memeorandum: Right-to-Lifers Look for a New Hostage for Their Demands (Ed Kilgore/New York Magazine)

4:40 PM ET, September 29, 2017

Top Items:

Paul Krugman / New York Times:

Trump's Deadly Narcissism — According to a new Quinnipiac poll, a majority of Americans believe that Donald Trump is unfit to be president. That's pretty remarkable. But you have to wonder how much higher the number would be if people really knew what's going on.

Discussion: The Ringer - All, Raw Story, The Root and Politicus USA, more at Mediagazer »

Daniella Diaz / CNN:

San Juan mayor: ‘Dammit, this is not a good news story’ — STORY HIGHLIGHTS — Washington (CNN)San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz reacted with shock and anger to acting Homeland Security Secretary Elaine Duke on Friday, saying Puerto Rico's recovery is “not a good news story.”

Washington Post:

U.S. response in Puerto Rico pales next to actions after Haiti quake … After an earthquake shattered Haiti's capital on Jan. 12, 2010, the U.S. military mobilized as if it were going to war. — Before dawn the next morning, an Army unit was airborne, on its way to seize control of the main airport in Port-au-Prince.

Discussion: Shareblue, The Moderate Voice, The Root and Hullabaloo

Louis Nelson / Politico:

San Juan mayor hits back at Elaine Duke: ‘This is not a good news story. This is a people are dying story.’ — The mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico, lashed out at acting Secretary of Homeland Security Elaine Duke's comment that the Hurricane Maria relief efforts are a “good news story,” …

Discussion: Hullabaloo and Shakesville

Avery Anapol / The Hill:
General who handled Katrina response blasts Trump on Puerto Rico

Discussion: IJR, Raw Story, Common Dreams, AOL, The Daily Caller and Bloomberg

taxpolicycenter.org:

A Preliminary Analysis of the Unified Framework — ABSTRACT — The Tax Policy Center has produced preliminary estimates of the potential impact proposals included in the “Unified Framework for Fixing our Broken Tax Code.” We find they would reduce federal revenue by $2.4 trillion …

Discussion: The Atlantic, New York Times, Common Dreams and Business Insider

Carolyn Y. Johnson / Washington Post:

GOP tax plan would provide major gains for richest 1%, uneven benefits for the middle class, report says — The Republican tax plan would deliver a major benefit to the top 1 percent of Americans, according to a new analysis by a leading group of nonpartisan tax experts that challenges the White House's portrayal of its effects.

Discussion: The Week

New York Times:
Trump Could Save More Than $1 Billion Under His New Tax Plan

Discussion: The Week, Vox, Common Dreams, Daily Kos, Shakesville, DCReport.org, Patterico's Pontifications, Politifact.com Truth …, ThinkProgress, NewsBusters and Gothamist

Chris D'Angelo / HuffPost:
Millionaire Trump Adviser Says Americans Can ‘Buy A New Car’ With $1,000 Tax Cut

Discussion: Hullabaloo, ABC News, IJR and Washington Monthly

Dylan Matthews / Vox:
The numbers are in: Trump's tax plan is a bonanza for the rich, not the middle class

Discussion: Politico, Mother Jones, HuffPost, Wall Street Journal and Business Insider

Alexi McCammond / Axios:
Some manufacturers are already acting on Trump's tax plan

Discussion: Politico

Washington Post:

VA chief took in Wimbledon, river cruise on European work trip; wife's expenses covered — Nearly three days into a trip to Europe this past July, Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin had attended a Wimbledon championship tennis match, toured Westminster Abbey and taken a cruise on the Thames.

Discussion: Politico, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Politicus USA and Daily Kos

Brooke Singman / Fox News:

Melania Trump fires back at librarian who rejected gift of Dr. Seuss books as ‘racist’ — First lady Melania Trump fired back Friday at a Massachusetts elementary school librarian who rejected her donation of Dr. Seuss books, claiming their illustrations are examples of “racist propaganda.”

Rachel Chason / Washington Post:

‘Racist propaganda’: Librarian rejects Melania Trump's gift of Dr. Seuss books — One of Melania Trump's favorite books is Dr. Seuss's “Oh, the Places You'll Go!,” which she read with her son, Barron, “over and over” when he was younger. — The first lady, who is increasingly carving …

Discussion: Power Line, NBC4 Washington, Boston Globe, Axios, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, The Daily Caller, Patterico's Pontifications, The Guardian, CBS Philly, IJR, The Horn Book, SARAH PALIN and CBS News

Axios:

USAFA superintendent: “Grab your phones” — Lt. Gen. Jay Silveria, superintendent of the Air Force Academy, yesterday “stood all of his 4,000 cadets at attention ... [c]hins in and chests out ... to deliver a message on racial slurs found written on message boards at the academy's preparatory school …

Discussion: YouTube, Gazette and The Daily Caller

Katherine Schafer / United States Air Force Academy:

Superintendent addresses racial slurs at USAFA — U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. — The Air Force Academy superintendent addressed cadets, faculty, staff and cadet candidates today in the wake of racial slurs found Monday written on the dormitory message boards of five African American cadets at the Academy's Preparatory School.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, The Hill, RedState, Daily Wire, TheBlaze, ThinkProgress, NBC News, Axios, Mashable, Mediaite and Air Force Times

Matthew Chapman / Shareblue:
“You should be outraged.” Lt. Gen. response to racism at Air Force Academy shames Trump

Discussion: Mother Jones, Washington Post, Business Insider and Shakesville

ddhq.io:

Alabama Senate Special Election Poll — Immediately after the runoff Tuesday, we commissioned Opinion Savvy to conduct a poll of the upcoming special U.S. Senate general election in Alabama. Opinion Savvy contacted 590 voters through landline and mobile devices on September 27th and 28th.

