memeorandum: Through Diplomacy, Obama Finds a Pen Pal in Iran (Mark Landler/New York Times)

2:30 PM ET, September 19, 2013

Top Items:

The GOP's Self-Defeating ‘Defunding’ Strategy — It will only strengthen the president while alienating independents. — In 2010, Republicans took the House of Representatives by gaining 63 seats. They also picked up six U.S. senators and 675 state legislators, giving them control …

Discussion: Ballot Box, Hawkings Here, The Hill, Talking Points Memo, The Fact Checker, American Spectator, Daily Kos, The Hill, The Plum Line, The Daily Caller, msnbc.com, Taylor Marsh and Washington Post

Brian Beutler / Salon:

New test could expose GOP's pack of charlatans — Conservatives in the Senate have spent weeks and weeks hectoring House Republicans to stand true to GOP principles and make funding for the federal government contingent upon Democrats agreeing to defund Obamacare.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Hullabaloo

CNN:

House Republicans question Cruz's Obamacare-defunding fervor — Washington (CNN) - Republicans in the House of Representatives expressed outrage with one of their compatriots on the other side of the Capitol Wednesday, questioning whether or not Texas Sen. Ted Cruz is really all-in on defunding Obamacare …

Discussion: Politico, American Prospect, Talking Points Memo, The Moderate Voice, Prairie Weather, First Read, The Raw Story, Post Politics, The Reaction, The Hill, The Hill and The Plum Line

Russell Berman / The Hill:
Boehner challenges Senate GOP to ‘get the job done’ on defunding

Discussion: CNN

Jennifer Bendery / The Huffington Post:
Ted Cruz Digs Himself In Further On Obamacare: ‘Likely That It Will Take Another Election For A Full Repeal’

Discussion: Daily Kos, Outside the Beltway, Hot Air, The Hinterland Gazette and Business Insider

Gail Collins / New York Times:
World War O — The war against Obamacare: All the rationality …

Discussion: Daily Kos

Sabrina Siddiqui / The Huffington Post:
Ted Cruz Infuriates House Republicans By Conceding Defeat On Obamacare Repeal

Discussion: Politico, The Hill, A plain blog about politics, Washington Wire, Roll Call, The Hill and The Plum Line

David M. Drucker / Washington Examiner:
House GOP: Sen. Ted Cruz surrendered without a fight over Obamacare

Discussion: The Plum Line and Washington Wire

Caitlin Huey-Burns / Real Clear Politics:
House Republicans Hit Cruz for “White Flag” on Health Law

Discussion: Business Insider, NationalJournal.com, Booman Tribune, No More Mister Nice Blog, National Review, The Hill, Right Turn and Washington Monthly

English pravda.ru:

Senator John McCain: Russians deserve better than Putin — When Pravda.ru editor, Dmitry Sudakov, offered to publish my commentary, he referred to me as “an active anti-Russian politician for many years.” I'm sure that isn't the first time Russians have heard me characterized as their antagonist.

Tal Kopan / Politico:

Truthfully, John McCain in wrong Pravda — Sen. John McCain got his wish when his op-ed against Russian President Vladimir Putin was published in Russia news outlet Pravda. The only problem — it may have been the wrong Pravda. — The Arizona Republican published his anti-Putin piece …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Joe. My. God., English pravda.ru, Guardian, Mediaite, Weasel Zippers, TheBlaze.com and Business Insider

Leslie Bentz / CNN:

McCain publishes opinion piece in Pravda - but not the one he wanted — Washington (CNN) - Senator John McCain has a message for the Russian people: “I am pro-Russian, more pro-Russian than the regime that misrules you today.” — In an opinion piece titled “Russians Deserve Better Than Putin …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Associated Press, Taegan Goddard's …, The Stranger … and Gallup

Laurie Goodstein / New York Times:

Pope Bluntly Faults Church's Focus on Gays and Abortion — Alessandro Di Meo/European Pressphoto Agency — Pope Francis, who has said the church should be a “home for all,” on Sept. 4 in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican. — Pope Francis, in the first extensive interview of his six-month-old papacy …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Firedoglake, ThinkProgress, National Review, NBC Latino, CNN, The Dish, Guardian, Mediaite, Joe. My. God., The Hinterland Gazette, Towleroad News #gay and Shakesville

America Magazine:

A Big Heart Open to God — The exclusive interview with Pope Francis — Editor's Note: This interview with Pope Francis took place over the course of three meetings during August 2013 in Rome. The interview was conducted in person by Antonio Spadaro, S.J., editor in chief of La Civiltà Cattolica, the Italian Jesuit journal.

