memeorandum: Shrugging in the shadow of a monster (Radley Balko/The Watch)

7:15 PM ET, March 8, 2023

Top Items:

Christopher Cadelago / Politico:

White House goes after Tucker Carlson by name over Jan. 6 coverage — The White House joined in widespread condemnation of Fox News star Tucker Carlson on Wednesday, singling out the prime-time ratings king for his misleading portrayal of the U.S. Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021.

CNN:

House GOP plots new January 6 probes despite internal backlash over McCarthy giving Carlson footage — House Speaker Kevin McCarthy often spent the last two years avoiding much discussion about the January 6, 2021, attack. — Now, he's effectively put the issue back in the spotlight …

Discussion: HuffPost, Insider, NBC News, Washington Examiner, National Review, Slate, Breitbart, PolitiFact, Raw Story, RedState, The Hill, Washington Times, IJR, A Stack of Information and Fox News

JONATHAN TURLEY:

Did the “QAnon Shaman” Get Shafted on Sentencing? New Footage Raises Questions Over the Chansley Case — If there is one image from Jan. 6th that will remain indelible with the day, it is the “QAnon Shaman.” Bare chested and wearing an animal headdress, horns and red-white-and-blue face paint …

Discussion: The Daily Wire, Washington Times, Mediaite, The Gateway Pundit, Ace of Spades HQ, The Atlantic, HotAir, PolitiFact, The Post Millennial, Breitbart, New York Post, The Daily Caller, Raw Story and Townhall

Politico:
McCarthy's GOP tries to move on from Tucker Carlson-Jan. 6 drama

Clare Foran / CNN:
Zelensky invites House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to visit Ukraine

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Politico, Insider, The Post Millennial, Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, Substack, The Hill, USA Today, Mediaite, Political Wire and Hong Kong Free Press HKFP

Amanda Carpenter / The Bulwark:
How Kevin McCarthy and Tucker Carlson Surrendered to MAGA

Discussion: New York Magazine, The Atlantic, MSNBC, One America News Network, Mother Jones, Insider, RedState, The Hill, Yahoo Entertainment, Forbes, Mediaite, Breitbart and PoliticusUSA

The Hill:
House GOP organizing trip to see jailed Jan. 6 defendants, led by Marjorie Taylor Greene

Discussion: Fox News and IJR

Philip Bump / Washington Post:
How Tucker Carlson is wrong about Jan. 6

Discussion: Reason, The Post Millennial, The Daily Caller, New Republic, Wall Street Journal, The Federalist, The Colorado Sun, RedState, Washington Times, CBS News, USA Today, Breaking News & …, Power Line, Breitbart and Mediaite

Brian Stelter / Vanity Fair:

“We're All Embarrassed”: Inside Fox News as Dominion Revelations Rattle the Network — Fox producers are getting libel law training and staffers are (cautiously) gossiping about filings exposing the likes of Rupert Murdoch, Tucker Carlson. “We're very careful when we're miked up,” one on-air personality tells Vanity Fair.

Discussion: Washington Post, CNN, Raw Story, San Bernardino Sun, The Corsair, The Hill, CNBC, KTLA, The Signorile Report and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »

Jack Shafer / Politico:

The Tucker Carlson Schtick Melts Away — It has been self-evident for a long time to almost every astute observer of Tucker Carlson — his friends, his acquaintances in the journalism profession, even some viewers of his nightly Fox News Channel program — that he doesn't believe half of the things he says on his show.

Discussion: HuffPost, Vanity Fair, Insider and New York Times

Jane C. Timm / NBC News:
Fox News executives discussed a plan to denounce the ‘Trump myth’ a day before the Jan. 6 riot

Discussion: CBS News, Semafor, Mediaite, New Republic, National Review, PennLive, The Daily Beast, E&E, PBS NewsHour, Washington Post and Babylon Bee

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Revealing Fox News texts point to the right's long war on the truth

Discussion: John's Newsletter, The Dispatch and Digby's Hullabaloo

Katie Robertson / New York Times:
5 Times Tucker Carlson Showed Contempt for Trump in Private: ‘I Hate Him Passionately’

Jim Tankersley / New York Times:

