memeorandum: Thank Heaven for . . . Alabama? (Frank Bruni/New York Times)

10:20 AM ET, December 13, 2017

Top Items:

Once a Long Shot, Democrat Doug Jones Wins Alabama Senate Race — BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Doug Jones, a Democratic former prosecutor who mounted a seemingly quixotic Senate campaign in the face of Republican dominance here, defeated his scandal-scarred opponent, Roy S. Moore …

Washington Post:

Preliminary exit poll results: How different groups voted in the U.S. senator election in Alabama — See how different groups voted in the U.S. senator election in Alabama between Roy Moore and Doug Jones

Discussion: Religion News Service, Splinter, AOL, theGrio, Roll Call, Mashable, The Week and Balloon Juice

Sabato's Crystal Ball:

Blue Stars Fell on Alabama — Jones win another confirmation of Democratic momentum, even taking Moore's horrible candidacy into account — Prior to the Alabama special Senate election on Tuesday night, there was an ongoing discussion in the media about whether the Republicans would lose either way in Alabama.

Discussion: Arkansas Blog, Arkansas Times

Matthew Yglesias / Vox:

It's not just scandal: Moore lost in Alabama because the GOP agenda is toxically unpopular — Republicans are now in trouble everywhere. — The easy thing for Republicans to tell themselves after the stinging loss of a Senate seat in Alabama is that they only went down to defeat …

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money

Albert R. Hunt / Bloomberg:

Republicans Now Have a Reason to Panic — Democrat Doug Jones won in deeply conservative Alabama. Was it Trump's fault? — Democrats won a special Senate election in deeply conservative Alabama, narrowing the Republicans' slim majority in the chamber, and likely generating political panic and infighting among scared Republicans.

Discussion: New York Times

Alice Stewart / CNN:

Steve Bannon's political science experiment blew up in Trump's face — Alice Stewart is a CNN political commentator and former communications director for Ted Cruz for President. The views expressed in this commentary are solely hers. — (CNN)Voters in The Cotton State listened …

Discussion: Washington Post and Political Wire

Mike DeBonis / Washington Post:

Doug Jones's victory scrambles the Republican congressional agenda — Doug Jones's odds-defying victory in Alabama — handing Democrats a vanishingly rare Senate win in the Deep South — scrambles President Trump's legislative agenda for the coming year, threatens to heighten Republican infighting …

Discussion: Politico, AOL and Balloon Juice

Maggie Haberman / New York Times:

Trump: ‘I Said Roy Moore Will Not Be Able to Win’ in Alabama — White House aides on Tuesday night were bracing for fallout, in person and on Twitter, from President Trump after the Republican candidate he vigorously backed over his aides' objections lost a Deep South Senate seat to a Democrat.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Washington Post, New Republic, Talking Points Memo, Axios, Politicus USA, The Right Scoop, Althouse, Raw Story and The Week

David Byler / Weekly Standard:

Alabama Slamma: Four Takeaways from Roy Moore's Devastating Loss to Doug Jones — That. Just. Happened. — Last night, a Democratic candidate won a Senate seat in deep red Alabama. — Let that sink in. — Alabama is one of the worst places in the country to be a statewide Democratic political candidate.

Discussion: Washington Post, Media Matters for America, ThinkProgress, FiveThirtyEight, AOL and Vox, more at Mediagazer »

Kyle Balluck / The Hill:

Trump: I said Roy Moore would not be able to win the general election — in an early morning tweet on Wednesday said he endorsed Sen. Luther Strange — (R-Ala.) in the Alabama Senate Republican primary because Roy Moore would not be able to win the general election.

Discussion: RedState, Roll Call, Real Clear Politics, Washington Free Beacon, Washington Times, Business Insider, Associated Press, CBS New York and WHNT-TV

Eliana Johnson / Politico:

Trump suffers ‘big black eye’ in Alabama — Doug Jones didn't just defeat Roy Moore in Alabama's Senate race on Tuesday night — he administered the most crushing and embarrassing political blow of President Donald Trump's young presidency. — Jones' win meant that Trump …

Discussion: ABC News and The Week

New York Times:
Key Takeaways From Doug Jones's Alabama Victory

Discussion: Politico and Washington Post

John Nichols / The Nation:
On a Wave of Votes From Selma, and the Civil-Rights Heartlands of Alabama, Doug Jones Sweeps to Victory

Discussion: Shareblue Media, Washington Post, The Daily Beast and CNN

New York Times:
Alabama Election Results: Doug Jones Defeats Roy Moore in U.S. Senate Race

Discussion: NBC News, IJR, Business Insider, Fox News, Althouse, The Daily Caller, Washington Free Beacon, The Daily Signal, Washington Monthly, AOL, Talking Points Memo, Weekly Standard, Daily Kos, TalkLeft, Fox News Insider and The Last Refuge

New York Times:
Roy Moore Loses, Sanity Reigns

Discussion: Fox News, Shakesville, Business Insider, New York Post, The Guardian, National Review, Informed Comment, New York Magazine, The Daily Beast, TheBlaze, Townhall.com, The Gateway Pundit and Washington Times

Frank Bruni / New York Times:
Thank Heaven for . . . Alabama?

