memeorandum: Trouble at the core of U.S. foreign policy (Washington Post)

2:45 AM ET, September 27, 2013

Top Items:

Ian Swanson / The Hill:

House Republicans lack votes to move plan to raise debt ceiling — House Republican leaders found themselves struggling to secure the votes on Thursday for a debt ceiling measure they hoped to swiftly pass through the House as the latest salvo in a multi-front fiscal fight.

Discussion: Salon, Politico, Roll Call, Daily Kos, The Plum Line and Business Insider

Matthew Yglesias / Slate:

House GOP Just Showed Why Obama Can't Compromise on the Debt Ceiling — Over the past two days, I've started hearing murmurs from the CW-vendors that in light of the potentially catastrophic consequences of breaching the debt ceiling on October 17, the White House's stance that it won't negotiate …

Discussion: National Review, Hullabaloo, Talking Points Memo, No More Mister Nice Blog, Washington Monthly, Business Insider, The Mahablog, Daily Kos and E2-Wire

Michael McAuliff / The Huffington Post:

Republicans Willing To Risk Debt Limit Disaster To Win Concessions — WASHINGTON — Republicans know that holding the nation's debt limit hostage in a standoff with Democrats over spending carries major risks to the economy, but they say they will do it anyway.

Discussion: The Plum Line

Jonathan Allen / Politico:
Dan Pfeiffer: W.H. not ‘negotiating with people with a bomb strapped to their chest’

Discussion: Booman Tribune and Weasel Zippers

Jonathan Strong / National Review:
Revealed: The House GOP's Debt-Ceiling Plan

Discussion: The Dish, The Huffington Post, Talking Points Memo, NPR, TechCrunch, Business Insider, Daily Kos, msnbc.com, Hit & Run, Balloon Juice, BBC, AEIdeas, Yahoo! News, The Atlantic Online and The Week

Russell Berman / The Hill:
Boehner: House unlikely to accept clean funding bill from Senate

Discussion: Politico

Julie Hirschfeld Davis / Bloomberg:
Americans Reject by 61% Obama Demand for Clean Debt Vote

Jonathan Weisman / New York Times:
House G.O.P. Raises Stakes in Debt-Ceiling Fight

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, CNN and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Tim Alberta / NationalJournal.com:
House Republicans Ready to Retreat, Easing Shutdown Fears

Discussion: Yahoo! News, Washington Monthly, National Review, americanthinker.com, Roll Call and Wall Street Journal

Noam Scheiber / The New Republic:
If John Boehner Knows What's Good For Him, He'll Shut Down the Government

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Little Green Footballs, Washington Monthly, Booman Tribune and The Rachel Maddow Show

Michael C. Bender / Bloomberg:

Democrat Manchin Breaks Ranks to Back Mandate Delay — U.S. Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia broke ranks with fellow Democrats and said he'd support a stopgap spending plan that delays the individual mandate in President Barack Obama's health-care law. — “There's no way I could not vote for it …

Discussion: Sister Toldjah, Real Clear Politics, Politico, Mediaite, Weasel Zippers, Hit & Run, FreedomWorks, Washington Post, CNN, Washington Monthly, The World's Greatest …, Post Politics, National Review, The Daily Caller, Hot Air and Talking Points Memo

Steve Liesman / CNBC:

What's in a name? Lots when it comes to Obamacare/ACA — What's in a name? When it comes to the debate over health care, apparently a lot. — In CNBC's third-quarter All-America Economic Survey, we asked half of the 812 poll respondents if they support Obamacare and the other half if they support the Affordable Care Act.

Discussion: NBCNews, The Reaction and Yahoo! News

Charles P. Pierce / Esquire:
A BRIEF INTERLUDE WITH EXPERT OPINION

Discussion: Balloon Juice and Washington Monthly

Politico:
Another Obamacare delay

Discussion: Business Insider, Hit & Run, Hullabaloo, Connecting.the.Dots, The Heritage Foundation and National Review

Megan McArdle / Bloomberg:
IT Is One of Obamacare's Weakest Links

Discussion: Questions and Observations and Instapundit

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

Corker takes on Cruz as GOP feuding moves to the Senate floor — Feuding in the Republican conference moved to the Senate floor on Thursday as Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) accused two colleagues of risking a government shutdown as a publicity stunt. — “The reason you don't want to send …

Discussion: Politico and CNN

Erick Erickson / RedState:

The Disconnect — There is a real and genuine disconnect between grassroots conservatives and many in Washington. Let's first concede that, like with many politicians, a cult of personality has started developing around Ted Cruz, though from my vantage point it is not nearly as virulent as among some.

