memeorandum: Another GOP Senator recognizes the inevitable (Greg Sargent/The Plum Line)

7:05 AM ET, January 16, 2013

Top Items:

CNN:

NRA airs new TV ad criticizing Obama on eve of White House gun announcement — Washington (CNN) - The National Rifle Association released a new television commercial Tuesday night charging President Barack Obama of hypocrisy for being “skeptical” about placing armed guards at schools …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and The Raw Story

Jason Howerton / TheBlaze.com:

NRA BLASTS ‘ELITIST’, ‘HYPOCRITE’ OBAMA IN SCATHING NEW VIDEO — The National Rifle Association on Tuesday provided TheBlaze an exclusive look at its new video, which criticizes President Barack Obama's opposition to having armed guards in more schools across the United States.

Discussion: Post Politics, msnbc.com and Politico

BuzzFeed:

NRA's New Ad Calls Obama “Elitist Hypocrite” For Having Secret Service Protection For His Children — The ad appeared on the NRA's “Stand and Fight” website today after being provided to The Blaze. — Andrew Kaczynski — an hour ago — 20 responses

Jonathan Easley / The Hill:
Rand Paul: Obama acting ‘like a king’ on guns, vows to fight executive actions

Discussion: CNN, CBN.com and The Young Turks …

Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:

Another GOP Senator recognizes the inevitable — Reality seems to be enjoying a sudden burst of momentum this afternoon, as more Republicans and conservatives are coming out and acknowledging the debt ceiling will have to be raised. The latest: GOP Senator Susan Collins. — Collins spokesman Kevin Kelley emails me:

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Financial Times, Daily Kos, Washington Monthly and Alan Colmes'Alan Colmes'

Jeff Richardson / Fairbanks Daily News-Miner:

Murkowski: Country must pay its bills — FAIRBANKS — Sen. Lisa Murkowski is breaking with Republican leadership in the debate about raising the U.S. debt ceiling, saying the country has a duty to assure it can pay its bills. — Raising the $16.4 trillion debt ceiling has emerged …

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Politico, Hot Air, The Plum Line and Rush Limbaugh

Mike Lillis / The Hill:
Hoyer: Deal to raise federal debt limit must include new revenues

Discussion: The Political Carnival

Pan Pylas / Associated Press:
Fitch may downgrade U.S. credit rating

Discussion: CBS News, Hot Air, msnbc.com and First Read

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:

Bush Speechwriter Michael Gerson Exposes Obama's Sinister Being-Reasonable Ploy — It's a trick. A very complicated one. — The Obama presidency has been an agonizing time for those few remaining moderate Republicans. They fully oppose their party's extremism, but the gravitational loyalty …

Discussion: Mother Jones and Booman Tribune

Michael Gerson / Washington Post:

Politics as usual — Here is my nomination for the lowest moment of the “fiscal cliff” debate. Right before Christmas, President Obama met with House Speaker John Boehner in the Oval Office. “He told Mr. Boehner,” according to the Wall Street Journal, “that if the sides didn't reach agreement …

Discussion: Viking Pundit and msnbc.com

Sy Mukherjee / ThinkProgress:
House Republicans Can't Find Any Co-Sponsors For Their Latest Obamacare Repeal Bills

Discussion: The Political Carnival and Daily Kos

Alex Seitz-Wald / Salon:

This man helped save six children, is now getting harassed for it — Gene Rosen sheltered six kids during the Sandy Hook massacre. Now he's become a target of conspiracy theorists — “I don't know what to do,” sighed Gene Rosen. “I'm getting hang-up calls, I'm getting some calls …

Discussion: Gawker, Daily Mail, The Mahablog, AMERICAblog, No More Mister Nice Blog, Wonkette, The Raw Story, Outside the Beltway, The Agonist and Daily Kos

Dylan Stableford / Associated Press:
Man who helped Sandy Hook kids is harassed by conspiracy theorists

Discussion: neo-neocon

Evan McMorris-Santoro / Talking Points Memo:

Impeachmentum: Reagan AG Says Obama Can Be Impeached Over Guns — Former Reagan Attorney General Edwin Meese, now a prominent emeritus official at the Heritage Foundation, became the latest conservative to warn that President Obama could risk impeachment if he takes executive action …

Discussion: Rumproast, The Raw Story, The Democratic Daily and Zandar Versus The Stupid

Fox News:
White House draws criticism ahead of gun control announcement

Discussion: Politico, News Desk, CNN, Gawker, Alan Colmes'Alan Colmes', NO QUARTER USA NET and Wonkette

Thomas Kaplan / New York Times:

New York Assembly Passes Gun Legislation — ALBANY — The State Assembly, which opened its legislative session this year with a moment of silence for the victims of the mass shooting in Newtown, Conn., on Tuesday approved a package of gun measures that would significantly expand the state's ban on assault weapons.

