memeorandum: Taliban and NATO in tweet battle (Tim Mak/The Politico)

10:20 AM ET, September 14, 2011

Top Items:

Twin defeats spark Democratic fears — HOWARD BEACH, N.Y. — The Democratic Party's rare loss of a congressional seat in its urban heartland Tuesday, accompanied by a blowout defeat in a Nevada special election, marked the latest in a string of demoralizing setbacks that threatened to deepen …

Discussion: RedState, The Moderate Voice, Washington Post, Moe Lane, Pirate's Cove, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, JammieWearingFool and Pajamas Media

Rachel Weiner / Washington Post:

Republican Bob Turner wins New York special election — Businessman Bob Turner (R) defeated state Assemblyman David Weprin (D) in the special election for the House seat held by former New York Rep. Anthony Weiner (D). — Turner's victory is regarded as an upset given the Democratic history …

Discussion: Associated Press, Washington Monthly, The Politico, The Other McCain, AmSpecBlog, theblogprof, The Lonely Conservative, Politics, Atlas Shrugs, Campaign 2012, Betsy's Page, National Review, The Gateway Pundit, Patterico's Pontifications, Outside the Beltway and Don Surber

Beth Fouhy / Associated Press:

GOP wins in NY House race, seen as Obama rebuke — NEW YORK (AP) — Republicans have scored an upset victory in a House race that became a referendum on President Barack Obama's economic policies. — Retired media executive and political novice Bob Turner defeated Democratic state Assemblyman David Weprin …

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, NOM Blog, The Gateway Pundit, Los Angeles Times, FiveThirtyEight, Israel Matzav, Michelle Malkin and Hotline On Call

Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:

For Democrats, It's 2010 All Over Again — The outcome of any individual election to the United States House, even in a highly partisan era where Congressional elections have a relatively strong correlation with presidential voting and national trends, is going to be determined based on a combination of local and national factors.

Discussion: Swampland, Guardian, The Moderate Voice, AmSpecBlog and Balloon Juice

Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:

Ridiculous NY-09 spin: “It's a very difficult district for Democrats” — Republicans won two House seats in a special election last night. One, in Nevada, had been a relatively safe district, and Republican Mark Amodei cruised to victory over Democrat Kate Marshall as expected.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Washington Post:

Republican wins Democratic New York House seat — With the outcome of his own reelection effort 14 difficult months away, President Obama suffered a sharp rebuke Tuesday when voters in New York elected a conservative Republican to represent a Democratic district that has not been in GOP hands since the 1920s.

Discussion: The Daily Caller, NY Daily News, Associated Press, Weasel Zippers, TalkLeft and National Review

New York Times:

Bob Turner Wins Anthony Weiner's House Seat — A little-known Republican businessman from Queens, channeling voter discontent with President Obama into an upset, won election to Congress on Tuesday from the heavily Democratic district in New York City last represented by Anthony D. Weiner.

Marc Ambinder / NationalJournal.com:

White House Already Spinning Feared New York Loss — The White House is girding for a political loss in the heart of New York on Tuesday. They're also spinning up an explanation that won't entirely result in the blame landing on the low popularity of the president.

Discussion: Questions and Observations, Hot Air, Top of the Ticket, The Lonely Conservative, FiveThirtyEight, Scared Monkeys, Daily Pundit, Washington Post, Politisite and Fox News

Josh Lederman / Ballot Box:
GOP coasts to victory in Nevada race

Discussion: Power Line and The Politico

Las Vegas Review-Journal:
Amodei defeats Marshall for Nevada congressional seat

Discussion: Washington Monthly

Cameron Joseph / Ballot Box:
Republicans win Weiner's seat

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog and Pajamas Media

David Weigel / Slate:
NY-09 and NV-02: Results Thread

Discussion: New York Post, American Power, Campaign 2012, The Moderate Voice, Daily Kos and Taegan Goddard's …

Andrew Breitbart / Big Government: After Turner Earthquake in Weiner District, Democrats' Civil War Against Obama Begins

William A. Jacobson / Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion:
NY-09 Results (AP Calls Race for Republican)(Victory Song and Tweet of Night added)

Discussion: Moe Lane, Taylor Marsh, Daily Kos, Pajamas Media and RedState

Devlin Barrett / Wall Street Journal:
GOP Wins in Race to Replace Weiner

Discussion: RedState, americanthinker.com, The Sundries Shack and Pajamas Media

Julianna Goldman / Bloomberg:

Obama Approval Plummets on Jobs Plan: Poll — A majority of Americans don't believe President Barack Obama's $447 billion jobs plan will help lower the unemployment rate, skepticism he must overcome as he presses Congress for action and positions himself for re- election.

