memeorandum: Gibbs dismisses losses as ‘local elections’ (CNN)

10:10 AM ET, November 5, 2009

Top Items:

Lindsey Graham warns GOP against going too far right — The morning after Republicans lost an upstate New York House seat, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) warned that conservative activists will bring destruction to the Republican Party if they drive out moderate candidates across the country.

Discussion: Wonk Room, Scared Monkeys, Hot Air, The Reaction, Stop The ACLU, Newshoggers.com and Weasel Zippers

Megan McArdle:

North and South in the Republican Party — One of my commenters has some thoughts on NY-23: … This resonates with me, because my mom's from Western New York. I remember once noting that until I was in college, I hadn't known any Republicans, to which my mother blinked, and replied “You knew your grandparents.”

Discussion: The Other McCain and Pajamas Media

RushLimbaugh.com:

Conservatism Didn't Lose in NY-23 — BEGIN TRANSCRIPT — RUSH: These are my thoughts on New York 23. In the first place I'll have to double-check this but I'm reasonably sure that this was the highest percentage of the vote ever won on the Conservative Party line by a House or Senate candidate.

Discussion: American Power, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Monkey Cage, Hot Air, Weekly Standard, The Reaction and The New Republic

Adam Nagourney / New York Times:
Energized G.O.P. Looking to Avoid an Intraparty Feud

Discussion: The Politico, Washington Post, The Caucus, msnbc.com, New York Times, Blogs and Stories, The Note and MoJo Blog Posts

Washington Post:
The center holds in Tuesday's elections

Discussion: Commentary and Capitol Briefing

Alex Isenstadt / The Politico: Conservatives on NY-23: We didn't lose

Lee Fang / Think Progress:
Michael Steele Takes On Palin, Limbaugh: 'Your Opinion Really Doesn't Matter Much'

Discussion: The Plum Line and The Huffington Post

Jon Henke / The Next Right:
What Did NY-23 Mean? — [Disclosure: I worked with the Doug Hoffman campaign.

Discussion: Daily Kos and American Prospect

Watertown Daily Times:
It's not wise to mess with Mother Nature just to fill your dance card

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, The Caucus, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Mahablog and Pajamas Media

The Politico:

‘We got walloped’ — Two big questions loom in the wake of the 2009 elections. The first is whether Barack Obama learned anything new about American voters. The second is whether American voters will soon learn something new about Obama. — For a president who likes always …

Discussion: Washington Post, Commentary, Wall Street Journal, The Note, Townhall.com and The Hill

CNN:

Gibbs dismisses losses as ‘local elections’ — WASHINGTON (CNN) - White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs dismissed Democratic electoral defeats in New Jersey and Virginia as “two very local elections” that say nothing about President Barack Obama's standing with the American people right now.

Discussion: Jules Crittenden, Townhall.com and Wall Street Journal

Gail Collins / New York Times:

Hark! The Voters Speak! — In Ohio, citizens marched to the polls on Tuesday and voted to allow gambling casinos in the state. This was a obviously a message to President Obama that independent voters are not happy with the way the health care bill is going. — Really, I don't see how else you can interpret it.

Discussion: Blue Virginia and JammieWearingFool

Michael Barone / Wall Street Journal:

Tuesday's Biggest Loser: the Union Agenda — The GOP victories reveal fissures in the coalition that elected Barack Obama. — Printer — Friendly — If you were watching television on Tuesday night as the election returns came in showing Republicans capturing the governorships …

Discussion: Commentary and Marathon Pundit

Washington Post:

Democrats debate Obama agenda's impact on Democratic Party — Democrats on Capitol Hill began a nervous debate Wednesday about the course President Obama has set for their party, with some questioning whether they should emphasize job creation over some of the more ambitious items on the president's agenda.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Politico, McClatchy Washington Bureau, New York Times, Suburban Guerrilla, Los Angeles Times, Associated Press and msnbc.com

Aaron Blake / The Hill:
Independent voters big for GOP; Democrats maintain black vote

Discussion: The Politico, Townhall.com and MyDD

James Pethokoukis:
‘Permanent Democratic majority’ begins to unravel

Discussion: Hot Air

Lori Montgomery / Washington Post:

House leaders prepare for rare Saturday vote on health-care bill — CBO: GOP measure would cover few uninsured — House leaders put in motion the machinery to hold a rare Saturday vote on the most far-reaching expansion of the health-care system in more than 40 years.

Discussion: Think Progress, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, The Politico, The Hill, Top Stories from CQ, The Hill, QandO, Capitol Briefing, Bloomberg, USA Today, Ruby Slippers, TalkLeft and American Power

Daniel Libit / The Politico:

Bachmann calls for ‘scare’ tactics — In a conference call Wednesday night with bloggers and activists for the advocacy group Americans for Prosperity, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) called on protesters to “scare” members of Congress into killing the proposed health care reform bill.

Discussion: Think Progress, The Note, Washington Monthly, Prescriptions, TPMDC, Hot Dish Politics and George's Bottom Line

Patricia Murphy / Politics Daily:
Michele Bachmann's Capitol House Call: ‘Get Your Hands Off My Health Care!’

