memeorandum: Rick Scott thrusts the GOP back into Romney-'47 percent' territory (Aaron Blake/Washington Post)

12:35 AM ET, February 23, 2022

Top Items:

Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:

Biden lowers the hammer on Russia, just as he vowed — You could feel President Biden's indignation as he announced on Tuesday that he would make good on his vow to enact crippling sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. — “Who in the Lord's name does [Russian President Vladimir] …

Discussion: The Guardian, CNBC, New York Post, New York Times, PREVAIL, Political Wire, UPI, Breitbart, OFAC, TheBlaze, Task & Purpose and Washington Post

Wall Street Journal:

In Ukraine Crisis, Putin Confounded Diplomatic Efforts by Western Leaders — A parade of Western officials sought to stop Putin from attacking Ukraine, but they found a leader whose position only hardened — in Moscow, Noemie Bisserbe in Paris and Bojan Pancevski

Discussion: Washington Post, The Times of Israel, The American Spectator, The Guardian and New York Times

Politico:

Biden's Putin reading list — Welcome to POLITICO's West Wing Playbook, your guide to the people and power centers in the Biden administration. — There is no world leader JOE BIDEN has likely spent more time thinking about than VLADIMIR PUTIN. — While GEORGE W. BUSH initially found Putin …

Discussion: New York Times, Daily Kos, Mother Jones, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Financial Times

Jonathan V. Last / The Triad:
Reality Is a Tank — Vladimir Putin has been clear-eyed about the world. We're the ones who lost touch with reality.

Discussion: Associated Press, New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Meduza.io

Reuters:
U.S.' Blinken cancels meeting with Lavrov, says Russian moves are ‘rejection of diplomacy’

Discussion: TASS

U.S. Department of the Treasury:
U.S. Treasury Imposes Immediate Economic Costs in Response to Actions in the Donetsk and Luhansk Regions

Discussion: Washington Post, The White House, New York Times, RedState, The Daily Caller, Бло …, New Republic, National Review, Politico and Reuters

NBC News:
Biden's Ukraine speech pushes sanctions on Russian banks. That's not going to stop Putin.

Discussion: Associated Press, The American Spectator, New York Times, The Daily Wire and The Garden Island

The Bulwark:
Ukraine Isn't the Only Target of Putin's Aggression

Discussion: Politico, Washington Post, Takes & Re-Takes, Washington Examiner, Daily Kos, The Daily Caller and Overtime

Shaun Walker / The Guardian:
‘There is a clear plan of action’: east Ukraine readies for invasion

Discussion: New Republic, Washington Post and New York Times

Lily Kuo / Washington Post:
China keeps walking its tightrope between Russia and the West as tensions flare in Ukraine

Discussion: Mother Jones, Global Times, The Diplomat, Hong Kong Free Press HKFP, Beijing Channel, KRQE-TV, Insider and The Guardian

The Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show:

Full Interview: President Trump with C&B from Mar-a-Lago — CLAY: We are live from the majestic Mar-a-Lago estate with 45 himself, President Donald Trump, and I'll bring you right in, sir, 'cause I know our audience loves to hear from you. Buck and I have been walking around this estate.

Discussion: New York Times, Insider, NPR, Washington Examiner, Metro.co.uk, POLITICUSUSA, HuffPost, Vanity Fair, The Daily Wire and Balloon Juice

Michael Wilner / Kansas City Star:

Only one former secretary of state is praising Putin and criticizing Biden in Ukraine crisis — During a moment of peril in Europe, Pompeo is taking to cable news and social media to praise Russian President Vladimir Putin and chastise the Biden administration.

Discussion: Raw Story and Fox News

NBC News:
Trump praises Putin's ‘genius’ as GOP fissures grow on Ukraine crisis

Kansas City Star:
Missouri Senator Josh Hawley appeases Russia on Ukraine

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA, NBC News, Raw Story, Washington Post and Townhall

Paul Kane / Washington Post:
On Ukraine, Republicans are united on criticizing Biden, but not on how to counter Russian threat

Discussion: CNN, RedState, Newsbusters and The Gateway Pundit

Matina Stevis-Gridneff / New York Times:

Condemns the ‘Beginning of a Russian Invasion of Ukraine’ — Washington and its allies called the Kremlin's recognition of two separatist regions a blunt defiance of international law that risks war. Western officials said Russian troops have entered eastern Ukraine.

Discussion: Bloomberg, The Guardian, Political Wire, Responsible Statecraft, Common Dreams, Mediaite, WTOP News and HuffPost

The White House:
Fact Sheet: United States Imposes First Tranche of Swift and Severe Costs on Russia

Discussion: New York Post, Pennsylvania Capital-Star and PBS NewsHour

Chris Cillizza / CNN:
It's time to admit it: Mitt Romney was right about Russia

Discussion: Deseret News, Washington Post, HotAir, BizPac Review, Patterico's Pontifications, The Daily Caller, Fox News, Townhall, Twitchy and National Review

Beverley McLachlin / Globe and Mail:

The Ottawa truck convoy has revealed the ugly side of freedom … Beverley McLachlin is a former justice of the Supreme Court of Canada and served as Chief Justice from 2000 to 2017. — During the truck convoy protests, we have watched banners demanding “freedom” waving over big rigs parked in front of Parliament.

