memeorandum: Wait! Wait! — I've already used the “Waiting For Godot” … (Ed Kilgore/Washington Monthly)

12:55 PM ET, November 18, 2014

Top Items:

Kendall Breitman / Politico:

Steve Rattner: Jonathan Gruber was ‘the man’ on Obamacare — Obama has since noted Gruber was never on the White House's staff. — Jonathan Gruber was “the man” behind Obamacare, according to a former adviser to President Barack Obama. — “The problem is not that Gruber helped …

Discussion: Fox News Insider, The PJ Tatler, Patterico's Pontifications, Washington Post, Conservatives4Palin and Hot Air

James Surowiecki / New Yorker:

On Obamacare, the G.O.P. Lays a Trap for Itself — A few days after the midterm elections, the Supreme Court announced that it would hear King v. Burwell, a challenge to the Affordable Care Act in which the plaintiffs are arguing that people who live in states which have not set …

Discussion: Washington Monthly and Daily Kos

Jonathan Cohn / The New Republic:
What Jon Gruber's Quotes Really Tell Us About Obamacare—and American Politics

Discussion: Hot Air, Daily Kos, The Federalist, Brad DeLong's Grasping Reality, The Daily Caller, Washington Post, naked capitalism and Bloomberg Politics

Brian Beutler / The New Republic:
“Grubergate” Is Giving the Supreme Court Cover to Destroy Obamacare

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, PolitiFact and Conservatives4Palin

Dylan Scott / Talking Points Memo:

Incredible Audio Of Gov. Jay Nixon Bumbling Through An Answer About Ferguson — Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon (D) has declared a state of emergency and activated the state national guard in anticipation of a grand jury decision in the shooting of Michael Brown by Ferguson, Mo., police officer Darren Wilson.

Discussion: Mediaite and Political Wire

ABC News:

FBI Warns Ferguson Decision ‘Will Likely’ Lead to Violence By Extremists Protesters … As the nation waits to hear whether a Missouri police officer will face charges for killing unarmed teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., the FBI is warning law enforcement agencies across the country that the decision …

Tina Nguyen / Mediaite:
Rep. John Lewis Calls for ‘Massive, Non-Violent Protests’ Nationwide if Wilson Isn't Indicted

Discussion: FOX News Radio

David Brooks / New York Times:

Obama in Winter — They say failure can be a good teacher, but, so far, the Obama administration is opting out of the course. The post-midterm period has been one of the most bizarre of the Obama presidency. President Obama has racked up some impressive foreign-policy accomplishments …

Discussion: The PJ Tatler, Washington Post, Althouse, Shakesville and ParaPundit

Ed Kilgore / Washington Monthly:

Wait! Wait! — I've already used the “Waiting For Godot” analogy in discussing the ever-under-development Republican “replacement” for Obamacare. So let's just straight up mock David Brooks for his embodiment of the currently very popular “moderate” position of agreeing with the president …

Laura Barron-Lopez / The Hill:

Keystone at Senate tipping point — Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) and other supporters of the Keystone XL oil pipeline are stuck at 59 votes — one vote shy of the supermajority they need to move their bill forward on Tuesday. — Sens. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) …

Discussion: Politico, Hit & Run, Washington Post, Hot Air, Liberaland, FOX News Radio and Washington Times

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:
Can Obama Trade Keystone for Something?

Discussion: Booman Tribune, New York Times, PolitiFact, No More Mister Nice Blog and NPR

CNN:
Landrieu says she has 60 votes to advance Keystone pipeline

Discussion: US News, Washington Times, TheBlaze.com, Outside the Beltway and Bloomberg

Laura Barron-Lopez / The Hill:
Can Mary Landrieu get to 60 votes on Keystone pipeline?

