memeorandum: Down With Judicial Supremacy! — The Supreme Court was never meant to be the only arbiter of the meaning of the Constitution. (Jamelle Bouie/New York Times)

12:45 PM ET, September 22, 2020

Top Items:

Burgess Everett / Politico:

Romney backs vote on Supreme Court nominee, clearing way for Trump — Sen. Mitt Romney said Tuesday he would support a floor vote to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, essentially clinching consideration of President Donald Trump's nominee this year despite the impending election.

Brian Schwartz / CNBC:

Billionaires Haim and Cheryl Saban ramp up support for Biden and Democrats in Senate races — The Sabans were relatively quiet with their contributions during the Democratic primaries. They decided they would not get involved with the race for president until after Super Tuesday, as Haim Saban publicly opposed Sen. Bernie Sanders.

Discussion: Washington Post, Fox News, Political Wire and Morning Consult

The Daily Beast:

Dems Balk at Using Their Biggest Weapon in SCOTUS Fight — The party is divided on tactics. But so far, the main play is to make it all about health care. — Facing what they acknowledge to be a nearly impossible task of blocking President Donald Trump from filling a Supreme Court vacancy …

Discussion: Reuters, Washington Post, Politico, POLITICUSUSA, The Hill, New York Times, Raw Story, Newsbusters, The Daily Caller, Wall Street Journal, BuzzFeed News and New York Post

Jamelle Bouie / New York Times:

Down With Judicial Supremacy! — The Supreme Court was never meant to be the only arbiter of the meaning of the Constitution. — Beyond the obvious — that liberals need some way to respond to President Trump as he moves to fill the Supreme Court vacancy left by the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg …

Discussion: Reuters and The Week

Ryan Lizza / Politico:

Why Biden is stiff-arming the left on court-packing and the filibuster — A year-and-a-half ago, when Pete Buttigieg made expansion of the Supreme Court a key plank of his presidential campaign, the issue was treated as an intellectual curiosity that fascinated reform-minded liberals and op-ed writers.

Discussion: New Republic, Washington Post, Real Clear Politics, The Nation, Sun-Sentinel, The Dispatch and Breitbart

New York Times:

How Ginsburg's Death Has Reshaped the Money Race for Senate Democrats — From Alaska to Maine to the Carolinas, Democratic strategists working on Senate campaigns described a spontaneous outpouring of donations the likes of which they had never seen. A Republican surge is expected as well.

Discussion: Washington Post, Daily Kos, Mediaite, Washington Times, Raw Story, The Guardian, The 19th, The American Independent and The Daily Beast

Matt Vespa / Townhall:

Shove It, Democrats. Ruth Bader Ginsburg's Seat Is Ours...And There's Nothing You Can Do About It — Welcome to Thunderdome, b**ches. This is the fight that distinguishes the men from the boys; who can deliver a strike to the jugular and who can't; and between who's weak and who wants to win.

Politico:

POLITICO Playbook: Here's what's in Boehner's new book — DRIVING THE DAY — WELCOME TO FALL. — NEW ... JOHN BOEHNER'S new book has a name, a cover and a release date — and it's all as delicious as you would've hoped. — “ON THE HOUSE: A Washington Memoir” will be released April 13, 2021.

Discussion: New York Times, Washington Post, Associated Press, Raw Story and The Hill

Adam Jentleson / New York Times:
Democrats Need a Plan. Fast.

Discussion: Associated Press, American Greatness, Washington Post, Lawyers, Guns & Money, TheBlaze, Just The News, Wall Street Journal, Mother Jones, UncoverDC, Breitbart, Roll Call, Fox News, The Hill and National Review

Eli Yokley / Morning Consult:
Graham Is Weak With GOP Voters. Strategists Think Another Supreme Court Fight Will Help

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Bulwark+ and Raw Story

Sun-Sentinel:
Stand by your word, Sen. Rubio, and against the mad dash for a Supreme Court appointment

Discussion: Politico, CNN, CBS News, ABC News, NBC News, Wall Street Journal, Washington Times, Forbes and The Moderate Voice

Paul Farhi / Washington Post:
Nina Totenberg was close friends with Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Was that a conflict for NPR?

