memeorandum: The Republicans' Desperate Obsession With Nancy Pelosi (Jeet Heer/New Republic)

2:45 PM ET, April 23, 2018

Top Items:

Connor Sheets / al.com:

Outrage growing over black woman's arrest in Alabama Waffle House by white police officers — Censored: Saraland Police arrest woman at Waffle House, exposing her breasts — The treatment of a 25-year-old black Mobile woman who was arrested early Sunday morning inside a Waffle House …

Discussion: The Root, The Daily Beast, ThinkProgress, YouTube, WKRG-TV and Jezebel

Kristine Phillips / Washington Post:

‘No credible sightings’ of Waffle House shooting suspect as manhunt continues, police say … Police continued their intensive search Monday for the 29-year-old suspected of opening fire at a Tennessee Waffle House and killing four people one day earlier. — The Metro Nashville Police Department …

Discussion: New York Times, CNN, CBS Miami, Tennessean.com, VICE News, Daily Kos and National Review

Christal Hayes / USA Today:
Waffle House suspect Travis Reinking deemed himself a ‘sovereign citizen,’ part of anti-government group

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, Tennessean.com, CNN and Washington Post

Anita Wadhwani / Tennessean.com:
Woman gives birth in car outside scene of Waffle House tragedy, with employee assist

Discussion: Bearing Arms

Allison Klein / Washington Post:
Waffle House hero wrestled gun from shooter. The next day, he raised more than $24,000 for the victims' families.

Discussion: Hot Air, theGrio and Tennessean.com

Heidi Przybyla / NBC News:

John Bolton chaired anti-Muslim think tank — WASHINGTON — John Bolton, President Donald Trump's new national security adviser, chaired a nonprofit that has promoted misleading and false anti-Muslim news, some of which was amplified by a Russian troll factory, an NBC News review found.

Discussion: IJR, Front Page Magazine, Splinter, Media Matters for America, Talking Points Memo and Daily Kos

USA Today:

Love him or hate him, Jeff Sessions is why Mueller's Russia probe is still on track — Thank Jeff Sessions, Rod Rosenstein and Robert Mueller for running Justice and the Russia probe by the book despite extreme pressure from Donald Trump. — CONNECT — One of us is a supporter …

Discussion: Above the Law and New York Post

Victor Davis Hanson / American Greatness:

Respect Unearned — Washington's self-righteous establishmentarians talk of professionalism when they act unprofessionally. They refer at length to their intellectual and professional pedigrees when they prove incompetent. And they cite their morality and ethics when they possess neither.

Jess Bravin / Wall Street Journal:
Rosenstein Takes a Pause—to Argue a Case Before the Supreme Court

Discussion: ABC News and CNN

Jon Swaine / The Guardian:

Michael Cohen case shines light on Sean Hannity's property empire — Fox News host who said Trump's fixer ‘knows real estate’ has a portfolio that includes support from Department of Housing and Urban Development, a fact he did not mention when interviewing secretary Ben Carson last year

Discussion: Politico, The Hill, Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, CNNMoney, Daily Kos, Pajiba, New York Magazine, Splinter, Mediaite, Lawyers, Guns & Money, RedState, Axios and Political Wire, more at Mediagazer »

Sean Hannity:

Sean Hannity Responds to Latest Fake News Attack — It is ironic that I am being attacked for investing my personal money in communities that badly need such investment and in which, I am sure, those attacking me have not invested their money. The fact is, these are investments …

Discussion: Splinter and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »

Patrick Radden Keefe / New Yorker:

McMaster and Commander — Can a national-security adviser retain his integrity if the President has none? — When Donald Trump had a phone conversation with Vladimir Putin on the morning of March 20th, the two were at an excruciatingly delicate juncture.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Booman Tribune, Raw Story, Politico and Axios

Caleb Ecarma / Mediaite:

EXCLUSIVE: Joy Reid Claims Newly Discovered Homophobic Posts From Her Blog Were ‘Fabricated’ — Mediaite has obtained a series of homophobic posts from Joy Ann Reid's old blog that she denies were actually written by her. — In an exclusive statement to Mediaite, the MSNBC host claims …

