memeorandum: Republicans Grow Skeptical On Free Trade (John Harwood/Wall Street Journal)

3:00 PM ET, October 4, 2007

Top Items:

White House Denies Torture Assertion — Bush administration officials acknowledged today that the Justice Department issued a secret legal opinion in early 2005 allowing specific interrogation techniques to be used on CIA terrorism suspects, but denied that the tactics violated earlier government decrees against torture.

Discussion: TalkLeft

New York Times:

Secret U.S. Endorsement of Severe Interrogations — When the Justice Department publicly declared torture "abhorrent" in a legal opinion in December 2004, the Bush administration appeared to have abandoned its assertion of nearly unlimited presidential authority to order brutal interrogations.

Discussion: Washington Post, TalkLeft, Los Angeles Times, The Swamp, TPMmuckraker, Associated Press, Firedoglake, Booman Tribune, The Atlantic Online, The Politico, Think Progress, The Gate, Neptunus Lex, CNN, Last Left Turn …, Obsidian Wings, Salon, The Carpetbagger Report, Daily Kos, Blue Girl, Red State, Norwegianity, Empire Burlesque, WTF Is It Now?!?, Three Wise Men, Wake up America, The Sundries Shack, The Rude Pundit, DownWithTyranny!, The Daily Background, Captain's Quarters, Chris Dodd National Blog, WorkingForChange, The Gun Toting Liberal™, Obama HQ, The Texas Blue, cab drollery, The Heretik, Jules Crittenden, The Poor Man Institute, rubber hose, Crooks and Liars, Macsmind, Talking Points Memo, Lean Left, All Spin Zone, Washington Times, Balkinization, Shakespeare's Sister, Bark Bark Woof Woof, The Van Der Galiën Gazette, On Deadline, Truthdig, Hullabaloo, Washington Monthly, First Draft, Corrente, The Next Hurrah, Brave New Films blog, Oliver Willis, The American Street, JustOneMinute and Prairie Weather

Adam Zagorin / Time:

Selective Justice in Alabama? — On may 8, 2002, Clayton Lamar (Lanny) Young Jr., a lobbyist and landfill developer described by acquaintances as a hard-drinking "good ole boy," was in an expansive mood. In the downtown offices of the U.S. Attorney in Montgomery, Ala., Young settled into his chair …

Discussion: MoJoBlog

Paul Kiel / TPMmuckraker:
Perino: We Don't Torture Because We Say We Don't Torture

Discussion: The Lede, The Swamp and The Carpetbagger Report

Laura McGann / TPMmuckraker:
Time: In Alabama, Prosecutors Chased Dem Ex-Gov, Ignored Allegations against GOPers

Discussion: Washington Monthly

Rasmussen Reports:

27% of Republicans Would Vote for Pro-Life Third Party Instead of Giuliani — If Rudy Giuliani wins the Republican nomination and a third party campaign is backed by Christian conservative leaders, 27% of Republican voters say they'd vote for the third party option rather than Giuliani.

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's …, TIME: Swampland and Liberal Values

James C. Dobson / New York Times:

The Values Test — REPORTS have surfaced in the press about a meeting that occurred last Saturday in Salt Lake City involving more than 50 pro-family leaders. The purpose of the gathering was to discuss our response if both the Democratic and Republican Parties nominate standard-bearers who are supportive of abortion.

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Hot Air, Taylor Marsh, MSNBC, Daily Kos, The Carpetbagger Report, Right Wing Watch, Democratic Strategist, Middle Earth Journal, Macsmind and The Right's Field

Eric Kleefeld / Election Central:
Poll: 27% Of Republicans Would Go Third Party If Rudy Is Nominated

Discussion: Blue Jersey, MyDD and Democratic Strategist

John Harwood / Wall Street Journal:

Republicans Grow Skeptical On Free Trade — WASHINGTON — By a nearly two-to-one margin, Republican voters believe free trade is bad for the U.S. economy, a shift in opinion that mirrors Democratic views and suggests trade deals could face high hurdles under a new president.

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Weekly Standard, SCSUScholars, The Hill, Wonkette, The Atlantic Online, Jezebel, CBS News, Middle Earth Journal, MSNBC, Fraters Libertas, Beliefnet, The Van Der Galiën Gazette, Pollster.com and Cliff Schecter

Roger Cohen / New York Times:

The New L-Word: Neocon — A few years back, at the height of the jingoistic post-9/11 wave, the dirtiest word in the American political lexicon was "liberal." Everyone from President Bush to Ann Coulter was using it to denote wimplike, Volvo-driving softies too spineless for dangerous times and too given to speaking French.

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, Daniel W. Drezner, Booman Tribune, The Van Der Galiën Gazette and The Atlantic Online

Tristero / Hullabaloo:
Dear Roger Cohen

Discussion: The Sideshow and Eschaton

CNN:

Judge rejects Craig's bid to withdraw guilty plea — (CNN) — A Minnesota judge has denied Sen. Larry Craig's request to withdraw his guilty plea to a disorderly conduct charge stemming from his arrest in a sex sting at an airport men's room. — Hennepin County District Judge Charles Porter found Craig …

Discussion: PoliBlog (TM)

CNN Political Ticker:
Judge won't let Craig withdraw guilty plea

Discussion: The Swamp and The Carpetbagger Report

Jonathan Turley / USA Today:

A liberal's lament: The NRA might be right after all — This term, the Supreme Court may finally take up the Voldemort Amendment, the part of the Bill of Rights that shall not be named by liberals. For more than 200 years, progressives and polite people have avoided acknowledging that following …

Discussion: RIGHTWINGSPARKLE, Blue Crab Boulevard and Of Arms and the Law

Garance Franke-Ruta / American Prospect:

COULTER COMES OUT AGAINST WOMEN VOTING. — Most of the time I ignore aging would-be pin-up Ann Coulter, but this week she came out with a whopper that could be as much of a gift to the Democratic Party as MoveOn.org's advertisement on Gen. Petraeus was for the G.O.P. More of a gift, even.

Discussion: IMAO, Jezebel and Lawyers, Guns and Money

Edward T. Pound / National Journal:

Questionable Contracts — In April last year, Housing Secretary Alphonso Jackson traveled to Dallas to deliver a speech to a group of minority real estate executives. The event should have been pretty routine stuff. But Jackson — and these are his words — shot off his mouth by describing …

Multi-National Force:

Iraqi Forces, U.S. Special Forces detain al-Qaeda financier, one other — Multi-National Corps - Iraq — Public Affairs Office, Camp Victory — APO AE 09342 — FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — RELEASE No. 20071004-02 — Iraqi Forces, U.S. Special Forces detain al-Qaeda financier, one other

Discussion: Captain's Quarters, Wake up America, The Long War Journal, Gateway Pundit, Riehl World View, Kiko's House and The Newshoggers

George F. Will / Washington Post:

The Democratic Economist — CHICAGO — In his curriculum vitae, Austan Goolsbee lists as his "other interests" — other than teaching at the University of Chicago — two activities: triathlons and improv comedy. Evidently he is a masochist with a sense of humor, so he is suited to participate …

Discussion: The Corner, The Atlantic Online and Marginal Revolution

Washington Post:

Iraqis to Pay China $100 Million for Weapons for Police — Experts Fear More Will Go to Insurgents — Iraq has ordered $100 million worth of light military equipment from China for its police force, contending that the United States was unable to provide the materiel and is too slow …

Discussion: The Corner, The Newshoggers, The Road to Surfdom, Sweetness & Light, The Swamp and The Gate