Discussion: Guardian, CNN, LifeNews.com, CBS DC and The Raw Story

Associated Press:

Pope Francis Criticizes ‘Obsessed’ Church Focus On Abortion, Gay Marriage, Contraception — VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis is warning that the Catholic Church's moral edifice might “fall like a house of cards” if it doesn't balance its divisive rules about abortion, gays and contraception …

Discussion: Balloon Juice

KHOU-TV:

Texas appeals court overturns Tom DeLay money laundering conviction — HOUSTON — A Texas Court of Appeals in Austin has overturned the conviction of former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, attorney Brian Wice tells KHOU 11 News. — DeLay, 66, was convicted in 2010 for his alleged role in a scheme to influence Texas elections.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Mediaite and The Raw Story

USA Today:

Texas court overturns Tom DeLay conviction — Court's ruling leads to acquittal for Texan who was once one of most powerful Republicans in Congress. — CONNECT — WASHINGTON — A Texas court has overturned the conviction of former House majority leader Tom DeLay in a money-laundering case stemming from the 2002 elections.

Discussion: Hawkings Here and Taylor Marsh

Rebecca Shabad / The Hill:

Tom Delay's conviction overturned — A Texas appellate court has overturned the 2010 conviction of former House Majority Leader Tom Delay's (R-Texas) for money laundering. — The court said it was acquitting Delay due to insufficient evidence. — Since his conviction three years ago …

Discussion: Politico and CNN

Associated Press:
Conviction of Tom DeLay Is Overturned

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, JustOneMinute and Associated Press

Yahoo! News:

Creepy Obamacare ad hits college campuses and your nightmares — There will be girls. There will be beer. There will be cornhole. And someone will be dressed in the creepiest Uncle Sam costume you've ever seen. — Welcome to the strange new front in the war over Obamacare.

Discussion: Politico, ThinkProgress, The Hill, BuzzFeed, msnbc.com, A plain blog about politics, Joe. My. God., The Raw Story, TheBlaze.com, ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES, Twitchy, Mediaite and Daily Kos

Dylan Scott / Talking Points Memo:
WATCH: Anti-Obamacare Videos With ‘Creepy Uncle Sam’

Discussion: A Spork in the Drawer

Norm Ornstein / NationalJournal.com:

Congress's Fiscal Fiasco Forces Americans to Wear Badge of Shame — As readers of my past columns know, I was not exactly optimistic as we approached crunch time over the debt limit in 2011. But I am far more pessimistic now. At a dinner I attended Monday night with a host …

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's …

Jonathan Easley / The Hill:
Boehner asks why Obama will negotiate with Putin, but not Republicans

Discussion: The Hill, BuzzFeed, White House.gov Blog, Speaker.gov, msnbc.com, Weasel Zippers, PostPartisan and Right Wing News

Tal Kopan / Politico:
John Boehner: President Obama deals with Vladimir Putin but not GOP?

Discussion: ABC News, Right Turn, Daily Kos, Talking Points Memo and The Hill

Jeremy Herb / The Hill:

Capitol Police investigating Navy Yard ‘stand down’ claim — U.S. Capitol Police Chief Kim Dine is requesting an investigation of his department's response to the Navy Yard shootings amid reports that a “stand down” order was given to a heavily harmed Capitol Police team close to the scene.

Discussion: Politico, Guardian and No More Mister Nice Blog

Nick Gillespie / The Daily Beast:
Now Is Not the Time for New Gun Laws

Discussion: Hit & Run, Shakesville, Washington Post, NPR, The Raw Story and Post Politics

Josh Lederman / Associated Press:
Biden Visits Patients Wounded in Navy Yard Rampage

Discussion: Politico and The Hill

Amanda Ripley / The Atlantic Online:

The Case Against High-School Sports — The United States routinely spends more tax dollars per high-school athlete than per high-school math student—unlike most countries worldwide. And we wonder why we lag in international education rankings? — Every year, thousands of teenagers move …

Discussion: FishbowlDC

Pete Kasperowicz / The Hill:

Dem tries to shame members on food stamps with props — Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) on Thursday used food props on the House floor to portray members of Congress as steak-eating, vodka-swilling socialites in a bid to get Congress to reject a GOP bill cutting $40 billion in food stamps.

Discussion: Des Moines Register and CNN

Stephanie Condon / CBS News:
House Republicans pushing for major food stamp cuts

Discussion: Daily Kos, The Raw Story and American Thinker

Daily Mail:

Republicans ‘dead serious’ about bringing Hillary Clinton back to face MORE grilling as they slam State Department over Benghazi — A Republican aide says House investigators may ‘have to climb the ladder and swear Hillary in’ since underlings aren't providing answers

Discussion: Moe Lane