memeorandum: Fear and loathing in the RNC (Byron York/Washington Examiner)

10:45 AM ET, April 7, 2010

Top Items:

Anne Schroeder Mullins / The Politico:

STORMY DANIELS SWITCHES TEAMS — Stormy Daniels, the former porn star who has been debating whether to run for Senate in Louisiana for what seems like decades, says she'll make her decision April 15. More important, she announced Tuesday that if she does run — because apparently …

Discussion: CNN, Mediaite, Another Black Conservative, Hotline On Call, The Gun Toting Liberal, Big Government, Below The Beltway and Hot Air

Jonathan Martin / The Politico:

On the edge: Clues to Steele's future — A week after revelations that the Republican National Committee reimbursed a fundraiser for expenses incurred at a sex-themed nightclub, the reverberations continue to shake the GOP. — The committee's chief of staff has been pushed …

Discussion: CNN, The Daily Caller, The Moderate Voice, Guardian, The Daily Beast, The Page, Washington Monthly, The Note and Ben Smith's Blog

Mark Murray / msnbc.com:

FIRST THOUGHTS: THE GOP'S VOID — The GOP's leadership void... The hits keep on coming for Steele, though the RNC reported raising $11.4 million in March... But that is less than the $13 million-plus the DNC is reporting... Is Bart Stupak going to call it quits?... Obama heads to Prague this evening …

Discussion: Dallas Morning News, JammieWearingFool and The Political Carnival

Byron York / Washington Examiner:

Fear and loathing in the RNC — Among members and insiders at the Republican National Committee, the feelings about chairman Michael Steele boil down to this: Many would be delighted if Steele were to leave the committee and take his controversies with him, but no one, at least so far, is willing to call on Steele to step down.

Discussion: Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
Castellanos jumps ship

Discussion: Washington Monthly and Daily Kos

Brody Mullins / Wall Street Journal:
Cash Scarcity Concerns GOP

Discussion: The Note, Washington Wire, Foster's Daily Democrat and Washington Post

Jordan Fabian / The Hill:
White House helps keep GOP chairman Michael Steele in the spotlight

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blog, CNN and The Note

Washington Post:
After spending scandal, Republican Chairman Steele tries to reassure his party

Discussion: Baltimore Sun, New York Times, Right Now, CNN, TPMDC, The Page and The Plum Line

CNN:

Reporter's notebook: What really happens at Tea Party rallies — (CNN) — When it comes to the Tea Party movement, the stereotypes don't tell the whole story. — Here's what you often see in the coverage of Tea Party rallies: offensive posters blasting President Obama and Democratic leaders …

Discussion: JammieWearingFool, JustOneMinute and Right Now

Valerie Bauman / Associated Press:

Black conservative tea party backers take heat — ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - They've been called Oreos, traitors and Uncle Toms, and are used to having to defend their values. Now black conservatives are really taking heat for their involvement in the mostly white tea party movement …

Discussion: Hot Air, theblogprof, NewsBusters.org, No More Mister Nice Blog, Shot in the Dark, Liberty Pundits dot net, Another Black Conservative, Nice Deb, Left Coast Rebel, Pundit & Pundette, Instapundit, alicublog, The American Pundit, The Rhetorican and The Lonely Conservative

J. Taylor Rushing / The Hill:
One year out, Tea Party now has legitimacy — and outspoken critics

Discussion: THE MIKE MALLOY SHOW, Riehl World View and Whiskey Fire

Fox News:

Obama Bans Islam, Jihad From National Security Strategy Document — The change is a significant shift in the National Security Strategy, a document that previously outlined the Bush Doctrine of preventative war.

Discussion: Michelle Malkin and Jihad Watch

Scott Shane / New York Times:

U.S. Approves Targeted Killing of American Cleric — WASHINGTON — The Obama administration has taken the extraordinary step of authorizing the targeted killing of an American citizen, the radical Muslim cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, who is believed to have shifted from encouraging attacks …

Discussion: Guardian, The Washington Independent, ATTACKERMAN, Reuters, Commentary and ABCNEWS

Matt Apuzzo / Associated Press:
Not all terrorism: Obama tries to change subject

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Think Progress and Sweetness & Light

Washington Post:

McDonnell's Confederate History Month proclamation irks civil rights leaders — RICHMOND — Gov. Robert F. McDonnell, reviving a controversy that had been dormant for eight years, has declared that April will be Confederate History Month in Virginia, a move that angered civil rights leaders Tuesday …

Discussion: Power Line, The Atlantic Online, The Note, Think Progress, Washington Monthly, Betsy's Page, Achenblog, PoliBlog, This Just In, NPR Topics and Wonkette

Anita Kumar / Virginia Politics Blog:
Despite previous governors' refusals, McDonnell issues Confederate …

Myglesias / Matthew Yglesias:
McDonnell Moving Virginia Backwards, Celebrating Slavery and Rebellion

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money, Grasping Reality …, driftglass and Below The Beltway

Nina Totenberg / NPR:

Supreme Court May Soon Lack Protestant Justices — text sizeAAA — With U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens talking openly about retirement, attention has focused on the “who” — as in who is on President Obama's short list of potential nominees.

