memeorandum: Holbrooke dies days after aorta tear (Joe Sterling/CNN)

10:25 PM ET, December 13, 2010

Top Items:

Judge Voids Key Element of Obama Health Care Law — A federal district judge in Virginia ruled on Monday that the keystone provision in the Obama health care law is unconstitutional, becoming the first court in the country to invalidate any part of the sprawling act and ensuring that appellate courts …

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:

Amazing — A year ago, no one took seriously the idea that a federal health care mandate was unconstitutional. And the idea that buying health care coverage does not amount to “economic activity” seems preposterous on its face. But the decision that just came down from the federal judgment in Virginia …

Discussion: Maggie's Farm, Doug Ross, Althouse, American Power and Don Surber

Ezra Klein:

Is the Hudson ruling good news for health reform? — District Court Judge Henry E. Hudson, a George W. Bush appointee, has, as expected, ruled the individual mandate unconstitutional. So why are health reformers so unexpectedly pleased? — There are two reasons, but first, let's put this into context.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Washington Monthly, Firedoglake, The American Independent, Ben Smith's Blog, Sky Dancing and Gothamist

Rosalind S. Helderman / Washington Post:

Virginia health-care ruling strikes down key provision of Obama's plan — RICHMOND - A federal judge in Virginia ruled Monday that a key provision of the nation's sweeping health-care overhaul is unconstitutional, the most significant legal setback so far for President Obama's signature domestic initiative.

John Cook / Gawker:

Judge Who Ruled Health Care Reform Unconstitutional Owns Piece of GOP Consulting Firm — Henry E. Hudson, the federal judge in Virginia who just ruled health care reform unconstitutional, owns between $15,000 and $50,000 in a GOP political consulting firm that worked against health care reform.

Discussion: Washington Wire, Talking Points Memo, Crooks and Liars, Right Wing Watch, Capital Tonight, Mediaite and Salon

Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:

CHEERING A VICTORY OVER THEIR OWN IDEA.... Many on the right are, not surprisingly, delighted with today's federal district court ruling on the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate. That's to be expected — they're hoping to gut the law. The two previous legal defeats notwithstanding …

Discussion: Political Correction RSS, The New Republic, Mother Jones and Outside the Beltway

Larry O'Dell / Associated Press:

Federal judge in Va. strikes down health care law — RICHMOND, Va. - A federal judge in Virginia has declared the Obama administration's health care reform law unconstitutional. — U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson is the first judge to rule against the law, which has been upheld by two others in Virginia and Michigan.

Discussion: Pajamas Media, Power Line, The Mahablog, HillBuzz.org, Riehl World View, The Gateway Pundit, theblogprof, Scared Monkeys, Questions and Observations and PoliPundit.com

The Numbers:
New Low in Support for Health Care Reform

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Fox News, Marathon Pundit, Don Surber, The Daily Dish, Pajamas Media, Viking Pundit and National Review

Stephanie Cutter / White House.gov Blog Feed:
Today's Health Care Court Ruling

Discussion: Firedoglake, ACS Blog, Ben Smith's Blog and TPMDC

Ryan J. Reilly / TPMDC:
Federal Judge In Va. Rules Part Of Health Care Law Unconstitutional

Discussion: TPMMuckraker, Salon, Balkinization, The Moderate Voice, ECHIDNE of the snakes and Right Wing Nut House

William A. Jacobson / Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion:
Virginia Judge Declares Health Care Mandate Unconstitutional

Discussion: CNN, The Volokh Conspiracy, Liberty Pundits Blog, NewsBusters.org blogs, Patterico's Pontifications, Nice Deb and Pundit & Pundette

Orin Kerr / The Volokh Conspiracy:
The Significant Error in Judge Hudson's Opinion

Discussion: TalkLeft, Balkinization and Daily Kos

USA Today:
Obama's economic guru predicts low demand for years

Discussion: protein wisdom and iOwnTheWorld.com

Jake Tapper / Political Punch:

Richard Holbrooke Has Died — ABC News has learned that Richard Holbrooke, the US Special Representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan, has died. — On Friday, Holbrooke was rushed to the hospital with a torn aorta. He went through more than 20 hours of surgery.

Discussion: Mother Jones, Firedoglake, Weasel Zippers and Taegan Goddard's …

ABCNEWS:

Richard Holbrooke — It was there that Holbrooke had some of his most dramatic moments of diplomacy and statecraft. In the mid-1990s, he served as assistant secretary of state for Europe, where he brokered peace in the Balkans, crafting the Dayton Peace Accords that ended years of brutal fighting in Bosnia.

Discussion: FP Passport and Pat Dollard

Joe Sterling / CNN:

Holbrooke dies days after aorta tear — (CNN) — Richard C. Holbrooke, the high-octane diplomat who spearheaded the end of the Bosnian war and most recently served as the Obama administration's point man in the volatile Afghan-Pakistani war zone, has died, officials said.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Mediaite, The Stir By CafeMom and Parker Spitzer

Robert D. McFadden / New York Times:
Richard C. Holbrooke, U.S. Diplomatic Troubleshooter, Dies at 69

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, Ben Smith's Blog, The Politico, Online NewsHour and The Caucus

msnbc.com:
U.S. diplomat Holbrooke dies after tearing aorta

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Gawker

Jon Cohen / Washington Post:

Poll finds broad bipartisan support for tax package — About seven in 10 Americans back the tax deal negotiated last week by President Obama and congressional Republicans, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll. — The high bipartisan support for the package masks …

Discussion: People-Press.org, The Plum Line, New York Times, The Hill, USA Today, TPMDC, The Fix, Wonkette, Hot Air, Gawker, No More Mister Nice Blog, Wake up America, Guardian, Washington Monthly, Swampland, Ben Smith's Blog, Outside the Beltway and Booman Tribune

David M. Herszenhorn / The Caucus:
Senate Advances Tax Cut Package

Discussion: Wonkette, Balloon Juice and Washington Monthly

Carl Hulse / New York Times:
Out of Power Soon, and Out of Sorts Now

Discussion: The Politico, Moe Lane, Time, The Sundries Shack, The Atlantic Online, Betsy's Page and Taylor Marsh

Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
Senate votes for tax cut deal. What's route through House?