Discussion: TheBlaze and Politicus USA

CNN:

CNN poll: Americans split on anthem protests — STORY HIGHLIGHTS — Washington (CNN)Americans are sharply divided over whether NFL players taking a knee during the National Anthem are doing the right thing to express their views, but a majority agree that President Donald Trump …

Discussion: FOX2now.com

Gabriel Debenedetti / Politico:

Bernie backers give Dem incumbents a pass in 2018 — Democrats have long been terrified that the Sanders-Clinton slugfest of 2016 would set off a prolonged civil war in the party, forcing incumbents to fight off primary challengers from the left in Senate and gubernatorial races. — It hasn't happened.

Discussion: Washington Post and No More Mister Nice Blog

Nate Cohn / New York Times: Why Retirements May Hold the Key in Whether Republicans Can Keep the House

The Cook Political Report:
Why Virginia's Delegate Races Could Be the Most Telling 2017 Elections

Discussion: Washington Post and New York Magazine

Ed Kilgore / New York Magazine:

Right-to-Lifers Look for a New Hostage for Their Demands — Republicans frustrated by their Senate conference's serial failure to repeal and replace Obamacare are beginning to back away from threats to extend the battle right on into the autumn. Lindsey Graham and Ron Johnson …

Jessie Hellmann / The Hill:
Anti-abortion groups fuming over GOP failure to defund Planned Parenthood

Discussion: Washington Monthly

Niv Elis / The Hill:
Senate unveils 2018 budget resolution

Discussion: TheStreet and IJR

Michelle Broder Van Dyke / BuzzFeed:

People Are Sharing This Fake Photo Of NFL Players Burning The American Flag — Conservative social media accounts are sharing a photoshopped image that makes it look like an NFL player is burning the US flag while his teammates cheer him on. — The fake picture is being used …

Discussion: Little Green Footballs, Daily Kos and The Root

Julia Manchester / The Hill:

Rubio: US should kick out Cuban diplomats — (R-Fla.) on Friday called for Cuban diplomats in the U.S. to be expelled after the Trump administration ordered over half of its diplomatic staff to leave Havana in the wake of mysterious health attacks. — “In light of these harmful attacks …

Discussion: RedState, miamiherald, Gizmodo and Washington Free Beacon

Associated Press:
US slashes Cuba embassy staff, warns Americans not to visit

Discussion: Politico, US Department of State, New York Times, The Week, Joe.My.God. and Engage Cuba

Willa Frej / HuffPost:

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke Stuck Taxpayers For $12,000 Charter Flight — Commercial travel didn't fit his schedule, a spokeswoman said. — Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke and several staffers chartered an oil company plane for a flight from Las Vegas to Zinke's home state of Montana in June …

Discussion: Washington Post, CNN, ThinkProgress, Mediaite, Talking Points Memo and The Daily Caller

Washington Post:
Zinke took $12,000 charter flight home in oil executive's plane, documents show

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, ThinkProgress, Shareblue, E&E News, Center for Western Priorities, The Daily Caller, IJR and Politico

Allan Smith / Business Insider:

In private dinner, George W. Bush criticizes Trump's decision to add North Korea to travel ban — In a private dinner Thursday night, the former President George W. Bush was critical of President Donald Trump's decision to place added travel restrictions on North Korea as part …

Discussion: Axios, Raw Story and AOL

Jessica Schneider / CNN:

DOJ demands Facebook information from ‘anti-administration activists’ — Washington (CNN)Trump administration lawyers are demanding the private account information of potentially thousands of Facebook users in three separate search warrants served on the social media giant, according to court documents obtained by CNN.

Discussion: AOL, Gizmodo, SFist, Splinter, PerezHilton, Shakesville, BuzzFeed, IJR, Engadget and Joe.My.God., more at Mediagazer »

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:

The Berniecrats Have an Obama Problem — The ideological vanguard of the Bernie Sanders movement emerged from the 2016 election overflowing with dialectical certainty. Hillary Clinton's narrow win in the primary was the last gasp of a dying neoliberal order, the overthrow of which is now preordained.

Jason Schwartz / Politico:

Hannity beats Maddow in first week of 9 p.m. showdown — In the first week of the head-to-head battle between Sean Hannity and Rachel Maddow, the conservative heavyweight drew significantly higher ratings than his liberal counterpart. — Fox News moved Hannity's show from 10 p.m. to 9 p.m …

Discussion: Joe.My.God.

Jennifer E. Duffy / The Cook Political Report:

Arizona Senate: Sinema's Candidacy Puts Race in Toss Up — Republican U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake is getting challenged from both the right and the left in his bid for a second term. The first hurdle will be a competitive primary. If he clears that obstacle, he will likely face a competitive challenge …

Discussion: Arizona Republic and Political Wire