memeorandum: Rand Paul's money problem (Alex Isenstadt/Politico)

2:55 PM ET, May 29, 2015

Top Items:

Tom Maguire / JustOneMinute:

So What Did Hastert Do? — “The Coach”, former House Speaker turned high-priced lobbyist, is the target of a mysterious indictment. The Times has some details (and attaches the indictment) and the WaPo has some speculation that is informative for its omissions. — Background from the Times:

Discussion: Washington Post and CANNONFIRE

Catherine Thompson / Talking Points Memo:

Creepy C-SPAN Caller To Hastert: Do You ‘Remember Me From Yorkville?’ (VIDEO) — Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL) got a strange call from an Illinois resident last year in a C-SPAN segment that surfaced in light of allegations that he agreed to pay $3.5 million in hush money to an individual from the town of Yorkville.

Discussion: TVNewser and Associated Press

Michael Falcone / ABC News:

The Note: Welcome To The Martin O'Malley Moment … NOTABLES —COULD MARTIN O'MALLEY BE THE CLINTON SLAYER? Former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley is expected to launch his 2016 White House bid tomorrow in Baltimore injecting another dose of competition into the Democratic nominating contest that heavily favors Hillary Clinton.

Discussion: Bloomberg Business, BuzzFeed, Booman Tribune, Hinterland Gazette and Political Wire

Monique Garcia / Chicago Tribune:
Hastert statue shelved at Illinois Capitol

Discussion: Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, The Huffington Post, ThinkProgress and Chicago

John Stanton / BuzzFeed:
Sources: Hastert Lawyers Asked U.S. Attorney To Withhold Details Of Alleged “Misconduct”

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Politico, OpenSecrets.org, Associated Press, Washington Post, Daily Kos, Taylor Marsh, The Atlantic, Hinterland Gazette and Mediaite

Monica Davey / New York Times:
U.S. Accuses Ex-House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert of Paying to Hide ‘Misconduct’

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Booman Tribune and Washington Post

Lydia Saad / Gallup:

Americans Choose “Pro-Choice” for First Time in Seven Years — Story Highlights — PRINCETON, N.J. — Half of Americans consider themselves “pro-choice” on abortion, surpassing the 44% who identify as “pro-life.” This is the first time since 2008 that the pro-choice position …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Moderate Voice, Hot Air, The Federalist, PoliticusUSA, LifeNews.com, Mediaite and The Huffington Post

Adam B. Lerner / Politico:
Pro-choice outpolls pro-life for first time in 7 years

Discussion: Arkansas Blog, Arkansas Times

Dan Merica / CNN:

Bernie Sanders distances himself from ‘dumb’ 1972 essay on rape — Bernie Sanders wrote about rape fantasies in 1970s 06:17 — New York (CNN)Bernie Sanders' campaign tried on Thursday to distance the presidential candidate from a 1972 essay in which he wrote — among other things …

Discussion: Daily Mail, Taylor Marsh and Hinterland Gazette

Charles C. W. Cooke / National Review:
Let's Not Crucify Bernie Sanders for His Sexual-Fantasies Essay

Discussion: BREITBART.COM, NewsBusters, Vox, No More Mister Nice Blog, Hot Air, Mediaite, American Spectator, alicublog, Twitchy, Althouse, mrctv.org/videos and Ed Driscoll

Elliot Smilowitz / The Hill:
Sanders: 1972 rape essay was ‘dumb attempt’ at satire

Discussion: TheBlaze.com, Seven Days, Shakesville, CNN, BuzzFeed and BarbWire.com

Ace of Spades HQ:
Senator Bernie Sanders, Democrat/Socialist Candidate For President: All Men Dream Of Tying …

Discussion: Patterico's Pontifications and BarbWire.com

Deborah Sontag / New York Times:

An Award for Bill Clinton Came With $500,000 for His Foundation — To commemorate the 10th anniversary of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, Petra Nemcova, a Czech model who survived the disaster by clinging to a palm tree, decided to pull out all the stops for the annual fund-raiser of her school-building charity, the Happy Hearts Fund.

