memeorandum: Why Democrats cannot bank on moderate Republicans this year (Michael Starr Hopkins/The Hill)

6:30 PM ET, August 25, 2020

Top Items:

Will Thorne / Variety:

Republican National Convention Night 1 Down on DNC in Early Numbers — The first night of the Republican National Convention was down a touch in total viewership on the first night of the Democratic National Convention, at least according to early numbers. — Across the three broadcast networks …

Steve Benen / MSNBC:

If the case for Trump is strong, why isn't the truth good enough? — To hear Republicans tell it, the 2020 presidential election is effectively a no-brainer: Donald Trump has been a great success, the argument goes, and Joe Biden is a failure pushing ideas that would take the country backward.

Discussion: Associated Press, New York Times, National Review, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times and Raw Story

John Podhoretz / New York Post:

First night of RNC 2020 was very effective, to media's dismay — The first night of the Republican National Convention was, all in all, sensationally effective — and effective in ways that the mainstream media and its Twitter chatterers clearly found it impossible to understand.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Progress Pond and Washington Post

Jason Easley / POLITICUSUSA:

Trump's Convention Flops As Biden DNC Drew 3 Million More Viewers — Another troubling sign for Trump as night one of the Republican convention drew 3.2 million fewer viewers than night one of the DNC. — Via The LA Times: … Trump demanded a blockbuster convention after seeing …

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, New York Post and Raw Story

Kyle Balluck / The Hill:

First night of GOP convention delivers nearly six times more views than start of Democrats' event on C-SPAN livestream — C-SPAN's livestream of the first night of the Republican National Convention has attracted nearly 440,000 views, marking a substantial increase over the start …

Discussion: Reuters, Townhall, Gizmodo, The Guardian, Breitbart, The Daily Caller, The Gateway Pundit, Twitchy, Axios, Washington Post, New York Post, Althouse, Associated Press, Fox News, Vox and ABC News

Matthew Choi / Politico:
Hillary Clinton to Biden: Don't concede if the election is close

Discussion: Mother Jones, The Hill and New York Post

Bridget Todd / We Are UltraViolet:
News Outlets: Don't help the GOP spread harmful disinformation. Tape delay the Republican National Convention

Discussion: The US Sun, The Gateway Pundit, Raw Story, Axios, The Hill and Washington Times, more at Mediagazer »

Megan Henney / Fox News:
Hillary Clinton says Joe Biden should not concede on election night ‘under any circumstances’

Discussion: Associated Press, Power Line, Reuters, The Federalist and Redstate

CNN:
Fact check: First night of the Republican National Convention features more dishonesty than four nights of DNC

Discussion: Townhall, Washington Monthly, POLITICUSUSA, Fox News, The Week, The Hill, Washington Post, Daily Kos and Associated Press, more at Mediagazer »

John Hinderaker / Power Line:
GOP Convention Scores First Night Hit [Updated]

Discussion: Reuters, Instapundit and ABC News

Rick Wilson / The Daily Beast:

This Isn't a Convention—It's a Republican Funeral Pyre — His worshippers just occupied the party's temple, threw out its sacraments and put in a personal oath of loyalty. For good measure, he replaced the priests with his family members. — BEAST INSIDE

Discussion: Raw Story

Michael Starr Hopkins / The Hill:
Why Democrats cannot bank on moderate Republicans this year

Discussion: Sean Hannity

Bob Brigham / Raw Story:
Was Donald Trump, Jr. ‘coked out of his mind’ during RNC speech?

Discussion: Althouse

John Daniel Davidson / The Federalist:
I Was Wrong About Trump. He Didn't Destroy the GOP, He Saved It

Discussion: Los Angeles Times and Republican National Convention

NBC News:
Miles Taylor, other former and current admin officials form anti-Trump group

Discussion: Axios and The Hill

Brian Stelter / CNN:

Sean Hannity receives special White House access for Republican convention — New York (CNN Business)When representatives from all the major TV networks visited the White House's South Lawn on Monday, part of what's known as a “walkthrough” to prepare for President Trump's Thursday night speech there …

Discussion: Bloomberg, Breitbart and Raw Story

Kate Bennett / CNN:

Melania Trump aims RNC speech at erasing memories of 2016 — (CNN)In 2016, first lady Melania Trump rejected at least two drafts of speeches provided by seasoned political speechwriters, opting instead to rely on a woman who worked in New York for the Trump Organization, also an occasional ghostwriter for some of Donald Trump's books.

