memeorandum: Amid furor, Trump pushes pause on deciding Rosenstein's fate (Jonathan Lemire/Associated Press)

6:10 PM ET, September 23, 2018

Top Items:

Kavanaugh to Give Senate Calendars From 1982 to Back Up Denial — WASHINGTON — Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh has calendars from the summer of 1982 that he plans to hand over to the Senate Judiciary Committee that do not show a party consistent with the description of his accuser, Christine Blasey Ford …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Axios, The Gateway Pundit, Law & Crime, Associated Press and National Review

Dana Blanton / Fox News:

Fox News Poll: Record number of voters oppose Kavanaugh nomination — Voter support for Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation to the U.S. Supreme Court is down in the wake of Christine Ford's assault allegations, as more believe her than him. — Currently, 40 percent of voters would confirm Kavanaugh …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Guardian, Outside the Beltway, Conservative News Today, POLITICUSUSA, Shareblue Media, Vox, The Daily Caller, Political Wire, Weekly Standard, Instapundit and Splinter

Mark Murray / NBC News:

NBC News/WSJ poll: Democrats hold the advantage in November's elections — But the same poll shows that Republican enthusiasm about the upcoming election has increased, drawing nearly even with Democrats. — Poll: Democrats open largest margin-ever over GOP in Congressional preference

Discussion: TheBlaze and Political Wire

Sheryl Gay Stolberg / New York Times:

Christine Blasey Ford Reaches Deal to Testify at Kavanaugh Hearing — The woman who has accused Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her when they were teenagers has reached a final agreement with the Senate Judiciary Committee to testify on Thursday, her lawyers said on Sunday.

Discussion: ABC News, Shareblue Media, The Gateway Pundit and Refinery29

Eliot A. Cohen / The Atlantic:

The Crisis of the American Elites — Judith Butler and Ed Whelan have probably never met. And if they did, we may be quite certain that they would have very little use for one another. After all, what does the professor of comparative literature, author of (among other works) …

Philip Rucker / Washington Post:

The party of men: Kavanaugh fight risks worsening the Trump GOP's gender problem — The Republican Party's fight to save President Trump's embattled Supreme Court nominee amid allegations of sexual assault has surfaced deep anxieties over the hypermasculine mind-set that has come to define the GOP in the nation's roiling gender debate.

Discussion: Raw Story, Hullabaloo, Splinter and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Ian Kullgren / Politico:

Graham: Ford's testimony won't change my vote — Sen. Lindsey Graham said Sunday the testimony of Brett Kavanaugh's accuser won't change his mind, no matter what she says. — “You can't bring it in a criminal court, you would never sue civilly, you couldn't even get a warrant,” Graham said on “Fox News Sunday” with Chris Wallace.

Hayley Miller / HuffPost:

GOP Rep. Says Brett Kavanaugh Allegations Amount To ‘Character Assassination’ — “If that's the new standard, no man will ever qualify for the Supreme Court again,” Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) said of Christine Blasey Ford's sexual assault claims. — Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) …

Discussion: Des Moines Register, Talking Points Memo and McClatchy Washington Bureau

Jonathan Martin / New York Times:

Kavanaugh Was Supposed to Be a Midterm Boon for G.O.P. Not Anymore. — SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — No Republican Senate candidate has been as aggressive in using the Supreme Court nomination of Brett M. Kavanaugh as a political weapon as Josh Hawley, the Missouri attorney general who is in an intensely tight race …

Discussion: Politico, NY State of Politics, Mother Jones, Raw Story, TheBlaze, AOL, Outside the Beltway, POLITICUSUSA, Axios, Taylor Marsh, HuffPost and Breitbart

CNN:
Kavanaugh accuser will testify in open hearing on Thursday

Discussion: Washington Post, The Atlantic, Jezebel, The Root, HuffPost and Townhall

Naomi Lim / Washington Examiner:
Democrats poised to grill Brett Kavanaugh on drinking, partying in high school

Discussion: twitchy.com, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and Front Page Magazine

Julie Pace / Associated Press: Tenn. Democrat aims for Senate win by edging away from party

Associated Press:
Kavanaugh accuser commits to hearing

Discussion: Mother Jones and Breitbart

Emily Zanotti / Daily Wire:
WATCH: Sen. Mazie Hirono Says She Doubts Kavanaugh's Credibility Because He's A Conservative Judge

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Hot Air and IJR

CNN:
McConnell called Trump to say Kavanaugh tweets weren't helpful

Discussion: Townhall, Politico, France 24, Deadline, New York Times, Talking Points Memo and Political Wire

