memeorandum: French election: Macron hailed as winner of bruising Le Pen TV debate (Angelique Chrisafis/The Guardian)

2:25 PM ET, May 4, 2017

Top Items:

Dan Mangan / CNBC:

GOP's Obamacare replacement bill would protect just 5 percent of people with pre-existing conditions: Analysis — The Republican bill to repeal and replace Obamacare does not allocate nearly enough money to protect people with pre-existing health conditions from potentially higher insurance premiums, an analysis finds.

Discussion: Axios and Political Wire

Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:

Is the atrocious health-care bill a lose-lose proposition for Republicans? — The Post reports: … In an audacious move, the House leadership says it intends to force a vote on a bill that has not been scored in its current form or been seen by the vast number of members.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Guardian, CNBC, New York Times and Common Dreams

Josh Dawsey / Politico:

Republicans don't really like the health care bill they're about to pass — Republicans are excited about repealing Obamacare. They are not as excited about their legislation that will do it. — The House is expected to pass the American Health Care Act on Thursday afternoon …

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, Raw Story, ABC News, Axios, The Week, Marginal REVOLUTION and Vox

Sarah Spellings / New York Magazine:

In Trump's America, Rape Is a Preexisting Condition — An amendment in the GOP health-care-reform bill will allow states to deny coverage for preexisting conditions, including sexual assault. — Pre-Obamacare rape survivors who sought treatment for their injuries could be denied health care later on.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Mashable, The Hill and Politicus USA

Mic:

Under the GOP's health plan, sexual assault could be considered a pre-existing condition — After failing to bring their Affordable Care Act replacement to a vote in March, GOP legislators have come armed with a new health care plan that may be even more heartless than their last.

Discussion: Business Insider, Daily Kos, Consequence of Sound, Vox and Raw Story

Dan Mangan / CNBC:

GOP congressman on Obamacare replacement: 'I don't think any individual has read the whole bill' — Hours before a scheduled vote on a Republican bill that would repeal and replace major parts of Obamacare, a GOP congressman suggested that neither he — nor anyone else — has actually read the entire bill.

Discussion: Politico and Mother Jones

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
The GOP's Obamacare replacement rush reeks of hypocrisy and recklessness

Discussion: ABC News, NBC News, Mediaite, Axios, Hot Air and Consumerist

Ezra Klein / Vox:
Health care hot potato

Discussion: Politico and bradford-delong.com

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:
The GOP Health-Care Bill Is an Abdication of Responsibility and a Moral Disgrace

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Vox, Hullabaloo, Daily Kos and NBC News

James Hohmann / Washington Post:
The Daily 202: 10 storylines to follow as the House votes on health care

Discussion: Bearing Drift, Outside the Beltway, STAT and Political Wire

Peter Suderman / Hit & Run:
Republicans Have to Pass Their Health Care Bill to Find Out What's In It

Discussion: Hot Air, The Hill and Political Wire

David Leonhardt / New York Times:
The New Study That Shows Trumpcare's Damage

Discussion: Vox, Human Rights Campaign, HuffPost, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Refinery29

Linda Qiu / New York Times:
Pre-Existing Conditions: Evaluating Competing Claims

Discussion: ThinkProgress, CNNMoney, Daily Kos, ACASignups.net, Speaker.gov, The Moderate Voice and CNN

Wall Street Journal:

Little-Noted Provision of GOP Health Bill Could Alter Employer Plans — Many people who obtain health insurance through their employers could be at risk of losing protections that limit out-of-pocket costs due to a provision proposed in the House Republican health-care bill.

Erica L. Green / New York Times:
A Little-Noticed Target in the House Health Bill: Special Education

Discussion: Vox, Axios, Washington Post, HuffPost, Business Insider, No More Mister Nice Blog, Daily Kos, NBC News, The Week and The Hill

Julia Belluz / Vox: Defunding Planned Parenthood is just one of the attacks on women's health in the GOP's repeal bill

Emily Jane Fox / Vanity Fair:

Exclusive: Joe and Mika Are Getting Hitched — After years of rumors, gossip, and intrigue, Morning Joe hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski reveal their engagement, how it all went down, and the unlikely guy (Donald Trump) who asked to oversee their vows.

