memeorandum: Study: 80% of Americans Believe Political Correctness Is a Problem (Robby Soave/Hit & Run)

1:15 PM ET, October 11, 2018

Top Items:

Crown prince sought to lure Khashoggi back to Saudi Arabia and detain him, U.S. intercepts show — The crown prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, ordered an operation to lure Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi back to Saudi Arabia from his home in Virginia and then detain him …

Josh Lederman / NBC News:

Screenshots show Khashoggi did not see text messages after entering Saudi consulate — Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi checked his phone before entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, but didn't see messages sent minutes later. — WASHINGTON — Missing Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi checked …

Discussion: Wall Street Journal and Just Security

Eli Lake / Bloomberg:

What Trump Can Do About Saudi Arabia — What happened to Jamal Khashoggi? The Saudis need to provide the U.S. with answers. — When it comes to Jamal Khashoggi, the Washington Post columnist who has been missing since entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul last week, we remain in the allegation-and-denial phase.

Discussion: RedState, New York Times, Mother Jones, The Atlantic and Reporters Without Borders, more at Mediagazer »

New York Times:

Khashoggi's Disappearance Puts Kushner's Bet on Saudi Crown Prince at Risk — WASHINGTON — For President Trump, who has made Saudi Arabia the fulcrum of his Middle East policy, the possible murder of a Saudi journalist in Turkey is a looming diplomatic crisis.

Discussion: The Week and The Atlantic

Politico:
POLITICO Playbook: Cancel your Christmas plans ...

Discussion: Associated Press, Common Dreams and Washington Post

Bruce Riedel / Lawfare:
After Khashoggi, U.S. Arms Sales to the Saudis Are Essential Leverage

Discussion: The Atlantic, The American Conservative and CNBC

Nahal Toosi / Politico:
‘Sweep it under the rug’: Fears grow Trump won't confront Saudis over journalist's disappearance

Discussion: National Review, Washington Post, US Department of State, Talking Points Memo, Middle East Eye, Defense One, One America News Network, emptywheel, The Week, The American Conservative and Hot Air

Elliott Abrams / Washington Post:
Why Jamal Khashoggi's disappearance will haunt the Saudi government

Discussion: BostonGlobe.com and Bloomberg

Lucien Bruggeman / ABC News:

Melania Trump says she is one of the most bullied people in the world; distrusts some in the West Wing — First lady Melania Trump told ABC News in an exclusive interview that she has told her husband there have been people in his administration she didn't trust who worked for him.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, New York Times, The Root, IJR, Washington Post, Refinery29, LifeZette, Fox News Insider, Mashable, POLITICUSUSA, Sputnik International, Joe.My.God., Raw Story, CNN, AOL, KTLA, The Week, The Daily Caller, Political Wire, Mediaite, Splinter and WGN-TV

Associated Press: Melania Trump says she might be ‘the most bullied person’

Matthew Choi / Politico:
Trump pledges to ‘weed out’ administration officials he does not trust

Discussion: Associated Press and ABC News

NBC News:

Trump accuses Hillary Clinton of colluding with Russia as crowd chants ‘lock her up’ — Trump's evidence-free allegation at a campaign rally in Erie, Pennsylvania, was an unusually direct claim against his 2016 rival. — ERIE, Pa. — President Donald Trump directly accused Hillary Clinton …

Discussion: Shakesville, Jezebel and Splinter

Salena Zito / Washington Examiner:

INTERVIEW. President Trump: Another Republican president would have taken ‘the easier path’ by dropping Kavanaugh — President Trump has said that while any other Republican president would have “abandoned” Brett Kavanaugh as a Supreme Court nominee, he was so incensed by treatment …

Discussion: ABC News, Political Wire, Hot Air, LifeNews.com and Washington Times

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Memo to the media: Stop spreading Trump's fake news

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA, more at Mediagazer »

Gabby Orr / Politico:

Trump, no longer ratings gold, loses his prime-time spot on Fox News — President Donald Trump loves to brag about ratings, but he's not getting them anymore. — As he's ramped up his rally schedule ahead of the midterms, viewership numbers for the raucous prime-time events have been roughly similar to …

