memeorandum: Elon Musk: Memelord or Meme Lifter? (Taylor Lorenz/New York Times)

4:15 PM ET, May 7, 2021

Top Items:

POLITICO Playbook: Scarred DeSantis staffers form a support group — DRIVING THE DAY — There may be turbulence ahead for Rep. ELISE STEFANIK as she wrestles the GOP leadership post from Rep. LIZ CHENEY (R-Wyo.) next week. DONALD TRUMP is sold on the New York Republican after her unbending show …

Discussion: CNN, Vanity Fair, Insider, Florida Politics, Slate and Talking Points Memo

Zack Beauchamp / Vox:

The Big Lie is the GOP's one and only truth — Liz Cheney's downfall shows how the GOP threat to democracy is getting worse. — Rep. Liz Cheney (WY), the third-ranking Republican in the House, is set to be stripped of her leadership post. Her crime? Voting to impeach Trump and then …

Discussion: Washington Post, Salon, American Greatness, Occupy Democrats, Breitbart, Jacobin, Raw Story and The Hill

Jessie Balmert / Cincinnati.com:

Ohio GOP calls on Rep. Anthony Gonzalez to resign for impeaching ex-President Trump — Congressman Anthony Gonzalez, R-Rocky River — COLUMBUS - The Ohio Republican Party's leaders called on Rep. Anthony Gonzalez to resign for voting to impeach former President Donald Trump, a stunning rebuke of one of their own.

Discussion: Washington Post, CNN, Talking Points Memo, Breitbart, WCMH-TV, Associated Press, National Review, Fox 8 Cleveland WJW and Balloon Juice

Washington Post:

Trump's out-of-power agenda: Retribution against foes, commanding the spotlight and total domination of GOP — Former president Donald Trump is moving to handpick members of the House GOP leadership team — relentlessly attacking Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, the No. 3 House Republican …

Discussion: Electoral-vote.com, Digby's Hullabaloo, Washington Times, BBC, Occupy Democrats, The American Spectator and Associated Press

Axios:

Institutionalizing Trumpism — Republican officials are rendering an unequivocal verdict: They want to cement former President Trump's politics and policies into the foundation of the GOP for many years to come. — Why it matters: The debate over Trump's post-election hold on the GOP is over …

Discussion: Associated Press, Washington Post, Salon, Raw Story, Wall Street Journal, The American Independent, The Week, The Yeshiva World and Mock Paper Scissors

David Siders / Politico:

How Trump is hunting down the GOP's leading families — In the civil war between Donald Trump and the GOP's waning establishment, no Republican has crossed the former president and come out ahead. — Yet as Rep. Liz Cheney's likely ouster from House leadership lays bare …

Discussion: Washington Post, BizPac Review, The American Conservative, WBUR, Vanity Fair, USA Today, The Takeaway, Fox News, Michael-In-Norfolk and Raw Story

Jeremy Pelzer / Plain Dealer:
Ohio GOP calls on U.S. Rep. Anthony Gonzalez to resign for voting to impeach Donald Trump

Discussion: Fox News, The Hill, Washington Examiner and Associated Press

Daniel J. Flynn / The American Spectator:
What Liz Cheney Really Wants

Discussion: NBC News, spectator.us, RedState, The Time of Monsters and Mother Jones

Peggy Noonan / Wall Street Journal:
Liz Cheney Confronts a House of Cowards

Discussion: The Hill, Insider, Mediaite, ABC News, Talking Points Memo, Washington Examiner, Real Clear Politics and Morning Shots

Susan B. Glasser / New Yorker:
Forced to Choose Between Trump's “Big Lie” and Liz Cheney, the House G.O.P. Chooses the Lie

Discussion: HotAir, DJHJ Media, USA Today, Raw Story, BizPac Review, The Gateway Pundit, Florida Politics, The Week, Informed Comment, Politico, The Daily Caller, Washington Post, LifeZette, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Zenger News and Associated Press

Morgan Gstalter / The Hill:
Cheney GOP conference deputy has complained about ‘coronation’ of Stefanik: report

