memeorandum: In rare mailing, Romney backs Iowa's Joni Ernst for U.S. Senate (Jennifer Jacobs/Des Moines Register)

1:15 PM ET, March 5, 2014

Top Items:

Ranking Dem Flips Out At IRS Hearing After Issa Cuts His Mic — Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) had looked forward to Wednesday. — The chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee planned to haul former IRS official Lois Lerner back before the committee.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Mediaite, Americans Against the … and The Raw Story

Fox News:

Issa, Cummings clash at hearing after ex-IRS official Lerner takes 5th — A House hearing on the IRS targeting scandal rapidly broke down into a heated and deeply personal argument between a top Democrat and Republican, moments after former IRS official Lois Lerner once again invoked her Fifth Amendment right not to testify.

Discussion: MichelleMalkin.com, Washington Free Beacon, National Review, PoliticusUSA, CBS DC and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Jay Sekulow / Fox News:
Four questions Lois Lerner must answer about IRS scandal

Discussion: Scared Monkeys

TheBlaze.com: Lois Lerner Refuses to Testify on the IRS Scandal

Patrick Howley / The Daily Caller:
Lois Lerner fears for her life if she testifies at Wednesday's oversight hearing

Discussion: The Jawa Report and Talking Points Memo

McClatchy Washington Bureau:

Probe sought of CIA conduct in Senate study of secret detention program — WASHINGTON — The CIA Inspector General's Office has asked the Justice Department to investigate allegations of malfeasance at the spy agency in connection with a yet-to-be released Senate Intelligence Committee report …

Discussion: Firedoglake, Gawker, Shakesville, ACS Blog, The World's Greatest …, Hot Air, Mediaite, Techdirt and emptywheel

Mark Mazzetti / New York Times:

C.I.A. Employees Face New Inquiry Amid Clashes on Detention Program — WASHINGTON — The Central Intelligence Agency's attempt to keep secret the details of a defunct detention and interrogation program has escalated a battle between the agency and members of Congress and led to an investigation …

Discussion: Guardian, Techdirt, Hit & Run, Talking Points Memo, The Week, The Raw Story and Discourse.net

Eli Lake / The Daily Beast:
Exclusive: Congress Probes Why Spies Got Putin's Invasion Wrong

Discussion: Yahoo! News and Prairie Weather

Thomas L. Friedman / New York Times:

Why Putin Doesn't Respect Us — Just as we've turned the coverage of politics into sports, we're doing the same with geopolitics. There is much nonsense being written about how Vladimir Putin showed how he is “tougher” than Barack Obama and how Obama now needs to demonstrate his manhood.

Discussion: National Review

Fred Kaplan / Slate:

How to Punish Putin — Ignore him. He's running a regional power and isn't half as smart as Cold Warriors think. — Here are the real lessons of the crisis in Ukraine: Russia is not a great power, and Vladimir Putin is hardly the master grand strategist that many American Cold Warriors have been weirdly eager to believe.

Discussion: The Dish, The Federalist, ThinkProgress and Mediaite

Peter Baker / New York Times:
No Easy Way Out of Ukraine Crisis

Discussion: JustOneMinute

Ruby Cramer / BuzzFeed:

Hillary Clinton Compares Russia Moves To Nazi Aggression — Clinton draws a parallel between the Russian government's issuing passports in Ukraine and pre-World War II actions taken by Germany. The comments are Clinton's first since Putin's troops entered Ukraine on Saturday. — Olivier Douliery / MCT

Discussion: PoliticusUSA, Real Clear Politics, Hot Air, Betsy's Page, The Huffington Post, Taylor Marsh, Politico, NPR, CNN, Mediaite, The Week, Talking Points Memo, RedState, Washington Free Beacon and Business Insider

Long Beach Press-Telegram:

Hillary Clinton compares Vladimir Putin's actions in Ukraine to Adolf Hitler's in Nazi Germany — (Photo by Brittany Murray/Long Beach Press Telegram) — LONG BEACH >> Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Tuesday compared recent actions by Russian President Vladimir Putin …

Discussion: Post Politics, Firedoglake, Right Turn, CNN, Hullabaloo, Business Insider, Taylor Marsh, OnPolitics, Fox News, The Huffington Post, National Review, BuzzFeed, Pew Research Center …, Real Clear Politics, Washington Post, Hot Air and Politico

