memeorandum: Bernie Sanders Is the Best Challenger Hillary Clinton Could've Hoped For (S.V. Dáte/National Journal)

2:55 PM ET, June 29, 2015

Top Items:

Sen. Rand Paul / TIME:

Rand Paul: Government Should Get Out of the Marriage Business Altogether — Paul is the junior U.S. Senator for Kentucky. — While I disagree with Supreme Court's redefinition of marriage, I believe that all Americans have the right to contract. — The Constitution is silent on the question …

Discussion: Politico, Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, Towleroad, Mock Paper Scissors, Hit & Run, NBC News, Real Clear Politics, The Week, Vox Popoli, Bloomberg Business, Instapundit, PinkNews and The Daily Caller

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton:

Attorney General Paxton: Religious Liberties of Texas Public Officials Remain Constitutionally Protected After Obergefell v. Hodges — Attorney General Ken Paxton today made the following statement and issued an opinion in response to questions about the impact of Obergefell v. Hodges, the case that redefined marriage:

Austin American-Statesman:
Texas AG: County clerks can refuse gay couples

Discussion: Friendly Atheist, Business Insider, The Huffington Post, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Moderate Voice, The Last Tradition, Refinery29, Hot Air, Althouse, Weekly Standard, Walid Shoebat, Daily Kos and Wall Street Journal

Karim Zidan / Bloody Elbow:
On Yoel Romero, intolerance, and the discrimination against equality for religious purposes

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit and The Daily Caller

Lauren McGaughy / Houston Chronicle:
Texas AG tells clerks they can flout Supreme Court ruling on gay marriage

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, The Texas Tribune and Balloon Juice

al.com:
Roy Moore on gay marriage ruling: ‘Christians are going to be persecuted’

Discussion: Political Wire, Talking Points Memo and Raw Story

Greg Stohr / Bloomberg Business:

States Seeking Voter Citizenship Proof Denied by U.S. Supreme Court — The U.S. Supreme Court refused to consider letting states require evidence of citizenship when people register to vote for federal elections, rejecting an appeal from Arizona and Kansas.

Discussion: Reuters, Politico, Election Law Blog, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Daily Caller and Hinterland Gazette

Greg Stohr / Bloomberg Business:

Independent Redistricting Panel Upheld by U.S. Supreme Court — The 5-4 ruling is a setback to Arizona Republicans. — The U.S. Supreme Court bolstered efforts to make federal elections more competitive, upholding an independent commission set up by Arizona voters to draw congressional districts.

Discussion: ABC News, Election Law Blog and Bloomberg View

Adam Liptak / New York Times:
Supreme Court Blocks Obama's Limits on Power Plants

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Guardian, Reuters, Detroit Free Press, Wall Street Journal, Fusion and Political Wire

Greg Stohr / Bloomberg Business:
BP, Anadarko Rejected by U.S. Supreme Court on Gulf Spill Fines

Discussion: Politico and The Week

Washington Post:
Supreme Court: EPA erred in rule on toxic emissions from power plants

Discussion: The Daily Caller and Hot Air

New York Times:

Puerto Rico's Governor Says Island's Debts Are ‘Not Payable’ — Puerto Rico's governor, saying he needs to pull the island out of a “death spiral,” has concluded that the commonwealth cannot pay its roughly $72 billion in debts, an admission that will probably have wide-reaching financial repercussions.

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, US News, The Daily Caller, Business Insider, Telegraph, Washington Post, Bloomberg View, Politico, The Last Tradition, Reuters, NBC News, Bloomberg Business and The Week

Paul Krugman / New York Times:
Greece Over the Brink

Discussion: The Other McCain, Bloomberg View, The Week and Eschaton

Brian Blackstone / Wall Street Journal:
Greece Orders Banks Closed, Imposes Capital Controls to Stem Deposit Flight

Discussion: Power Line, Politico, Washington Post, The Week, Poynter., The Huffington Post, Business Insider and Mashable

Todd J. Gillman / Trail Blazers Blog:

Updated: Spat escalates as Ted Cruz dusts off 2009 email to rebut Karl Rove denial on Bush41 endorsement episode — Republican strategist Karl Rove speaking in Sacramento on March 2, 2013 — Sen. Ted Cruz at the Capitol on Sept. 23, 2013. — updated 9:45pm

Discussion: Mediaite, Fox News and Washington Post

Matthew Boyle / BREITBART.COM:
Exclusive — Cruz's New Book : Rove Thought Bush '41 ‘Too Old to Have Good Judgment’

Discussion: New York Times, Politico and Washington Post

Ian Millhiser / ThinkProgress:

Chief Justice Roberts' Marriage Equality Dissent Has A Hidden Message For Conservatives — Friday's landmark victory for marriage equality was handed down over the dissents of four justices, each of whom wrote their own dissenting opinion. Of these, by far the most thoughtful …

Discussion: Shakesville, Washington Post, Hit & Run and Hot Air

Kim Bellware / The Huffington Post:

Supreme Court Upholds Oklahoma's Use Of Lethal Injection Drug — The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday ruled in a 5-4 vote that Oklahoma may continue to use a controversial lethal injection drug during executions. — The Oklahoma death row prisoners who brought the matter to court …

Discussion: Guardian, Daily Kos and Business Insider

Chris Geidner / BuzzFeed: Supreme Court Rules Controversial Drug Can Be Used In Executions

Dave Urbanski / TheBlaze.com:

Well-Known Priest's Amazing Response After He Said Two Men Spat on Him in Midst of NYC Gay Pride Parade — Fr. Jonathan Morris is likely a familiar face to readers of TheBlaze — the Catholic priest based in the Bronx also has been a longtime analyst for Fox News.

Discussion: Mediaite and John Hawkins' Right Wing News

Lisa de Moraes / Deadline:

NBC: Done With Donald Trump, Miss USA, Miss Universe — NBC announced this morning it had ended it relationship with Donald Trump over comments he made recently about immigrants coming over the Mexico border: … Celebrity Apprentice is licensed from Mark Burnett's United Artists Media Group …

Discussion: Political Wire and CBS DC

Alex Isenstadt / Politico:

Chris Christie's nothing-left-to-lose campaign — The New Jersey governor's campaign is far less ambitious than anyone could have predicted a year ago. But that also makes him an unpredictable force in the GOP presidential primary. — When Chris Christie launches his presidential campaign Tuesday …

Discussion: New York Magazine

Mike Allen / Politico:
Chris Christie: No teleprompter for launch

Discussion: Slantpoint

Danielle Ferguson / Des Moines Register:

Trump says famous hair will get new look in White House — WINTERSET, Ia. - Donald Trump says if he gets elected president, he would have to change his hair style because he wouldn't have time to maintain it, as he would be working his butt off in the White House.

Discussion: American Spectator and Daily Mail

S.V. Dáte / National Journal:

Bernie Sanders Is the Best Challenger Hillary Clinton Could've Hoped For — The Vermont senator could make the Democratic front-runner a better candidate in the short-term, and as the race goes on, Clinton's campaign is confident it'll be able to bring Sanders's supporters into the fold.

Discussion: The Reaction

Tom Randall / Bloomberg Business:

Solar Plane's Harrowing 120-Hour Flight Begins — One pilot, five days over the Pacific, no fuel — The First Solar Plane Flying Around the World — Solar Impulse, a plane powered entirely by the sun, has departed on a harrowing five-day journey over the Pacific Ocean.

Discussion: The Daily Caller and The Week

Peter Nicholas / Wall Street Journal:

Will He Run? Biden Speculation Mounts — Both sons urged the vice president to enter 2016 presidential race, but so far a bid doesn't seem imminent — When deciding whether to run for office, Vice President Joe Biden has made it a practice to seek his family's counsel.

Discussion: Philly.com, Moe Lane, ABC News, OnPolitics, Daily Mail and Politico

Washington Post:

Jeb Bush dogged by decades of questions about business deals — In early 1989, seven weeks after his father moved into the White House, Jeb Bush took a trip to Nigeria. — Nearly 100,000 Nigerians turned out to see him over four days as he accompanied the executives of a Florida company …

Discussion: Liberal Values and The Week