Discussion: Vanity Fair, New York Times and Common Dreams

Brittany Bernstein / National Review:
Romney Supports Holding a Vote on Trump's SCOTUS Nominee

Discussion: ABC News, Talking Points Memo, Townhall, NBC News, Breitbart, CNBC, New York Post and Raw Story

Ryan Cooper / The Week:
Democrats have a better option than court packing

Discussion: Fox News, The Federalist and The Nation

Sumantra Maitra / The Federalist:
There's No Downside To Trump Nominating Amy Coney Barrett

Discussion: CNBC, Townhall, National Review, Reuters, Real Clear Politics, Bloomberg, Fox News, The Hill, Roll Call, Just The News, Boston Herald and Washington Post

Erwin Chemerinsky / American Prospect:
The Court: How Did We Get Here and What Will It Mean? — If Trump's nominee is confirmed …

Discussion: The Atlantic and Fox News

Bret Stephens / New York Times:
An Open Letter to Mitt Romney

Discussion: Mother Jones, Washington Free Beacon, Washington Post, Townhall, The American Independent, American Prospect, Fox News, IJR, Real Clear Politics, Los Angeles Times, The Week, Just Security, Roll Call, Just The News, Daily Kos and Raw Story

Talia Kaplan / Fox News:
Rep. Collins says his constitutional amendment on court packing would take ‘heat of the moment’ out of debate

Discussion: Politico, Balkinization and One America News Network

John Wagner / Washington Post:
Election live updates: Romney backs voting this year on Trump nominee to replace Ginsburg

Discussion: The Philadelphia Inquirer, Talking Points Memo, Redstate, Townhall, Common Dreams, CBS Pittsburgh, Washington Times and Balloon Juice

New York Times:
Trump Could Be Investigated for Tax Fraud, D.A. Says for First Time

Discussion: Raw Story, Vanity Fair, Law & Crime, The Week, NBC New York, Talking Points Memo, CNBC, Political Wire, Bloomberg, One America News Network, Gothamist and Reuters, more at Mediagazer »

Des Moines Register:

Iowa Poll: Donald Trump and Joe Biden are locked in a dead heat six weeks to Election Day — It's a dead heat in Iowa as a new Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll shows President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden locked in a tie just six weeks to Election Day.

Discussion: Reuters, Bloomberg, POLITICUSUSA, The Hill, Iowa Starting Line and Political Wire

Washington Post:

Pentagon used taxpayer money meant for masks and swabs to make jet engine parts and body armor — Shortly after Congress passed the Cares Act, the Pentagon began directing pandemic-related money to defense contractors — A $1 billion fund Congress gave the Pentagon in March to build …

Discussion: The American Independent, Talking Points Memo, Law & Crime, Slate, Common Dreams, Raw Story and Just The News

Greg Bluestein / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

AJC poll: Race for president, Senate contests in Georgia ‘too close to call’ — Pollster: ‘All three races are in play’ — A new poll conducted for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution shows the presidential race in Georgia could not be closer, with President Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden tied …

Discussion: Politico, The Hill and Political Wire

NBC News:
The Senate was designed to cool our politics down. No more

Discussion: The American Independent, Townhall, Bloomberg, The Daily Caller, Data For Progress, MyNorthwest.com, The Week and Vox

Sohrab Ahmari / New York Post: Why Amy Coney Barrett is hands-down best pick to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Michael Scherer / Washington Post:

Mike Bloomberg raises $16 million to allow former felons to vote in Florida — Former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg and his team have raised more than $16 million to pay the court fines and fees of nearly 32,000 Black and Hispanic Florida voters with felony convictions …

