Morning Read

FROM THE BLOGS:
 
United Nations treaty not about compassion
The National Review’s Betsy Woodruff says that those who vote against a persons-with-disabilities treaty don’t lack compassion.
 
Should veterans lose their guns if they can’t handle their finances?
Daily Kos’s Timothy Lange looks at why a Senate bill has been unsuccessful and why it affects current and future veterans.
 
Boehner’s counterpunch to Obama’s fiscal-cliff offer
Hot Air’s Erika Johnsen breaks down the Republican counteroffer.
 
Everything you need to know about filibuster reform
The Atlantic’s David A. Graham explains how Democratic senators are making it easier to vote on bills.

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:
 
McCain apologizes to Democrats for Paul’s block on defense bill.
Sen. John McCain’s apology could help make filibuster reform a reality, The Hill’s Pete Kasperowicz reports.
 
Dems: Federal health programs should cover DREAMers
House Democrats are asking the Obama administration to allow federal healthcare to cover children of illegal immigrants, The Hill’s Sam Baker reports.

FROM THE BLOGS:

Republicans just don’t get it
After an election cycle filled with offensive statements made by GOP members, Joan Walsh of Salon suggests that Republicans are out of touch.

Obama, aids dismiss compromise with GOP on tax hikes, fiscal cliff
On The Daily Caller, Neil Munro asserts that President Obama and his team are raising the stakes of the budget negotiations by refusing to compromise with the GOP.

Why Susan Collins’ opposition to Susan Rice is hypocritical
Because she supported Condoleezza Rice and opposes Susan Rice, Hayes Brown of Think Progress suggests that Rep. Susan Collins (R-Main) is hypocritical.

Top five reasons Republicans should take us over the fiscal cliff
According to John Nolte on Breitbart.com, going over the "fiscal cliff" is the best option for Republicans.

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:

Romney, Ryan meet off Capitol Hill
Before his lunch meeting with President Obama, former GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney met with Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) off Capitol Hill, The Hill’s Justin Sink reports.

Rep. Ros-Lehtinen to call for cutting UN, Palestine funds over statehood vote
According to The Hill’s Julian Pecquet, the chairwoman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee will call for funding cuts for the Palestinian Authority and for United Nations agencies that recognize the Palestinian Liberation Organization as a state.

FROM THE BLOGS:

Top ten reasons to oppose Susan Rice
Breitbart’s Joel Pollak gives his opinion on why people should oppose U.N. Ambassador Rice's potential appointment as Secretary of State.

Mitt Romney: Truly the 47-percent man
Mother Jones’ David Corn compares Mitt Romney’s 47-percent comments with his overall popular vote in the presidential race.

Grape growers can now sue the USDA
Hot Air’s Erika Johnsen explains why this small capability by grape growers actually highlights the problems with farming industries and government bodies.

The Republican party’s image problem – and how to fix it
The Atlantic’s Charlie Cook shows how the GOP’s image is in crisis and how it is affecting the party.

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:

Obama quietly signs bill shielding airlines from carbon fees in Europe
President Obama has signed into law that U.S. airlines be excluded from European carbon emission fees, reports The Hill’s Keith Laing.

Reid: ‘Fiscal Cliff’ deal must raise debt ceiling
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev) has signaled that President Obama also feels that the debt ceiling must be raised to avoid the “fiscal cliff,” reports The Hill’s Alexander Bolton.

FROM THE BLOGS:

Taxpayers stuck with another bill?
Breitbart's Sydney Williams says taxpayers are facing a massive new housing tab.

Obama puppet Mohammed Morsi is not working out
Red State's Moe Lane says Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi is failing to do his job.

Washington needs Joe Biden
Salon's Alex Seitz-Wald argues that Joe Biden is the only senior official willing to dissent from the foreign policy consensus.

If the budget debate had a Nate Silver
The Huffington Post's Dean Baker says that neither party wants to acknowledge that deficits were relatively modest until the economy tanked in 2008.

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:

White House: Raising taxes would cut $200B from economy
The White House released a report Monday saying that not extending tax cuts for the middle class would reduce consumer spending by $200 billion, reports Justin Sink.

Halvorson to run for Jackson seat
Former Rep. Debbie Halvorson is running to replace the seat left empty by Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. in the upcoming Illinois special election, reports Alexander Jaffe.

FROM THE BLOGS:

Big banks vs. Elizabeth Warren: It’s on (again!)
At Mother Jones, Andy Kroll reports that the fight between Sen.-elect Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and big banks has heated up amid suggestions that she will be nominated to the Senate Banking Committee.

Obama repeatedly mispronounces Aung San Suu Kyi
During a visit to Burma, President Obama repeatedly mispronounced the name of the former political prisoner who led the struggle for a free Burma, reports Keith Koffler on White House Dossier.

Marco Rubio flirts with Creationism, says he’s unsure how old the Earth is
According to Zach Beauchamp on Think Progress, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) does not know how old the Earth is.

McCain: Why not send Bill Clinton to the Middle East?
On HotAir, Ed Morrissey suggests that John McCain was right to say that former President Clinton should serve as moderator in the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:

97 Republicans sign letter urging Obama to avoid Rice nod for State
Almost a hundred House GOP members stepped forward to warn President Obama against nominating Susan Rice as secretary of State, The Hill’s Pete Kasperowicz reports.

McCarthy sees possible Obama, Pelosi split on ‘fiscal cliff’ framework
According to Justin Sink of The Hill, House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) predicts that President Obama and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) will be divided on tax reform.

FROM THE BLOGS:

Having solved all other problems, Rahm Emanuel begins crusade for healthier vending machines
Despite the pressing crime issues that currently plague Chicago, Doug Powers on Michelle Malkin’s blog reports that Mayor Rahm Emanuel has started a campaign against unhealthy vending machines.

Republicans after 'gifts' comment: Get off the stage, Mitt
According to Benjy Sarlin and Evan McMorris-Santoro of Talking Points Memo, Republicans have come together to silence Mitt Romney after his “gifts” comment.

Unlike conservative, MSM reporter applauded for WH outburst
In contrast to the conservative White House reporter who was chastised in June for speaking out of turn, Keith Koffler of White House Dossier reports that a MSM reporter was applauded for his interruption.

The ultimate guide to McCain’s smear campaign against Susan Rice
On Think Progress, Ben Armbruster argues that Sen. John McCain’s (R-Ariz.) assault on Susan Rice is unwarranted.


OTHER NEWS SOURCES:

BP, US reach $4.5B settlement for Gulf spill
The Hill’s Ben Geman reports that BP and the U.S. government have reached a $4.5 billion settlement to resolve criminal and securities claims over the 2010 well blowout.

Clinton to testify on Benghazi attack
According to Julian Pecquet of The Hill, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will testify about the Sept. 11 attack in Benghazi, Libya, to the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

FROM THE BLOGS:

Can we replace John Boehner with Paul Ryan?
Paul Ryan might be the better candidate to represent Republicans, as Speaker Boehner has consistently gone behind his party’s back, says Erick Erickson of Red State.

The President asked us to push him: Here’s a to-do list

After much post-election dialogue revolving around the faults of the Republican Party, it's time to start focusing on President Obama and how he’s going to fulfill all the promises he made, says Arianna Huffington of The Huffington Post.

The Dubya list
According to The American Conservative’s Rod Dreher, conservative pundits and political figures who said too much during the election season should follow in the footsteps of George W. Bush and make a quick and silent exit.

Bill O’Reilly channels Glenn Beck
According to Salon’s Joan Walsh, history is repeating itself on Fox News, as host Bill O’Reilly continues to hold on, following the election, to the hare-brained assertions he’s made about the left.

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:

Senate Democrats say deficit package must include stimulus

With the fiscal cliff looming, Democrats are confident in negotiations across the aisle and word is they are planning to push for stimulus in the deficit-reduction package, reports The Hill’s Alexander Bolton.

Obama defends FBI on Petraeus
After accepting Gen. Petraeus’s resignation last week, Obama said in his first post-election press conference that it wasn’t the job of the White House to "meddle" in FBI investigations.

FROM THE BLOGS:

Ohio awaits Gov. Kasich’s 'ObamaCare' decisions
Red State’s Jason Hart asks why the Republican governor is taking so long to push back against the law.
 
Boehner's caucus not looking for a compromise
Daily Kos’s Joan McCarter says Boehner’s conference isn’t taking his message of compromise seriously.
 
Obama clashes with Palestinians
Hot Air’s Erika Johnsen reports.
 
Why Petraeus’s affair matters (but Bill Clinton’s didn’t)
The Atlantic’s Kathleen McInnis gives her opinion as to why Petraeus’s affair called for a resignation but Clinton’s didn’t.
 

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:
 
Feinstein: FBI should have told Intel panels about Petraeus
The FBI is under fire for not informing the Intelligence committees about Petraeus’s affair, The Hill’s Jeremy Herb reports.
 
Rep. West thanks supporters, refuses to concede House defeat
Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) says supporters are “guardians of America’s honor,” The Hill’s Alicia M. Cohn reports.

FROM THE BLOGS:

Mitch McConnell is already back to obstruction at all costs
According to Jamelle Bouie from The Plum Line, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has already begun to trend toward a strategy of “categorical opposition."

Why Hispanics don’t vote for Republicans
If the GOP wants to win the Hispanic vote, it needs to address immigration, social issues and even ideology, Heather Mac Donald argues on The Corner.

Election's forgotten winner: Harry Reid
Because of his party’s gain in Senate seats, Salon's Thomas F. Schaller suggests, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) came out of the congressional elections as a definite winner.

Boeing announces layoffs — after election
According to Breitbart's Awr Hawkins, President Obama’s planned defense cuts might be responsible for Boeing’s 30 percent cuts in managerial positions.

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:

Health group asks Obama to stop eating junk food in public
Elise Viebeck from The Hill reports that a health group has asked President Obama to stop his habit of eating junk food while in public.

Trial for alleged attempted Obama assassin set for next year
According to The Hill’s Jordy Yager, a federal judge has ruled that the man accused of trying to assassinate President Obama will go on trial next year.

FROM THE BLOGS:

We can’t afford another four years of Obama’s tax cheats, crooks and cronies
Michelle Malkin provides an overview of what she calls President Obama's "culture of corruption."

Paul Weyrich wanted fewer people to vote for a simple reason: When more do, Republicans lose
The Daily Kos’s Timothy Lange (Meteor Blades) explains a short video from Paul Weyrich arguing that Republicans have an incentive for fewer Americans to vote.

The five most tedious talking points of 2012
At The American Conservative, W. James Antle lll recounts the numerous talking points of 2012 that no one could get away from.

What if the GOP Loses?
The Atlantic’s James Fallows evaluates what could happen after the election.

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:

Obama, Romney leave nothing to chance one day before election
The day before the election, both presidential candidates appeared in key swing states, The Hill’s Amie Parnes reports.
 
Report: Military base bombing plot foiled by US forces in Yemen
Yemeni troops reportedly thwarted a bombing plot against U.S. and local force counterterrorism base, according to The Hill’s Carlo Muñoz.