memeorandum: House Republicans brace for doomsday scenario if McCarthy falls short of 218 votes for speaker (CNN)

2:50 PM ET, December 9, 2022

Top Items:

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema: Why I'm registering as an independent — The Arizona senator explains why she has left the Democratic Party. — There's a disconnect between what everyday Americans want and deserve from our politics, and what political parties are offering.

Burgess Everett / Politico:

Sinema switches to independent, shaking up the Senate — Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema is changing her party affiliation to independent, delivering a jolt to Democrats' narrow majority and Washington along with it. — In a 45-minute interview, the first-term senator told POLITICO …

Jeremy Herb / CNN:

Sinema leaving the Democratic Party and registering as an independent — Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema is leaving the Democratic Party and registering as a political independent, she told CNN's Jake Tapper in an exclusive TV interview. — “I've registered as an Arizona independent.

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:

Kyrsten Sinema Is Playing Chicken … The biggest loser of the 2022 election other than Donald Trump was Kyrsten Sinema. The Arizona senator and now-former Democrat desperately needed Democrats, especially fellow senator Mark Kelly, to lose. Only such a setback would make the party desperate enough …

Hailey Fuchs / Politico:

Top progressive firm drops Sinema as a client — The leading progressive digital firm Authentic has dropped Kyrsten Sinema as a client, after the Arizona senator announced she was leaving the Democratic Party, according to a person close to the firm. — Sinema announced Friday …

Discussion: Political Wire

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:

The politics of Kyrsten Sinema's party switch — Four days ago, we wrote about a few reasons the Georgia Senate runoff — and whether Democrats' majority would grow to 51-49 — mattered, practically speaking. One of those reasons? The possibility of a party switch.

Discussion: Arizona Republic, Washington Examiner, Associated Press, New Republic, Fox News, CNBC, One America News Network, Balkinization, Bloomberg, PoliticusUSA and The Guardian

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

Schumer says Sinema can keep committee assignments after leaving Democratic Party — Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Friday announced he will let Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.) keep her Senate committee assignments after she dropped her affiliation with the Democratic Party and said she would identify as an Independent.

Discussion: E&E, PoliticusUSA, Just Security, Washington Post and Washington Blade

New York Times:
Kyrsten Sinema Says She Will Leave the Democratic Party

Discussion: Bloomberg, Washington Post, NBC Bay Area, Insider, Ace of Spades HQ, Louder With Crowder and The Dispatch

Sahil Kapur / NBC News:
Sinema's decision to quit the Democratic Party jolts Arizona 2024 Senate race

Discussion: Politico, Raw Story and Inside Elections

Axios:
Kyrsten Sinema goes independent, scrambles Senate

Discussion: NBC News, The Hill, New Republic, The Wrap, Human Events, Raw Story, Washington Times, Morning Shots, CBS News, Insider, HuffPost and CNN

NBC News:
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema leaves Democratic Party and registers as an independent

Discussion: New York Post, The Wrap, The Daily, Mediaite, The Liberty Loft, Raw Story, IJR, NPR and The 90 Degrees

Marianne LeVine / Politico:
White House, Senate Dem leader: Our relationship with Sinema won't change

Discussion: Insider, Semafor, Breitbart, The Daily Caller, The Hill and Twitchy

CNN:

House Republicans brace for doomsday scenario if McCarthy falls short of 218 votes for speaker — As a right-wing faction threatens to tank his speakership ambitions, House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy delivered a promise: “I'll never leave,” making clear he has no plans to drop out of the race …

Discussion: Raw Story and American Greatness

Nathaniel Rakich / FiveThirtyEight:

How Kevin McCarthy Could Lose The Election For Speaker Of The House — Six Republicans have already come out against him, and several others share their very conservative, anti-establishment views. — By Nathaniel Rakich — Dec. 9, 2022, at 6:00 AM — Rep. Kevin McCarthy …

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Slate, RealClearFlorida and Fox News

Associated Press:

Brittney Griner back home in US after Russian prisoner swap — Brittney Griner returned to the United States early Friday, nearly 10 months after the basketball star's detention in Russia made her the most high-profile American jailed abroad and set off a political firestorm.