Discussion: National Review, Breitbart, Sean Hannity and twitchy.com

Hank Berrien / Daily Wire: MSNBC's Joy Reid: Homophobic Posts On My Blog Were Made By ‘An Unknown, External Party’

Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:

Trump's Re-Elect Figures Similar to Those of Obama, Clinton — WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. registered voters solidly believe that President Donald Trump does not deserve to be re-elected, by 59% to 37%. The percentage of voters who say Trump deserves re-election is essentially identical …

Jeet Heer / New Republic:
The Republicans' Desperate Obsession With Nancy Pelosi

Discussion: The Atlantic

Frank Miles / Fox News:
Hillary Clinton, not on ballot, is star of GOP midterm plan

Discussion: CNN, RedState, New York Times, Sean Hannity, Outside the Beltway, The Daily Caller and Splinter

Lisa Mascaro / Associated Press:

Pompeo facing rare opposition from Senate panel — WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's nominee for secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, is facing serious opposition before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which may not have enough votes to recommend him for confirmation because all Democrats …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, CNN, MSNBC, Washington Times and Bloomberg

Daniella Diaz / CNN:
2 more Democratic senators say they'll vote for Pompeo

Discussion: Washington Post, RedState and Townhall

Shuaib Almosawa / New York Times:

Wedding Is Hit by Airstrike in Yemen, Killing More Than 20 — SANA, Yemen — An airstrike on a wedding party, carried out by the Saudi-led coalition waging war in Yemen, killed more than 20 people and wounded dozens of others, including the groom, Yemeni officials said Monday.

Jon Sharman / The Independent:
Yemen: ‘At least 20 killed including bride’ after airstrike by Saudi-led coalition hits wedding party

Discussion: CNN, The American Conservative and Common Dreams

TIME:

Neo-Nazis Burned a Swastika After Their Rally in Georgia — Members of the National Socialist Movement, one of the largest neo-Nazi groups in the US, hold a swastika burning after a rally on April 21, 2018 in Draketown, Georgia. Community members had opposed the rally in Newnan and came …

Discussion: The Daily Caller, twitchy.com, The Root and HuffPost

Greg Bluestein / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Police use anti-KKK law to arrest people protesting neo-Nazis

Discussion: theGrio, Slate, Splinter and ThinkProgress

Daniel Strauss / Politico:

'She's a lucky duck': GOP implodes again for McCaskill — Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill is up for reelection. And like clockwork, the Republican Party of Missouri is in complete turmoil again. — McCaskill won a second term term in 2012 when GOP Rep. Todd Akin's campaign imploded …

Discussion: Shareblue Media

Patrick Svitek / The Texas Tribune:

Texas AG Paxton gives Abbott green light on sped-up special election for Farenthold seat — It's unclear when Gov. Greg Abbott hopes to call the election to represent a district ravaged by Hurricane Harvey. — Gov. Greg Abbott got the go-ahead Monday from Attorney General Ken Paxton …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Roll Call and Political Wire

Philip Klein / Washington Examiner:

Mitt Romney, in his fifth campaign since 1994, says 'I'm not in this race because I have some political career I'm trying to foster' — Five-time political candidate Mitt Romney wanted delegates to this past weekend's Utah Republican convention to know one thing: He isn't running for the Senate …

Discussion: Weekly Standard

New York Times:

Mueller Guides Us Through the Swamp — The editorial board represents the opinions of the board, its editor and the publisher. It is separate from the newsroom and the Op-Ed section. — The special counsel, Robert Mueller, has not yet presented evidence that the Trump campaign conspired …

Karma Allen / Yahoo:

Starbucks' ‘unconscious bias training’ isn't enough, protesters say — Members of the Omega Psi Phi fraternity rallied at a Starbucks in Philadelphia on Sunday after their fraternity brother, Rashon Nelson, was arrested there earlier this month in an incident the city's mayor called an example of racial profiling.