Biden Is Set to Detail at Least $2 Trillion in Measures to Reduce Deficits — The president's proposals, included in the budget he will release on Thursday, are expected to heavily feature tax increases on corporations and high earners. — WASHINGTON — President Biden on Thursday …

Discussion: CNN, Washington Post, Washington Times, Letters from an American, The American Independent, RealClearMarkets, GZERO, National Review, The Hill and Iowa Capital Dispatch

New York Times:

House G.O.P. Prepares to Slash Federal Programs in Coming Budget Showdown — With Social Security and Medicare off the table, conservatives are focusing on a wide range of smaller programs as a clash with President Biden and Democrats looms. — WASHINGTON — Hard-right House Republicans …

Discussion: Politico, CBS News, PennLive, Iowa Starting Line, Washington Post and Insider

Josh Boak / Associated Press:
Biden budget aims to cut deficits nearly $3T over 10 years

Discussion: The Hill, The White House, New York Post, RedState, Washington Times, Wall Street Journal, CNN, Liberty Nation, Bloomberg, Washington Examiner, USA Today, New York Times, New Republic, Al Jazeera and Associated Press

Burgess Everett / Politico:
Washington teeters on the brink of a Cold War over Social Security

Discussion: Semafor, CNN and KFOR-TV

Adam Klasfeld / Law & Crime:

Right-wing hoaxers' robocalls targeting Black voters violated Voting Rights Act and KKK Act, federal judge rules — Right-wing activists Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman's robocalls targeting Black voters violated the Voting Rights Act and Ku Klux Klan Act — and the question isn't close enough to require a jury, a federal judge ruled.

Democracy Docket:
Court Rules Right-Wing Conspiracy Theorists Illegally Intimidated Voters in 2020

Discussion: Bloomberg

Amy B Wang / Washington Post:

Teamsters president calls GOP senator a ‘greedy CEO’ in heated exchange — Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) and Teamsters general president Sean O'Brien got into a heated verbal exchange Wednesday in a Senate committee hearing focused on the right of workers to organize unions.

Discussion: The Hill, Mother Jones, Mediaite, Alternet.org, Raw Story and Common Dreams

Chelsey Cox / CNBC: Oklahoma Republican tells Teamsters president ‘shut your mouth’ in terse exchange at Senate hearing

Michael C. Bender / New York Times:

When Trump Passes the MAGA Hat, His Aides Clutch Their Wallets — Unlike other recent presidents, Donald Trump has rarely received campaign donations from his top advisers. They offer a range of explanations. — WASHINGTON — To pay for three presidential campaigns …

Discussion: Raw Story, CBS News, The Daily Beast, Political Wire and CNN, more at Mediagazer »

Washington Post:
Inside the simmering feud between Donald Trump and Fox News

Discussion: NBC News, more at Mediagazer »

Washington Post:

GOP operative comes forward as accuser in sexual misconduct claim against CPAC head — The man who has accused Matt Schlapp, the influential leader of the Conservative Political Action Conference, of sexual misconduct came forward publicly Wednesday after a judge said he must use his real name to proceed with a lawsuit.

Discussion: CNN, New York Times, Raw Story, Washington Times, National Review, The Hill, Mediaite and This Week in the Triangle

Washington Post:

Senators debate whether to reject D.C. crime bill as protesters rally — BREAKING: The Senate has voted to block D.C.'s criminal code overhaul, marking the first time that Congress has overturned District legislation in more than 30 years. This article will be updated.

Discussion: Fox News, Washington Free Beacon, WTOP News, NBC News, Washington Examiner, USA Today, Bloomberg, Breitbart and Vox

Andrew Solender / Axios:
Scoop: GOP ads hit vulnerable Dems over D.C. crime law

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Breitbart, NRCC, New Republic, DCist, The Hill, Erick Erickson's Show Notes, Financial Times and USA Today

Washington Post:
What to know about the (apparently doomed) D.C. criminal code

Discussion: Insider, WPRI-TV, Los Angeles Times, Washington Times and Popular Information

Ian Millhiser / Vox:

Ron DeSantis's plan to strip First Amendment rights from the press, explained — DeSantis wants to destroy a fundament of American free speech law. — Florida's Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis wants to eliminate the First Amendment safeguards that prevent lawsuits seeking to strong-arm the press into silence.

