memeorandum: Cruz signing up for ObamaCare (Sarah Ferris/The Hill)

7:50 AM ET, March 25, 2015

Top Items:

Ted Cruz to sign up for government health care — Ted Cruz, one of the loudest critics of Obamacare, will soon be using it for health insurance coverage. — “We will presumably go on the exchange and sign up for health care and we're in the process of transitioning over to do that,” Cruz …

CNN:

Ted Cruz going on Obamacare — Ted Cruz says he will enroll in Obamacare 01:47 — (CNN)Ted Cruz is going on Obamacare. — The newly announced Republican presidential candidate told CNN's Dana Bash on Tuesday that he will sign up for health care coverage through the Affordable Care Act — a law he has been on a crusade to kill.

Discussion: Washington Post, PoliticusUSA, ABC News, EgbertoWillies.com, Bloomberg Business, The Daily Caller, Chicago, New York Magazine, New York Times and Liberaland

Ben Brody / Bloomberg Business:

On Global Warming, Ted Cruz Says He's Galileo, Not a Flat-Earther — The Texas senator is not a believer in man-made climate change. — The similarities between Texas Senator Ted Cruz and 16th-century astronomer Galileo Galilei are remarkable, according to Cruz.

Discussion: Progress Pond, Guardian, Politico and Raw Story

Sarah Ferris / The Hill:

Cruz signing up for ObamaCare — Sen. Ted Cruz is signing up for ObamaCare one day after launching his presidential bid. — Cruz, one of the biggest ObamaCare foes in Congress, found himself without health insurance after his wife, an executive at Goldman Sachs, announced she is taking an unpaid leave to join his campaign.

Discussion: USA Today, Prairie Weather and Washington Post

John Podhoretz / New York Post:

Ted Cruz's challenge: The other guys have done things — Tough road ahead: Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who announced his candidacy for president Monday, will face GOP rivals with solid accomplishments. — Ted Cruz put on quite a show as he became the first official candidate for the presidency in 2016.

Discussion: Daily Kos, Yahoo Politics and Washington Post

Rachelle Peterson / The Federalist:
Reporters Explain Why Balance Isn't Needed On Global Warming

Discussion: Ed Driscoll and BarbWire.com

Charles C. W. Cooke / National Review:
Ted Cruz Should Try Speaking to People Instead of at Them

Discussion: Hot Air, Rush Limbaugh, Talking Points Memo, Washington Monthly and No More Mister Nice Blog

Catherine Rampell / Washington Post:
Ted Cruz's phenomenally bad idea

Discussion: The Daily Banter, Slate, Talking Points Memo, Bloomberg View, New York Times, The Federalist, BarbWire.com, The New Republic and Christian Science Monitor

Bill / The Hill:

Bill Press: Dems need a plan B — Hillary Clinton has survived the first crisis of her putative 2016 campaign. She appears to have put Emailgate behind her, either because most people accept her explanation that she chose to use her own private email, rather than the official State Department system …

Wall Street Journal:

The Cruz Candidacy — Ideology aside, the Republican is similar in many ways to Obama. — Can a smart, articulate, 40-something first term Senator trained in constitutional law, who disdains his colleagues and lacks executive experience, make the leap to the White House?

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Salon, Politico, Mediaite, The Week, Weekly Standard, Washington Post, Bloomberg View and Vox

Caleb Bonham / Campus Reform:

Prof: Ted Cruz and Republicans are resurrecting ‘discrimination’ — “Politics of the 1960s to Now” is a class taught by Prof. Chris Hamilton, a two-time Fulbright Scholar at Washburn University. — According to a student, Prof. Hamilton's course claims that Ted Cruz …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit and John Hawkins' Right Wing News

Gabriel Debenedetti / Politico:
Ted Cruz: Hillary Clinton's wrecking ball

Discussion: Hot Air, Political Wire, Bloomberg Business, Daily Kos, Fox News, National Journal, Townhall.com, Washington Post and The Verge

Fox News Insider:
Megyn to Rand Paul: Why Weren't You First to Announce a 2016 Run?

Discussion: The PJ Tatler and OnPolitics

George Sells / FOX2now.com:

Man kicked off Southwest flight over language on t-shirt … ST. LOUIS, MO. (KTVI) - A New York college student found himself stranded in St. Louis, Monday after being kicked off a Southwest Airlines flight that wasn't even supposed to land here. The conflict raises a classic first amendment debate …

Discussion: CBS Dallas, Consumerist, WHNT-TV, Gothamist and Mediaite

Jason Zengerle / GQ:

What If Sarah Palin Were a Brain Surgeon? — Until two years ago, Ben Carson was a mild-mannered neurosurgeon—a hero to black America, the subject of a tender made-for-TV movie. Then he started raving about Nazis and America's demise. Now he's the Tea Party's great White House hope—and the GOP's worst nightmare.

