memeorandum: Sestak Beats Specter in Pa. Senate Primary, Paul Wins in Kentucky (Jill Lawrence/Politics Daily)

11:45 PM ET, May 18, 2010

Top Items:

Alexander Burns / The Politico:

Sestak, Paul score wins as Lincoln waits — Upstart Senate candidates claimed two stunning victories in primary elections Tuesday night as Pennsylvania Rep. Joe Sestak denied incumbent Democrat Arlen Specter renomination to a sixth term and Kentucky insurgent Rand Paul easily bested establishment …

Discussion: Philly.com, CNN, Weekly Standard, FiveThirtyEight, Scared Monkeys, LewRockwell.com Blog and Hit & Run

Andy Barr / The Politico:

Arlen Specter warns of tea party ‘take over’ — As voters considered his fate throughout Pennsylvania, Sen. Arlen Specter warned on Tuesday that without him Democrats may not be able to fend off a tea party “takeover.” — “What you see happening across the country is that the tea party organization …

Discussion: CNN, Michelle Malkin and Weasel Zippers

Katharine Q. Seelye / New York Times:

Specter Loses Pennsylvania Senate Seat — WASHINGTON — Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, who bolted the Republican Party more than a year ago in a bid to salvage his Senate career as a Democrat, was defeated in a primary for his new party's nomination on Tuesday, as Democratic primary voters turned …

Discussion: Firedoglake, Newsweek Blogs and No More Mister Nice Blog

NBC Philadelphia:

Sestak Knocks Out Specter — Specter concedes race — To view this video you must to have Flash Player 9.0 or later installed. Click to download the most recent version of Flash. — U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak has knocked off five-term U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter in the Democratic Senate primary.

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's …, Pam's House Blend and Joe. My. God.

Jill Lawrence / Politics Daily: Sestak Beats Specter in Pa. Senate Primary, Paul Wins in Kentucky

Associated Press:
Paul wins GOP Senate nod in Kentucky

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Firedoglake, Left Coast Rebel and Outside The Beltway

ABCNEWS:
Longtime Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter Loses Bid for Sixth Senate Term

Discussion: The Politico and CNN

Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:
Election Night Homethread (5/18/10)

Discussion: Ballot Box, Swing State Project, The Atlantic Online, Daily Kos and The Mahablog

DavidNYC / Swing State Project:
Kentucky, Pennsylvania & Arkansas Primary Results Thread

Discussion: Beltway Confidential, Firedoglake, Daily Kos, MyDD and Open Left

Manu Raju / The Politico:
Rand Paul tapped into ‘anger’

Discussion: CNN, TPMDC, Wizbang and Guardian

Marc Ambinder / The Atlantic Online:
Is Rand Ron's Son? Or The Most Powerful Republican In The Woooorld?

Discussion: Hot Air

Associated Press:
Specter rejected by Pa. Dems in bid for 6th term

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Townhall.com, msnbc.com, Left Coast Rebel and Weasel Zippers

CNN:
Rand Paul hopes to celebrate at local country club

Discussion: The Swamp

Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
Grayson's Supporters — The likely Rand Paul victory …

Discussion: The Fix, Lexington Herald-Leader, Barefoot and Progressive, Below The Beltway and Hullabaloo

Justin Elliott / TPMMuckraker:

Rep. Souder And Mistress Recorded Video Praising Abstinence (WATCH) — Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN) had an affair with a part-time staffer named Tracy Jackson, Fox is reporting. Jackson played the role of interviewer for a Souder Web video show on the issues of the day — including one on the value of abstinence.

Fox News:

Exclusive: Indiana Rep. Mark Souder to Resign Amid Allegations of Affair With Staffer — Eight-term Rep. Mark Souder will announce his resignation Tuesday after it came to light that he was conducting an affair with a female staffer who worked in his district office, Fox News has learned.

The Politico:

Souder: ‘I am so shamed’ — Rep. Mark Souder (R-Ind.) is resigning from Congress after telling colleagues he had an affair with a female aide. — “I sinned against God, my wife and my family by having a mutual relationship with a part-time member of my staff,” Souder said in a statement Tuesday.

Discussion: Vanity Fair, The Speakers Lobby, RedState, Swampland, Below The Beltway, The Note, The Swamp, Swing State Project, Hotline On Call and News Desk

Washington Post:
Rep. Mark Souder's resignation comes after anonymous tips about affair

Discussion: This ain't Hell …, Beltway Confidential, Right Now, Democratic Strategist and TPMMuckraker

Allahpundit / Hot Air:

Uh oh: Media not rallying to Blumenthal's side after press conference — A bit of candy to chew on while we await Benedict Arlen's fate. I think Blumenthal went out there today figuring that a confrontational, rather than contrite, posture — let no one impugn my service! — was the fastest way to the lefty base's hearts.

