memeorandum: Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez in a coma ‘only kept alive by life support’ after cancer surgery (Anthony Bond/Daily Mail)

2:50 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, Daily Pundit, Booman Tribune and Joe. My. God.

Jeff G. / protein wisdom:

Jim Geraghty, et al: Obama won! — So, you know, deal with it. Besides, other “pragmatic” Republicans agree. It really was the best we could do: … (A quick interjection here: it was Boehner's willingness to caucus with Dems, rather than his own base, that allowed this monstrosity to pass.

Discussion: Sister Toldjah and Washington Examiner

Alicia M. Cohn / The Hill:

Sen. Toomey: GOP should risk shutdown to force spending cuts in debt-limit fight — Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) on Wednesday called for Republicans to be ready to shut down the government to gain spending cuts in exchange for raising the nation's debt-limit. — “We Republicans need to be willing …

Discussion: Little Green Footballs, Politico and The Raw Story

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

Discussion: Paul Krugman, Wonkblog, RedState, The Atlantic Online, The Maddow Blog, Wall Street Journal, Washington Monthly, American Prospect, BuzzFeed and Washington Examiner

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

Los Angeles Times:
House approves ‘fiscal cliff’ deal, rescinding broad tax hike

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

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: CNN, Slate, Little Green Footballs, The Fix, emptywheel, New Jersey Online, The Week, The PJ Tatler, Politicker, Business Insider, Taegan Goddard's …, Balloon Juice and Daily Kos

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 …

Discussion: BuzzFeed, The Atlantic Wire, CNN, New York Times, Daily Kos, UrbanGrounds, The Raw Story, Gawker, ABCNEWS, The Week, The Maddow Blog, The Agonist, The Hinterland Gazette, The Daily Caller, The Hill, Taegan Goddard's …, The Mahablog and The Hill

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: BuzzFeed, The Hill, Politico, BREITBART.COM, National Review, Hot Air and The Hinterland Gazette

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

Dorsey Shaw / BuzzFeed:

Outraged Congressman Suggests He'll Abandon Republican Party Over Sandy Relief — “As far as I'm concerned, I'm on my own,” says New York Rep. Pete King. Also says New Yorkers should stop donating to his party. — YOUR REACTION? — 43 People You Won't Believe Actually Exist 19 People Who Are Having A Way Worse Day Than You

Marc Santora / New York Times:
New York Area Officials Blast House for Ignoring Storm Aid Bill

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money

Erik Wasson / The Hill:
Boehner committed to move Hurricane Sandy relief bill in January

Discussion: Firedoglake

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

Discussion: Politico, Wall Street Journal 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

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: Talking Points Memo, Politico, Mediaite, The Verge, Business Insider, Poynter, The Daily Caller, FishbowlDC, Joe. My. God., The Daily Banter, Brad DeLong, Outside the Beltway, Taylor Marsh and Balloon Juice, more at Mediagazer »

Matt Cover / CNSNews:

Senators Got 154-Page Fiscal Cliff Bill 3 Minutes Before Voting on It — (CNSNews.com) - The U.S. Senate voted 89-8 to approve legislation to avoid the fiscal cliff despite having only 3 minutes to read the 154-page bill and budget score. — Multiple Senate sources have confirmed …

Discussion: protein wisdom and Patterico's Pontifications

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

Discussion: Post Politics and The Raw Story

Joe Weisenthal / Business Insider:
6 Things You Won't Believe That Are In The Fiscal Cliff Bill That The Senate Passed At 2 AM …

Discussion: Rational Irrationality, Fausta's Blog, The PJ Tatler, Mediaite and The National Memo

Matt Stoller / naked capitalism:
Eight Corporate Subsidies in the Fiscal Cliff Bill, From Goldman Sachs to Disney to NASCAR

Discussion: New York Times, Wonkblog, Progressive Change …, DownWithTyranny!, Firedoglake, Taylor Marsh and OpenSecrets.org

Devin Dwyer / ABCNEWS:
‘Fiscal Cliff’ Deal Also Doles Out Millions for Hollywood, Railroads, Rum Producers

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, TaxVox and ABCNEWS

BREITBART.COM:
FISCAL CLIFF DEAL: HOLLYWOOD GETS TAX INCENTIVE EXTENSION

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, Clayton Cramer's Blog, RedState, Business Insider, Techdirt, The PJ Tatler, The Gateway Pundit, RealClearPolitics Video Log, John Lott's Website and Politico

Wall Street Journal:

Obama's Tax Bill Comes Due — So Congress has passed a bill to avoid the tax cliff, hallelujah. This is the way to look at it if you have a pre-Copernican view of politics where Washington is the center of the economic universe. The better way to see it is that the tax bill on the private …

Discussion: Belmont Club and American Power

James Pethokoukis / AEIdeas:
Why the Obama tax hikes have only just begun

Discussion: protein wisdom and Vodkapundit

Zachary A. Goldfarb / Washington Post:
‘Fiscal cliff’ deal does little to tame threats from debt ceiling, high unemployment rates

Discussion: Washington Wire, The Atlantic Wire, Business Insider and Daily Kos

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 Business Insider

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 the National Review, Kevin Williamson argues that nearly everyone calling …

Discussion: Washington Monthly and Townhall.com

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: The Gateway Pundit and Alan Colmes'Alan Colmes'

David Kurtz / Talking Points Memo:

The Eight Senators Who Voted Against The Fiscal Cliff Deal — The fiscal cliff deal overwhelming passed the Senate, in the dead of night, on a 89-8 vote. The eight senators voting no were Michael Bennet (D-CO), Tom Carper (D-DE), Charles Grassley (R-IA), Tom Harkin (D-IA), Mike Lee (R-UT) …

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, Suburban Guerrilla and msnbc.com