memeorandum: Copy Clinton on guns, Feinstein tells Obama (Alexander Bolton/The Hill)

11:05 AM ET, March 12, 2013

Top Items:

The GOP Plan to Balance the Budget by 2023 — The goal can be reached, with no new taxes, while increasing spending 3.4% annually instead of the current 5%. — America's national debt is over $16 trillion. Yet Washington can't figure out how to cut $85 billion—or just 2% of the federal budget …

Discussion: CNN, Guardian, Right Turn, NBCNews.com, Booman Tribune, Daily Kos, Taylor Marsh, The Maddow Blog, Jared Bernstein, Politico, First Read, Business Insider, msnbc.com, Washington Wire, Yahoo! News and ABCNEWS

Jesse Helfrich / The Hill:

Ryan to rally GOP on 10-year plan — The target set by Ryan (R-Wis.), the chairman of the House Budget Committee, is more aggressive than the one Democrats rejected last year that took until nearly 2040 to balance. — Ryan will take center stage for the third year in a row to roll …

Discussion: Politico, CNN, Weasel Zippers and First Read

Jeremy W. Peters / New York Times:

House and Senate Work Simultaneously to Create Budgets, a Rarity — WASHINGTON — Congress this week will begin taking the first steps toward a more structured and orderly budget process, beginning what both parties hope is a move away from the vicious cycle of deadline-driven quick fixes.

Discussion: The PJ Tatler

Eugene Robinson / Washington Post:
Paul Ryan's make-believe budget

Discussion: Associated Press, American Prospect, The Plum Line, Wall Street Journal and Daily Kos

David M. Drucker / Roll Call:
Interview With Speaker Boehner: The Sequester Is Here to Stay (Part II)

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's …, The Huffington Post, Post Politics and First Read

NationalJournal.com:
Why the Senate Democrats' Budget Will Be Vague

Discussion: Post Politics, PostPartisan, Hot Air, Hit & Run, American Prospect, The Hill and Washington Post

Jackie Calmes / New York Times:

In President's Outreach to G.O.P., Past Failures Loom — WASHINGTON — For all the attention to President Obama's new campaign of outreach to Republicans, it was four months ago — on the eve of bipartisan budget talks — that he secretly invited five of them to the White House for a movie screening …

Discussion: The Maddow Blog, The National Memo, msnbc.com, Politico, Prairie Weather, TheBlaze.com and The Reaction

Ron Fournier / NationalJournal.com:

Humility or Cynicism? Whatever is Driving Obama is Better Than Nothing — Tumbling polls have turned the president into the schmoozer-in-chief — President Obama's burst of congressional and public outreach coincides with declining poll numbers. (AP Photo)

Discussion: Post Politics, Weasel Zippers, National Review and The Daily Caller

Politico:
Is he serious? — President Barack Obama's unusual tour …

Discussion: Washington Post and Right Wing News

Steven Thomma / McClatchy Washington Bureau:
McClatchy-Marist poll shows Obama tumbling in voters' eyes

Discussion: Post Politics

Michael Howard Saul / Wall Street Journal:

Judge Halts New York City Soda Ban … A state judge on Monday stopped Mayor Michael Bloomberg's administration from banning the sale of large sugary drinks at New York City restaurants and other venues, a major defeat for a mayor who has made public-health initiatives a cornerstone of his tenure.

Michael M. Grynbaum / New York Times:

Judge Invalidates Bloomberg's Ban on Sugary Drinks — A judge invalidated New York City's ban on large sugary drinks on Monday, one day before it was to go into effect, dealing Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg a major blow. — The decision by Justice Milton A. Tingling Jr. of State Supreme Court …

Discussion: Shakesville, ThinkProgress, The Reaction, JONATHAN TURLEY, The Week, Wonkblog, Mediaite, Taylor Marsh, Twitchy, Liberal Values, LewRockwell.com Blog, The Truth About Guns, Hit & Run, Philly.com, Politicker and EconLog

John Hinderaker / Power Line:
The War Against the Second Amendment Has Only Just Begun

Discussion: Associated Press, Lawyers, Guns & Money, protein wisdom and Jammie Wearing Fools

Washington Examiner:

Byron York: Ted Cruz pushes for vote to stop funding for Obamacare — “Some senators may choose to hurl insults and personal attacks,” says new Republican Sen. Ted Cruz. “That's their prerogative. I have no intention of reciprocating.” — Cruz wouldn't name names, but clearly …

Discussion: Hit & Run

Steve Kornacki / Salon:

A reality check for Ashley Judd — What she's really up against, if she does run against Mitch McConnell in Kentucky. Inside the numbers and history — A report over the weekend suggested that actress Ashley Judd has decided to challenge Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell in Kentucky next year.