Discussion: Slate and Associated Press

James Hohmann / The Politico:
VFW leader rips Blumenthal

Discussion: Gateway Pundit and RedState

Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
Richard Blumenthal will survive

Discussion: New York Times, The Atlantic Online, The Hill, Right Pundits, NPR, Vanity Fair, Hot Air, TPMDC, Washington Monthly, The Corner on National …, Newsweek Blogs, PostPartisan, DISSENTING JUSTICE and The Nation

New York Times:
Mr. Blumenthal's Misdirection — There are few sins less forgivable …

Discussion: Real Clear Politics, Law Blog, The Plum Line and The Politico

David M. Halbfinger / New York Times:
Shays Watched as Blumenthal's War Claims Evolved

Discussion: PostPartisan, The Swamp, This ain't Hell … and Newsweek Blogs

The Politico:
GOP takes credit for N.Y. Times hit

Discussion: CNN, Swing State Project, Ben Smith's Blog, Newsweek Blogs, Daily Ructions, Washington Wire, The Plum Line, Taylor Marsh, Washington Monthly, New Haven Independent, The Eye, TPMMuckraker, Mother Jones, The Corner on National …, The Daily Caller and Gawker

Ray Sanchez / ABCNEWS:
Blumenthal: ‘I Have Misspoken About My Service’

Discussion: New York Times, Scared Monkeys, JammieWearingFool and The Fix

Robert Stacy McCain / The Other McCain:

PA-12 LIVE Election Results; UPDATE: Democrat Wins; Burns Concedes — Election results online here. — Part 1 of the concession speech: — Part II of the concession speech: — 10:55 p.m. ET: The people who supported his campaign “will not give up, and they will not give in,” Burns said in his concession speech.

Discussion: alicublog, Right Now, Conservatives4Palin.com and DaTechguy's Blog

Sean Trende / Real Clear Politics:
2010: Anti-Incumbent, Anti-Liberal, or Anti-Democrat?

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Right Now, Hot Air, The Confluence, Big Journalism, Questions and Observations and Politics Nation

Smitty / The Other McCain:
PA-12: Shoe Leather Update. Burns Victory? …

Discussion: Big Government, American Spectator and National Review

Christina Bellantoni / TPMDC:
Confident Dems Goad GOP By Calling PA-12 A ‘Must-Win’ For Republicans Today

Discussion: Democratic Strategist and Taylor Marsh

Marie Leech / The Birmingham:

Jefferson County geometry teacher uses wrong example to teach angles — assassination of President Barack Obama — and Carol Robinson — The Birmingham News — A Jefferson County teacher picked the wrong example when he used assassinating President Barack Obama as a way to teach angles to his geometry students.

Discussion: Firedoglake, CBS News, Pam's House Blend, Think Progress, Outside The Beltway, Raw Story, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, TPM LiveWire, Indecision Forever, Politics Daily and Political Insider

Jerry Markon / Washington Post:

Memo from 2002 could complicate challenge of Arizona immigration law — In the legal battle over Arizona's new immigration law, an ironic subtext has emerged: whether a Bush-era legal opinion complicates a potential Obama administration lawsuit against Arizona.

Discussion: Hot Air, Law Blog, American Power, TPMMuckraker, Above the Law, Wonk Room, Emptywheel, La Shawn Barber's Corner, The Foundry, Think Progress, protein wisdom, NewsBusters.org and Main Justice

William A. Jacobson / Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion:
Leadership by the Wilfully Ignorant

Discussion: Hot Air and JammieWearingFool

Associated Press:
Arizona Immigration Law Faces New Legal Fight

Discussion: Politics Daily

Steve Krakauer / Mediaite:

Breaking: Campbell Brown Leaving CNN After Network Grants Release From Contract (UPDATE) — Mediaite has learned CNN has granted anchor Campbell Brown's request to be let out early from her contract. — She has agreed to stay on and anchor the 8pmET hour until a replacement is found.

Discussion: Media Decoder, Wonkette and Romenesko

Evan McMorris-Santoro / TPMDC:

EpicFail: Blanche Lincoln Turned Away From Home Polling Place This Morning — Sen. Blanche Lincoln suffered what might be one of the all-time greatest campaign staff fails this morning. According to her campaign staff, Lincoln was initially turned away when she tried to vote at her home …

Discussion: The Swamp, Wonkette, Gateway Pundit, Swing State Project, Newsweek Blogs and Taylor Marsh

Boston Globe:

Ex-Harvard student accused of living a lie — He crafted an elaborate web of lies to con his way into Harvard University, authorities say, but Adam B. Wheeler wasn't content to graduate quietly and get away with just a degree. — After two years of blending into campus life and racking …

Discussion: ACS Blog, Gawker and Matthew Yglesias

New York Times:

Grim Milestone: 1,000 Americans Dead — He was an irreverent teenager with a pregnant girlfriend when the idea first crossed his mind: Join the Army, raise a family. She had an abortion, but the idea remained. Patrick S. Fitzgibbon, Saint Paddy to his friends, became Private Fitzgibbon.

Discussion: American Poems, Firedoglake, At War, Rethink Afghanistan War Blog, Newshoggers.com, Vanity Fair, News Desk, The Moderate Voice and Jules Crittenden

New York Times:

Major Powers Have Deal on Sanctions for Iran — WASHINGTON — The Obama administration announced an agreement on Tuesday with other major powers, including Russia and China, to impose a fourth set of sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program, setting the stage for an intense tug of war …

Discussion: Reuters, The White House, Washington Post, Guardian, The Impolitic, The Atlantic Online, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS, Newsweek Blogs, The Nation, Outside The Beltway, Laura Rozen's Blog, Politics Daily, Commentary, The Daily Beast, Daniel W. Drezner and The Politico

Washington Post:
South Korea: North responsible for torpedo attack on warship

Discussion: Outside The Beltway and Hit & Run

Bloomberg:

Conspiracy of Banks Rigging States Came With Crash — A telephone call between a financial adviser in Beverly Hills and a trader in New York was all it took to fleece taxpayers on a water-and-sewer financing deal in West Virginia. The secret conversation was part of a conspiracy stretching across …

Discussion: naked capitalism, Clusterstock and DealBook

Chris Bowers / Open Left:

Crotchety Progressive Rant — I am outraged by this, because this is outrageous. — And yet, where are the street protests in response to this outrage? No, not those protests—we need bigger ones. There should be hundreds of thousands of people out there protesting this. Every day.