Discussion: msnbc.com and Prairie Weather

Alexander Bolton / The Hill: Specter claims Reid deal for Judiciary chair

Byron York / Washington Examiner: Dems dread Supreme Court fight after elections

Noel Sheppard / NewsBusters.org:

Rudy Giuliani and Joe Scarborough Humiliate Arianna Huffington — Arianna Huffington stuck her foot in her mouth during Tuesday's “Morning Joe” on MSNBC, and ended up being totally humiliated by host Joe Scarborough and guests Rudy Giuliani and Mort Zuckerman.

Discussion: Liberty Pundits dot net, Scared Monkeys, The Daily Caller and The Other McCain

Allahpundit / Hot Air:
Video: Unprompted Huffington attack on Giuliani fails epically

Discussion: Weekly Standard and The Huffington Post

Margaret Talev / McClatchy Washington Bureau:

Health care overhaul spawns mass confusion for public — WASHINGTON — Two weeks after President Barack Obama signed the big health care overhaul into law, Americans are struggling to understand how — and when — the sweeping measure will affect them. — Questions reflecting confusion …

Discussion: The Mahablog, Washington Post, The Lonely Conservative and JammieWearingFool

Reuters:

Volcker: Taxes likely to rise eventually to tame deficit — (Reuters) - The United States should consider raising taxes to help bring deficits under control and may need to consider a European-style value-added tax, White House adviser Paul Volcker said on Tuesday.

Discussion: Hot Air, Ruby Slippers, The Foundry, Questions and Observations, Below The Beltway, The Page, Sister Toldjah, protein wisdom, Sweetness & Light, Liberty Pundits dot net, JammieWearingFool and Weasel Zippers

Quinnipiac University:

Specter Tops Sestak Among Pennsylvania Democrats, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Corbett Has Big Lead In GOP Governor's Primary — Sen. Arlen Specter has a 53 - 32 percent lead among likely Democratic primary voters over U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak in the Senate race, while in the Governor's race …

Discussion: Politics Daily, The Eye and Real Clear Politics

David Leonhardt / New York Times:

Economic Scene: To Cut Health Costs, U.S. Needs to Learn to Say No — How can we learn to say no? — The federal government is now starting to build the institutions that will try to reduce the soaring growth of health care costs. There will be a group to compare the effectiveness …

Discussion: Questions and Observations, Washington Post, Beat the Press and Riehl World View

Eli Lake / Reason:

The 9/14 Presidency — Barack Obama is operating with the war powers granted George W. Bush three days after the 9/11 attacks. — If you believe the president's Republican critics, Barack Obama takes a law enforcement approach to terrorism. His FBI came under fire for reading Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab …

Discussion: The New Republic, FrumForum, AmSpecBlog and Hit & Run

Mark Hosenball / Newsweek Blogs:
Obama's ‘Intelligence Czar’ Plugs a New Counterterrorism Catchphrase

Discussion: Commentary and Hot Air

Tommy Christopher / Mediaite:

Updated with Video - Gibbs Calls CNN's Erick Erickson's Comments ‘Remarkably Crazy’ — At today's White House press briefing, liberal radio host Bill Press asked Press Secretary Robert Gibbs about recent comments by CNN's Erick Erickson. Specifically, he asked if Erickson's threat to “pull …

Discussion: Firedoglake, Big Journalism and Right Now

James Taranto / Wall Street Journal:

‘Riot Is the Voice of the Unheard’ — Tea-party foe Maxine Waters once made excuses for real political violence. — “The Tea Party emerges as not only outrageous, but they have turned up the volume in ways that even Code Pink have not been able to do,” Rep. Maxine Waters said the other day on MSNBC.

Discussion: Political Byline

Frank Phillips / Boston Globe:

Politically, Patrick's back in the game — Energized governor gains as 2 rivals spar — “People who write this guy off do so at their own peril. . . . He has started to do what he did before.” — Kevin Sowyrda, Republican media consultant, on Governor Deval Patrick.

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's … and Liberty Pundits dot net

Sarah Palin / Minneapolis Star Tribune:

Palin to attend rally, benefit in Mpls. — The 2008 GOP vice presidential candidate will attend a rally and a high-bucks fundraiser for the Minnesota Republican Party Wednesday. — For Sarah Palin's Wednesday stop in Minneapolis, the masses will come first, to be followed by the moneyed.

Discussion: Minnesota Public Radio, Politics Daily, GOP 12 and The Blotter

Joe Biden / Los Angeles Times:

A comprehensive nuclear arms strategy — The administration's Nuclear Posture Review outlines the means to achieve greater security from worldwide nuclear dangers. Nonproliferation and counter-terrorism are central to the strategy. — When I joined the Senate in 1973 …

Discussion: New York Times, Reuters, Washington Examiner, Wall Street Journal, Politics Daily and The Page

David Ignatius / Washington Post:

Obama weighs new peace plan for the Middle East — Despite recent turbulence in U.S. relations with Israel, President Obama is “seriously considering” proposing an American peace plan to resolve the Palestinian conflict, according to two top administration officials.

Discussion: Commentary, The Washington Independent and Yourish.com