memeorandum: Fire Alan Simpson (Paul Krugman)

6:55 AM ET, August 26, 2010

Top Items:

Bush Campaign Chief and Former RNC Chair Ken Mehlman: I'm Gay — Ken Mehlman, President Bush's campaign manager in 2004 and a former chairman of the Republican National Committee, has told family and associates that he is gay. — Mehlman arrived at this conclusion about his identity fairly recently, he said in an interview.

Michael Luo / New York Times:

Former G.O.P. Leader Says He Is Gay — Ken Mehlman, President George W. Bush's campaign manager in 2004 and a former chairman of the Republican National Committee, has revealed to family and friends over the last few months that he is gay, he said in an interview Wednesday.

Discussion: The Politico and GayPatriot

Shushannah Walshe / The Daily Beast:

Exclusive: Palin Foe Mulls Third-Party Run — There's a new wrinkle in Alaska's hotly contested GOP Senate primary. With Senator Lisa Murkowski trailing Palin-endorsed insurgent Joe Miller, a source inside Murkowski's campaign tells The Daily Beast the senator may abandon the GOP for a third party run.

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Progressive Alaska, The Swamp, The Atlantic Online, CNN, Washington Post, Weekly Standard, Ballot Box, Wonkette, Hot Air, The Eye, The Fix, Outside the Beltway, National Review, GOP 12 and msnbc.com

Anchorage Daily News:

Miller on verge of toppling Murkowski — U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski is battling for her political life this morning against Republican primary challenger Joe Miller, the tea party-backed candidate who has a slim lead as ballots continue to be counted. — Miller, a Fairbanks attorney …

Discussion: Salon, The Caucus, MyDD, The Fix, American Power, RedState and Outside the Beltway

CNN:

An unknown Democrat in the last frontier — If Republican incumbent Sen. Lisa Murkowski is defeated in the GOP primary, her only option is to run as a write-in candidate. — Washington (CNN) - Democrats are already moving to quickly define Alaska Republican and Senate hopeful Joe Miller …

Shira Toeplitz / The Politico:

Murkowski won't ditch GOP yet — Trailing attorney Joe Miller by less than 1,500 votes—and with at least 8,000 more still to be counted—Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski said Wednesday at a press conference she would wait until all Republican primary absentee votes were counted before making any decisions about how to proceed.

Discussion: Anchorage Daily News, Washington Post, The Other McCain and CNN

Sean Cockerham / Anchorage Daily News:
Miller's lead slims; Murkowski awaits absentees

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's …

John Dickerson / Slate:
All the candidates Sarah Palin backed had a great night.

Discussion: The Politico, No More Mister Nice Blog, Hot Air, NewsBusters.org, Daily Kos, The Daily Beast, AmSpecBlog, blogs.telegraph.co.uk and Politics Daily

Jonathan Bernstein / A plain blog about politics:
Palinization — First, give the Sage of Wasilla credit.

Discussion: Washington Monthly and Weigel

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:

Alleged anti-Muslim attacker works at pro-Park51 group — The apparent anti-Muslim assault on a New York city cabbie by a man shouting “Assalamu Alaikum. Consider this a checkpoint” produced an immediate round of recriminations over its connection to opposition to a New York Islamic Center and an apparent rising tide of Islamophobia.

Discussion: TPMMuckraker, Intersections International, Atlas Shrugs, American Power, Runnin' Scared, Political Byline, JOSHUAPUNDIT, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS, American Glob, Don Surber, NY1, Weasel Zippers, Little Green Footballs, National Review and Outside the Beltway

City Room:

Student Arraigned in Anti-Muslim Stabbing of Cabdriver — The man charged with the anti-Muslim slashing and stabbing of a cabdriver was arraigned Wednesday afternoon in Manhattan Criminal Court on charges of second-degree attempted murder as a hate crime, first-degree assault as a hate crime …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, This Just In, Think Progress, Talking Points Memo, Guardian, TPMMuckraker, Gawker, Informed Comment, Runnin' Scared, New York Post, iOwnTheWorld.com, Harry's Place, Gateway Pundit, Gothamist, The Awl, Salon and The Impolitic

NY Daily News:
Muslim cab driver slashed by boozed-up bigot just back from filming …

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland and THEROOT.COM

Foster Kamer / Runnin' Scared:
Was the Muslim Cab Driver Slashing the First “Ground Zero Mosque” Hate Crime?

