memeorandum: Populism is Not Conservatism — BEGIN TRANSCRIPT — RUSH: Libby in Miami. (RushLimbaugh.com)

8:40 PM ET, April 28, 2011

Top Items:

Brian Stelter / New York Times:

CBS Reporter Recounts ‘Merciless’ Assault in Egypt — Lara Logan thought she was going to die in Tahrir Square when she was sexually assaulted by a mob on the night that Hosni Mubarak's government fell in Cairo. — Ms. Logan, a CBS News correspondent, was in the square preparing a report for …

Discussion: This Just In, The Atlantic Online, Runnin' Scared, Mediaite, New York Magazine, Israel Matzav, Gawker, Sister Toldjah, TVNewser, Althouse, Poynter, Outside the Beltway and Weasel Zippers, more at Mediagazer »

The Politico:

A new era of innuendo — President Barack Obama's appearance Wednesday in the White House briefing room to present a documented rebuttal of suspicions that he was not born on U.S. soil was more than just a surprise. It was a decisive new turn in the centuries-long American history of political accusation and innuendo.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Emptywheel, PERRspectives, No More Mister Nice Blog, NewsBusters.org, The Daily Caller, The Moderate Voice, American Power, Right Wing News, Taylor Marsh and Climate Progress

New York Times:

A Certificate of Embarrassment — With sardonic resignation, President Obama, an eminently rational man, stared directly into political irrationality on Wednesday and released his birth certificate to history. More than halfway through his term, the president felt obliged to prove that he was a legitimate occupant of the Oval Office.

Discussion: Mediaite, The Huffington Post, Taylor Marsh, Washington Post, AmSpecBlog, Power Line, JustOneMinute, Daily Kos, Connecting.the.Dots, BuzzFlash.org, Don Surber, Althouse, American Spectator and The Hill, more at Mediagazer »

Lynn Sweet:

Valerie Jarrett shutting down Trump: No college transcript release. — WASHINGTON—White House senior advisor Valerie Jarrett said President Obama will not release his academic records, commenting a day after Obama put out his “long form” birth certificate and Donald Trump decided to press …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, The Gateway Pundit and American Power

Tristero / Hullabaloo:
How Quickly We Forget — While this is a pretty good editorial, this paragraph:

Discussion: Balloon Juice and Eschaton

Robin Bravender / The Politico:

Ryan calls for ending oil subsidies — House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan called for ending oil subsidies Thursday, further complicating Republican efforts to stay on message about rising gas prices. — The Wisconsin Republican told constituents at a Waterford, Wis. …

Discussion: Outside the Beltway

Patrick O'Connor / Washington Wire:

McConnell Turns the Tables on Budget Vote — Two can play this budget game. … A day after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) put Republicans on the spot by saying he will bring the House Republicans' budget proposal up for a vote, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R. …

Discussion: U.S. Senate Republican … and MyFox Philadelphia

Igor Volsky / Wonk Room:
Paul Ryan Endorses Ending Oil Subsidies, Even Though He Voted For Them

Discussion: The Hill, ThinkProgress, Swampland and Daily Kos

Mike Lillis / The Hill:
Boehner rejects Dems' request for vote to end subsidies for oil firms

Discussion: The Daily Caller and johnboehner.house.gov

TMZ.com:

Donald Trump Bristles at Claim He's a Racist — Donald Trump says it's “terrible” the host of CBS' “Face the Nation” accused him of racism. — Trump tells TMZ ... “That is a terrible statement for a newscaster to make. I am the last person that such a thing should be said about.”

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, CBS News, The Gateway Pundit, Ben Smith's Blog, American Power, Wonkette, Booman Tribune, Pam's House Blend, Gothamist, NewsBusters.org, The Raw Story, AMERICAblog News and Raw Replay

Judd Legum / ThinkProgress:

Trump To Black Journalist: 'I Know You're A Big Obama Fan' — Yesterday during his press conference in New Hampshire — after the cable news networks cut to President Obama's remarks regarding the release of his long form birth certificate — potential GOP presidential candiate Donald Trump spent …

Discussion: Salon

Hollie McKay / Fox News:
EXCLUSIVE: Joey Lawrence Says Obama Didn't Bring Change, Endorses Donald Trump Run

Discussion: Mediaite and The Daily Caller

Jordan Fabian / The Hill:

