One of the best things about journalism is that you get to endlessly whine on Twitter about the worst things about journalism. A group of New Republic staffers bravely quit the publication, upending literally dozens of Cleveland Park book parties. And bestowing three stars on Nirvana’s “Nevermind” is no longer the worst thing Rolling Stone has ever done. This is HUFFPOST HILL for Friday, December 5th, 2014:
RAND PAUL FORCES LAST-MINUTE DEBATE ON WAR AUTHORIZATION - Jen Bendery: “A surprise move by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) is driving action on an issue that many in Congress, and the White House, were hoping to punt into the next year: war. Paul tried to force a vote on legislation declaring war against Islamic State militants during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Thursday. He offered his measure as an amendment to an unrelated water bill about to get voted out of the committee. After hearing loud resistance from fellow Republicans, who urged more time for debate on the matter, the Kentucky senator pulled his proposal. But he had achieved what he actually wanted: a promise from the chairman, Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), to schedule a broader debate on the issue next week, along with a vote on a new Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) on Wednesday.” [HuffPost]
THINGS NOT LOOKING GREAT FOR LANDRIEU - Roll Call: “It’s easy math: Landrieu narrowly edged Cassidy on Election Day, 42 percent to 41 percent. This would be good for her, except there was another Republican on the ballot, Rob Maness, who took 14 percent of the vote. With Maness off the ballot, most of his supporters are expected to defect to Cassidy. Recent polling reflects that reality. A survey from WPA Opinion Research conducted last week for a group supporting Cassidy put the congressman ahead, 57 percent to 33 percent. Other polls conducted in the past month — though almost all of them have been automated — showed Cassidy leading by anywhere from 11 to 26 points. What’s more, the early vote breakdown did not forecast great things for Landrieu, either. Black voter turnout declined from early voting before the Nov. 4 election. That’s a problem for Landrieu, who needs black voters to turn out in force for her to win.” [Roll Call]
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Candy Crowley is leaving CNN: “Veteran CNN anchor Candy Crowley has decided to leave the network, according to an email sent by network head Jeff Zucker. ‘It is with mixed emotions, that I wanted to let you know that Candy has let us know that she has made the decision to move on, so she can embark on the next chapter of her already prolific career,’ Zucker wrote...The memo did not say who would take over for Crowley as host of ‘State of the Union,’ nor what the anchor has planned for after her departure.” [HuffPost]
Also, ICYMI, Rolling Stone totally botched the handling of its UVA rape story.
DAILY DELANEY DOWNER - Today the Labor Department announced the economy added more than 300,000 jobs last month, which is fabulous. There are still 9 million unemployed, though. Those people don't get to have a weekend. [BLS.gov]
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OBAMA OFFICIALLY NOMINATES ASHTON CARTER - Paige Lavender: “President Barack Obama on Friday nominated former Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter to replace outgoing Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel. Obama said Carter is regarded ‘as one of our nation's foremost national security leaders. ‘He knows the Department of Defense inside and out,’ Obama said. ‘On Day One, he's going to hit the ground running.’ Carter said he ‘discussed the challenges and opportunities’ of the role with Obama before accepting the nomination. He said he accepted the role in part because of the respect he and his wife Stephanie have for the troops…Carter, a Rhodes scholar and physicist, has a background in policy and has served under 11 defense secretaries. He will be the fourth defense secretary to serve in the Obama administration, following Hagel, Leon Panetta and Robert Gates.” [HuffPost]
CHRISTIE NOT INVOLVED WITH BRIDGEGATE: - This really dampers liberals’ Benghazi report celebration. AP: “New Jersey lawmakers probing politically motivated traffic jams near the George Washington Bridge last year have found no evidence that Gov. Chris Christie was involved in the scheme. They did not rule out the possibility, however, as they have been unable to interview several witnesses. Investigators found no conclusive evidence that Christie was aware of the lane closures, but they say that two former Christie aides acted with "perceived impunity" and with little regard for public safety when they ordered the lanes closed, according to a 136-page interim report by a joint legislative panel. A report commissioned by Christie previously cleared him of any wrongdoing, and a lawyer for the governor said in a statement Thursday night that the report corroborates that investigation.” [AP]
22 PEOPLE HAD TO GREEN LIGHT MITT ROMNEY’S CAMPAIGN TWEETS - “What do you do for a living?” “Oh, I’m Mitt Romney’s Deputy Director For Tweets, Holiday Wishes and Death Condolences.” WaPo: How many campaign aides does it take to send a single tweet? According to a study published Friday by a University of North Carolina assistant professor, the answer near the end of Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential campaign was 22: Nearly two dozen staffers had to approve every tweet, Facebook post, blog post, or photo posted by Romney's digital team. ‘The digital team unfortunately did not have the opportunity to think of things on their own and post them,’ said Caitlin Checkett, the campaign's digital integration director, in the study. ‘The downfall of that of course is as fast as we are moving, it can take a little bit of time to get that approval to happen.’” [WaPo]
QUELLE HORREUR! NEW REPUBLIC STAFF RESIGN EN MASSE - Please find it in your heart to donate to our Cass Sunstein food drive. Donations -- and please limit them to non-perishable items, people -- can be sent to his office at Harvard. Michael Calderone: “Dozens of staff members and contributing editors at The New Republic resigned en masse Friday morning, less than 24 hours after top editors Franklin Foer and Leon Wieseltier quit over a dispute with management over the magazine's direction. New Republic owner Chris Hughes and newly installed CEO Guy Vidra announced Thursday they were repositioning the 100-year-old magazine to become a "vertically integrated digital media company." They hired Gabriel Snyder, who previously ran Gawker and The Wire, and was most recently at Bloomberg Media, to be its new editor-in-chief. There has been tension at the magazine since Vidra's arrival over differing visions for the publication. Staffers saw management as overly focused on Web traffic at the expense of its legacy of narrative journalism and criticism.” [HuffPost]
Hey, this is a great point! Max Fisher: “Hughes' predecessor, Marty Peretz, did much worse...the sewing machine fortune heir gave himself the title of editor-in-chief and regular space in the magazine and on its website, which he frequently used to issue rants that were breathtaking in their overt racism... The overwhelmingly white writers and editors who worked for Peretz knew his work was monstrous, and often struggled over the morality of accepting his money (as did I, during my brief internship there). But none ever resigned en masse as they did over the firing of two white male editors today...” [Vox]
BECAUSE YOU'VE READ THIS FAR - Here’s a singing dog.
COMFORT FOOD
- An interactive map of the world’s craziest laws.
- An online spirograph generator.
- The best Reuters photos from 2014.
- Interactive website shows the real life location of Grand Theft Auto 5 buildings.
TWITTERAMA
@delrayser: Wait, so this IS actually about ethics in journalism?
@daweiner: On the plus side, a lot of people get to leave DC.
ColMorrisDavis: Rolling Stone is sorry, New Republic resigns, Scarborough sings, Doocy shows up for work ... a bad day in journalism.
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