memeorandum: Obama Heads To Capitol Hill To Save His Trade Agenda (The Huffington Post)

2:25 PM ET, June 12, 2015

Top Items:

Claudia Koerner / BuzzFeed:

A Civil Rights Leader Has Disguised Herself As Black For Years, Her Parents Say — Rachel Dolezal is president of the Spokane, Washington, chapter of the NAACP and also chairs a city police oversight commission. Her parents also told BuzzFeed News that she is passing off her younger adopted black brother as her own son.

Discussion: Instapundit, neo-neocon, Talking Points Memo, The Federalist, Althouse, RedState, Shakesville, Hot Air, protein wisdom, Jamelle Bouie, The Daily Caller and Mediaite

Spokesman.com:

Credibility of local NAACP leader Rachel Dolezal questioned — Controversy is swirling around one of the Inland Northwest's most prominent civil rights activists, with family members of Rachel Dolezal saying the local leader of the NCAAP has been falsely portraying herself as black for years.

Discussion: Politico, Daily Mail, KXLY-TV, Notes & Errata, CBS News, No More Mister Nice Blog, Scared Monkeys, Guardian, The Jawa Report, Business Insider, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Hollywood Life, In Touch Weekly, Fox News Insider, Refinery29 and Sadly, No!

Coeur d'Alene Press:

Black like me? — Civil rights activist's ethnicity questioned — COEUR d'ALENE - She's risen from North Idaho civil rights champion to positions of power in Spokane as a self-described black woman. — But what if Rachel Dolezal is really white? — Dolezal, chair of Spokane's Office …

Discussion: NAACP, Talking Points Memo, Mashable, The Daily Caller and Althouse

KREM-TV:

Local NAACP leader outed as white woman refutes claim — ON THURSDAY, RACHEL DOLEZAL'S PARENTS CLAIMED SHE HAD BEEN DECEIVING PEOPLE. — Family Questions Rachel — TROY, MONTANA — A recent investigation into racially charged threats made toward the president of the NAACP chapter …

Discussion: USA Today, Guardian, Hot Air, BizPac Review and Full Feed

USA Today / WXIA-TV:

‘Black’ NAACP leader outed as white woman — The leader of the Spokane NAACP falsely portrays herself as black, according to her family. A recent investigation into racially charged threats made toward the president have raised more questions about who made the threats. KREM-TV … CONNECT

Discussion: New York Times, Tea Party, Hit & Run, theGrio and Associated Press

Justin Wm / Washington Post:
‘Are you an African American?’ Why an NAACP official isn't saying.

Discussion: The Federalist, Hot Air, Mediaite and The Week

Jeff Humphrey / KXLY-TV:
Did NAACP president lie about her race? City investigates

Discussion: Gawker, Outside the Beltway, Guardian, Mediaite, Liberaland, Slantpoint and NPR

Milo Yiannopoulos / BREITBART.COM:
A Big Slobbery Welcome To My Newest Trans-Black Sister, Rachel Dolezal

Discussion: John Hawkins' Right Wing News, ABC News, The Gateway Pundit and The Daily Caller

William Finnegan / New Yorker:

Why Does Obama Want This Trade Deal So Badly? — The political battle over the enormous, twelve-nation trade agreement known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership keeps getting stranger. President Obama has made the completion of the deal the number-one legislative priority of his second term.

Discussion: Prairie Weather

Ian Swanson / The Hill:

Pelosi defies Obama on trade — House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) in a meandering but dramatic floor speech on Friday announced her vote against a measure providing assistance to workers displaced by trade. — “If TAA slows down the fast-track, I'm prepared to vote against TAA,” Pelosi said.

Discussion: The Week and Political Wire

Politico:

Obama: A vote against trade is a vote against me — The president plays his last card in a last-ditch effort to save his trade deal. — By making a rare, last-ditch visit to Capitol Hill, President Barack Obama's message to House Democrats was clear and simple: The trade deal they're in danger of voting down is about him.

Discussion: Hot Air

The Huffington Post:

Obama Heads To Capitol Hill To Save His Trade Agenda — WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama ventured to Capitol Hill Friday to make a last-minute plea to House Democrats to support legislation designed to allow him to “fast-track” major new trade deals through Congress. It fell on deaf ears.

Discussion: Slantpoint and Political Wire

Politico:
Obama rushes to Capitol to save trade deal

Discussion: Daily Kos

Jonathan Weisman / New York Times:
House Rejects Trade Bill, Rebuffing Obama's Dramatic Appeal

Discussion: Business Insider

Politico:
Moment of truth arrives for Obama trade deal

Discussion: Washington Post, Vox, National Journal, Medium, Hullabaloo, BREITBART.COM, The Nation, naked capitalism, Heritage Action for America and Hot Air

Politico:
Will Dems rescue Obama's trade pact?

Discussion: ABC News, Washington Post, Washington Monthly, Common Dreams, naked capitalism, Corrente, Balloon Juice and The Hill

Dylan Byers / Politico:

Mark Halperin, Ann Romney to host ‘Sunrise Pilates’ for GOP megadonors — Bloomberg Politics co-managing editor Mark Halperin and Ann Romney, wife of Mitt, will co-host an early morning pilates session for wealthy Republican donors at this weekend's Romney retreat in Deer Valley, Time's Zeke Miller reports.

Discussion: The Huffington Post

Zeke J Miller / TIME:

Rich Republican Donors Get VIP Retreat Treatment — Call it Club Med for the political mega-donors. — Attendees at Mitt Romney's third annual retreat this weekend will have the chance to go skeet shooting with South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham or play flag football with Florida Sen. Marco Rubio.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Daily Kos, Balloon Juice and Real Clear Politics

Ben Kamisar / The Hill:
Walker open to teaming up with Rubio on 2016 ticket

Discussion: Politico

John McCormick / Bloomberg Business:
Scott Walker Says Supporters Have Suggested Walker-Rubio 2016 Ticket

Discussion: Politico, Washington Monthly, Daily Kos, OnPolitics, Real Clear Politics, Washington Post, Fox News and The Hill

Amy Walter / The Cook Political Report:
Walker's Tricky Balancing Act

Discussion: Real Clear Politics, Hot Air, The Atlantic and Pew Research Center

Scott Keyes / ThinkProgress:

Congressman On Sex Abuse Scandal: ‘The Only Victim Here Is Denny Hastert’ — The indictment last month of former House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL) on charges of illegally concealing millions in banks withdrawals and lying to the FBI also revealed another serious breach …

Discussion: Shakesville and The Week

Des Moines Register:

Last Slide — The Iowa Straw Poll is dead. — The governing board for the Republican Party of Iowa voted unanimously Friday to cancel the straw poll, a milestone on the path to the White House that had passed the strategic tipping point. It was no longer a political risk for presidential campaigns …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Iowa Republican, American Spectator, Political Wire, Hot Air, Fox News, Outside the Beltway, RedState and Wall Street Journal

Richard A. Oppel Jr / New York Times:

West Baltimore's Police Presence Drops, and Murders Soar — BALTIMORE — From the steps of her New Bethlehem Baptist Church, the Rev. Lisa Weah looked down the block to the open-air drug market outside the bodega on the corner a few hundred feet away. — The traffic there had been slowing until …

Discussion: CBS Baltimore, The Gateway Pundit, Fox News Insider and Baltimore Sun

Jason Linkins / The Huffington Post:

Elizabeth Warren Tells Us That She Can't Even With Jamie Dimon's Mansplaining — So that happened. On this week's podcast, come for Sen. Eilzabeth Warren's (D-Mass.) plan to fix higher education, stay for her throwing shade back on JPMorgan's Jamie Dimon.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Talking Points Memo, Business Insider and Bloomberg Business

Glenn Thrush / Politico:

Wonk warrior — Inside the relaunch of Hillary Clinton. — Lead image by Getty. — Hillary Clinton hasn't always been a profile in political courage, but she's had her moments. One of them came in late December 2006, a month before Clinton announced her first run for the presidency …