Discussion: Indecision Forever

David Herszenhorn / Prescriptions:
Budget Monitor Says G.O.P. Bill Leaves Many Uninsured

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Washington Monthly, Raw Story and White House.gov Blog Feed

Evan McMorris-Santoro / TPMDC:
Michele Bachmann, Tea Partiers Prepare For Last Stand On Health Care

Discussion: First Draft and skippy the bush kangaroo

Jonathan Allen / The Politico:
No longer taking care of business

Discussion: Stop The ACLU, Little Green Footballs and The Washington Independent

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
Bachmann Watch — We've spent the day trying to get a handle …

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog

Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:

Huckabee, Romney, Palin See Most Republican Support for '12 — Huckabee, Romney viewed as most qualified of possible Republican presidential candidates — PRINCETON, NJ — Looking ahead to the 2012 presidential election, 71% of Republicans say they would seriously consider voting for Mike Huckabee.

Discussion: The Hill, Hot Dish Politics and Real Clear Politics

TMZ.com:

Prejean Sex Tape Triggers Settlement — Carrie Prejean demanded more than a million dollars during her settlement negotiations with Miss California USA Pageant officials — that is, until the lawyer for the Pageant showed Carrie an XXX home video of her handiwork.

Discussion: Liberal Values, Taylor Marsh, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Don Surber, News Hounds, Raw Story, The TrogloPundit, Pam's House Blend, JammieWearingFool, AMERICAblog Gay and American Power

Mike Allen / The Politico:

Sen. Snowe: Tuesday's results ‘certainly gives pause on how you approach’ health reform - Yanks are world champs — BIRTHDAYS: Autumn Hanna VandeHei, the hottest and smartest wife-mother-friend (boot tip: Jimmy) ... Sloan Rappaport big 4-0 birthday (hat tip: Margaret and Freddie) …

Discussion: TPMDC, Washington Post and Swampland

Nicholas D. Kristof / New York Times:

Unhealthy America — The moment of truth for health care is at hand, and the distortion that perhaps gets the most traction is this: … That self-aggrandizing delusion may be the single greatest myth in the health care debate. In fact, America's health care system is worse than Slov—er, oops, more on that later.

Discussion: The Mahablog

Chris Cillizza / The Fix:

Morning Fix: Courting Sarah Palin — 1. The news that Illinois Rep. Mark Kirk (R) is actively seeking the backing of former Alaska governor Sarah Palin in his Senate primary race is the latest evidence of the power the 2008 vice presidential nominee carries — thanks to the fact that she has become the voice of the angry right.

Discussion: msnbc.com, Ben Smith's Blog, Firedoglake, Pundits Blog and Conservatives4Palin.com

Paul Thompson / Daily Mail:

Michelle Obama to star with Nigella Lawson as she becomes first presidential wife to appear on a reality show — Michelle Obama is to be the first presidential wife to appear on a reality TV series. — The First Lady will make a guest appearance on ‘Iron Chef America’ which features British cook Nigella Lawson as a judge.

Discussion: Gateway Pundit and JammieWearingFool

J. Taylor Rushing / The Hill:

Letter to Reid on healthcare from former Surgeon General Koop shuts Senate — A letter about healthcare reform to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) from former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop triggered a security scare that briefly shut down much of the Senate on Wednesday.

Discussion: jillstanek.com and The Politico

Perry Bacon Jr / Capitol Briefing:
Senate passes bill extending homebuyer tax credit, unemployment benefits

Discussion: New York Magazine

Michael Sokolove / New York Times:

Dick Armey Is Back on the Attack — I. — At sunset on a September evening, Dick Armey, the former House majority leader, strode to a lectern set up in the parking lot of a Harley-Davidson dealership in Hickory, N.C., where about 300 people had gathered to hear him speak.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Matthew Yglesias, The Internet Food Association and Hullabaloo

New York Times:

Kerik Expected to Accept Prison Term in Corruption Case — Bernard B. Kerik, New York City's former police commissioner, is expected to plead guilty on Thursday to a single conspiracy charge in an agreement that would resolve the three pending federal criminal trials he faces in New York and Washington …

Discussion: Runnin' Scared and New York Magazine

Fran Langum / Blue Gal:

That's NOT YOUR CAKE, Barack Obama! — That's BLUE GAL'S Anniversary Cake! Her blog is five years old today! — I don't know how FOX News can claim they aren't a propaganda arm of the Republican Party after they sent you a half-eaten (Cavuto, natch) “aborted white babies” theme cake.

Karl Rove / Wall Street Journal:

Tuesday's Suburban Vote Swing — Even a five-point shift would mean big Democratic losses in 2010. — Printer — Friendly — Tuesday's elections should put a scare into red state Democrats—and a few blue state ones, too. — Barack Obama was said to have redrawn the electoral map …

Discussion: Washington Post, Boston Globe, The Greenroom and YID With LID