Discussion: Sunlight Foundation Blog

Ben Smith / BuzzFeed:

Uber Executive Suggests Digging Up Dirt On Journalists — Senior vice president Emil Michael floated making critics' personal lives fair game. Michael apologized Monday for the remarks. — Emil Michael, senior vice president of business for Uber, in July. — David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Gawker, Bloomberg View, The Verge, BillMoyers.com, BBC, Gizmodo, NPR, New York Magazine, Mashable and PandoDaily, more at Mediagazer »

Sarah Lacy / PandoDaily:
The moment I learned just how far Uber will go to silence journalists and attack women

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Mediaite, New York Times and Gawker, more at Mediagazer »

Alan Fram / Associated Press:

House Democrats Re-Elect Pelosi as Minority Leader — Democrats re-elected Rep. Nancy Pelosi to another two-year term as House minority leader on Tuesday, two weeks after elections in which the party lost at least a dozen seats in the chamber. — In a closed-door meeting of House Democrats …

Discussion: Politico

Ramsey Cox / The Hill:
Reid to allow amendments to surveillance reform bill

Discussion: Politico

Politico:
Democrats lash out at Pelosi

Discussion: Hit & Run, Daily Kos and Taylor Marsh

Washington Post:

In Mr. Obama's own words, acting alone is ‘not how our democracy functions’ — DEMOCRATS URGING President Obama to “go big” in his executive order on immigration might pause to consider the following scenario: — It is 2017. Newly elected President Ted Cruz (R) insists he has won a mandate to repeal Obamacare.

Discussion: Hot Air, Patterico's Pontifications, Betsy's Page, USA Today, Balloon Juice, Hullabaloo and Newsalert

Caitlin MacNeal / Talking Points Memo:
Ted Cruz Digs Heels Into Campaign Against Net Neutrality

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Daily Kos, Washington Post, Bloomberg Politics, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Techdirt and Business Insider

Russ Buettner / New York Times:

Questions About Sharpton's Finances Accompany His Rise in Influence — The Rev. Al Sharpton, who came to prominence as an imposing figure in a track suit, shouting indignantly at the powerful, stood quietly on a stage last month at the Four Seasons restaurant, his now slender frame wrapped …

Discussion: “The Lid” and Washington Free Beacon

Katie Pavlich / The Hill:

Why is Obama ignoring the experts on illegal immigration? — There are some important voices that have been starkly absent as President Obama gets ready to issue an executive order that would usurp federal immigration law in the coming days. — “We're all pretty much ticked,” …

Discussion: John Hawkins' Right Wing News

New York Times:

Four Rabbis Are Killed in Jerusalem Synagogue Attack — JERUSALEM — Two Palestinians armed with a gun, knives and axes stormed a synagogue complex in an ultra-Orthodox Jewish neighborhood of West Jerusalem on Tuesday morning and killed four rabbis in the middle of their morning prayers, the Israeli police said.

Discussion: Power Line, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Hugh Hewitt Show, New York Magazine, Gawker, The Jawa Report and NPR

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

Democrats press Obama to wait on immigration executive action — President Obama has a tough decision to make on the timing of an executive order to freeze deportations of illegal immigrants. — Senate Democrats want him to wait to give them time to pass an omnibus spending bill …

Discussion: The PJ Tatler

Lauren French / Politico:

GOP hires legal scholar to oversee Obama lawsuit — House Republicans have hired a noted constitutional lawyer to oversee a lawsuit against President Barack Obama for alleged executive overreach. — Jonathan Turley, a professor at The George Washington University, has argued in favor …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

Ian Millhiser / ThinkProgress:

The New Republican Plan To Rig The 2016 Presidential Election — Last week, Michigan state Rep. Pete Lund (R) revealed a plan that would rig the Electoral College to ensure Republican victories in 2016 and beyond if it were enacted in a sufficient number of states.

Molly Ball / The Atlantic Online:

The Long Shot — Martin O'Malley ought to be a Democrat's dream candidate. In two terms as the governor of Maryland, he's ushered in a sweeping liberal agenda that includes gay marriage, gun control, an end to the death penalty, and in-state college tuition for undocumented immigrants.

Discussion: Political Wire

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:

Reaping the Whirlwind — Today we're busily asking when President Obama will drop the immigration executive action hammer and whether Republicans will reply with screeching, government shutdowning or just getting it over with and finally impeaching President Obama.

Discussion: JustOneMinute, Washington Monthly and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Chris Moody / CNN:

See the GOP's coded tweets — Washington (CNN) — CNN reported Monday that Republicans used coded Twitter messages to share information before the midterm election to avoid election laws that bar coordination between party committees and outside groups. — The organizations involved …