memeorandum: Stephens: Muslims, Mormons and Liberals (Wall Street Journal)

4:20 PM ET, September 18, 2012

Top Items:

SECRET VIDEO: On Israel, Romney Trashes Two-State Solution — At a private fundraiser, the GOP candidate calls Middle East peace “almost unthinkable” and says he would “kick the ball down the field.” — At the private fundraiser held May 17 where Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney candidly spoke …

William Kristol / Weekly Standard:

A Note on Romney's Arrogant and Stupid Remarks — So we have in 2012 two presidential candidates who—when they thought they were speaking privately to their fellow 1 percenters—have shown contempt for fellow Americans. — Here's Barack Obama, on April 6, 2008, in San Francisco:

Discussion: CNN, Washington Monthly, National Review, The Hill, Ballot Box, Ricochet Conversations Feed, American Prospect, The Daily Beast, The Huffington Post, Outside the Beltway, The Maddow Blog, The Daily Dish, Washington Post, The Reality-Based Community and Hit & Run

David Corn / MoJo Articles:

WATCH: Full Secret Video of Private Romney Fundraiser — Mitt Romney wanted the full tape. Here it is. — On Monday and Tuesday Mother Jones published exclusive video that captured Mitt Romney speaking to donors at a May 17 fundraiser, which was held at the home of private equity mogul Mark Leder.

Discussion: Reuters, ABCNEWS, CNN, Washington Wire, New York Magazine, Washington Post, Business Insider, NationalJournal.com, Mediaite, Slate, The Raw Story, Outside the Beltway, BBC, Guardian and Election 2012, more at Mediagazer »

David Brooks / New York Times:

Thurston Howell Romney — In 1980, about 30 percent of Americans received some form of government benefits. Today, as Nicholas Eberstadt of the American Enterprise Institute has pointed out, about 49 percent do. — In 1960, government transfers to individuals totaled $24 billion.

Rush Limbaugh:

A Golden Opportunity for Mitt Romney — RUSH: I tell you, I really hope that Mother Jones pulls down that Romney video pretty fast. Well, what he said about the Palestinians not wanting peace, that's got the media as riled up as anything. The Palestinians are sacred to some people …

Discussion: CNN, Althouse and Washington Examiner

Michael Warren / Weekly Standard:

Conservatives Agree: Romney's Wrong — Plenty of conservatives are pushing back against the worldview espoused by Mitt Romney in his “arrogant and stupid' remarks at a private fundraiser earlier this year. — The conservative case against Romney's analysis is multi-pronged.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, RedState, The Daily Caller, The New Republic, Power Line, Mediaite, National Review, Plunderbund and Hit & Run

Michael Walsh / National Review:

Mitt's Gettysburg Moment — Mitt Romney found himself in an unexpected place last night — in the public eye. He ought to make the most of it. — Milk-Carton Mitt's surprise turn upon the stage — did you know he was running for president? — came courtesy of the currently unemployed …

Discussion: Slate, The Daily Beast, Washington Monthly and Wake up America

Joe Coscarelli / New York Magazine:

How Jimmy Carter's Grandson Helped Leak the Secret Romney Fund-raiser Video — The damning video of Mitt Romney telling a room of wealthy donors how he really feels about the free-loading 47 percent of Americans “who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing …

Discussion: Washington Wire, ABCNEWS, neo-neocon, The Raw Story, NewsBusters.org, NY Daily News, Election 2012, The Caucus, Business Insider, Guardian, Politico, Power Line, Washington Post and The Gateway Pundit

Ramesh Ponnuru / Bloomberg:

The Right Is Wrong to Pin Obama's Edge on Welfare State — A lot of conservatives are puzzled that polls show the presidential election is even close, let alone that most show Barack Obama ahead. So convinced are they that Obama has failed that they think he ought to be out of the running.

Discussion: Power Line, National Review, The Daily Beast and Spectator

David Corn / Mother Jones:
Romney “47 Percent” Fundraiser Host: Hedge Fund Manager Who Likes Sex Parties

Rich Lowry / National Review:
Romney's Comment

Discussion: American Prospect

Jim Treacher / The Daily Caller:
OMG, you guys, it's all over! … I can see why Democrats are so offended.

Discussion: Guardian

Ezra Klein / Washington Post:
Romney's theory of the “taker class,” and why it matters

Discussion: Hot Air, Jack & Jill Politics, Firedoglake, Guardian, Forbes, Economist's View, National Review, The Daily Beast, UrbanGrounds, The Maddow Blog, Democracy in America, The Sundries Shack, Guy Fawkes' blog, The Atlantic Online, Slate and Scared Monkeys

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:
The Real Romney Captured on Tape Turns Out to Be a Sneering Plutocrat

Discussion: American Prospect, Capitol Watch, Washington Monthly, Salon, Talking Points Memo, The Maddow Blog, emptywheel, AEIdeas and No More Mister Nice Blog

Reihan Salam / National Review:
Makers, Takers, Taxpayers, Etc.

