Rachelle's Reading List: Wednesday Oct. 19th, 2011

3. The Republican Debate. It happened last night. I missed it, but here are some roundups I've enjoyed reading today on Tumblr: In Case You Missed It of the Day: The most memorable moment of last night’s GOP debate in Las Vegas was the heated exchange between Mitt Romney and Gov. Rick Perry over illegal immigration. [TDW] Perry attacked Romney on the issue by bringing up the former Massachusetts governor’s embarrassing episode involving the illegal immigrants hired to work on his lawn. Romney then fired back at Perry for his state’s inability to stem the tide of immigrants entering Texas illegally — something he claims other border states have been able to do. For what it’s worth, the New York Times’ fact checker gave Romney a pass on the issue of hiring illegal immigrants, saying “[i]t isn’t clear that Mr. Romney ever knew directly that his landscaping company was using illegal immigrants to tend his lawn.” [tpm / nyt.] The Atlantic's Molly Ball was ringside for last night's Austin-Boston brawl. Read her takeaways here [TheAtlantic] “DEATH PANELING”: The act of making outrageous claims that are neither backed up by existing, verifiable data, nor history or facts, usually a tactic reserved for right-leaning politicians. E.g. Republican candidate Michele Bachmann claiming that “liberal” elements in Washington might, of the sales tax, “maybe run that up to 90 percent, who knows?” is an act of death paneling. (Also see Sarah Palin, et al.) [ION]