Discussion: The Guardian, ABC7 and WTOP

USA Today:

I never promised you a rose garden: Melania Trump's renovation of a national treasure — On Tuesday, First Lady Melania Trump will address the Republican National Convention from the newly renovated Rose Garden at the White House, a personal project of hers.

New York Times:

F.D.A. ‘Grossly Misrepresented’ Blood Plasma Data, Scientists Say — Many experts — including a scientist who worked on the Mayo Clinic study — were bewildered about where a key statistic came from. — At a news conference on Sunday announcing the emergency approval of blood plasma …

Discussion: WebMD Health, Vanity Fair, GovExec.com, Politico, Raw Story, The Week, Washington Post and CNBC

Deb Riechmann / Associated Press:
FDA commissioner says he overstated effects of virus therapy

Discussion: Axios, Wired, The American Independent, Gothamist, ABC News, The Hill, CBS Philly, Outside the Beltway and New York Post

Michael Hiltzik / Los Angeles Times:
Column: Thanks to Trump, the FDA just had the worst day in its history

Discussion: The Federalist, UPI, Axios, Slate and NPR

The Daily Beast:

Trump Administration Insider: President Wanted to ‘Maim’ Migrants — Miles Taylor, former DHS chief of staff, recalls the moment he said to himself “what the f*ck is happening” during a Trump meeting. Plus, the gang shits on night one of the RNC. — You thought what happened on-screen during …

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA and Raw Story

Clare Proctor / Chicago Sun-Times:

Jacob Blake's father says son's paralyzed from waist down after police shooting in Kenosha — In this September 2019 selfie photo taken in Evanston, Ill., Adria-Joi Watkins poses with her second cousin Jacob Blake. He is recovering from being shot multiple times by Kenosha police on Aug. 23.

Discussion: Washington Post, The Daily Beast, New York Post, CNN, The Hill, Breitbart, Fox News, Reuters, New York Times, CBS Los Angeles, The US Sun, The Daily Caller, Associated Press, TheBlaze, Al Jazeera, NPR, WINK NEWS, NBC Chicago, Forbes, The Root, The Week, ABC News, Raw Story, Gothamist, National Review and Vox

Associated Press:
Jacob Blake's dad says son left paralyzed by police shooting

Discussion: Associated Press, Breitbart, Chicago Sun-Times, Just The News, WRIC-TV, Daily Kos and The US Sun

Carter Sherman / VICE:

An RNC Speaker Said Cops Would Be ‘Smart’ to Racially Profile Her Own Son — “Statistically, my brown son is more likely to commit a violent offense over my white sons,” anti-abortion activist Abby Johnson said in a YouTube video earlier this year. — CS

Discussion: TheBlaze, Daily Kos, POLITICUSUSA and Raw Story

Rob Eshman / The Forward:

The rabbi who is neighbor to Mark and Patricia McCloskey speaks out: ‘They are bullies’ — When Rabbi Susan Talve heard that Patricia and Mark McCloskey would be among the speakers addressing the Republican National Convention, she decided she could no longer stay quiet.

Discussion: Washington Post, Right Wing Watch, The Atlantic, BuzzFeed News, Slate, Spectator USA, Vox and New Republic

Rashaan Ayesh / Axios:

House committee launches investigation into Pompeo's RNC speech — Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) is launching an investigation into Secretary of State Pompeo's address to the Republican National Convention for potentially violating rules that prohibit federal employees from engaging …

Discussion: The Daily Beast, The Hill and The Daily Caller

New York Times:
2020 R.N.C. Live Updates: Speeches on Night 2 Will Further Blur Line Between Governance and Politics

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Decider, Politico, The Week, National Review, New York Post and UPI, more at Mediagazer »

NBC News:
Diplomats aghast as Pompeo set to address GOP convention from Jerusalem

Discussion: Politico, Vox, Breitbart, Florida Politics, New York Times, Daily Kos, POLITICUSUSA and The Week

Will Sommer / The Daily Beast:

Fox News Editor Thought Their Disastrous Seth Rich Story Would Be ‘Vindicated’ — A top editor was convinced their conspiracy theory item would be proven right, weeks after it blew up in the network's face. — As Fox News scrambled to contain the damage from its discredited reporting …

