memeorandum: RNC conservatives back ‘scoring system’ to judge candidates for chairmanship (Fhardingj/CNN)

11:55 AM ET, November 16, 2010

Top Items:

Glenn Thrush / The Politico:

GOP frosh: Where's my health care? — A conservative Maryland physician elected to Congress on an anti-Obamacare platform surprised fellow freshmen at a Monday orientation session by demanding to know why his government-subsidized health care plan from the government takes a month to kick in.

Discussion: Ezra Klein, Firedoglake, ThinkProgress, Crooks and Liars, The Plum Line, Wonkette, The Mahablog, The Maddow Blog, Parker Spitzer, Daily Kos, Gawker and The Awl

Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:

HOUSE REPUBLICAN WANTS HIS GOVERNMENT-SUBSIDIZED HEALTH CARE NOW.... It perfectly reasonable for Andy Harris, like all Americans, to want health care coverage. He's a husband and father of five, and I'm sure he worries about his family losing their health insurance, just like everyone else.

Discussion: The Confluence

Josh Marshall / TPMDC:
Freshman GOPer: Hey, Where's My Health Care?

Discussion: First Draft and Balloon Juice

Brian Montopoli / CBS News:

Lisa Murkowski: Sarah Palin Lacks “Intellectual Curiosity” to be President — Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowki told CBS News' Katie Couric today that she would not support Sarah Palin for president because Palin lacks the “leadership qualities” and “intellectual curiosity” to craft great policy.

Sean Cockerham / Anchorage Daily News:

Murkowski passes Miller in vote count — The Division of Elections has counted 1,000 more votes for Lisa Murkowski than Joe Miller, and the absentees Miller was banking on didn't go his way. — The current count stands at 92,164 votes for Murkowski and 90,448 for Miller.

Discussion: Ballot Box, TPMDC, Wonkette, Weigel and Outside the Beltway

Alex Weprin / mediabistro.com:
'Sarah Palin's Alaska' Premiere Draws 5 Million, Breaks TLC Ratings Record

Discussion: The Politico, PoliPundit.com and New York Magazine

Shira Toeplitz / The Politico:
Lisa Murkowski: Sarah Palin is no leader

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, CNN, Newshoggers.com and Outside the Beltway

Shane D'Aprile / Ballot Box:
Murkowski receives warm welcome from fellow senators as lame-duck begins

Discussion: CNN, The Politico, The Note, The Other McCain and TPMDC

Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
The rest of the 2012 polls... PPP's final six state level 2012 …

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, Cubachi, Hot Air and Conservatives4Palin.com

Robert J. Hawkins / SignOnSanDiego.com:

TSA to investigate body scan resister — Oceanside man took a stand against security, went viral — The Transportation Security Administration has opened an investigation targeting John Tyner, the Oceanside man who left Lindbergh Field under duress on Saturday morning after refusing to undertake a full body scan.

Discussion: Washington Examiner, protein wisdom, Althouse, Associated Press, Weasel Zippers, CNSNews, CrunchGear, Sweetness & Light, The Gateway Pundit, The Agonist and Don Surber

Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:

The Full-Body Backlash — As full-body scanners come into more widespread use in American airports (they will be phased in soon at the three major airports in the New York City metro region), they are also coming under more frequent criticism. — The objections are coming from many different quarters:

Discussion: The Huffington Post, The Hill, ComPost, The Confluence, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Prairie Weather, The Atlantic Online and AMERICAblog News

Mark Penn / The Politico:

The big disconnect: D.C. elites think Obama will be re-elected, the public doubts it — The midterms not only dealt a big shock to the Democrats, but also sent a message to President Obama. According to the new POLITICO “Power and the People” poll, only 26 percent of the public believes he will now be re-elected as President in 2012.

Discussion: Hot Air, Weasel Zippers and Don Surber

Ben Smith / The Politico:

2 Dems claim Arianna Huffington stole website idea — Two Democratic consultants are accusing Arianna Huffington and her business partner of stealing their idea for the powerhouse liberal website Huffington Post. — Peter Daou and James Boyce charge that Huffington and partner Ken Lerer designed …

Discussion: Althouse, Hot Air, BlogPost, Mediaite, Right Wing News, The Wire, Outside the Beltway, Gawker, Barcepundit, Romenesko, New York Magazine, INSTAPUTZ and Confederate Yankee

Evan Glass / CNN:

Congressional Black Caucus Witholds Support For Pelosi — Washington (CNN) — The Congressional Black Caucus has decided to withhold its approval for the House Democratic leadership team, denying Speaker Nancy Pelosi full support of the 42-member organization as she campaigns to remain leader.

Discussion: CBS News, Another Black Conservative, The Politico, Hot Air, The Hill, HotAirPundit, Beltway Confidential and Taylor Marsh

Russell Berman / The Hill:
Black caucus not ready to endorse Pelosi's deal

Discussion: The Note

Fhardingj / CNN:

RNC conservatives back ‘scoring system’ to judge candidates for chairmanship — Washington (CNN) - A bloc of conservatives on the Republican National Committee has recommended a “scoring system” to evaluate the clutch of the GOP insiders vying to replace RNC Chairman Michael Steele next year.

