memeorandum: Panel OKs recall elections against 3 more Republicans (JSOnline)

11:35 PM ET, May 31, 2011

Top Items:

Anthony Weiner Is Not Doing Himself Any Favors — We won't pretend to know the truth behind Weinergate — whether Weiner was the victim of a hacker or prankster or conservative conspiracy, or whether he was personally responsible for sending a college girl a photo of a man's bulge over Twitter.

Discussion: JustOneMinute

The Note:

Woman Targeted in Tweet from Rep. Anthony Weiner Account “Tweets Out” — ABC News' Devin Dwyer (@devindwyer) reports: The Washington State college student who was the target of a lewd photo posted to Rep. Antony Weiner's Twitter account Friday appears to be defending her electronic ties to the congressman.

Discussion: National Review, Washington Post, The Politico and Opinion L.A.

Michelle Malkin:

Weighing in on Weiner; Update: Getting testy with MSM reporters, calls one a “jackass” — I know many of you have been following every twist, turn, and awful pun related to Democrat Rep. Anthony Weiner's Twitter-gate fiasco. I'm still catching up after being offline with family over the holiday weekend, but I do know this:

Discussion: The Note, Hot Air, Patterico's Pontifications, American Power and Datechguy's Blog

Dan Riehl / Big Government:

Weiner's Actual Tweet Stream Disputes His Version, Raises Valid Questions — The second image below is an exact duplication, in top-to-bottom chronological order of Rep. Anthony Weiner's actual Twitter timeline on the night of what's now being called Weinergate.

Discussion: Associated Press

Peter Ingemi / New York Post:

Too many coincidences in Weiner's tale — In the New York of the late 1800s, Boss Tweed famously complained about Thomas Nast cartoons: Though many immigrants in the city couldn't read, even the illiterate could understand “those damn pictures.” Rep. Anthony Weiner and his staff now face a similar problem.

Discussion: Datechguy's Blog, Fox News, Washington Post, Maggie's Notebook, neo-neocon, The Daily Caller, Left Coast Rebel, Pundit & Pundette, POWIP, The Lonely Conservative, Pajamas Media, The Other McCain, American Power, iowahawk, JustOneMinute and JammieWearingFool

Matthew Boyle / The Daily Caller:

Weiner's office refuses to say if lewd photo is of congressman. No police investigation underway — According to a spokeswoman for the U.S. Capitol Police, there is currently no active investigation into claims by New York congressman Anthony Weiner that his Twitter and Facebook accounts were “hacked” this past Friday night.

Discussion: National Review, The Daley Gator, iOwnTheWorld.com, Patterico's Pontifications, Big Government, New York Magazine, Pajamas Media, Instapundit and American Spectator

Mark Joyella / Mediaite:

Rep. Weiner Has Angry Exchange With Capitol Hill Reporters Over Twitter Scandal — One of Capitol Hill's most media-friendly people, New York Rep. Anthony Weiner, seems to be souring on the subject of his Twitter account, brushing off questions about his Twitter feed and the photo of a man …

Discussion: Verum Serum and Pajamas Media

The Daily Caller:
Weinergate Poll: Does photo show Congressman Weiner?

Discussion: Mediaite, FishbowlDC and Runnin' Scared

Jon Bershad / Mediaite:
Seriously? A Canadian Politician Is In Trouble For Tweeting A Picture Of His Penis This Weekend Too!

Discussion: Fort Erie Times, FishbowlDC, Sky Dancing and Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Aharding / CNN:
Liberal congressman plays down Twitter controversy over lewd photo

Discussion: Washington Post

Matthew Boyle / The Daily Caller:
Congressman says #Weinergate cybersecurity investigation vital in order to ‘ensure our national security’

Discussion: Little Green Footballs, Washington Examiner, Washington Post, Patterico's Pontifications and Weasel Zippers

The Daily Caller:
Rep. Anthony Weiner refused to answer questions outside …

Discussion: TPMDC, The Other McCain, Hot Air, Fox Nation, Pajamas Media, New York Post and Instapundit

Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:
Weiner: Let's move on, shall we?

Discussion: The Other McCain, Pajamas Media, American Glob, Patterico's Pontifications, The Camp Of The Saints and Power Line

The Note:

Sarah Palin, Donald Trump Meet In New York City Tuesday Night, Eat Pizza — ABC News' Michael Falcone (@michaelpfalcone) reports: — UPDATED Sarah Palin sat down with Donald Trump in New York City on Tuesday night for just over a half hour at the former Alaska governor continued her roadtrip up the Eastern seaboard.

Discussion: The Politico, Washington Wire, Swampland, GOP 12, Mediaite, Gothamist, Politics, The Gateway Pundit, Runnin' Scared, The New Republic, New York Magazine, Daily Kos, TPMDC, Gawker, Fox Nation and The Page

Brian Montopoli / CBS News:

Sarah Palin's bus tour treats reporters like paparazzi — Sarah Palin and her advisers are refusing to tell members of the media where she is going on her current bus tour - and the former Alaska governor seems to be enjoying the cat and mouse game that's resulted.