Discussion: Raw Story, more at Mediagazer »

John Hudson / Washington Post:

Whip cracking, drinking and profanity-laced threats: Government office in charge of etiquette plagued by etiquette problems, watchdog finds — When the United States hosts foreign leaders and dignitaries, a little-known office at the State Department is in charge of sweating every detail …

Discussion: Political Wire

Dan Alexander / Forbes:

Trump Has Now Moved $2.3 Million Of Campaign-Donor Money Into His Private Business — Senior editor at Forbes, covering Donald Trump's business. — Donald Trump continued to shift money from his donors to his business last month, as his reelection campaign paid his private companies for rent …

Discussion: Raw Story

ABC News:

Jerry Falwell Jr. officially resigns from Liberty University — The embattled religious leader says he informed the school Monday night. — LIVE NOW — After a daylong back and forth, Jerry Falwell Jr. officially resigned from Liberty University Monday night, he told ABC News.

Discussion: Liberty News, New York Post, The Hill, Talking Points Memo, The Week, UPI, The Daily Caller, Wall Street Journal, Associated Press and Virginia Business

Associated Press:
Falwell says he's resigned from Liberty University

Discussion: Vox, Talking Points Memo, New York Post and One America News Network

Robert hagan / KREX:

New mail sorting machine at Grand Junction USPS annex thrown out — GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — *UPDATE* We reported Monday that a local USPS annex employee said a brand new mail sorting machine was being thrown out. We got that information from a viewer who called in, but there is more to the story.

James Dawson / NPR:

Unmasked Protesters Push Past Police Into Idaho Lawmakers' Session — In Boise, the first day of Idaho's special legislative session erupted into chaos before it began. Dozens of unmasked protesters, some of them armed, shoved their way past state troopers to pack the gallery overlooking the state's House of Representatives.

Discussion: Raw Story, Associated Press and Daily Kos

Natasha Korecki / Politico:

'He's going to be unleashed': Republican DOJ appointees urge against Trump second term — A group of onetime Republican presidential appointees who served as senior ethics or Justice Department aides are endorsing Joe Biden for president, warning that Donald Trump has “weaponized” …

Discussion: Washington Post, Chicago Sun-Times, Just The News, POLITICUSUSA, Raw Story, The Yeshiva World and Politico

Greg Myre / NPR:

Ex-Intel Chief: ‘I Wish We Had Taken More Action’ Against Russian Meddling — Toggle more options — In August 2016, during the run-up to the last presidential election, U.S. intelligence officials began briefing congressional leaders on what they described as unprecedented Russian interference efforts.

Discussion: Foreign Affairs and Axios, more at Techmeme »

Kyle Hopkins / ProPublica:

Alaska's Attorney General on Unpaid Leave After Sending Hundreds of “Uncomfortable” Texts to a Young Colleague — Kevin Clarkson texted a much-younger state employee to come to his house at least 18 times, often using kiss emoji and commenting on her appearance.

Discussion: Anchorage Daily News and The Hill

Brian Schwartz / CNBC:

Hope Hicks landed lucrative gigs after her first stint at the Trump White House — Hope Hicks, a longtime confidant of President Donald Trump's, landed high-paying gigs, including a Wall Street speaking engagement, between White House stints, according to her latest financial disclosure report.

Lindsay Beyerstein / Slate:

Nobody Is Entitled to Be an Elected Official — On Aug. 4, 19-year-old Aaron Coleman eked out a surprise win in the Kansas Democratic primary against incumbent Stan Frownfelter, capturing his party's nomination to represent the 37th District in the state House of Representatives.

Discussion: The Hill and The Atlantic

Ryan J. Reilly / HuffPost:

A Black Vice Mayor In Virginia Urged A Police Chief's Firing. Now She Faces Charges. — A white Portsmouth resident filed the charges against Lisa Lucas-Burke, who called for the ouster of city Police Chief Angela Greene. — A mounting political and racial controversy stemming …

Discussion: Blue Virginia and The Root

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:

The Republican Party Must Be Saved From the Conservative Movement — Conservative intellectuals have spent most of the past four decades claiming — especially during periods of Republican ascent — to be winning the “war of ideas.” Hardly any of them bother to make such a boast now.

Discussion: National Review and Daily Kos