memeorandum: Taddeo wins as Democrats pick up Florida Senate seat (David Smiley/miamiherald)

10:40 AM ET, September 27, 2017

Top Items:

Mike Allen / Axios:

Trump, at war with everyone, mocks McCain, McConnell — In private, President Trump has taken to physically mocking M&M: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (slumped shoulders; lethargic body language) and Sen. John McCain (imitating the thumbs-down of his historic health-care vote).

Discussion: FIREHOUSE Strategies, Political Wire, Business Insider, IJR, The Week, Joe.My.God., Mediaite, Raw Story, Washington Post and AOL

Robert Costa / Washington Post:

After Alabama, GOP anti-establishment wing declares all-out war in 2018 — Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore spoke Sunday at a campaign rally in Fairhope, Ala. (Scott Olson/Getty Images) — The stunning defeat of President Trump's chosen Senate candidate in Alabama on Tuesday amounted …

Discussion: Politico, ABC News, New York Magazine, No More Mister Nice Blog, Althouse, Axios and Mickey Kaus

Jonathan Bernstein / Bloomberg:

How Roy Moore's Win Roils Republicans — Jonathan Bernstein's morning links. — There are three big reasons why Roy Moore's defeat of President Donald Trump-endorsed Senator Luther Strange in the Alabama Republican primary on Tuesday matters. — RIP, Trump's Magic: Sure …

Discussion: LegBranch.com

Mike Allen / Axios:

Mitch McConnell's epic losing streak — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, once viewed as the wiliest politician in Washington, is on an epic losing streak: — His candidate, incumbent Sen. Luther Strange, got crushed by 10 points in last night's Republican primary in Alabama.

Discussion: Washington Post, New York Times, rubber hose, ThinkProgress, The Last Tradition, Shareblue and Outside the Beltway

New York Times:

Roy Moore Wins Senate G.O.P. Runoff in Alabama — MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Roy S. Moore, a firebrand former chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, overcame efforts by top Republicans to rescue his rival, Senator Luther Strange, defeating him on Tuesday in a special primary runoff, according to The Associated Press.

Discussion: Washington Post, Outside the Beltway, Common Dreams, IJR, The Last Tradition, Political Wire and Vox

Russell Goldman / New York Times:

Trump Deletes Tweets Supporting Luther Strange — After enthusiastically endorsing an Alabama senator's campaign for re-election, President Trump distanced himself on Tuesday night from the candidate's loss in the most Trumpian way possible: He deleted his supportive tweets.

Discussion: Gizmodo, Political Wire, Talking Points Memo, The Daily Signal, The Daily Caller, Washington Free Beacon, Mediaite and BuzzFeed

Jordan Gehrke:
Alabama Senate Memo: Return of the Civil War and the Fall of Mitch McConnell

Discussion: BuzzFeed and The Federalist

Josh Dawsey / Politico:
Regrets? In Alabama Senate race, Trump had a few

Discussion: The Atlantic, CNN, ABC News, Axios, Scared Monkeys, Washington Post, Business Insider, Raw Story, Shareblue, Power Line, Joe.My.God., The Hill, Political Wire, The Daily Caller and National Review

Josh Dawsey / Politico:
Mitch McConnell's dreadful day

Discussion: Washington Post

Jacqueline Thomsen / The Hill:
Trump deletes tweets backing Strange after primary loss

Discussion: RedState, CNN, Washington Post, Rewire, IJR, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Mediaite, Mashable, Engadget, Washington Free Beacon, The Week, The Daily Caller and Joe.My.God.

New York Times:
Alabama Election Results: Roy Moore Advances in Race for U.S. Senate Seat

Discussion: USA Today, Weekly Standard, Above the Law, Splinter, Real Clear Politics, New York Magazine, Daily Kos, The Atlantic and Joe.My.God.

Harry Enten / FiveThirtyEight:
The Republican Establishment And The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Discussion: Washington Post, New York Times, The Daily Beast, The Federalist and Balloon Juice

Alex Isenstadt / Politico:
Moore's win spells trouble for GOP establishment in 2018

Discussion: Splinter and Washington Post

Madison Park / CNN:
Trump's recent tweets supporting Luther Strange deleted

Discussion: Washington Post, Mother Jones, Breitbart, Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, IJR, CNBC, WIAT-TV, Fox News Insider, Washington Times, ABC News and NBC News

Paul Kane / Washington Post:
Tuesday started as a bad day for Mitch McConnell. It only got worse.

Discussion: Politico and TheBlaze

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
With lack of wins, GOP faces '18 primary woes

Discussion: Politico and Axios

McClatchy Washington Bureau: Democrats suddenly wonder: Can they compete in Alabama?

Timothy Gardner / Reuters:

U.S. denies request for Puerto Rico shipping waiver — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Trump administration on Tuesday denied a request to waive shipping restrictions to help get fuel and supplies to storm-ravaged Puerto Rico, saying it would do nothing to address the island's main impediment to shipping, damaged ports.

Discussion: Axios, The Hill, New York Times, Washington Post, mccain.senate.gov, DCReport.org, Honolulu Civil Beat and rubber hose

Dan Lamothe / Washington Post:
Clinton pressed Trump to deploy hospital ship Comfort to Puerto Rico. Now it's preparing to go.

