memeorandum: Democrats Can't Keep Playing Not to Lose (Peter Beinart/The Atlantic Online)

7:45 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

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

Discussion: The Dish, Philly.com and Ed Driscoll

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

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

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

Discussion: Hot Air and Mediaite

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.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Arkansas Blog, Arkansas Times, Hit & Run, Gawker, Daily Kos and New York Magazine

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

Lyle Denniston / SCOTUSblog:
Sixth Circuit: Now, a split on same-sex marriage

Discussion: New York Times, Washington Post and Outside the Beltway

Ian Millhiser / ThinkProgress:
BREAKING: Marriage Equality Just Got A First Class Ticket To The Supreme Court

Discussion: Addicting Info

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

Peter Beinart / The Atlantic Online:

Democrats Can't Keep Playing Not to Lose — Senate candidates ran timid midterm campaigns, relying on turnout and ignoring the issues they're passionate about. The resulting GOP wave is a warning to Hillary Clinton for 2016. — At a dinner in Iowa in November 2007 …

Discussion: Bloomberg Politics, National Review, Pew Research Center and No More Mister Nice Blog

Peter Hamby / CNN:
GOP thanks Democrats for sidelining ‘best messenger’ Obama

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

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

Discussion: Daily Kos, Hinterland Gazette and PoliticusUSA

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, New York Magazine, Fox News, The Gateway Pundit, Mediaite, Hot Air, New York Times, The Daily Caller, TheBlaze.com and NPR

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

Discussion: Lawfare, Defense One and War on the Rocks

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 …, Hot Air, Mediaite, American Spectator, The Daily Caller 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, susiemadrak.com, Hot Air, OnPolitics, New York Times, Talking Points Memo, DownWithTyranny! and Washington Post

Jonathan Topaz / Politico:
Rep. Steve Israel leaving DCCC

Discussion: Truth Revolt, CNN, 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

Matt Taibbi / Rolling Stone:

The $9 Billion Witness: Meet JPMorgan Chase's Worst Nightmare — Chase whistle-blower Alayne Fleischmann risked it all.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and New York Times

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: Washington Monthly, Campaign for America's Future, Bloomberg Politics, 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

Rush Limbaugh:
The Mandate: Republicans Were Elected to Stop Barack Obama, Not to Work with Him

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, DownWithTyranny!, Vox Popoli and Hot Air

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

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

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, Mediaite, Washington Times, American Spectator and LifeNews.com

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

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.