Quint Forgey / Politico:
Hirono: ‘I believe’ Kavanaugh accuser

Discussion: ABC News, Breitbart and Shareblue Media

John Hinderaker / Power Line:
NY Times Wants to Know About Your High School Sex Life

Discussion: Instapundit and Althouse

Maureen Dowd / New York Times:
Sick to Your Stomach? #MeToo

Discussion: Politico and Althouse

Dan Levin / New York Times: What Teenagers Think About the Allegations Against Brett Kavanaugh

Washington Post:
Kavanaugh accuser will testify Thursday in front of Senate Judiciary Committee

Discussion: Florida Politics, The Gateway Pundit, Political Wire, Associated Press, Washington Free Beacon, Mother Jones and POLITICUSUSA

Washington Post: Kavanaugh accuser will testify Thursday in front of Senate Judiciary Committee

Eppc / Ethics & Public Policy Center:

Statement from EPPC's Board of Directors — The board of the Ethics and Public Policy Center convened a special telephonic meeting on Friday, September 21, 2018. After the meeting, Edward Whelan, who has led EPPC with integrity and excellence for many years, offered his resignation in light …

Discussion: Washington Post, Mother Jones and Daily Kos

Dana Blanton / Fox News:

Fox News Poll: Health care boosts Democrats in upcoming midterm elections — There is a deluge of bad news for Republicans in the latest Fox News poll. — Most voters are unhappy with the direction the country is taking. Majorities disagree with President Trump on the border wall, and extra tax-cut cash is nowhere to be seen.

J. Patrick Coolican Star / Star Tribune: Tough news for GOP in Minnesota Poll

CBS News: House control edges toward Democrats - CBS News poll

Associated Press:

At UN, unrepentant Trump set to rattle foes, friends alike — President Donald Trump is poised to redouble his commitment to “America First” on the most global of stages this week. — In the sequel to his stormy U.N. debut, Trump will stress his dedication to the primacy of U.S. interests …

Discussion: Politico

Kris Schneider / ABC News:
'I've never heard' President Trump's Cabinet members discuss removing him from office: Nikki Haley

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA, One America News Network and Breitbart

Nahal Toosi / Politico:
Foreign policy bigwigs: Trump risking war with Iran

Discussion: The Guardian

Jonathan Lemire / Associated Press:

Amid furor, Trump pushes pause on deciding Rosenstein's fate — BRIDGEWATER, N.J. (AP) — As Air Force One streaked across the desert sky and Las Vegas faded in the distance, President Donald Trump began seeking opinions. — The TVs on the plane, tuned as always to Fox News …

Discussion: Political Wire and Mediaite

Michael Goodwin / New York Post:
The ‘deep state’ leaves Trump with no good options

Discussion: Politico

Shelby Steele / Wall Street Journal:

Why the Left Is Consumed With Hate — Lacking worthy menaces to fight, it is driven to find a replacement for racism. Failing this, what is left? — Even before President Trump's election, hatred had begun to emerge on the American left—counterintuitively, as an assertion of guilelessness and moral superiority.

Hollywood Reporter:

James Woods' Twitter Account Locked — The actor posted a tweet in July that included a meme from a hoax campaign that encouraged men not to vote in the midterm elections. — Actor James Woods has been locked out of his Twitter account over a tweet that was found to be in violation of its rules.

John Harwood / CNBC:

GOP heading for midterm wipeout as ‘blue wave’ scenario gives Democrats a 12-point generic ballot lead: NBC-WSJ poll — The new NBC News-Wall Street Journal survey, taken six weeks before Americans head to the polls, shows Democrats leading Republicans by 52 percent to 40 percent for control of Congress.

Discussion: The American Conservative

Janet Hook / Wall Street Journal: More Voters Want Democrats to Control Congress, New Poll Shows

Howie Carr / Boston Herald:

Joe Kennedy's tweet on sexual assault insensitivity is a bit much — Tweets about sexual assaults when politically convenient — Should any member of the Kennedy family be lecturing any other politician about insensitivity to the rape and abuse of females? — I'm talking to you, Rep. Joe Kennedy III — JoJoJo — my congressman.

Kate Gibson / CBS News:

Colin Kaepernick is Nike's $6 billion man — The heat Nike has taken over its controversial advertising campaign featuring former NFL start Colin Kaepernick seems to have had another effect: burnishing the iconic brand's appeal to investors. — Nike shares have surged 36 percent on the year …

Discussion: TheBlaze