memeorandum: Democrat Wins G.O.P. Seat; Rebuke Seen to Medicare Plan (Raymond Hernandez/New York Times)

10:05 AM ET, May 25, 2011

Top Items:

Raymond Hernandez / New York Times:

Democrat Wins G.O.P. Seat; Rebuke Seen to Medicare Plan — Democrats scored an upset in one of New York's most conservative Congressional districts on Tuesday, dealing a blow to the national Republican Party in a race that largely turned on the party's plan to overhaul Medicare.

Daniel Strauss / The Hill:

After Dem win in NY special election, group eyes NH race — A liberal group that wants to “keep the momentum going” after Democrats' upset victory in Tuesday's special election in New York is eyeing a race in New Hampshire where it thinks bashing the GOP's Medicare reform plan could be a political winner.

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Ben Smith's Blog and Taylor Marsh

Chris Lee Resignation / Buffalo News:

Hochul takes House seat in stunner — Kathleen Courtney Hochul, the Erie County clerk and longtime Democratic figure who defied political experts giving her little chance of success, ground out a stunning and surprisingly comfortable victory Tuesday in the special election for the predominantly Republican 26th Congressional District.

Discussion: Washington Examiner, AMERICAblog News, The Nation, 24Ahead, The Batavian, Gothamist, Lawyers, Guns & Money and The Hill

Jennifer Steinhauer / New York Times:

G.O.P. on the Defensive as Voters Resist Medicare Plan — WASHINGTON — When they proposed just last month to overhaul Medicare, House Republicans were confident that the wind of budget politics was at their backs and that the country's looming fiscal problems provided justification …

Discussion: Minnesota Independent and The Reaction

Mike Allen / The Politico:

Warning shot: 4-point Dem. victory in heavily GOP district where Medicare was issue — Ryan video tries to shift debate to ‘Saving Medicare’ — Geithner's #PlaybookBreakfast livestream —RAHM MAY TESTIFY AT BLAGO II: ChiTrib p. 1 tease, “Sources: Emanuel, Blagojevich to testify …

Discussion: The Daily Caller and RedState

Benjy Sarlin / TPMDC:
Democrat Kathy Hochul Wins Upset In NY-26, Medicare Vote Key To Victory

Discussion: The New Republic, UPI, First Draft, Salon, ThinkProgress, campaignmoney.org and The Politico

Allen Wilson / Buffalo News:
Corwin granted court order barring certification of winner

Discussion: The Reaction, Hot Air, Weigel, The Other McCain, TPMDC, The Batavian, The Daily Caller, The Lonely Conservative, Firedoglake, The Beast, The Caucus, Taegan Goddard's … and Ballot Box

Steve Benen / Washington Monthly: A surprisingly productive May for Democrats

Sean J. Miller / Ballot Box:
With his budget plan the top issue, Rep. Ryan waded into NY-26 (updated)

Discussion: The Politico and CNN

Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:
Six Months After Midterm Disaster, Hopeful Signs for Democrats

Discussion: Firedoglake, Daily Kos, The Mahablog, Examiner, Blue Mass Group and Moe_Lane's blog

Raymond Hernandez / The Caucus:
Democrat Wins Upstate New York Congressional Race

Discussion: Barefoot and Progressive, Ballot Box, Connecting.the.Dots, Liberal Values and Capital Tonight

Kathleen Hennessey / Los Angeles Times:
AP: Democrat Hochul pulls off upset in New York congressional race

Discussion: Washington Post, Hotline On Call, Outside the Beltway, The Gateway Pundit and Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Scott Conroy / Real Clear Politics:

Palin's Secret Weapon: New Film to Premiere in June — Shortly after Republicans swept last November to a historic victory in which Sarah Palin was credited with playing a central role, the former Alaska governor pulled aside her close aide, Rebecca Mansour, to discuss a hush-hush assignment …

Discussion: CNN, GOP 12, The Gateway Pundit, Outside the Beltway, Washington Post, Taylor Marsh, Wizbang, The Page, Conservatives4Palin and Balloon Juice

