memeorandum: Democrats' Vanishing Future (Josh Kraushaar/National Journal)

7:20 PM ET, May 22, 2015

Top Items:

Mike Huckabee / Facebook:

Janet and I want to affirm our support for the Duggar family. Josh's actions when he was an underage teen are as he described them himself, ‘inexcusable,’ but that doesn't mean ‘unforgivable.’ He and his family dealt with it and were honest and open about it with the victims and the authorities.

Kay Steiger / ThinkProgress:

Mike Huckabee Makes Excuses For Duggar Family Hiding Years Of Sexual Abuse — Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee made a statement on Facebook Friday addressing the revelations that eldest son Josh Duggar admitted to sexually molesting “girls,” presumably his own sisters, as a teenager.

Discussion: Washington Post, Religion Dispatches, neo-neocon, Talking Points Memo, Charting Course, Politico and Duggar Family Blog

Maria Puente / USA Today:

Duggars reeling from Josh's sex-abuse scandal — The Duggars, the reality TV family famous for its progeny (19 Kids and Counting) and its conservatism, is reeling now that oldest son, Josh, has been forced to acknowledge he was investigated for molesting underage girls when he was a teenager in Arkansas.

Discussion: OnPolitics, The Daily Caller, The Week, ThinkProgress, Talking Points Memo, Fox News and Raw Story

Duggar Family Official / Facebook:

Please read the following messages: — From Jim Bob and Michelle: — Back 12 years ago our family went through one of the most difficult times of our lives. When Josh was a young teenager, he made some very bad mistakes and we were shocked. We had tried to teach him right from wrong.

Neetzan Zimmerman / The Hill:
Josh Duggar quits Family Research Council amid child molestation claims

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Atlantic, In Touch Weekly, ABC News and ThinkProgress

Washington Post:
Josh Duggar apologizes amid molestation allegations, quits Family Research Council

Discussion: TMZ.com, Gawker, Politico, US News, The Daily Caller, Daily Kos, CBS DC, RH Reality Check and The Huffington Post

Alexandra Jaffe / CNN:

First round of Hillary Clinton State Department emails released — What did Clinton say about Benghazi in private emails? — Washington (CNN)The State Department released Friday its first round of emails from Hillary Clinton's time as Secretary of State, offering a new look at her handling …

Discussion: The Hill, Scared Monkeys, America Rising, The Week and New York Times

Jason Howerton / TheBlaze.com:
Nearly 300 New Hillary Emails Released — and They Confirm She Received Now-Classified Info on Private Email

Discussion: Guardian

Brent Budowsky / The Hill:
The magic of Bill Clinton

Discussion: Bloomberg Business

Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:

On Social Ideology, the Left Catches Up to the Right — Story Highlights — PRINCETON, N.J. — Thirty-one percent of Americans describe their views on social issues as generally liberal, matching the percentage who identify as social conservatives for the first time in Gallup records dating back to 1999.

Discussion: Politico, Washington Monthly, The National Memo, RT, The Week, Los Angeles Times, Mediaite, Liberal Values, Campaign for America's Future, Queerty and Pew Research Center …

Charles Krauthammer / Washington Post:

You want hypotheticals? Here's one. — Ramadi falls. The Iraqi army flees. The great 60-nation anti-Islamic State coalition so grandly proclaimed by the Obama administration is nowhere to be seen. Instead, it's the defense minister of Iran who flies into Baghdad …

Discussion: Real Clear Politics, Betsy's Page and Instapundit

David D. Kirkpatrick / New York Times:
ISIS Claims Responsibility for Bombing at Saudi Mosque

Discussion: Al Jazeera English and 89.3 KPCC

Ahmed Ali / New York Times:
Calm Down. ISIS Isn't Winning.

Discussion: The Diplomat, Hot Air and The Moderate Voice

US Department of State:

Virtual Reading Room Documents Search Results — This search is based upon locating specified words in the electronic text of documents. However, in many cases, this is dependent upon the conversion of the text in paper documents to electronic text through optical character recognition (OCR).

Discussion: The Daily Caller

Daniel Nasaw / Wall Street Journal:
Hillary Clinton's Benghazi Emails — Live Dive

Discussion: New York Post, BBC, New York Times, America Rising and Mediaite

Sarah Ferris / The Hill:

Exclusive: States quietly consider ObamaCare exchange mergers — A number of states are quietly considering merging their healthcare exchanges under ObamaCare amid big questions about their cost and viability. — Many of the 13 state-run ObamaCare exchanges are worried …

Discussion: Washington Monthly

Wall Street Journal:
In Search of an ObamaCare Breakout

Discussion: Washington Post, Bloomberg View and ACASignups.net

Jason Horowitz / New York Times:

Hillary Clinton, Acutely Aware of Pitfalls, Avoids Press on Campaign Trail — CEDAR FALLS, Iowa — Hillary Rodham Clinton was in a forgiving mood. She had been discussing the small-business economy at a round-table gathering at a bike shop here on Tuesday when the Fox News correspondent Ed Henry interrupted.

Discussion: The Week, Outside the Beltway, Daily Kos, Washington Post, Vox and Bloomberg View

Anita Kumar / McClatchy Washington Bureau:
Clinton campaigning in a bubble, largely isolated from real people

Discussion: Washington Post, Power Line, America Rising, Washington Free Beacon, Politico and Wall Street Journal

Josh Kraushaar / National Journal:

Democrats' Vanishing Future — Hillary Clinton is not the only Democratic comeback candidate on the 2016 ticket. Senate Democrats are betting on the past to rebuild their party for the future. — One of the most underappreciated stories in recent years is the deterioration …

Louise Radnofsky / Wall Street Journal:

Health Insurers Seek Hefty Rate Boosts — Proposals set the stage for debate over federal health law's impact — Major insurers in some states are proposing hefty rate boosts for plans sold under the federal health law, setting the stage for an intense debate this summer over the law's impact.

Discussion: FOX News Radio

Philip Klein / Washington Examiner:
Rate hikes expose shaky foundation of Obamacare

Discussion: Hit & Run

Peggy Noonan / Wall Street Journal:

The Trigger-Happy Generation — If reading great literature traumatizes you, wait until you get a taste of adult life. — Readers know of the phenomenon at college campuses regarding charges of “microaggressions” and “triggers.” It's been going on for a while and is part …

Discussion: Hot Air and Instapundit

World Bank Group:

Gaza Economy on the Verge of Collapse, Youth Unemployment Highest in the Region at 60 Percent — Blockades, war and poor governance have strangled Gaza's economy and the unemployment rate is now the highest in the world according to the latest World Bank economic update.

Discussion: New York Times, Common Dreams and Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Daily Mail:

Man, 29, who arranged for his lover to shoot dead his wife in front of their toddler son is sentenced to life in prison - as judge says he is ‘beyond redemption’ — Kashif Parvaiz, 29, was on walk with wife, Nazish Noorani, 27, and their two-year-old son, Shayaan, in August 2011 when Noorani was shot dead

Discussion: Scared Monkeys, Weasel Zippers and The Gateway Pundit

The Advocate:

Louisiana House to Gov. Bobby Jindal: Pay your own travel expenses — Louisiana legislators clipped Gov. Bobby Jindal's wings Thursday by inserting wording into the state budget that would require the governor's office to pay the out-of-state travel expenses of his security detail.

Discussion: Political Wire

Tierney Sneed / Talking Points Memo:

GOP Guvs With '16 Ambitions Hamstrung By Budget Crises Of Own Making — All four of the GOP governors with 2016 ambitions are facing budget shortfalls back home that their critics would argue are disasters of their own doing. It puts them in a politically difficult position …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice