memeorandum: Six Take-Aways from the Census Bureau's Voting Report (Pew Research Center)

3:20 PM ET, May 9, 2013

Top Items:

Official Offers Account From Libya of Benghazi Attack — WASHINGTON — A State Department official presented a minute-by-minute account on Wednesday of what happened during the seige of the diplomatic compound in Benghazi last Sept. 11, offering the first public testimony from an American official …

Glenn Kessler / Washington Post:

The Benghazi hearings: what's new and what's not — “I was stunned. My jaw dropped. And I was embarrassed” — Gregory Hicks, former U.S. deputy chief of mission to Libya, testifying on his reaction to U.N. Ambassador Susan E. Rice's remarks on the terror attack in Benghazi, May 8, 2013

Discussion: American Prospect, The Hill, The Public Editor's Journal, Hot Air, Wall Street Journal, Taylor Marsh and Washington Free Beacon

John Podhoretz / New York Post:

Failings of Bam & Hill laid bare — After a remarkable House hearing yesterday, we can say this with almost complete certainty: The Obama administration knew perfectly well that last year's Sept. 11 attack on Americans and American facilities in Benghazi was a terrorist act …

Discussion: PJ Media

Justin SInk / The Hill:

Rubio: Clinton's handling of Benghazi was ‘sad’ — Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) said Thursday that he was saddened by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's handling of the terrorist attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya. — Rubio said he believed Clinton and others …

Discussion: Politico, Foreign Policy, Taylor Marsh and NationalJournal.com

Rich Lowry / Politico:

The Benghazi patsy — Nakoula Basseley Nakoula deserves a place in American history. He is the first person in this country jailed for violating Islamic anti-blasphemy laws. — You won't find that anywhere in the charges against him, of course. As a practical matter, though …

Discussion: The PJ Tatler and Washington Free Beacon

Justin Sink / The Hill:
Sen. Coburn: ‘Glaring omission’ in Benghazi information from State Dept.

Discussion: CNN, Hot Air, The PJ Tatler, Yahoo! News, TheBlaze.com and BuzzFeed

Kevin Drum / Mother Jones:
Yet Another Benghazi Nothingburger Today

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Maddow Blog, The Week, The Reality-Based Community, americanthinker.com, Washington Post, The Dish, Wired, Hit & Run, Yahoo! News and National Review

Ben Armbruster / ThinkProgress:
Darrell Issa Acknowledges He Learned Nothing New From His Benghazi Hearing

Discussion: Applesauce, Daily Kos, FP Passport and The Impolitic

Rosie Gray / BuzzFeed:
Benghazi Investigation Creeps Closer To Hillary Clinton

Discussion: National Review, Connecting.the.Dots, The Dish, Washington Free Beacon, ThinkProgress and The Hill

Tom Bevan / Real Clear Politics:
A Coverup Laid Bare

Discussion: Townhall.com, Washington Times, Wake up America and National Review

Kevin Cirilli / Politico:
Marco Rubio knocks Hillary Clinton on Benghazi

Discussion: The Raw Story and Post Politics

Politico:

McCarthy's nomination in doubt, angering Democrats — President Barack Obama's nominee to head the Environmental Protection Agency is in jeopardy after Republicans formed a united front Thursday to deny her a vote in committee. — Democrats erupted in frustration at the GOP “obstructionism” …

Discussion: Yahoo! News, E2-Wire and Daily Kos

Lori Montgomery / Washington Post:

Are Republicans really gunning for another debt-limit showdown? — The federal debt limit is set to kick back into effect next weekend after a three-month hiatus, marking the start of a political game of chicken likely to culminate in the fall, when Congress will have to give President Obama a higher limit or risk a federal default.

