Top Items:
Walter Shapiro / Associated Press:
The courage of Boehner and McConnell: No, they're not Lincolns. But they did something good. — If John Kennedy had not written “Profiles in Courage,” today we might have a more realistic understanding of political valor. But JFK's 1957 Pulitzer Prize-winning book so raised the bar …
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Pete Kasperowicz / The Hill:
Boehner reelected as Speaker; nine Republicans defect in vote — Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio) was reelected Speaker of the House on Thursday after a week of rumors of a possible GOP revolt. — Boehner won a bare majority in a vote that saw nine Republicans vote for other GOP members …
Discussion:
Right Turn and The PJ Tatler
Laura Bassett / The Huffington Post:
House GOP Lets Violence Against Women Act Passed By Senate Die Without A Vote … REACT: — FOLLOW: — Eric Cantor, Patty Murray, GOP, Video, Women's Rights, Eric Cantor Vawa, Patty Murray Vawa, The Violence Against Women Act, Vawa, Vawa 2012, Vawa Reauthorization, Vawa Reauthorization 2012 …
First Read:
First Thoughts: Boehner boxed in — As 113th Congress begins, Boehner finds himself boxed in like never before... But he will still likely win re-election as speaker... The 113th Congress, by the numbers... Assessing the aftermath of the fiscal-cliff deal: Obama emerges as a winner …
Dana Bash / CNN:
Boehner confident in re-election to speaker
Discussion:
Politico, The Maddow Blog and This Just In
Jonathan Weisman / New York Times:
Tax Deal Shows Possible Path for Obama Past House G.O.P.
Discussion:
Angry Bear, Prairie Weather and The Week
Washington Post:
How McConnell and Biden pulled Congress away from the fiscal cliff
Discussion:
Wonkblog, Weasel Zippers, Mediaite and Politico
Russell Berman / The Hill:
Boehner tells GOP he's through negotiating one-on-one with Obama
Discussion:
The Maddow Blog, CNN, Power Line, BREITBART.COM, Fix the Senate Now News, NetRight Daily, The Week, Washington Post, Firedoglake, New York Times, ABCNEWS, This Just In, The Fix, New Jersey Online, Booman Tribune, Right Turn, Post Politics, NationalJournal.com, The PJ Tatler, Weasel Zippers, Guardian, Politico, Campaign for America's Future, The Hill, Hot Air, Trail Blazers Blog, The Impolitic, Associated Press, The Plum Line, Alan Colmes'Alan Colmes', BuzzFeed, CANNONFIRE and ABCNEWS
Michael Calderone / The Huffington Post:
Time Warner Cable Drops Current TV Upon Sale To Al Jazeera … REACT: — FOLLOW: — Al Jazeera, Current TV, Al Jazeera Buys Current, Al Jazeera Current, Al Jazeera Current Tv, Calderone: The Backstory, Time Warner Al Jazeera, Time Warner Cable Current TV, Time Warner Cable Drops Al Jazeera …
Discussion:
Los Angeles Times, Althouse, The Other McCain, Israel Matzav, Outside the Beltway, Media Decoder, The Week, The American Conservative, Crooks and Liars, Weasel Zippers, NewsBusters.org blogs, Little Green Footballs, Guardian, Towleroad News #gay, Taylor Marsh, The Mahablog, Progressive Change …, The Daily Caller, The New Civil Rights Movement, Instapundit, Business Insider, The Verge, NewsBusters.org and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »
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Wall Street Journal:
Al-Jazeera to Buy Current TV — News network al-Jazeera agreed to purchase Current TV, the current affairs channel partly owned by Al Gore, seeking to boost its presence in American television. — Financial terms of the deal weren't disclosed, but a person familiar with the matter …
David Taintor / Talking Points Memo:
Current TV Announces It Has Been Sold To Al Jazeera
Discussion:
Michelle Malkin, The Daily Banter, DownWithTyranny!, Forbes and Washington Examiner
Madeleine Morgenstern / TheBlaze.com:
AL GORE'S CURRENT TV REBUFFS ADVANCES BY THEBLAZE, AGREES TO SELL CHANNEL TO AL JAZEERA
Discussion:
Politico, The Huffington Post and Hot Air
Pamela Geller / Atlas Shrugs:
Leftist Jihadist Media Nexus: Terror TV, Al Jazeera Acquires Gore's Current TV “Al Jazeera America”
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers, DealBook, Joe. My. God., The Week and Mashable!
