memeorandum: Paul's plan: Ditch debate, get more media (Dylan Byers/CNN)

8:10 AM ET, January 15, 2016

Top Items:

Mark Murray / NBC News:

Trump More Than Doubles National Lead in NBC/WSJ Poll — CHARLESTON, S.C. — Donald Trump has more than doubled his national lead in the Republican presidential race ahead of Thursday night's GOP debate here, according to the results from a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll.

Discussion: Florida Politics, Political Wire, Business Insider, Bloomberg Business, The Last Refuge, The Resurgent, Vox and American Power

Rick Klein / ABC News:

ANALYSIS: Republican Debate Shows What Donald Trump Has Already Won — Donald Trump may yet lose the Republican presidential nomination, and Thursday night's debate offered hints of the fights that could make that possible. — But the first GOP debate of 2016 revealed the extent to which Trump has already won.

Discussion: 6abc.com, Taylor Marsh, Bloomberg Business and Politico

Tampa Bay Times:

Marco Rubio seeks to dismiss court challenge to his eligibility to be president — Donald Trump in Pensacola on Wednesday night continued to question Canadian-born Ted Cruz's eligibility to be president, wondering if Cruz were to win the nomination and a court ruled against him, “What do you do?

Discussion: addictinginfo.org, Daily Mail, Talking Points Memo, Daily Kos and The Bob and Chez Show

Marlow Stern / The Daily Beast:

Bill Maher: We Must Stop ‘Evil’ Ted Cruz Before It's Too Late — The host of HBO's Real Time, which returns Friday, on why he's scared of Cruz, and the ‘underage hookers’ scandal that could sink Hillary Clinton's campaign. — For the past month and change, there's been a void …

Discussion: New York Times, Washington Post, The Week, Mediaite, Hunter Walker, Vox, The Resurgent, Raw Story, NPR and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Associated Press:

Trump-Cruz Rivalry Intensifies in Rollicking GOP Debate — The rivalry between the Republican Party's two leading candidates for president intensified in Thursday's debate, which featured the most rollicking action to date. — Yet rising tensions between billionaire businessman Donald Trump …

Discussion: Politico, ABC News and 6abc.com

Bloomberg Business:

Trump and Cruz Fiercely Clash in Opening of Republican Debate — Less than three weeks before the first ballots are cast in the 2016 presidential debate, the stakes are high for Donald Trump and everyone trying to catch him. — michaelcbender — mikenizza

Discussion: Politico, New York Sun, Hot Air, New York Post, Bloomberg View and RedState

Politico:

The POLITICO Wrongometer — POLITICO's analysis of where the Republican field stretched the truth, steered around some inconvenient facts, or just plain got it wrong. — Rubio's dubious claims about how ISIS infiltrates our borders — The Florida senator warned that ISIS is recruiting doctors …

Discussion: PolitiFact, Vox, New York Times, Bloomberg.com and Power Line

Kyle Cheney / Politico:
The 12 biggest moments of the GOP debate

Discussion: Vanity Fair, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, ABC News, Bloomberg View, Bloomberg.com, CNN, The Gateway Pundit and Mediaite

Daniel Strauss / Politico:
Cruz explains what he meant by Trump's ‘New York values’

Discussion: Yahoo Politics, Bloomberg.com and Mashable

MJ Lee / CNN:
GOP debate: Trump-Cruz ‘bromance’ is over

Discussion: Shark Tank, The Week, Yahoo Politics, National Review, Washington Post, KFOR-TV and New York Times

Katie Glueck / Politico:
Cruz slams New York Times ‘hit’ on undisclosed bank loans

Discussion: Bloomberg Business, Bloomberg.com, The Hill and Hot Air

Alex Isenstadt / Politico: Exclusive: RNC member urges party to rally against Trump

Peter Wehner / New York Times:
Why I Will Never Vote for Donald Trump

Discussion: Bloomberg Business, The Moderate Voice and EPIC JOURNEY

RedState:
Yes, Ted Cruz Did Disclose That Loan, the New York Times Just Didn't Report It

Discussion: Vox, Washington Post, WPRI-TV, Townhall.com, New York Times and Yahoo Politics

Jenna Johnson / Washington Post:
Running second makes Cruz everyone's target at GOP debate

Discussion: The Week, New York Times, NBC News and Politico

Andrew Kaczynski / BuzzFeed:

