memeorandum: ‘Unfathomable’: US death toll from coronavirus hits 200,000 (Carla K. Johnson/Associated Press)

2:00 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.

Ryan Cooper / The Week:

Democrats have a better option than court packing — With the unfortunate death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Republicans are licking their chops at the prospect of a 6-3 conservative supermajority on the nation's highest legal body. This would be an obvious violation of the …

Discussion: Vox, Fox News, The Federalist and The Nation

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, Breitbart, POLITICUSUSA, The Hill, Raw Story, Newsbusters, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, BuzzFeed News, The Daily Caller, New York Post and Fox News

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: The Federalist, New Republic, Forbes, Sun-Sentinel, Breitbart, Real Clear Politics and The Dispatch

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: The Philadelphia Inquirer, Washington Post, Breitbart, Political Wire, Morning Consult and Fox News

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

Matt Vespa / Townhall:
Shove It, Democrats. Ruth Bader Ginsburg's Seat Is Ours...And There's Nothing You Can Do About It

Discussion: The Daily Caller

Politico:
POLITICO Playbook: Here's what's in Boehner's new book

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

New York Times:
How Ginsburg's Death Has Reshaped the Money Race for Senate Democrats

Discussion: Washington Post, Daily Kos, Mediaite, One America News Network, Washington Times, Raw Story, Common Dreams, The Guardian and The 19th

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

Discussion: Politico, Bloomberg and Balkinization

Axios:
Scoop: Trump to meet with Supreme Court candidate Barbara Lagoa on Friday

Discussion: Political Wire, The Daily Caller, New York Post, Fox News and The Hill

CNN:
Amy Coney Barrett has emerged as Trump's favorite

Discussion: Bloomberg, New York Post, Raw Story, TheBlaze and The Hill

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

Discussion: The Hill, STAT and Vanity Fair

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

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

Siobhan Hughes / Wall Street Journal:
Romney to Consider, Vote on Trump's High Court Nominee

Discussion: Power Line, CBS News and Daily Kos

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Addy Baird / BuzzFeed News:
Mitt Romney Supports Replacing Ruth Bader Ginsburg Before the Election

Discussion: ABC News, NBC News, National Review, Townhall, Talking Points Memo, The Federalist, Fox News, Observer, Roll Call, Slate, TheBlaze, New York Post, Breitbart, Associated Press, CNBC, Just The News, The Week, Florida Politics, Deadline, Raw Story and Mediaite

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: NBC News, Reuters, Politico, 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: Vanity Fair, Daily Kos, The American Independent, Slate, Law & Crime, Raw Story, Common Dreams, Talking Points Memo and Just The News

Brittany Schmidt / WBAY-TV:

One-on-one interview with Democratic Presidential Nominee Joe Biden — Biden answers questions about supreme court justice seat, COVID-19 — MANITOWOC, Wis. (WBAY) - Democratic Presidential Nominee Joe Bided sat down for a one-on-one interview with Action 2 News Monday afternoon.

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

Paul Steinhauser / Fox News:
Biden avoids Supreme Court vacancy fight on campaign trail, sticks to slamming Trump

Discussion: NBC News, Townhall, The Dispatch, Politico, Washington Post, Redstate, The Hill, Raw Story, Common Dreams, CBS Pittsburgh, PinkNews and Washington Free Beacon

Jim Geraghty / National Review:
Biden: I'm Not Going to Say Whether I'll Try to Expand the Supreme Court

Discussion: Washington Post, The Daily Caller and CNN

Dion Rabouin / Axios:
Wall Street fears stimulus is doomed

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA

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: Reuters, The Week, Forbes, Slate, Breitbart and New York Times

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

Discussion: Vox, The Hill, The Daily Caller and American Greatness

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: NBC News, The Hill, Politico and Political Wire

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, Raw Story, The Hill, Mediaite, The Week and Vox

Commission on Presidential Debates:

Moderator Announces Topics for First Presidential Debate — The first presidential debate will be held on Tuesday, September 29 at Case Western Reserve University and Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, OH. The format for the first debate calls for six 15-minute time segments dedicated …

Discussion: Axios

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, New York Times and The Hill

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

Jeremy Barr / Washington Post:

Doug McKelway retires from Fox News with an eyebrow-raising video: ‘I want to thank Roger Ailes’ — Doug McKelway, a longtime Washington correspondent for Fox News, announced his retirement this month in an unusual video posted on Facebook praising the network's disgraced co-founder Roger Ailes.

Mike Allen / Axios:

Matt Gaetz discusses post-Trump GOP in new book, “Firebrand” — Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), a rising conservative star, writes about traveling with President Trump from New Hampshire to Dover Air Force Base for the return of the remains of two constituents killed in Afghanistan in his book, “Firebrand,” out Tuesday.

Discussion: Right Wing Watch and Raw Story

Mike Allen / Axios:
13 Nobel Prize-winning economists back Biden

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Political Wire

Christopher Cadelago / Politico:

Voters to Trump and Biden camps: Don't come knocking on our doors — Voters overwhelmingly prefer that campaigns don't dispatch workers to knock on their doors as part of their outreach efforts, with the number rising because of the pandemic that has sickened millions of Americans.

Discussion: Media Matters for America and The Hill

Sydney Ember / New York Times:
Bernie Sanders Sounds Alarm on a Trump ‘Nightmare Scenario’

Discussion: Vox, Forbes, Project Syndicate and The Hill

Philip Bump / Washington Post:

The sweeping hypocrisy of Trump's shrugging claim that ‘virtually nobody’ young dies from coronavirus — Speaking in front of an elbow-to-elbow crowd at an airport in Ohio on Monday, President Trump waved away concerns about how covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, affects young people.

Discussion: Raw Story and Politico

Timothy Bella / Washington Post:
‘It affects virtually nobody’: Trump incorrectly claims covid-19 isn't a risk for young people

Discussion: Vox, Talking Points Memo, Vanity Fair, Raw Story, Common Dreams and IJR

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 …

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

Carla K. Johnson / Associated Press:

‘Unfathomable’: US death toll from coronavirus hits 200,000 — The U.S. death toll from the coronavirus topped 200,000 Tuesday, a figure unimaginable eight months ago when the scourge first reached the world's richest nation with its state-of-the-art laboratories, top-flight scientists …