memeorandum: The tea party's assault on workers (Mike Konczal/Wonkblog)

10:50 AM ET, November 3, 2013

Top Items:

HealthCare.gov: How political fear was pitted against technical needs — In May 2010, two months after the Affordable Care Act squeaked through Congress, President Obama's top economic aides were getting worried. Larry Summers, director of the White House's National Economic Council …

Discussion: Weekly Standard, Taegan Goddard's …, Forbes and Weasel Zippers

The Hill:

O-Care stonewall: Media stymied — A slew of media organizations have petitioned the government to release ObamaCare data that the White House has refused to make public. [WATCH VIDEO] — CNN, ABC, MSNBC and others have filed Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) seeking information on the beleaguered healthcare.gov website.

Discussion: CNN and NewsBusters

Andrew Kaczynski / BuzzFeed:

Three Pages Of Rand Paul's Book Were Plagiarized From Think Tanks — The worst case yet. Paul's office says the book notes Paul didn't individually report out each case. — Joshua Roberts / Reuters — An entire section of Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul's 2013 book Government Bullies …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Taegan Goddard's … and Althouse

New York Times:

Insurance Policies Not Worth Keeping — Congressional Republicans have stoked consumer fears and confusion with charges that the health care reform law is causing insurers to cancel existing policies and will force many people to pay substantially higher premiums next year for coverage they don't want.

Discussion: Power Line and NewsBusters

Washington Post:

Republican Ken Cuccinelli, running hard, has been hobbled in race for Virginia governor — Some of the biggest names in his party sat out the race or even switched sides. The governor he depended on to rally the troops disappeared into a fog of scandal. Many of the money men who had provided oomph in past elections vanished.

Discussion: Taylor Marsh, The Reality-Based Community, NewsMax.com and Washington Monthly

Alexander Burns / Politico:
Virginia blame game begins

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, The PJ Tatler and The Moderate Voice

TIME:

The Hunt for Pufferfish — During the 2012 presidential campaign, Mitt Romney ranked Chris Christie among the final contenders to be his running mate. That is until the Republican nominee started digging into the New Jersey governor's record — The following is an excerpt from DOUBLE DOWN …

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money, Taylor Marsh, Hullabaloo and Gawker

Peter Hamby / Washington Post:

Review: ‘Double Down,’ on the 2012 election, by Mark Halperin and John Heilemann — Peter Hamby is a national political reporter at CNN and the author of the recent Joan Shorenstein Center report “Did Twitter Kill the Boys on the Bus? Searching for a Better Way to Cover a Campaign.”

Discussion: The Raw Story, Business Insider and The Atlantic Wire

Chrystia Freeland / New York Times:

Plutocrats vs. Populists — TORONTO — HERE'S the puzzle of America today: the plutocrats have never been richer, and their economic power continues to grow, but the populists, the wilder the better, are taking over. The rise of the political extremes is most evident, of course …

Discussion: Daily Kos

Taegan Goddard's Political Wire:

Texas Voter ID Law Snags Former Speaker — Former House Speaker Jim Wright (D) was denied a voter ID card at a Texas Department of Public Safety office, the Fort Worth Star Telegram reports. — Said Wright: “Nobody was ugly to us, but they insisted that they wouldn't give me an ID.”

Discussion: Fort Worth Star-Telegram and Liberaland

Kyle Smith / New York Post:

How Obama went from bulls-t to dishonesty — How Americans see President Obama changed in an important way this week. It's because there is a huge difference between lies and bulls - - t. — Obama says a lot of things that are not true, even nonsensical.

Discussion: Power Line

Mark Potok / Hatewatch:

Hatewatch Exclusive: Alleged LAX Shooter Referenced ‘Patriot’ Conspiracy Theories — The 23-year-old man who allegedly killed a TSA official at Los Angeles International Airport yesterday was carrying a one-page “manifesto” that included references to the “New World Order,” the Federal Reserve and …