memeorandum: Study finds Clinton, Cruz dominate social media race (Nick Gass/Politico)

3:50 PM ET, May 28, 2015

Top Items:

Release Detail — May 28, 2015 - Five Leaders In 2016 Republican White House Race, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; Rubio, Paul Are Only Republicans Even Close To Clinton — There are five leaders - or no leaders - as Republican voters look at likely GOP candidates in the 2016 White House race …

Marco Rubio:
This is What You Need To Tell Your Friends About Hillary Clinton

Discussion: Bloomberg Business, No More Mister Nice Blog, Shakesville and New York Times

Nick Gass / Politico:
National poll shows no clear GOP frontrunner

Discussion: Outside the Beltway

Kenneth P. Vogel / Politico:

Clinton Foundation paid Blumenthal $10K per month while he advised on Libya — Some officials at the charity grumbled that his hiring was a favor from the Clintons. — Sidney Blumenthal (pictured) was added to the payroll of the Clintons' global philanthropy in 2009. Getty

Discussion: New York Times, The Daily Caller, PoliticusUSA, Bloomberg Business, CANNONFIRE, Washington Examiner, The PJ Tatler and Power Line

Daily Mail:

Paula Jones warns against voting for Hillary Clinton because of Bill — Paula Jones sued President Bill Clinton for sexual harassment, saying he propositioned her when he was Arkansas governor — Her case led to investigation in which Bill Clinton denied under oath having sex with Monica Lewinsky …

Discussion: Politico, Taylor Marsh, OnPolitics and Althouse

Nick Gass / Politico:

Study finds Clinton, Cruz dominate social media race — Of all the declared presidential candidates, the messages from Hillary Clinton and Ted Cruz appear to resonate the most. — That's according to a new report by George Washington University's Graduate School of Political Management and Zignal Labs …

Discussion: The Graduate School … and The Week

Ben Kamisar / The Hill:
Clinton Foundation paid Blumenthal $10,000 monthly salary

Discussion: American Spectator, Balloon Juice, Hot Air and Politico

The Daily Item:

Today's Editorial: We bungled the Obama attack letter — There is no excuse for the letter The Daily Item published on Memorial Day. We did something we shouldn't have and the readers who called us on it deserve accountability. — The straight forward reason the letter headlined …

Discussion: Philly.com, Daily Kos, Mediaite and Talking Points Memo

Adam B. Lerner / Politico:

Pa. newspaper: Sorry we published letter calling for Obama's execution — A Pennsylvania newspaper has apologized for publishing a letter to the editor calling for President Barack Obama to be executed. — The Daily Item of Sunbury's editorial board wrote Thursday that it …

Discussion: The Week and Boing Boing

Annie Karni / Politico:

Socialist Sanders threatens Clinton more than made-for-TV O'Malley — In a 2016 surprise, the Dems' left flank opts for a quirky old-school pol. — One candidate is 73, with a shock of wispy white hair and a famously rumpled demeanor that makes him look more like a mad scientist than a politician.

Discussion: Firedoglake, Los Angeles Times, PoliticusUSA, The Reaction, Mediaite and DownWithTyranny!

Kevin D. Williamson / National Review:
Bernie Sanders's Dark Age Economics

Discussion: Samizdata, Power Line and Ed Driscoll

Dan Joseph / mrctv.org/videos:
Sen. Bernie Sanders' Essay: Women ‘Fantasize About Being Raped’

Discussion: National Review, Hot Air and The Week

Ed Kilgore / Washington Monthly:

Even George Pataki Doesn't Want Those Damn Moderates — As I noted yesterday, it says a lot about the continued rightward drift in the GOP that even in a 18-candidate presidential field everybody still wants to be the “true conservative.” We had a graphic illustration of that today …

Discussion: Politico, American Spectator, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Bloomberg View

Alexander Burns / New York Times:
George Pataki Announces Run for the Republican Presidential Nomination

Discussion: Hinterland Gazette, FishbowlDC and The Week

Ed O'Keefe / Washington Post:
With GOP field growing, Jeb Bush sharpens critique of would-be opponents

Discussion: Hot Air

Wall Street Journal:

Rand Paul Created ISIS — The GOP contender rewrites the history of Islamic State. — Well, okay, our headline goes too far. But the claim is about as plausible as Rand Paul's outburst that Republican internationalists like Lindsey Graham and John McCain are responsible for the rise of the Islamic State.

