memeorandum: New York Post: ‘Bag Men’ headline was an ‘attention-getter’ (Erik Wemple)

8:05 PM ET, November 5, 2013

Top Items:

Juan Williams / Fox News:

Insurance cancelled? Don't blame Obama or the ACA, blame America's insurance companies — Liar! Pinocchio! Deceiver! — With all the charges flying against President Obama in the on-going effort to stop ObamaCare it's time for a reality check. — Having failed to kill …

Discussion: Taylor Marsh, Lawyers, Guns & Money and The Impolitic

Ron Fournier / NationalJournal.com:

Lying About Lies: Why Credibility Matters to Obama — The president is trying to reinvent the history of his you-can-keep-it promise on health care. — It might not seem possible that President Obama could do more harm to his credibility and the public's faith in government than misleading Americans about health insurance reform.

Robert Pear / New York Times:

Strategic Move Exempts Health Law From Broader U.S. Statute — WASHINGTON — The Affordable Care Act is the biggest new health care program in decades, but the Obama administration has ruled that neither the federal insurance exchange nor the federal subsidies paid to insurance companies …

Discussion: Conservative Intelligence …, Weasel Zippers, The PJ Tatler and National Review

CNN:
Obama further alters ‘you can keep your plan’ pledge

Discussion: The Lead with Jake Tapper, Ricochet Conversations Feed, Mediaite and Betsy's Page

Erika Eichelberger / Mother Jones:
If the GOP Repeals Obamacare, 137 Million Americans Could Get Cancellation Notices

Discussion: Salon, Washington Monthly, The Impolitic, Taegan Goddard's …, The Daily Caller and American Power

Robert Pear / New York Times:
Senator Cites ‘Crisis of Confidence’ on Health Care Site

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon

Jake Tapper / The Lead with Jake Tapper:

Christie: Romney ‘embarrassed’ about VP vetting leak — Sayreville, New Jersey (CNN) - New Jersey Governor Chris Christie said 2012 GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney called him immediately when news broke that someone had leaked details about last year's vice presidential vetting process.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, CNN, Talking Points Memo and New York Times

The Lead with Jake Tapper:

Chris Christie aims to make history in New Jersey — Sayreville, New Jersey (CNN) - New Jersey Governor Chris Christie hopes to go where no other Garden State Republican has gone in nearly a quarter century. — Public opinion polls indicate the GOP Governor's expected to easily win re-election Tuesday …

Discussion: CNN, Politico, Hot Air, Real Clear Politics, Weekly Standard, Business Insider, Daily Kos, Mediaite and Bloomberg

Patricia Murphy / The Daily Beast:
Why National Democrats Rolled Over for Chris Christie

Discussion: Taylor Marsh and Hot Air

James Hohmann / Politico:

Touting Ken Cuccinelli, Ron Paul urges ‘nullification’ — RICHMOND, Va. — Headlining the final rally of Ken Cuccinelli's underdog campaign for Virginia governor, Ron Paul suggested the “nullification” of Obamacare on Monday night. — “Jefferson obviously was a clear leader on the principle …

Discussion: CNN, The Daily Banter, Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, Daily Kos, his vorpal sword, Dependable Renegade, Washington Monthly, The Raw Story, First Read and Guardian

Washington Post:

How to watch the exit polls in the Virginia governor's race — Tuesday's elections bring an early Christmas gift for election watchers: exit polling! The data gathered from people leaving the polls in the Commonwealth should answer a number of key questions at the end of a venomous campaign …

Discussion: ABC News, Booman Tribune, Human Rights Campaign Blog, Daily Kos, The Week, NBCNews, CNN and Washington Free Beacon

Meredith Jessup / TheBlaze.com:
REVEALED: OBAMA CAMPAIGN BUNDLER HELPING FUND LIBERTARIAN IN TIGHT VA. GUBERNATORIAL RACE

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Hot Air, ABC News, The Federalist, Daily Kos, Weasel Zippers, VodkaPundit, National Review, Hit & Run, The PJ Tatler, Washington Free Beacon, The Right Scoop, protein wisdom, The Lonely Conservative and Associated Press

New York Times:

After Plagiarism Charges, Paul Announces Office Restructuring — WASHINGTON — Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, who in recent weeks has had to explain a series of plagiarism charges, said in an interview Tuesday that he was being held to an unfair standard, but that there would be an office “restructuring” to prevent future occurrences.