Rand Paul has ‘birther’ demand for Trump: Prove you're a Republican — Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) on Thursday took a swipe at billionaire businessman Donald Trump, demanding to see his “Republican registration.” — While speaking at a breakfast with New Hampshire Republicans one day after …

Discussion: Cubachi, The Moderate Voice, Mediaite, The Lonely Conservative, Breitbart.tv, The Political Carnival, Liberty Pundits Blog, The Caucus, JammieWearingFool, Balloon Juice and The Atlantic Online

Rasmussen Reports:
National GOP Primary Poll: Trump 19% Romney 17% Huckabee 15%

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Public Policy Polling, Jack & Jill Politics, Weasel Zippers, Hot Air, Mediaite, Outside the Beltway, Conservatives4Palin, Taylor Marsh, GOP 12 and Pajamas Media

Jeff Zeleny / The Caucus:
Rand Paul Questions Trump's Republican Credentials

Discussion: Fox News, Fried Green al-Qaedas, YID With LID, Outside the Beltway, New York Magazine, Washington Post, Clusterstock, The Politico and Salon

Alex Seitz-Wald / ThinkProgress:

Oklahoma GOP Lawmaker Sally Kern: ‘Blacks’ Don't Work As Hard As White People (Updated) — The Republican-controlled Oklahoma House of Representatives passed a proposed constitutional amendment yesterday that would eliminate Affirmative Action in state government.

Discussion: TPMDC, The Moderate Voice, Outside the Beltway, Colorlines, Washington Monthly, Little Green Footballs, Oliver Willis, Indecision Forever and AMERICAblog News

John Bingham / Telegraph:

Calling animals ‘pets’ is insulting, academics claim — Animal lovers should stop calling their furry or feathered friends “pets” because the term is insulting, leading academics claim. — The researchers say ‘pet’ is demeaning — Domestic dogs, cats, hamsters or budgerigars should be rebranded as …

Discussion: The Jawa Report, Michelle Malkin, Moonbattery, Weasel Zippers, Chicks On The Right, National Review, The TrogloPundit and Pundit & Pundette

Tory Dunnan / WPBF West Palm Beach's Channel 25:

Several Tossed From Congressman's Town Hall Meeting — Heated Debate Stems From West's Position On Medicaid — BOCA RATON, Fla. — Police escorted a number of people out of a town hall meeting Wednesday night — the second night in a row that U.S. Rep. Allen West, R-Fla., held what became a heated event.

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, The Shark Tank, The Gateway Pundit, Raw Replay and The Raw Story

Lisa Lerer / Bloomberg:
Republicans Dismiss Public Attacks on Ryan Medicare Revamp as Orchestrated

Discussion: Mother Jones, The Nation, Washington Post, The Huffington Post and ThinkProgress

Phil Galewitz / Kaiser Health News:
Few Seniors Support GOP Plan To Restructure Medicare

Discussion: Mother Jones, National Review, Los Angeles Times and Hotline On Call

Ben Dimiero / Media Matters for America:

Eric Bolling And The Case Of The Time Traveling Doctor — Last night on Fox Business, Eric Bolling hosted Pamela Geller to discuss in all seriousness whether Obama's long-form birth certificate was “photoshopped.” Geller has been making a fool of herself over Obama's birth certificate for three years now …

Discussion: Hullabaloo, Mediaite, Wonkette, Holy Bullies …, Fox News, rubber hose and TPMDC

Rachel Rose Hartman / Yahoo! News:
Birtherist response highlights racial undertones of ‘debate’

Discussion: Sister Toldjah, The Moderate Voice, Talking Points Memo, Pirate's Cove, Gawker, Pam's House Blend, Indecision Forever, Guardian, The Gateway Pundit, Alas, a Blog and Balloon Juice

Media Matters for America:
Right-Wing Media Hype Conspiracies About Obama's Long-Form Birth Certificate

Discussion: NewsBusters.org, WorldNetDaily, Crooks and Liars and Media Matters for America

Sen. Marco Rubio / Foreign Policy:

How America Must Respond to the Massacre in Syria — It's time for President Obama to back up his rhetoric with firm action. The first step: Recall the U.S. ambassador from Damascus. — In recent days, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime has used its army to murder hundreds …

Discussion: Cubachi, Eunomia and Liberty Pundits Blog

Brian Wedemeyer / AZ-Independent:
EXCLUSIVE: Dad's Immigration File Offers More Evidence Of Obama's Birthplace

Discussion: Guardian and Capital New York

Travis Waldron / ThinkProgress:
Allen West To Town Hall: ‘If You Support Medicare...You Can Kiss The United States Of America Goodbye’

Discussion: WPTV, Weasel Zippers, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and TPMDC

Scott Keyes / ThinkProgress:

Frank Gaffney Accuses General David Petraeus Of ‘Submission’ To Sharia Law — This afternoon, President Obama announced a shakeup of his national security team, with CIA Director Leon Panetta tapped to head the Department of Defense and Gen. David Petraeus, commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, to take his vacated intelligence spot.