The Note:
‘Epic’ Sarah Palin Documentary Due Out in June

Discussion: Real Clear Politics, The Politico and Ben Smith's Blog

James Hill / ABCNEWS:

John Edwards: U.S. Green-Lights Prosecution for Alleged Campaign Law Violations Tied to Affair Cover-Up — Former Sen. John Edwards speaks at a campaign rally Jan. 26, 2008, in Columbia, S.C. (Eric Thayer/Getty Images) — The United States Department of Justice has green-lighted the prosecution …

Discussion: CBS News, The Politico, USA Today, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Gawker, The Gateway Pundit, JammieWearingFool and FrumForum

WRAL-TV:
Sources: Edwards investigation close to wrapping up

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blog, National Review and TalkLeft

Political Punch:

Awkward Moment During Obama Toast to Queen — The president and the orchestra at Buckingham Palace this evening were a bit out of synch. — When the president toasted the Queen the orchestra misunderstood a pause and what seemed to be a cue from the president for “God Save the Queen” to begin playing.

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, All American Blogger, Nice Deb, Sister Toldjah, Michelle Malkin, The Lonely Conservative and Pajamas Media

Allahpundit / Hot Air:

Good news: Obama botches toast to the queen — Ah, now his “2008″ gaffe from earlier today is starting to make more sense. Turns out ... he really is brain-damaged. — No, I kid. I think he, like Frank Drebin, simply doesn't believe in silly ideas like having queens:

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, Mediaite and Freedom's Lighthouse

Frances Cronin / BBC:

Egyptian pyramids found by infra-red satellite images — Two new finds are at Saqqara, an older but lesser known pyramid site than Giza — Seventeen lost pyramids are among the buildings identified in a new satellite survey of Egypt. — More than 1,000 tombs and 3,000 ancient settlements …

Discussion: msnbc.com and Outside the Beltway

Michael Barone / Washington Examiner:

Obama skirts rule of law to reward pals, punish foes — Senior Political Analyst Follow Him @MichaelBarone — Question: What do the following have in common? Eckert Cold Storage Co., Kerly Homes of Yuma, Classic Party Rentals, West Coast Turf Inc., Ellenbecker Investment Group Inc. …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and AmSpecBlog

Shelby Steele / Wall Street Journal:

Obama's Unspoken Re-Election Edge — This presidency flatters America to a degree that no white Republican can hope to match. — Many of the Republican presidential hopefuls should be able to beat President Obama in 2012. This president has a track record now and, thus, many vulnerabilities.

Scott Wong / The Politico:

Rand Paul skips Netanyahu address — As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received a warm welcome from a joint session of Congress on Tuesday, freshman Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) skipped out on the speech, sitting quietly at his Senate desk shuffling through papers and newspapers.

Discussion: Guardian, Globe and Mail, Doug Ross, Nice Deb, Hit & Run, New York Magazine, Weigel, New York Times, Little Green Footballs, Ben Smith's Blog, FrumForum and C-SPAN Recent Events

Ben Armbruster / ThinkProgress:
The U.S. Congress Cheers Netanyahu's Claim That Israel Does Not Occupy The West Bank

Discussion: Salon, COLlive.com and Booman Tribune

Facebook:
Speech by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to a Joint Meeting of the United States Congress

Discussion: TPMCafe, Mother Jones, The Note, ThinkProgress, Bad Rachel, Washington Post, FrumForum, FP Passport, The Right Scoop and blogs.telegraph.co.uk

Jon Ward / The Huffington Post:

FreedomWorks' Goal: Stop Mitt Romney In 2012 … WASHINGTON - A top goal of the nation's most influential national Tea Party group is to stop Mitt Romney from winning the Republican nomination for president. — Interviews with top officials at FreedomWorks, a Washington-based organizing hub …

Discussion: GOP 12, Ben Smith's Blog and Weasel Zippers

David Steinberg / Pajamas Media:

(UPDATED: Uh oh — Lee's wife, Nita Chaudary, behind the “Betray Us” Ad?) Googling Jesse Lee — UPDATE: Lee is married to Nita Chaudary. Here is a CSPAN transcript from Sep. 10, 2007, wherein Chaudary represents — and ardently defends — MoveOn.org for publishing the Petraeus smear ad prior …

Discussion: iOwnTheWorld.com, Weasel Zippers and Pirate's Cove

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

Senate Dems might join rebuff of Obama on Israeli border issue — Senate Democrats are expected to support a resolution intended as a rebuff to President Obama's call for basing Middle East peace talks on the 1967 Israeli-Palestinian borders. — It would be a rare rebuke of the president …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, Prairie Weather and JammieWearingFool

Maya Jackson Randall / Wall Street Journal:

Spat Over New Consumer Bureau — WASHINGTON—White House adviser Elizabeth Warren, in a heated House hearing Tuesday, touted the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau as a vital new financial-markets cop while Republican lawmakers slammed the agency as a powerful financial regulator with too few checks and balances.

Discussion: Hot Air, Weasel Zippers and naked capitalism

Ari Berman / The Nation:
House GOP Escalates Attack on Elizabeth Warren, Consumer Bureau

Discussion: New York Times, Gawker, Balloon Juice, Hullabaloo and Weigel

Jay Root / The Texas Tribune:

Texas Governor Won't Rule Out 2012 Run — Keywords: — Enlargephoto by: Marjorie Kamys Cotera — Gov. Perry ceremonially signs HB 15, which requires a woman to have a sonogram before an abortion. He is joined by Sen. Dan Patrick R-Houston and Rep. Sid Miller R-Stephenville on May 24th, 2011

Discussion: GOP 12

Quinnipiac University:

Florida Voters Turn Thumbs Down On Gov. Scott 2-1, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Voters Say Property Insurance Is Getting Worse — Florida voters disapprove 57 - 29 percent of the job Gov. Rick Scott is doing, the worst score of any governor in the states surveyed by Quinnipiac University …

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blog and Taegan Goddard's …

James R. Healey / USA Today:

Americans say ‘no’ to electrics despite high gas prices — Nearly six of 10 Americans — 57% — say they won't buy an all-electric car no matter the price of gas, according to a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll. — That's a stiff headwind just as automakers are developing electrics …

Discussion: Right Wing News

Brian Leiter / Leiter Reports:

Sanctimonious Jackass Brad DeLong vs. Political Philosopher Chris Bertram — Here and here. Professor Bertram's response seems to me quite apt. Professor DeLong has a real complex about those to his left. Very odd. — UPDATE: Brad Delong is not only a sanctimonious jackass, he's an underhanded and dishonest slimeball.

Discussion: Crooked Timber and Grasping Reality …

Richard Hillgrove / Guardian:

Twitter cannot be allowed to operate outside the law | Richard Hillgrove — The Ryan Giggs case shows social media sites need to grow up and ensure content adheres to the same rules as everyone else — • Dan Gillmor: Ryan Giggs and the enemies of web freedom

Discussion: normblog, Harry's Place, BBC and RedState

Dan Amira / New York Magazine:

President Obama Has No Idea What Year It Is — This is how President Obama signed the guestbook at Westminster Abbey earlier today, where he got a tour from the Very Reverend Dr. John Hall and laid a wreath on the Grave of the Unknown Warrior. … It was really nice until he got the date wrong by three years.

Richard Simon / Los Angeles Times:

House members handed out bonuses to staffs during budget crisis — Defeated and retiring lawmakers paid an average bonus of about $4,000. Returning lawmakers paid an average $2,300. — A spokeswoman for Rep. Loretta Sanchez, right, said that even with the bonuses, many of her staff members earned less …

Discussion: Betsy's Page

Neil Munro / The Daily Caller:

GOP activists are confident that they'll gain additional votes and donations from the Jewish community following President Barack Obama's call for Israel to retreat to territory along its pre-1967 border, with “mutually agreed swaps,” in any final peace settlement with Palestinian Arabs.

Discussion: The Right Sphere