Discussion: First Read, New Republic, Politico and CNN

Alexandra Jaffe / Ballot Box:
Report: DSCC pulling back from Judd after Kentucky Senate polling shows her vulnerable

Discussion: Politico, The Moderate Voice, Weasel Zippers, The Last Refuge, Hot Air, Post Politics and The Daily Caller

New York Post:

The ‘fair share’ White House — Those who make the rules should play by them. Especially a White House that lectures the rest of America about the importance of paying your “fair share” of taxes. — So we were struck by IRS reports that no fewer than 40 aides to President Obama still owe …

Roger Simon / Politico:
Save the sequester, crush the children!

Discussion: CNN, americanthinker.com, The Hill and TheBlaze.com

David S. Cloud / Los Angeles Times:

New Pentagon chief Chuck Hagel tries to find his balance — A three-day visit to Afghanistan is a rocky beginning for the Defense secretary, who had faced a bitter confirmation fight. Now awaiting him is $47 billion in budget cuts. — Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, right, arrives in Germany on Monday.

Masoud Popalzai / CNN:
5 Americans killed in Afghanistan helicopter crash

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit

Thom Shanker / New York Times:
In First Overseas Trip, Hagel Offers a Terse Review: 'It's Complicated'

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's …, First Read, msnbc.com and emptywheel

Josh Israel / ThinkProgress:

After Watering Down Financial Reform, Ex-Senator Scott Brown Joins Goldman Sachs' Lobbying Firm … During his nearly three years in the U.S. Senate, Scott Brown (R-MA) frequently came to the aid of the financial sector — watering down the Dodd-Frank bill and working to weaken it after its passage …

Discussion: CANNONFIRE, Firedoglake, The Political Carnival and Prairie Weather

Michael Levenson / Boston Globe:
Scott Brown to join Boston law firm Nixon Peabody

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Mediaite, msnbc.com, DealBook and Rumproast

Tom Kludt / Talking Points Memo:

RNC Launches Major Restructuring Of Digital Strategy — The Republican National Committee on Monday began what leaders described as a significant overhaul of its digital strategy, NBC News reported. — Mike Shields, chief of staff for the RNC, told NBC he's begun the work of …

Discussion: Balloon Juice

Sarah B. Boxer / First Read: RNC to launch major digital overhaul following election inquiry

Mark Gongloff / The Huffington Post:

FDIC Secretly Settling Bank Cases For Years With ‘No Press Release’ Clause: Report — At the request of rule-breaking bankers, a top U.S. regulator has for years settled bank cases in secret, raising the bar on just how far regulators are willing to go to help the industry they regulate.

Discussion: Crooks and Liars

E. Scott Reckard / Los Angeles Times:
In major policy shift, scores of FDIC settlements go unannounced

Discussion: naked capitalism and The Political Carnival

Elizabeth Harrington / CNSNews:

Feds Spend $1.5 Million to Study Why Lesbians Are Fat — (CNSNews.com) - The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded $1.5 million to study biological and social factors for why “three-quarters” of lesbians are obese and why gay males are not, calling it an issue of “high public-health significance.”

Discussion: Patterico's Pontifications, The Daily Caller and Weasel Zippers

Associated Press:

Sarah Palin tackles ‘War on Christmas’ in new book — ‘Amidst the fragility of this politically correct era, it is imperative that we stand up for our beliefs before the element of faith in a glorious and traditional holiday like Christmas is marginalized and ignored,’ Palin says.

Discussion: The Raw Story and Post Politics

Arutz Sheva:

Volunteer who Opposed Dutch Hitler Admirers in Hiding — Mehmet Sahin, a doctoral student, has had to go into hiding with his family after he received death threats. — The Dutch daily NRC writes that Mehmet Sahin, a doctoral student, has had to go into hiding with his family.

Discussion: The Jawa Report and Elder of Ziyon

Conor Friedersdorf / The Atlantic Online:

Rush Limbaugh Sides With Rand Paul: ‘The Neocons Are Paranoid’ — The most popular conservative demagogue in America signals that hawkish foreign policy dogma may be losing its hold on the GOP. — In the Spring of 2011, I wrote a widely ignored article arguing that the Republican Party's …

Discussion: Ross Douthat and Mondoweiss