memeorandum: The perils of constitution-worship (Economist)

12:35 AM ET, September 25, 2010

Top Items:

Patrick Gavin / The Politico:

COLBERT ‘MADE MOCKERY’ OF CONGRESS — Despite the fact that countless Washington reporters couldn't help but watch Stephen Colbert's Capitol Hill testimony Friday, not all were enthralled by the Comedy Central star's performance, as they expressed on Twitter. — “REALLY not sure this is funny,” wrote ABC News' Rick Klein.

Discussion: The Blaze, Rough Sketch, NO QUARTER, Speakeasy and Pajamas Media

Byron York / Beltway Confidential:

Colbert embarrasses Dems; Conyers asks comedian to leave — The appearance of comedian Stephen Colbert before the House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and International Law has turned into an embarrassment for the Democrats responsible for the hearing.

Discussion: freerepublic.com, Fausta's Blog, Pajamas Media, Flopping Aces, Boston Globe, Weekly Standard, Riehl World View, Gateway Pundit, Hot Air and American Power

Faiz Shakir / Think Progress:

Fox Apoplectic Over Colbert Testimony: Megyn Kelly Demands Apology, Rep. Steve King Calls Him A Liar — This afternoon, Fox News host Megyn Kelly invited Rep. Steve King (R-IA) to discuss Stephen Colbert's testimony on Capitol Hill today about migrant labor conditions.

Discussion: Gawker, Crooks and Liars, Wonk Room and CNN

Jonathan Allen / The Politico:

Colbert knocks Dems off message — Amid a high stakes struggle to connect with voters, House Democrats turned Friday to celebrity comedian Stephen Colbert to highlight the plight of migrant farm workers. — He promptly returned the favor by turning Congress — specifically a Judiciary subcommittee — into his personal comedy club.

Ashley Parker / The Caucus:
The Whole Truthiness and Nothing But

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Online NewsHour, New York Times, TBD All News, Salon, Towleroad News #gay, culturekitchen, The Nation and Right Wing News

Melissa Bell / BlogPost:
Stephen Colbert's testimony before Congress (Text)

Discussion: New York Magazine, Indecision Forever, Shakesville and Washington Post

Aaron Blake / The Fix:
Daily Fix Poll: What did you think of Stephen Colbert's testimony?

Discussion: Raw Story, aolnews.com, Crooks and Liars and Quick News

Alan Silverleib / CNN:
Colbert serious, sarcastic in hearing

Discussion: CBS News, Politics Daily, Moraes on TV, msnbc.com, Harry's Place, 24Ahead and Speakeasy

Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Pelosi: House Dems ‘clamoring’ for Obama to campaign with them

Discussion: CNN, The Note and Weasel Zippers

Christina Wilkie / The Hill:
Colbert appearance causes mixed feelings

Discussion: The Note, Michelle Malkin, LewRockwell.com Blog, CNN, Reuters, Taylor Marsh, Hullabaloo, Doug Ross, Rough Sketch, The Politico, BlogPost, Gawker and National Review

Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:

VIDEO of Christine O'Donnell: I'm going to stop the whole country from having sex — A Democratic source unearths video of Christine O'Donnell in 2003, answering clearly and unequivocally in the affirmative when asked: “You're going to stop the whole country from having sex?”

Discussion: TPMDC, The Huffington Post, Left Coast Rebel, Mediaite, The Other McCain, Liberal Values, Washington Monthly, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Note, Salon, The Moderate Voice and Riehl World View

Alexander Mooney / CNN:

CNN Poll: Obama at all time low — (CNN) - President Barack Obama is contending with the lowest approval rating of his 20-month presidency, a new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll finds. — The president's approval rating now stands at 42 percent - an all time low in CNN polling …

Discussion: Olliander, Weasel Zippers, Hot Air, The Page, Libertarian Republican, Beltway Confidential and The Hill

Aamer Madhani / Yahoo! News:

Famed Obama ‘Hope’ poster artist losing hope — The artist whose poster of Barack Obama became a rallying image during the hope-and-change election of 2008 says he understands why so many people have lost faith. — In an exclusive interview with National Journal on Thursday …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, Outside the Beltway, The Daily Caller, Hit & Run and Hotline On Call

Alan Silverleib / CNN:
Obama approval hits new low

Discussion: FrumForum

Andrew Breitbart / Big Government:

Which Malik Shabazz Visited White House in July 2009, Mr. President? — In May 2009, the Obama/Holder Justice Department dropped charges in a voter intimidation case against Malik Shabazz, a leader of the New Black Panther Party, despite having already won a summary judgment against him …

Discussion: iOwnTheWorld.com

Josh Gerstein / Reuters:
Prosecutor: DoJ bias against whites

Discussion: New York Magazine, Left Coast Rebel and Law Blog

Michelle Malkin:
Culture of corruption: New Black Panther Party voter intimidation …

