memeorandum: Republicans vote to ban NBC, CNN from presidential debates (Jonathan Easley/The Hill)

1:55 PM ET, August 16, 2013

Top Items:

Brett LoGiurato / Business Insider:

CORRECTED: GOP CHIEF: Mitt Romney's ‘Self-Deportation’ Quote Was ‘Horrific’ — Correction, 12:26 p.m. ET: An original version of this story said that Reince Priebus referred to Mitt Romney's comments as “racist.” He said it “hurts us.” Business Insider regrets the error.

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Washington Monthly, msnbc.com, Immigration Reform, The PJ Tatler, ThinkProgress, The Hinterland Gazette, Hot Air, The Gateway Pundit, The Right Scoop, Daily Kos, Shakesville, The Plum Line and The Raw Story

Politico:

Eve of Destruction — It is almost impossible to find an establishment Republican in town who's not downright morose about the 2013 that has been and is about to be. Most dance around it in public, but they see this year as a disaster in the making, even if most elected Republicans don't know it or admit it.

Discussion: CNN, The Plum Line, The Dish, Seeing the Forest and Immigration Reform

James Hohmann / Politico:

With Clinton vote, RNC pushes back on debates — BOSTON — The Republican National Committee will pass a resolution Friday to bar NBC and CNN from hosting GOP primary debates in 2016 if the networks move forward with their Hillary Clinton projects. — But the vote is not just about Clinton.

Discussion: Taylor Marsh, Booman Tribune, The Fix, No More Mister Nice Blog, americanthinker.com, CNN, TheBlaze.com, Post Politics, The Moderate Voice, Washington Monthly and The Daily Caller

John Fund / National Review:

Taking Back the GOP Debates — The summer meetings of national political parties are usually quiet affairs, but this week's Republican National Committee meeting in Boston is full of controversy about who should moderate and run the 2016 GOP presidential-primary debates.

Discussion: Power Line, American Prospect, Washington Times, Mother Jones and msnbc.com

Jonathan Easley / The Hill:

Republicans vote to ban NBC, CNN from presidential debates — The Republican National Committee (RNC) voted unanimously Friday to pull the group's partnership with NBC and CNN for the 2016 GOP presidential primary debates unless the networks kill their planned films on Hillary Clinton.

Discussion: The Raw Story and Daily Kos

James Hohmann / Politico:

RNC approves skipping NBC/CNN debates — BOSTON — The Republican National Committee unanimously passed a resolution here Friday to not partner with NBC or CNN on 2016 primary debates if they air Hillary Clinton projects. — RNC Chairman Reince Priebus got an extended standing ovation …

Dylan Byers / Politico:
RNC's NBC, CNN boycott will extend to Telemundo, CNN Espanol

Discussion: Post Politics, Hot Air and Mediaite

Tom Kludt / Talking Points Memo:
RNC Unanimously Passes Resolution, No Debates For NBC Or CNN

Discussion: Washington Monthly

Zeke J Miller / TIME:
GOP Votes To Punish Networks Over Clinton Projects

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Mediaite and TheBlaze.com, more at Mediagazer »

Byron York / Washington Examiner:
The key part of the RNC resolution on NBC and CNN debates

Discussion: Politico and Pat Dollard

Barton Gellman / Washington Post:

NSA broke privacy rules thousands of times per year, audit finds — The National Security Agency has broken privacy rules or overstepped its legal authority thousands of times each year since Congress granted the agency broad new powers in 2008, according to an internal audit and other top-secret documents.

Carol D. Leonnig / Washington Post:

Court: Ability to police U.S. spying program limited — The leader of the secret court that is supposed to provide critical oversight of the government's vast spying programs said that its ability do so is limited and that it must trust the government to report when it improperly spies on Americans.

Discussion: The New Republic, Connecting.the.Dots, ThinkProgress, The Hinterland Gazette, Daily Kos, Hit & Run, The Verge, Gizmodo, Techdirt and Gawker, more at Mediagazer »

Charlie Savage / New York Times:
N.S.A. Often Broke Rules on Privacy, Audit Shows

Discussion: The World's Greatest …, Hillicon Valley, Firedoglake, The Fix, msnbc.com, The Week, CNN, Techdirt, Hit & Run and The Hill, more at Mediagazer »

Andrea Peterson / The Switch:
Remember when Obama said the NSA wasn't “actually abusing” its powers? He was wrong.