Discussion: Shareblue, Mother Jones, IJR, ABC News, Vox, Grist, Jezebel, TalkLeft, The Daily Caller, The Atlantic, twitchy.com, CNN and Washington Free Beacon

Wall Street Journal:
Second-Class Puerto Rico

Discussion: Cafe Hayek

Megan Cerullo / New York Daily News:
Pitbull sends private plane to Puerto Rico to bring cancer patients to U.S. for chemo

Discussion: The Root and KFOR-TV

New York Times:
‘This Is Like in War’: A Scramble to Care for Puerto Rico's Sick and Injured

Discussion: Daily Kos and The Week

David Smiley / miamiherald:

Taddeo wins as Democrats pick up Florida Senate seat — Florida's Democratic Party picked up a crucial seat in the Florida Senate Tuesday in a special election triggered months ago by a Miami Republican's alcohol-fueled tirade at a bar near the state Capitol.

NBC News:
Millennial Poll: Democrats Can't Take Their Vote for Granted

Discussion: IJR and NBC News

Alex Pareene / Splinter:
You Are Jonathan Chait's Enemy

Discussion: The Root and Talking Points Memo

John DiStaso / WMUR:
Upset: Democrat flips NH House seat in 2-1 GOP district

Discussion: Shareblue

Wall Street Journal:

DirecTV Allows Some NFL Refunds After Anthem Controversy — Satellite broadcaster will let at least some customers get refunds for its Sunday Ticket package of NFL games if they cite players' national anthem protests. — DirecTV is letting at least some customers cancel subscriptions …

Chris Kahn / Reuters:
A majority of adults disagree with Trump on firing athletes who kneel during anthem: Reuters/Ipsos poll

Discussion: The Daily Caller

Clarice Silber / Associated Press:

Famous fake news writer found dead outside Phoenix — https://apnews.com/dc0728173537459b9a1e 38009dd5c4b5 — Link copied! — PHOENIX (AP) — A leading purveyor of fake news in the 2016 presidential election has died outside Phoenix at the age of 38. — Maricopa County Sheriff's …

Discussion: Politico, Gizmodo, The Week and Joe.My.God., more at Mediagazer »

Rebecca Savransky / The Hill:
Fake news writer in 2016 presidential election found dead

Discussion: RedState

Los Angeles Times:

Scuffles break out during far-right march in Berkeley; at least 3 arrested — Police deal with protesters Tuesday in Berkeley. (Benjamin Oreskes / Los Angeles Times) — Far-right activist Joey Gibson, who planned and canceled a much-hyped rally at San Francisco's Crissy Field …

Discussion: The Daily Caller and Daily Wire

Edmund DeMarche / Fox News:
Fight in ‘empathy tent’ at UC Berkeley leads to 4 arrests

Discussion: MichelleMalkin.com

CNN:

CNN poll: Most want major changes to the tax system — STORY HIGHLIGHTS — Washington (CNN)As Congress turns its attention away from health care and back toward tax reform and other issues, a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS finds most in favor of major changes to the nation's tax laws …

CNN:

Exclusive: IRS shares information with special counsel in Russia probe — Washington (CNN)The IRS is now sharing information with special counsel Robert Mueller about key Trump campaign officials, after the two entities clashed this summer over both the scope of the investigation …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Daily Beast, The Hill, Raw Story, RedState, Mediaite, Washington Free Beacon, Business Insider and Axios

Michael S. Schmidt / New York Times:

Head of Drug Enforcement Administration to Leave, Alluding to Dismay Over Trump — WASHINGTON — The acting head of the Drug Enforcement Administration will resign at the end of the week, according to law enforcement officials, who said he had become convinced that President Trump had little respect for the law.

Discussion: Politico, The Root, Washington Post, New York Magazine, NBC News, CNBC, The Week, Mediaite, Mother Jones, Politicus USA and Washington Free Beacon

Rachana Pradhan / Politico:

Price's private-jet travels included visits with colleagues, lunch with son — Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price took a government-funded private jet in August to get to St. Simons Island, an exclusive Georgia resort where he and his wife own land, a day and a half before he addressed …

Discussion: Weekly Standard, New York Magazine, The Week, baker, Raw Story, Axios, Talking Points Memo and Political Wire

Garett Sloane / Ad Age:

140 Characters, the Defining Quirk of Twitter, Becomes a Relic of the Past — Twitter's 140-character limit died today after a long battle with Facebook. It is survived by brands, publishers and personalities, who will miss its insistence on wit and getting to the point.

Discussion: Scripting News and Joe.My.God., more at Techmeme »

Twitter:
Giving you more characters to express yourself

Gabriel Sherman / Vanity Fair:

Rolling Stone 's Sales Pitch to Investors: Go Monthly, Slash Editorial Budget, Pivot to Video — Jann Wenner and his millennial son capitulate to magazine reality. — Last week, Rolling Stone founder Jann Wenner put his iconic magazine on the market, a decision that represents …

more at Mediagazer »

Sarah K. Burris / Raw Story:

Fire chief who called Mike Tomlin a ‘n**ger’ resigns — and blames the media for making him look racist — Washington County fire chief Paul Smith has resigned in wake of his use of a racial slur to refer to Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin. — “The media dragged my fire company …

Discussion: The Root, FOX6Now.com, CBS Denver, Hullabaloo, Deadspin and CBS Pittsburgh

Politico:

Trump's most (and least) popular cabinet members — NEW POLITICO/MORNING CONSULT POLL — MOST POPULAR CABINET MEMBERS: Defense Secretary James Mattis topped the list of Trump's most popular advisers with a 40%favorable rating (+20% net favorable), according to a new POLITICO/Morning Consult poll.

Discussion: Axios