memeorandum: The Anti-Slavery Constitution (Timothy Sandefur/National Review)

2:00 PM ET, September 13, 2019

Top Items:

Think Castro was ‘mean’ to Biden? Get ready for an absolute bloodbath. — Joe Biden's Democratic rivals have now begun to raise questions about his age and mental competence. But they are doing so ever so gingerly, and even apologetically. — President Trump is not being nearly as cautious or circumspect.

Discussion: Rolling Stone, PJ Media Home, The Federalist, Vox and Mother Jones

Julie Pace / Associated Press:

Analysis: Biden looks like a front-runner, until he doesn't — WASHINGTON (AP) — Joe Biden is the Democratic front-runner. And there were moments in Thursday night's debate when he looked the part. — Standing between a pair of liberal senators offering radical change …

Discussion: Victory Girls Blog, FOX40, Deseret News and CBS Boston

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:

Winners and losers from the third Democratic debate — The Democrats met in Houston on Thursday night for the third Democratic debate of 2019, this time all on one night. After nearly three hours of sparring between the 10 candidates who qualified, here's who won, who lost, and what it means moving forward.

Discussion: Politico, BizPac Review, Breitbart, YouTube, New York Times, Raw Story and Daily Kos

Matt Welch / Reason:

There's Only 1 Democrat Talking About the Constitution, and It's (Shudder) Joe Biden — Let us not now pretend that Joe Biden brought anything like coherence to Thursday night's Democratic presidential debate in Houston. — At some point near the exhausted end of the nearly three-hour affair …

Discussion: Splinter, Townhall, WHYY, Raw Story, The Week and Patterico's Pontifications

James Hohmann / Washington Post:

The Daily 202: Castro's kamikaze mission makes Biden more sympathetic - and six other debate takeaways — THE BIG IDEA: When you come at the former vice president, you best not miss. — Julián Castro finally took his shot at Joe Biden last night in Houston, but he got his facts wrong.

Discussion: U.S. Political News …, Townhall and Mercury News

John Nichols / The Nation:
Jorge Ramos Was the Best Debate Moderator Yet

Discussion: New Yorker, The Federalist, Washington Post, Politico and Michigan Advance

Jeff Greenfield / Politico:
How Warren Won Without Having a Big Moment

Discussion: ABC News, U.S. Political News … and The Week

Dan Balz / Washington Post:
For most of the night, Biden weathers a volley of attacks

Discussion: The Bulwark, Jacobin, Politico, The Nation, The Week, Business Insider, New Republic, New York Times, Breitbart, Vox, Los Angeles Times, CNN, Outside the Beltway, Hullabaloo, Politifact.com Truth … and The Concourse

Washington Post:
Who talked the most during the third Democratic debate

Discussion: Politico, PJ Media Home and Vox

Frank Bruni / New York Times:
Up, Up, Up With Elizabeth Warren

Discussion: National Review, CNN, Fox News and Daily Wire

Kendall Karson / ABC News:
Democratic debate live updates: Candidates take their messages to the spin room

Margaret Sullivan / Washington Post:
Biden's debate performance was either ‘presidential’ or ‘disqualifying’ — depending on your media source

Discussion: CNN and Slate

Byron York / Washington Examiner:
In debate, Democrats steer clear of economy

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit and Power Line

CBS News:
Democrats trade barbs on health care and immigration in third debate

Discussion: Washington Monthly

Benjy Sarlin / NBC News:
What was going on between Biden and Castro on health care?

Discussion: The Week

BuzzFeed News:
The Real Democratic Primary Starts Now. And It's All About Elizabeth Warren.

Discussion: PJ Media Home, CNN and Politico

New York Times:
Which Candidates Got the Most Speaking Time in the Democratic Debate

Discussion: Axios and The Week

Nancy Cook / Politico:

Ivanka tells donors she got her moral compass from her dad — At a mid-August fundraiser in Jackson Hole, Wyo., Ivanka Trump was asked to name the personality traits she inherited most from her parents. — Without much of a pause, Trump told the crowd of roughly 120 high-end donors …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, Raw Story, Political Flare, Mediaite, The Week and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Erik Wasson / Bloomberg:

House GOP to Run in 2020 on Reducing the Debt They Helped Grow — Republicans set campaign goals as deficit reaches $1 trillion — Leader McCarthy seeks to repeal Obamacare ‘once and for all’ — House Republicans plan to run on tried-and-true issues in 2020 …

Discussion: Political Wire

Matt Fuller / U.S. Political News …:

Trump Gives A Rambling Mess Of A Speech At The GOP's Baltimore Retreat — And He's A Hit — The takeover of the Republican Party is complete. — BALTIMORE ― In disjointed, jumbled remarks delivered in a city that he proclaimed in July was “a disgusting, rat and rodent-infested mess …

Discussion: New York Times, Mother Jones, Daily Kos, Vox and ABC News

Bloomberg:

Trump Finances Closer to Scrutiny as U.S. Court Revives Suit — Emoluments lawsuit is reinstated by New York appeals court — Trump says his family now manages his business empire — President Donald Trump was ordered by a federal appeals court to defend a lawsuit accusing him of profiting from his presidency.

