memeorandum: Exclusive: McCain Hires Controversial Syria Analyst Elizabeth O'Bagy (Foreign Policy)

6:10 PM ET, September 27, 2013

Top Items:

Cruz to House Conservatives: Oppose Boehner — On a Thursday conference call, a group of House conservatives consulted with Senator Ted Cruz of Texas about how to respond to the leadership's fiscal strategy. Sources who were on the call say Cruz strongly advised them to oppose it, and hours later, Speaker John Boehner's plan fizzled.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, American Prospect, Washington Monthly, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Fix, The Hill, Outside the Beltway, PoliticusUSA, The World's Greatest …, Taegan Goddard's …, protein wisdom and Daily Kos

Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:

Cruz emerges as GOP leader — PPP's newest national poll finds Ted Cruz is now the top choice of Republican primary voters to be their candidate for President in 2016. He leads the way with 20% to 17% for Rand Paul, 14% for Chris Christie, 11% for Jeb Bush, 10% each for Marco Rubio and Paul Ryan …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Daily Caller, The Federalist, Hot Air, Weasel Zippers, Outside the Beltway, Pat Dollard, Hullabaloo and The Raw Story

Pete Kasperowicz / The Hill:

Reid's parting shot to Boehner: Pass our bill, or it's a shutdown — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Friday that the Senate is done acting on legislation to avert a government shutdown and that House Republicans have no choice but to pass the Senate's bill if they want to keep the government open.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

New York Times:

A Republican Ransom Note — On Wednesday, Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew sent the House a very serious warning that, for the first time, the United States would be unable to pay its bills beginning on Oct. 17 if the debt ceiling is not lifted. House leaders responded on Thursday …

Discussion: Hit & Run, Daily Kos, his vorpal sword, ThinkProgress, PolicyMic, Why I Still Talk to Jesus, Scared Monkeys, Crooks and Liars, Outside the Beltway, Los Angeles Times, Real Clear Politics and Post Politics

Todd S. Purdum / Politico:

The GOP should just do it — Shut down the government! Blow through the debt ceiling! Subject the United States to fiscal chaos or financial ruin if your party can't get its way on unrelated ideological priorities! — With apologies to Nike, maybe it's time for the House Republicans to stop threatening and “Just do it.”

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money, Business Insider and New York Times

Igor Bobic / Talking Points Memo:
Obama To House GOP: ‘Do Not Shut Down The Economy’ (VIDEO)

Discussion: Booman Tribune

Justin Sink / The Hill:
Gore to GOP: ‘How dare you?’

Discussion: CNN, ABC News, Politico and Hot Air

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Senate approves measure to keep federal government operating

Discussion: Politico

First Read / NBCNews:
First Thoughts: Boehner's bluff?

Discussion: msnbc.com, Taegan Goddard's … and Yahoo! News

Joshua Green / The Boston Globe:
Shutdown is the best way to jolt Washington back to its senses

Discussion: Hit & Run, National Review and Hot Air

Washington Post:
Republican hard-liners block strategy to avoid federal government shutdown

Discussion: The Fix, PostPartisan, Post Politics, Yahoo! News, WJLA-TV, The Daily Caller and The Hill

New York Times:
Senate Passes Budget Bill as House Weighs Options

Discussion: Taking Note, The Week, The Plum Line, NPR and Outside the Beltway

Byron York / Washington Examiner:
Why should Congress get special exemption under Obamacare?

Discussion: Questions and Observations and protein wisdom

Paul Kane / Washington Post:
Obama chides Republicans as shutdown looms

Discussion: The Fix, Voices, The Plum Line and Taegan Goddard's …

Terence P. Jeffrey / CNSNews:
House Conservatives Warn GOP Senators: Vote for Cloture ‘Same As a Vote for Obamacare Itself’

Discussion: protein wisdom and The Right Scoop

Wall Street Journal:
Senate Passes Funding Bill in Party-Line Vote

Discussion: Washington Wire

Peter Baker / New York Times:

First Top-Level U.S.-Iran Talk Since 1979 — WASHINGTON — President Obama spoke by telephone with President Hassan Rouhani of Iran on Friday afternoon, the first direct conversation between leaders of the two estranged countries since the rupture of the Tehran hostage crisis more than three decades ago.

Discussion: Outside the Beltway

Associated Press:

OBAMA SPEAKS TO ROUHANI, SAYS IRAN DEAL POSSIBLE — You are here — Home » United States government » Obama speaks to Rouhani, says Iran deal possible — WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani spoke by telephone Friday …

Discussion: Firedoglake, The Hinterland Gazette and Voices

Peggy Noonan / Wall Street Journal:
A Small President on the World Stage

Discussion: TheBlaze.com and Washington Wire

Richard Schiffman / The Atlantic Online:

What Leading Scientists Want You to Know About Today's Frightening Climate Report — “We have five minutes before midnight.” — The polar icecaps are melting faster than we thought they would; seas are rising faster than we thought they would; extreme weather events are increasing. Have a nice day!

