memeorandum: Playbook: Why you shouldn't write Scalise off just yet (Politico)

7:00 AM ET, October 12, 2023

Top Items:

David Weigel / Semafor:

Cenk Uygur running for president as Democrat — The News — Progressive pundit Cenk Uygur will challenge President Biden for the Democratic nomination, offering himself as an alternative to an incumbent who “is definitely going to lose” if he makes it to the general election.

Discussion: The Hill, The Daily Caller, Forbes, HuffPost, Breitbart, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Balloon Juice, The Messenger, Washington Examiner, NBC News, Fox News, TheBlaze and Political Wire

Politico:

Playbook: Why you shouldn't write Scalise off just yet — Presented by With help from Eli Okun and Garrett Ross — DRIVING THE DAY — MAYBE NEXT TIME — “$1.73 billion Powerball jackpot goes to lucky lottery player in California,” AP — AMERICA'S VICTIMS — “More than 20 Americans were killed in Israel.

Discussion: Punchbowl News and Puck

Dana Blanton / Fox News:

Fox News Poll: Support for Haley doubles in GOP primary, she tops Biden by four — Trump received 59% support among Republican voters … Former President Donald Trump maintains his commanding lead in the Republican presidential contest, but his nomination would unify Democrats in the general election …

Discussion: Insider, The Atlantic, Washington Times, Political Wire and One America News Network

Suzanne Bates / Deseret News:

Sen. Mitt Romney urged Democratic senators to challenge Biden — and he named names — At the Park City E2 Summit with Republican donors and influencers, the Utah senator made another plea for the anti-Trump crowd to coalesce around a single opponent to Trump

Discussion: New York Post, Daily Mail, The Hill, Washington Post, Political Wire, HotAir and BizPac Review

Politico:

Steve Scalise's celebration on pause — The House GOP's hoped-for moment of unity never materialized on Wednesday. Now it's another long slog ahead. — After Steve Scalise clinched House Republicans' nod for speaker on Wednesday, he did not deliver a victory speech.

Politico:
Steve Scalise is the GOP's next pick for speaker

Discussion: Letters from an American, NBC News, ABC News, Washington Free Beacon, Twitchy, New York Post, USA Today, Daily Kos, Raw Story, The Mahablog, CBS News, HotAir and Semafor

Raw Story:
‘We have 8 people who are insane’: Republican inside speaker vote bashes colleagues

Discussion: NBC News

New York Times:
House Speaker Election

Washington Post:
Live updates House recesses without voting on Scalise as speaker

Zack Beauchamp / Vox:

How to think morally about the Israel-Hamas war — Massacring civilians is neither decolonization nor self-defense. — In southern Israel, Hamas terrorists broke into a room where a family of five was hiding and slaughtered every one of them. In Gaza, a father wrapped in gauze held his child …

Discussion: WV MetroNews

Ethan Bronner / Bloomberg:

Israel Targets All Hamas Leaders Across Gaza in Fresh War Effort — Military spokesman says political leaders same as army — A ground war has not been decided but army is preparing for it — Israel is targeting Hamas' political leaders in Gaza as well as military ones as it seeks …

Discussion: The Hill, Euractiv, Political Wire, Iran International, CBS News, The Forward and PBS NewsHour

New York Times:
Israel-Hamas War: Israel's New Unity Government Pledges to ‘Crush’ Hamas

Washington Post:
Israel-Hamas war live updates

NBC News:

U.S. intelligence indicates Iranian leaders were surprised by Hamas attack — But Biden administration officials say Iran was “complicit” in the attack since it has armed and trained Hamas for decades. — American spy agencies have obtained “exquisite” intelligence that shows Iranian leaders …

Discussion: NBC 7 San Diego, NBC4 Washington, Reuters, The Daily Caller, Twitchy, HotAir, Washington Post, CNBC, CBS News, MSNBC, Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Messenger, CNN and New York Times

Bloomberg:
Saudi, Iranian Leaders Hold Rare Call to Discuss Israel-Hamas War

Discussion: Al Jazeera

Reuters:
Iran's president, Saudi crown prince speak for first time since diplomatic ties restored

Discussion: The Times of Israel, Middle East Monitor, National Review and Washington Examiner

AJ McDougall / The Daily Beast:

Judge Accused of Sending Wildly Inappropriate Texts During Her First Murder Trial — The Oklahoma judge swapped more than 500 texts about everything from a prosecutor's genitals to a “pretty” cop, an investigation found. — An Oklahoma judge could be booted from the bench after an investigation found …

Discussion: The Oklahoman, NBC News, Raw Story, Associated Press and KFOR.com Oklahoma City

Ken Miller / Associated Press:
Oklahoma Judge Who Texted During Murder Trial Faces Removal

Discussion: Honolulu Star-Advertiser and New York Daily News

Politico:

Supreme Court likely to side with South Carolina GOP in racial gerrymandering case — A lower court had ruled that the state's Republican-drawn map was a racial gerrymander. — The Supreme Court's conservative majority on Wednesday appeared likely to uphold a Republican-drawn congressional district …

Discussion: New York Times, Slate, NPR, Daily Kos, HuffPost, Washington Examiner, The Hill, The Daily Caller, PBS NewsHour, Bloomberg, Political Wire, Associated Press, NBC News, CNN, The Guardian, CBS News and SCOTUSblog

Ian Millhiser / Vox:
The Supreme Court appears determined to make it easy to draw gerrymanders

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Talking Points Memo, Fox News, Washington Post, SCOTUSblog, Mother Jones and Raw Story

Politico:

Biden faces calls to block Iran's oil — even if prices soar — “Without oil, they have no money,” Sen. Lindsey Graham said of the Iranians. “Without money, terrorism loses its biggest benefactor.” — Hamas' attack on Israel is bringing pressure on President Joe Biden to clamp …

Discussion: Fox News, Orange County Register, American Greatness, Bloomberg, ZeroHedge News and Breitbart

Calder McHugh / Politico:

It's Not Me, It's You: Cornel West's Messy Breakup — The presidential candidate's last-minute decision to ghost the Green Party is just the latest rift within the perennially squabbling American left. — Cornel West thinks the Greens can't take him where he wants to go.

Politico:

Democrats furious over Van Orden outburst during White House briefing on Israel terrorist attack — Multiple attendees described Van Orden as acting belligerent towards the Biden administration briefers when he asked questions.

Discussion: Washington Examiner, NBC News, Forbes, Raw Story, Rolling Stone, The Messenger, Digby's Hullabaloo, Associated Press, The Hill and Washington Times

The Texas Tribune:

She was told her twin sons wouldn't survive. Texas law made her give birth anyway. — Miranda Michel, 26, couldn't leave the state for an abortion. But she also couldn't bear the idea of carrying a nonviable pregnancy to term. — Editor's note: This story includes images some people may find distressing.

Discussion: The Hill

Bart Jansen / USA Today:

Judge in Trump documents case weighs whether defense lawyers are too close to witnesses — Lawyers for Trump co-defendants Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira also represented witnesses expected to be called at trial, which prosecutors warned could be a conflict of interest.

Discussion: The Messenger and The Guardian

Sara Murray / CNN:

Fulton County DA rebuffs Jim Jordan's request for information on her investigation of Trump — Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis declined to provide House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan with any additional information about her investigation of former President Donald Trump …

Discussion: Raw Story, Mediaite, PoliticusUSA, HuffPost, The Hill, The Messenger and Daily Kos

The Messenger:

Pro-Trump Lawyers Kenneth Chesebro and Sidney Powell Try - Again - to Dismiss Georgia RICO Charges Against Them — Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee on Wednesday heard pre-trial arguments to dismiss the Georgia election-racketeering case before the trial begins with jury selection on Oct. 20

Discussion: Raw Story, KTSM-TV, Law & Crime and Associated Press

Xiao Zibang / Bloomberg:

China Invited Pentagon Chief to Defense Forum, Reuters Says — Lower level officials will attend, three people familiar say — Ties between Beijing and Washington showing signs of warming — The US has accepted China's invitation to attend a top annual security forum in Beijing this month …

Discussion: Reuters and Political Wire

Javier Manjarres / The Floridian:

Cory Mills Evacuates Americans out of Israel — As Israel calls up 300,000 reservists to join the war effort against the terror group Hamas, Florida Congressman Cory Mills (R) has once again answered the call to service, and flew overnight to Israel to help rescue Americans stranded there.