memeorandum: Mitch McConnell: The Man Who Sold America (Angie Martoccio/Rolling Stone)

12:05 PM ET, September 17, 2019

Top Items:

Karma Allen / ABC News:

Legendary journalist and political commentator Cokie Roberts dies at 75 — Renowned ABC News journalist and political commentator Cokie Roberts has died at the age of 75. — Roberts won countless awards, including three Emmys, throughout her decades-long career.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, NPR, Deadline, TVNewser, Breitbart, Townhall, Associated Press and Page Six

Bobby Allyn / NPR:

Cokie Roberts, Pioneering Journalist Who Helped Shape NPR, Dies At 75 — Toggle more options — Veteran journalist Cokie Roberts, who joined an upstart NPR in 1978 and left an indelible imprint on the growing network with her coverage of Washington politics before later going to ABC News, has died.

Discussion: Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »

New York Times:

Cokie Roberts, Journalist and Commentator, Is Dead at 75 — A pioneering and award-winning newswoman for ABC News, she was named a ‘Living Legend’ by the Library of Congress. — Cokie Roberts, the longtime journalist and commentator for ABC News and NPR, died on Tuesday in Washington. She was 75.

Scaachi Koul / BuzzFeed News:

How Did Lauren Duca's Revolution Backfire? — The viral writer wants to galvanize young people with her new book, How to Start a Revolution. But past controversies — and a new complaint filed by her New York University students — threaten to undermine her message.

Heather Caygle / Politico:

‘Get real’: Senior Democrats shut down Kavanaugh impeachment push — Senior Democrats are moving quickly to snuff out calls to impeach Brett Kavanaugh, arguing those tactics are unrealistic and politically harmful. — Democrats are already wrestling with whether to try to oust President Donald Trump …

Discussion: USA Today, Hot Air, Townhall, Fox News, The Boston Globe, National Review, Daily Kos, Raw Story, Washington Post, The Resurgent, IJR, CNSNews, WBUR, Breitbart, The Daily Signal and New York Post

Jamelle Bouie / New York Times:

To Balance the Scales of Justice, Don't Be Afraid to Pack the Court — The lifetime appointments of Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh cry out for Democratic hardball in response. — President Trump bragged on Twitter recently about his success filling up the federal judiciary.

Discussion: National Review, The Resurgent, Instapundit and The Atlantic

Politico:
Lewandowski readies Trump defense at ‘impeachment hearing’

Discussion: Axios, The Independent, Raw Story and Sara A. Carter

Mimi Rocah / USA Today:
Confirmed: Powerful men ignored women in short-circuited Brett Kavanaugh investigation

Discussion: Axios, National Review, American Greatness and The Daily Caller

Rebecca Falconer / Axios:
Trump pitches to Latino voters at New Mexico rally as he vows to “make it a Republican state.”

Discussion: The Atlantic, The Week, CNN and Mediaite

Joe Pompeo / Vanity Fair:

Brett Kavanaugh Turmoil Engulfs the New York Times — Sources say Robin Pogrebin and Kate Kelly initially pitched their reporting to the news side, but top editors ultimately felt that there wasn't enough juice to warrant a story there—punting the scoop to the Sunday Review section.

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Hot Air, Daily Wire, Washington Free Beacon, New York Post, The Daily Caller, BizPac Review, Spectator USA, twitchy.com, The Daily Beast, Mediaite, CNN and The Week, more at Mediagazer »

Chuck Ross / The Daily Caller:
NYT Reporters Say Editors Removed Exculpatory Information About Kavanaugh

Discussion: Townhall, Daily Caller News Foundation and The Gateway Pundit

Washington Examiner:
In New York Times v. Kavanaugh, flagrant prosecutorial misconduct

Discussion: Patterico's Pontifications and The Resurgent

New York Times:
Answers to Reader Questions on Our Brett Kavanaugh Essay

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Fox News, Slate, The Root, Daily Wire, Breitbart, Reason, Poynter, Mic, Boston.com, The Guardian, Los Angeles Times and twitchy.com

