memeorandum: Lobbyists 2012: Out of the Game or Under the Radar? (Dan Auble/OpenSecrets.org)

11:10 AM ET, March 21, 2013

Top Items:

Manu Raju / Politico:

Saxby Chambliss: 'I'm not gay. So I'm not going to marry one' — Support for gay marriage is picking up steam all over the country — except on Capitol Hill. — Take Sen. Saxby Chambliss. When asked if his views had changed on gay marriage, the Georgia Republican quipped: “I'm not gay.

Discussion: Post Politics, The Maddow Blog, Mediaite, The Raw Story, Ajc Blogs: &lsquo, First Read, Towleroad News #gay, Daily Kos and American Prospect

Catherine Saint Louis / New York Times:

Pediatrics Group Backs Gay Marriage, Saying It Helps Children — The American Academy of Pediatrics declared its support for same-sex marriage for the first time on Thursday, saying that allowing gay and lesbian parents to marry if they so choose is in the best interests of their children.

Discussion: ThinkProgress and The Raw Story

Politico:

Politicians and gay marriage: Profiles in calculation — When historians write the story of America's cultural revolution on gay marriage, March of 2013 may well get its own chapter — the month when the political balance on this issue shifted unmistakably from risky to safe.

Discussion: msnbc.com and TheBlaze.com

Ashley Parker / New York Times:

Young Opponents of Same-Sex Marriage Undaunted — WASHINGTON — They hear that their cause is lost, that demographics and the march of history have doomed their campaign to keep marriage only between a man and a woman. But the young conservatives who oppose same-sex marriage — unlike most of their generation — remain undaunted.

Discussion: Good As You, NOM Blog, Opinionator, The Heritage Foundation and Business Insider

Pete Kasperowicz / The Hill:

Dems force GOP to vote down RSC budget — Democrats voted present to force more Republicans to vote against the Republican Study Committee's (RSC) budget. Democrats hoped that by getting their members to vote present instead of against the budget, it might be approved by the House.

Discussion: Booman Tribune, americanthinker.com, Reuters and Politico

Jesse Helfrich / The Hill:

Unified House Republicans poised to pass Ryan budget blueprint — Republican leaders are poised to pass Rep. Paul Ryan's (R-Wis.) budget on Thursday, having convinced centrists and conservatives to back the blueprint that Democrats believe is their road map back to the House majority.

Discussion: CNN and msnbc.com

New York Times:
Senate Approves Spending; House Debates Next Budget

Discussion: The Maddow Blog, First Read and The Caucus

Pete Kasperowicz / The Hill:
House rejects budget from Senate Democrats

Discussion: Hot Air and Weasel Zippers

Alexandra Jaffe / Ballot Box:
Vulnerable House Democrats vote against Senate budget proposal

Discussion: Politico and National Republican …

Politico:

Netanyahu on Obama: This guy, I need — JERUSALEM — Benjamin Netanyahu has never been Barack Obama's biggest fan — and for four years, he's eagerly scored political points picking fights with the president. — But two paradigm-shifting elections — one in the U.S., one in Israel …

Discussion: Taylor Marsh, The Dish, CNN and The Week

Politico:

Obama urges Palestinians to new peace talks — RAMALLAH, West Bank — President Barack Obama on Thursday presented himself as a willing messenger to help peace talks between Israeli and Palestinian leaders — but reiterated that they're the ones who need to take the lead.

Discussion: CNN

Associated Press:
Rockets hit Israel as Obama meets Palestinians

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit

Justin Sink / The Hill:
Boehner on Obama quip: ‘So much for the charm offensive’

Discussion: The Plum Line, The Maddow Blog, White House Dossier, CNN and Politico

Greg Miller / Washington Post:

Secret report raises alarms on intelligence blind spots because of AQ focus — A panel of White House advisers warned President Obama in a secret report that U.S. spy agencies were paying inadequate attention to China, the Middle East and other national security flash points because they had become …

Discussion: emptywheel and Taegan Goddard's …

ThinkProgress:

National Security Brief: Obama Says Israeli Settlements Are An Obstacle To Peace — President Obama said on Thursday in a joint press conference with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas that illegal Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank is an obstacle to a permanent peace agreement with the Palestinians.

