memeorandum: The fall of teachers unions (Stephanie Simon/Politico)

8:50 PM ET, June 13, 2014

Top Items:

On Iraq, let's ignore those who got it all wrong — At noon today, President Obama issued his first statement on the deteriorating situation on Iraq. “This is not solely or even primarily a military challenge,” he said. “The United States will do our part, but understand that ultimately it's …

Discussion: Daily Kos, American Prospect, The Daily Banter, AEIdeas, Hullabaloo, Politico, Weekly Standard, emptywheel and New York Times

Jonathan Topaz / Politico:

McCain Iraq interview gets heated — Sen. John McCain continued his blistering attack on President Barack Obama's handling of Iraq on Friday, again calling for his entire national security team to be replaced and saying his decisions have been very costly. — “The president wanted …

Discussion: ABC News, The Daily Beast, Daily Kos, ABC News, No More Mister Nice Blog and Shakesville

CNN:

Obama says no combat troops to Iraq; U.S. weighs airstrikes — Washington (CNN) — No troops to Iraq, but other options are being considered. — That was President Barack Obama's message Friday in response to the lightning advance by Sunni militant fighters in Iraq that could threaten …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Blazing Cat Fur, The Moderate Voice, The Daily Caller, Hot Air, Liberaland, The Lead with Jake Tapper, KFOR-TV and The Gateway Pundit

Washington Post:

Volunteers flock to defend Baghdad as insurgents seize more Iraqi territory — IRBIL, Iraq — Shiite clerics called on Iraqi civilians Friday to take up arms against advancing Sunni insurgents inspired by al-Qaeda, drawing the battle lines for a major sectarian confrontation in the fracturing state.

Discussion: Booman Tribune, Reuters, Rational Irrationality, AEIdeas, Committee to Protect …, Washington Monthly, National Review, Agence France-Presse, CNN and The Talking Dog

Fareed Zakaria / Washington Post:

Who lost Iraq? The Iraqis did, with an assist from George W. Bush — It is becoming increasingly likely that Iraq has reached a turning point. The forces hostile to the government have grown stronger, better equipped and more organized. And having now secured arms …

Discussion: Hot Air, New York Times, CNN, The Dish, his vorpal sword, The Mahablog, The Week, National Review and The Daily Beast

Parisa Hafezi / Reuters:
Exclusive: Alarmed by Iraq, Iran open to shared role with U.S. - Iran official

Discussion: New York Times, JustOneMinute, Blazing Cat Fur, Hot Air, American Spectator, Informed Comment, Bloomberg View, The Dish and Wall Street Journal

Washington Post:
Transcript: President Obama's remarks on the crisis in Iraq

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, National Review and TalkLeft

Washington Post:
Obama says he will not send troops to Iraq but is considering ‘other options’

Discussion: Guardian, Weekly Standard and Little Green Footballs

New York Times:
Prime Minister Maliki Panics as Insurgents Gain

Discussion: Washington Post, Politico, Slate, The Long War Journal, Firedoglake, Hit & Run, Daily Kos and Washington Free Beacon

Paul Lewis / Guardian:
Obama ‘urgently’ considering air assault on targets in Syria and Iraq

Discussion: Washington Post, ThinkProgress, The Daily Beast and The Dish

Peter Baker / New York Times:
Obama Says He Will Decide on Military Support for Iraq in ‘Days Ahead’

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Politico and JustOneMinute

CNN: Iran sends forces to Iraq as ISIS militants press forward, official says

Reihan Salam / Slate:
We Never Should Have Left Iraq

Discussion: Reuters, alicublog, The Dish, AEIdeas, Commentary Magazine, National Review, Hinterland Gazette, Washington Post, The Federalist, Hullabaloo, Telegraph, RedState and Foreign Policy

Shane Harris / Foreign Policy:
Jihadist Gains in Iraq Blindside American Spies

Discussion: National Review, The Week, The Daily Signal, Hot Air, Institute for the Study …, American Spectator, Vox Popoli, The Long War Journal and The Dish

Fazel Hawramy / Guardian:
Kurdish peshmerga seize a chaotic victory in Kirkuk

Discussion: Business Insider, The Dish and RedState

New York Times:
Iraqi Shiite Cleric Issues Call to Arms Against Sunni Militants

Discussion: Guardian, Gawker and Outside the Beltway

Brian Umana / Washington Post:

I'm a Democrat and I helped the tea party unseat Eric Cantor — People are baffled today that Rep. Eric Cantor, the House majority leader, lost his job when he lost his GOP primary Tuesday night. A common refrain is, how could this have happened? (Sample headline: “Why Did Cantor Lose?