Discussion: Shareblue Media, Vox, Washington Post, IJR, Splinter, Talking Points Memo, Joe.My.God., The Week, Mediaite and Political Wire

The Daily Beast:
White House Will ‘Look Into’ Fox News' Decision to Stop Broadcasting Trump Rallies

Discussion: Raw Story and Shareblue Media

Jacey Fortin / New York Times:

Matthew Shepard Will Be Interred at the Washington National Cathedral, 20 Years After His Death — For 20 years, the ashes of Matthew Shepard have not been laid to rest. — Mr. Shepard's killing in 1998, when he was a 21-year-old college student, led to national outrage and, almost overnight …

Discussion: Joe.My.God. and Human Rights Campaign

Michelle Boorstein / Washington Post:
Matthew Shepard, whose 1998 murder became a symbol for the gay rights movement, will be interred …

Discussion: Washingtonian

Washington Post:

Rosenstein-McCabe feud dates back to angry standoff in front of Mueller — Shortly after Robert S. Mueller III was appointed to investigate possible coordination between President Trump's campaign and the Kremlin, he was drawn into a tense standoff in which Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein …

Discussion: Power Line, New York Times, KTVQ-TV, HuffPost, Conservative News Today, The Last Refuge and Raw Story

Mike Levine / ABC News: Fired official Andrew McCabe accuses FBI of stalling his upcoming book

Washington Post:
Trump talked with Jeff Sessions's own chief of staff about replacing him as attorney general

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Observer, The Root, Washington Times, Daily Caller News Foundation, Talking Points Memo, Law & Crime, The Week, Political Wire and Mediaite

Alexander Burns / New York Times:

Republicans Abandon Vulnerable Lawmakers, Striving to Keep House — DALLAS — Vice President Mike Pence laid out a hopeful vision for the midterm elections this week as he campaigned for Representative Pete Sessions of Texas, telling Republican donors that candidates like Mr. Sessions …

John Wildermuth / San Francisco Chronicle:

Pelosi: Trump's tax returns are fair game if Democrats win House — Expect Democrats to immediately try to force President Trump to release his tax returns if they take back the House in November, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said Wednesday. — Demanding the president's tax returns …

Discussion: The New Civil Rights Movement, Daily Kos, Talking Points Memo, Washington Times and Political Wire

Politico:
Hoyer eyes majority leader post in next Congress

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

León Krauze / Slate:

The Democrats Have a Latino Problem — Hispanic voters were supposed to be the party's future. It's not working out that way. — If the Democratic Party is to regain control of Congress or win back the White House, it will need the support of women and minorities.

USA Today:

Real Democratic agenda: Lower health costs, less corruption, more jobs and fairness — If we win the House, we'll work to create jobs, reduce corruption, rein in prescription costs and protect health coverage for pre-existing conditions. — CONNECT — In less than four weeks …

Rowan Walrath / Mother Jones:
Embattled Republicans Are Defending Popular Obamacare Provisions They Tried to Kill

Discussion: NPR, Harley Rouda for Congress and Dallas Morning News

Robby Soave / Hit & Run:

Study: 80% of Americans Believe Political Correctness Is a Problem — Except among a tiny minority of far-left Americans, political correctness (P.C.) is deeply unpopular. Some 80 percent of people said they viewed P.C. excess as a problem. — That's according to a fascinating survey conducted …

Discussion: Chicago Boyz, The American Conservative, The Atlantic and Daily Caller News Foundation

Jonathan S. Tobin / National Review:

Doubling Down on Global-Warming Alarmism — The U.N.'s latest doomsaying comes off as hyperbole, not science. — Those working to raise awareness about climate change have a problem. While most Americans believe global warming is occurring and think human activities are causing it …

Discussion: Pacific Standard

The Hill:
GOP shrugs off dire study warning of global warming

Discussion: Little Green Footballs

Ken Klippenstein / TYT Network:

Cruz Aide Worked for Dictator Now on Trial for Crimes Against Humanity — Child soldiers. Torture. Rape. Mass executions. — These are some of the atrocities attributed to the regime of Laurent Gbagbo, former president of West Africa's Ivory Coast.

Laura Beckerman / CREW:

Trump Will Likely Benefit from a Massive New Loophole in the Tax Bill — Last year's tax reform legislation disproportionately benefits the wealthiest Americans, including President Trump. However, Trump's ongoing refusal to disclose his tax returns ensures that Americans cannot …

Peter Baker / New York Times:

Trump's Contradiction: Assailing ‘Left-Wing Mob’ as Crowd Chants ‘Lock Her Up’ — ERIE, Pa. — When President Trump mocked a Democratic senator at a midterm election rally the other night, the crowd responded with one of his supporters' favorite chants from his own campaign two years ago. “Lock her up!

Discussion: USA Today, Hit & Run, NPR and Daily Kos

Olivia Nuzzi / New York Magazine:

My Private Oval Office Press Conference With Donald Trump, Mike Pence, John Kelly, and Mike Pompeo — Around 12:20 p.m. on Tuesday, I was on my way out of the White House after a series of meetings in the West Wing. I was reporting on a question that has hung over this administration for months …

Discussion: Daily Kos, The Daily Caller, The Week, No More Mister Nice Blog, Bangor Daily News, Raw Story, Splinter, Mediaite, Political Wire, Talking Points Memo, Observer and Washington Post, more at Mediagazer »

Reid Wilson / The Hill:

Democrats aim for big gains in state legislatures — SUNFISH LAKE, Minn. — Bolstered by an unpopular Republican president and favorable winds in suburban districts, Democrats see a golden opportunity to win back hundreds of state legislative seats across the country, rebuilding a bench decimated …

Discussion: Daily Kos, POLITICUSUSA and Political Wire

Politico:

Judge questions ‘highly unusual’ Manafort plea deal with Mueller — The federal judge in Virginia who oversaw Paul Manafort's criminal trial this summer threw a new obstacle into the former Trump campaign chairman's plea deal Thursday by calling out as “highly unusual” a plan to seek …

Discussion: Law & Crime

Jim Tankersley / New York Times:

White Americans Gain the Most From Trump's Tax Cuts, Report Finds — The differing benefits by race reflect longstanding patterns of economic inequality and the structure of the law President Trump signed last year. — The tax cuts that President Trump signed into law last year …

Paul Kane / Washington Post:

Republicans warn ‘green wave’ of Democratic cash could overwhelm House GOP candidates — One by one, Democrats running for the House have released jaw-dropping figures the past week: First-time candidates raising $2.7 million in New Jersey, $3.5 million in California's Central Valley and more than $3.6 million in northern Kentucky.

Washington Post:

Larry Hogan for Maryland governor — HAVING CAMPAIGNED in 2014 on a platform by turns vague, glib and pie-in-sky, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan shifted gears and struck a clear and bracing note on the day he took office, promising in his inaugural address to surmount partisanship and wedge politics …

Burgess Everett / Politico:

GOP closes in on Heitkamp knockout — and control of the Senate — The North Dakota Democrat is down in polls. And if she loses, Democrats can all but kiss their hopes of winning the Senate goodbye. — Republicans say they're on the cusp of delivering a knockout blow to North Dakota Democratic …

Discussion: Crosscut and Above the Law

David Dayen / The Intercept:

Dianne Feinstein Finally Agrees to “Debate” Senate Challenger, While Ensuring Almost No One Watches It — Photos: Marcio Jose Sanchez, Alex Brandon/AP — Dianne Feinstein, the longtime California senator, has finally agreed to a share a stage with her Democratic opponent …

Discussion: Sacramento Bee and Splinter

Emma Green / The Atlantic:

Politics as the New Religion for Progressive Democrats — The voters who are most amped for the 2018 elections look elite in nearly every way. They are Democrats, college-educated, and largely secular. They are likely to be women, but they're not necessarily white or particularly young.