Discussion: Michelle Malkin, Mediaite, TPMMuckraker, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Mahablog, Liberty Pundits Blog, Raw Story, Big Peace and Think Progress

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
Enright made ‘nonsensical’ statements to cops; no warning signs at work

Discussion: TPMMuckraker and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Paul Krugman:

Fire Alan Simpson — I always thought that the deficit commission was a bad idea; it has only looked worse over time, as the buzz is that Democrats are caving in to Republicans, leaning ever further toward an all-cuts, no taxes solution, including a sharp rise in the retirement age.

Ashley Carson / National Commission …:
Sen. Simpson apologizes to OWL for his remarks

Discussion: The Huffington Post, The Caucus, ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*, Daily Kos and HotAirPundit

The Politico:

Democrats privately fear House prospects worsening — Top Democrats are growing markedly more pessimistic about holding the House, privately conceding that the summertime economic and political recovery they were banking on will not likely materialize by Election Day.

Discussion: Right Wing News

Paul Bedard / US News:

Tea Party Group Hit With Death Threats — One of Washington's principal supporters of the Tea Party movement, former GOP Majority Leader Dick Armey's FreedomWorks, has been receiving death threats and profanity-laced phone calls as it gets involved in the fall elections.

Discussion: Right Wing News and Weasel Zippers

New York Times:

Key Karzai Aide in Corruption Inquiry Is Linked to C.I.A. — KABUL, Afghanistan — The aide to President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan at the center of a politically sensitive corruption investigation is being paid by the Central Intelligence Agency, according to Afghan and American officials.

Discussion: Prairie Weather, News Dissector Blog, The Page and The Reality-Based Community

Andrew C. McCarthy / National Review:

Another ‘Moderate’ GZ Mosque Supporter Can't Bring Himself to Call Hamas a Terrorist Organization — Last night, I was on David Asman's Fox Business Channel show, Scoreboard, debating Imam Dawoud Kringle of the New York State prison system, a GZ mosque supporter.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, American Glob and American Power

Nat Hentoff / Jewish World Review:
Am I also a bigot? Pols clueless on Ground Zero mosque

Discussion: Pajamas Media, jta.org, Weekly Standard and Solomonia

Kasie Hunt / The Politico:

Quayle surprises even himself — After a cascade of accusations and ever-shifting denials that he wrote for a raunchy website under the name of a fictional porn star, it seemed even Ben Quayle thought he was going to lose a 10-way Republican primary in Arizona.

Discussion: CNN

Kasie Hunt / The Politico:
Ben Quayle hammers Obama in victory speech

Discussion: Mediaite and Gateway Pundit

Amy Gardner / Washington Post:

Glenn Beck rally will be a measure of the tea party's strength — When Fox News and talk radio host Glenn Beck comes to Washington this weekend to headline a rally intended to “restore honor” to America, he will test the strength - and potentially expose the weaknesses …

Discussion: The Page

Caroline May / The Daily Caller:

African-American leaders and intellectuals express dissatisfaction with President Obama — With President Barack Obama's approval ratings dipping below 50%, members of his strongest voting bloc have also started to voice displeasure with the way he has chosen to govern.

