memeorandum: Religious liberty order disappoints some conservatives (Jonathan Easley/The Hill)

12:00 PM ET, May 7, 2017

Top Items:

Michelle Cottle / The Atlantic:

There's something about Mitch. Maybe it's the protruberant, pink-rimmed eyes. Or the phlegmatic drawl. Or the vaguely dyspeptic demeanor. Hard to say, really. But something about the Senate majority leader manages not to drive certain people wild. — Or, to be more precise …

Ross Douthat / New York Times:

House Republicans Go Off the Cliff — OVER the last seven years, the Republican Party has engaged in increasingly elaborate political suicide attempts. The G.O.P. has nominated cranks and erstwhile witches and Todd Akin in winnable Senate races. It has engaged in Somme-esque trench warfare within …

Peter Suderman / New York Times:

The House Health Care Disaster Is Really About Taxes — I have been a critic of Obamacare since it became law, but the Republican alternative is worse in nearly every way. — The American Health Care Act, which was narrowly passed in the House last week, would worsen Obamacare's problems rather than fix them.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, ABC News, Washington Monthly, No More Mister Nice Blog, CNN and Washington Post

Sarah D / Los Angeles Times: California politics updates: Every single House Republican from California voted for Obamacare repeal

Marc K. Siegel / New York Times:
What the Republican Health Plan Gets Right

Discussion: Unfogged

Only A Game:

A Day (And A Cheeseburger) With President Trump — Three years ago, golf writer James Dodson was invited to play golf with Donald Trump. Rain cut short the outing, but Dodson came away with stories ... and a cheeseburger.

Christopher Dickey / The Daily Beast:

Did Macron Outsmart Campaign Hackers? … PARIS—It was the dog that didn't bark in the night, and its bite may be less impressive still. As a tale of hacking and political subversion unfolded in France on Friday and Saturday, it looked like a re-run of the American experience.

Discussion: Sputnik International, Balloon Juice, Joe.My.God., The Intercept, ThinkProgress and Althouse, more at Techmeme »

Alissa J. Rubin / New York Times: France Chooses a Leader, and Takes a Step Into the Unknown

Rebecca Savransky / The Hill:

Ryan on Republicans not reading the bill: ‘Bogus attack’ from the left … (R-Wis.) on Sunday dismissed “bogus” criticism that Republicans in the House rushed their healthcare bill to a vote before some of its members read the bill. — “I think this is kind of a bogus attack from the left …

Discussion: Politico, Talking Points Memo and Joe.My.God.

Morgan Winsor / ABC News:
House Republicans face voters in home districts angry over health care bill

Discussion: Politico and Axios

Guy Benson / Townhall.com:
Fact Check: It's a Lie That the GOP Healthcare Bill Abandons People With Pre-Existing Conditions

Discussion: John Hawkins' Right Wing News and RedState

Michelle Ye Hee Lee / Washington Post:
Despite critics' claims, the GOP health bill doesn't classify rape or sexual assault as a preexisting condition

Discussion: IJR, BizPac Review, twitchy.com, Common Dreams, skippy the bush kangaroo and BuzzFeed

Michael Goodwin / New York Post:

Hillary's election loss excuse means one thing — she's running in 2020 — MORE FROM: … Even in politics, the rich get richer. Take President Trump. — Fresh off a big victory with the House passage of an ObamaCare repeal, Trump is also getting lucky again in his enemies.

Discussion: New York Times, BizPac Review and Sputnik International

Matthew Wright / Daily Mail:

Real Time host Bill Maher is accused of crossing the line with tasteless incest joke about Ivanka Trump — The political satirist made the joke on his HBO program Real Time while talking with New York magazine reporter Gabriel Sherman on Friday night — Political satirist Bill Maher …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit

Tom Boggioni / Raw Story:

‘This is not the story we want’: Reporters chased out of meeting with Kushner family pitching Chinese investors — DON'T MISS STORIES. FOLLOW RAW STORY! — Reporters attempting to cover a pitch to wealthy Chinese investors at a seminar on visas from members of Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner's family …

Discussion: Washington Post, Washington Monthly, Business Insider, Common Dreams, RedState, ThinkProgress, Axios and Joe.My.God.

CNNMoney:
Kushner family in Beijing: ‘Invest $500,000 and immigrate’ to US

Discussion: New York Times and The Guardian

Jonathan Easley / The Hill:

Religious liberty order disappoints some conservatives — Some conservatives are frustrated by President Trump's new religious liberty order, saying it's dramatically scaled back from what they were expecting and doesn't enact the protections he promised during the campaign.

Discussion: RedState

Richard Fausset / New York Times:

Tempers Flare Over Removal of Confederate Statues in New Orleans — NEW ORLEANS — For Malcolm Suber, the Confederate monuments that dot this Deep South city stand for white supremacy, pure and simple. Instead of just taking them down, Mr. Suber, an African-American activist and organizer …

NBC News:

Full Price Interview: HHS Secretary Defends New Health Care Bill — May 5, 2017 Frank: Stupid to Think Legislation is Perfect on First Try — May 5, 2017 Initial GOP Holdout Explains Support for Healthcare Bill — May 5, 2017 Van Hollen: Healthcare Bill Puts House in Play in '18

Discussion: Politico and Business Insider

Ai Weiwei / New York Times:

How Censorship Works — BEIJING — In the space of a month in 2014, at separate art exhibitions in Beijing and Shanghai that included my work, my name was blotted out — in one case by government officials and by exhibitors themselves in the other case. Some people might take such treatment in stride, as nothing to get huffy about.

Discussion: Althouse