Discussion: Washington Post, Politico, Axios, Political Wire, The Week and Raw Story

Chris Dolmetsch / Bloomberg:

Fox Must Face Suit by Rich's Parents Over Stories on Death — Parents of murdered DNC staffer claim emotional distress — Lower court tossed case last year; appeals court reinstates it — Fox News must face a lawsuit by the parents of a Democratic Party staffer whose unsolved …

Discussion: Political Wire and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »

Matt Naham / Law & Crime:
U.S. Court of Appeals Brings Emoluments Lawsuit Against Trump Back to Life

Discussion: The Hill, Washington Post and Breitbart

Boris Kachka / New York Magazine:

Among the Moderate Chic at Bari Weiss's Book Party The embattled Establishment assembles to celebrate the Times Op-Ed columnist's book on antisemitism. — Bari Weiss — editor, Times columnist, Twitter piñata, extrovert, and now author — began the launch party for her first book …

Discussion: Splinter

Courtney Kube / NBC News:

Trump's plan to pay for border wall with Air Force funds risks national security, report says — The report, compiled by the U.S. Air Force and obtained by NBC News, details the importance of each of the 51 military projects chosen by the Trump administration to lose their funding.

Discussion: Politico, Axios, Political Wire, Shareblue Media, Raw Story and Daily Kos, more at Mediagazer »

Quint Forgey / Politico:

O'Rourke responds to ‘death threat’ from Texas lawmaker — Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke early Friday morning characterized an incendiary tweet from a Texas state representative as “a death threat” against him, and charged that the Republican lawmaker should be stripped of his assault weapon.

Discussion: RedState, Breitbart and VICE

CNN:
Twitter removes Texas State Rep's tweet threatening Beto O'Rourke with AR

Discussion: The Daily Beast, The Hill, Axios and Fortune

Andrew Egger / The Bulwark:
Beto O'Rourke Is Mortgaging His Future

Discussion: Washington Post, The Verge and New Republic

Sarah Maslin Nir / New York Times:

Giuliani Divorce: It's Ugly, It's Operatic. What Did You Expect? — The marriage of Rudolph and Judith Giuliani is coming to an end, and despite a judge's urging, the wreckage is being laid bare for all to see. — On a spring afternoon in 2000, Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani used a news conference …

Discussion: Splinter

BostonGlobe.com:

METRO SPORTS BUSINESS OPINION RHODE ISLAND POLITICS LIFESTYLE MARIJUANA ARTS MAGAZINE CARS REAL ESTATE EVENTS — Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the young liberal icon from New York, has endorsed Senator Ed Markey's reelection bid next year, as Representative Joe Kennedy III considers …

Washington Post:

Andrew McCabe's legal team asks Justice Dept. if grand jury rejected charges in his case — The legal team for Andrew McCabe has asked federal prosecutors in D.C. whether a grand jury had rejected their bid to indict the FBI's former acting director on charges of lying to investigators …

Discussion: Power Line, CNN, New York Times, Salon and Hullabaloo

Phil Helsel / NBC News:

Trump: I look orange, but so do you because of energy-efficient light bulbs — “The light is the worst,” Trump said. His administration earlier this month announced it would roll back regulations for increased energy efficiency. — On a night that featured the Democratic debate …

Discussion: The Daily Beast, The Hill, Breitbart, Raw Story and The Root

Jacob Solis / The Nevada Independent:

At UNLV panel, Reid, Heller say don't count on Trump losing in 2020 — Dean Heller and Harry Reid didn't agree on much during their time together in the U.S. Senate. But in Las Vegas on Thursday, they agreed on one thing: Don't count out President Trump. — “I think you would be misguided …

Stefanos Chen / New York Times:

One in Four of New York's New Luxury Apartments Are Unsold — A quarter of the new condos built since 2013 in New York City have not yet found buyers, according to a new analysis of closed sales. — Picture an empty apartment — there are thousands in Manhattan's new towers …

Discussion: Curbed NY

Erin Banco / The Daily Beast:

State IG Set to Recommend Discipline for Trump's Top Iran Hand — Brian Hook is reportedly in the running for national security adviser, and any discipline for his role in politically motivated State Dept. firings would likely hurt his chances. — The State Department is preparing …

Discussion: Washington Post

Timothy Sandefur / National Review:

The Anti-Slavery Constitution — From the Framers on, Americans have understood our fundamental law to oppose ownership of persons — It's become an article of faith on the left that America was founded by racists who wrote the Constitution in part to preserve slavery.

George Packer / The Atlantic:

When the Culture War Comes for the Kids — 1. — To be a parent is to be compromised. You pledge allegiance to justice for all, you swear that private attachments can rhyme with the public good, but when the choice comes down to your child or an abstraction—even the well-being of children …

Discussion: The American Conservative and Instapundit

Max Rose / Staten Island Advance:

Rep. Max Rose: Why I oppose Trump impeachment — For the past decade, the American people have been sending a clear and unmistakable message: End the hyper-partisanship and do your jobs. Yet, both parties have taken electoral victories as mandates to ignore that message to do what they want.

Discussion: CNN, Politico and New York Post

Brian Stelter / CNN:

ABC's ratings show that interest in the Democratic primaries is still high — New York (CNN Business)If you're wondering whether interest in the Democratic primary process has cooled off, check the Nielsen ratings and stop wondering. — Thursday night's debate featuring ten presidential candidates brought a big audience to ABC.

Discussion: Axios