memeorandum: The Left and the Cliff — For Republicans, the question presented … (Yuval Levin/National Review)

1:00 PM ET, January 2, 2013

Top Items:

The fiscal cliff deal that almost wasn't — House Speaker John Boehner couldn't hold back when he spotted Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in the White House lobby last Friday. — It was only a few days before the nation would go over the fiscal cliff, no bipartisan agreement was in sight …

John Boehner / CNN:

TRENDING: Boehner's White House F-bomb — (CNN) - For all the stalemate in the fiscal cliff negotiations, there were some heated moments, too. — A Democratic source familiar with one particular exchange told CNN that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell …

Discussion: Associated Press, The Hill, Politico, Taylor Marsh, The Gateway Pundit and The Hill

Matthew Boyle / BREITBART.COM:

SOURCES: ENOUGH REPUBLICANS WILLING TO UNSEAT SPEAKER BOEHNER — American Majority Action spokesman Ron Meyer told Breitbart News late Tuesday that enough House Republicans have banded together in an effort to unseat House Speaker John Boehner from his position—they just need a leader to take up the mantle.

Discussion: American Prospect, Firedoglake, The Week, Gestetner Updates, Booman Tribune, Daily Pundit, Joe. My. God. and Hullabaloo

Los Angeles Times:

House approves ‘fiscal cliff’ deal, rescinding broad tax hike — This post has been updated. See below for details. — WASHINGTON — The House gave final approval Tuesday night to a bill to rescind tax increases for the vast majority of Americans, but only after a day of closed-door …

Discussion: The Daily Beast, ThinkProgress, CBS News, The Week, TechCrunch, The Reaction, The Moderate Voice, Shakesville and Patterico's Pontifications

Jeff G. / protein wisdom:
Jim Geraghty, et al: Obama won!

Discussion: Sister Toldjah and National Review

Washington Post:
House members meet to review Senate-passed cliff deal

Noam Scheiber / The New Republic:
The House Comes Around on the Cliff. Why Am I Not Reassured?

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, Washington Monthly, Wonkblog, Paul Krugman, American Prospect, BuzzFeed, RedState and Washington Examiner

Daniel Halper / Weekly Standard:
Back to Vacation: Obama Takes Midnight Flight to Hawaii

Discussion: Pundit & Pundette

Alicia M. Cohn / The Hill:
Sen. Toomey: GOP should risk shutdown to force spending cuts in debt-limit fight

Discussion: Politico

Colleen McCain Nelson / Wall Street Journal: Lack of Grand Bargain Complicates Obama's Priorities

Kevin Robillard / Politico:

Peter King: Halt donations to House GOP — New York Republican Rep. Peter King went to war with his Republican colleagues on Wednesday after leaders spiked a Hurricane Sandy relief bill, calling on New Yorkers to stop all donations to GOP House members. — “These Republicans have no problem finding …

Discussion: Slate, CNN, New Jersey Online, emptywheel, The Week, The PJ Tatler, Business Insider, Politicker and Balloon Juice

David Rogers / Reuters:

House pulls plug on Sandy aid bill — House Republicans abruptly pulled the plug Tuesday night on their promise to take up this week an emergency supplemental disaster aid bill for Northeast states damaged by Hurricane Sandy. — The decision is a stunning reversal since just hours …

NBC Politics:

Bipartisan outrage after House skips vote on $60 billion Sandy aid bill — House Republicans have abandoned plans to vote on an aid package for victims of Superstorm Sandy in the current term of Congress after the Senate approved more $60 billion to help affected residents recover.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Guardian, BBC, Taylor Marsh and msnbc.com

Erik Wasson / The Hill:

Boehner committed to move Hurricane Sandy relief bill in January — Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), under fire from Northeast lawmakers in his own party, is promising to pass an emergency spending bill to help pay for damage from Hurricane Sandy in the next Congress, which starts Thursday.

Discussion: Firedoglake

Pete Kasperowicz / The Hill:

Boehner under growing pressure to allow vote on Sandy relief bill — Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) came under intense pressure Wednesday from Republicans in New York and New Jersey to allow a vote on legislation providing relief to the states hit by Hurricane Sandy in October.

