Top Items:
Joe Holley / Houston Chronicle:
Cornyn: Congress will not allow default — Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, the Republican whip, said in Houston Thursday that Congress will not allow an impasse over raising the debt ceiling to result in the federal government defaulting on its spending obligations. — “We will raise the debt ceiling.
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Ian Millhiser / ThinkProgress:
The Republican Debt Ceiling Gambit Is Unconstitutional — House Republicans are backing away from their threat to plunge the United States into a catastrophic budget default and will instead pursue the somewhat less reckless strategy of passing a three-month increase in the debt limit.
Discussion:
Post Politics and The Maddow Blog
Charles Krauthammer / Washington Post:
A new strategy for the GOP — It has become conventional wisdom that Republicans are suffering an internal split that President Obama is successfully exploiting to neuter the Republican House. It is not true, however, that the Republican split is philosophical and fundamental.
Discussion:
The Plum Line, The Maddow Blog, Talking Points Memo, americanthinker.com, Weekly Standard, msnbc.com, PostPartisan, The Week, Right Turn, Mediaite, neo-neocon, Taylor Marsh, Prairie Weather, Economist's View, Betsy's Page, Wall Street Journal, Business Insider, The Right Scoop, Vodkapundit, Post Politics, FreedomWorks blogs, Hot Air and New York Times
Jonathan Weisman / New York Times:
House G.O.P. Agrees to Lift Debt Ceiling for 3 Months — WASHINGTON — Backing down from their hard-line stance, House Republicans said Friday that they would agree to lift the federal government's statutory borrowing limit for three months, with a requirement that both chambers of Congress pass …
Discussion:
American Prospect, American Spectator, The People's View, Paul Krugman, Trail Blazers Blog, The Page and msnbc.com
Rosalind S. Helderman / Washington Post:
House Republicans agree to vote on bill to raise debt limit for 3 months — Video: President Obama said today in a White House press conference that he won't negotiate with Republicans on the federal debt ceiling. Post economic policy reporter Zachary Goldfarb stops by to explain which bills …
Daniel W. Drezner:
How the current GOP thinks like revolutionaries — and why that's a bad thing — In an exit interview with the Wall Street Journal, outgoing U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said some provocative things about the state of America's political system and how that affects our standing in the world.
Discussion:
The Maddow Blog, The Hill, Portland Press-Herald, The Agonist, A plain blog about politics, Washington Wire and Right Turn
Jake Sherman / Politico:
House Republicans plan debt ceiling vote — House Republicans will vote next week on a bill that would raise the nation's debt ceiling for three months and stop pay for members of Congress if the Senate doesn't pass a budget, GOP officials said Friday. — The plan comes as GOP lawmakers across …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly and Slate
Brian Beutler / Talking Points Memo:
GOP De-Escalates Debt Limit Fight
GOP De-Escalates Debt Limit Fight
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, Bloomberg and The Caucus
David Lawder / Reuters:
Republicans seek three-month debt limit increase, Senate budget
Republicans seek three-month debt limit increase, Senate budget
Discussion:
Hot Air, Guardian, The New Republic, Washington Examiner and The Hill
Russell Berman / The Hill:
House GOP to vote next week on three-month increase to debt limit
House GOP to vote next week on three-month increase to debt limit
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars
Aaron Blake / Post Politics:
Stephen Colbert's sister will run for Congress — Stephen Colbert may have “run for president,” but his sister is actually going to run for Congress. — Elizabeth Colbert-Busch's soon-to-be-official campaign has informed South Carolina Democratic Party executive director Amanda Loveday …
Discussion:
The Political Carnival, Roll Call, Mediaite, Taegan Goddard's …, Gawker and The Raw Story
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Alexandra Jaffe / Ballot Box:
Sister of Stephen Colbert to run for Rep. Tim Scott's seat
Sister of Stephen Colbert to run for Rep. Tim Scott's seat
Discussion:
CNN
Ruby Cramer / BuzzFeed:
Stephen Colbert's Sister To Run For Tim Scott's House Seat
Stephen Colbert's Sister To Run For Tim Scott's House Seat
Discussion:
Jezebel
Politico:
Up next for Obama: A looming Democratic divide — As President Barack Obama approaches his second inaugural on Monday, he presides over a party that has largely papered over its divisions for the past four years thanks to the president's commanding popularity.
Discussion:
New York Times, Capital New York, Firedoglake, The Week, Washington Monthly, msnbc.com, First Read, Lynn Sweet and CNN
RELATED:
Hayes Brown / ThinkProgress:
New Study Highlights Threat From Far Right-Wing Groups In U.S. — A new study from a think tank connected to the West Point Military Academy highlights the threat of violent far-right movements in the United States, leading to the conclusion that, while diverse in in their causes …
Discussion:
The Impolitic, Washington Monthly, The Agonist, Mediaite, Alan Colmes' and Shakesville
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Rowan Scarborough / Washington Times:
West Point center cites dangers of ‘far right’ in U.S.
