memeorandum: Leading proponent of filibuster reform claims he has 51 votes (Alexander Bolton/The Hill)

6:35 PM ET, December 29, 2012

Top Items:

How the fiscal cliff fight will end (unhappily for Republicans) … The word among some Senate Republicans is that a fiscal cliff deal is likely to be struck by Sunday, or Monday at the latest. (And Monday, being December 31st, is in fact the latest a deal could be struck to avoid January 1 tax increases.)

Discussion: National Review, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and Power Line

Sahil Kapur / Talking Points Memo:

Obama Gives Republicans A Tough Ultimatum On Taxes — With the fiscal cliff rapidly approaching, President Obama was unflinching in his tax stance on Friday, threatening to use his leverage to force Republicans into an unenviable position if they fail to agree to a deal in time.

Discussion: Alan Colmes'Alan Colmes' and Washington Monthly

Politico:

Fiscal cliff talks go behind closed doors — Negotiations to resolve the fiscal cliff crisis continued Saturday, with talks focusing on taxes and spending cuts, but there are no signs yet of a breakthrough, say sources close to the talks. — President Barack Obama held an eleventh-hour meeting …

Discussion: Power Line

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

Leading proponent of filibuster reform claims he has 51 votes — Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.), a leading proponent of filibuster reform, said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (Nev.) has the 51 votes he needs to change Senate rules with the “nuclear option.” — The maneuver would be controversial …

Discussion: CNN, The Hill, Talking Points Memo, Booman Tribune, Post Politics, Doug Ross and Wonkblog

Politico:

GOP unlikely to oust Boehner as speaker of the House — It's a truth that fire-breathing conservatives will have to handle: John Boehner isn't going anywhere as speaker of the House. — Boehner's grip on leadership is no doubt weaker after a faction of his caucus blocked his “Plan B” to avoid the fiscal cliff.

Discussion: Hullabaloo

Sam Stein / The Huffington Post:
Fiscal Cliff Deal Not Reached, Leaders Agree To Continue Talks

Discussion: The New Republic, The Impolitic, Addicting Info and The Daily Caller

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Reid, McConnell working on fiscal cliff deal after meeting Obama

Discussion: Hot Air and Saint Petersblog

Mary Ellen Godin / Reuters:

Claim seeks $100 million for child survivor of Connecticut school shooting — Reuters/Reuters - A U.S. flag hangs over stockings left as a memorial for victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, along a fence surrounding the Sandy Hook Cemetery in Newtown, Connecticut December ...more

Discussion: Addicting Info, The Hinterland Gazette, The Right Scoop and Outside the Beltway

Bloomberg:

French Court Says 75% Tax Rate on Rich Is Unconstitutional — President Francois Hollande's 75 percent millionaire-tax is unconstitutional because it fails to guarantee taxpayer equality, France's top court ruled today. — The tax, one of Hollande's campaign promises …

Discussion: PERRspectives and National Review

BBC:
French 75% income tax struck down by constitutional council

Discussion: Outside the Beltway

Reuters:
French court rejects 75 percent millionaires' tax

Discussion: Sister Toldjah and Althouse

N. Gregory Mankiw / New York Times:

Wishful Thinking and Middle-Class Taxes — IN the continuing fiscal negotiations between President Obama and House Republicans, both sides have, from the very beginning, agreed on one point: Taxes on the middle class must not rise. But maybe it's time to reconsider this premise.

Discussion: Business Insider, American Power, Greg Mankiw's Blog and The Lonely Conservative

Josh Barro / Bloomberg:

When Getting Your Butt Kicked Is the Strategy — Buzzfeed has one of many pieces about anonymous Republicans bemoaning their party's strategic incompetence, this time about the debt ceiling deal. They report: … Here's what Buzzfeed is missing: For Republicans, losing the political fight isn't a downside of the strategy.

Discussion: National Review and BuzzFeed

Joe Weisenthal / Business Insider:

There's Only One Way To Fix The Deficit — And Actually It's Totally Painless — People who insist that the US has a gigantic “spending problem” are ignorant of what really drives the deficit and the national debt, as Henry Blodget easily demonstrated in a series of charts.

Discussion: Hullabaloo, Paul Krugman and Washington Monthly

CNN:

Former President George H.W. Bush no longer in intensive care — (CNN) - Former President George H.W. Bush was moved Saturday out of the intensive care unit of the Houston hospital where he has been for more than a month. — “President Bush's condition has improved, so he has been moved today …

Discussion: Associated Press and Gawker

Jerusalem Post:

Egypt to pursue relationship with Hezbollah — In shift from Mubarak-era policy, Egyptian ambassador to Lebanon says Brotherhood-dominated Egypt will engage terror group. — In a dramatic policy shift, Egypt will seek to forge “tight” relations with Hezbollah, Egyptian Ambassador …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and Israel Matzav

Noreen O'Donnell / Reuters:

New York newspaper to list more gun permit holders after uproar — Reuters/Reuters - A small portion of guns that were turned in by their owners are stacked inside a truck at a gun buyback held by the Los Angeles Police Department in Los Angeles, California, December 26, 2012 ...more