Discussion: The Dish and Guardian

Darryl Fears / Washington Post:
IPCC report says humans almost certainly cause global warming

Discussion: Firedoglake, CBS DC, USA Today, Taylor Marsh, Right Wing News, The Gateway Pundit and Wonkblog

Justin Gillis / New York Times:
U.N. Climate Panel Endorses Ceiling on Global Emissions

Discussion: RealClimate, BillMoyers.com, ThinkProgress, Gothamist, Watts Up With That?, Watchdog Earth, NPR, Guardian, The Agonist, Institute for Energy Research and Online NewsHour

Steve Beshear / New York Times:

My State Needs Obamacare. Now. — FRANKFORT, Ky. — SUNDAY morning news programs identify Kentucky as the red state with two high-profile Republican senators who claim their rhetoric represents an electorate that gave President Obama only about a third of its presidential vote in 2012.

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, ThinkProgress, Daily Kos, Talking Points Memo, ABC News, Post Politics, Booman Tribune and Politico

Foreign Policy:

Exclusive: McCain Hires Controversial Syria Analyst Elizabeth O'Bagy — Sen. John McCain has hired Elizabeth O'Bagy, the Syria analyst in Washington who was fired for padding her credentials, The Cable has learned. She begins work Monday as a legislative assistant in McCain's office.

Discussion: RT, National Review and The PJ Tatler

Washington Post:

Gore accuses GOP of ‘political terrorism’ — By Aaron Blake and Karen Tumulty, Published: September 27 at 10:49 am — Former Vice President Al Gore on Friday called the GOP's strategy to defund Obamacare “political terrorism.” — Speaking at the Brookings Institution, Gore called it a …

Discussion: National Review, Weasel Zippers, Post Politics and TheBlaze.com

TIME:
Obama Senior Adviser Compares Republicans To Terrorists

Discussion: The Hugh Hewitt Show, No More Mister Nice Blog, PostPartisan, Mediaite, The Lead with Jake Tapper, National Review, The Huffington Post and Politico

The Lead with Jake Tapper:

Exclusive: Romney disagrees with GOP ‘tactics’ on Obamacare in D.C. — (CNN) - [Updated 5:30 p.m. ET] Mitt Romney thinks Obamacare is a bad law that will hurt the country, but disagrees with how conservatives in Washington are trying to get rid of it. — In an exclusive interview …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Hill, The Hinterland Gazette and Taegan Goddard's …

Jonathan Cohn / The New Republic:

Obamacare Is About to Go Live. Here's Why It Was Worth the Wait. — Obamacare's new insurance marketplaces are scheduled to open for business on October 1, just a few days from now. For all the attention that date has received, it is less important than it might seem.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Wonkblog and Wall Street Journal

Sean Higgins / Washington Examiner:
SEIU unionists strike over Obamacare-related cuts

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, Ed Driscoll, americanthinker.com, Betsy's Page and Weasel Zippers

Salvador Rizzo / New Jersey Online:

Judge legalizes same-sex marriage in New Jersey — TRENTON — A state judge today ruled to legalize same-sex marriage in New Jersey, saying gay couples would be denied federal benefits if the state kept allowing only civil unions. — Superior Court Judge Mary Jacobson granted an emergency request …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Taegan Goddard's …, Towleroad News #gay, GovBeat, PolicyMic and The Raw Story

Catrina Stewart / The Independent:

Kenya shopping mall attack: Nairobi hostages were tortured before they were killed, says police doctor — Rumours of rapes, disfigurement and beheadings are rife in Kenya's capital — A police doctor scouring Nairobi's Westgate mall for bodies after a four-day siege by Islamist gunmen …

Discussion: The Other McCain, Atlas Shrugs and National Review

Lisa O'Carroll / Guardian:

Seymour Hersh on Obama, NSA and the ‘pathetic’ American media — Pulitzer Prize winner explains how to fix journalism, saying press should 'fire 90% of editors and promote ones you can't control' — Seymour Hersh has got some extreme ideas on how to fix journalism - close down the news bureaus …

Discussion: Mashable, The Daily Caller, Gawker, Mediaite and susiemadrak.com, more at Mediagazer »

Matthew Yglesias / Slate:

Average Is Over—if We Want It to Be — Tyler Cowen's new book Average Is Over makes an excellent followup to his previous work The Great Stagnation and I expect it will set the intellectual agenda in much the way that its predecessor did. I want to offer not so much a review as an effort at explication …

Discussion: American Prospect and National Review

Stephen F. Hayes / Weekly Standard:

What Cruz Wrought — Ted Cruz has sparked a Republican civil war. He has done the bidding of the GOP fringe, in a self-aggrandizing crusade. And while he has enhanced his own position in the conservative fantasyland he seeks to rule, the practical effect of his quixotic campaign …