memeorandum: Morning Joe Finds the Real Racists in Oklahoma: Rap Musicians (David A. Graham/The Atlantic Online)

2:25 PM ET, March 11, 2015

Top Items:

AP sues State Department, seeking access to Clinton records — 1 photo — WASHINGTON (AP) — The Associated Press filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the State Department to force the release of email correspondence and government documents from Hillary Rodham Clinton's tenure as secretary of state.

Scott Shane / New York Times:

No Classified Emails by Clinton? Some Experts Are Skeptical — WASHINGTON — Anyone who has tried to pry information from the federal government may have been surprised on Tuesday by Hillary Rodham Clinton's assertion that in all her emails in four years as secretary of state she never strayed into the classified realm.

Discussion: Washington Post, New York Times, Hit & Run, Betsy's Page and Outside the Beltway

John F. Harris / Politico:

Go to hell — Hillary Clinton had something to say to the media about her email. It wasn't too subtle. — Lead image by Getty. — Hillary Clinton was likable enough, answering questions calmly though with a weary smile. She even offered a feint toward humility, allowing that …

Ben Smith / BuzzFeed:
The Clinton Campaign Gets Off To A Grim Start

Discussion: TalkLeft, Daily Kos, NBC News, The Daily Caller, Taylor Marsh, Politico, ABC News, Poynter, ABC News and Guardian, more at Mediagazer »

Frank Bruni / New York Times:
Hillary Clinton, the Email Controversy and the 2016 Presidential Race

Discussion: Washington Post, The Daily Beast, Slate, VodkaPundit, Real Clear Politics, TVNewser, New York Magazine, Bloomberg View and Washington Free Beacon, more at Mediagazer »

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
The Joy and the Drama

Discussion: Politico

Charles Hurt / Washington Times:
Hillary Clinton press conference a political performance preview

Discussion: National Review

Evan McMurry / Mediaite:

Morning Joe, Bill Kristol Blame Racist SAE Video on Rap Music — The concerned parents on Morning Joe found something to be outraged about over the video of SAE frat members engaged in a racist chant: namely the rapper Waka Flocka Flame's decision not to perform for the fraternity …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Taylor Marsh, Daily Kos, Washington Post and Raw Story

Robert Wilonsky / The Scoop Blog:

Parker Rice, parents of Levi Pettit apologize for ‘horrible mistake’ made in OU SAE video — Update at 6:40 p.m.: Moments after Levi Pettit's family apologized for their son's behavior in the SAE video, Parker Rice — the recent Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas graduate — sent his own apology, via his father Bob.

Discussion: Bloomberg Business, CNN, Dallas Morning News, Oklahoma Daily, News One, Talking Points Memo, BBC, NPR, Raw Story, Get Schooled, Hinterland Gazette, Fox News, KFOR-TV, Mediaite, BizPac Review, Shakesville, Mashable and Hit & Run

David A. Graham / The Atlantic Online:
Morning Joe Finds the Real Racists in Oklahoma: Rap Musicians

Discussion: Guardian

Jean-Luc Renaudie / Agence France-Presse:

As Israel vote looms, centre-left pulls ahead of PM Netanyahu's Likud — Jerusalem (AFP) - Less than a week before Israel's second general election in two years, Isaac Herzog's centre-left Zionist Union opened up a lead on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's rightwing Likud, polls showed Wednesday.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Foreign Policy and Booman Tribune

Gallup:

Story Highlights — PRINCETON, N.J. — After Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's much-publicized and controversial address to Congress, Americans' opinions of him have worsened. His favorable rating is down seven percentage points, to 38%, while his unfavorable rating has increased five points, to 29%.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Politico and The Week

Haaretz:
Week before election, new poll puts Zionist Union ahead of Netanyahu's Likud

Discussion: Salon, susiemadrak.com, New York Magazine, New York Times and Reuters

Tim Mak / The Daily Beast:

Republicans Admit: That Iran Letter Was a Dumb Idea — A day after releasing a letter that potentially threatened the administration's negotiations with Iran, some Republicans who signed on are realizing it was a bad call. — Behind the scenes, Republicans are wondering if sending …

Tom Cotton / USA Today:
Sen. Cotton: Why we wrote the letter to Iran

Discussion: The Baxter Bulletin, OnPolitics, Reuters, The World's Greatest …, Lawfare, The Huffington Post, The Daily Caller, Weekly Standard, Business Insider and The Gateway Pundit