Discussion: Twitchy, TheBlaze and WTTG-TV

CBC News:

Ottawa convoy protest organizer Tamara Lich denied bail — Judge was not convinced she would go home and follow conditions — Tamara Lich, a major organizer of the so-called Freedom Convoy, was denied bail Tuesday morning in Ottawa. — Lich, the Alberta woman behind a now-halted GoFundMe campaign …

Discussion: American Greatness, BizPac Review, Breitbart, RedState and Small Dead Animals

Marisa Schultz / Fox News:
Pelosi says she's monitoring the freedom trucker convoy heading to DC ‘very closely’

Discussion: HotAir, New York Post and Breitbart

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:

Rick Scott thrusts the GOP back into Romney-'47 percent' territory — For a few years now, the leaders of the Republican Party have pretty steadfastly avoided outlining anything amounting to an actual party agenda. The 2020 Republican platform was merely a (somewhat awkward) …

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Mediaite, Common Dreams and Washington Examiner

Jake Lahut / Insider:
Rick Scott GOP plan promises to outlaw race disclosures in any government form, including the 2030 census

Discussion: Breitbart, Raw Story and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Thomas Zimmer / The Guardian:
The Republican party is abandoning democracy. There can be no ‘politics as usual’

Discussion: Raw Story

Burgess Everett / Politico:
Rick Scott pushes own GOP agenda as McConnell holds off

Washington Post:

Biden interviews at least two Supreme Court contenders as announcement nears … President Biden is in the final stages of making his first nomination to the Supreme Court — having completed interviews with at least two leading contenders — and West Wing officials have begun advising outside allies …

Discussion: NBC News, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, HotAir, CNN, Townhall, The Hill, Insider, USA Today and ABC News

Mark Joseph Stern / Slate:

The Supreme Court Just Teed Up a Direct Assault on Civil Rights Law — The Supreme Court announced on Tuesday that it will decide whether civil rights laws violate the First Amendment when they “compel an artist to speak or stay silent.” By doing so, the court formally commenced …

Discussion: Axios, Forbes, Nebraska Examiner, Jezebel, Roll Call, Washington Blade, Fox News, CBS News, National Review, The Daily Caller and Washington Post

Ian Millhiser / Vox:
The Supreme Court will hear a big case about whether religion is a license to discriminate

Discussion: Reason, Raw Story and National Review

Drew Harwell / Washington Post:

Trump's Truth Social's disastrous launch raises doubts about its long-term viability … Former president Donald Trump, a longtime critic of how Democrats debuted healthcare.gov, is facing a bungled website launch of his own. — His long-promised social network, Truth Social …

Discussion: Gizmodo, The Daily Dot, Platformer, Raw Story, Mediaite, CNN, Wall Street Journal, NPR and The Gateway Pundit, more at Techmeme »

Kyle Cheney / Politico:

Fighting Jan. 6 committee, John Eastman details how he came into Trump's post-election fold — Attorney John Eastman, a key ally in Donald Trump's bid to subvert the 2020 election, says he began advising Trump two months before Election Day, when a prominent conservative attorney recruited him to …

Discussion: Raw Story

New York Times:

Trump Organization and Finance Chief Seek Dismissal of Fraud Charges — In court papers, the former president's family business and Allen Weisselberg, its longtime chief financial officer, called the case against them politically motivated. — The Trump Organization and its longtime chief …

Discussion: CBS News, CNN, Insider and Bloomberg

Sean Murphy / Associated Press:

US House candidate sorry for intoxication during sleepover — OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A U.S. House candidate in Oklahoma has apologized after reports that she became intoxicated at a Valentine's Day weekend sleepover for middle-school-aged girls, berated several of the children and vomited in a hamper.

Discussion: The Daily Caller, National Review, Rolling Stone, Mediaite, The Hill and Washington Post

Barbara McQuade / Just Security:

United States v. Donald Trump — A “Model Prosecution Memo” on the Conspiracy to Pressure Vice President Pence — The following memorandum is a model “prosecution memo” analyzing potential charges against former President Donald Trump for his efforts to pressure Mike Pence to abuse …

Discussion: Raw Story

Dave Jamieson / HuffPost:

Starbucks Tries To Slow Union Elections But Misses Legal Deadline By 8 Minutes — The coffee chain's legal team said Microsoft Outlook crashed as it was emailing the files. A labor board official didn't have much sympathy. — As more baristas around the country seek to unionize …

Discussion: Daily Kos

Jay Willis / Balls and Strikes:

The Case of the Anti-Democracy Harvard Law Review Note — An arcane policy allows editors at one of the country's most prestigious legal journals to publish anonymously. — Earlier this month, the Harvard Law Review published a student note from its most recent issue entitled " …

Ellie Silverman / Washington Post:

As ‘Freedom Convoy’ spinoffs pop up on social media, D.C. region braces — Local and federal agencies are preparing for possible traffic disruptions in the D.C. region related to plans inspired by the self-styled “Freedom Convoy” that occupied downtown Ottawa for more than three weeks protesting vaccine mandates.

Eli Yokley / Morning Consult:

The Culture War Has Democrats Facing Electoral Demise in Rural America. Can They Stop the Bleeding? — New survey of rural voters shows what's driving the party's increasingly barren showings, and potential avenues for recovery — 65% of rural voters view the Democratic Party unfavorably — including 48% who do so strongly.

Discussion: Townhall, HotAir, Mock Paper Scissors, The Hill and Political Wire

George Joseph / THE CITY:
Brooklyn Progressive Dems Raise Alarm About New Party Director's GOP Past

Discussion: The Daily Caller

Andrew Das / New York Times:

U.S. Soccer and Women's Players Agree to Settle Equal Pay Lawsuit — Under the terms of the agreement, the athletes will receive $24 million and a pledge from the soccer federation to equalize pay for the men's and women's national teams. — Andrew Das has reported on soccer's equal pay dispute since 2016.