memeorandum: Obama: Midterms? What midterms? (Edward-Isaac Dovere/Politico)

10:20 PM ET, November 6, 2014

Top Items:

Now We Can Get Congress Going — Reform the tax code, redefine ‘full time’ as working 40 hours a week, move on the Keystone XL pipeline—there are plenty of tasks ahead. — Americans have entrusted Republicans with control of both the House and Senate. We are humbled by this opportunity …

Sen. Mike Lee / The Federalist:

Mike Lee's Plan To Fix Congress — After years of frustration and months of feverish work, the Republican Party has finally won back the U.S. Senate, and with it, undivided control of Congress. But no sooner had Tuesday night's balloon drops hit the floor than Republicans around the country …

Discussion: Chicago Boyz

Jesse Byrnes / The Hill:

Hatch: Reid ‘a pathetic majority leader’ — The Senate's most senior Republican on Thursday bashed current Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), saying with the GOP in charge, there was potential for real accomplishments. — In a phone interview with The Hill, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) …

Discussion: Politico

Wall Street Journal:
After Harry Reid, the GOP Shouldn't Unilaterally Disarm

Discussion: Hot Air, National Review and The Daily Caller

Paul Kane / Washington Post:
Midterm disaster rips apart awkward ties between Obama and Senate Democrats

Discussion: Power Line, Doug Ross, Bloomberg Politics, Betsy's Page and National Journal

Edward-Isaac Dovere / Politico:
Obama: Midterms? What midterms?

Discussion: Hot Air and Mediaite

Josh Gerstein / Politico:
Barack Obama's case for himself has holes

Discussion: Daily Kos, Hinterland Gazette and PoliticusUSA

Ron Fournier / National Journal:
Obama Isn't Listening to Voters He Claims to Hear

Discussion: The Dish and Philly.com

Richard Wolf / Associated Press:

Gay marriage bans in four states upheld on appeal — The same-sex marriage movement lost its first major case in a federal appeals court Thursday after a lengthy string of victories, creating a split among the nation's circuit courts that virtually guarantees Supreme Court review.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Christian News …, Liberal Values, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Hit & Run, Arkansas Blog, Arkansas Times, Gawker, Daily Kos and New York Magazine

Lyle Denniston / SCOTUSblog:

Sixth Circuit: Now, a split on same-sex marriage — Breaking ranks with a wide array of other federal courts, and coming close to setting up almost certain review by the Supreme Court, a divided federal appeals court in Cincinnati on Thursday upheld bans on same-sex marriage in four states.

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, Washington Post and Religion Clause

Chris Geidner / BuzzFeed: Federal Appeals Court Upholds Four States' Same-Sex Marriage Bans

Ian Millhiser / ThinkProgress:
BREAKING: Marriage Equality Just Got A First Class Ticket To The Supreme Court

Discussion: Addicting Info

Erik Eckholm / New York Times:
Court Upholds Marriage Bans In Four States

Discussion: Washington Post

Catherine Thompson / Talking Points Memo:

C-SPAN Caller On Air: ‘Republicans Hate That N***er Obama’ (VIDEO) — A man who called into C-SPAN's “Washington Journal” Thursday morning referred to President Barack Obama as “that n***er” before getting booted off the air. — The caller, who gave his name as Anthony from San Diego …

Discussion: Mediaite, Raw Story, Gawker, Jezebel and New York Magazine

Peter Beinart / The Atlantic Online:

Democrats Can't Keep Playing Not to Lose — Senate candidates ran timid midterm campaigns, relying on turnout and ignoring the issues they're passionate about. The resulting GOP wave is a warning to Hillary Clinton for 2016. — At a dinner in Iowa in November 2007 …

Discussion: Bloomberg Politics, National Review, Pew Research Center and No More Mister Nice Blog

Peter Hamby / CNN:
GOP thanks Democrats for sidelining ‘best messenger’ Obama

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

Politico:

Democrats scrap ad buys for Mary Landrieu — The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is canceling at least some of its advertising reservations for Sen. Mary Landrieu ahead of the December runoff in Louisiana. — The committee canceled buys planned from Monday through December 6 in the Lafayette …