Discussion: Alternet.org, Washington Post, Twitchy, New York Times and Foreign Policy

Radley Balko / The Watch:
Shrugging in the shadow of a monster

Discussion: Media Matters for America, New Republic, The College Fix, Newsweek, Insider, The American Independent and The JGibson Report

Jacob Bogage / Washington Post:

Arkansas Gov. Sanders signs law loosening child labor protections — Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) signed into law this week legislation that rolls back significant portions of the state's child labor protections. — The law eliminates requirements for the state to verify the age …

Discussion: CNN, Raw Story, Magnolia Banner News, KNWA FOX24, WTOP News, Political Wire, Rolling Stone, New Republic, Just The News and The Daily Caller

Rose Horowitch / NBC News:
Arkansas Gov. Sanders signs measure rolling back child labor protections

Discussion: New Republic and CBS News

Darlene Superville / Associated Press:

Jill Biden calls on men to support women fighting for rights — Jill Biden on Wednesday praised a group of women from around the world, including those who have been protesting against Iran's leaders, for showing courage while fighting for their rights and called on men to “be partners” with women and support them in their cause.

Discussion: ABC News, United States Department …, The Federalist, Associated Press and USA Today

Grace Yarrow / The Hill: 11 women, girls and women protesting Iranian morality police, honored at IWOC Awards

Julia Shapero / The Hill:

Most in new poll view ‘woke’ as positive term — A majority of Americans in a new poll have a positive association with the term “woke,” understanding it to mean “to be informed, educated on, and aware of social injustices.” — The USA Today-Ipsos poll released on Wednesday found …

Discussion: Washington Times, USA Today, Alternet.org and PolitiFact

Susan Page / USA Today:
A GOP war on ‘woke’? Most Americans view the term as a positive, USA TODAY/Ipsos Poll finds

Discussion: Raw Story

Mark Leibovich / The Atlantic:

Arnold Schwarzenegger's Last Act — What happens when the Terminator turns 75 — Arnold schwarzenegger nearly killed me. — I had joined him one morning as he rushed through his daily routine. Schwarzenegger gets up by six. He makes coffee, putters around, feeds Whiskey …

Charlie Savage / New York Times:

Pentagon Blocks Sharing Evidence of Possible Russian War Crimes With Hague Court — President Biden has not acted to resolve a dispute that pits the Defense Department against other agencies. — WASHINGTON — The Pentagon is blocking the Biden administration from sharing evidence …

Missy Ryan / Washington Post:

In race to arm Ukraine, U.S. faces cracks in its manufacturing might — The war has exposed an inability to rapidly surge production of many weapons needed for Ukraine and for America's self-defense — SCRANTON, Pa. — A sharp hissing sound fills the factory as red-hot artillery shells are plunged into scalding oil.

Discussion: New York Times

Madison Pauly / Mother Jones:

Inside the Secret Working Group That Helped Push Anti-Trans Laws Across the Country — On a Saturday afternoon in August 2019, South Dakota Republican state Rep. Fred Deutsch sent an email to 18 anti-trans activists, doctors, and lawyers with the text of a bill he planned to introduce …

Discussion: CNN, Associated Press, Slate, Iowa Capital Dispatch, The 19th, Xtra Magazine, Elisa Rae Shupe and Iowa Starting Line

Zach Schonfeld / The Hill:

Missouri gun law ruled unconstitutional — A federal judge struck down a Missouri law that blocked state and local officials from enforcing federal gun laws as unconstitutional this week. — Judge Brian Wimes, who was nominated by former President Obama, sided with the Justice Department …

Discussion: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, The Mahablog, CNN, Zandar Versus The Stupid, Ohio Capital Journal, KMBC, New York Times, Associated Press, The Daily Caller, Reuters, New Republic, Missouri Independent and Wall Street Journal

Sarah McGregor / Bloomberg:

California Ends $54 Million Walgreens Deal Over Abortion Pill — California will no longer renew a $54 million contract with Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. following the drugstore chain's decision to stop dispensing abortion pills in several states, according to Governor Gavin Newsom.