Discussion: Mediaite, Hit & Run and Associated Press

Brent Budowsky / The Hill: The coming terror attacks

John McLaughlin / Washington Post:
How the Islamic State could win

Discussion: Reuters, Weekly Standard, Lawfare, New York Times, MilitaryTimes and CNN

Joe Dana / KPNX:

‘Draw Muhammad’ contest planned in Phoenix — An Phoenix area anti-Muslim activist is planning a “draw Muhammad” cartoon contest and rally in Phoenix on Friday. The event is being dubbed a “Freedom of Speech Rally” and comes three weeks after a similar event in Garland, Texas, that prompted violence by two alleged ISIS sympathizers.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Moderate Voice, Little Green Footballs, Raw Story and Friendly Atheist

The Bridge Initiative / bridge.georgetown.edu:
In Arizona, Bikers Plan Armed Protest Outside of Mosque

Discussion: BARE NAKED ISLAM, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, The Gateway Pundit, WEB OF EVIL and RT

Drew Harwell / Washington Post:

Nike becomes suspected player in alleged $150 million FIFA bribery scandal — The international investigation into bribery, fraud and corruption at FIFA involved some surprising American names: The Miami chairman of a popular nationwide soccer league, and a major U.S. sportswear firm some believe could be Nike.

Discussion: hrw.org/rss/news, Common Dreams, Hot Air, The Week, New York Times and The Daily Beast

Christopher Ingraham / Washington Post:
The human toll of FIFA's corruption

Discussion: Forbes, Business Insider, Big Think, The Week, CNBC, Bloomberg View, The Verge, The Federalist and CNN

New York Times:
Sepp Blatter Says FIFA Must Police Itself

Discussion: Forbes, Washington Post and The Week

John DiStaso / WMUR:

Donald Trump to make ‘major’ announcement in NYC on June 16 — Outspoken billionaire exec will then travel to NH; presidential run appears likely — If you're a Donald Trump fan, mark June 16 on your calendar. If you're a Donald Trump fan in New Hampshire, mark June 17.

Discussion: Bloomberg Business and OnPolitics

Matt Patches / Esquire:

Shepard Fairey on the Future of Political Art and Whether Obama Lived Up to His ‘Hope’ Poster — The street artist's web series, Rebel Music, tracks young people around the world using art and music to push back The Man. — Street artist Shepard Fairey and the Viacom-owned MTV …

Discussion: Politico, Washington Post, The Week and Mediaite

Wall Street Journal:

EPA's Amphibious Attack — An expansive new rule lets Washington regulate any creek or pothole. — While retrenching abroad, the Obama Administration remains committed to expanding Washington's footprint at home. Behold the Environmental Protection Agency's rewrite Wednesday …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit and TPNN

Caitlin MacNeal / Talking Points Memo:

Despite Opposing Sandy Relief, Cruz Calls For Federal Aid For Texas Flood — Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) on Wednesday assured Texans that the state would receive federal relief following major flooding, even though the senator opposed federal funding following Hurricane Sandy.

Discussion: KSAT-TV, Associated Press and Daily Kos

Robert Laurie / Best of Cain:

Politics: Rick Santorum announces doomed presidential bid in interview with pretend journalist — Ugh. — I may give Bernie Sanders a lot of flak for being unelectable, but I don't want anyone to think Democrats have the market cornered when it comes to candidates with no chance of winning.

Discussion: Bloomberg Business, Politico, Talking Points Memo, mrctv.org/videos and Mediaite

Tim Mak / The Daily Beast:

Ted Cruz Comes Clean: He's a Secret Video Game Addict — The senator is known as a Tea Party firebrand. What he's not known as is a hidden geek who can't get enough of ‘Candy Crush.’ He tells The Daily Beast why he can't have a console. — Long before Ted Cruz became a senator from Texas, he was a gamer.

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Mediaite and The Week

Bill Scher / Politico:

Fox News Eats Its Own — The GOP's worst enemy is turning out to be the friendliest network. — Lead image by AP Photo. — The Republican National Committee triumphantly seized control of the debates last year, saying it would not allow a repeat of 2012, when “the liberal media interrogated …

Discussion: TVNewser and FishbowlDC