Michael Falcone / ABCNEWS:
Fight for Head of GOP Party Heats Up. Can Michael Steele Prevail?

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blog and The Daily Caller

Ethan Smith / Wall Street Journal:

Apple Finally Snares Beatles — Steve Jobs is nearing the end of his long and winding pursuit of the Beatles catalog. — Apple Inc. is preparing to disclose that its iTunes Store will soon start carrying music by the Beatles, according to people familiar with the situation …

Discussion: New York Times, News Desk, ReadWriteWeb, Gizmodo, Gadget Lab, PopEater, American Power, MyFox Philadelphia, Plunderbund, TechCrunch, Gawker, Pajamas Media, CrunchGear, The Wire and msnbc.com, more at Mediagazer »

New York Times:
Working It Out, iTunes to Sell Beatles Titles

Discussion: The Big Picture, TechCrunch and Gizmodo

Igor Volsky / Wonk Room:

Powell: Advocates Should Not Pressure Congress To Repeal DADT Before It Is Ready, Study Completed — This evening, during an interview on CNN's Larry King Live, Gen. Colin Powell reiterated his belief that repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell must “take into account the views of our military leaders …

Discussion: Pam's House Blend, DISSENTING JUSTICE, The Politico, Shakesville and Towleroad News #gay

CNN:
Colin Powell: Obama lost focus

Discussion: Politics Daily and The Gateway Pundit

Sam Youngman / The Hill:

Angry left to Obama: Stop caving on agenda — Liberals furious with a White House they view as constantly telegraphing compromise with Republicans are pressuring President Obama to get tougher, arguing that is the only way he will win both progressives and independents in 2012.

Discussion: CNN, AMERICAblog News and JammieWearingFool

Michael O'Brien / The Hill:

Gingrich: Obama should take off most of the rest of the year — President Obama should take off most of the rest of the year to concentrate on the lessons of the 2010 election, former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) said Tuesday. — Gingrich urged the president to take some time away …

Discussion: TPMDC

Molly K. Hooper / The Hill:

Dejected House Dems wipe away tears as GOP celebrates victory — Dejected Democrats wiped away tears on the House floor Monday night while Republicans congratulated themselves on winning back control of the lower chamber. — House members returned to the nation's capital …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, The Daily Caller, Weasel Zippers and Another Black Conservative

Felicia Sonmez / The Fix:

Teamsters poll shows Rahm Emanuel with wide lead in Chicago mayoral race — A new poll shows former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel (D) is the early frontrunner in the race to succeed outgoing Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley (D). — Emanuel leads the field of six likely mayoral contenders …

Discussion: WLS-TV and HotAirPundit

Adam Serwer / American Prospect:

How Partisanship Works. — Andrew Sullivan notes Ezra Klein's endless crusade to remind everyone that the Affordable Care Act was based on Republican proposals: … Sullivan says this contributes to the “Big Lie” of Obama's alleged “extremism,” but this is how partisanship works. and why the left …

Discussion: Ezra Klein, Washington Monthly and The Daily Dish

Jim Hoft / The Gateway Pundit:

Wow! HUNDREDS OF RIDERS WITH US FLAGS Escort Cody Alicea to School Today (Video) — Hundreds of American Legion Riders and fellow patriots escorted Cody Alicea to Denair Middle School this morning. They all had American Flags on their bikes. — A veteran brings Cody to tears when he gives …

Discussion: Another Black Conservative, Moonbattery, The New Editor, Values Voter News, The Jawa Report and BLACKFIVE

Tom Scocca / Slate:

Two Full-Time Obama Opponents Say Obama Should Pledge Not to Run Again — What would really help President Barack Obama through the current tough political spell? If he just gave up his foolish desire to be president and announced he would not seek reelection.

Discussion: Daily Kos, Pajamas Media and AmSpecBlog

David Weigel / Slate:
How to sell horrible counterintuitive column ideas and look smart doing it.

Discussion: The Daily Dish, Weigel, Daniel W. Drezner, JustOneMinute, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Ben Smith's Blog

Jillian Rayfield / TPM LiveWire:

Don't Tread On Meat: Tea Partying Singer Pat Boone Launches Mail-Order Steak Business — If you like steak but wish it were more conservative, then Tea Partier and 50s crooner Pat Boone has a new line of mail order meats that you should probably take a look at.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice and Plunderbund

Glenn Hubbard / New York Times:

Left, Right and Wrong on Taxes — GIVEN the furor from both the left and the right, one would be tempted to think that the initial proposal from the co-chairmen of President Obama's fiscal commission, Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson, must offer an excellent starting point for a discussion of deficit reduction.

Discussion: Washington Post and Daily Kos

Scott Keyes / ThinkProgress:

Rep. Gohmert On Government Shutdown: ‘Yes We Can’ — The last time Republicans recaptured control of Congress from Democrats, they shut down the federal government after President Clinton rebuffed their efforts to impose deep cuts to education spending and Medicare.

Discussion: Washington Monthly