memeorandum: The Midterms Were Not a Republican Revolution (Frank Luntz/New York Times)

5:40 PM ET, November 6, 2014

Top Items:

Now We Can Get Congress Going — Reform the tax code, redefine ‘full time’ as working 40 hours a week, move on the Keystone XL pipeline—there are plenty of tasks ahead. — Americans have entrusted Republicans with control of both the House and Senate. We are humbled by this opportunity …

Sen. Mike Lee / The Federalist:

Mike Lee's Plan To Fix Congress — After years of frustration and months of feverish work, the Republican Party has finally won back the U.S. Senate, and with it, undivided control of Congress. But no sooner had Tuesday night's balloon drops hit the floor than Republicans around the country …

Discussion: Chicago Boyz

The Huffington Post:
Senate Now Has Enough Votes To Pass Keystone XL Pipeline Approval Bill

Discussion: Gothamist, New York Times, The Dish and Firedoglake

Townhall.com:

Obama Has Called the GOP's Bluff. What Will the House Do Next? — SHARES — If you were looking for any acknowledgment from President Obama that he bears any responsibility for the massacre Democrats suffered at the polls on Tuesday, then you were probably very disappointed in his press conference yesterday.

Discussion: The Federalist, Firedoglake, Hot Air and Washington Post

Ron Fournier / National Journal:
Obama Isn't Listening to Voters He Claims to Hear

Discussion: The Dish, Philly.com and Ed Driscoll

Josh Gerstein / Politico:
Barack Obama's case for himself has holes

Discussion: Daily Kos, Hinterland Gazette and PoliticusUSA

James Oliphant / National Journal:
Face It, Obama Is a Lousy Politician

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Instapundit, Hot Air, The Hill and Wall Street Journal

Edward-Isaac Dovere / Politico:
Obama: Midterms? What midterms?

Discussion: Hot Air and Mediaite

Josh Lederman / Associated Press:
Obama to Ask Congress to Approve Force Against IS

Discussion: Informed Comment, The Dish, Bloomberg Politics and New York Magazine

Wall Street Journal:

Obama Wrote Secret Letter to Iran's Khamenei About Fighting Islamic State — Presidential Correspondence With Ayatollah Stresses Shared U.S.-Iranian Interests in Combating Insurgents, Urges Progress on Nuclear Talks — WASHINGTON—U.S. President Barack Obama secretly wrote Iran's Supreme …

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon, The Gateway Pundit, Mediaite, The Daily Caller, Hot Air, TheBlaze.com and NPR

Ben Hubbard / New York Times:
ISIS Wave of Might Is Turning Into Ripple

Discussion: Lawfare, War on the Rocks and Defense One

New York Times:
Obama to Seek Congressional Backing for Military Campaign Against ISIS

Discussion: Balloon Juice

Politico:

Democrats scrap ad buys for Mary Landrieu — The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is canceling at least some of its advertising reservations for Sen. Mary Landrieu ahead of the December runoff in Louisiana. — The committee canceled buys planned from Monday through December 6 in the Lafayette …

Discussion: The Rothenberg Political …, American Spectator, The Daily Caller, Mediaite, Hot Air and RedState

Politico:

Frustration with Pelosi simmers among Democrats — No Democrat is gearing up to challenge Nancy Pelosi in public, but behind the scenes some Democrats are saying it's time for new blood at the leadership table ahead of 2016. — Senior aides said they hope the party's big losses Tuesday …

Discussion: National Review

Tom Brune / Newsday:
Steve Israel, outgoing Democratic House campaign chief, sees 2016 hope

Discussion: CNN, The Hill, OnPolitics, susiemadrak.com, Hot Air, New York Times, Talking Points Memo, DownWithTyranny! and Washington Post

Jonathan Topaz / Politico:
Rep. Steve Israel leaving DCCC

Discussion: CNN, Truth Revolt, Mediaite, Hot Air, New York Times, VodkaPundit and The Cook Political Report

Frank Luntz / New York Times:

The Midterms Were Not a Republican Revolution — ON election night 1994, as Republicans recaptured the House for the first time in 40 years, I stood in the audience and watched my client Newt Gingrich, who would soon become speaker of the House, declare the beginning of the “Republican revolution.”

