memeorandum: GOP rides wave of insurance cancellation notices (Politico)

5:25 PM ET, October 31, 2013

Top Items:

Avik Roy / Forbes:

Obama Officials In 2010: 93 Million Americans Will Be Unable To Keep Their Health Plans Under Obamacare — On Wednesday, Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius testified before Congress about the continuing issues with the rollout of Obamacare's health insurance exchanges.

Ryan Lizza / News Desk:

Obamacare's Three Per Cent — While President Obama was in Boston on Wednesday to deliver a speech at Faneuil Hall, he was also scheduled to attend a private meeting with friends and supporters. One of the well-wishers in attendance was Jonathan Gruber, an M.I.T. economist and an architect …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Business Insider, Hot Air, Health Care Policy …, The Plum Line and ABC News

US News:

Top Hospitals Opt Out of Obamacare — Americans who sign up for insurance on the state exchanges may not have access to the nation's top hospitals, Watchdog.org reports. — The Obama Administration has been claiming that insurance companies will be competing for your dollars under the Affordable Care Act …

Discussion: National Review, Weasel Zippers, The Right Scoop and Reuters

Igor Bobic / Talking Points Memo:

CHART: ‘Winners And Losers From Obamacare’ — University of Michigan professor and senior Brookings fellow Justin Wolfers on Thursday created a chart depicting the “winners and losers” under the Affordable Care Act, sourced to a Ryan Lizza article that used estimates from M.I.T. economist Jon Gruber, a former adviser to Mitt Romney.

Discussion: Liberaland and Washington Monthly

David Firestone / Taking Note:
The Uproar Over Insurance ‘Cancellation’ Letters

Discussion: The Impolitic, The Raw Story and Right Wing News

Kevin Diaz / Associated Press:
At least 140,000 Minnesotans will lose current health policies

Discussion: Hot Air and National Review

David Corn / Mother Jones:

WATCH: Ted Cruz's Dad Calls US a “Christian Nation,” Says Obama Should Go “Back to Kenya” — Want to understand where the tea party champion's hardcore views come from? Meet his father, Rafael. — In April, Rafael Cruz, the father of Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), spoke to the tea party of Hood County …

Discussion: Politico, Washington Monthly, Firedoglake, Trail Blazers Blog, The Moderate Voice, CNN, The Raw Story, Taylor Marsh, Mediaite, PoliticusUSA and Mock Paper Scissors

Rebecca Shabad / The Hill:
Reid: Cruz nomination would destroy GOP

Discussion: Hot Air, Sabato's Crystal Ball, Politico, Daily Kos, CNN, The Daily Caller, Connecting.the.Dots, Taegan Goddard's … and First Read

David Denby / Comment:
TED CRUZ: THE MASK OF SINCERITY

Discussion: Trail Blazers Blog, The PJ Tatler, Sky Dancing, No More Mister Nice Blog and DownWithTyranny!

Catherine Thompson / Talking Points Memo:
Ted Cruz's Dad: I'd Like To See Obama Go ‘Back To Kenya’ (VIDEO)

Discussion: The Moderate Voice and Pat Dollard

Paige Lavender / The Huffington Post:
Rafael Cruz, Ted Cruz's Father, Told Tea Partiers Obama Should Go ‘Back To Kenya’

Discussion: Little Green Footballs and theGrio

ThinkProgress:

How To Spot A Fake Obamacare Horror Story — Since insurers have begun informing beneficiaries that their health care plans do not meet the new federal requirements of Obamacare, and will be either cancelled or significantly altered, the media has profiled countless middle class Americans …

Discussion: Liberaland and Washington Monthly

Townhall.com:
Debunking the Debunkers: Yes, Obamacare Rate Shock is Real

Discussion: protein wisdom, PoliticusUSA and NewsBusters blogs

Michael Hiltzik / Los Angeles Times:
Another Obamacare horror story debunked

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, Mediaite and The Week

Justin Sink / The Hill:

Obama voices ‘enormous frustration’ with GOP — President Obama told donors at a fundraiser Wednesday in Boston that he sometimes felt an “enormous frustration” with Republican efforts to block his legislative agenda. — “Sometimes people ask me, 'Man, how do you stay optimistic …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Mediaite and Weasel Zippers

Mike Lillis / TheHill:
Pelosi: No revenue, no deal

Discussion: Hit & Run and VodkaPundit

ThinkProgress:
BREAKING: Senate Republicans Block Vote On Key Judicial Candidate, Daring Dems To Go Nuclear

Discussion: The Huffington Post and Liberaland

Katie Glueck / Politico:

Book: Obama asked Hillary Clinton to stay — President Barack Obama asked Hillary Clinton several times to stay on as his secretary of state during a Nov. 2012 ride aboard Air Force One, but she told him it was time for her to move on, a new book reveals. — “Would you reconsider, perhaps stay another year?

