memeorandum: Iran's Leaders Signal Effort at New Thaw (Thomas Erdbrink/New York Times)

3:15 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: Hawkings Here, Ballot Box, NationalJournal.com, The Fact Checker, Talking Points Memo, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Hill, American Spectator, Daily Kos, The Hill, The Plum Line, msnbc.com, The Daily Caller, First Read, 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

Jennifer Bendery / The Huffington Post:

Ted Cruz Digs Himself In Further On Obamacare: ‘Likely That It Will Take Another Election For A Full Repeal’ — WASHINGTON — Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) didn't have much to say Thursday in response to House Republicans fuming at him for conceding that the Democrat-controlled Senate …

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

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, Mediaite, The Hill, Prairie Weather, The Moderate Voice, First Read, The Raw Story, The Reaction, Post Politics and The Hill

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

Discussion: CNN

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: Real Clear Politics, Business Insider, The Hill, A plain blog about politics, Politico, Washington Wire, Roll Call and The Hill

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

Discussion: The Plum Line and Washington Wire

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, NBC Latino, Jezebel, National Review, CNN, Guardian, The Dish, 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, NPR, CBS DC and The Raw Story

Associated Press:
Pope Francis Criticizes ‘Obsessed’ Church Focus On Abortion, Gay Marriage, Contraception

Discussion: Balloon Juice

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: Joe. My. God., The Moderate Voice, Guardian, Mediaite, Weasel Zippers, English pravda.ru, 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, The Stranger …, Taegan Goddard's … and Gallup

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

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, Washington Monthly and CNN

Sarah Wheaton / New York Times:

Conviction of DeLay in Texas Donation Case Is Overturned — WASHINGTON — A Texas appeals court on Thursday overturned the criminal conviction of former Representative Tom DeLay, sparing him the three-year prison sentence he received in 2011 after being found guilty in a politically charged trial.

Associated Press:
Conviction of Tom DeLay Is Overturned

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, JustOneMinute and Associated Press

USA Today:
Texas court overturns Tom DeLay conviction

Discussion: Hawkings Here and Taylor Marsh

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

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

Discussion: A Spork in the Drawer

Craig Bannister / CNSNews:

Obama: ‘Raising the Debt Ceiling...Does Not Increase Our Debt,’ Though It Has ‘Over 100 Times’ — Raising the debt ceiling doesn't increase the nation's debt, Pres. Obama declared in a speech today. — In a speech at the Business Roundtable headquarters in Washington, D.C. …

Discussion: Michelle Malkin, msnbc.com, The White House, Weasel Zippers, White House.gov Blog, Vox Popoli, Questions and Observations, Independent Journal Review, PoliticusUSA and TheBlaze.com

Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
If we get a debt ceiling crisis, it's because Republican voters want one

Discussion: The Federalist, Business Insider, National Review, Prairie Weather and Taegan Goddard's …

Mark Landler / New York Times:

Through Diplomacy, Obama Finds a Pen Pal in Iran — WASHINGTON — Few American presidents have held a deeper belief in the power of the written word than President Obama. And in few ways has that belief been more tested than in his frustrating private correspondence with the leaders of Iran …

Discussion: Via Meadia, The Week, Asia Times, Al Jazeera English, Connecting.the.Dots, Business Insider, Taylor Marsh, The Dish and msnbc.com

F. Brinley Bruton / NBCNews:
EXCLUSIVE: Iran president blames Israel for ‘instability,’ calls for peace

Discussion: Gawker, Jihad Watch, National Review, Weasel Zippers and U.S. News

Thomas Erdbrink / New York Times:
Iran's Leaders Signal Effort at New Thaw

Discussion: AEIdeas, Daniel W. Drezner, WorldViews, emptywheel, The Agonist, U.S. News, The Dish, Guardian, NBCNews and National Updates

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

Ginger Gibson / Politico:

Darrell Issa resumes Benghazi crusade — Darrell Issa will resume hammering the White House on Benghazi on Thursday after four months of relative silence on the subject, as his committee interrogates two of the chief independent investigators of the attacks on the U.S. diplomatic outposts in Libya.

Discussion: The Hill, Sister Toldjah, Hot Air and Daily Kos

Daily Mail:
Republicans ‘dead serious’ about bringing Hillary Clinton back to face MORE grilling …

Discussion: Moe Lane

Felix Salmon:

The surprising value of not tapering — I'm very late to this — I was a bit distracted by other things today — but the big storyline of the day seems clear: the Fed didn't taper, and markets surged in response. — So here's my question. If you take the amount of tapering …

Discussion: Bloomberg and Business Insider

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 …

Justin Sink / The Hill:

Bidens to tour Colorado flood damage — Vice President Biden and his wife, Jill Biden, will travel to Colorado next week to survey flood damage the White House said Thursday. — The Bidens will travel on Monday to areas where flooding has killed at least eight people …

Discussion: CNN

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