Top Items:
Sahil Kapur / Talking Points Memo:
Schumer: Dems Won't Negotiate With GOP On Debt Ceiling — Echoing President Obama's refusal to negotiate on the debt limit, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) warned Republicans on Friday that Democrats have no intention of giving in to any of their demands in exchange for lifting the nation's borrowing limit to pay its bills.
Discussion:
The Plum Line, PERRspectives, Outside the Beltway and BBC
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Frank Newport / Gallup:
Americans Have Mixed Reaction to Fiscal Cliff Agreement — Democrats much more positive about agreement than Republicans — PRINCETON, NJ — Americans have a decidedly mixed reaction to the “fiscal cliff” agreement reached by Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama this week …
Discussion:
The Hill, Post Politics and Christian Science Monitor
Ryan Grim / The Huffington Post:
Harry Reid Would Back Obama If He Bucks GOP On Debt Ceiling: Source
Harry Reid Would Back Obama If He Bucks GOP On Debt Ceiling: Source
Discussion:
Reuters and Weasel Zippers
Justin Sink / The Hill:
Gingrich warns Boehner could have ‘disaster on his hands’
Gingrich warns Boehner could have ‘disaster on his hands’
Discussion:
Politico, Washington Monthly and msnbc.com
Alec MacGillis / The New Republic:
How Washington Learned to Love Hostage-Taking
How Washington Learned to Love Hostage-Taking
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, New York Times, American Prospect, The Reaction, The Plum Line, Mother Jones, PERRspectives and Politico
Justin Sink / The Hill:
Cornyn: ‘It may be necessary to partially shut down the government’
Cornyn: ‘It may be necessary to partially shut down the government’
Discussion:
Firedoglake, The Maddow Blog, Little Green Footballs and National Review
Erik Wasson / The Hill:
Club for Growth will punish members voting for Sandy flood aid — The conservative Club for Growth said Friday that it will punish House members who voted for a flood insurance measure aimed at helping pay for Hurricane Sandy's damage. — The Club will “key-vote” the measure, using it to compile an annual rating for each lawmaker.
Discussion:
Capital New York, The Impolitic, No More Mister Nice Blog and ABCNEWS
RELATED:
Raymond Hernandez / New York Times:
Congress Passes $9.7 Billion in Relief for Hurricane Sandy Victims
Congress Passes $9.7 Billion in Relief for Hurricane Sandy Victims
Discussion:
BuzzFeed, Politico, Wall Street Journal, The Week, City Room, The National Memo, The Maddow Blog and Capital New York
Brett LoGiurato / Business Insider:
Top Conservative Group Urges House To Vote Against Hurricane Sandy Relief
Top Conservative Group Urges House To Vote Against Hurricane Sandy Relief
Discussion:
Campaign for America's Future and Daily Kos
Pete Kasperowicz / The Hill:
House approves $9.7 billion in Sandy relief
House approves $9.7 billion in Sandy relief
Discussion:
Mediaite and Alan Colmes'Alan Colmes'
Eric Lach / Talking Points Memo:
Former NRA President Equates Gun Laws With Racism — Those looking for moderation and sensitivity in the gun control debate probably, by this point, know better than to look to the National Rifle Association. — But even by the standards of what we've heard from the NRA recently …
Discussion:
Mediaite, The Hinterland Gazette, ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES, FIRST DRAFT, The Maddow Blog and The Raw Story
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First Read:
Hagel likely to be nominated for Defense Secretary next week — Multiple sources on Capitol Hill and in key special-interest groups involved in national security issues say they have been told to be prepared for a Chuck Hagel nomination for Defense Secretary, either as early as Monday or perhaps more likely Tuesday of next week.
Discussion:
BuzzFeed, Alan Colmes'Alan Colmes', Right Turn, Outside the Beltway, The PJ Tatler and Gestetner Updates
RELATED:
Eli Lake / The Daily Beast:
Sources: Obama to Pick Chuck Hagel for Secretary of Defense
Sources: Obama to Pick Chuck Hagel for Secretary of Defense
Discussion:
Weekly Standard, Algemeiner.com, AEIdeas, Gestetner Updates and The Daily Beast
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.”
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John Parkinson / ABCNEWS:
Pelosi Not Fazed by Photoshopped Pic of Dem Women — Thursday morning, as the 113th Congress prepared to be sworn into office, House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi held a photo opportunity on the steps of the House of Representatives with Democratic women from the caucus.
Discussion:
Post Politics
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Associated Press:
Nancy Pelosi defends photoshopped picture of congresswomen — WASHINGTON (AP) — House minority leader Nancy Pelosi on Friday defended an altered picture of Democratic congresswomen that was posted on her Flickr photo-sharing site. — The photo showed four members who were not in the original picture …
Discussion:
CNN
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:
Outside the Beltway, The Plum Line, No More Mister Nice Blog, Balloon Juice, Unfogged and Capital New York
RELATED:
Josh Barro / Bloomberg:
Why We Must Go Off the Platinum Coin Cliff
Why We Must Go Off the Platinum Coin Cliff
Discussion:
Capital New York, The Atlantic Wire, msnbc.com, Hot Air, The Huffington Post, The Week, Business Insider, Wonkblog, Balloon Juice, Firedoglake, New York Sun, Corrente and Mediaite
New York Times:
Al Jazeera in America — Al Jazeera, the pan-Arab news network, has long wanted to gain a bigger American television audience, and it may have finally found a way to do that by buying Current TV. But as the deal was being signed, Time Warner Cable announced it would immediately stop carrying Current …
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E.J. Graff / American Prospect:
Purity Culture Is Rape Culture — Indian women offer prayers for a gang rape victim at Mahatma Gandhi memorial in New Delhi. — Her intestines were removed because the six men used a rusty metal rod during the “rape.” — That fact—the rusty metal rod—is what's haunted …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES, Slate and Guardian
Sam Baker / The Hill:
House rules aim to block controversial healthcare board's Medicare cuts — House Republicans signaled Thursday they will not follow rules in President Obama's healthcare law that were designed to speed Medicare cuts through Congress. — The House is set to vote Thursday afternoon on rules for the 113th Congress.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Hit & Run and The Incidental Economist
Jenn Taylor / Twitchy:
Hope and less change: Americans cringe at first paychecks of 2013; Stunned lib asks, ‘What happened?’ — Happy New Year and happy payday! Thank goodness our “lord and savior” Obama signed the fiscal cliff bill into law after proudly proclaiming, “Under this law, more than 98 percent …
Discussion:
protein wisdom and National Review
Torie Bosch / Slate:
Leading Environmental Activist's Blunt Confession: I Was Completely Wrong To Oppose GMOs — Anti-Monsanto activists in Germany in 2009 — If you fear genetically modified food, you may have Mark Lynas to thank. By his own reckoning, British environmentalist helped spur the anti-GMO movement …
Discussion:
Mark Lynas, Via Meadia and Hit & Run
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, The PJ Tatler and Michelle Malkin
Jonathan Martin / Politico:
GOP scrambles to fix its primary problem — The disastrous 2012 election and embarrassing fiscal cliff standoff has brought forth one principal conclusion from establishment Republicans: They have a primary problem. — The intra-party contests, or threat thereof, have become the original sin …
Discussion:
The American Conservative