Scott Conroy / Real Clear Politics:
Palin: Eliminate All Energy Subsidies

Discussion: Hot Air, RedState, Conservatives4Palin, Top of the Ticket, The Daily Caller and GOP 12

Alex Fitzsimmons / NewsBusters.org: Martin Bashir: Sarah Palin's Bus Tour ‘Breach of Federal Law’

Chris Good / The Atlantic Online:
What Palin and Trump Might Say to Each Other

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, The Politico, The Note, The Daily Dish and Gawker

Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:
Media complains that Palin caravan puts reporters at risk

Discussion: CBS News, Weasel Zippers, Mediaite and The Daily Caller

Jordan Fabian / The Hill:
Carney: Obama ‘not paying much attention’ to Palin bus tour

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

Christian Heinze / The Hill:
Palin: I don't owe the media

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Salon, Crooks and Liars and Washington Post

Russell Berman / The Hill:

Hoyer urges House Dems to vote no on clean debt-ceiling hike — The House Democrats' top vote-counter is advising rank-and-file members to vote against an unconditional increase in the federal debt limit to avoid political attacks from Republicans. — Rep. Steny Hoyer (Md.) …

Discussion: National Review, Opinion L.A., The Politico, Swampland, The Lonely Conservative and New York Magazine

Allahpundit / Hot Air:

Fail: House defeats Obama request to raise the debt ceiling, 318-97 — Why would the GOP bring it to the floor knowing that they had more than enough votes to kill it? Simple: To make the Democrats choke on it, of course. The public is on the GOP's side of this issue, unambiguously …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, USA Today, ThinkProgress, National Review, Don Surber, American Glob and WyBlog

Jackie Calmes / New York Times:
G.O.P. Presses Obama in Vote Against Higher Debt Ceiling

Discussion: The Note, TPMDC, CNN, Prairie Weather, The Foundry, PERRspectives, Daily Kos, msnbc.com and Booman Tribune

Alan Silverleib / CNN:
House rejects debt ceiling increase, 318-97

Discussion: Balloon Juice

Jake Sherman / The Politico: House rejects debt increase

Erik Wasson / The Hill: THE HILL POLL: Voters oppose raising the $14.3T debt ceiling

Stan Collender / Capital Gains and Games blogs:
The Dirty Secret About Today's “Clean” Debt Ceiling Vote

Discussion: Roll Call, Washington Post and A plain blog about politics

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:

Wisconsin Dems 6. Wisconsin Republicans 0. — Conservatives and some political observers are making a big deal out of the fact that the Dem candidate in the closely watched state Supreme Court race in Wisconsin finally conceded defeat today, as had long been expected.

Discussion: host.madison.com and Crooks and Liars

JSOnline:

Panel OKs recall elections against 3 more Republicans — By Patrick Marley of the Journal Sentinel — Madison - State election officials on Tuesday approved recall elections against three Republican senators but put off decisions on certifying recall petitions against three Democrats.

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's …, Daily Kos, WisPolitics Election Blog, TPMDC, Hot Air, The Mahablog, Firedoglake and Hullabaloo

Alex Seitz-Wald / ThinkProgress:

Rand Paul, Supposed Defender Of Civil Liberties, Calls For Jailing People Who Attend ‘Radical Political Speeches’ — Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) made headlines last week for single-handedly obstructing the renewal of the Patriot Act, calling the law an unconstitutional infringement on civil liberties.

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, United Liberty and Hullabaloo

Media Czech / Barefoot and Progressive:
Rand Paul calls for putting himself in jail. Or his own deportation.

Discussion: ThinkProgress

United States Department of Health and Human Services:

HHS to Reduce Premiums, Make it Easier for Americans with Pre-Existing Conditions to Get Health Insurance — The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today announced new steps to reduce premiums and make it easier for Americans to enroll in the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan.

Discussion: Firedoglake, Consumer Reports News, Barefoot and Progressive and ThinkProgress

Arthur Delaney / The Huffington Post:
Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan To Offer Much Lower Premiums

Discussion: Daily Kos and USA Today

Andrew Restuccia / The Hill:

Issa blasts Commerce nominee as ‘green evangelist’ — House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) blasted President Obama Tuesday for nominating John Bryson to be the next Commerce secretary, calling the decision “deeply out-of-touch with our current energy challenge.”

Discussion: The Politico, The Gateway Pundit, Reuters and The Lonely Conservative

Matthew Yglesias / ThinkProgress:
44 GOP Senators Already Have Pledged To Filibuster John Bryson's Commerce Department Nomination

Discussion: Department of Commerce, NationalJournal.com and Outside the Beltway

Bruce Bartlett / Economix:

Are Taxes in the U.S. High or Low? — Bruce Bartlett has served as an economic adviser in the White House, the Treasury Department and Congress. — Historically, the term “tax rate” has meant the average or effective tax rate — that is, taxes as a share of income.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, The Policy Page, ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*, Outside the Beltway, Open Congress, Economist's View, Firedoglake and Gawker

Frank Newport / Gallup:

Newt Gingrich's Image Slides Among Republicans — Herman Cain and Michele Bachmann continue to lead in positive intensity — PRINCETON, NJ — Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich's Positive Intensity Score dropped to 6 in the two weeks spanning May 16-29, down from 11 for May 9-22.

Discussion: blogs.abcnews.com, The Blaze, The Hill and Hotline On Call

JSOnline:

Kloppenburg concedes election to Prosser — Assistant Attorney General JoAnne Kloppenburg said Tuesday that she was conceding the Supreme Court race to Justice David Prosser, ending what had been a contentious campaign that culminated in a rare statewide recount.