memeorandum: Sticker shock hits health exchange shoppers (USA Today)

1:15 PM ET, November 22, 2013

Top Items:

The Democrats' naked power grab — “Congress is broken,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Thursday before holding a party-line vote that disposed of rules that have guided and protected the chamber since 1789. — If Congress wasn't broken before, it certainly is now.

New York Times:

Democracy Returns to the Senate — For five years, Senate Republicans have refused to allow confirmation votes on dozens of perfectly qualified candidates nominated by President Obama for government positions. They tried to nullify entire federal agencies by denying them leaders.

John Dickerson / Slate:

The Old Senate Was Already Dead — Passing filibuster reform just made it official. — If West Virginia Sen. Robert Byrd were still in the Senate, it would be fascinating to see which side of the recent filibuster debate he would take. Byrd was a defender of Senate traditions …

Discussion: Booman Tribune, Washington Post, The Plum Line and The Week

Zachary A. Goldfarb / Washington Post:
Senate's filibuster rule change should help Obama achieve key second-term priorities

Discussion: Democracy in America, PostPartisan, The Plum Line, The Daily Caller, NBCNews, Booman Tribune, The BLT, Wonkblog and New York Times

Patterico's Pontifications:
Hysterical Hypocrisy on Filibusters from the New York Times

Discussion: Power Line, Hot Air and New York Times

Sahil Kapur / Talking Points Memo:
Norm Ornstein: Republicans Forced Reid's Hand On The Nuclear Option

Discussion: Stan Collender's Capital Gains …, The Week, Washington Center …, Mother Jones, Wonkblog, ABC News, The Plum Line, Balloon Juice, American Prospect, The Verge, The Other McCain, The Impolitic and Washington Monthly

Brian Beutler / Salon:
Reid goes nuclear — now bring on the liberal activist judges!

Discussion: Firedoglake, The Week, Liberaland, The Plum Line, Wonkblog, First Read, The Daily Beast, PostPartisan, The Dish and The Atlantic Online

Catherine Thompson / Talking Points Memo:
Rand Paul: Harry Reid Is A ‘Big Bully’

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, rubber hose, Liberaland, Hot Air, Washington Monthly and Daily Kos

Dan Merica / CNN:
The man who coined the term ‘nuclear option’ regrets ever pursuing it

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, New Day and Washington Post

Roger Pilon / National Review:
Harry Reid's Nuclear Hypocrisy

Discussion: Scared Monkeys, Patterico's Pontifications and protein wisdom

Janet Hook / Wall Street Journal:
Democrats Rein In Senate Filibusters

Discussion: National Review, DealBook, Via Meadia, The Volokh Conspiracy, Law Blog and Washington Wire

Lauren McGaughy / New Orleans Times-Picayune:

Mary Landrieu approval ratings drop, Bobby Jindal's rise in latest polling data — U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu's approval rating dropped and Gov. Bobby Jindal's rose over the last six months, according to polling data released Thursday, Nov. 21, 2013 from Southern Media & Opinion Research.

Discussion: Mock Paper Scissors

Emily Schultheis / Politico:

Bill Cassidy staffer tweets Mary Landrieu-Mussolini picture — A conservative blog in Louisiana on Thursday posted an image of Sen. Mary Landrieu's face superimposed on the body of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini — and an hour later, the campaign manager of Landrieu's main opponent next year …

Discussion: PoliticusUSA

Daniel Strauss / Talking Points Memo:
Rep. Cassidy's Campaign Manager Tweets Photo Of ‘MussoLandrieu’

Discussion: FIRST DRAFT

Scott Walker / Wall Street Journal:

How to Win the Obama-Walker Voters — If conservative principles are the problem, then why are so many Republicans in office who campaigned on them? — In the wake of the 2012 elections, Republicans are being warned once again that they need to compromise their principles to win at the ballot box.

Discussion: Right Turn and First Read

Charles Babington / Minneapolis Star Tribune:
Wisconsin's Gov. Walker hopes to split Chris Christie, tea partyers, in GOP presidential hunt

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

Jonathan Martin / New York Times:
Health Law Is Dividing Republican Governors

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

Reuters:

On 50th anniversary of JFK death, Dallas holds first memorial — (Reuters) - Dallas will observe the 50th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy's assassination with its first official memorial on Friday, as the rest of the nation pauses to remember the event that changed history.

Discussion: Patterico's Pontifications and The Week

CNN:
CNN Poll: JFK tops presidential rankings for last 50 years

Discussion: NBCNews, The Democratic Daily and Talking Points Memo

Paul Steinhauser / CNN:
Obama approval rating sinks to new low in CNN poll

Discussion: Daily Kos, TruthRevolt.org, Politico, Power Line, Hot Air, Talking Points Memo, Weasel Zippers and National Review

The / Los Angeles Times: Why JFK still matters

Fox News:

Round 2 of ObamaCare enrollment to be delayed until after 2014 midterms — The Obama administration plans to delay the start of next year's ObamaCare enrollment period, a move pitched as a way to give consumers and insurance companies more time to study their options …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Wonkblog, Scared Monkeys, The Gateway Pundit and Fox News Insider

Susan Levine / Politico:

HHS to delay 2015 Obamacare enrollment by a month — Health and Human Services plans to delay the start of the second year of Obamacare enrollment by one month to allow insurers more time to set rates after assessing their plan experiences during 2014, a department official said Thursday night.

Discussion: Hot Air and National Review

Paul Krugman / New York Times:

Expanding Social Security — For many years there has been one overwhelming rule for people who wanted to be considered serious inside the Beltway. It was this: You must declare your willingness to cut Social Security in the name of “entitlement reform.” It wasn't really about the numbers …

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, Liberaland, Business Insider, susiemadrak.com and Taegan Goddard's Wonk Wire

Timothy Egan / New York Times:

The South's New Lost Cause — Before he was immortalized for saving the union, freeing the slaves and giving the best political speech in American history, Abraham Lincoln was just an unpopular new president handed a colossal crisis. Elected with 39.7 percent of the vote, Lincoln told a big lie in his inaugural address of 1861.

Discussion: Washington Monthly

Eric Lach / Talking Points Memo:

Dual Attacks Take On Voting Restriction Efforts In Arizona, Kansas — Well, that didn't take long. — Just weeks after Kansas and Arizona made clear their intentions to move ahead with two-tier voting systems, legal efforts are being mounted to fight those plans.

Discussion: ACLU

Martha T. Moore / Associated Press: ACLU sues Kansas over voter registration requirements

kff.org:

Kaiser Health Tracking Poll: November 2013 — The latest Kaiser Health Tracking Poll finds the public's views souring on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in November, with about half having an unfavorable view of the law and a third having a favorable view, a gap that was seen only once before …

Discussion: Post Politics, The Daily Caller and The Gateway Pundit

USA Today:

Sticker shock hits health exchange shoppers — Sweeping differences in health care exchange pricing among states and counties is leading to sticker shock for some middle-class consumers and others who aren't eligible for subsidies under the Affordable Care Act.

ThinkProgress:

Levitating Train Between DC And NYC Would Leave The Rest Of America Behind — Many Americans have long nursed a pipe dream of one day riding a super-high-speed train just like the engineering marvels that have cropped up in Japan, China, and Europe. With a newly publicized offer from Japan …

Discussion: Slate and Eschaton