Discussion: ABC News, Guardian, Mediaite, Talking Points Memo, BuzzFeed, Little Green Footballs, Politico, Connecting.the.Dots and Taegan Goddard's …

Andrew Kaczynski / BuzzFeed:
Sections Of Rand Paul's Op-Ed On Drug Sentencing Plagiarized From Article Week Earlier

Discussion: Washington Wire, The Lead with Jake Tapper, Conservative Intelligence …, Taking Note, New York Times, Talking Points Memo, Politico, Mediaite, Hit & Run, NBCNews, Right Turn, Liberaland and Washington Free Beacon

Aaron Blake / Post Politics:
Amid plagiarism flap, Rand Paul camp cites staff error

Discussion: PoliticusUSA and Daily Kos

Chicago Tribune:

Lawmakers approve gay marriage in Illinois … Clout Street — SPRINGFIELD — The General Assembly today narrowly approved a gay marriage bill, clearing the way for Illinois to become the 15th state to legalize same-sex unions. — The bill got 61 votes in the House …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Raw Story and The Beat: Blogging

ThinkProgress:
BREAKING: Illinois Legislature Passes Marriage Equality [UPDATED]

Discussion: Taylor Marsh and Towleroad News #gay

Tony Merevick / BuzzFeed:
Final Vote On Illinois Marriage Equality Bill Today

Discussion: nbcchicago.com, NBCNews, Talking Points Memo, Advocate and Towleroad News #gay

Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:

Liberal push to expand Social Security gains steam — Senator Sherrod Brown is joining the push to expand Social Security, and he's making a startling argument: Dems should go on offense on entitlements, rather than let Republicans and Beltway fiscal scolds frame the discussion …

Discussion: Washington Monthly and The PJ Tatler

Sahil Kapur / Talking Points Memo: Dem Senators: We're Doing It Wrong, Let's Expand Social Security

Toronto Star:

Rob Ford : ‘Yes, I have smoked crack cocaine.’ — Rob Ford said he smoked crack about a year ago. “I don't even remember. Probably in one of my drunken stupors.” … Mayor Rob Ford has admitted using crack cocaine. He made the revelation to reporters at City Hall.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, CBC News, BBC, Guardian, Taegan Goddard's …, Canada's network for news …, DownWithTyranny!, Towleroad News #gay and Blazing Cat Fur

KOB.com:

4 On Your Side investigates traffic stop nightmare — This 4 On Your Side investigation looks into the actions of police officers and doctors in Southern New Mexico. — A review of medical records, police reports and a federal lawsuit show deputies with the Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Business Insider, The Raw Story and Infowars

Tim Murphy / Mother Jones:

GOP Congressional Candidate Told Gay Citizens to Go “Back to California” — ...and he could win. — Courtesy of the Dean Young Campaign — It would be tough to find a political office-seeker less prepared for the job he's running for than Alabama congressional candidate Dean Young.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, ThinkProgress, The Raw Story, The Huffington Post, Business Insider and Liberaland

Ben Jacobs / The Daily Beast:
Alabama's Republican Runoff Election May Predict the Party's Future

Discussion: Guardian, The Week, al.com, Business Insider, The Raw Story, Washington Monthly and The New Republic

Wall Street Journal:

Early Buyers of Health Coverage Are Older Than Expected, Raising Expense Concerns — Insurers say the early buyers of health coverage on the nation's troubled new websites are older than expected so far, raising early concerns about the economics of the insurance marketplaces.

Discussion: “The Lid”, Right Turn, Firedoglake, Hot Air, The Daily Caller, The Hugh Hewitt Show, Via Meadia, Weasel Zippers, VodkaPundit, The Lonely Conservative and AEIdeas

kff.org:

State-by-State Estimates of the Number of People Eligible for Premium Tax Credits Under the Affordable Care Act — Key provisions of the 2010 Affordable Care Act (ACA) create new Marketplaces for people who purchase insurance directly and provide new premium tax credits to help people with low or moderate incomes afford that coverage.

Discussion: Bangor Daily News, GovBeat, The Daily Caller, PoliticusUSA and The Plum Line

David Edwards / The Raw Story:

Missouri father arrested at Cracker Barrel over Craigslist ad seeking rape of daughter — A Missouri father was arrested last week after he showed up at a Cracker Barrel to meet an undercover officer who he had contacted on Craigslist about beating and raping his 11-year-old daughter.

Discussion: Liberaland

Frank Bruni / New York Times:

Hillary in 2016? Not So Fast — Hillary Clinton of all people knows how political fortunes turn on a dime. But she must be puzzled nonetheless, and spooked, that over a six-month period when she made no big news whatsoever, her popularity took a double-digit tumble.

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog and Power Line

Victor Davis Hanson / National Review: Hillary's Odyssey — From Senator Clinton's tergiversations …

Ben Goad / The Hill:

Holder: Trayvon charges still possible — U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder on Monday said the Justice Department has not decided whether to file federal civil rights charges against George Zimmerman in the 2012 killing of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. — Zimmerman, a volunteer neighborhood watchman …

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Hot Air, Weasel Zippers, BizPac Review, The Raw Story and Ed Driscoll

ArkansasBusiness.com:

James Lee Witt to Run for Arkansas' 4th District Congressional Seat — LITTLE ROCK - Former Federal Emergency Management Agency Director announced he was running for a south Arkansas congressional seat on Tuesday, giving Democrats a high-profile candidate as they try to rebound from Republican gains in the state.

Discussion: Politico, Roll Call and Post Politics

Erik Wemple:

New York Post: ‘Bag Men’ headline was an ‘attention-getter’ — Lawyers for two Boston-area residents depicted under the New York Post headline “Bag Men” in the aftermath of the April Boston Marathon bombings last week continued a heated legal brawl with the newspaper's attorneysas part of a libel claim filed in June.

Discussion: Daily Kos, Talking Points Memo and Mediaite