memeorandum: DAVID BROOKS, YOU SAY TED CRUZ IS “SATANIC” AS IF THAT'S A BAD THING (Steve M./No More Mister Nice Blog)

2:55 PM ET, January 11, 2016

Top Items:

Ben Jacobs / Guardian:

Harvard scholar: Ted Cruz's citizenship, eligibility for president ‘unsettled’ — Liberal law professor Laurence Tribe cited by Donald Trump in his ‘natural-born’ citizenship attacks has questioned Cruz's own constitutional positions — The legal and constitutional issues around qualification …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Business Insider, Constitution Daily, Observer, The Last Tradition, Arizona Republic, Washington Post and Vox

Ryan Struyk / ABC News:

New Iowa Poll Shows Ted Cruz and Donald Trump in Tight Battle — Republican presidential candidates Donald Trump and Ted Cruz are locked in a tight battle for the lead in the Iowa caucus, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll released today. — Just three weeks from the crucial …

Discussion: Bloomberg.com, Politico, RedState and 6abc.com

Michael Falcone / ABC News:

The Note: Bernie Sanders In Striking Distance

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Los Angeles Times, Front Page Magazine and 6abc.com

Nick Gass / Politico:

Trump soars, Bush sinks in latest N.H. poll — Donald Trump is now the choice of nearly one-in-three likely Republican primary voters in New Hampshire, while Jeb Bush, who once pledged that he would win in the state, plummeted to just 4 percent in the latest Monmouth University poll.

Discussion: ABC News

John DiStaso / WMUR:
NH staff at pro-Carson super PAC quits to volunteer for Cruz

Discussion: Mother Jones, Bloomberg.com, Talking Points Memo and The Week

Katie Glueck / Politico: Former head of pro-Carson super PAC now supporting Cruz

Lukas I. Alpert / Wall Street Journal:

New Republic Owner Chris Hughes Puts Magazine Up For Sale — Facebook co-founder, who purchased the title in 2012, says magazine needs a new business model — The New Republic, the century-old magazine that was rocked a year ago by the mass exodus of its staff following an effort by its owner …

Discussion: Vox, Talking Points Memo, Politico, Power Line, Scripting News, Business Insider, Lawyers, Guns & Money, National Review, Washington Post, The Week and Althouse, more at Mediagazer »

Chris Hughes / Medium:

The New Republic's Next Chapter — I sent the letter below to the The New Republic staff this morning on the next chapter for our institution. I've reposted it in full here. — To the staff of The New Republic, — I have some difficult news today: I have decided to put The New Republic up for sale.

Discussion: New York Sun, Talking Points Memo, The Daily Caller, Mediaite, Washington Free Beacon, New York Times and Mashable, more at Mediagazer »

Jon Pareles / New York Times:

David Bowie, the Legendary Musician, Has Died at 69 — David Bowie, the infinitely changeable, fiercely forward-looking songwriter who taught generations of musicians about the power of drama, images and personae, died Sunday, two days after his 69th birthday, according to his publicist.

Steve M. / No More Mister Nice Blog:

DAVID BROOKS, YOU SAY TED CRUZ IS “SATANIC” AS IF THAT'S A BAD THING — From Politico, I see that David Brooks thinks Ted Cruz's rhetoric is excessively gloomy: … Brooks thinks that's a recipe for failure. He thinks Marco Rubio has a much better approach, although he worries that Rubio is mimicking Cruz.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Mother Jones, National Review and Politico

Fox News:

FBI's Clinton probe expands to public corruption track — Jan. 10, 2015: Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton addresses an audience during an event in Hooksett, N.H. (AP) — EXCLUSIVE: The FBI investigation into Hillary Clinton's use of private email as secretary of state …

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Power Line, Mediaite, Business Insider, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Hit & Run, Washington Post, National Review, Instapundit, The Right Scoop, Hot Air, Washington Free Beacon, The Resurgent and Jammie Wearing Fools

Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:

Democratic, Republican Identification Near Historical Lows — PRINCETON, N.J. — In 2015, for the fifth consecutive year, at least four in 10 U.S. adults identified as political independents. The 42% identifying as independents in 2015 was down slightly from the record 43% in 2014.

