memeorandum: GOP struggles to get the votes (Scott Wong/The Hill)

12:35 PM ET, March 8, 2015

Top Items:

Maya Rhodan / TIME:

Transcript: Read Full Text of President Barack Obama's Speech in Selma — The President spoke on Saturday on the 50th anniversary of ‘Bloody Sunday’ — President Obama spoke before thousands on Saturday during a commemorative ceremony for the 50th anniversary of the events of “Bloody Sunday” …

Discussion: Raw Story, The Week, Towleroad News #gay and American Spectator

German Lopez / Vox:

Read the full transcript of Obama's rousing, emotional speech in Selma — It is a rare honor in this life to follow one of your heroes. And John Lewis is one of my heroes. — Now, I have to imagine that when a younger John Lewis woke up that morning fifty years ago and made his way to Brown Chapel, heroics were not on his mind.

Discussion: Advocate, Booman Tribune, The Gateway Pundit, Politico and Joe. My. God.

The White House:

Remarks by the President at the 50th Anniversary of the Selma to Montgomery Marches — AUDIENCE MEMBER: We love you, President Obama! — THE PRESIDENT: Well, you know I love you back. (Applause.) — It is a rare honor in this life to follow one of your heroes. And John Lewis is one of my heroes.

Discussion: Power Line, Associated Press, The Atlantic Online, White House.gov Blog and TalkLeft

Alice Ollstein / ThinkProgress:

In Selma, GOP Lawmakers Explain Why They Don't Support John Lewis' Bill To Restore Voting Rights Act — Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) says hasn't read the bill to restore the Voting Rights Act. — CREDIT: Alice Ollstein — SELMA, ALABAMA — Dozens of members of Congress …

Discussion: The Huffington Post and Raw Story

Rich Schapiro / NY Daily News:
Billboard honoring KKK founder on display near Selma bridge on anniversary of historic march

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Right Scoop, Hinterland Gazette, Raw Story and FreakOutNation

Harris Wofford / Politico:
What I saw at Selma — King's genius was that he knew …

Discussion: PoliticusUSA and Bloomberg Business

Chris Good / ABC News:
Obama: 50 Years After Bloody Sunday ‘Our March Not Yet Over’

Discussion: Arkansas Blog, Arkansas Times and CNN

Julianna Margulies / CBS News:

Obama weighs in on Hillary Clinton's private emails — Shares - — President Obama only learned of Hillary Clinton's private email address use for official State Department business after a New York Times report, he told CBS News in an interview. — CBS News senior White House correspondent …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, The Daily Caller and The Gateway Pundit

Kevin D. Williamson / National Review:

Can we finally—finally!— be done with the Clintons? — As secretary of state, Hillary Clinton schemed to subvert record-keeping and transparency rules for reasons that are probably more or less communicated by her surname: The Clintons are creeps and liars and scoundrels and misfits, always have been, always will be.

Discussion: Power Line, Fox News, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and Politico

Todd S. Purdum / Politico:
Hillary in Nixon's shadow

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Scott Wong / The Hill:

GOP struggles to get the votes — Just don't call him “The Hammer.” — Seven months on the job, House Majority Whip Steve Scalise's wobbly vote-counting operation looks nothing like that of one of his predecessors, Tom DeLay of Texas, whose iron grip on his caucus made him one of the most respected …

Discussion: Political Wire

Cory Bennett / The Hill:

Huckabee: Clinton evokes ‘The Godfather’ — Hillary Clinton continued to get hammered on Sunday for her decision to use a personal email service during her time leading the State Department — “There's a protocol that she didn't follow,” said former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee on “Fox News Sunday.”

Discussion: Politico and Political Wire

BBC:

Nigeria's Boko Haram pledges allegiance to Islamic State — Nigerian militant group Boko Haram has pledged allegiance to Islamic State (IS), according to an audio statement. — The message, which has not been verified, was posted on Boko Haram's Twitter account and is believed to be by the group's leader, Abubakar Shekau.

Discussion: BuzzFeed and PUNDIT PRESS

Rukmini Callimachi / New York Times:
Boko Haram Generates Uncertainty With Pledge of Allegiance to Islamic State

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, USA Today and Walid Shoebat

Dave Urbanski / TheBlaze.com:

American Flag Ban Vetoed by UC Irvine Campus Leaders — A University of California Irvine student executive cabinet on Saturday vetoed a resolution banning the American flag from the lobby of the student government offices, KNBC-TV reported, noting a post on the school's website.

Discussion: John Hawkins' Right Wing News and KTLA

Sarah Tully / Orange County Register:
Will UCI student officials veto U.S. flag ban today?

Discussion: Balloon Juice

James Hohmann / Politico:

The Iowa Ag Summit: 10 takeaways — The GOP's top contenders try to thread the needle on farm policy, ethanol mandates. — The politics of ethanol have shifted enough over the last 15 years that several Republican presidential candidates felt comfortable - at an agricultural summit in Iowa Saturday …

Discussion: John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Taylor Marsh, Des Moines Register, Associated Press and Bloomberg Business

Mark Hensch / The Hill: Walker: ‘There are jobs to be had’

Jonathan Easley / The Hill:

Cruz: Menendez probe politically motivated — Des Moines, Iowa — Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) suggested Saturday that the Justice Department's criminal corruption charges against Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) are political retribution against the New Jersey Democrat for opposing the White House's negotiations with Iran.

Discussion: John Hawkins' Right Wing News, ABC News, BizPac Review, Mediaite and Washington Times

Elisha Fieldstadt / NBC News:

Black Teen Tony Robinson Shot Dead by Cop in Madison, Wisconsin, Was Unarmed — The 19-year-old black man who was shot dead Friday during a confrontation with a police officer in Madison, Wisconsin, was unarmed, police said Saturday. — He was identified as Tony Terrell Robinson Jr. …

Discussion: Raw Story, Mediaite, New York Magazine, American Spectator and Hinterland Gazette