memeorandum: Steele critics: RNC chair finding mojo (Andy Barr/The Politico)

4:15 PM ET, May 24, 2009

Top Items:

Alexander Mooney / CNN:

Ridge takes aim at Limbaugh — (CNN) — Pennsylvania Republican Tom Ridge is taking direct aim at Rush Limbaugh, telling CNN's John King the conservative talk radio host can be “shrill” and uses language in a way “that offend very many.” — “Rush Limbaugh has an audience of 20 million people.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, DownWithTyranny! and Think Progress

Rogene Fisher / New York Times:

Powell Still a Republican, Despite Party Differences — Former Secretary of State Colin L. Powell affirmed on Sunday that he remains a Republican while asserting that his party should become more inclusive. He also rebuffed his party's relentless criticism of President Obama's decision …

Discussion: NewsBusters.org

Andy Barr / The Politico:

Steele critics: RNC chair finding mojo — Not so long ago, after Michael Steele's rocky start as Republican National Committee chairman, there were rumors of impending coups and evidence of deep dissatisfaction within the GOP ranks. — But after a shaky debut marked by a series of gaffes …

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, PoliGazette and MyDD

Michael Goodwin / Fox News: Powell Defends GOP Credentials, Calls for More Inclusive Party

Amanda Terkel / Think Progress:

Durbin Calls On Gingrich To Apologize For Attacking The CIA In 2007 — Last week, former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich called on Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to resign her current position as Speaker. He said that she “disqualified herself” over her comments that the CIA was “misleading” Congress.

Discussion: Doug Ross

Mike Allen / The Politico:

Durbin: ‘supermax’ Gitmo inmates — Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.), the assistant majority leader, said Sunday on NBC's “Meet the Press” that he would accept Guantanamo detainees in his home state as long as they were held in super-maximum prisons, where inmates are held 23 hours a day in small cells with slits for windows.

Discussion: theblogprof, Progress Illinois, Washington Monthly and Macsmind

MSNBC:
May 24: Durbin, Gingrich, political roundtable

Discussion: Crooks and Liars

Fareed Zakaria / Newsweek:

They May Not Want The Bomb — And other unexpected truths. … From the magazine issue dated Jun 1, 2009 — Everything you know about Iran is wrong, or at least more complicated than you think. Take the bomb. The regime wants to be a nuclear power but could well be happy …

Discussion: NewsBusters.org, ATTACKERMAN, Newshoggers.com, Swampland, Macsmind, JammieWearingFool and Hyscience

Jennifer Parker / George's Bottom Line:

Military Chief: Gitmo ‘Needs to Be Closed’ — President Barack Obama's top military adviser said the Pentagon is working to meet the president's deadline of closing Guantanamo Bay by January 2010. — “I've advocated for a long time now that it needs to be closed,” Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman …

Discussion: ABCNEWS, Washington Monthly and Firedoglake

Clark Hoyt / New York Times:

The Writers Make News. Unfortunately. — IT has been a busy week or two for the ethics police — those within The Times trying to protect the paper's integrity, and those outside, ready to pounce on transgressions by Times journalists. — Thomas Friedman, the star columnist …

Discussion: Felix Salmon, TigerHawk, Grasping Reality …, PoliGazette, Clusterstock and Megan McArdle

Louise Armitstead / Telegraph:

British banks revolt against Obama tax plan — British banks and stockbrokers may refuse to take on American clients if new international tax proposals outlined by President Obama are passed. — The decision, which would make it hard for Americans in London to open bank accounts and trade shares …

Discussion: Say Anything, Don Surber and The Rhetorican

Matthew Alexander / The Huffington Post:

Former Senior Interrogator in Iraq Dissects Cheney's Lies and Distortions — As a senior interrogator in Iraq (and a former criminal investigator), there was a lesson I learned that served me well: there's more to be learned from what someone doesn't say than from what they do say.

Discussion: Crooks and Liars

Detroit Free Press:

Watson paid pittance for taxes on ‘nonexistent’ Detroit house — Detroit City Councilwoman JoAnn Watson paid only $68 in property taxes this year because city records say her well-kept, brick Tudor-style home doesn't exist. Although the home has occupied its west-side plot since 1926 …

Discussion: theblogprof, Don Surber and The New Editor

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:

How Much Do Safe Havens Matter? — I'm still trying to decide what I think about this question. But given how much strategic focus we're giving to Afghanistan, I'm confident we haven't given the question enough collective thought. Matt Yglesias had a post a couple months ago asking a basic question …

Mike Allen / The Politico:

Senate GOP: Not so fast on Court pick — Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee are resisting President Barack Obama's call for a swift confirmation of his choice for Supreme Court, opening a rift between the parties even before the nominee has even been named.

Discussion: New York Times, The Page and DownWithTyranny!