Discussion: NO QUARTER

Douglas H. Shulman / Z STREET:

Z STREET v IRS Commissioner — IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA — Z STREET, — Plaintiff, — v. — IN HIS OFFICIAL CAPACITY AS — COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, — Defendant. — COMPLAINT — COMES NOW the Plaintiff …

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blog, Israel Matzav and Weekly Standard

Wikileaks:

CIA Red Cell Memorandum on United States “exporting terrorism”, 2 Feb 2010 — This CIA “Red Cell” report from February 2, 2010, looks at what will happen if it is internationally understood that the United States is an exporter of terrorism; 'Contrary to common belief, the American export …

Discussion: The Agonist, Danger Room, Firedoglake, The Political Carnival, Politics Daily, CNN, Gawker, Raw Story and Boing Boing, more at Techmeme »

Matt Friedman / New Jersey Online:

Gov. Christie blames Washington bureaucracy for state's failed ‘Race to the Top’ application — TRENTON — Gov. Chris Christie this morning acknowledged the state made a clerical error that blew its chance at winning $400 million in federal money for schools, but he blamed Obama administration bureaucrats …

Discussion: Cubachi, YID With LID, Gawker, Gothamist, Hot Air, Politics K-12, Ballot Box, The Quick and the Ed, Hechinger Report, GOP 12 and Hotline On Call

Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:

Harry Reid rips Sharron Angle over “domestic enemies” — Yesterday I reported here that Sharron Angle agreed with a talk show host's claim that we have “domestic enemies” within the “walls of the Senate and the Congress.” — Now Harry Reid is personally calling on Angle to name names.

Discussion: Double Dutch Politics, The Reaction, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, National Review, Washington Monthly, The Political Carnival and Daily Kos

Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:

New Forecast Shows Democrats Losing 6 to 7 Senate Seats — The Democratic majority is in increasing jeopardy in the Senate, according to the latest FiveThirtyEight forecasting model. The Democrats now have an approximately 20 percent chance of losing 10 or more seats in the Senate …

Discussion: Double Dutch Politics, The Moderate Voice, Pajamas Media, AMERICAblog News, The Atlantic Online, The Buzz, Indecision Forever, New York Times and Taegan Goddard's …, more at Mediagazer »

Jeff Passan / Yahoo! Sports:

Marlins' profits came at taxpayer expense — The swindlers who run the Florida Marlins got exposed Monday. They are as bad as anyone on Wall Street, scheming, misleading and ultimately sticking taxpayers with a multibillion-dollar tab. Corporate fraud is alive and well in Major League Baseball.

Discussion: Hit & Run, The Volokh Conspiracy, Riptide 2.0 and Latest Open Salon Blog

Sebastian / Snowflakes in Hell:

EPA Considering Banning Lead Ammunition — NSSF is springing into action, as the public comment period opens on EPA considering a regulation that will ban all traditional lead ammunition. This would basically end the shooting sports as we know it. Remember this is a no-win situation for us …

Discussion: Political Byline, Hot Air, iOwnTheWorld.com and Beltway Confidential

Breitbart.tv:

This website uses IntenseDebate comments, but they are not currently loaded because either your browser doesn't support JavaScript, or they didn't load fast enough. — i'm sure i would have caused an “incident” dude needed tea bagged for sure — He made such a compelling argument for the mosque, my eyes have been opened!

Discussion: Mediaite, Moonbattery, Weasel Zippers and NewsBusters.org

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission:

SEC Adopts New Measures to Facilitate Director Nominations by Shareholders — FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — 2010-155 — Washington, D.C., Aug. 25, 2010 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today adopted changes to the federal proxy and other rules to facilitate the rights of shareholders …

Discussion: naked capitalism and ProfessorBainbridge.com

Townhall.com:

For the Left, Opponents Cannot Have Decent Motives: The Ground Zero Example — I recently wrote about leftists' hatred for conservatives as people, not merely for conservative ideas. Demonization of opponents is a fundamental characteristic of the left. It is not merely tactical; they believe people on the right are bad.

Discussion: Firedoglake

Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:

More House Dems fleeing (and bashing) Obama and Pelosi — Little by little, we're starting to see more House Dems running ads distancing them from President Obama and Nancy Pelosi — and even directly taking them on. Some of the spots bash the Obama/Dem agenda in ways that echo GOP talking points.

Discussion: Betsy's Page and Outside the Beltway