Discussion: Washington Post, Hit & Run, The Daily Caller and Althouse

Nick Gass / Politico:
Gallup: Share of Democrats reaches record low

Discussion: RedState, Hit & Run, Hot Air and Wall Street Journal

Adam Liptak / New York Times:

Supreme Court Seems Poised to Deal Unions a Major Setback — WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court seemed poised on Monday to deliver a severe blow to organized labor. — The justices appeared divided along familiar lines during an extended argument over whether government workers who choose …

Discussion: Mother Jones, BuzzFeed, Los Angeles Times, SCOTUSblog, Hit & Run, USA Today, Guardian, Politico and The Columbus Dispatch

Greg Stohr / Bloomberg Business:
Mandatory Union Fees Cast in Doubt at U.S. Supreme Court

Discussion: Politico

Joshua Miller / The White House:

We're on Snapchat: Add WhiteHouse — Summary: The White House launches an “Official Story” on Snapchat to provide a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the Administration. — At the White House, our digital strategy centers around meeting people where they are.

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Politico, Medium, Business Insider, BuzzFeed, FishbowlDC, Wired, Bloomberg.com and Yahoo Politics

Zeke J Miller / TIME:

Exclusive: Republican Party Chairman Says Donald Trump Is Among ‘Varsity’ Candidates — Reince Priebus also promises to be an honest broker at convention — Donald Trump may be giving some in the Republican establishment heartburn, but Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus claims …

Discussion: Des Moines Register, RedState, Hot Air and Daily Kos

Kevin Drum / Mother Jones:

My Right to Die: Assisted Suicide, My Family, and Me — Every story has a beginning. This one starts in late 2001, when my father-in-law fractured three of his ribs. Harry was a retired physician, and after a thorough workup that he insisted on, it turned out that his bone density …

Bloomberg Business:

The State of Chris Christie's New Jersey, in Six Charts — Republican governor to give annual address to lawmakers — On the presidential campaign trail, he confronts his record — After a year in which Governor Chris Christie spent more than half his days outside New Jersey …

Discussion: Politico

Matt Arco / New Jersey Online:
Did Christie just lie about past Planned Parenthood donation? (VIDEO)

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, National Review and BuzzFeed

David Bowie / Facebook:

January 10 2016 - David Bowie died peacefully today surrounded by his family after a courageous 18 month battle with cancer. While many of you will share in this loss, we ask that you respect the family's privacy during their time of grief.

Discussion: BuzzFeed, KFOR-TV, CBS New York, Mashable, ThinkProgress, FOX31 Denver, New York's PIX11, Gay Star News, RT, The Verge, Wall Street Journal and The Last Tradition

Christopher Massie / BuzzFeed:

Trump On Sean Penn's El Chapo Interview: “Sort Of Amazing The Way He Got In There” — “I guess we have bigger problems in this country, but I guess it was a little amazing that he was able to get an interview with a guy that everybody else was looking for, right?” — Scott Eisen / Getty Images

Discussion: Bloomberg Business, Talking Points Memo, Wall Street Journal and Jammie Wearing Fools, more at Mediagazer »

Michael D'Antonio / Politico:

Trump's Campaign Is Damaging His Brand — If Donald Trump is nothing else, he's an American brand. The Trump name adorns luxury condominiums, hotels and golf courses around the world; it has sold a TV show, millions of books, a line of cologne and even, briefly, an airline.

Discussion: Political Wire and The Week

Ashe Schow / New York Post:

Europe is enabling a rape culture — In the wake of horrifying tales of sexual assault perpetrated by potentially up to 1,000 men on New Year's Eve, German officials have made two stunning decisions. — The first, from Cologne, Germany — where the attacks took place …

Los Angeles Times:

LAPD chief recommends criminal charges for officer in fatal shooting of homeless man in Venice — Brendon K. Glenn lived near the Venice boardwalk and often spent days skateboarding at the skate park. He was shot and killed during an altercation with Los Angeles police May 5, 2015.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Washington Post and Telegraph

Justin Jouvenal / Washington Post:

The new way police are surveilling you: Calculating your threat ‘score’ — FRESNO, Calif. — While officers raced to a recent 911 call about a man threatening his ex-girlfriend, a police operator in headquarters consulted software that scored the suspect's potential for violence the way a bank might run a credit report.

Discussion: Telegraph and Althouse