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, Politico, Economix, Hot Air, JustOneMinute, AEIdeas, The Daily Caller, The Daily Beast, Firedoglake and TaxVox

Jim Tankersley / NationalJournal.com:
Romney's ‘47 Percent’ Talk Explains His Struggles with Swing Voters

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, Washington Wire, Hit & Run, BuzzFeed, Associated Press, Los Angeles Times, First Read and New York Magazine

Michael Barbaro / The Caucus:
How the Romney Campaign Scrambled to Respond to Secret Video

Discussion: Washington Monthly, New York Times, Washington Post and Daily Kos

Ben Smith / BuzzFeed:
The Long Strange Leak Of Mitt Romney's 47% Video

more at Mediagazer »

NBC's Michael Isikoff / First Read:
How the Romney video leaked: For Carters, it was personal

Discussion: emptywheel and Election 2012

David Frum / The Daily Beast:
The Sinister Message Behind Romney's “Gaffe”

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog and Hullabaloo

First Read:
First Thoughts: Romney's brutal last three weeks

Discussion: World News, Taylor Marsh, Red Alert Politics and Washington Post

Bloomberg:
Today, Mitt Romney Lost the Election

Ryan J. Reilly / Talking Points Memo:

Pennsylvania Supreme Court Casts Doubt On Voter ID Law — The Pennsylvania Supreme Court cast serious doubt on the state's voter ID law on Tuesday, ordering a lower court to rethink its decision upholding the law earlier this year. — In a 4-2 ruling, the justices ordered the lower court …

Discussion: Outside the Beltway

Angela Couloumbis / Philly.com:
Pa. Supreme Court orders more review on voter ID law

Discussion: ACS Blog, The Raw Story and Shakesville

Emily Schultheis / Politico:
Pa. court punts on voter ID law

Discussion: CNN

Sarah Chayes / Los Angeles Times:

‘Innocence of Muslims’ doesn't meet free-speech test — U.S. 1st Amendment rights distinguish between speech that is simply offensive and speech deliberately tailored to put lives and property at immediate risk. — A scene from the 14-minute video trailer for the film “Innocence of Muslims …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, L.A. NOW, Hit & Run and Ricochet Conversations Feed, more at Mediagazer »

Richard C. Dujardin / The Providence Journal:

Cranston bans ‘father-daughter’ dances as violation of state law — CRANSTON, R.I. — In a move that has taken some parents by surprise, the school department has announced that it is banning traditional “father-daughter” and “mother-son” activities, saying they violate state law. — Supt.

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and Pat Dollard

Washington Post:

Post Poll: Obama up 8 points over Romney in Virginia — President Obama continues to hold a clear lead over Mitt Romney in Virginia, a new Washington Post poll shows, buoyed by enthusiastic support rivaling what he marshaled in 2008 to snap the Democrats' four-decade losing streak in the state.

Discussion: GOP 12, Politico, CNN, Outside the Beltway, Business Insider, Talking Points Memo, Daily Kos and Ballot Box

Matthew Boyle / The Daily Caller:

Emails reveal Justice Dept. regularly enlists Media Matters to spin press — Internal Department of Justice emails obtained by The Daily Caller show Attorney General Eric Holder's communications staff has collaborated with the left-wing advocacy group Media Matters for America in an attempt …

Discussion: Pat Dollard, Weasel Zippers, Maggie's Notebook, The Other McCain and The PJ Tatler

Mesfin Fekadu / Associated Press:

Randy Newman writes new satirical, political song — Associated Press/Matt Sayles, File - FILE - This Feb. 27, 2011 file photo shows composer Randy Newman posing backstage with the Oscar for best original song for “We Belong Together” from “Toy Story 3” at the ...more

Discussion: Little Green Footballs, Politico, Weasel Zippers, Jammie Wearing Fools and The Jawa Report

Nate Silver / New York Times:

How to Solve the Swing-State Puzzle — When I first considered Barack Obama's re-election chances in this magazine, last November, he was about a 50-50 contender against the Republican field. As I noted then, this was an unusual spot for a sitting president.

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's … and GOP 12

Chris Vanocur / KTVX-TV:

Howell says Hatch too old and may die in office — SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) - Orrin Hatch's Democratic opponent says the 78 year old U.S. Senator is too old to be reelected. — In a blunt fundraising letter sent out Sunday, Democrat Scott Howell repeatedly attacks the senator's age.

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Politico, CNN, ABCNEWS and Hot Air

Laurie Goodstein / New York Times:

A Faded Piece of Papyrus Refers to Jesus' Wife — CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — A historian of early Christianity at Harvard Divinity School has identified a scrap of papyrus that she says was written in Coptic in the fourth century and contains a phrase never seen in any piece of Scripture: “Jesus said to them, ‘My wife ...’”

Paul Waldman / American Prospect:

Newsweek: Is Asking Inane Questions the Future of Journalism? — Was Mussolini Right? — “He made the trains run on time,” they said about Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, and it was more than just a cliché. It was a statement about a government that works, a government that means what it says and does what it wants.