Discussion: New York Times, Mediaite, Business Insider, Raw Story, Washington Free Beacon, The Week and Axios

Emily Smith / Page Six:

Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski are engaged — MORE FROM: … The first couple of cable news Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski are engaged to be married, sources have exclusively confirmed to Page Six. — The MSNBC “Morning Joe” co-hosts got engaged this past weekend during …

Discussion: Raw Story, Washington Post, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Towleroad, IJR, Refinery29, The Gateway Pundit, BizPac Review, AOL, New York Magazine, The Week, RedState, TVNewser and CBS Philly

Brian Stelter / CNNMoney:
Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski are engaged

Discussion: twitchy.com

The Hill:

GOP predicts victory on ObamaCare repeal vote — (R-Wis.) and his GOP leadership team held what amounted to a pep rally for rank-and-file members in the Capitol basement Thursday morning as they predicted victory in their push to repeal and replace ObamaCare.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Talking Points Memo and Business Insider

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

In Senate, pessimism over ObamaCare repeal — Republican senators say they don't see a way to get healthcare reform over the finish line, even if the House passes a bill this week. — A senior GOP senator said the chances of getting 51 votes for legislation based on the House healthcare bill are less than 1 in 5.

Discussion: Politicus USA

Olivia Beavers / The Hill:
Congressional exemption from GOP healthcare plan to be addressed separately

Discussion: Slate, Washington Post, Daily Kos and The Week

The Hill:
GOP rushing to vote on healthcare without analysis of changes

Discussion: Politico, RedState, The Week and Betsy's Page

George F. Will / Washington Post:

Trump has a dangerous disability — It is urgent for Americans to think and speak clearly about President Trump's inability to do either. This seems to be not a mere disinclination but a disability. It is not merely the result of intellectual sloth but of an untrained mind bereft …

Discussion: The Hill, AOL and The Week

Hollywood Reporter:

Stephen Colbert Defends Trump Jokes That Sparked #FireColbert Backlash — YOUTUBE — The ‘Late Show’ host addressed the controversy, but didn't apologize: “I have jokes, he has the launch codes. So, it's a fair fight.” — The Late Show's Stephen Colbert responded to the #FireColbert backlash …

Discussion: Breitbart

Olivia Beavers / The Hill:
Stephen Colbert reacts to online backlash over Trump jokes

Discussion: USA Today, The Gateway Pundit and Instapundit

Daniel Nussbaum / Breitbart:
No Regrets: Stephen Colbert Responds to Firestorm over Use of Homophobic Slur

Discussion: John Hawkins' Right Wing News and The Last Tradition

Angelique Chrisafis / The Guardian:

French election: Macron hailed as winner of bruising Le Pen TV debate — Majority of French people polled feel that centrist candidate outperformed far right leader in ill-tempered clash … Emmanuel Macron appeared to have kept his frontrunner status against Marine Le Pen …

Discussion: Power Line, New York Times, Joe.My.God. and Mashable

Raheem Kassam / Breitbart:
Macron's ‘Deplorables’ Moment? Establishment Candidate Brands 8m Le Pen Voters ‘Hateful Cowards’

Discussion: Townhall.com and The Gateway Pundit

Charlie Warzel / BuzzFeed:

Alex Jones Will Never Stop Being Alex Jones … AUSTIN — It was the winter of 1997 and Alex Jones couldn't stop getting punched in the face. — Out on the cracked asphalt of Austin Public Access Television's parking lot, under the sprawling Texas live oaks, Jones was very much losing …

Discussion: Raw Story, Media Matters for America and New York Magazine

Amanda Knox / Los Angeles Times:

Op-Ed Amanda Knox: Donald Trump supported me when I was wrongly accused of murder. What do I owe him? — Amanda Knox cries following the verdict that overturns her conviction and acquits her of murdering her British roommate Meredith Kercher, at the Perugia court, Italy, on Oct. 3, 2011.

Discussion: New York Magazine, Business Insider and The Week

Steven Shepard / Politico:

Pollsters: We didn't blow the election — Serious polling failures in the 2016 election were mostly confined to a few states and were primarily the result of late-deciding voters and a historic voting gap according to educational attainment, according to a new report Thursday.

Discussion: Washington Post and ABC News

BBC:

Prince Philip to step down from carrying out royal engagements — The Duke of Edinburgh is retiring from royal duties this autumn, Buckingham Palace has announced. — The decision was made by Prince Philip himself and is supported by the Queen, a palace spokesman said.

Discussion: The Atlantic, IJR and The Week

Daily Mail:
Queen calls her entire household to ‘highly unusual’ …

Discussion: Business Insider and Mashable

Bret Stephens / New York Times:

Climate of Unintended Consequences — “Converting biomass feedstocks to biofuels is an environmentally friendly process. So is using biofuels for transportation. When we use bioethanol instead of gasoline, we help reduce atmospheric CO2.” — These confident assurances come from …