memeorandum: Dominoes — There was something strange to me about the GOP … (Brian Beutler/Talking Points Memo)

7:00 AM ET, December 9, 2010

Top Items:

Brian Beutler / TPMDC:

Collins Hands Reid A Final Offer On Don't Ask, Don't Tell — Here's what Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) told Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid that she needs to support a full Senate debate on the defense authorization bill (the vehicle for Don't Ask, Don't Tell repeal): 15 guaranteed votes on amendments …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, CNN, FiveThirtyEight, Zandar Versus The Stupid, Sky Dancing, The Daily Dish, National Review and Arkansas Blog

Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:

Lisa Murkowski supports repeal of DADT — GOP Senator Lisa Murkowski has decided to support repeal of don't ask don't tell, her spokesman tells me, potentially adding another crucial GOP vote to the Yes column and putting 60 votes within reach. — “Her vote will depend on how free and open …

Discussion: Prop 8 Trial Tracker, The Reaction, Wonk Room, Raw Story, TPMDC and AMERICAblog Gay

Brian Beutler / TPMDC:

Lieberman To Reid On DADT: Back Off, I Got This — Senate Democrats are on the precipice of getting a Don't Ask, Don't Tell repeal past a key procedural hurdle tonight. But key negotiators have grown frustrated by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and his staff for upping the pressure at a fragile moment …

Discussion: msnbc.com, AMERICAblog Gay, The Moderate Voice, Washington Monthly, Talking Points Memo, South Capitol Street and Taylor Marsh

The Politico:

'Don't ask' repeal gains steam — The long-running legislative saga over repeal of the military's ban on gays in uniform seems headed to a dramatic endgame, with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) threatening to call a vote on the issue this week despite serious misgivings …

Discussion: CNN, The Hill, AMERICAblog Gay and Weasel Zippers

Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
In blow to DADT repeal, talks with Senator Collins hit wall

Discussion: Open Congress, Towleroad News #gay, Ben Smith's Blog, Hot Air, Wonkette, Wonk Room, Outside the Beltway, Washington Monthly, The Huffington Post, AMERICAblog Gay, msnbc.com, U.S. Senator Mark Pryor, Mother Jones, The Politico, NationalJournal.com and The Daily Dish

Jen DiMascio / The Politico:
Jon Kyl: No time left for START

Discussion: ThinkProgress, The Hill, Eunomia and The Caucus

Karoun Demirjian / Las Vegas Sun Blogs:
Reid's office: Legalizing online poker still on lame-duck agenda

Discussion: Washington Wire, Hot Air and South Capitol Street

Jonathan Capehart / PostPartisan:
Susan Collins: Let's make a deal on don't ask, don't tell [Updated]

Discussion: AMERICAblog Gay, Talking Points Memo, South Capitol Street and Towleroad News #gay

Ed O'Keefe / Federal Eye:
Senate procedural vote on 'don't ask, don't tell' postponed

Discussion: RHRealityCheck.org and The Daily Dish

Political Punch:

Exclusive: Sarah Palin Under Cyber-Attack from Wikileaks Supporters in 'Operation Payback'* — The website and personal credit card information of former Gov. Sarah Palin were cyber-attacked today by Wikileaks supporters, the 2008 GOP vice presidential candidate tells ABC News in an email.

Cubachi:

WikiLeaks and their supporters: We were for free speech, before we were against it — WikiLeaks was painted among many in the media, some libertarians, and the liberal establishment as the poor souls who are fighting against CIA and American intelligensia. — WikiLeaks claims …

Discussion: Liberty Pundits Blog, Washington Post and Raw Story

New York Times:
Hackers Attack Those Seen as WikiLeaks Enemies

Discussion: Guardian, The Lede, Online NewsHour, Gawker, Clusterstock, GigaOM, The Moderate Voice and Raw Story

Charlie Savage / New York Times:
U.S. Prosecutors Study WikiLeaks Prosecution

Discussion: Gawker, Clusterstock, Firedoglake, BBC, The Independent, CNET News, Salon, Commentary, TechCrunch, Opinionator, The Nation and Guardian

The Hill:

Don't topple economy by rejecting tax deal, Obama tells the Dems — President Obama warned his fellow Democrats on Wednesday that they risk plunging the country into a double-dip recession if they reject his tax-cut deal with Republicans. — As the White House intensified pressure …

Discussion: The Politico

Washington Post:

Senate leaders set to begin debate on tax cuts — Senate leaders are planning to begin debate on a far-reaching tax package as soon as Thursday as rank-and-file Democrats warm to an agreement between the White House and Republicans to extend a host of expiring tax cuts and pump fresh cash into the economy.