West Point center cites dangers of ‘far right’ in U.S.
Discussion:
National Review, Infowars, Weasel Zippers, Booman Tribune and protein wisdom
Gordon Russell / New Orleans Times-Picayune:
Ray Nagin indictment: First New Orleans mayor to face corruption charges — A federal grand jury on Friday indicted former Mayor Ray Nagin with 21 counts of corruption, alleging that while in office, Nagin took cash bribes and gifts from two city contractors and used his power as mayor …
Discussion:
TalkLeft, Politico and The Raw Story
RELATED:
Gordon Russell / New Orleans Times-Picayune:
Ray Nagin, former New Orleans mayor, charged with taking bribes while in office
Ray Nagin, former New Orleans mayor, charged with taking bribes while in office
Discussion:
New Orleans Metro Real …, Taegan Goddard's … and Washington Free Beacon
Michael Kunzelman / Associated Press:
Ray Nagin, Former New Orleans Mayor, Indicted On 21 Corruption Charges, Including Bribery, Fraud
Ray Nagin, Former New Orleans Mayor, Indicted On 21 Corruption Charges, Including Bribery, Fraud
Discussion:
New Orleans Times-Picayune
Jeff Plungis / Bloomberg:
Naked-Image Scanners to Be Removed From U.S. Airports — The U.S. Transportation Security Administration will remove airport body scanners that privacy advocates likened to strip searches after OSI Systems Inc. (OSIS) couldn't write software to make passenger images less revealing.
Discussion:
TalkLeft, Techdirt, The Raw Story, Hot Air and The Daily Caller
RELATED:
Hugo Martin / Los Angeles Times:
TSA ends contract with Rapiscan, maker of full-body scanner
TSA ends contract with Rapiscan, maker of full-body scanner
Discussion:
Angry Black Lady Chronicles, The Atlantic Online and Eschaton
Adam Peck / ThinkProgress:
NRA President Blames Obama For ‘Hundreds’ Of Death Threats … On a right-wing talk show on Thursday, David Keene, the president of the National Rifle Association, blamed President Obama and the left for what he says have been hundreds of death threats made against him and his family.
Discussion:
Daily Kos and The Raw Story
RELATED:
Ernest Istook / BREITBART.COM:
NRA PRESIDENT: DEATH THREATS AGAINST ORG REFLECT OBAMA'S TACTICS
NRA PRESIDENT: DEATH THREATS AGAINST ORG REFLECT OBAMA'S TACTICS
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers and The Gateway Pundit
Ben Smith / BuzzFeed:
Sandy Hook Conspiracy Theories Edge Toward The Mainstream — “By far the hottest topic of the moment.” Ignore it and it won't go away. — There are two kinds of conspiracy theories: The ones about the Illuminati and about mysterious “chemtrails,” which lurk forever in the online twilight zone …
Discussion:
snopes.com, The Week and Glenn Beck
Glenn Kessler / Washington Post:
Is Lance Armstrong the world's biggest liar? — “[This was] one big lie that I repeated a lot of times.” — It is fair to say that in more than three decades of reporting, The Fact Checker has never written a sports story. But The Fact Checker has written a lot about people who stretch the truth …
RELATED:
Brent Schrotenboer / Associated Press:
Lance Armstrong to Oprah: Story was ‘one big lie’
Lance Armstrong to Oprah: Story was ‘one big lie’
Discussion:
The Heritage Foundation, The New Republic, Infowars, msnbc.com, Taylor Marsh and American Power
Mark Hemingway / Weekly Standard:
Whoops: PolitiFact's ‘Lie of the Year’ Turns Out to Be True — Last month, PolitiFact selected its “Lie of the Year.” Given PolitiFact's dubious record of singling out Republicans for lying far more often than Democrats, you probably could have guessed the winner of this particular sweepstakes was a Mitt Romney campaign ad:
Discussion:
Reuters
David Brooks / New York Times:
The Next Four Years — President Obama's second inaugural comes at an interesting moment, what you might call the end of the era of the Grand Bargain. Throughout his first term, Democrats and Republicans didn't achieve a Grand Bargain on spending and taxes, but there was a sense that history was moving in that direction.
Discussion:
New York Magazine, Wonkblog, Washington Monthly, Mother Jones, No More Mister Nice Blog and msnbc.com
Lydia Saad / Gallup:
Americans Call for Term Limits, End to Electoral College — Virtually no partisan disagreement on these long-discussed constitutional reforms — PRINCETON, NJ — Even after the 2012 election in which Americans re-elected most of the sitting members of the U.S. House and Senate …
Discussion:
Firedoglake, Hot Air, CNN, Politico, The Hill and The Daily Caller