memeorandum: Trump's popularity spikes among Republicans (Washington Post)

3:15 PM ET, July 15, 2015

Top Items:

Trump's popularity spikes among Republicans — Donald Trump's popularity has surged among Republicans after dominating several news cycles with his anti-illegal immigration rhetoric, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll. — Nearly six in 10 — 57 percent …

Discussion: Gallup, Business Insider, Liberal Values, The Week, Forbes, Mashable, Daily Kos, Mediaite, SaintPetersBlog, AMERICAblog News, Booman Tribune and Althouse

Nick Gass / Politico:

Donald Trump: I don't know why I'm meeting Ted Cruz — Donald Trump is meeting with Texas Sen. Ted Cruz in Manhattan on Wednesday, though he claimed in an interview on MSNBC that he does not know why. — “Ted Cruz called me. And I don't know why I'm meeting him, to be honest …

Discussion: ABC News, Daily Kos, Washington Post and Trail Blazers Blog

Nick Gass / Politico:

Poll: Hillary Clinton's lead shrinks among Democrats — Hillary Clinton is still leading the Democratic field for 2016, but her lead has shrunk in recent months, according to a new Monmouth University poll out Wednesday, as independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders continues to make steady gains despite trailing by a wide margin.

Discussion: Yahoo Politics and The PJ Tatler

Gregory Holyk / ABC News:
Trump's Popularity Rises, Still 2-1 Negative, While Clinton Regains Positive Territory (POLL)

Discussion: FOX News Radio, Politico and Mediaite

USA Today:
Poll: Trump leads the GOP field but falters against Clinton

Discussion: ThinkProgress, The Daily Caller, Hot Air, Daily Mail, Washington Post, Guardian, The Moderate Voice, Conservative Black Chick, The Interrobang, Outside the Beltway, Post On Politics, America Rising, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Hit & Run, CNN, Slantpoint and BuzzFeed

Tyler Miller / The Daily Beast:

Planned Parented Doesn't Sell Fetuses: The Real Story Behind That Shady Video — A pro-life group's viral video would have you believe an abortion doctor is hawking body parts. — Pro-lifers are already calling it the end of Planned Parenthood. An undercover video released early Tuesday morning …

Discussion: The Hill, LifeNews.com, BREITBART.COM, ThinkProgress, Washington Free Beacon, Washington Monthly, Live Action News, The Federalist, The Gateway Pundit, BarbWire.com, FOX2now.com, The American Conservative, Hot Air, National Review and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Steve Allen / National Review:

‘A Lot of People Want Liver’: Planned Parenthood's Bloody Business — lot of people want liver. " So says Planned Parenthood's director of medical services, Dr. Deborah Nucatola, between bites of what one must assume are fava beans and sips of a nice Chianti, Dr. Nucatola doing a fair impersonation of Dr. Lecter.

Discussion: The Federalist, Washington Post, alicublog, Shot in the Dark, Fox News, Mediaite and Live Action News

Planned Parenthood:

Statement from Planned Parenthood on New Undercover Video — Statement from Eric Ferrero, Vice President of Communications, Planned Parenthood Federation of America: — “In health care, patients sometimes want to donate tissue to scientific research that can help lead to medical breakthroughs …

Discussion: Weekly Standard, snopes.com, Energy & Commerce Committee, US News, Cosmopolitan, NPR, BREITBART.COM, Daily Kos, Taylor Marsh, No More Mister Nice Blog, PP Action Blog, The PJ Tatler, The Daily Caller, Trail Blazers Blog, TheBlaze.com, Washington Free Beacon, Live Action News and The Center for Medical …

Washington Post:
Undercover video shows Planned Parenthood official discussing fetal organs used for research

John McCormack / Weekly Standard:
Planned Parenthood's PR Firm: Harvesting Organs of Aborted Babies a ‘Humanitarian Undertaking’

Discussion: The Other McCain, Hot Air and The Federalist

Amanda Marcotte / Slate:
Live Action Puts Out Another Titillating but Misleading Video About Planned Parenthood

Discussion: Mediaite, Right Wing Watch, Lawyers, Guns & Money and The Hill

Steven Ertelt / LifeNews.com:
Congress Will Investigate Planned Parenthood for Selling Body Parts of Aborted Babies

Discussion: John Hawkins' Right Wing News, CatholicHerald.co.uk, Washington Free Beacon, RedState and The Daily Signal

Eliza Collins / Politico:
Republicans call for investigations into Planned Parenthood

Discussion: Daily Kos, The Federalist, The Week, The Daily Caller, Live Action News, Governor Bobby Jindal, Perry for President and LifeNews.com