Discussion: Forbes, Slate, Breitbart, Associated Press and New York Times

Ursula Perano / Axios:
Bloomberg raises $16.1M to help Florida felons regain voting rights

Discussion: The Hill, The Daily Caller and American Greatness

Fabiola Cineas / Vox: What it's like fighting for the right to vote as an ex-felon

Josh Rogin / Washington Post:

Secret CIA assessment: Putin ‘probably directing’ influence operation to denigrate Biden — Russian President Vladimir Putin and his top aides are “probably directing” a Russian foreign influence operation to interfere in the 2020 presidential election against former vice president Joe Biden …

Discussion: Vanity Fair, Daily Kos, The Hill, Raw Story, The Week, Mediaite and Vox

Edward-Isaac Dovere / The Atlantic:

The Debates Could Seal Biden's Fate — Last weekend, Philippe Reines walked over to Ron Klain's house in Washington, D.C., to hand off his Donald Trump outfit: the suit, the shoes with the lifts, the shirt, the long red tie, the cufflinks. Just in case. When the former Hillary Clinton aide stored …

Discussion: Redstate, The Dispatch, New York Times and The Hill

Brittany Schmidt / WBAY-TV:
One-on-one interview with Democratic Presidential Nominee Joe Biden

Discussion: Fox News, National Review, Politico, Washington Post, Rev, IJR, TheBlaze, The Daily Caller, New York Post, Breitbart and Mediaite

Sahil Kapur / NBC News:
Stoking his base, Trump warns of a Kamala Harris presidency

Discussion: Forbes, Raw Story, israpundit.org, The Guardian, ABC News, STAT, Townhall, Axios and Breitbart

Holly Yan / CNN:

200,000 people have died from Covid-19 in the US. That's more than the US battle deaths from 5 wars combined — Graphics by Shane Csontos-Popko, CNN — (CNN)What happened today seemed impossible to many Americans six months ago. — When Dr. Anthony Fauci predicted in March that Covid-19 …

Discussion: Vox

Sydney Ember / New York Times:

Bernie Sanders Sounds Alarm on a Trump ‘Nightmare Scenario’ — Warning that this election is an “extremely dangerous moment” for the country, he said in an interview that he would aggressively push to try to stop President Trump from delegitimizing the vote.

Discussion: Vox, Project Syndicate and The Hill

Christopher Cadelago / Politico:
Voters to Trump and Biden camps: Don't come knocking on our doors

Discussion: Media Matters for America, The Hill and Washington Monthly

Mike Allen / Axios:

13 Nobel Prize-winning economists back Biden — Joe Biden's campaign released on Tuesday a letter signed by 13 winners of the Nobel Prize in economics who say that while their views are different, they all think his policies “will result in economic growth that is faster, more robust, and more equitable.”

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Political Wire

Mike Allen / Axios:
Matt Gaetz discusses post-Trump GOP in new book, “Firebrand”

Discussion: Right Wing Watch and Raw Story

Becket Adams / Washington Examiner:

The 1619 Project is a fraud — New York Times Magazine staffer Nikole Hannah-Jones accused me once of rank jealousy. She said my criticism for her flawed 1619 Project stems from the fact that, unlike her, I do not “have good ideas and the talent to execute them.”

Discussion: Politico, Washington Post, Breitbart, Reason and TheBlaze

Detroit Free Press:

In secret recording, trainer for Unlock Michigan advises on unlawful tactics — LANSING - A company collecting signatures to strip Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of her emergency powers coached paid petition circulators on giving voters false information, illegally collecting signatures without witnessing them …

Discussion: Raw Story

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:

Trump, Orbán, and Putin Are Forming an Authoritarian Alliance — Hungarian president Viktor Orbán announced yesterday that he was endorsing President Trump's reelection campaign. It is fairly uncommon for sitting American presidents to receive election endorsements from foreign leaders …