Aris Folley / The Hill:
Pressley to introduce resolution to open impeachment inquiry against Kavanaugh

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, IJR and Axios

Peter Baker / New York Times:
Trump Tries to Woo Hispanic Voters at Rally in New Mexico

Discussion: NBC News, Politico, PJ Media Home, Splinter, POLITICUSUSA, twitchy.com and The Daily Caller

Michael Calderone / Politico:
Times' handling of Kavanaugh story draws widespread criticism

Discussion: National Review, Bloomberg, Vox, Yahoo News, The Daily Caller, Townhall, Bangor Daily News, Washington Free Beacon, The Federalist, Daily Kos, New York Times, Mediaite, Breitbart, twitchy.com and Hot Air

Alexander Burns / New York Times:

Warren and Trump Speeches Attack Corruption, but Two Different Kinds — In New York, Senator Elizabeth Warren described a government compromised by the influence of the wealthy. President Trump, in New Mexico, denounced a “failed liberal establishment.” — Senator Elizabeth Warren stood beneath …

Discussion: The Week

Bhaskar Sunkara / Jacobin:

The Working Families Party Has Written Itself Out of History — Make no mistake: the Working Families Party's opaque presidential endorsement process signaled a rejection of not only Bernie Sanders but the movement emerging around him. — The Working Families Party (WFP) …

Discussion: Washington Post, The Editorial Board and Vox

Ruby Cramer / BuzzFeed News:
At Her Biggest Rally, Elizabeth Warren Laid Out A Model For Her Own Kind Of Movement

Discussion: Rolling Stone, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Political Wire, POLITICUSUSA, U.S. Political News …, Fox News and Raw Story

Charlotte Alter / TIME:
‘One Woman, and Millions of People to Back Her Up.’ …

Discussion: Splinter, New York Times, VICE and Washington Post

The Daily Beast:

Team Trump: Saudis See This Attack as Their 9/11 — “It seems like a trivialization of the tragedy of 9/11, but from a Saudi point of view it is a way of explaining their shock to Americans,” one expert says. — A top State Department official told Congress Monday evening that the Saudis view …

Discussion: NPR, NBC News, Radio Free Europe, One America News Network, Daily Kos, National Review, Washington Post, The National Interest, The Bulwark and The Week

Austin Carson / Washington Post:
After the Saudi oil attack, will the U.S. and Saudis start a war with Iran? Here are 3 things to know.

Discussion: The Atlantic, New York Times and One America News Network

New York Times:
Trump's Deference to Saudis in Setting Terms for How U.S. Should Respond to Attacks Touches a Nerve

Discussion: ABC News, U.S. Political News …, naked capitalism, CNN, BizPac Review, LewRockwell and The American Conservative

Catherine Rampell / Washington Post:
The Saudi-Iran crisis could end Trump's lucky streak on the economy

Discussion: Financial Times, New York Magazine, Outside the Beltway and Bulletin of the Atomic …

Anne Gearan / Washington Post:
Trump's dual instincts on Iran: Big threats and an eagerness to deal

Discussion: Associated Press, National Review, The Week, Axios, Mother Jones, The Drive and Breitbart

Catie Edmondson / New York Times:

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to Back First 2020 Challenger to Sitting Democrat — WASHINGTON — Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez plans on Tuesday to announce her endorsement of Marie Newman, a progressive candidate seeking to oust Representative Daniel Lipinski, a conservative-leaning Illinois Democrat …

Discussion: National Review, The Hill, U.S. Political News …, The Daily Caller, Common Dreams, Political Wire, Raw Story and Daily Kos

Associated Press:
Ocasio-Cortez backs liberal challenger to Dem congressman

Discussion: Washington Post

Katie Shepherd / Washington Post:

A teen allegedly wanted to ‘shoot 400 people for fun.’ Cops found an AK-47 in her bedroom. — Alexis Wilson was working an afternoon shift at the local Pizza Inn in McAlester, Okla., on Sunday, when she pulled a co-worker aside to boast about her new gun. — The slight 18-year-old …

Discussion: VICE, Raw Story and Law & Crime

Matt Wilstein / The Daily Beast:

Sean Spicer Has Most Embarrassing ‘Dancing With the Stars’ Debut Ever, Period — “It's like you were being attacked by a swarm of wasps,” one judge said after Spicer attempted a salsa dance. — Despite its best efforts, America could not shame Sean Spicer out of joining Dancing With the Stars.

Discussion: CNN, BizPac Review, KTLA and New Yorker

Joe Concha / The Hill:
Spicer on Dancing with the Stars: 'Those of us who stand for #Christ won't be discounted'

Discussion: Friendly Atheist, Political Wire, Deadline and Raw Story

Angie Martoccio / Rolling Stone:

Mitch McConnell: The Man Who Sold America — Fittingly enough, it was hot as blazes in Kentucky when Mitch McConnell slunk back home for Congress' annual summer recess. One week earlier, Robert Mueller had testified that Russia was meddling in the 2020 U.S. elections.

Derek Thompson / The Atlantic:

American Migration Patterns Should Terrify the GOP — Liberals in America have a density problem. Across the country, Democrats dominate in cities, racking up excessive margins in urban cores while narrowly losing in suburban districts and sparser states.

Discussion: Raw Story

Alex Roarty / McClatchy Washington Bureau:

Democrats fret presidential field's leftward lurch presents down-ballot dilemma — When the top Democratic presidential candidates gathered in Houston last week, they debated a radical health care overhaul and mandatory gun confiscation while striking an uncompromising tone toward President Donald Trump and the Republican Party.

Paul Krugman / New York Times:
Republicans Don't Believe in Democracy

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Daily Kos, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Raw Story

Ben Schreckinger / Politico:

Air Force crews stayed at Trump's Turnberry resort for days at a time — TURNBERRY, Scotland— Air Force officers who have earned medals for their tours of duty can pick up some more brass with a short pit stop in Southwest Scotland. — As part of its relationship with the Air Force …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Daily Kos and Raw Story

Christine Mai-Duc / Los Angeles Times:

California Republican Rep. Paul Cook to retire from Congress, run for county supervisor seat — Rep. Paul Cook (R-Yucca Valley) will retire from Congress at the end of his term and will announce a run for a seat on the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors, according to John Sobel, the congressman's chief of staff.

Discussion: Raw Story

Ross Douthat / New York Times:

The Abortion Mysticism of Pete Buttigieg — How the party of science decided that personhood begins at birth. — Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Ind., has made his Christian piety a minor theme of his presidential campaign — quoting Proverbs on the debate stage …

Discussion: The Federalist and Althouse

Dan Merica / CNN: Buttigieg releases plan to improve US' response to natural disasters

Matt Stevens / New York Times:

Andrew Yang Knows You May Disagree With Him About Shane Gillis — Mr. Gillis was dropped by “Saturday Night Live” after calling Mr. Yang a racial slur, and Mr. Yang, an entrepreneur who is running for president, has urged forgiveness. — Shane Gillis, a 31-year-old stand-up comedian …

Discussion: Louder With Crowder, Washington Post, Deseret News and FOX59

Devlin Barrett / Washington Post:

Judge forced off bench after online posting of noose, ‘Make America Great Again’ message — A judge in Upstate New York was forced off the bench after posting online the image of a noose and a Trump campaign slogan, which a state commission concluded showed political or racial bias, officials said Tuesday.

Discussion: Raw Story

Matthew Choi / Politico:

Pentagon puts brakes on 3 border barrier projects because of cost — The Defense Department is no longer moving forward with three border barrier projects in California and Arizona, according to a court filing Monday. — The move is a reversal of an earlier Pentagon authorization …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and The Daily Caller