Glenn Beck Confronts Rand Paul For Questioning Cruz's Eligibility In Brutal Interview — “If you're not a constitutional scholar, if you're not a constitutional expert, then what the hell are we voting for you for,” Beck said to Paul. — Alex Wong / Getty Images — w.soundcloud.com

Discussion: The Resurgent

Mark Hensch / The Hill:

Rand Paul: GOP is turning into 'the old white man's party' — Sen. Rand Paul (Ky.) says the GOP is at risk of turning into “the old white man's party.” — “I think it's important that the Republican Party not be seen as a party that's not welcoming and that [doesn't] want new people,” …

Discussion: Politico, The Week, ABC News, Washington Post, Yahoo Politics and The Bob and Chez Show

Dylan Byers / CNN:
Paul's plan: Ditch debate, get more media

Discussion: PoliticusUSA, Business Insider, AOL, RedState and Mediaite

Fox Business:
Fox Business Network GOP Debates

Discussion: Balloon Juice, The Last Refuge and fox13now.com

Primates 2016:

Statement from Primates 2016 — Today the Primates agreed how they would walk together in the grace and love of Christ. This agreement acknowledges the significant distance that remains but confirms their unanimous commitment to walk together. — The Primates regret that it appears …

Discussion: Episcopal News Service, Washington Post, Washington Blade, Human Rights Campaign, Religion News Service, NewBostonPost, NPR, New York Times, National Review, his vorpal sword and Vox Popoli

Ethan Chiel / Fusion:

A bunch of kids performed a Donald Trump theme song and, oh my god, just watch — On Wednesday night a group called the Freedom Kids performed for a Donald Trump rally in Pensacola, Florida. Here's a video of their performance, uploaded to YouTube by a FOX affiliate in Phoenix: — A sample lyric:

Discussion: Business Insider, Gothamist, VICE, Gizmodo, Common Dreams, Mashable, Mother Jones and NBC News

Paola Chavez / ABC News:
The New Donald Trump Anthem You Have to Hear

Discussion: 6abc.com, Yahoo Politics and Mediaite

Philip Bump / Washington Post:

Hillary Clinton's national lead is slipping faster in 2016 than it did in 2008 — In 2008, Hillary Clinton saddled up for the Kentucky Derby on a thoroughbred that was a sure thing. Her campaign was the finest colt in Kentucky, at odds that barely made it worth betting on her.

Discussion: The Hill, The Daily Caller, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, RedState, Allen B. West, National Review, Washington Free Beacon, Hot Air and The Fiscal Times

Los Angeles Times:

Search is on for mysterious Powerball winner — Powerball players return to Chino Hills 7-Eleven, where one person purchased one of three winning Powerball tickets. — The search was on Thursday for the winner of the record Powerball jackpot, which was purchased in Chino Hills.

Discussion: Slantpoint, Daily Mail, KRON4.com, KRQE-TV and WBAY-TV

Washington Post:

6th Republican debate transcript, annotated: Who said what and what it meant — Seven candidates participated in Thursday's 2016 presidential debate in North Charleston, S.C.: Donald Trump, Ben Carson, Sen. Marco Rubio (Fla.), former Florida governor Jeb Bush, Sen. Ted Cruz (Tex.) …

Discussion: Informed Comment, Slantpoint, Mother Jones, The Week and Politico

Diane Cardwell / New York Times:

From Tesla, a New Car Smell That Vegans Can Get Behind — For the eco-conscious car buyer, Tesla's luxury electric vehicles, with their neck-snapping acceleration, are proof that performance doesn't have to be sacrificed at the altar of saving the environment. — But for some discerning consumers, there is a nagging problem.

Discussion: The Verge, Mashable, Business Insider and EcoWatch

Tierney Sneed / Talking Points Memo:

Did Neil Cavuto Just Blame Obama For The Bush Financial Crisis? — A question posed by Fox Business Networks Neil Cavuto at Thursday's main GOP debate had a curious way of glossing over the fact that the 2008 financial crisis came under President George W. Bush.

Discussion: Washington Post

Bethania Palma Markus / Raw Story:

Carly Fiorina just told a whopper about our support to the Middle East at the #GOPDebate — DON'T MISS STORIES. FOLLOW RAW STORY! — GOP presidential candidate Carly Fiorina has been challenged over the veracity of her claims since she entered the presidential race.

Discussion: alan.com