New York Times:
Leave It Alone; It's Irrelevant to the Deficit — Dean Baker, an economist and the co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, is the author of “The End of Loser Liberalism: Making Markets Progressive.” — Millions of people are rightly outraged to hear that Social Security …
Discussion:
JustOneMinute and The Agonist
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Politico:
Obama's debt problem — President Barack Obama won't be able to enjoy much of a victory lap from his win over congressional Republicans on the fiscal cliff fight. — There are about 16.4 trillion reasons why. — The staggering national debt — up about 60 percent from the $10 trillion Obama inherited …
Discussion:
American Prospect, The Maddow Blog, Associated Press, Business Insider and Hot Air
David Leonhardt / New York Times:
For Obama, a Victory That Also Holds Risks
Discussion:
USA Today, msnbc.com, The Plum Line, The Page, Prairie Weather, The Week, Forbes and National Review
Ezra Klein / Bloomberg:
Good Riddance to Rottenest Congress in History — On January 3rd, the 112th Congress of the United States of America finally ends. Thank God. — To properly evaluate the 112th, consider the record of its predecessor, the 111th Congress, which ran from January 2009 to January 2011.
Discussion:
The Maddow Blog, Open Congress, Los Angeles Times, The Week and American Prospect
Sunlen Miller / ABCNEWS:
Meet the New Class: The Senate Swears in a Historic 20 Female Senators — Today the Senate will make history, swearing in a record-breaking 20 female senators - 4 Republicans and 16 Democrats - in office. — As the 113th Congress is sworn in today on Capitol Hill, ABC “World News” …
Discussion:
Ballot Box, Taylor Marsh, Booman Tribune and Shakesville
Anthony Ha / TechCrunch:
Andrew Sullivan's Ad-Free Publishing Experiment Sees Six-Figure Revenue In First Six Hours — When political blogger Andrew Sullivan announced this morning that he's leaving The Daily Beast and launching an independent company called Dish Publishing, the most provocative bit of news was his intended business model.
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, The Daily Dish, The Hinterland Gazette, PandoDaily, Guardian, BuzzFeed, Poynter, Felix Salmon, Althouse and The Verge, more at Mediagazer »
Erik Wemple:
Fox News producer was scolded by State Department — Justin Fishel is a Fox News producer/correspondent who covers the Pentagon and the State Department. In that capacity, he's known for his tough and often prickly questions. That reputation mounted on Monday, Dec. 17, when Fishel sat in on a State Department daily press briefing.
Discussion:
The Raw Story, National Review, Mediaite, Politicker, New York Times and Wonkette, more at Mediagazer »
RELATED:
CNN:
Kirk makes emotional return to Capitol after stroke — Washington (CNN) - Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Illinois) made a triumphant return to the Senate Thursday, following a year's recuperation from a stroke. — Kirk, 53, emerged from a Capitol doorway to cheers and applause from fellow senators lined …
Discussion:
Politico and Alan Colmes'Alan Colmes'
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Natasha Korecki / Chicago Sun Times:
Sen. Mark Kirk's message to stroke victims: Don't give up
Discussion:
The Hill, The PJ Tatler, The Maddow Blog, Washington Post, The Reality-Based Community and Daily Kos
ThinkProgress:
Ten People We Are Grateful Are No Longer Members Of Congress — Under the Twentieth Amendment, “[t]he terms of the President and Vice President shall end at noon on the 20th day of January, and the terms of Senators and Representatives at noon on the 3d day of January.”
Pete Kasperowicz / The Hill:
House GOP's rules package calls for another reading of the Constitution — The House rules package for the 113th Congress that is expected to be approved on Thursday calls for another reading of the U.S. Constitution from the chamber floor. — The rules package for the the 112th Congress …
Barnini Chakraborty / Fox News:
Illinois Dems advance gun control bills, firearms group warns of ‘no exemptions’ — FILE: March 7, 2012: Gun owners and supporters participate in an Illinois Gun Owners Lobby Day rally at the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield.AP — Illinois Senate Democrats advanced legislation late Wednesday …
Discussion:
Jammie Wearing Fools, UrbanGrounds and The PJ Tatler
Mark Hosenball / Reuters:
Senate panel to examine CIA contacts with “Zero Dark Thirty” filmmakers — (Reuters) - After the Senate Intelligence Committee's chairwoman expressed outrage over scenes that imply “enhanced interrogations” of CIA detainees produced a breakthrough in the hunt for Osama bin Laden …
Discussion:
Reuters, The Daily Dish, Mediaite and Guardian
Wall Street Journal:
Crony Capitalist Blowout — A tax increase for everyone but the favored wealthy few. — In praising Congress's huge new tax increase, President Obama said Tuesday that “millionaires and billionaires” will finally “pay their fair share.” That is, unless you are a Nascar track owner …
Discussion:
Right Turn
Ariane de Vogue / ABCNEWS:
Boehner Bolsters Support of Defense of Marriage Act — Despite poll numbers showing the majority of Americans now support gay marriage, House Speaker John Boehner sent a strong message today authorizing the continued use of taxpayer funds to defend a federal law that defines marriage as between one man and one woman.
Discussion:
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