memeorandum: Murkowski trails Tea Party-backed challenger as Alaska votes counted (Shane D'Aprile/Ballot Box)

9:05 AM ET, August 25, 2010

Top Items:

Miller holds slim lead in early Senate vote — Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski was battling for her political life against Republican challenger Joe Miller in early primary election returns on Tuesday night. — Miller was leading Murkowski with nearly 52 percent of the vote to her 48 percent …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Don Surber, Talking Points Memo, JammieWearingFool, Instapundit, Swampland, Scared Monkeys, The Other McCain, Outside the Beltway, TPMDC, sisu, AmSpecBlog, Gawker, Weigel, The Page and Balloon Juice

Damien Cave / New York Times:

Murkowski Is Locked in a Tight Senate Race in Alaska — Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, whose family has held a decades-long grip on one of the state's two Senate seats, was in a surprisingly tight race Wednesday morning against an insurgent candidate, a Tea Party favorite who received the backing of Sarah Palin.

Discussion: CNN and Freedom's Lighthouse

Shira Toeplitz / The Politico:

Lisa Murkowski faces possible upset — In what could become one of the biggest political upsets of the year, Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski trailed her tea party-backed opponent by a small margin Wednesday in Alaska's GOP primary with thousands of votes yet to be counted.

Discussion: Power Line, Hotline On Call and Hot Air

Shane D'Aprile / Ballot Box:

Murkowski trails Tea Party-backed challenger as Alaska votes counted — Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) is in danger of becoming the third incumbent senator to lose in the 2010 election cycle. — Attorney Joe Miller appears on the verge of a stunning upset in Alaska's Republican Senate primary …

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's … and The Page

David Catanese / The Politico:

McCain wins by wide margin — PHOENIX — Sen. John McCain routed former Rep. J.D. Hayworth in the Arizona Republican primary Tuesday night after a contentious campaign marked by stinging attacks and McCain's attempts to burnish his own conservative credentials.

Discussion: The Fix and The Page

Alexander Burns / The Politico:

Scott shocks McCollum in Fla. governor's race — Multimillionaire health care executive Rick Scott narrowly captured the GOP's nomination for governor of Florida Tuesday night, shocking both Republican and Democratic insiders who believed the free-spending newcomer's fortunes had taken …

Discussion: CNN, Wonkette, Macsmind, Guardian and Taylor Marsh

Jonathan Martin / The Politico:

Scott upset ripples beyond Florida — HOLLYWOOD, Fla. - Millionaire businessman Rick Scott's surprise win in the Florida Republican gubernatorial primary Tuesday left both parties scrambling over how to cope with a candidate who possesses both glaring flaws and considerable assets.

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, No More Mister Nice Blog, CNN, Colorlines and Weigel

CNN:
Meek thanks supporters in e-mail

Discussion: Freedom's Lighthouse

Dan Balz / Washington Post:
Primaries test establishment vs. outsiders in Florida, Arizona and Alaska

Discussion: msnbc.com, New York Times and Daily Kos

Jim Geraghty / National Review:
GOP Turnout Way Ahead in Florida?

Discussion: GayPatriot

Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
Rubio back on top — Democrats will get their stronger candidate …

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Outside the Beltway, Swing State Project, National Review, Scared Monkeys, Daily Kos, Hot Air, Power Line, Don Surber, Weekly Standard, American Glob, Post on Politics, GOP 12 and Taegan Goddard's …

Scott Whitlock / NewsBusters.org:

Andrea Mitchell Lectures U.S. on Ground Zero Mosque: America Needs to Be ‘More Sensitive to Minority Communities’ — Andrea Mitchell on Tuesday fretted that the “angry voices” protesting against the Ground Zero mosque will hurt Barack Obama's attempts to reach out to the Muslim world.

Discussion: NO QUARTER and Freedom's Lighthouse

Josh Rogin / Foreign Policy:
State Department compares Park 51 Imam to Shirley Sherrod

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, TUNDRA TABLOIDS, Atlas Shrugs, Forbes, Weekly Standard, The Political Carnival and Commentary

Cristian Salazar / Associated Press:
NY archbishop worries about tone of mosque debate

Discussion: Commentary, Ben Smith's Blog, Riehl World View and Associated Press

Fox News:
‘Ground Zero Mosque’ Imam: America Killed More Innocents Than Al Qaeda

Discussion: Riehl World View

Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
Karen Hughes: I don't remember any of my work with Imam

Discussion: The Daily Beast, TPMDC, Firedoglake, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Washington Post

Jonathan J. Cooper / Associated Press:

McCain defeats conservative primary challenger — PHOENIX — Sen. John McCain routed conservative challenger J.D. Hayworth on Tuesday in the Republican primary in what could be the final campaign for the former GOP presidential nominee. — McCain spent more than $20 million to beat …