Discussion: The Page

David Leonhardt / Economix:
A What-If on the Bush Tax Cuts

Discussion: Ezra Klein

Discovery Channel:
MythBusters: Visit to the White House

Discussion: The Moderate Voice and Balloon Juice

Glenn Thrush / The Politico:
For W.H., upside in fighting Hill Dems

Discussion: Mother Jones, Weasel Zippers, Commentary, National Review and The Hill

Brian Montopoli / CBS News:

Michael Bloomberg: I'm Not Running for President. Period. — New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg - who is often discussed as a potential third party candidate for the presidency in 2012 - told CBS News' Katie Couric Wednesday there is “nothing” that would compel him to enter the coming presidential race.

Michael Barbaro / New York Times:

On Economy, Bloomberg Says Washington Is Failing — Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg unleashed a withering critique on Wednesday of how Congress and the White House have managed the economic recovery, saying Democrats and Republicans had abdicated responsibility in favor of partisan bickering …

Discussion: Hot Air, The Caucus, New York Times, Washington Post, Althouse, Politics Daily and South Capitol Street

Jamelle Bouie / American Prospect:
Michael Bloomberg's Contempt for Democracy.

Discussion: Firedoglake, Ben Smith's Blog and Salon

Brian Beutler / Talking Points Memo:

Dominoes — There was something strange to me about the GOP reaction yesterday to the tax cut news. Or at least something unexpected. I hadn't made clear sense of it until I got this news late last night, but all day yesterday I couldn't shake the feeling that the whole didn't add up.

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, Mother Jones, Crooks and Liars, Weigel and The New Republic

Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:
How Do You Compromise With Stalin? — Brian Beutler explains the Republicans' dilemma:

Discussion: A Chequer-Board of Nights …, JustOneMinute, Eunomia and Guardian

Carlos Lozano / L.A. NOW:

House of Representatives narrowly approves Dream Act; Senate must now vote on immigration bill — In a last-ditch showdown on immigration relief for illegal migrants, the Democratically-controlled House of Representatives on Wednesday narrowly approved the so-called Dream Act that would offer …

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland and No More Mister Nice Blog

Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:

Palin's Republican Problem — It's well documented that Sarah Palin has problems with Democrats and independents, but the first seven states where we've looked at the 2012 Presidential election make it clear that she has a Republican problem as well. — It's not that Republicans …

Discussion: conservatives4palin.com, The Daily Dish, South Capitol Street and National Review

William A. Jacobson / Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion:

Obama Opens The Door To Raid Social Security — One of the interesting aspects of the “framework” announced by Obama to prevent marginal income tax increases on anyone is that part of the quid pro quo demanded by Obama was a one-year 2% drop in the portion of social security (FICA) …

Discussion: The TrogloPundit

Ezra Klein:

Mark Zandi on the tax cut deal — I called Moody's chief economist Mark Zandi this morning to see what he thought of the tax cut deal. When it comes to stimulus, Zandi's figures are probably the most influential in the country, and I've cited them several times before on this blog. So what does he think?

Discussion: Firedoglake

Jake Tapper / Political Punch:

White House: Failure to Pass Tax Cut Compromise Bill Would “Significantly Increase” Risk of Double-Dip Recession — At an off-camera briefing this afternoon, National Economic Council director Larry Summers said that a failure to pass the tax cut compromise President Obama negotiated …

Discussion: Firedoglake, The Gateway Pundit and Gallup

Megan Carpentier / TPMDC:
Maddow And Olbermann Slam Obama's Tax Cut Compromise (VIDEO)

Discussion: The Other McCain, Zandar Versus The Stupid, The Gateway Pundit and Indecision Forever

Glenn Greenwald / Salon:

The crux of the WikiLeaks debate — (updated below - Update II - Update III) — WNYC's Brian Lehrer has spent the last week hosting one WikiLeaks critic after the next on his program, and it seems rather clear that he, too, is a fairly emphatic critic of the group and its founder, Julian Assange.

Discussion: PewResearch.org, Scripting News, War in Context and Yahoo! News

Adam Serwer / American Prospect:

Gitmo “Recidivism.” — The first thing to note about the new summary of a report on the “recidivism” of Gitmo detainees is that “recidivism” is an odd term, given that most of the detainees transferred from Gitmo haven't been convicted of crimes and that the term itself in this context is used …

Discussion: TalkLeft, Political Punch and Politics Daily

Michael Wines / New York Times:

China Resisted U.S. Pressure on Rights of Nobel Winner — BEIJING — It was just before Christmas 2009, and Ding Xiaowen was not happy. — The United States ambassador had just written China's foreign minister expressing concern for Liu Xiaobo, the Beijing intellectual imprisoned …

Discussion: The Peking Duck and Online NewsHour

Julia Preston / New York Times:

House Backs Legal Status for Many Young Immigrants — A bill to grant legal status to hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrant students passed the House of Representatives late Wednesday, giving President Obama an unexpected although largely symbolic victory in the final days of Democratic control …

Discussion: Mercury News and New York Times