Discussion: TheBlaze.com

Kyle Rothenberg / Fox News:

Cochran campaign says senator just joking when claimed ignorance of Cantor loss — Two days after Eric Cantor's primary loss received national attention, Mississippi GOP Sen. Thad Cochran — who's caught in a tight primary race of his own — said he had no idea what happened in Virginia …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Washington Monthly, Politico, The Week, WJTV and MSNewsNow.com

Matthew Boyle / BREITBART.COM:

THAD COCHRAN: I GREW UP DOING ‘ALL KINDS OF INDECENT THINGS WITH ANIMALS’ — Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS) provided his latest head-scratching comment in public, this time joking he engaged in illicit activities with animals as a child. — “[We'd] get back [to the Pine Belt-Hattiesburg area of Mississippi] …

Discussion: New York Times, Liberaland, The Week, The Daily Caller and Riehl World News

New York Times:
David Brat and Jack Trammell show unease in the spotlight

Discussion: Daily Kos and Washington Post

Kevin Bohn / CNN:
First on CNN: Chamber mounting new effort for embattled Cochran

Discussion: Washington Post

Geoff Pender / The Clarion-Ledger:
Cochran ‘indecent things with animals’ creates buzz

Discussion: Liberaland, The Raw Story, Hinterland Gazette, Riehl World News, Hot Air, BuzzFeed and PoliticusUSA

waysandmeans.house.gov:

IRS Claims to Have Lost Over 2 Years of Lerner Emails — f t # e — Washington, DC - Today, Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-MI) issued the following statement regarding the Internal Revenue Service informing the Committee that they have lost Lois Lerner emails from a period of January 2009 - April 2011.

Discussion: Associated Press, Power Line, Ed Driscoll, Washington Free Beacon, Mediaite, Wall Street Journal and NewsBusters

Patrick Howley / The Daily Caller:
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) claimed Friday that it cannot …

Discussion: The Jawa Report

Congressman Raul Labrador:

LABRADOR ANNOUNCES CANDIDACY FOR HOUSE MAJORITY LEADER — “I want a House Leadership that reflects the best of our Conference” — BOISE, ID - Rep. Raúl Labrador (R-ID) announced his candidacy today to serve as House Majority Leader. He released the following statement:

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, OnPolitics, Daily Kos, The Daily Signal, Hot Air, Washington Post, The Week and National Review

Philip Klein / Washington Examiner:
The absurdity of electing Kevin McCarthy to replace Eric Cantor as House majority leader

Discussion: The New Republic, Hot Air, Washington Post, Washington Monthly, New York Times, RedState and Wall Street Journal

ABC News:
House GOP Conservative in Long-Shot Leadership Bid

Discussion: Politico and Outside the Beltway

JSOnline:

Scott Walker declines to define stand on gay marriage today — For years, Gov. Scott Walker has been a rock-solid proponent of traditional marriage between one man and one woman. — As Milwaukee County executive, he opposed efforts to provide health care benefits to the gay partners of county employees.

Discussion: Metro Weekly, Hot Air, The Daily Beast, Talking Points Memo, Outside the Beltway and Daily Kos

Todd Richmond / Minneapolis Star Tribune:
Wisconsin attorney general: Prosecutors could charge clerks for issuing gay marriage licenses

Discussion: Atlas Left, JSOnline and Talking Points Memo

Politico:

Chelsea Clinton paid $600K by NBC — Chelsea Clinton earned an annual salary of $600,000 at NBC News before switching to a month-to-month contract earlier this year, sources with knowledge of the agreement told POLITICO. — Clinton, who joined NBC News as a “special correspondent” …

Discussion: Business Insider, Washington Post, The Daily Caller, Talking Points Memo, Los Angeles Times and Outside the Beltway, more at Mediagazer »

WSB-TV:

Police: Waffle House employee shoots, kills customer — FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — Police say a Waffle House cook shot and killed a customer after an argument Friday morning. — Officers said they were called to the restaurant on Fulton Industrial Boulevard and Shirley Drive just after 4:30 a.m.

Discussion: Liberaland, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Blazing Cat Fur, The Raw Story and WTVR-TV

Stephanie Simon / Politico:

The fall of teachers unions — As the two big national teachers unions prepare for their conventions this summer, they are struggling to navigate one of the most tumultuous moments in their history. — Long among the most powerful forces in American politics, the unions are contending …

Discussion: Sister Toldjah, Daily Kos, New York Times, The Daily Caller and Diane Ravitch's blog

Conor Friedersdorf / The Atlantic Online:

Hillary Clinton's Gay-Marriage Problem — Until 2013, she held a position that lots of Democratic voters now regard as deeply wrongheaded. Some even insist that it is hateful and bigoted. — Hillary Clinton didn't refrain from supporting same-sex marriage for political reasons-prior to last year …