesville and The Plum Line

Ryan Cooper / Washington Monthly:
Speaker Boehner's Plan B Fails

Discussion: American Prospect

Politico:
Behind the scenes of a GOP meltdown

Discussion: The Demos Blog and The Plum Line

John Stanton / BuzzFeed:
Conservatives Kill Republican Tax Plan

Discussion: Daily Kos

Bloomberg:
Boehner Drops ‘Plan B’ as Budget Effort Turns to Disarray

Discussion: Quartz

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

Discussion: Associated Press, Politico, The Huffington Post and Wonkblog

Erick Erickson / RedState:
URGENT: Last few hours to stop the Boehner Tax Hike

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, Hot Air, The Moderate Voice, Firedoglake and Mediaite

Wall Street Journal:
Boehner's Budget ‘Plan B’ Collapses

Discussion: Washington Wire, Bloomberg, Washington Post and Politico

David Kurtz / Talking Points Memo:
Boehner Calls Off Plan B Vote

Discussion: Firedoglake and Crooks and Liars

Mark Landler / New York Times:

Kerry Is Pick for Secretary of State, Official Says — WASHINGTON — President Obama plans to nominate Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts as secretary of state, a senior administration official said. He would succeed Hillary Rodham Clinton and become the first member of Mr. Obama's second-term national security team.

Discussion: msnbc.com, Twitchy, Mediaite, Crooks and Liars, The Lonely Conservative, Business Insider, Daily Kos and PERRspectives

Jonathan Karl / ABCNEWS:

Obama to Nominate John Kerry at State — President Obama will today nominate Sen. John Kerry to be secretary of state, likely succeeding Hillary Clinton, sources confirmed to ABC News. — Kerry, 69, the Massachusetts Democrat who was his party's nominee for president in 2004 …

Discussion: Politico

Mj Lee / Politico:
Frank not saying ‘no’ to Senate appointment

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, BuzzFeed and Post Politics

Jonathan Easley / The Hill:
State Dept. focusing on ‘deteriorating security’ at diplomatic posts

Discussion: Politico, Right Turn, americanthinker.com, National Review and WBUR

Washington Post:

Remarks from the NRA press conference on Sandy Hook school shooting, delivered on Dec. 21, 2012 (Transcript) — Video: After a week of silence in the wake of the Newtown shootings, the National Rifle Association finally spoke out Friday defending guns and decrying violence.

Discussion: Post Politics, The Agonist, AMERICAblog and PostPartisan

Colin Campbell / Politicker:

Bloomberg: No One Has ‘Defended the Second Amendment as Much as I Have’ — Mayor Michael Bloomberg may have risen to become the country's chief critic of lax firearm laws, but on his weekly radio show, he argued that has nothing to do with the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and Weekly Standard

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

Discussion: Reuters, CNN, Hot Air, Mediaite, The Hill, ABCNEWS, Jammie Wearing Fools, Philly.com and Washington Post

Ian Swanson / The Hill:

Huelskamp holds heated exchange with Scarborough on gun control — Talk show host Joe Scarborough and Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R-Kanses) engaged in a heated discussion Friday over gun control. — Scarborough and Huelskamp both shouted over one another after Huelskamp said those arguing …

Discussion: Politico

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: Mondoweiss, Israel Matzav, Power Line, The Page, Politico, Weekly Standard, Right Turn, Post Politics, The Daily Dish, BuzzFeed and National Review

Jennifer Epstein / Politico:

Obama calls on Americans to help fight gun violence — President Obama urged Americans to keep pushing for efforts to combat gun violence, as he thanked hundreds of thousands of people for voicing their concerns to the White House over the course of the week since the Newtown shooting.

Discussion: CNN, White House.gov Blog and Right Wing News

Associated Press:
Obama on Gun Violence: ‘We Hear You.’

Discussion: BuzzFeed and The Hill

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.”