Andrew Kaczynski / BuzzFeed:

Sen. Mark Kirk On Iran Deal: Obama “Wants To Get Nukes To Iran,” Predicts Nuclear War In Middle East — “...tens of thousands of people in the Middle East are gonna lose their lives because of this decision by Barack Hussein Obama.” — Mark Wilson / Getty Images — w.soundcloud.com

Discussion: Booman Tribune, Political Wire and The PJ Tatler

Mark Steyn / Steyn Online:
Far Worse Than Munich

Discussion: Fox News Insider, Israel Matzav and Power Line

Nick Gass / Politico:
Dick Cheney: Iran deal makes ‘actual use of nuclear weapons’ more likely

Discussion: Common Dreams and Scared Monkeys

Politico:

Revenge of Citizens United — Republicans could barely contain their glee when the Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens United decision cleared the way for unlimited spending in political campaigns. — But now — headed into a crowded presidential primary that promises to be longer …

Discussion: Washington Monthly and The Daily Caller

Rebecca Ballhaus / Wall Street Journal:
What to Watch in Presidential Campaigns' Quarterly Filings

Discussion: New York Times, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and Fox News

Julie Bykowicz / Associated Press:
Presidential election already fueled by $377 million

Discussion: ABC News

Paul Waldman / Washington Post:

The next GOP president won't walk away from the Iran deal. Here's why. — Now that we have a nuclear deal with Iran, Republicans are jostling each other to determine who can make the most angry and apocalyptic statements about it. — Scott Walker said it “will be remembered as one of America's worst diplomatic failures.”

Discussion: PoliticusUSA, Al Jazeera English, Balloon Juice, Hot Air, Common Dreams and Brad DeLong's Grasping Reality

Nick Gass / Politico:

Republican senators warn Iran in open letter — Republican senators want to give Iranian leaders — and the president — a refresher on the constitutional balance of power. — In a highly unusual move, a group of 47 Republicans in the upper chamber has written to Iran's top leaders …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

Mark Leibovich / New York Times:

Re-Re-Re-Reintroducing Hillary Clinton … A few minutes before my meeting with Hillary Clinton on the Fourth of July, during my drive to the Mount Washington hotel in Bretton Woods, N.H., where she was staying, I passed a moose near the side of the road.

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Hot Air and The Week

Jonathan Easley / The Hill:

C-SPAN to preempt first GOP debate — C-SPAN is partnering with a handful of regional newspapers in early-voting states for a nationally televised forum with the Republican presidential candidates just days before Fox News Channel's first scheduled debate. — The network has invited all 17 …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, FishbowlDC, Political Insider blog and The Week

Los Angeles Times:

This is the video Gardena police didn't want you to see — In the two years since Gardena police officers fatally shot an unarmed man, city officials fought to keep graphic video of the killing under wraps. — The grainy videos, captured by cameras mounted in two patrol cars …

Discussion: Mediaite, abc7.com, LAist, Hit & Run, NPR and The Week

Martin Matishak / The Hill:

Dems: Benghazi panel has ‘abandoned’ its work to focus on Hillary — Democrats serving on the House Select Committee on Benghazi say the panel's GOP chairman has “abandoned” plans for hearings to shift the focus of the investigation to Hillary Clinton. — “At the beginning of this year …

Discussion: Daily Kos

Erwin Chemerinsky / Los Angeles Times:

Op-Ed Justice Scalia: Why he's a bad influence — Justice Antonin Scalia is setting a terrible example for young lawyers. Ignore, for now, his jurisprudence, his famously strict originalism; it's his tone that's the problem. — I have taught argumentation for many years …

Bill Turque / Washington Post:

Maryland Del. Ariana Kelly charged with indecent exposure, trespassing — A 39-year-old state lawmaker from Bethesda was arrested in late June and charged with indecent exposure and trespassing after a dispute at the home of her ex-husband, according to court records.

Discussion: Mediaite, Bethesda Magazine, Talking Points Memo and Washington Free Beacon

Eric Schwitzgebel / Aeon Magazine:

How often do ethics professors call their mothers? — Eric Schwitzgebel is professor of philosophy at University of California, Riverside. He blogs at the Splintered Mind and his latest book is Perplexities of Consciousness (2011). — None of the classic questions of philosophy are beyond a seven-year-old's understanding.

Discussion: Unfogged

Jennifer Scholtes / Politico:

TSA's response to criticism: Longer airport lines — The agency's response to a damning security audit will mean more random luggage checks and less reliance on expedited screening. — The Transportation Security Administration has a new strategy for improving its woeful performance …

Discussion: The Hill and Outside the Beltway