memeorandum: When Biography Trumps Substance (Timothy Egan/New York Times)

6:20 PM ET, January 31, 2014

Top Items:

Kate Zernike / New York Times:

Christie Knew About Lane Closings, Ex-Port Authority Official Says — The former Port Authority official who personally oversaw the lane closings on the George Washington Bridge in the scandal now swirling around Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey said on Friday that the governor knew …

Josh Margolin / ABC News:

Former Christie Ally Alleges Governor Knew About Lane Closures — SHUSHANNAH WALSHE, JOSH MARGOLIN and LISA SOLOWAY … David Wildstein, the former Port Authority official who oversaw the George Washington Bridge lane closings that led to the bridgegate scandal, said today that “evidence exists” …

Discussion: Politico and CNN

The Star-Ledger Editorial Page:

Chris Christie should resign if bombshell proves true: Editorial — Star-Ledger Editorial Board By Star-Ledger Editorial Board — Forget about the White House in 2016. The question now is whether Gov. Chris Christie can survive as governor. — David Wildstein, the man who ordered …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

Charles V. Bagli / New York Times:
Hoboken Site Developer Dismisses Law Firm

Discussion: Firedoglake, New Jersey Online, Talking Points Memo and Liberaland

Joan Walsh / Salon:
Chris Christie is falling apart: His hilarious 2016 hubris finally takes its toll

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, PoliticusUSA, Riehl World News, msnbc.com and Vox Popoli

Ed Kilgore / Washington Monthly:

“Establishment” Not the Only Republican Deceivers in Immigration Fight — Conservative reaction to the instantly famous House GOP “Principles on Immigration” has been pretty harshly negative, and a variety of complaints are popping up. Heritage's Derrick Morgan focuses on the dangers …

Discussion: Hullabaloo, The Heritage Foundation, The Week and Roll Call

Mario Trujillo / The Hill:
Cruz: GOP immigration plan is ‘amnesty’

Discussion: Firedoglake

Eleanor Clift / The Daily Beast: The Anguish of Alan Simpson, Tragic Hero of Immigration Reform

Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
The nightmare scenario for Republicans on immigration

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Ricochet Conversations Feed, Hot Air and Immigration Reform

Patricia Murphy / The Daily Beast:
The Coming GOP Immigration War

Discussion: Washington Monthly, BizPac Review, Immigration Reform, Outside the Beltway, Power Line, Yahoo! News and USA Today

Jake Sherman / Politico:
Greg Walden: No House immigration vote soon

Discussion: National Review and NBCNews

Byron York / Washington Examiner:
On immigration, what do GOP House leaders mean by ‘enforcement triggers’?

Discussion: The PJ Tatler, ABC News and National Review

Russell Berman / The Hill:
House GOP split over forging ahead on immigration this year

Discussion: Politico, Algemeiner.com, ImmigrationProf Blog and Taylor Marsh

Timothy Egan / New York Times:

When Biography Trumps Substance — SPOKANE, Wa. — Only the snarkiest would not be open to the likable life story of Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers, the Eastern Washington politician who gave the “official” Republican response to the president's State of the Union speech.

Discussion: Daily Kos, Prairie Weather, The Plum Line, The Mahablog, Taking Note and ThinkProgress

Tammy Bruce / Washington Times:

Is the GOP deliberately trying to sabotage the 2014 midterms? — Republican State of Union response was weak, unfocused — After this week's GOP State of the Union response, it has become undeniable that someone (everyone?) in the Republican machine has no idea what they're doing, and that is the generous assessment.

Discussion: alicublog and Power Line

Spokesman.com:
‘Bette in Spokane,’ cited in McMorris Rodgers' speech, declined health insurance options

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Los Angeles Times, Roll Call, The Raw Story, Post Politics, Angry Bear, Balloon Juice and Paul Krugman

Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
GOP Obamacare sabotage works

Discussion: Daily Kos, Informed Comment and American Spectator

Jacob Sullum / Hit & Run:

Obama, Who Evidently Has Not Read the Controlled Substances Act, Denies That He Has the Power to Reclassify Marijuana — In an interview with CNN's Jake Tapper that aired last night, President Obama tried to dodge responsibility for eliminating the contradiction between his recent comments …

Discussion: The Reality-Based Community and Hot Air

Zeke J Miller / TIME:
Obama Says Easing Marijuana Restrictions a Job for Congress

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Washington Wire, Talking Points Memo, The Lead with Jake Tapper and The Raw Story

CNN:
CNN Exclusive: President Obama says he's not recalibrating ambitions

Discussion: Washington Wire, Hot Air and Talking Points Memo

Jason Edward Harrington / Politico:

Dear America, I Saw You Naked — And yes, we were laughing. Confessions of an ex-TSA agent. — On Jan. 4, 2010, when my boss saw my letter to the editor in the New York Times, we had a little chat. — It was rare for the federal security director at Chicago O'Hare to sit …

Discussion: The Daily Caller, The Verge, Hot Air and Hit & Run

Jim Hoft / The Gateway Pundit:

New Planned Parenthood Billboard: “Getting It On Is Free” — A new billboard next to an elementary school and church goes too far according to local residents. — The billboard says, “Getting it on is free,” and includes a picture of a condom. — WREG reported: … Hat Tip Jimi

Discussion: Right Wing News

Melissa Moon / WREG-TV:
Neighbors Say Planned Parenthood's Billboard Goes Too Far

Discussion: ThinkProgress, National Review and LifeNews.com

Noah Rothman / Mediaite:

Stewart Laughs in Pelosi's Face After She Admits She Doesn't Know Why Obamacare Site Failed — House Minority Leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) sat down with The Daily Show host Jon Stewart on Thursday for a contentious interview. The interview became tense when Stewart attempted to get Pelosi …

Discussion: Hot Air, Taylor Marsh, Business Insider, Washington Free Beacon, Patterico's Pontifications and BizPac Review

Coral Davenport / New York Times:

Report May Ease Way to Approval of Keystone Pipeline — WASHINGTON — The State Department released a report on Friday that could pave the way toward President Obama's approval of the Keystone XL oil pipeline. — The long-awaited environmental impact statement on the project concludes …

Discussion: Power Line, Washington Monthly, BuzzFeed, Politico, Mediaite, Wonkblog, Washington Free Beacon, NBCNews and DeSmogBlog

CNN:
Keystone pipeline impact study expected Friday

Discussion: Power Line and Daily Kos

Bill Carter / New York Times:

Maher Wants His Show to Decide a House Race — Bill Maher makes little effort to hide his own contempt for many politicians, most of them Republicans. Now, he wants to take it to the next level: finding one he might be able to help oust from office. — On his weekly HBO talk show …

Discussion: The Wire, Politico, PoliticusUSA, Talking Points Memo, OnPolitics, Mediaite, TheBlaze.com, Business Insider and Real Clear Politics

Luke Harding / Guardian:

Footage released of Guardian editors destroying Snowden hard drives — GCHQ technicians watched as journalists took angle grinders and drills to computers after weeks of tense negotiations — • Watch the footage of the hard drives being destroyed — New video footage has been released …

Discussion: Techdirt, Mediaite, Firedoglake, The Daily Banter, Hit & Run, The Verge, Lawfare, Mashable and Poynter, more at Mediagazer »

Tom Kludt / Talking Points Memo:

Ann Romney: ‘The Country Lost’ By Re-Electing Obama (VIDEO) — Ann Romney has a message for the country that rejected her husband: Your loss, America! — The Romney family postmortem/movie promotion continued Friday with Ann reflecting on Mitt's defeat in the 2012 presidential election.

Discussion: Mediaite, The Moderate Voice, Liberaland and The Raw Story

Peggy Noonan / Wall Street Journal:

Noonan: Meanwhile, Back in America . . . The growing distance between Washington and the public it dominates. — The State of the Union was a spectacle of delusion and self-congratulation in which a Congress nobody likes rose to cheer a president nobody really likes.

Discussion: Politico and Questions and Observations

Marc Caputo / Tampa Bay Times:

RPOF to NBC Miami: Apologize for “Reprehensive Party of Florida” gaffe — The Florida GOP demanded Friday that a Miami NBC affiliate issue an on-air apology after the station referred to the party as “the Reprehensive Party of Florida” in a broadcast. — The error surfaced when WTVJ aired …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Mediaite, Riehl World News and Naked Politics

Caleb M. Soptelean / flatheadnewsgroup.com:

Ryan Zinke campaigns in Bigfork, says Hillary Clinton is the “anti-Christ” — Ryan Zinke helped kick start his campaign for Congress in Bigfork Monday. — Zinke, a former Navy SEAL and state legislator, came to Marina Cay Resort to speak to Republican partisans.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Huffington Post and Mediaite

Tom Kludt / Talking Points Memo:

Even Republicans Now View The Iraq War As A Failure — Republicans are finally done defending the Iraq war. — GOP voters spent years applying a positive spin to the central part of George W. Bush's legacy, but a poll released Friday revealed a significant shift in public opinion.