Discussion: Fox News, All American Blogger, Verum Serum, NY Post, Weasel Zippers, National Review, YID With LID, Big Government, Gateway Pundit and Pajamas Media

Scott / Power Line:
Christopher Coates takes the stand

Discussion: protein wisdom, Pajamas Media, Hot Air, Maggie's Farm, The Daily Caller, Confederate Yankee, The Jawa Report and Nice Deb

Jon Ward / The Daily Caller:

Conservatives Denounce GOP ‘Pledge’ As Sellout, Inside Job — House Republicans have been relatively successful this week at presenting a united front around their “Pledge to America,” but only through a strategic outreach campaign to lawmakers, media and outside groups …

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, National Review, Politics Daily, FrumForum, Hullabaloo and The Note

Dan Balz / Washington Post:
From ‘party of no’ to ‘party of stop’?

Discussion: Firedoglake

Shane D'Aprile / Ballot Box:
Pelosi meets GOP foe at D.C. watering hole

Discussion: CNN

Economist:

The perils of constitution-worship — One of the guiding principles of the tea-party movement is based on a myth — WOULDN'T it be splendid if the solutions to America's problems could be written down in a slim book no bigger than a passport that you could slip into your breast pocket?

Discussion: Lexington's notebook, Ezra Klein, FrumForum, The New Republic, FP Passport and Newshoggers.com

Ron Chernow / New York Times:
The Founding Fathers Versus the Tea Party

Discussion: National Review, Hot Air and bjkeefe

Minneapolis Star Tribune:

FBI raids homes of several Twin Cities war protesters — Search warrants were executed on six addresses in Minneapolis and at two addresses in Chicago. — The homes of five Twin Cities activists, including three prominent leaders of the Twin Cities antiwar movement, were raided Friday …

Discussion: Verum Serum and Power Line

Steve Karnowski / Associated Press:
FBI serves terror warrants in Minn., Ill.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, Atlas Shrugs and The Jawa Report

Eli Lake / Washington Times:

Soros revealed as funder of liberal Jewish-American lobby — The Jewish-American advocacy group J Street, which bills itself as the dovish alternative to the influential American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) lobby, has secretly received funding from billionaire George Soros despite previous denials …

Discussion: Beltway Confidential, The Atlantic Online, The Volokh Conspiracy, YID With LID, Ben Smith's Blog and FrumForum

Chris Good / The Atlantic Online:
Raising More Money, J Street Discloses Big Donors

Discussion: Weekly Standard, Power Line, TPMCafe and Matthew Yglesias

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
Money from Hong Kong

Discussion: Washington Times, The Atlantic Online, Commentary and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Faiz Shakir / Think Progress:

Bill Maher's New Clip Of O'Donnell: 'Why Aren't Monkeys Still Evolving Into Humans?' — For the second week in a row, HBO's Real Time host Bill Maher revealed a previously-unaired clip of Christine O'Donnell on Politically Incorrect. Recall, last week Maher showed a clip of O'Donnell professing …

Discussion: TPMDC, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Outside the Beltway

Stephen Gutowski / The Blast:

Man Brutally Assaulted While Filming Oregon Democratic Gubernatorial Candidate's Event — According to a video posted online today a man was brutally assaulted by organizers of a public event featuring Democratic gubernatorial candidate John Kitzhaber. The video shows the man, and other attendees, being asked not to film the event.

Discussion: Big Government, The Right Scoop, National Review and Riehl World View

Wall Street Journal:

U.S. Bails Out Major Credit Unions — Two years after the peak of the financial crisis, the federal government swooped in to stabilize a crucial part of the credit-union sector battered by losses on subprime mortgages. — Regulators announced Friday a rescue of the nation's wholesale credit unions …

Discussion: Felix Salmon, Reuters, Politics Daily and Calculated Risk

Robert Verkaik / The Independent:

Queen tried to use state poverty fund to heat Buckingham Palace — Ministers were asked if money earmarked for schools, hospitals and low-income families could be used to meet soaring fuel bills — The Queen asked ministers for a poverty handout to help heat her palaces but was rebuffed …

Discussion: newsfeed.time.com, Outside the Beltway, FP Passport and Guardian

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:

Dole for O'Donnell — An endorsement from a symbol of bygone centrist Republicanism, Bob Dole: — Christine O'Donnell's message resonated with the voters, and to the surprise of many she defeated Congressman Mike Castle, who many of us thought would win.

Discussion: Hot Air, Weasel Zippers, The Daily Caller, National Review, Conservatives4Palin.com and The Other McCain

Hal Bernton / Seattle Times:

Judge orders Air Force to reinstate officer forced out by 'don't ask, don't tell' — A federal judge in Tacoma has ordered the Air Force to reinstate retired Maj. Margaret Witt, a skilled flight nurse, in a closely watched case involving the “don't ask, don't tell” policy on gays serving in the military.

Discussion: Guardian, Advocate, Politics Daily, Wonk Room and Towleroad News #gay