Discussion: Techdirt, Weasel Zippers, Patterico's Pontifications and The PJ Tatler

Washington Post:
NSA report on privacy violations in the first quarter of 2012

Discussion: Techdirt

Jeffrey Goldberg / Bloomberg:

What Obama Misunderstands About Egypt — This morning, President Barack Obama condemned the Egyptian military's slaughter of Muslim Brotherhood members and sympathizers, and canceled joint military exercises scheduled for next month. He said that the violence should stop and that “a process of national reconciliation should begin.”

Discussion: Foreign Policy, National Review, Booman Tribune, Hot Air and Wonkblog

CNN:
More clashes feared as protesters vow ‘Friday of anger’ in Egypt

Discussion: Atlas Shrugs, Global Grind, Jihad Watch and Weasel Zippers

John Hinderaker / Power Line:
It's Official: Obama Has Surpassed Jimmy Carter

Discussion: The Jawa Report, Reuters, Associated Press, New York Post and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Elizabeth Chuck / World News:
Egypt may avoid civil war — but bloody conflict could continue for years

Discussion: msnbc.com, Pat Dollard and Red Alert Politics

BBC:
Egypt crisis: Deaths as Cairo violence resumes

Discussion: americanthinker.com and Blazing Cat Fur

Noah Rothman / Mediaite:

Joe Scarborough: Talkers on Radio, TV Tell Voters 'If You're Not White,' ‘Not Welcome’ in GOP — On Friday morning, MSNBC's Joe Scarborough, host of Morning Joe, blasted Republicans for focusing on the wrong issues in their efforts to reassemble a coalition of voters that can win national elections.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Pat Dollard and The Hinterland Gazette

Matt Wilstein / Mediaite:
Michael Savage Predicts He Will Replace Hannity at Cumulus, Limbaugh Likely to Stay

Discussion: The Week, Politico, The Huffington Post and Pat Dollard

Philip Bump / The Atlantic Wire:

Defying Reagan, Obama Returns Solar Panels to the White House — Now that the tedium of the 2012 campaign is over, President Obama is making good on his 2010 pledge to put solar panels on top of the White House. The panels (American-made, of course) will be the second set the building has ever seen.

Discussion: rubber hose, Taegan Goddard's …, E2-Wire and ThinkProgress

Washington Examiner:
Examiner Editorial: The ‘Great Divider’ likes political speech only when it likes him

Discussion: Betsy's Page and Washington Post

Michael Calderone / The Huffington Post:

Edward Snowden To HuffPost: Media Being Misled — NEW YORK — National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden wants to set the record straight after individuals associated with his father have, in his words, “misled” journalists into “printing false claims about my situation.”

Discussion: The Hinterland Gazette, RIA Novosti, CNN, Smartypants, Techdirt, The Hill and Poynter, more at Mediagazer »

Lukas I. Alpert / Wall Street Journal:
Edward Snowden Talks With His Father

Discussion: Smartypants, Business Insider, Hot Air, Little Green Footballs and RIA Novosti

Politicker:

Anthony Weiner's Relationship With Former Staffer Raises Questions — Anthon Weiner. (Photo: Getty) — Before he married his wife, former Congressman Anthony Weiner had a previously undisclosed relationship with an on-again-off-again congressional and campaign aide nearly two decades his junior.

Discussion: The Daily Banter and Runnin' Scared

Judy Quest / CNN:

A real clown wouldn't mock Obama — Editor's note: Judy Quest is a board member and past president of Clowns of America International, an organization of clowns that promotes the craft. She has been a clown for 32 years and has trained hundreds of clowns. She writes regularly for clown journals.

Discussion: The Daily Caller, The PJ Tatler and Outside the Beltway

Paul Krugman / New York Times:

Moment of Truthiness — We all know how democracy is supposed to work. Politicians are supposed to campaign on the issues, and an informed public is supposed to cast its votes based on those issues, with some allowance for the politicians' perceived character and competence.

Discussion: JustOneMinute and The Plum Line

Cameron Joseph / Ballot Box:

Rep. Dave Camp won't run for Senate in 2014 — Rep. Dave Camp (R-Mich.) on Friday announced he won't run for the Senate in 2014, denying the GOP a top recruit for the open-seat race. — “After much thought and careful consideration, I have decided not to run for the United States Senate,” Camp said in a statement.

Discussion: CNN and Politico