Discussion: The Hill and The Raw Story

CBS News:
GOP Rep: “We got whooped” on “fiscal cliff”

Discussion: Post Politics and The Raw Story

Pete Kasperowicz / The Hill:
House members to Boehner: ‘Shame on you’ for not holding Sandy vote

Discussion: Politico and Politicker

Andrew Grossman / Wall Street Journal:
House Fails to Take Up Sandy Aid Bill

Discussion: Metropolis and Politicker

Michael O'Brien / NBC Politics:
Fiscal cliff deal: House OKs proposal despite GOP objections

Discussion: American Prospect, USA Today, First Read, The Talking Dog, BBC, Daily Kos, The Moderate Voice and Gawker

Ginger Gibson / Politico:
Boehner, Cantor take different sides

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Algemeiner.com, The Hill, Firedoglake, Daily Kos, Wonkette and Crooks and Liars

Dskriloff / The Rockland County Times:

The Journal News is Armed and Dangerous — ROCKLAND COUNTY TIMES EXCLUSIVE — Armed guards from RGA Investigations have taken up post at the Journal News' Rockland County headquarters — Journal News' Rockland headquarters in West Nyack, Town of Clarkstown — Guns are good for the goose but NOT for the gander.

Discussion: lohud.com, Politico, Mediaite, The Gateway Pundit, Shot in the Dark, Gawker and Weasel Zippers, more at Mediagazer »

Noreen O'Donnell / Reuters:
New York County denies request for names of gun permit holders

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Weasel Zippers and Jammie Wearing Fools

Dylan Byers / Politico:
‘Journal News’ hires armed security guards

Discussion: The Jawa Report, Poynter, Balloon Juice, Gestetner Updates and UrbanGrounds

Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:

New Year, New Dish, New Media — When I first stumbled into blogging over 12 years ago, it was for two reasons: curiosity and freedom. I was curious about the potential for writing in this new medium; and for the first time, I felt total freedom as a writer. On my little blog, I was beholden to no one but my readers.

Discussion: Business Insider, The Daily Caller, Balloon Juice and Outside the Beltway, more at Mediagazer »

Conor Friedersdorf / The Atlantic Online:

The Strangest Conservative Priority: Prepping a ‘2nd Amendment Solution’ — The Bill of Rights offers much smarter, more effective ways to safeguard liberty than preparing for armed insurrection. — Reuters — In National Review, Kevin Williamson argues that nearly everyone calling …

Discussion: Townhall.com

Igor Volsky / ThinkProgress:

Democratic Congressman Laughs At Fox News' Fiscal Cliff Misinformation — Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA) schooled the hosts of Fox & Friends on the details of the deal to avert the so-called “fiscal cliff” during an appearance to explain his opposition to the Senate-passed compromise on Wednesday morning.

Discussion: The Raw Story and The PJ Tatler

Aviva Shen / ThinkProgress:

GOP State Senator: Kwanzaa Is A Leftist Plot ‘To Destroy’ America — While outrage about the so-called war on Christmas has died down for another year, Wisconsin state Senator Glenn Grothman (R) has launched a new war on Kwanzaa, claiming it is a fake holiday invented by racist radicals who want to “divide America.”

Discussion: Prairie Weather

Jonathan Terbush / The Raw Story:
Wisconsin state Senator: Kwanza is a fake holiday that black people don't even like

Discussion: Alan Colmes'Alan Colmes'

Glen Johnson / Boston Globe:

Scott Brown questions Edward Markey's state residency in jab at possible opponent — Senator Scott Brown today took on a possible opponent in a special election to succeed his colleague John F. Kerry, questioning whether US Representative Edward J. Markey is actually a resident of Massachusetts.

Discussion: Ballot Box, No More Mister Nice Blog and Post Politics

Yuval Levin / National Review:

The Left and the Cliff — For Republicans, the question presented by the fiscal-cliff deal was fairly straightforward: Is the bill better or worse than the plausible alternatives? The answer was not self-evident, and it depended in part on one's trust in the Republican congressional leadership.

Discussion: Power Line and Right Turn