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Daily Kos and Hullabaloo

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Senate expected to advance $858B tax, benefits package

Discussion: Michelle Malkin and SENATUS

Doug McKelway / Fox News:

Steele Seeks Second Term As RNC Chair — Controversial Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele, who last month presided over the GOP's biggest electoral gains since 1938, announced Monday night that he is running for re-election. — Ending weeks of rumors that he would not seek …

Discussion: Firedoglake, The Note, Hotline On Call, The Politico, FrumForum, Ballot Box, Sister Toldjah, National Review, DownWithTyranny!, The American Independent, Hot Air, The Fix, msnbc.com and Gawker

CNN:
TRENDING: Steele admits stumbles, announces re-election bid

Discussion: The Politico, The Note and ABCNEWS

John Del Signore / Gothamist:

Did No Labels Rip Off Design From More Party Animals? — Today Mayor Bloomberg, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and some other boldfaced political names got together to launch “No Labels,” an organization calling for a new era of non-partisan political change.

Discussion: USA Today, CBS New York, City Room, Ben Smith's Blog and The Agonist

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
Designer: No Labels lifted penguins of bipartisanship

Discussion: Moe Lane

Jim Geraghty / National Review:
No Labels: No Specifics, No Coherence, No Point.

Discussion: Hot Air, The Politico and Weasel Zippers

Tim Pawlenty / Wall Street Journal:

Government Unions vs. Taxpayers — The moral case for unions—protecting working families from exploitation—does not apply to public employment. — When Americans think of organized labor, they might think of images like I saw growing up in a blue-collar meatpacking town: hard hats, work boots, tough conditions and gritty jobs.

Discussion: PostPartisan, The American Independent, Wonk Room, Commentary, Grasping Reality …, Conservatives4Palin.com, Hot Air, The Note, The Hill, The Politico and Ben Smith's Blog

Michael Scherer / Swampland:
Larry Summers' Warning About The Growth Of Government (Transcript)

Discussion: Economist's View

Barry Ritholtz / The Big Picture:

Brain Oddities: Spelling is Irrelevant to Comprehension — In trying to make sense of the world around us, our brains have evolved to do some very odd things. The more we learn about our cognitive processes, the more it seems we have inherited a very weird wetware set, filled with bizarre and misleading foibles.

Kevin Drum / Mother Jones:

Tax Cut Deal Wildly Popular — ABC News and the Washington Post have the first poll out about public reaction to the Obama tax cut deal. ABC created a colorful chart of the results, so I'll link to them: — Support for the overall package was extremely high: 68% among Democrats and Independents and 75% among Republicans.

Discussion: The Atlantic Online

Gary Langer / ABCNEWS:
Poll: Broad Backing for Obama-GOP Tax Deal

Discussion: Daily Kos

Michael D. Shear / The Caucus:

Conservatives Attack Tax Deal as Vote Nears — Even as it nears a critical vote in Congress today, the compromise tax deal worked out by President Obama and Republicans on Capitol Hill has some new enemies. — Conservatives. — Last week, the agreement was assailed by liberals who accused …

Discussion: Washington Post, Ross Douthat, Outside the Beltway, A plain blog about politics, Eunomia, Wake up America, Commentary, The American Independent and Patterico's Pontifications

Kate Zernike / New York Times:
Rep. Ron Paul, G.O.P. Loner, Comes In From Cold

Discussion: Eunomia, Hit & Run, CNN, The American Independent, Pat Dollard, The Daily Caller, NewsBusters.org blogs, LewRockwell.com Blog and Hair Balls

Becky Bohrer / Associated Press:

Miller appeals ruling on write-in vote count — Republican Joe Miller is taking his challenge to Alaska's U.S. Senate race to the state Supreme Court. — Miller filed his appeal Monday, three days after a lower court ruled against his lawsuit challenging how the state counted write-in ballots for his rival, Sen. Lisa Murkowski.

Discussion: The Note, Ballot Box and USA Today

David Dayen / Firedoglake:

More Talk of Severe Budget Cuts to Follow Tax Deal — The very long cloture vote is happening right now in the Senate on the motion to proceed to the tax cut bill. Because some Senators have had issues getting to Washington, particularly from the snowed-in Midwest, the vote will be held open a while.

Discussion: TPMDC, The Huffington Post, TalkLeft, The Hill and The Plum Line

The Atlantic Online:

The Unknown Blogger Who Changed WikiLeaks Coverage — When historians look back at WikiLeaks and how the world's pundits tried to make sense of what was happening, they'll see a familiar list of sources: Foreign Policy's Evgeny Morozov, The Guardian's John Noughton, The New York Times' David Carr …

Mike Allen / The Politico:

Michelle Obama has new warning on obesity — First lady Michelle Obama plans to warn in remarks Monday that the nation is seeing “a groundswell of support” for curbing childhood obesity, and she is unveiling new ammunition from current and retired military leaders.