Julia Ioffe / Puck:
Inside the Griner Prisoner Swap

Discussion: New York Times, Associated Press, The American Conservative, Washington Examiner, Washington Post, The Wrap and HotAir

Alex Gangitano / The Hill:
White House responds to criticism of Griner prisoner deal

Washington Examiner:
Joe Biden made a bad, deadly deal to free Brittney Griner

Discussion: Tangle, Fox News, Twitchy, The Liberty Loft, The Daily Caller, The Full Belmonte, CNN, The Dossier, New York Post, Associated Press, Breitbart, The Western Journal, The Hill, Politico, Raw Story and Voice of America

Shauntel Lowe / New York Times:
Griner's Detention Showed the Strength and the Struggle in Women's Sports

Discussion: Insider, Wall Street Journal, Metro Weekly, New York Post, The Daily Caller, ESPN, Mother Jones and The Times of Israel

New York Times:

Judge to Hear Justice Dept. Contempt Request in Trump Documents Case — The department wants the court to force a representative of Donald J. Trump to swear under oath that there are no more classified documents at any of his properties. — A federal judge in Washington was set to hear arguments …

Discussion: CNN, Raw Story, PoliticusUSA, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Digby's Hullabaloo, The Guardian, Just The News, Fox News, The Daily, Metro.co.uk and UPI

Susan B. Glasser / New Yorker:

Trump's 2024 Campaign So Far Is an Epic Act of Self-Sabotage — But is this really the end of an error? — The official campaign for the 2024 Republican Presidential nomination is barely three weeks old, but there is one clear takeaway so far: Donald Trump is running against himself—and losing.

Discussion: Bloomberg and Raw Story

Robert Tracinski / The Bulwark:
The Lesson of Trump: Character Matters

Discussion: Raw Story

Meridith McGraw / Politico:

Private RNC member emails reveal anger at Trump, frustration with McDaniel's response to him — A handful of Republican National Committee members denounced former President Donald Trump, with one pushing for fellow members and RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel to forcefully condemn his decision …

Discussion: Raw Story and Just The News

NBC News:
Ronna McDaniel locked down votes for RNC chair despite the midterm debacle. Here's how she did it.

Discussion: IJR and RedState

Bryan Curtis / The Ringer:

This Secret Society in Washington, D.C., Has One Agenda: Fly, Eagles, Fly — The most passionate fan base in D.C. political media belongs to the NFL's league-leading team — Last Sunday, while Washington, D.C., was wondering about the composition of the Senate or watching the Commanders, a dozen emails flew back and forth.

Adam Serwer / The Atlantic:

Why Conservatives Invented a ‘Right to Post’ — Early December might have marked the first time anyone ever asserted a First Amendment right to see the president's son's penis, an argument that the Framers likely did not anticipate. — In November, the billionaire Elon Musk purchased Twitter …

Discussion: CMary

Washington Post:

War has tamed Ukraine's oligarchs, creating space for democratic change — Ukraine may have the opportunity to rebuild a postwar society that is more democratic, less corrupt and more economically diversified — BURSHTYN, Ukraine — Over two days in October, eight Russian cruise missiles screamed …

Alexander Smith / NBC News:

Spiraling costs and crumbling public services leave millions in Britain struggling to live — MORECAMBE, England — A dire and potentially deadly humanitarian emergency is endangering millions across Britain. — It is playing out as the seats of politics and power are reeling from months of chaos, farce and opulent pageantry.

CNN:

Russia demanded that a spy held in Germany be freed in exchange for Paul Whelan — Russia refused to release Paul Whelan alongside Brittney Griner unless a former colonel from Russia's domestic spy organization currently in German custody was also released as part of any prisoner swap …

Discussion: Washington Post, The Dossier and Political Wire

Jennifer Bendery / HuffPost:

Tim Scott Is Fundraising By Emailing People That Their Heat Will Be Cut Off — “Emergency Notice,” reads an incredibly misleading December message sent out by the South Carolina Republican's campaign. — A week into December, Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) is emailing residents that their heat …

Discussion: Political Wire

NBC News:

Russia is providing ‘unprecedented’ military support to Iran in exchange for drones, officials say — Russia is now providing an “unprecedented level” of military and technical support to Iran in exchange for Tehran supplying weapons for the war in Ukraine, senior Biden administration officials say.

Discussion: The Hill, Washington Examiner, Wall Street Journal and CNN

Shawn McCreesh / New York Magazine:

Just What Did the Times Walkout Change? — As they have been threatening to do for months now, the New York Times newsroom went on a one-day strike today. — As a reader, you might not have noticed. The paper got its Brittney Griner-is-free scoop out on a push notification before the Washington Post did.

Discussion: Outside the Beltway and TheBlaze, more at Mediagazer »