Discussion: The Daily Caller and Booman Tribune

Sahil Kapur / Talking Points Memo: Bob Corker To Ted Cruz: You Are Confused (VIDEO)

Tal Kopan / Politico:
Peter King: ‘Vile’ phone calls by Ted Cruz allies

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, CNN and Crooks and Liars

Rosie Gray / BuzzFeed:

Allen West Out At PJ Media — Sources say he had an anti-Semitic exchange with a staffer, calling her a “Jewish American princess.” — Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images — Former Congressman Allen West is leaving his job at Pajamas Media after an altercation with a female staffer …

Discussion: Mediaite, Gawker, TheBlaze.com, The Raw Story, The Hill, Little Green Footballs and Hullabaloo

Reuters:

Italian pasta baron's anti-gay comment prompts boycott call — * Gay, lesbian groups call for consumer boycott — * Barilla apologises, emphasises women's “central role” — Guido Barilla, chairman of the world's leading pasta manufacturer, prompted calls for a consumer boycott on Thursday …

Discussion: Jezebel, AMERICAblog News, ProfessorBainbridge.com, Gawker, msnbc.com, Advocate, Online NewsHour, The Raw Story and The Stream

Lizzy Davies / Guardian:
Pasta firm Barilla boycotted over ‘classic family’ remarks

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, Weasel Zippers and The Daily Caller

Cavan Sieczkowski / The Huffington Post:
Barilla Pasta Won't Feature Gay Families In Ads, Says Critics Can ‘Eat Another Brand Of Pasta’

Discussion: The Other McCain, AMERICAblog News, New Urban Legends, ThinkProgress and Mediaite

Michael Day / The Independent:
‘I would never use homosexual couples in my adverts’: Barilla pasta brand faces boycott …

Discussion: Towleroad News #gay, ANSA.it, PolicyMic and Joe. My. God.

Daily Mail:

So much for keeping a low profile: George Zimmerman is pulled over for the THIRD time since he was acquitted — George Zimmerman was pulled over by police for the third time since his acquittal, it emerged today. — Zimmerman was stopped by Florida Highway Patrol troopers in Brevard County on August 19 just after 11am.

Discussion: Mediaite, FOX News Radio and Weasel Zippers

Maxim Lott / Fox News:
School official tells students Trayvon Martin case proved it is ‘legal to hunt’ children

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Right Wing News and The Right Scoop

Scott Stump / Today:
George Zimmerman's wife: ‘I have doubts but I also believe the evidence’

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Daily Kos and Gawker

Alexander Burns / Politico:

Wendy Davis tells Democrats she's in — Texas state Sen. Wendy Davis and her advisers have begun informing influential Democrats that she intends to run for governor in 2014, according to multiple sources familiar with Davis's conversations. — The Fort Worth legislator made a national name …

Discussion: Houston Chronicle, Sister Toldjah, Daily Kos, msnbc.com, NBCNews, ThinkProgress, Mediaite, Weasel Zippers, BuzzFeed, CNN, The PJ Tatler, Jezebel, The Democratic Daily, Outside the Beltway and TheBlaze.com

Julia Ryan / The Atlantic Online:

This Year's SAT Scores Are Out, and They're Grim — Fewer than half of the 2013 graduating seniors who took the test got “college-ready” scores. — Of the 1.66 million high school students in the class of 2013 who took the SAT, only 43 percent were academically prepared for college-level work …

Discussion: his vorpal sword and National Review

Scott Wise / WTVR-TV:

NRA announces fundraising record — FAIRFAX, Va. (WTVR) - The National Rifle Association announced its grassroots fundraising program “Friends of NRA” is having a record fundraising year. — “The success of this year's Friends of NRA banquets would not have been possible without the hard work …

Discussion: BREITBART.COM, Weasel Zippers, The Gateway Pundit and National Review

Jennifer Epstein / Politico:

White House says it isn't behind ‘Adorable Care Act’ — It would have been a clever move for the White House or Organizing for Action to turn to cute animals and social media to try to draw attention to the start of the Affordable Care Act's registration period.

Discussion: CNN, The Week and msnbc.com

Ryan Lizza / Comment:

WHERE THE G.O.P.'S SUICIDE CAUCUS LIVES — On August 21st, Congressman Mark Meadows sent a letter to John Boehner. Meadows is a former restaurant owner and Sunday-school Bible teacher from North Carolina. He's been in Congress for eight months. Boehner, who has served in Congress for twenty-two years …

Discussion: Booman Tribune and Washington Monthly

Politico:

2006 dispute led to temporary restraining order against Jackson — E.W. Jackson, the Republican candidate for lieutenant governor of Virginia, was accused in 2006 of threatening the life of his daughter's roommate, according to a Belmont, Mass., police report and a separate temporary restraining order filed in Middlesex County Court.

Discussion: Holy Bullies …, Taegan Goddard's …, Talking Points Memo, Joe. My. God. and WJLA-TV