Discussion: Mediaite and Philly.com

Arizona Republic:
John McCain beats J.D. Hayworth in GOP Senate race

Discussion: Wonkette and The Remmers Report

Alex Pareene / Salon:

Jonah Goldberg: Caring about Muslims is a hate crime against Real Americans — Jonah Goldberg, whose columns are apparently published in grown-up newspapers for consumption by literate adults, uses today's to expand on a theme that he first toyed with at The Corner last week …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, The Huffington Post, NPR and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »

Los Angeles Times:
Islamophobia? Not really — The supposed anti-Muslim backlash …

Discussion: The Mahablog and National Review

BBC:

US general: Afghan deadline ‘giving enemy sustenance’ — General James Conway said troops in southern Afghanistan were likely to have to remain for a few years — A senior US general has warned President Barack Obama's deadline to begin pulling troops out of Afghanistan is encouraging the Taliban.

Discussion: AMERICAblog News and Biased BBC

Nathan Hodge / Washington Wire:
Conway: U.S. Withdrawal Deadline Boosts Taliban in Afghan War

Discussion: Peter Daou, Hot Air, YID With LID and NO QUARTER

The Huffington Post:

Bloomberg Launches Another Impassioned Defense Of Cordoba House — WHAT'S YOUR REACTION? — In a rousing address before a predominantly Muslim audience Tuesday night, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg reaffirmed his commitment to the controversial Islamic cultural center near the former site of the World Trade Center.

Discussion: New York Times, Weasel Zippers, No Mosques At Ground Zero, The Moderate Voice, New York Magazine and The Peking Duck

Benjamin Weinthal / Jerusalem Post:

Amnesty Int'l Finland: Israel scum state — Exclusive: In Jpost interview, Frank Johansson stands by his words. — Talkbacks (51) — Make JPOST.COM your Home Page — Iranian Threat — Jewish World — Local Israel — Arts & Culture — Français — Classifieds — Israel

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, iOwnTheWorld.com and Biased BBC

KGS / TUNDRA TABLOIDS:
CHAIRMAN OF FINNISH AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL CALLS ISRAEL A SCUM STATE.......

Discussion: Solomonia and RubinReports

CNN:

Greene escorted from campaign event — South Carolina Democratic Senate nominee Alvin Greene was escorted from an event on Saturday. — Washington (CNN) - Embattled Democratic Senate candidate Alvin Greene was escorted from a meeting of the Oconee County Democratic Party on Saturday …

Discussion: Associated Press, Sister Toldjah and Weasel Zippers

Associated Press:
Alvin Greene Kicked out of S.C. Restaurant

Discussion: Freedom's Lighthouse and Gateway Pundit

Martin Luther King III / Washington Post:

Still striving for MLK's dream in the 21st century — Forty-seven years ago this weekend, on a sweltering August day often remembered simply as the March on Washington, my father delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech at the Lincoln Memorial. A memorial to him is being erected at the Tidal Basin …

Discussion: Comments from Left Field

The Politico:
Is ‘Beckapalooza’ about cause or Glenn Beck?

Discussion: Think Progress, Taylor Marsh, Wonkette and Ben Smith's Blog

Marc Ambinder / The Atlantic Online:

MoJo for President: The Fantasy Continues — Joe Scarborough, former congressman from Florida and co-host of MSNBC's agenda-setting wake-up show Morning Joe, has protested, kindly and loudly (he is kind and loud), when speculation arises about his presidential ambitions.

Discussion: The Daily Caller and Salon

msnbc.com:

Rachel Maddow Show on — Guests: Eugene Robinson, Kent Jones, Suhail Khan, Gail Hillebrand — RACHEL MADDOW, HOST: Good evening, Lawrence. Thanks very much for that. — And thanks for you—thanks to you at home for staying with us for the next hour.

Discussion: Pam's House Blend

Jeff Cox / CNBC:

Economy Caught in Depression, Not Recession: Rosenberg — Positive gross domestic product readings and other mildly hopeful signs are masking an ugly truth: The US economy is in a 1930s-style Depression, Gluskin Sheff economist David Rosenberg said Tuesday.

Discussion: Pajamas Media, Theo Spark and Mercury Rising

The Huffington Post:

Alan Simpson: Social Security Is ‘A Milk Cow With 310 Million Tits’ — WHAT'S YOUR REACTION? — Alan Simpson believes that Social Security is “like a milk cow with 310 million tits,” according to an email he sent to the executive director of National Older Women's League Tuesday morning.

Discussion: Brilliant at Breakfast, Firedoglake, Raw Story, TPMCafe and AMERICAblog News

Avanbenschoten / Kentucky Politics:

Gov. Haley Barbour to headline Rand Paul fundraiser in NKY — UNION - One of the biggest names in Republican politics will headline a fundraiser in Northern Kentucky next month for GOP U.S. Senate candidate Rand Paul. — Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour - head of the Republican Governors Association …

Discussion: Hotline On Call