Discussion: Reuters, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Right Turn

David D. Kirkpatrick / New York Times:
Document Shows Abbas's Desire to Resume Israeli Talks

Discussion: The Week, The Times of Israel, BBC and Guardian

Quinnipiac News + Events:

Release Detail — March 21, 2013 - Clinton Tops Florida Favorite Sons In 2016 Race, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; 91% Back Universal Gun Background Checks — Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has double-digit leads over either of Florida's favorite sons, former Gov. Jeb Bush …

Discussion: CNN, Politico, Ballot Box, Naked Politics and First Read

Tessa Stuart / BuzzFeed:

Michelle Shocked Responds To Anti-Gay Rant Reports — The singer pens an open letter to fans. “I'm very sorry: I don't always express myself as clearly as I should.” — Michelle Shocked performs on April 25, 2011, in Byron Bay, Australia. Image by Mark Metcalfe / Getty Images

Discussion: Guardian, MEOW, Towleroad News #gay and Gawker

Matt Sledge / The Huffington Post:

CIA's Gus Hunt On Big Data: We ‘Try To Collect Everything And Hang On To It Forever’ — NEW YORK — The CIA's chief technology officer outlined the agency's endless appetite for data in a far-ranging speech on Wednesday. — Speaking before a crowd of tech geeks at GigaOM's Structure:Data conference …

Discussion: Firedoglake, The Raw Story, Via Meadia, Gizmodo and Outside the Beltway

David Weigel / Slate:

The Tea Party Caucus is Dead and That's Okay — Two-odd months ago, I asked a Republican Hill staffer what had happened to the Tea Party Caucus. Launched with great fanfare in 2011, it was often cited in Michele Bachmann's introductions on the presidential campaign trail — “she's the founder of the Tea Party Caucus!”

Discussion: The Maddow Blog, Instapundit and Outside the Beltway

Alex Seitz-Wald / Salon:
Michele Bachmann runs away from reporter

Discussion: msnbc.com, Mother Jones, Mediaite, Balloon Juice and Comedy Central's Indecision

New York Times:

Companies: Show Us the Money — ON Tuesday, the Senate Banking Committee gave Mary Jo White, President Obama's choice to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission, a rousing show of support, voting 21 to 1 to send her nomination to the full Senate for a vote.

Thomas Kaplan / New York Times:

Cuomo Seeks to Ease a Newly Passed Gun Restriction — ALBANY — In the wake of the elementary school massacre in Newtown, Conn., Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York pushed through the State Legislature gun control measures that included not only a tougher assault weapons ban but also a tighter restriction …

Discussion: Capital New York, Hot Air, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and The PJ Tatler

Andrew Taylor / Minneapolis Star Tribune:

Top Senate Democrat Durbin proposes commission to offer Social Security fixes — WASHINGTON - The Senate's No. 2 Democrat said Wednesday that he's preparing a plan to create a commission to study Social Security's fiscal problems and send a proposed solution to Congress for guaranteed votes in both House and Senate.

Discussion: AEIdeas, Corrente and Post Politics

Sahil Kapur / Talking Points Memo:
Reid Again Hints At Changing Rules Amid GOP Filibuster

Discussion: The Reaction, The Maddow Blog, The Week, Washington Monthly and The Plum Line

Kathryn Haake / Talking Points Memo:

Montana Looks at Allowing Roadkill for Dinner — HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Elk, deer, antelope and moose: If Montana residents can scrape it up, they can eat it. — State lawmakers are poised to say just that after the Senate gave its initial backing Wednesday to a bill that would allow people to salvage roadkill for food.

Dan Auble / OpenSecrets.org:

Lobbyists 2012: Out of the Game or Under the Radar? — A CENTER FOR RESPONSIVE POLITICS REPORT — (For a .pdf version of this report, click here) — Executive summary — Over the past several years, both spending on lobbying and the number of active lobbyists has declined.

Discussion: Roll Call and The BLT

Washington Times:

Senate votes to keep White House tours closed — Senators voted Wednesday to keep the White House closed to public tours, turning back a GOP-led effort to free up money to open the building back up after the sequesters. — The vote was just one of a series of high-profile votes the Senate …

Discussion: Yahoo! News, americanthinker.com, The Hill, The Gateway Pundit and Weasel Zippers

Emmanuel Touhey / Judicial:

Paul-Leahy sentencing bill will ensure time fits the crime — Even before the sequester took effect, the Obama administration's Department of Justice was warning that federal prison spending had become “unsustainable” and was forcing cuts in other anti-crime initiatives.

Discussion: Hit & Run and Hullabaloo

Nick Wing / The Huffington Post:
Justice Safety Valve Act Would Give Flexibility On Mandatory Minimum Sentences

Discussion: Patrick Leahy, TalkLeft and The Raw Story

Catherine Rampell / New York Times:

Surprise U.S. Housing Demand Catches Industry Off-Guard — SACRAMENTO — After six years of waiting on the sidelines, newly eager home buyers across the country are discovering that there are not enough houses for sale to accommodate the recent flush of demand.

Discussion: Jared Bernstein and Mother Jones

Hingeapp / rate friends of friends:

Hingesights: Hottest Workforces in DC — Why does everyone in DC always ask where you work when they meet you? Depending on your place of business, there's a good chance it's to scope out dates with your coworkers. Hinge users have accumulated more than one million ratings …

Discussion: Politico and DCist