David Goldstein / McClatchy Washington Bureau:
Precedent for GOP's Iran letter hard to find, historians say

Discussion: PoliticusUSA and Political Wire

Tom LoBianco / Indianapolis Star:

Indiana state rep apologizes for sexting with Sydney Leathers — Indiana Rep. Justin Moed is apologizing for sexting with Sydney Leathers, the Evansville woman at the center of the 2013 Anthony Weiner sexting scandal. — “I am truly sorry I have hurt the ones I love most with my poor judgment.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, Raw Story and Mediaite

Diana Falzone / Fox News:
Indiana Democrat Justin Moed sorry for sexting, sending gifts to porn star Sydney Leathers

Discussion: VodkaPundit and The Daily Caller

Jake Sherman / Politico:

Aaron Schock: I ‘certainly hope’ I didn't break the law — The embattled congressman gets testy in a face-to-face interview. — Getty — PEORIA, Ill. — The question to Rep. Aaron Schock was simple: Do you think you've broken any rules or federal laws? But the scandal-plagued congressman did not have a definitive answer.

Discussion: Chicago, Mediaite, Political Wire, National Review, Salon, The PJ Tatler, Joe. My. God., RedState and Hot Air

Michelle Ye Hee Lee / Washington Post:

Ted Cruz's claim that the IRS tax code has more words than the Bible — In a speech to the International Association of Fire Fighters, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) talked about how the U.S. could restore “growth and opportunity” for small businesses, saying the answer is through tax and regulatory reform.

Discussion: Weekly Standard and Hot Air

Reuters:

Russia says has right to deploy nuclear weapons in Crimea: report — (Reuters) - Russia has the right to deploy nuclear arms in the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, which Moscow annexed from Ukraine last year, a Foreign Ministry official said on Wednesday, adding he knew of no plans to do so.

Discussion: Hot Air and Politico

Washington Post:

Jeb Bush, Scott Walker emerging as front-runners for GOP nod — and rivals — It started with a subtle poke at Jeb Bush almost two months ago, when Scott Walker suggested that Republicans need “a new, fresh approach.” Since then, Walker has continued jabbing, casting himself as the …

Discussion: Fox News, Political Wire, JSOnline and Althouse

Craig Robinson / The Iowa Republican:
Walker: The biggest flip flopper you will ever find?

Discussion: Business Insider, Washington Monthly, Grist and Hot Air

Paul Krugman / New York Times:

TPP at the NABE — I was in DC yesterday, giving a talk to the National Association of Business Economists. The subject was the Trans-Pacific Partnership; slides for my talk are here. — Not to keep you in suspense, I'm thumbs down. I don't think the proposal is likely to be the terrible …

Discussion: Washington Center …, Brad DeLong's Grasping Reality and Marginal REVOLUTION

Noah Smith / Bloomberg View:

A Tech Bubble or Just a Mistake? — There has been quite a lot of talk about a new tech bubble for the past few years. My Bloomberg View colleague Katie Benner earlier this week took a critical look at claims of overvaluation in the biotechnology sector. Billionaire Mark Cuban last week issued …

Niels Lesniewski / The World's Greatest …:

Senate Faces Trust Breakdown Over Abortion (Updated) (Video) — Updated 6:12 p.m. | Abortion politics — and an emerging trust gap between Democrats and Republicans — threatened to derail the ostensibly noncontroversial human trafficking bill on the Senate floor Tuesday.

Discussion: The Hill, RH Reality Check, RedState and Daily Kos

Burgess Everett / Politico:
Human trafficking bill hits abortion snag

Discussion: ThinkProgress, The Huffington Post, PoliticusUSA, Patrick Leahy, RedState, Bloomberg Business, National Journal, Washington Post, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, New York Times and The Hill

ProPublica:

Emails Reveal Lobbyist Had Undisclosed Role In Cuomo Financial Crisis Investigation — The Albany Times Union co-published a version of this story. — Previously undisclosed emails by a mortgage industry lobbyist doubling as a consultant for then Attorney General Andrew Cuomo show …

Discussion: Hot Air

Eric Katz / GovExec.com:

More Feds Are ‘Thriving’ Financially Than Average Workers, Survey Finds — Most federal employee groups say their members are weary, suffering from repeated sacrifices and low morale. — According to one survey, however, federal workers are “thriving.” — Gallup recently found 44 percent …

Discussion: Weekly Standard and Washington Free Beacon