Discussion: Hot Air, msnbc.com, Don Surber, Randy's Roundtable, Taegan Goddard's …, RedState, JammieWearingFool, Business Insider and The Lonely Conservative

Reuters:
Obama's approval rating falls in California: poll

Discussion: msnbc.com and JammieWearingFool

CNN:
Obama's push for jobs act will last months, officials say

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, The Politico, The Huffington Post and The Spot

Washington Post:

White House pressed on $500 million loan to solar company now under investigation — The Obama White House tried to rush federal reviewers for a decision on a nearly half-billion-dollar loan to the solar-panel manufacturer Solyndra so Vice President Biden could announce the approval …

Discussion: Michelle Malkin, The Politico, Hot Air, National Review, Fortune, Wizbang, Right Wing News, Hit & Run, Slate and Pajamas Media

ABCNEWS:

Emails: Obama White House Monitored Huge Loan to ‘Connected’ Firm — Chris Gronet, right, talks about solar technology with President Barack Obama on a tour of the Solyndra solar panel company, in this May 26, 2010 file photo, in Fremont, Calif. (Paul Chinn/Pool/Getty Images)

Discussion: nation.foxnews.com, The Politico, The Strata-Sphere, Business Insider, Doug Ross, RedState, Weasel Zippers, The Huffington Post, National Review and Hot Air

Mr. Jeffrey Zients / House Energy …:
Committee Launched an Investigation into Obama's Hallmark Stimulus Jobs Program in February …

Discussion: Washington Post and Green

Henry I. Miller / National Review:

Gardasil and the GOP — More than an hour into last night's debate, Rep. Michele Bachmann attacked Gov. Rick Perry on the HPV vaccination controversy — or more accurately pseudo-controversy. It stems from an executive order issued by Perry in 2007 that required all Texas girls to receive Gardasil …

Discussion: Power Line, Pajamas Media, Flopping Aces, Outside the Beltway, Washington Post, Riehl World View, American Power, RedState, Ben Smith's Blog, The Volokh Conspiracy and The Politico

Ben Howe / RedState:
Bachmann Stayed Quiet on Mandatory Vaccinations While Serving Minnesota

Discussion: Guardian, GOP 12, Leon_H_Wolf's blog, The Politico and Hot Air

Bryan Preston / Pajamas Media:
Sarah Palin's Alaska Took Federal Funds to Increase Access to Gardasil

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, Ace of Spades HQ, Michelle Malkin, A Time For Choosing, RedState, Don Surber, National Review, Hot Air, theblogprof, Conservatives4Palin and iOwnTheWorld.com

Glen Johnson / Boston Globe:

A Brown-Warren US Senate matchup could rival Weld-Kerry battle royale — Should Elizabeth Warren be fortunate enough to win the Massachusetts Democratic Party's US Senate nomination next year, state voters could see an election contest that rivals the concurrent presidential campaign.

Discussion: Politics, Law Blog and Wall Street Journal

David Catanese / The Politico:
Warren launching Senate bid Wednesday

Discussion: CNN, The Reaction, naked capitalism, The Huffington Post and Hotline On Call

Philip Elliott / Associated Press:

Amid rivals' criticism, Perry to speak to students — LYNCHBURG, Va. (AP) — Texas Gov. Rick Perry is addressing students at the nation's largest evangelical university just as he's fending off criticism from his Republican presidential rivals over cultural issues.

Discussion: msnbc.com and The Page

Bill Schneider / Reuters:
It's Perry vs. New Deal

Discussion: CNN

Kim Severson / New York Times:

North Carolina Voters to Decide on Same-Sex Marriage — ATLANTA — North Carolina on Tuesday took a big step toward losing its status as the last state in the Southeast without a constitutional amendment making it clear that marriage is legal only when there is a bride and bridegroom.

Discussion: Runnin' Scared and Balloon Juice

Jbfrank / Raleigh News & Observer:
N.C. Senate joins House in backing same-sex marriage amendment

Discussion: NOM Blog, Nation Now, Hotline On Call and The Politico

Wall Street Journal:

The 2013 Tax Cliff — Business had better enjoy the next 16 months. — President Obama unveiled part two of his American Jobs Act on Monday, and it turns out to be another permanent increase in taxes to pay for more spending and another temporary tax cut. No surprise there.

Discussion: Betsy's Page

Tim Mak / The Politico:

Taliban and NATO in tweet battle — It's a Twitter war! — As the Taliban's attack on key buildings in Kabul, Afghanistan, was crushed after 20 hours of fighting, NATO-led forces engaged in a tweet battle with a user that the UK's Guardian has identified as a spokesperson for the insurgent group.

Discussion: Guardian

Quinnipiac University:

Virginia Voters Back Tougher Abortion Rules, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Gov. McDonnell's 3-1 Approval Is One Of Best Scores — By an overwhelming 55 - 22 percent, Virginians support a new law requiring abortion clinics to be regulated like hospitals, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today.

Discussion: GOP 12, Taegan Goddard's … and Hotline On Call

Pete Kasperowicz / The Hill:

Obama's bill makes it illegal to discriminate against unemployed — President Obama's American Jobs Act, which he presented to Congress on Monday, would make it illegal for employers to run advertisements saying that they will not consider unemployed workers, or to refuse to consider or hire people because they are unemployed.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and JammieWearingFool

Dana Milbank / Washington Post:

‘Supercommittee’? More than stupor committee. — So what's so super about the “supercommittee”? — The Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, as the supercommittee is known formally, held a first meeting last week that consisted entirely of speech-making by the panel members.

Discussion: Simply Left BehindThe …, Prairie Weather, New York Times and Capital Gains and Games blogs