memeorandum: POLITICO Playbook: 'The strangest thing I've ever seen' (Politico)

11:00 PM ET, October 2, 2021

Top Items:

The Lawyer Behind the Memo on How Trump Could Stay in Office — John Eastman was a little-known but respected conservative lawyer. Then he became influential with Donald Trump — and counseled him on how to retain power after losing the election. — Read in app

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, Raw Story, POLITICUSUSA and Digby's Hullabaloo

New York Times:

Jan. 6 Was Worse Than We Knew — Read in app — The editorial board is a group of opinion journalists whose views are informed by expertise, research, debate and certain longstanding values. It is separate from the newsroom. — However horrifying the Jan. 6 riot …

Discussion: Twitchy and Raw Story

Caroline Vakil / The Hill:

Sinema slams delay of infrastructure vote: ‘Inexcusable’ — Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) on Saturday slammed the decision to delay a vote this week on the bipartisan infrastructure deal that she helped negotiate, calling it “inexcusable.” — Good-faith negotiations, the Arizona centrist argued, “require trust.”

Discussion: Arizona Republic, RedState, Fox News, TheBlaze, Bloomberg, Washington Times and KVIA-TV

New York Times:

Biden's Agenda in Doubt as He Aids Progressives in Fight With Moderates — Progressives flexed, but remain empty-handed. Moderates feel betrayed. The outcome of their battle could determine Democrats' fate in the midterms and the success of the Biden presidency. — Read in app

Discussion: CNN, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Washington Times, One America News Network and Daily Kos

Speaker Nancy Pelosi:

Dear Colleague: It's About Time! — Good morning. — It's about time! Yesterday, we extended the Thursday, September 30th legislative day to Friday, pushing to passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework and to advance Build Back Better. But more time was needed to reach our goal of passing both bills, which we will.

Discussion: The Guardian, The Daily Caller, The Hill, UPI, Forbes, POLITICUSUSA, Mediaite and Townhall

Jordan Williams / The Hill:
Pelosi sets end-of-October deadline for infrastructure vote

Discussion: Bloomberg, Townhall and Political Wire

Politico:

POLITICO Playbook: 'The strangest thing I've ever seen' — DRIVING THE DAY — “The fact that the president came to the Hill and whipped against his own bill is the strangest thing I've ever seen.” — That late-night observation was just one of many we heard from frustrated lawmakers …

Discussion: Power Line, Digby's Hullabaloo, The Mahablog and HotAir

Dan Balz / Washington Post:
What will it take for Biden to bring fractured Democrats together?

Discussion: Politico, NBC News, Wall Street Journal, Mediaite, RedState, Associated Press and Fox News

Brett Samuels / The Hill:
Biden to host lawmakers at White House next week amid impasse on his agenda

Discussion: Fox News, Bloomberg and Power Line

Maureen Dowd / New York Times:

Sinema Stars in Her Own Film — Read in app — WASHINGTON — Just like the original Sphinx, the Phoenix Sphinx is blocking the way until those who would move ahead solve her riddle: — What does Kyrsten Sinema want? And why doesn't she stick around to explain it?

Discussion: Rolling Stone

Charlotte Alter / TIME:
What Does Kyrsten Sinema Want?

Discussion: Insider, Mother Jones and Rolling Stone

Laurie Roberts / Arizona Republic: Here's what Democrats need to understand about Sen. Kyrsten Sinema

Mike Isaac / New York Times:

Whistle-Blower to Accuse Facebook of Contributing to Jan. 6 Riot, Memo Says — In an internal memo, Facebook defended itself and said that social media was not a primary cause of polarization. — Read in app — SAN FRANCISCO — Facebook, which has been under fire …

Discussion: Raw Story, more at Techmeme »

Daily Mail:

EXCLUSIVE: Married Trump donor tells police she feared for her safety when Corey Lewandowski told her ‘he stabbed a man in the back of the head and killed him’ as her husband slams the political operative's ‘violent and harassing’ behavior — Super PAC donor Trashelle Odom has made a statement …

Discussion: Mediaite and Raw Story

Don Moynihan / Can We Still Govern?:

Bullshit, Branding and CRT — The Nine Incredible Tricks to Get Your Moral Panic Trending! — As a professor who teaches policy students how to write about public policy, I spend a lot of time talking about argumentation, which is partly about how to write concisely and clearly …

Ian Millhiser / Vox:

The nihilism of Neil Gorsuch — Trump's first Supreme Court appointee's radical vision to remake America, explained. — Neil Gorsuch was ready to blow up the US housing market over a minor legal violation. — The case in front of the Supreme Court was Collins v. Yellen (2021) …

Paul Kane / Washington Post:

Pelosi on verge of cementing legacy as one of the most powerful members of Congress ever — or ending her career on a sour note — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) raised eyebrows this past week with a specific a phrase she uttered during a leadership team meeting.

Discussion: The Hill, Breitbart, The Intercept, TheBlaze, USA Today, Bloomberg and Insider

Katie Mettler / Washington Post:

U.S. prosecutors ask judge to sentence men accused of plotting ‘race war’ ahead of Va. gun rally as domestic terrorists — Federal prosecutors have requested that two members of The Base, a white-supremacist group, be sentenced as domestic terrorists after investigators accused them of planning …

Discussion: NBC4 Washington

Kyle Arnold / Dallas Morning News:

Unvaccinated employees ‘will not be able to work at American Airlines’ due to federal mandate — The CEO and president of Fort Worth-based American Airlines said that employees won't be able to opt out for testing. — American Airlines leaders told employees Friday that they will need …

Discussion: HotAir, Page Array, TheBlaze and CNBC