Top Items:
Kevin Robillard / Reuters:
Barney Frank: I want to be senator — Barney Frank, one day out of Congress, said on Friday that he has asked Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick to send him back as an interim senator when Sen. John Kerry becomes secretary of state. — “A month ago, or a few weeks ago, I said I wasn't interested,” Frank said on MSNBC's “Morning Joe.”
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, New York Magazine, OpenSecrets.org, The Caucus, Hot Air, Joe. My. God., Business Insider and Taylor Marsh
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Justin Sink / The Hill:
Former Rep. Barney Frank wants interim appointment to replace Kerry in Senate — Outgoing Rep. Barney Frank has asked to be appointed as an interim senator to replace Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.). — Frank, who just retired from Congress, said Friday he had asked Massachusettes Gov. Deval Patrick …
Discussion:
Michelle Malkin, CNN and Twitchy
Tom Kludt / Talking Points Memo:
Barney Frank Would Welcome Interim Appointment To Fill Kerry's Senate Seat (VIDEO) — Former Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), whose 32 year career in the House of Representatives came to an end yesterday, said Friday that he's told Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick (D) that he would welcome …
Discussion:
Balloon Juice and The Raw Story
Kevin Drum / Mother Jones:
No, a $1 Trillion Platinum Coin is Not Legal — For some reason, the possibility of evading the debt ceiling by minting a $1 trillion platinum coin is getting some blogospheric love again. This is based on a 2000 revision to the U.S. statute on money and finance that reads:
Discussion:
Unfogged and Balloon Juice
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Jason Linkins / The Huffington Post:
Can We Avert The Coming Debt Ceiling Crisis With A Magic Coin? … REACT: — FOLLOW: — Barack Obama , Deficit, Debt Ceiling, Eat The Press, GOP, House Republicans, Deficit, Economy, Jerrold Nadler, Video, Debt Limit, Debt, Debt Ceiling Coin, Debt Ceiling Platinum Coin, Fiscal Cliff …
Discussion:
The Plum Line, The New Republic, Business Insider, msnbc.com and Suburban Guerrilla
Josh Barro / Bloomberg:
Why We Must Go Off the Platinum Coin Cliff
Why We Must Go Off the Platinum Coin Cliff
Discussion:
Firedoglake, The Maddow Blog, Business Insider and Mediaite
Reid Pillifant / Capital New York:
Looking to the next debt-ceiling fight, Nadler proposes a trillion-dollar coin trick
Looking to the next debt-ceiling fight, Nadler proposes a trillion-dollar coin trick
Discussion:
Firedoglake, Business Insider, New York Sun and The Plum Line
Justin Sink / The Hill:
Gingrich warns Boehner could have ‘disaster on his hands’ — Newt Gingrich warned Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) that he risks losing control of his conference without a more coherant strategy. — “He can't keep thinking the way he's thought the last few months without having a disaster on his hands …
Discussion:
Politico and Washington Monthly
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David Rogers / Politico:
House to take up Sandy aid bill on Friday
House to take up Sandy aid bill on Friday
Discussion:
First Read and msnbc.com
Sheryl Gay Stolberg / New York Times:
Liked but Not Feared, Boehner Keeps a Job Some Might Ask Why He Wants
Liked but Not Feared, Boehner Keeps a Job Some Might Ask Why He Wants
Discussion:
Politico, Taegan Goddard's … and Capital New York
Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:
New Crazy GOP Plan: No Negotiations With Obama!
New Crazy GOP Plan: No Negotiations With Obama!
Discussion:
The Hill, Washington Post, A plain blog about politics, Crooks and Liars and American Prospect
Catherine Rampell / New York Times:
U.S. Continues to Add Jobs at Slow Pace, Report Shows — Despite their concerns about looming tax increases and government spending cuts, American employers added 155,000 jobs in December, about apace with job growth over the last year, the Labor Department reported on Friday.