Discussion: The Hill, Taylor Marsh, Mediaite, The Lead with Jake Tapper and CNN

Katie Glueck / Politico:
Hillary Clinton: I'm ‘minded to do it’

Discussion: TIME

Peter Nicholas / Washington Wire:
Hillary Clinton's Ratings Slip in New WSJ/NBC Poll

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Politico

Kristie Greco / FAA:

Press Release - FAA to Allow Airlines to Expand Use of Personal Electronics — For Immediate Release — WASHINGTON- The U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Administrator Michael Huerta today announced that the FAA has determined that airlines …

Discussion: NBCNews, New York Times, Business Insider, Taking Note, iDownloadBlog.com, Outside the Beltway, White House.gov Blog, The Week, Wonkblog, The Switch, Gawker, Mashable, TechCrunch, GeekWire, CBS DC, Guardian and AllThingsD

Ezra Klein / Businessweek:

How the iPod President Crashed: Obama's Broken Technology Promise — In the 2008 election, President Obama's advisers talked of their boss's belief that it was time for an “iPod government.” Obama, a technology addict who tools around on his iPad before going to sleep and who fought …

Discussion: TheBlaze.com, Yahoo! News and Business Insider

Alex Pareene / Salon:

Obamacare is a mess, and liberals need to fix it — Democrats need to acknowledge that, and make it work for everyone — It has been a pretty lousy month for the idea that the American government is capable of expanding access to healthcare to the uninsured and underinsured.

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog and TalkLeft

The Hill:

Top Dems made same promises — Democratic leaders in Congress echoed President Obama's promise in 2009 that people would not lose their healthcare plans if they liked them. — Republicans have pounced on Obama's repeated pitch for the healthcare overhaul, especially after plans across …

Discussion: Hot Air

Mike Lillis / The Hill:
Pelosi pushes back hard on dropped plans

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Weasel Zippers, americanthinker.com and The Lonely Conservative

Norm Ornstein / NationalJournal.com:

The Right to Vote — It is becoming increasingly obvious that the Supreme Court decision in Shelby County v. Holder, which eviscerated the Voting Rights Act, is leading to a new era of voter suppression that parallels the pre-1960s era—this time affecting not just African-Americans …

Discussion: Guardian, A plain blog about politics and Balloon Juice

John Stanton / BuzzFeed:

Senate Blocks Nomination Of Sitting Member Of Congress For First Time Since Reconstruction — Senate Republicans block Obama's Housing Authority nominee — and show just how bad relations are in Congress these days. — Yuri Gripas / Reuters — WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans Thursday …

Discussion: Colorlines and Daily Kos

Pete Kasperowicz / The Hill:
Thursday: Cory Booker and Mel Watt in the Senate

Discussion: Reuters, Politico, CNN and Daily Kos

Lucy McCalmont / Politico:

Darrell Issa on Obamacare: 'I've lost my patience' — House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa says he and his colleague are at the end of their rope when it comes to getting information on the launch of the Obamacare website. — “Sen. Lamar Alexander is a patient man, and he's a very moderate senator.

Jurassicpork / Welcome Back to Pottersville:

Assclowns of the Week #96: Treat or Treat, Kiss My Ass edition — (Thanks to Tengrain linking to this during his turn on Mike's Blog Roll at Crooks and Liars, this posting will get some decent exposure. After making the rent on November 1st, Mrs. JP and I will be seriously wiped out.

HHS.govStrategy:

More on the Tech Surge — Site Tags: — Julie Bataille, Director of Communications, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services — Thursday, October 31, 2013 — As part of the “Tech Surge,” we've added key personnel from the government and private sector, including expert engineers and technology managers.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Washington Wire and The Verge

Chris Geidner / BuzzFeed:

Cloture Likely To Be Filed On LGBT Bias Bill Tonight, Setting Up Monday Vote — Majority Leader Harry Reid is expected to move on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act tonight, a Democratic leadership aide says. — Yuri Gripas / Reuters — WASHINGTON — Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid …

Discussion: Poliglot, Joe. My. God., Towleroad News #gay and New York Times

Investor's Business Daily:

The Biggest Lie? ‘Keep Your Plan’ — Deception: In the face of millions of cancellation notices, Democrats want to downplay the president's “keep your health plan” pledge as standard political hyperbole. It was, in fact, a calculated lie that got ObamaCare enacted.

Discussion: Washington Examiner, neo-neocon, americanthinker.com, VodkaPundit and TheBlaze.com