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Danger Room, Mother Jones, Salon, Afghanistan Crossroads and CNN

Fred Kaplan / Slate:
Same Guys, New Jobs

Discussion: Mother Jones, A plain blog about politics, Towleroad News #gay and Poliglot

Matthew Yglesias / Yglesias:

New Jersey NIMBYs Mad That Photovoltaic Panels Are Marring Their Previously Pristine Utility Polls — One of the most insane things about the contemporary United States of America is the ferocious small-c conservatism that people have adopted about aesthetic matters in which seemingly any change to the built environment is an outrage:

Discussion: Modeled Behavior and Eschaton

Mireya Navarro / New York Times:
Solar Panels Rise Pole by Pole, Followed by Gasps of ‘Eyesore’

Discussion: City Room, The Reality-Based Community, Booman Tribune and Balloon Juice

Hamil R. Harris / Washington Post:

Shiloh Baptist Church receives threats after comments from Sean Hannity — Shiloh Baptist Church in the District said it has received threatening phone calls and e-mails after an Easter visit from President Obama and a conservative television commentator's subsequent playing of a videotape …

Discussion: Little Green Footballs, Outside the Beltway, The Political Carnival, Religion Dispatches and News Hounds

Marist Poll:

4/28: Obama's Handling of the Economy at All-Time Low — Registered voters nationally are not satisfied with how President Barack Obama is handling the nation's economy. According to this McClatchy-Marist Poll, four in ten voters — 40% — approve of how the president is dealing …

Discussion: Fox News, MyFox Philadelphia, Daily Kos, The Daily Caller and Scared Monkeys

RushLimbaugh.com:

Populism is Not Conservatism — BEGIN TRANSCRIPT — RUSH: Libby in Miami. Great to have you. I'm glad you waited. — CALLER: Hey, Rush. A pleasure speaking to you. Thanks for taking my call. — RUSH: Yes, sir. — CALLER: Rush, I have to make a quick comment getting back to Trump.

Discussion: The Daily Dish and INSTAPUTZ

Catherine Rampell / New York Times:

U.S. Economic Growth Slows to 1.8% Rate in Quarter — The American economy slowed to a crawl in the first quarter, but economists are hopeful that the setback will be temporary. — Total output grew at an annual pace of 1.8 percent last quarter, the Commerce Department said Thursday …

Discussion: Clusterstock, Gallup, The Huffington Post, BBC, Outside the Beltway, Wonk Room, Washington Monthly, Sky Dancing, Mother Jones, Firedoglake, New York Magazine, The Other McCain, ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*, American Power and Gawker

Bradley Keoun / Bloomberg:

Citigroup Drops Ben Stein Speech After Complaint Jokes Disparaged Women — Citigroup Inc. (C) canceled a planned keynote speech by writer, actor and TV personality Ben Stein after getting a complaint that he told jokes disparaging women at a private-equity conference in Dallas earlier this year.

Discussion: Gothamist, Salon, The Daily Caller, Gawker and Dealbreaker

Parija Kavilanz / CNNMoney.com:

Wal-Mart: Our shoppers are ‘running out of money’ — NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Wal-Mart's core shoppers are running out of money much faster than a year ago due to rising gasoline prices, and the retail giant is worried, CEO Mike Duke said Wednesday. — “We're seeing core consumers under a lot of pressure …

Discussion: Atlas Shrugs, Philly.com, Wonkette, Pajamas Media, Wall Street Journal and AMERICAblog News

Laura Hudson / ComicsAlliance.com:

Superman Renounces U.S. Citizenship in ‘Action Comics’ #900 — After recently undertaking a journey to walk — not fly — across the United States in the “Grounded” storyline and reconnect with the country and everyday Americans, Superman appears to be taking another step that could have major implications …