Discussion:
American Prospect, Calculated Risk, Washington Monthly, AEIdeas, msnbc.com, Economix, Outside the Beltway, The Week, Online NewsHour and Daily Kos
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ThinkProgress:
The Worst Moments Of The 112th Congress — But there are a few things that Congress did — or didn't do — that will stand out as its worst moments: — Almost shut down the government and hit the debt ceiling. — Back in August of 2011, Congressional Republicans took the United States …
Discussion:
The Reaction and The New Civil Rights Movement
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Hayley Peterson / Daily Mail:
Workers making $30,000 will take a bigger hit on their pay than those earning $500,000 under new fiscal deal — Middle-class workers will take a bigger hit to their income proportionately than those earning between $200,000 and $500,000 under the new fiscal cliff deal, according to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center.
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit and The PJ Tatler
Ashley Parker / New York Times:
First Day of 113th Congress Brings More Women to Capitol — WASHINGTON — As the 113th Congress opens, the Senate and the House are starting to look a little bit more like the people they represent. — The new Congress includes a record number of women (101 across both chambers …
Discussion:
Politico, The Reality-Based Community and Truthdig
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Jonathan Weisman / New York Times:
Boehner Narrowly Holds On to Speaker's Post
Boehner Narrowly Holds On to Speaker's Post
Discussion:
FiveThirtyEight, The Maddow Blog, Slate, Connecting.the.Dots, The Caucus and The Reaction
Brian Stelter / Media Decoder:
Gore Went to Bat for Al Jazeera, and Himself — Al Gore at the Current TV studios in San Francisco in 2005. He said Al Jazeera's coverage was “thorough, fair and informative.” — Al Gore's Current TV was never popular with viewers, but it was a hit where it counted: with cable and satellite providers.
Discussion:
Politico, Hot Air, Mediaite, The Raw Story, Daily Download and Weasel Zippers, more at Mediagazer »
Alyssa Rosenberg / ThinkProgress:
How To Change Pop Culture's Reliance On Violence — When the Motion Picture Association of America on December 20 came out in support of President Obama's efforts on gun control in the wake of the Newtown, the organization simultaneously aligned itself with the productive side …
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online
Bob Woodward / Washington Post:
Too much leadership at the cliff — Bob Woodward (woodwardb@washpost.com) is an associate editor of The Post. His latest book is “The Price of Politics.” Evelyn Duffy contributed to this commentary. — The agreement on the “fiscal cliff” left the nation's major economic problems …
Paul Krugman / New York Times:
Battles of the Budget — The centrist fantasy of a Grand Bargain on the budget never had a chance. Even if some kind of bargain had supposedly been reached, key players would soon have reneged on the deal — probably the next time a Republican occupied the White House.
Discussion:
The Plum Line, Prairie Weather and Daily Kos
Greg Giroux / Bloomberg:
Final Tally Shows Obama First Since '56 to Win 51% Twice — Eight weeks after the Nov. 6 presidential election, a revised vote count in New York shows that Barack Obama is the first president in more than five decades to win at least 51 percent of the vote twice.
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway and The New Republic
Sheryl Gay Stolberg / The Caucus:
Chief Justice Roberts to Preside at Obama Swearing-In — WASHINGTON - President Obama's inaugural planning committee will announce this morning that - surprise! - Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. will deliver the oath of office to Mr. Obama when he is sworn in for a second term later this month.
Charles Krauthammer / Washington Post:
Return of the real Obama — The rout was complete, the retreat disorderly. President Obama got his tax hikes — naked of spending cuts — passed by the ostensibly Republican House of Representatives. After which, you might expect him to pivot to his self-proclaimed “principle” of fiscal …
Discussion:
Booman Tribune
Ruby Cramer / BuzzFeed:
New Jersey's Cory Booker Problem — The Newark Mayor's decision to run for Senate has offended Lautenberg, and frustrated the state's Democratic party. “I'm not angry, I'm disappointed.” — Newark, N.J. Mayor Cory Booker — Image by Max Morse / Getty Images
Ashley Killough / CNN:
Biden: Republicans had ‘epiphany’ on immigration — Washington (CNN) - Vice President Joe Biden said Republicans have had a major realization in their approach to immigration reform in recent weeks. — “Have you ever seen a time when Republicans have had a more rapid epiphany about immigration than they have this last election?”
Discussion:
Politico
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Arlette Saenz / ABCNEWS:
Classic Biden on Display at Senate Mock Swearing-In
Classic Biden on Display at Senate Mock Swearing-In
Discussion:
AMERICAblog and Post Politics