Discussion: Fox News, Mediaite, American Spectator, Bloomberg Business, Hot Air, The Week, Althouse and Politico

Alex Isenstadt / Politico:

Rand Paul's money problem — Behind the Kentucky senator's NSA ‘filibuster’ lies a desperate quest for cash. — In a presidential campaign defined by billionaire sugar daddy donors, Rand Paul has a problem: He doesn't seem to have one. — While his rivals cultivate wealthy backers …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, NBC News, Bloomberg Business, Washington Monthly and Hot Air

Ben Kamisar / The Hill:
Pro-Paul group unleashes fiery attack ad

Discussion: Hot Air and Politico

Nelson D. Schwartz / New York Times:

U.S. Economy Contracted 0.7% in First Quarter — The economy got off to an even weaker start this year than first thought, the government reported Friday, as economic activity contracted amid a disappointing trade picture and continued caution on spending by businesses and consumers alike.

Discussion: Associated Press, Washington Monthly, White House.gov Blog, Wall Street Journal, Truth Revolt, Scared Monkeys and The Week

Wall Street Journal:
U.S. GDP Swings to Contraction in First Quarter

Discussion: NPR, Forbes and Outside the Beltway

Julian Hattem / The Hill:

Thousands of websites block Congress in Patriot Act protest — Thousands of websites are blocking Congress's access to their sites in a show of force to protest the Patriot Act. — Led by the online activist group Fight for the Future, more than 10,000 sites have added code that redirects …

Discussion: Guardian and Business Insider

New York Times:
Let Patriot Act Provisions Expire

Discussion: Weekly Standard, The Daily Beast, Politico, Center for Democracy …, Common Dreams, Daily Kos, The Hill and The Intercept

David Wasserman / FiveThirtyEight:

The Supreme Court Could Give The GOP Another 8 Seats In Congress — This week, the Supreme Court agreed to hear a lawsuit filed by conservative activists in Texas that could redefine the principle of “one person, one vote” as we know it. And if the Court sides with the plaintiffs …

Discussion: Election Law Blog, Political Wire, AMERICAblog News and Daily Kos

Rasmussen Reports:
Most Democrats Think Illegal Immigrants Should Vote

Discussion: American Spectator, Questions and Observations and Hot Air

Matt Richtel / New York Times:

Windshield Devices Bring Distracted Driving Debate to Eye Level — In a widely watched YouTube video, a man is driving around Los Angeles when his phone rings. On a small screen mounted on the dashboard, an image of the caller, the man's mother, appears. — But there's an optical twist …

Discussion: Boing Boing and Eschaton

Jonathan Easley / The Hill:

Christie to pull New Jersey from Common Core — New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie announced Thursday he will pull his state out of Common Core, a move that could bolster his standing with grassroots Republican primary voters opposed to the education standards.

Matt Arco / New Jersey Online:
Christie: Dump Common Core education standards

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The PJ Tatler and Politico

Politico:

Lincoln Chafee to announce presidential run on June 3 — Former Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee will officially enter the presidential race on June 3, a source with knowledge of his plans told POLITICO. — He'll make the announcement in a speech he's scheduled to deliver next Wednesday …

Discussion: OnPolitics

Paul Krugman / New York Times:

The Insecure American — America remains, despite the damage inflicted by the Great Recession and its aftermath, a very rich country. But many Americans are economically insecure, with little protection from life's risks. They frequently experience financial hardship …

Jeff Rathke / US Department of State:

Rescission of Cuba as a State Sponsor of Terrorism — Press Statement — Director, Office of Press Relations — Washington, DC — In December 2014, the President instructed the Secretary of State to immediately launch a review of Cuba's designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism …

Discussion: Telegraph, Daily Mail, Common Dreams, mrctv.org/videos and The Week

Joe Conason / Politico:

The Fake Clinton Scandals Are Back — The right's newest crusade has an old fake villain. — Lead image by AP Photo. — Has Washington learned nothing from Whitewater? The Clintons have spent their entire political lives in the capital dogged by one fake scandal after another.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Atlantic, Slate, The National Memo, Washington Post, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Liberal Values and Daily Mail

Daniella Silva / NBC News:

Beer Giant Stops Production to Give Water to Storm Victims — Beer giant Anheuser-Busch stopped production at its Georgia brewery this week to instead produce drinking water for those affected by a deadly bout of historic flooding and storms in Texas and Oklahoma.

Discussion: US News, Washington Post and BizPac Review