It’s not unusual for Barney Frank to take Republicans to the mattresses on the House floor. But he usually doesn’t get benched for doing so. The back story’s pretty straightforward. …

Top Dem Warns House GOP Not To Renege On Budget Deal

Amid rumblings that House Republicans may break their end of a major budget agreement they struck with Democrats last fall, and possibly touch off another government shutdown battle later this year, a top Senate Democrat issued a stern warning to the GOP: Don’t go there.

“We had a deal last August on the budget numbers, and we expect them to live with that deal,” said Sen. Patty Murray (WA) — a member of the Democratic leadership, high-ranking member of the Budget Committee and erstwhile co-chair of the Super Committee — in an interview with TPM. “I have been astonished how many times they play with fire. Last August they almost shut the government down, a year ago they almost shut the government down, by trying to go to a place where most Americans don’t believe we should be going.”

OOPS! Romney Lets Slip An Uncomfortable Truth About His Tax Plan

On CNBC Wednesday morning, Mitt Romney was given a breather from political questions about his appeal to GOP primary voters and allowed to discuss substance. When it was all over, he probably wished it had been the other way around.

Brushing back a question about independent analyses, which conclude his plan will blow a huge hole in the budget, Romney accidentally hinted at a key fact about his fiscal policy: he left out all the hard stuff.

“I think it’s interesting for the groups to try and score it because it can’t be scored because those kind of details have to be worked out with Congress and we have a wide array of options,” Romney said.

Jon Stewart Tries To Ease Tensions Between Iran And Israel

Jon Stewart on Tuesday tried to defuse the rising tensions between the U.S., Israel and Iran. Everyone’s just stuck in an election year, overhearing each other’s stump speeches and freaking out, Stewart said.

Senate Republicans Backing Off Contraception Wars

From one top GOP senator openly lamenting the fallout of the ongoing fight over contraception, to the author of the controversial legislation at the heart of that fight effectively conceding defeat in the upper chamber, signs mounted Tuesday that suggest Senate Republicans want to put the birth control controversy to bed.

“You know, I think we’ve got as many votes as I think there were to get on that,” Senate GOP Conference Vice Chairman Roy Blunt told TPM Tuesday afternoon after a weekly Capitol briefing. “I think the House side may take some further action. That debate will go on for a long time, though I don’t know that there’s anything else to happen in the Senate in the near future.”

The concession marks a departure for the GOP leadership, which as recently as last week insisted that Republicans were on the right side of the issue and would fight on.

Last Thursday, after his amendment was narrowly tabled 51-48, Blunt vowed that, “The fight is not over.” He had maintained that he wants to tack it onto legislation the president cannot veto. But on Tuesday, after a meeting with his caucus, he dialed down expectations for any further action in the Senate.

Murkowski: GOP Has Spun Out Of Control On Contraception

Shortly after Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) admitted to her home-state paper that she regrets voting for the GOP’s Blunt amendment, which was aimed at rolling back President Obama’s contraception rule, she explained to TPM why the issue has weighed heavily on her — and why she thinks it’s damaging her party.

“I heard a lot [from my constituents] because it was in the news this weekend,” Murkowski told TPM Tuesday afternoon after attending a weekly GOP policy lunch. “I will tell you, it’s not so much just the discussion about contraception that the Blunt amendment precipitated. There’s just an awful lot that’s been going on. There have been some comments made by some of our presidential candidates. There was the incendiary comments made by Rush Limbaugh.”

Obama Slows Drumbeat For War With Iran

In his first nationally televised press conference in almost half a year, President Barack Obama directed impassioned criticism at Republican presidential candidates and other public figures who are quickening their drumbeat for war with Iran.

“This is not a game,” Obama said. “Those folks don’t have a lot of responsibilities. They are not commander-in-chief. And when I see the casualness with which some of these folks talk about war, I’m reminded of the costs involved in war.”

Timed to coincide with the annual AIPAC meeting, Republican members of Congress and leading presidential primary contenders have amplified their rhetoric and sought to blur the distinctions between their own favored Iran policies and the President’s. The impact, if unchecked, could trigger or hasten a military conflagration that Obama argues can be avoided if diplomatic efforts are given enough time and space to proceed.

In an effort to limit Obama’s options, leading Republicans are now arguing that Obama should amplify his own rhetoric and publicly commit himself to military action earlier than administration and intelligence officials believe is prudent.

President Mocks Fox News Reporter’s Question About Gas Prices

Fox News’ alarmist coverage of rising gas prices extended all the way to the White House briefing room on Tuesday. During President Obama’s first solo news conference since November, Fox News White House Reporter Ed Henry asked the president if he actually wants gas prices to go even higher. Obama mocked Henry’s question.

Hoyer Unleashes Stinging Rebuke Of Rush Limbaugh

A rare apology from Rush Limbaugh has done little to quell the uproar over the radio host’s “slut” comment from last week — and Democrats are working hard to keep it that way.

At his weekly pen and pad, House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD) launched into an unprompted rebuke of Limbaugh for calling Georgetown law student Sandra Fluke a “slut” and “prostitute” for her recent testimony contraception and health insurance.

“I want to speak about an issue which was as outrageous an attack as I’ve seen recently,” Hoyer told reporters Tuesday. “Rush Limbaugh’s attack on Sandra Fluke was beyond the pale. Indefensible. Vicious. Intimidating to others. … And it demeans the public faith.”

As Advertisers Continue To Flee, Can Rush Limbaugh Weather The Storm?

Rush Limbaugh’s apology to Sandra Fluke — the Georgetown University law student whom he called a “slut” after she testified at a House contraception hearing — hasn’t been enough to keep advertisers from fleeing the show.