Discussion: CNN, New York Magazine, Politico, Raw Story, IJR, Daily Kos, Mother Jones, HotAir and Associated Press

CNN:
‘Not who we are as a country’: Elise Stefanik once harshly blasted Trump's rhetoric and policies

Discussion: New Republic, Political Wire, The American Independent, Forbes, The Dispatch, Los Angeles Times and KIFI-TV

Jeff Cox / CNBC:

April's expected hiring boom goes bust as nonfarm payroll gain falls well short of estimates — Hiring was a huge letdown in April, with nonfarm payrolls increasing by a much less than expected 266,000. — The unemployment rate rose to 6.1%, the Labor Department said.

Discussion: New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Fox Business, National Review, ABC News, The Gateway Pundit, The Western Journal, Forbes, HotAir, RedState, Instapundit, KIFI-TV, The National Interest, justoneminute.typepad.com and Twitchy

Catherine Rampell / Washington Post:
Behind the April jobs report: Is there a shortage of jobs or a shortage of workers?

Discussion: IJR, The Intercept and Slate

Neil Irwin / New York Times:
The Jobs Report: The Boom That Wasn't

Discussion: Human Events, The Week, UPI and Twitchy

Associated Press: Chamber of Commerce seeks end to enhanced US jobless aid

Axios:
U.S. adds just 266,000 jobs in April, far below expectations

Discussion: Washington Post, RedState, Talking Points Memo and The Week

Associated Press:

4 ex-cops indicted on US civil rights charges in Floyd death — MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A federal grand jury has indicted the four former Minneapolis police officers involved in George Floyd's arrest and death, accusing them of willfully violating the Black man's constitutional rights …

Discussion: Washington Post, BizPac Review, New York Post, HotAir, Forbes, Law & Crime, NewsOne, National Review, JONATHAN TURLEY and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Dakin Andone / CNN:
Federal grand jury indicts four former Minneapolis police officers in George Floyd's death

Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

The Jolt: Why Keisha Bottoms isn't running for election - and who might jump in now — Politics is a fickle beast. In the span of two years, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms has gone from one of President Joe Biden's most prominent surrogates — important enough to get vetted as a potential VP pick …

Discussion: Breitbart, The 19th, Insider, Associated Press, UPI, New York Post and Althouse

Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
BREAKING: Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms won't run for reelection

Discussion: Politico, The Hill, RedState, New York Times, WSB-TV, HotAir, TheGrio, Washington Examiner, USA Today, NPR, Raw Story, BizPac Review and Fox News

Washington Post:
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms says she won't seek reelection

Discussion: Fox News, The Daily Caller, The Root and Townhall

Heather Murphy / New York Times:

4 Years After an Execution, a Different Man's DNA Is Found on the Murder Weapon — Lawyers' request to conduct additional DNA testing before Ledell Lee was executed had been denied. — For 22 years, Ledell Lee maintained that he had been wrongly convicted of murder.

Discussion: Slate

CNN:

The ‘headache’ Trump left behind for Biden on the White House lawn — (CNN)The project that's currently tearing up the White House's South Lawn initially landed on Donald Trump's desk. — The White House was in need of substantial upgrades to its future security apparatus …

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA and Raw Story

Politico:

Jobs surprise triggers battle over federal aid — The steady jobs recovery from Covid-19 slowed dramatically in April, stunning Wall Street analysts and raising questions about the strength of the pandemic comeback and the impact of generous unemployment benefits.

Discussion: U.S. Chamber of Commerce, HuffPost and Vox

Joseph Bustos / The State:
SC Gov. McMaster orders DEW to pull out of federal COVID-19 unemployment program

Discussion: VICE, CNBC, governor.sc.gov and UPI

Max Fisher / New York Times:

‘Belonging Is Stronger Than Facts’: The Age of Misinformation — Social and psychological forces are combining to make the sharing and believing of misinformation an endemic problem with no easy solution. — There's a decent chance you've had at least one of these rumors, all false …

Discussion: Angry Bear

Louis Keene / The Forward:

‘They Own The Media’: New Van Morrison song amplifies antisemitic trope — Legendary singer-songwriter Van Morrison released a new song on streaming platforms Thursday whose title espouses a classic antisemitic trope. — The lyrics of the song, “They Own The Media,” never indicate who the pronoun in its title refers to.