Discussion: The Rothenberg Political …, Hot Air, Mediaite, The Daily Caller, American Spectator and RedState

Philip Elliott / Associated Press:
Senate Democrats dump ads in Louisiana

Discussion: The Moderate Voice and Talking Points Memo

Wall Street Journal:

Obama Wrote Secret Letter to Iran's Khamenei About Fighting Islamic State — Presidential Correspondence With Ayatollah Stresses Shared U.S.-Iranian Interests in Combating Insurgents, Urges Progress on Nuclear Talks — WASHINGTON—U.S. President Barack Obama secretly wrote Iran's Supreme …

Discussion: PJ Media, Washington Free Beacon, New York Magazine, Fox News, Mediaite, Hot Air, The Gateway Pundit, New York Times, TheBlaze.com, NPR and The Daily Caller

Ben Hubbard / New York Times:
ISIS Wave of Might Is Turning Into Ripple

Discussion: Lawfare, Defense One and War on the Rocks

Matt Taibbi / Rolling Stone:

The $9 Billion Witness: Meet JPMorgan Chase's Worst Nightmare — Chase whistle-blower Alayne Fleischmann risked it all.

Discussion: New York Times and Talking Points Memo

Politico:

Frustration with Pelosi simmers among Democrats — No Democrat is gearing up to challenge Nancy Pelosi in public, but behind the scenes some Democrats are saying it's time for new blood at the leadership table ahead of 2016. — Senior aides said they hope the party's big losses Tuesday …

Discussion: National Review

Tom Brune / Newsday:
Steve Israel, outgoing Democratic House campaign chief, sees 2016 hope

Discussion: CNN, OnPolitics, Hot Air, The Hill, susiemadrak.com, New York Times, Talking Points Memo, DownWithTyranny! and Washington Post

Jonathan Topaz / Politico:
Rep. Steve Israel leaving DCCC

Discussion: Truth Revolt, Mediaite, CNN, New York Times, Hot Air, VodkaPundit and The Cook Political Report

Shushannah Walshe / ABC News:

Meet Ben Carson: First Republican to Throw His Hat in 2016 Ring … Yes, the 2016 race for the White House has already gotten started — and it looks like Dr. Ben Carson is first in the ring. — Carson, a famous pediatric neurosurgeon and conservative political star, will air …

Discussion: Raw Story, Mediaite, Hot Air, LifeNews.com, American Spectator, Washington Monthly and Washington Times

Frank Luntz / New York Times:

The Midterms Were Not a Republican Revolution — ON election night 1994, as Republicans recaptured the House for the first time in 40 years, I stood in the audience and watched my client Newt Gingrich, who would soon become speaker of the House, declare the beginning of the “Republican revolution.”

Discussion: Gawker, PoliticusUSA, Washington Post and Mediaite

Charles M. Blow / New York Times:
Looking Back, Looking Forward — The Republicans proved Tuesday …

Discussion: RedState

Washington Post:

On his way to a slim victory in a changing Va., Warner may have wooed wrong voters — Virginia Sen. Mark Warner (D) is locked in a tight race with GOP challenger Ed Gillespie. Returns tabulated late Tuesday showed the race was too close to call, but that didn't stop Warner from declaring victory.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Campaign for America's Future, Bloomberg Politics, Booman Tribune and Wall Street Journal

Matt O'Brien / Washington Post:

This billionaire thinks the Fed is missing the hyperinflation in the Hamptons — Hedge fund billionaire Paul Singer is pretty clueless about economics (Remy Steinegger/WEF) — Never underestimate the ingenuity of inflation truthers. Every time it seems like they've hit rock bottom intellectually …

Discussion: New York Times and Zero Hedge

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart:

November 5, 2014 - John Cleese — Jordan Klepper and Jessica Williams report on the Republicans' sweeping victory in the midterm elections, and John Cleese discusses his memoir, “So, Anyway...”

Discussion: Mediaite and Truth Revolt

Terrell Forney / WPLG-TV:

90-year-old man charged for feeding homeless cited again — Arnold Abbott cited for second time — Author: Bob Norman, Reporter, bnorman@Local10.com … Local 10 first brought you the story of the 90-year-old man who was arrested for illegally feeding the homeless in Fort Lauderdale.