Discussion: The Daily Beast, The Intercept, Hullabaloo, RedState, The Right Scoop, Politicus USA, Business Insider and TheBlaze

Marlow Stern / The Daily Beast:
Stephen Colbert Mocks Roy Moore Over Alabama Senate Loss: ‘Roy Moore Now Has to Eat His Horse’

Discussion: Politico, ABC News, CBS Los Angeles and Axios

Eric Bradner / CNN:
Alabama election: Doug Jones scores stunning win, but Moore won't concede

Discussion: Washington Post, IJR, RedState, New York Times, The Hill, KTLA, The Gateway Pundit, Hit & Run, CBS Baltimore, The Right Scoop and CBS News

Adam Kelsey / ABC News:
Doug Jones wins Alabama Senate race in seismic Democratic victory; defiant Roy Moore does not concede

Andrew Prokop / Vox:
Steve Bannon's Republican critics are gleefully dunking on him for Roy Moore's shocking loss

Discussion: Roll Call, The Daily Caller, The Guardian, VICE News, The Gateway Pundit, Washington Post and Media Matters for America

Lukas Mikelionis / Fox News: Bannon's ‘kingmaker’ status tarnished by Moore defeat

Robert Costa / Washington Post:
Democrats are jubilant — and newly confident about 2018 — as Alabama delivers win on Trump's turf

Discussion: The Atlantic, Splinter, Daily Kos, The Guardian and VICE News

Rosie Gray / The Atlantic: The Making of an Upset

Alex Isenstadt / Politico:
5 takeaways from Alabama's startling special election

Discussion: National Journal, Axios, Vox and The Week

Julie Pace / Associated Press:
Analysis: Trump bets on Moore and suffers stinging defeat

Discussion: Washington Post

ABC News:
Support from women hands Democrats victory in Alabama: Exit polls

Discussion: Washington Post, The Federalist, Opinion Today and Shareblue Media

Josh Gerstein / Politico:

In texts, FBI agents on Russia probe called Trump an ‘idiot’ — Two FBI agents assigned to the investigation into alleged collusion between President Donald Trump's campaign and Russia exchanged text messages referring to the future president as an “idiot,” according to copies of messages turned …

Discussion: ABC News, The Hill, NPR, Sputnik International, New York Times, RedState, Axios, Talking Points Memo, Washington Free Beacon, IJR and Althouse

New York Times:

In Texts, F.B.I. Officials in Russia Inquiry Said Clinton ‘Just Has to Win’ — WASHINGTON — Senior F.B.I. officials who helped investigate Donald J. Trump's presidential campaign last year told a colleague that Hillary Clinton “just has to win” and described a potential Trump victory as …

Discussion: New York Magazine, AOL and CNN

Nicholas Fandos / New York Times:
Text Messages in Hand, Republicans Plan to Accuse Justice Department of Bias

Discussion: The Week, The Gateway Pundit, Politico, Axios and TheBlaze

Samuel Chamberlain / Fox News:
‘F TRUMP’: Texts between ex-Mueller team members emerge, calling Trump ‘loathsome human,’ ‘an idiot’

Discussion: CNN, Mediaite, The Gateway Pundit and The Last Refuge

Devlin Barrett / Washington Post:
FBI texts reveal anti-Trump, pro-Clinton comments

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and The Root

Victor Davis Hanson / National Review: One Mueller-Investigation Coincidence Too Many

Kevin Johnson / USA Today:
Peter Strzok, FBI agent removed from Robert Mueller's Russia probe, called Trump an ‘idiot’

Discussion: The Daily Caller, The Week and Business Insider

CBS News:
FBI agent Peter Strzok's texts with Lisa Page disparage Trump throughout campaign

Discussion: NewsBusters, IJR and Mediaite

USA Today:

Will Trump's lows ever hit rock bottom? — Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand says President Donald Trump's latest tweet about her was a ‘sexist smear’ aimed at silencing her voice. The New York Democrat says she won't be silenced on the issue of sexual harassment. (Dec. 12) AP

Henry C. Jackson / Politico:
Trump After Dark: Empire Strikes Back edition

Discussion: The Week and Mother Jones

CNN:
Exclusive: Grassley urges Trump to reconsider controversial judicial picks

Discussion: Splinter, Shareblue Media, Townhall.com, Washington Blade, Washington Post, ThinkProgress, Business Insider and Axios

Annie Karni / Politico:
Trump's tweet creates a political opening for Gillibrand

Discussion: Washington Post and The Week

Mike Allen:

Schumer calls cops after forged sex scandal charge — Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said he was the victim of a fake news hit on Tuesday, and has turned over to Capitol Police a document that purports to detail lurid sexual harassment accusations by a former staffer.

Discussion: Fox News, Betsy's Page, Media Matters for America, Splinter, Business Insider, Raw Story, The Daily Caller, The Week, Mediaite and Politicus USA, more at Mediagazer »

Mark Galli / Christianity Today:

The Biggest Loser in the Alabama Election — No matter the outcome of today's special election in Alabama for a coveted US Senate seat, there is already one loser: Christian faith. When it comes to either matters of life and death or personal commitments of the human heart, no one will believe a word we say, perhaps for a generation.

Discussion: Vox and Raw Story