Discussion: Religion News Service

Danya Hajjaji / Newsweek:

Marjorie Taylor Greene Insists Capitol Rioters Weren't Trump Supporters — Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) has sought to distance supporters of former President Donald Trump from the January 6 Capitol riot. — During a town hall in Rockmart, Georgia held on Wednesday, Greene …

Discussion: Raw Story and Crooks and Liars

Grace Segers / CBS News:
Historian Jon Meacham says GOP “has descended into fantasy, conspiracy and falsehoods” - on “The Takeout”

Discussion: Raw Story

Paul Szoldra / Task & Purpose:

Retired Army Lt. Col. Allen West embarrasses himself in one-man push-up contest — Zero, zero, zero... Video evidence shows retired Army Lt. Col. Allen West can move his body as if doing a push-up but it is unclear whether or not he can still do one correctly.

Taylor Lorenz / New York Times:

Elon Musk: Memelord or Meme Lifter? — The billionaire has been posting content creators' work without credit. Some are frustrated; others, simply puzzled. — Elon Musk — the Tesla chief executive, SpaceX founder and soon-to-be “Saturday Night Live” host — is an open admirer of memes.

Katie Shepherd / Washington Post:

Democrats on FEC blast decision to drop probe into Trump hush-money payment to Stormy Daniels: ‘Defies reality’ — The Federal Election Commission on Thursday dropped its inquiry to determine whether Donald Trump violated campaign finance laws when his personal lawyer paid an adult-film actress $130,000 …

Discussion: The Hill, Common Dreams, OpenSecrets.org, The Western Journal, TheBlaze, The Week, Reason, The American Independent, BizPac Review and Talking Points Memo

Nihal Krishan / Washington Examiner:
Trump celebrates FEC dropping case over Stormy Daniels and illegal campaign contributions: ‘Fake news’

Discussion: Fox News, Washington Post, Raw Story, The Daily Caller, New York Post, KIFI-TV, Washington Times and Townhall

YouTube:

We're in it Together! Bobby Valentine for Stamford — With great humility and perspective from a lifetime of service, I'm asking for your support to be the next Mayor of Stamford - the city I'm proud to have alw...

United States Capitol Police:

USCP Response to OIG Report #3 — The United States Capitol Police has already taken significant steps to implement the recommendations detailed in the Office of Inspector General's (OIG) third flash report on counter-surveillance and threat assessments. — All recommended policy updates …

Discussion: The Hill, Insider, CNBC, Politico, Forbes and CBS News

Corey Kilgannon / New York Times:

And Then There Was One: G.O.P. Defends Its Last Seat in Queens — The party struggles to hold on in an increasingly diverse borough, even as it fights its own internal battles. — In heavily Democratic Queens, Councilman Eric Ulrich is a political oddity: He's the only Republican elected …

Discussion: Inside Elections

Astead W. Herndon / New York Times:

Eric Adams Says He Has Something to Prove. Becoming Mayor Might Help. — Mr. Adams is the top fund-raiser in the New York City mayoral race, with key endorsements and strong polling, but he still faces questions about his preparedness for the job. — Nearly three decades ago …

Jim Geraghty / National Review:

The Wuhan-Lab Theory Is Not Far-Fetched. Just Look at China's Reckless Rocket Program — On the menu today: The Chinese space program is about as careful and safety-conscious as the Chinese viral-research program; a deep look at the mounting evidence pointing to a lab leak …

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Washington Post, Fox News, Washington Free Beacon, Gizmodo, Space.com, Townhall and Instapundit

Jason Snead / Washington Examiner:

Busting the Left's myths about Georgia's voting law — Myth and reality collided on Capitol Hill recently. Senate Democrats convened a hearing provocatively titled “Jim Crow 2021” and featuring a who's who of liberal activist witnesses, including Stacey Abrams.