ThinkProgress:

Pope Francis Suggests Support For Civil Unions — CREDIT: Catholic Church of England and Wales — In an interview published Wednesday, Pope Francis appeared to support governments that recognize civil unions to provide non-traditional couples with access to benefits:

Discussion: Feed RSS, Advocate and Eschaton

Brandon Rittiman / KUSA-TV:
Hickenlooper quietly comes out for same-sex marriage

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Advocate, The New Civil Rights Movement and Towleroad News #gay

Elisabetta Povoledo / New York Times:
A New Magazine for Fans of the Vatican's Biggest Star

Discussion: TheBlaze.com and The Week

Washington Post:

Support for same-sex marriage hits new high; half say Constitution guarantees right — Half of all Americans believe that gay men and lesbians have a constitutional right to marry, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll in which a large majority also said businesses should not be able …

Discussion: Post Politics, Politico, The Dish, The Fix, Outside the Beltway, The Plum Line, Daily Kos, Mediaite, Wonkblog, Towleroad News #gay, Shakesville and Taegan Goddard's Wonk Wire

Israel Defense Forces / IDF Blog:

Breaking News: IDF Intercepts Iranian Shipment of Missiles to Terrorist Organizations in Gaza — The IDF intercepted an attempt to smuggle an Iranian shipment of advanced weaponry intended for terrorist organizations operating in the Gaza Strip. The operation took place in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

Discussion: The Long War Journal, Israel Matzav and Jihad Watch

Dan Williams / Reuters:
Israel says seized Gaza-bound rocket shipment from Iran

Discussion: Weekly Standard and Right Turn

Conor Friedersdorf / The Atlantic Online:

Refusing to Photograph a Gay Wedding Isn't Hateful — Some opposition to same-sex marriage is rooted in bigotry and some isn't. Assuming otherwise is itself prejudice rooted in ignorance. — Remember the New Mexico photographer who got sued after declining to photograph a lesbian couple's wedding …

Discussion: Crooked Timber

Peter Weber / The Week:

Watch The Daily Show ask Fox News why the poor shouldn't eat seafood — On Tuesday night's Daily Show, Jon Stewart focused on Republican opposition to food stamps. The stated reason for opposing aid to the hungry is food stamp fraud, Stewart noted, before indulging in a little bit of light debunking.

Discussion: The Raw Story

Yahoo! News:

Michele Bachmann: Jan Brewer wrong to veto Arizona's ‘anti-gay’ bill — Rep. Michele Bachmann is “sorry” that Gov. Jan Brewer vetoed a controversial bill in Arizona that would have allowed businesses to legally refuse service to same-sex couples because of religious objections.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, ABC News and Towleroad News #gay

Brian Tashman / Right Wing Watch:
Bachmann: American Jews ‘Sold Out Israel’ To Help Obama; Bible Predicts US Will Turn Against Israel In End Times

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Esquire, Americans Against the …, frc.org, The Raw Story, Mediaite, The Moderate Voice, Talking Points Memo and Booman Tribune

Manny Fernandez / New York Times:

Texas G.O.P. Beats Back Challengers From Right — McALLEN, Tex. — Establishment Republican leaders on Tuesday defeated challenges from the right in a statewide primary election as conservatives inspired by Senator Ted Cruz largely failed to topple mainstream incumbents, and a race for lieutenant governor headed for a runoff.

Discussion: American Prospect, NBC News, The Hill, Washington Monthly, Talking Points Memo, The Moderate Voice, Brains and Eggs and Politico

Natalie Villacorta / Politico:

Barbara Bush cancels New York Times — Former first lady Barbara Bush says that The New York Times will do “anything to make news” and she has canceled her subscription. — During an interview that aired Wednesday on Fox, the former first lady was asked if she had seen Times columnist …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Post Politics, Business Insider and Fox News Insider

Ben Jacobs / The Daily Beast:

Good Riddance to Steve Stockman, the Grifter Congressman Who Ran for Senate — The Texas Republican practically bilked his donors by running the most unserious campaign in recent American history. — Tuesday night will mark the end of one of the most stunningly dishonest political campaigns …