Discussion: IJR, Daily Wire and twitchy.com

Anna M. Tinsley / Fort Worth Star-Telegram:

Tarrant County judge pleads guilty, resigns after using fake signatures to get on ballot — Justice of the Peace Russ Casey pleaded guilty Monday to tampering with a government record and resigned after an investigation showed he turned in fake signatures to secure a place on the March 6 primary ballot.

Discussion: Raw Story

Debbie Nathan / The Intercept:

How the Border Patrol Faked Statistics Showing a 73 Percent Rise in Assaults Against Agents — Last November, reports that a pair of U.S. Border Patrol agents had been attacked with rocks at a desolate spot in West Texas made news around the country. The agents were found injured and unconscious …

Discussion: Splinter

Associated Press:

AP-NORC Poll: Amid strikes, Americans back teacher raises — WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans overwhelmingly believe teachers don't make enough money, and half say they'd support paying higher taxes to give educators a raise. — The findings of the new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Associated Press and Axios

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:

GOP candidates are now mimicking Trump's authoritarianism. That's ominous. … THE MORNING PLUM: — Around the country, Republicans embroiled in tough primaries are increasingly emulating President Trump — by echoing his xenophobia, his veiled racist appeals, his attacks on the news media …

Discussion: Salon, Hullabaloo, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Bloomberg and Talking Points Memo

Tom Llamas / ABC News:

Porn star says Stormy Daniels telling the truth about alleged Trump threat — Jessica Drake, an adult-film star who claims she refused a $10,000 offer to have sex with Donald Trump after meeting him at a Lake Tahoe golf event in 2006, says Stormy Daniels told her Daniels was threatened …

Discussion: Political Wire

Leada Gore / al.com:

Confederate Memorial Day in Alabama: What's open, what's closed for state holiday — If you were hoping to do business with the state of Alabama today, you're out of luck. — Monday, April 23 is Confederate Memorial Day in Alabama, meaning state offices are closed.

Sam Stein / The Daily Beast:

Republican National Committee Spent $225K at Trump's Mar-a-Lago Resort Just Last Month — The Republican National Committee spent more than $224,000 at President Donald Trump's private Mar-a-Lago club in March, according to newly filed FEC reports. The expenditures, which were for rental …

Matt Lewis / The Daily Beast:

The Myth of Trump's Unparalleled GOP Support … Among the chattering classes, conventional wisdom suggests that President Donald Trump's standing remains incredibly strong among Republicans. This notion is used to dismiss the possibility that someone (say, a newly disgruntled U.S. ambassador …

Discussion: Raw Story

Bloomberg:

U.S. Softens Stance on Rusal Sanctions; Aluminum Plunges — Mnuchin says U.S. is reviewing Rusal request to lift sanctions — U.S. statement adds pressure on Deripaska to give up control — The U.S. softened its position on sanctions against Russian metals giant United Co. Rusal, sparking a record plunge in aluminum prices.

John F. Harris / Politico:

'I Don't Like to Be Called a Nazi.' — James Bennet, the editor of the New York Times editorial page, lately has been waging his share of battles, which he no doubt would be enjoying more if he did not give a damn about rude things combatants say about him and his publication. — But he does give a damn.

Discussion: Splinter, more at Mediagazer »

Marlow Stern / The Daily Beast:

John Oliver Trolls Trump by Purchasing Pro-Iran Nuclear Deal Ads on Sean Hannity's Fox News Show … On Sunday night, after ridiculing the numerous staffing scandals in what he called the “Sharknado of administrations,” John Oliver's Last Week Tonight focused on the Iran nuclear deal.

Discussion: One America News Network and Conservative Review

Emma G. Fitzsimmons / New York Times:

M.T.A. Pins Its Hopes on Unproven Technology to Fix Subway — Of the many ways the New York City subway unravels on a near daily basis, it has one Achilles' heel that remains an impediment to any significant turnaround — the balky signals that control the trains.

Discussion: Curbed NY