memeorandum: Simmons attacks Blumenthal — and McMahon (Ben Smith/Ben Smith's Blog)

12:15 PM ET, May 18, 2010

Top Items:

Raymond Hernandez / New York Times:

Blumenthal's Words Differ From His History — At a ceremony honoring veterans and senior citizens who sent presents to soldiers overseas, Attorney General Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut rose and spoke of an earlier time in his life. — Multimedia — Enlarge This Image

Discussion: Michelle Malkin, Ballot Box, The Plum Line, JustOneMinute, Matthew Yglesias, Talking Points Memo, msnbc.com, The Note, Washington Monthly, The Huffington Post, News Desk, AmSpecBlog, The Daily Caller, Hot Air, MyDD, Top of the Ticket, Wonkette, Taegan Goddard's …, The Corner on National …, BLACKFIVE, Breitbart.tv, Associated Press, Stop The ACLU, The Awl, Newsweek Blogs, Cassy Fiano, The Politico, Washington Post, TPMDC, Hotline On Call, Mudville Gazette, The Fix, Right Now, Weasel Zippers, Guardian, Sweetness & Light, DaTechguy's Blog, Indecision Forever, PoliPundit.com, Another Black Conservative, Mediaite, PostPartisan, USA Today, Dan_McLaughlin's blog, TPMMuckraker, This Just In, Gateway Pundit, Sister Toldjah, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, This ain't Hell …, Don Surber, The Powers That Be, Outside The Beltway, NewsBusters.org, No More Mister Nice Blog, Betsy's Page, Politics Daily, The Moderate Voice, Law Blog, Open Left, YID With LID, NPR Topics, Political Insider, Liberty Pundits Blog, Gawker, Commentary, Clusterstock, The Eye, Blogs of War, JammieWearingFool, Real Clear Politics, Moonbattery, Swampland, The Other McCain, Neptunus Lex, Weekly Standard, Balloon Juice, TigerHawk, Swing State Project, The Nation, GayPatriot and First Draft

Marc Ambinder / The Atlantic Online:

Blumenthal Responds to Vietnam Allegations — Connecticut Attorney General Dick Blumenthal is denying a New York Times report that he routinely lied about his service in Vietnam. — “The New York Times story is an outrageous distortion of Dick Blumenthal's record of service,” …

Discussion: Ballot Box, Washington Monthly, Talking Points Memo and Prairie Weather

Allahpundit / Hot Air:

Bombshell: Democratic Senate candidate lied about serving in Vietnam; Update: Blumenthal responds, sort of — Not just any Democratic Senate candidate, either. It's Richard Blumenthal, current attorney general of Connecticut, whom Chris Dodd made way for by retiring earlier this year.

Discussion: National Review, The Strata-Sphere, Public Policy Polling and iOwnTheWorld.com

The Politico:

GOP takes credit for N.Y. Times hit — Pulling back the curtain on journalistic sausage-making usually hidden from voters, a Republican Senate candidate is taking credit for the front-page New York Times story accusing Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal of “plainly untrue” remarks about Vietnam service.

Discussion: Townhall.com, TPMMuckraker, Ben Smith's Blog and American Power

Paul Bass / New Haven Independent:
Simmons Stands To Gain Most From Blumenthal Expose

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blog and Talking Points Memo

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
Simmons attacks Blumenthal — and McMahon

Discussion: The Corner on National …

Joshua Green / The Atlantic Online:
Richard Blumenthal's Bogus War Record

Discussion: Marbury

Linda McMahon / Linda McMahon for Senate:
In Case You Missed It: McMahon Strikes Blumenthal In NYT Article

Discussion: This Just In and The Eye

J. Taylor Rushing / Ballot Box:
Lieberman undecided on whether to back Republican or Dem in Senate race

Discussion: The Politico and CNN

Kevin / Daily Ructions:
McMahon Strikes. Turns Blumenthal into Bruce Caputo.

Discussion: The Daily Caller, The Huffington Post, Taylor Marsh, Weasel Zippers, msnbc.com, Outside The Beltway, The Moderate Voice, The Eye and JammieWearingFool

Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:
In Connecticut, Dems May Need to Draft New Candidate

Discussion: Washington Wire

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.

Discussion: Firedoglake, The Caucus, Towleroad News #gay, Wonkette, Daily Kos, Weasel Zippers, Weekly Standard, The Eye, Liberty Pundits Blog, Hot Air, Riehl World View, Politics Nation, AMERICAblog Gay and Don Surber

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: The Note, CNN, The Swamp, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Townhall.com, The Hill, Swampland, Hotline On Call and Swing State Project

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.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Matthew Yglesias, The Speakers Lobby, Ben Smith's Blog, Mediaite, Liberty Pundits Blog, Talking Points Memo and The Washington Independent

Justin Elliott / TPMMuckraker:

Family Values GOP Rep To Resign Over Affair (VIDEO) — Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN), a champion of abstinence education and traditional family values, will resign effective Friday after an affair with a female staffer in his district office, he announced today. — He said in a statement that he …

Discussion: BuzzFlash.org, Raw Story, Talking Points Memo, RHRealityCheck.org, Instapundit, Right Wing Watch and MyDD

Michelle Malkin:

The GOP Crapweasel Club — Yep, it's time again for my upside-down elephant again. Just when CT Democrat Attorney General Richard Blumenthal's Vietnam fables should be front and center political news, here's a creepy Republican to steal the ignominious spotlight: … Ick.