Discussion: Gawker, PoliticusUSA, Washington Post and Mediaite

Charles M. Blow / New York Times:
Looking Back, Looking Forward — The Republicans proved Tuesday …

Discussion: RedState

Chris Geidner / BuzzFeed:

Federal Appeals Court Upholds Four States' Same-Sex Marriage Bans — 6th Circuit Court of Appeals splits with other federal appeals courts, upholding Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee's bans. The decision sets up a likely Supreme Court showdown over the issue. — Bill Pugliano / Getty Images

Discussion: Washington Post

Richard Wolf / Associated Press:

Gay marriage bans in four states upheld on appeal — The same-sex marriage movement lost its first major case in a federal appeals court Thursday after a lengthy string of victories, creating a split among the nation's circuit courts that virtually guarantees Supreme Court review.

Catherine Thompson / Talking Points Memo:

C-SPAN Caller On Air: ‘Republicans Hate That N***er Obama’ (VIDEO) — A man who called into C-SPAN's “Washington Journal” Thursday morning referred to President Barack Obama as “that n***er” before getting booted off the air. — The caller, who gave his name as Anthony from San Diego …

Discussion: Raw Story, Mediaite, Gawker, Jezebel and New York Magazine

Shushannah Walshe / ABC News:

Meet Ben Carson: First Republican to Throw His Hat in 2016 Ring … Yes, the 2016 race for the White House has already gotten started — and it looks like Dr. Ben Carson is first in the ring. — Carson, a famous pediatric neurosurgeon and conservative political star, will air …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, American Spectator, LifeNews.com, Washington Times and Mediaite

Washington Post:

On his way to a slim victory in a changing Va., Warner may have wooed wrong voters — Virginia Sen. Mark Warner (D) is locked in a tight race with GOP challenger Ed Gillespie. Returns tabulated late Tuesday showed the race was too close to call, but that didn't stop Warner from declaring victory.

Discussion: Bloomberg Politics, Campaign for America's Future, Booman Tribune and Wall Street Journal

Wall Street Journal:

After Harry Reid, the GOP Shouldn't Unilaterally Disarm — It will take years to undo the damage done by Senate Democrats' barring filibusters of judicial nominees. — By — Orrin G. Hatch And C. Boyden Gray — After the 2006 midterm elections delivered control of the Senate to the Democratic Party …

Discussion: Hot Air, National Review and The Daily Caller

National Review:
The Governing Trap — Around 9:00 last night, the TV pundits realized …

Discussion: Addicting Info, AMERICAblog News, The Moderate Voice, The Dish, The New Republic, Talking Points Memo, Fox News and American Prospect

Terrell Forney / WPLG-TV:

90-year-old man charged for feeding homeless cited again — Arnold Abbott cited for second time — Author: Bob Norman, Reporter, bnorman@Local10.com … Local 10 first brought you the story of the 90-year-old man who was arrested for illegally feeding the homeless in Fort Lauderdale.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Raw Story, The Daily Pulp, Gawker, ABC News, abc11.com and CNN

Glenn Kessler / Washington Post:

Obama's claim that Obamacare has reduced health-care inflation ‘every single year’ since it was passed — “Health care inflation has gone down every single year since the law [the Affordable Care Act] passed, so that we now have the lowest increase in health care costs in 50 years …

Peter Hamby / CNN:

GOP thanks Democrats for sidelining ‘best messenger’ Obama — Washington (CNN) — The strategist in charge of electing a Republican Senate majority thanked Democrats on Thursday for keeping President Barack Obama on the sidelines and building their campaigns around women's issues instead of making an economic argument.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

Dave Jordan / WSPA-TV:

Exit Poll Angers Some SC Voters — Some South Carolina voters are upset over an exit poll they received which referenced race and slavery. — The poll, which was handed out to voters in Charleston, Columbia, Greenville and Spartanburg asked them to agree or disagree on statements …

Discussion: Raw Story, Daily Kos, Addicting Info and Mashable