memeorandum: Planned Parenthood Votes' Colorado, North Carolina ad buy (James Hohmann/Politico)

1:50 PM ET, September 12, 2014

Top Items:

Bruce Ackerman / New York Times:

Obama's Betrayal of the Constitution — BERLIN — PRESIDENT OBAMA's declaration of war against the terrorist group known as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria marks a decisive break in the American constitutional tradition. Nothing attempted by his predecessor, George W. Bush, remotely compares in imperial hubris.

Discussion: Althouse, RedState, Washington Post, Outside the Beltway, Balkinization, The Intercept, Grim's Hall, Daily Kos, Betsy's Page, Lawfare, Vox Popoli, Real Clear Politics, Just Security, National Review, Mediaite, Reuters and TIME

New York Times:

Legal Authority for Fighting ISIS — As the Pentagon gears up to expand its fight against ISIS, a fundamentalist Sunni militant group that controls large areas of Iraq and Syria, Congress appears perfectly willing to abdicate one of its most consequential powers: the authority to declare war.

Discussion: Mediaite, The Huffington Post, Defense One, Daily Kos, Washington Examiner, Patterico's Pontifications, Hot Air, Power Line, Balkinization, CBS DC and Opinio Juris

New York Times:

Arabs Give Tepid Support to U.S. Fight Against ISIS — BEIRUT, Lebanon — Many Arab governments grumbled quietly in 2011 as the United States left Iraq, fearful it might fall deeper into chaos or Iranian influence. Now, the United States is back and getting a less than enthusiastic welcome …

Discussion: JustOneMinute, The Dish, Hot Air, National Review, Defense One, Hit & Run, Twitchy, Lawfare, Right Wing Watch and Washington Post

Justin Sink / The Hill:

Kerry: ISIS not a ‘war’ — The United States is not at war with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS or ISIL), Secretary of State John Kerry said Thursday. — Kerry said the administration's plan to combat ISIS includes “many different things that one doesn't think of normally in context of war” during an interview with CNN.

Discussion: JustOneMinute, Lawfare, Taylor Marsh, CNN and New York Times

Stephen Braun / Associated Press:
Can Obama Wage War Without Consent of Congress?

Discussion: Politico

David E. Sanger / New York Times:
U.S. Pins Hope on Syrian Rebels With Loyalties All Over the Map

Discussion: Hit & Run, CANNONFIRE, The Colorado Independent, RedState and The PJ Tatler

Rebecca Kaplan / CBS News:
John Kerry: No need for “war fever” in ISIS operations

Discussion: Weekly Standard, Hit & Run, Scared Monkeys, Firedoglake and Truth Revolt

Allahpundit / Hot Air:
Question for the State Department: Isn't Obama waging preemptive war in Iraq now?

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, Power Line, The Intercept and Washington Free Beacon

Carolyn Kaster / ABC News:

Sarah Palin's Family Allegedly in Alaska House Party Brawl — Sarah Palin and her family were at the center of a lively party last weekend that erupted into a fight, with daughter Bristol Palin allegedly throwing a right hook, a man who says he was a guest at the party told ABC News.

Discussion: Amanda Coyne, The Immoral Minority and Roger Ailes

Anchorage Daily News:

Witnesses, APD confirm Palin family was present at Anchorage party that turned violent — Police are investigating a brawl that took place in South Anchorage over the weekend involving around 20 people. A witness said it happened during a joint birthday party thrown in part for Todd Palin.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Daily Mail, Talking Points Memo, CNN, Guardian, Amanda Coyne, 7online.com, Politicalgates, Breitbart Unmasked, Wonkette, Americans Against the …, The Daily Caller, Gawker, Mediaite, Liberaland, The Immoral Minority, The Raw Story and The Huffington Post

Lisa Wirthman / Denver Post:

GOP'S UNDERHANDED PUSH FOR OVER-THE-COUNTER BIRTH CONTROL — If Republicans' newfound enthusiasm for birth control seems suspicious, it's with good reason. Following the lead of Colorado U.S. Senate candidate Cory Gardner, a handful of Republicans in midterm races across the country …

James Hohmann / Politico:
Planned Parenthood Votes' Colorado, North Carolina ad buy

Discussion: Daily Kos

Lynn Bartels / Denver Post:
COLORADO SENATE: UDALL HOLDS LEAD BUT RACE COULD GO “EITHER WAY”

