Top Items:
Politico:
No cliff deal as final hour approaches — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell still haven't struck a deal to prevent taxes from rising on wage earners in the new year, sources say, as eleventh-hour negotiations to avert historic tax hikes approach a make-or-break moment Sunday.
Discussion:
ABCNEWS, Daily Kos, Outside the Beltway and Reuters
RELATED:
New York Times:
Negotiations Break Down on Debt Agreement — WASHINGTON — Negotiations to reach a last-ditch agreement to head off large tax increases and sweeping spending cuts in the new year broke down, at least temporarily, on Sunday after Republicans requested that a deal include a new way of calculating inflation …
Discussion:
The New Republic, The Gateway Pundit, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog and First Read
msnbc.com:
December 30: President Barack Obama, Tom Brokaw, Jon Meacham, Doris Kearns Goodwin, David Brooks, and Chuck Todd — December 30: President Obama, Brokaw, Meacham, Kearns Goodwin, Brooks, Todd — Below: — updated 2012-12-30T14:17:37 — DAVID GREGORY: — Mr. President, welcome back to Meet the Press.
Discussion:
Althouse, Wizbang, The Moderate Voice, First Read and Twitchy
Amie Parnes / The Hill:
Obama: ‘Pressure’ on Congress, blames GOP as deadline nears
Obama: ‘Pressure’ on Congress, blames GOP as deadline nears
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars and CNN
Ian Millhiser / ThinkProgress:
Lindsay Graham: I Will Destroy America's Solvency Unless The Social Security Retirement Age Is Raised — Although official Washington is currently fixated on the so-called “Fiscal Cliff,” the biggest threat to American prosperity is the debt ceiling, which must be raised in February to prevent economic catastrophe.
Discussion:
Paul Krugman, The Impolitic, Alan Colmes'Alan Colmes' and CANNONFIRE
RELATED:
Erik Wasson / The Hill:
GOP senators backing away from Social Security demand — GOP senators on Sunday backed away from demanding that cuts to Social Security benefits be included in any “fiscal cliff” deal. — The call to include a measure of inflation known as the chained consumer price index, or “chained CPI …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner
Jared Bernstein / On the Economy:
My Views on Spending Cuts and Entitlements
My Views on Spending Cuts and Entitlements
Discussion:
Eschaton, Business Insider, skippy the bush kangaroo, Angry Bear and Corrente
Peter Baker / New York Times:
Newtown Task Force Returns Biden to Gun Control Arena — WASHINGTON — Never much known for restraint, Joseph R. Biden Jr. did not hold back during a presidential primary debate in 2007 when a voter asking about gun rights in a recorded video displayed a fearsome-looking semiautomatic rifle and declared, “This is my baby.”
Discussion:
Politico, Right Wing News and JustOneMinute
RELATED:
Meghashyam Mali / The Hill:
Obama hopes to enact new gun-control measures in 2013 — President Obama on Sunday said he would make gun control a priority in his new term, pledging to put his “full weight” behind passing new restrictions on firearms in 2013. — “I'm going to be putting forward a package …
Discussion:
The Lonely Conservative, The Gateway Pundit and Moonbattery
Michael Yon / Online Magazine:
Some Thoughts About The Kingdom of Thailand — With Former Prime Minister Abhisit. — On Christmas Eve, ThaiPBS television interviewed me in Bangkok. The interview is scheduled to air on 31 December at 9:40PM Thailand time. Our interview will be online here.
Howard Kurtz / Daily Download:
Meet the President: David Gregory's Low-Intensity Interview — Well, this time David Gregory didn't brandish any weapons or show much firepower. — He pressed Barack Obama on a few points in the president's appearance this morning, designed to seize control of the media narrative one day before the fiscal cliff deadline.
Discussion:
NewsBusters.org and Mediaite
CNN:
Boehner says Obama should ‘lead, not cast blame’ — (CNN) - House Speaker John Boehner hit back at President Barack Obama's appearance on NBC's “Meet the Press” Sunday, where the president faulted Republicans for the ongoing stalemate in the fiscal cliff battle. — Read Boehner's full statement after the jump.
Discussion:
Mediaite
RELATED:
Washington Post:
Worst year in Washington: The tea party — The Gadsden flag, which flew proudly over the 2010 midterm elections, now lies in tatters — rent by internal disagreements, losses among its most visible standard-bearers and a growing sense that the tea party movement, which once looked …
Discussion:
Daily Kos and Prairie Weather
Pat Buchanan / Townhall.com:
Why the War Party Fears Hagel — In the fortnight since Chuck Hagel's name was floated for secretary of defense, we have witnessed Washington at its worst. — Who is Chuck Hagel? — Born in North Platte, Neb., he was a squad leader in Vietnam, twice wounded, who came home to work …
Discussion:
Power Line, Israel Matzav and PJ Media