Discussion: The Impolitic, The Maddow Blog, Smartypants, Booman Tribune, ThinkProgress and Talking Points Memo

U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works:
EPW Republicans Not To Attend Gina McCarthy Nomination Vote

Discussion: Washington Wire, ThinkProgress, New York Times and The Caucus

Brian Beutler / Talking Points Memo:

Meet Democrats' Newest Republican Crush: Ted Cruz?!?! — Starting around the time he launched a bogus attack on then-Defense Secretary nominee Chuck Hagel, Democrats have loved to hate Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX). — They made sure as many as people as possible saw him condescend to Sen. Dianne Feinstein …

Discussion: Taylor Marsh and No More Mister Nice Blog

Felix Salmon:

The tragedy of US higher education — The tragedy of Cooper Union is endemic to most American higher education, outside a few community colleges; Cooper is just the special case where the blind rush to some kind of global greatness directly and explicitly violates the institution's founding mission.

Discussion: Wonkblog and Lawyers, Guns & Money

NewAmerica.net:
Undermining Pell — How Colleges Compete for Wealthy Students …

Discussion: Firedoglake, Mother Jones and Bloomberg

Hunter Walker / Talking Points Memo:

NYC Considering Allowing Non-Citizens To Vote — New York City could soon become the first major city in the country to give non-citizens the right to vote. The proposal, which would allow certain non-citizens to vote in local elections, appears to have a veto-proof majority in the New York City Council …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Above the Law and The Raw Story

Allan Wernick / NY Daily News:
Immigration: City Council to discuss allowing non-citizens to vote in city elections

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and National Review

Jonathan Easley / The Hill:

Republican leader rips the media for ‘shoving us in the corner’ — House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) ripped the media in a speech Tuesday to the Ripon Society, arguing press coverage is partly responsible for the GOP's messaging woes. — Cantor, who has tried to recast the image …

Discussion: Washington Monthly and Shakesville

Jennifer Haberkorn / Politico: Boehner: Health vote for freshmen

Molly K. Hooper / The Hill:
House GOP weighs reviving contentious ObamaCare fix bill

Discussion: Crooks and Liars and Reuters

Frank Phillips / The Boston Globe:

Gomez took $281,500 home tax deduction — Republican US Senate nominee Gabriel E. Gomez claimed a $281,500 income tax deduction in 2005 for pledging not to make any visible changes to the facade of his 112-year-old Cohasset home, a concession so valuable that it is classified …

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

Senate panel vote signals GOP support for immigration reform — The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday adopted a substitute amendment to immigration reform legislation with a strong bipartisan margin, signaling which Republicans are most likely to support the bill.

Discussion: The Plum Line and CNN

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Judiciary adopts six amendments to tighten border

Discussion: Politico

Jonathan Martin / Politico:

Lindsey Graham faces down primary challenge — COLUMBIA, S.C. — If any Senate Republican up for re-election next year would seem ripe for a primary defeat it's Lindsey Graham. — Running in a conservative, Southern state that has proven friendly to insurgents in recent years …

Discussion: The Plum Line, ABCNEWS, Red Racing Horses and WJLA-TV

Wesley Lowery / Boston Globe:

Body of Tamerlan Tsarnaev is buried outside Massachusetts, official says — WORCESTER - The body of Tamerlan Tsarnaev has been buried somewhere outside of Massachusetts, according to a funeral home official briefed on the situation. — The official said that the remains …

Oleg Atbashian / American Thinker:

Ariel Castro, Cleveland Kidnapper, Is a Registered Democrat — According to voter registration records, Ariel Castro, the Cleveland kidnapper, is a registered Democrat. He was also the alleged leader among the three Castro brothers, who were arrested this week, and the owner of the house …

Discussion: The Week, Weasel Zippers, The Gateway Pundit, The Daily Caller, ABCNEWS, ViralRead and NY Daily News

TIME:

Top White House Aide Has A Secret Beer With Rep. Paul Ryan — On April 10, the day President Obama released his 2014 budget, White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough held a secret meeting with House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan at a K Street restaurant, Brasserie Beck, to talk …

Discussion: Politico, Yahoo! News and Post Politics

Brendan Sasso / The Hill:

McCain working on bill to allow for ‘a la carte’ cable TV packages — Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is working on legislation that would pressure cable and satellite providers to allow their customers to pick and choose the channels they pay for, his office confirmed on Wednesday.

Discussion: Business Insider, AllThingsD and Daily Kos, more at Mediagazer »