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Addicting Info, Raw Story, Hit & Run, Mediaite, No More Mister Nice Blog, Business Insider, Fox News, OnPolitics and Chicago

Scott Wong / The Hill:
Boehner ‘baffled’ by Israeli spying report

Discussion: New York Times, Politico, Washington Post, The PJ Tatler, The Times of Israel, Addicting Info, Hot Air, Algemeiner.com, Associated Press, Israpundit, Mediaite and Talking Points Memo

Tracy Walsh / Talking Points Memo:

‘Duck Dynasty’ Star Imagines Vivid Rape And Murder Scenario For Atheist Family — “Duck Dynasty” star and conservative icon Phil Robertson told a gruesome, vivid story on Friday about the hypothetical rape and murder of a family to illustrate the perils of atheism, according to audio surfaced by Right Wing Watch.

Discussion: Right Wing Watch

Brian Tashman / Right Wing Watch:
Phil Robertson Hypothesizes About Atheist Family Getting Raped And Killed

Discussion: Addicting Info, PoliticusUSA, The Huffington Post, Raw Story and Friendly Atheist

Washington Post:

Report: Va. governor received special treatment from Homeland Security — The now-No. 2 official at the Department of Homeland Security intervened on behalf of politically connected favor seekers — including Democrat Terry McAuliffe not long before he was elected Virginia governor …

Discussion: Betsy's Page, Associated Press, Political Wire, Washington Free Beacon and The PJ Tatler

Mary Bruce / ABC News:

President Obama Announces Slowdown of Troop Withdrawal From Afghanistan … President Obama has agreed, at Afghan President Ashraf Ghani's request, to slow the planned withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, leaving 9,800 in place through 2015. — “This flexibility reflects …

Discussion: Politico and Associated Press

New York Times:
U.S. to Delay Pullout of Troops From Afghanistan to Aid Strikes

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Common Dreams and Outside the Beltway

Philip Ewing / Politico:
Obama to keep 9,800 troops in Afghanistan through 2015

Discussion: The PJ Tatler

Indianapolis Star:

Gen Con threatens to move convention if Gov. Mike Pence signs religious freedom bill — The organizers of Gen Con, the city's largest convention in attendance and economic impact, are threatening to move the event elsewhere if Gov. Mike Pence signs controversial religious freedom legislation …

Discussion: Polygon, Addicting Info, Fox 59, Talking Points Memo, Raw Story and Towleroad News #gay

Lindsey Graham / CFR.org:

A Conversation With Lindsey Graham — Speaker: — U.S. Senator from South Carolina (R) — Presider: — Amy Davidson … DAVIDSON: Hello. I'm Amy Davidson. Welcome to today's Council on Foreign Relations meeting with Senator Lindsey Graham from South Carolina.

Discussion: Roll Call and Talking Points Memo

Cameron Joseph / The Hill:

Coats retirement in Indiana shakes up 2016 battle for Senate — Sen. Dan Coats (R-Ind.) on Tuesday announced that he will not run for reelection in 2016. — “Today I am announcing that I will not seek re-election to the United States Senate,” Coats said in a statement. “This was not an easy decision.

Discussion: Associated Press, Washington Post, Hot Air and RedState

Richard Cohen / Washington Post:

Ferguson and Benghazi's troubling parallels — Ferguson has become the liberal Benghazi. It is more of a cause than a place, more of an ideological statement than an incident. Ferguson was not the racist murder it was thought to be, and Benghazi was not an incident in which the Obama …

Discussion: Bloomberg Business, Washington Monthly, Raw Story, Mediaite and Booman Tribune

Catherine Thompson / Talking Points Memo:
Washington Post Columnist Declares Ferguson Is The ‘Liberal Benghazi’

Discussion: Progress Pond and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Emily Schultheis / National Journal:

Hillary Clinton Offers the Media an Olive Branch—and a Lecture — The former secretary of State joked about her struggles with the press. — Hillary Clinton opened her speech to a room full of political reporters by acknowledging an awkward, if obvious, fact: she's not known for being media-friendly.

Discussion: Power Line and Washington Post