Chris Cillizza / The Fix:

Mark Souder to resign after affair — Indiana congressman Mark Souder (R) will resign his seat after an affair with a staffer came to light, he said in a statement this morning. — “It is with great regret I announce that I am resigning from the U.S. House of Representatives as well as resigning …

Discussion: Liveshots, The Speakers Lobby, Newsweek Blogs and Mediaite

Sylvia A Smith / The Journal Gazette:
Citing ‘relationship’ with staffer, Souder to resign

Discussion: Joe. My. God. and msnbc.com

David Weigel / Right Now:
What does Mark Souder's resignation mean for abstinence education?

Discussion: Top of the Ticket and The Eye

Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
ANOTHER ‘FAMILY-VALUES’ REPUBLICAN RESIGNS AFTER SEX SCANDAL. …

Discussion: The Impolitic

The Politico:

What to watch in Tuesday's primaries — Just four states go to the polls Tuesday, but together they cast a long shadow. — It's the biggest single-day primary so far in 2010 and the outcomes in a handful of key races will provide the clearest indication yet of the depth and intensity …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Washington Post, The Caucus, Guardian and New York Times

Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
Incumbent Armageddon?: What to watch for

Discussion: American Power, FiveThirtyEight, TPMDC, Washington Post and The Politico

Walter Alarkon / The Hill:
Democrats prepare to pass war funding bill without Republican support

Discussion: The Politico and Weasel Zippers

The Politico:
Obama steers clear of shaky Specter

Discussion: The Swamp, The New Republic, Slate, Newsweek Blogs, Washington Wire and The New Ledger

Todd Ackerman / Houston Chronicle:

Texas doctors fleeing Medicare in droves — Texas doctors are opting out of Medicare at alarming rates, frustrated by reimbursement cuts they say make participation in government-funded care of seniors unaffordable. — Two years after a survey found nearly half of Texas doctors weren't taking …

Discussion: Townhall.com, Liberty Pundits Blog, Questions and Observations, Pajamas Media and Sweetness & Light

Scott Gottlieb / Wall Street Journal:

No, You Can't Keep Your Health Plan — Insurers and doctors are already consolidating their businesses in the wake of ObamaCare's passage. — President Obama guaranteed Americans that after health reform became law they could keep their insurance plans and their doctors.

Discussion: Betsy's Page

The Atlantic Online:

Rand Paul Wraps Up in Kentucky — BOWLING GREEN — Now it's up to you, Kentucky GOP voters: Rand Paul just wrapped up the last public event of his insurgent campaign for the Senate in his hometown of Bowling Green with a full-throated endorsement of the Tea Party.

Discussion: Matthew Yglesias, Washington Monthly and The New Republic

Janet Patton / Lexington Herald-Leader: Turnout expected to vary widely across Kentucky on Tuesday

CNN:
Democrats think Tea Party favorite could hurt GOP chances

Discussion: The Politico

Benjamin Joffe-Walt / Jerusalem Post:

Saudi woman beats up virtue cop — Incident follows a wave of challenges to religious authorities. — Talkbacks (16) — Make JPOST.COM your Home Page — Iranian Threat — Jewish World — Local Israel — Arts & Culture — Français — Classifieds — Israel — Middle East

Discussion: Cassy Fiano, The Confluence, Jihad Watch, Stop The ACLU, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Left Coast Rebel, Another Black Conservative, Neptunus Lex, Betsy's Page, Gawker and Israel Matzav

Dexter Filkins / New York Times:

Suicide Bomber Hits U.S. Convoy in Afghanistan — KABUL, Afghanistan — A man driving a Toyota minivan crammed with explosives steered into an American convoy Tuesday morning here, killing 18 people, including five American soldiers and one from Canada. At least 47 people were wounded …

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, Washington Post, BBC, Laura Rozen's Blog, FP Passport, Jules Crittenden and National Review

Amir Shah / Associated Press:
Taliban suicide bomb hits NATO convoy, kills 18

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and The AfPak Channel

Fox News:

Rev. Wright: ‘Obama Threw Me Under the Bus’ — NEW YORK — The Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Barack Obama's controversial former pastor, said in a letter obtained by The Associated Press that he is “toxic” to the Obama administration and that the president “threw me under the bus.”

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, Weekly Standard and Questions and Observations

Jennifer Rubin / Commentary:

Obama Won't Say Who Killed Daniel Pearl — At a signing ceremony for the Freedom of Press Act, it is ironic and shameful that Obama could not bring himself to identify the killers who beheaded the man who fearlessly reported on the jihadist terrorists. Obama had this to say:

Discussion: CBS News, New York Times, No More Mister Nice Blog, Gateway Pundit, Top of the Ticket, The White House, Weekly Standard, Pundit & Pundette, White House.gov Blog Feed, The Corner on National … and RedState

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: Think Progress, TPMMuckraker, Law Blog and Main Justice

Basil Katz / Reuters:

Corrected: NY man said to use computer skills to aid al Qaeda — In second to last paragraph, deletes incorrect references to purchasing watches and Yemen trip in 2008 — (Reuters) - A New York man accused of helping al Qaeda with computer systems and cash was denied bail on Monday in a New York court.

Discussion: The Jawa Report