Discussion: The Colorado Independent, The Spot, Washington Times, Washington Free Beacon and Talking Points Memo

Evan Gahr / The Daily Caller:

James Clyburn Recommends ‘Sexting’ To C-SPAN Caller [VIDEO] — Rep. James Clyburn, the third-ranking House Democrat, recently told a C-SPAN caller that “sexting” is an important tool for organizing voters. — Clyburn seemed to confuse basic “texting” with “sexting” …

Discussion: Wonkette, Washington Post, OnPolitics, Business Insider, Truth Revolt and Mediaite

Catherine Thompson / Talking Points Memo: Rep. Clyburn: Key To Getting Out The Dem Vote Is ‘Sexting’ (VIDEO)

Michael T. Osterholm / New York Times:

What We're Afraid to Say About Ebola — MINNEAPOLIS — THE Ebola epidemic in West Africa has the potential to alter history as much as any plague has ever done. — There have been more than 4,300 cases and 2,300 deaths over the past six months. Last week, the World Health Organization warned that …

Dan Merica / CNN:

Clinton tops Democrats in Iowa while Huckabee leads Republicans — Washington (CNN) — Hillary Clinton is heading to Iowa as the politician that most Democrats would choose as their 2016 presidential nominee. — According to a new CNN/ORC poll, 53% of all registered Democrats contacted …

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Politico, Washington Post and Bloomberg View

Politico:

Democrats' whopper of a strategy flop — President Barack Obama and his Democratic allies hoped to capitalize on the recent wave of companies ditching the U.S. to slice their tax bill as a populist issue to fire up the progressive base and bash Republicans as slaves to corporate interests.

Sarah Ferris / The Hill:

Elections poised to expand ObamaCare — Democrats running in five highly competitive governors races this year have vowed to expand Medicaid coverage through ObamaCare if they are elected, something that could result in 1.7 million new people getting covered.

Discussion: Daily Kos and Washington Post

Amanda Kowalski / Brookings Institute:
The Early Impact of the Affordable Care Act

Discussion: Washington Post

mainly macro:

Scotland and the SNP: Fooling yourselves and deceiving others — There are many laudable reasons to campaign for Scottish independence. But how far should those who passionately want independence be prepared to go to achieve that goal? Should they, for example, deceive the Scottish people about the basic economics involved?

Discussion: New York Times

Stephen Dinan / Washington Times:

DHS asks stores to watch customers behavior for terrorist signs — Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said his department will be issuing new guidance to retailers this week giving them pointers on how to spot potential terrorists among their customers by looking at what they're buying.

Discussion: Hit & Run and Techdirt

Alicia A. Caldwell / Associated Press:
APNEWSBREAK: US SHARPLY CUTTING DEPORTATIONS

Discussion: ThinkProgress, National Review and Washington Post

Richard Wolf / Associated Press:

Voting rights cases may be headed back to Supreme Court — WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court's decision last year eliminating a barrier against voting procedure changes in mostly Southern states came with a caveat: Chief Justice John Roberts warned that the Voting Rights Act still included a …

Sean Sullivan / Washington Post:
Kansas Supreme Court will hear Chad Taylor ballot case on Tuesday

Discussion: Daily Kos

Robert Costa / Washington Post:

GOP congressman calls Cruz remarks to Christian group ‘outrageous and incendiary’ — Rep. Charlie Dent (R-Pa.), a moderate Republican, called remarks made Wednesday by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) at a Christian event “outrageous and incendiary.” — In an interview Thursday …

Discussion: National Review, Mediaite, Talking Points Memo, Washington Monthly, The Federalist, The Raw Story and Business Insider

Mary Bruce / ABC News:

Girl Disappointed Obama Not Beyoncé — President Obama and the first lady made a surprise stop at a Washington, D.C., charter school this afternoon to participate in a service project, much to the dismay of a young girl who had hoped the surprise visitor would be Beyoncé.

Discussion: 7online.com, Mashable and Mediaite

Steve SingiserFollow / Daily Kos:

Daily Kos Elections Polling Wrap: Recent data hints at a ‘Macro/Micro’ polling divide — On a week that has arguably been among the better polling weeks for the Democrats, an unheralded story has been the recent move on the generic ballot, and how it seems to be contrary to what we saw (at least, this week) in race-by-race polling.

Discussion: Washington Monthly