Discussion: Hit & Run, BillMoyers.com, The Week and Prairie Weather, more at Mediagazer »

Associated Press:
Little-known laws shed light on NRA influence

Discussion: Alan Colmes'Alan Colmes', Politico and First Read

Associated Press:
Gov. Cuomo signs gun control bill making New York first state to do so since Newtown school massacre

Discussion: Atlas Shrugs, Capital New York and Taylor Marsh

First Read:

Mark Sanford to announce run for Congress Wednesday — Updated 3:10 pm ET: Ex-South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford will announce tomorrow that he is running for Congress, First Read confirms with an aide close to Sanford. — Sanford will announce via press release tomorrow …

Discussion: CNN and Balloon Juice

Jim Geraghty / National Review:

Mark Sanford: I'm Running for Congress — A conversation with the former South Carolina governor — Mark Sanford, the three-term congressman and two-term South Carolina governor, is preparing his political comeback, running for the House in the district recently represented by Tim Scott.

Discussion: Daily Kos, Post Politics, The Raw Story, CNN, Ballot Box, msnbc.com, Weekly Standard and Alan Colmes'Alan Colmes'

CNN:

House passes $50 billion-plus Sandy aid package — Washington (CNN) - Lawmakers in the House of Representatives approved measures Tuesday to send more than $50 billion in aid to the Northeastern states ravaged by Superstorm Sandy last fall, though some conservatives in the House were pushing …

Discussion: Firedoglake

Pete Kasperowicz / The Hill:
House panel blocks most GOP attempts to trim Sandy disaster-relief bill

Discussion: The Hill, Blue Jersey, NetRight Daily and Americans for Limited …

Andrew Kaczynski / BuzzFeed:

Former Aide: Michele Bachmann Had “Unnatural Relationship” With Debate Coach — Peter Waldron alleges “Rasputin-like” control over the candidate. “The story is completely false,” says O'Donnell. — O'Donnell looking at Bachmann. — Image by AP / AP — Michele Bachmann's high-profile …

Discussion: Daily Kos

Allison Sherry / Denver Post:

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to leave cabinet position in March — WASHINGTON — Interior Secretary Ken Salazar will step down from his cabinet position in the Obama administration and return to Colorado to spend time with his family, his office has confirmed to The Denver Post.

Discussion: BuzzFeed and Michelle Malkin

Bill McBride / Calculated Risk:

Wednesday: CPI, Industrial Production, Homebuilder Confidence, Beige Book — Former Republican Senator Alan Simpson was on CNBC today. Here was the Q&A on the debt ceiling: — Maria Bartiromo: “Do you believe the GOP should be using the debt ceiling as leverage point to get the President to agree to the cuts?”

Discussion: Business Insider

Marc Fisher / Washington Post:

As inauguration approaches, Obama's most virulent foes want the celebration stopped — Eldon Bell, a retired Air Force officer and physician, is making no plans to see Barack Obama's second inauguration, in part because Bell considers the president arrogant and dishonest …

Discussion: Mediaite

Macon Phillips / White House.gov Blog:

Why We're Raising the Signature Threshold for We the People — When we launched We the People, none of us knew how popular it would be, but it's exceeded our wildest expectations. Through the past year, interest in We the People exploded and we're closing in on 10 million signatures.

Discussion: Mediaite, The Daily Caller and Mashable!

Stefano Esposito / Chicago Sun Times:

18 human heads found at O'Hare on last leg of final journey — The 18 human heads that arrived at O'Hare International Airport just before Christmas — and remained there until this week — now appear to be on the last leg of their final journey. — The medical specimens had been in limbo since …

Discussion: Mediaite, io9, Gawker, The Other McCain and MyFOX8.com

Pat Garofalo / ThinkProgress:

Louisiana Governor's New Plan Would Raise Taxes On Bottom 80 Percent Of Residents — Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal (R) recently rolled out a plan to replace his state's personal income and corporate taxes with an increased sales tax. Such a move would shift taxes from the rich to the poor …

Galactic Empire Public Relations / The Official …:

Planet Earth Abandons Death Star Project In Face Of Superior Galactic Imperial Power — IMPERIAL CENTER, CORUSCANT - The overwhelming military superiority of the Galactic Empire has been confirmed once again by the recent announcement by the President of the United States that his nation …

Discussion: io9, BuzzFeed, The Atlantic Online, The Raw Story, Pejman Yousefzadeh and Forbes

CNN:

First on CNN: Obama picks D.C. Episcopal priest to deliver inauguration benediction — Washington (CNN) - The president has picked a neighbor to deliver the closing prayer at the inauguration. — The Rev. Luis León told CNN on Tuesday the White House and the Presidential Inaugural Committee invited …

Discussion: The New Civil Rights Movement