MELTDOWN

Wheee!

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/29/us/politics/what-led-marco-rubio-to-join-in-a-battle-of-taunts.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
G.O.P. Race Grows Cruder and More Aggressive
 
https://politicalwire.com/2016/02/28/gop-being-torn-apart-by-trump-candidacy/
GOP Being Torn Apart by Trump Candidacy  

More: http://prospect.org/article/marco-rubio-right-donald-trump-con-man
Donald Trump Is a Con Man

Trump: Mafia ties?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/ted-cruz-mob_us_56d31655e4b0bf0dab327088 

Trump's "insult haiku"

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/metrical-analysis-of-trump-insult-haiku

Happy to see Spotlight win Best Picture

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2016/02/spotlight-and-moral-authority.html

Bonus item: John Oliver on Donald Trump (pour a second cup, enjoy this one)

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/02/29/john-oliver-destroys-donald-trump-you-are-either-a-racist-or-you-are-pretending-to-be.html

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL: http://pbd.blogspot.com

I don’t get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don’t run ads, etc.). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a “mission,” it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

BY THE NUMBERS

We're at the stage where theory and speculation end, and real votes matter. That's good news for Clinton 

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/02/clinton-routs-sanders-in-south-carolina-primary.html
Clinton Completely Dominates Sanders in South Carolina Primary 

http://www.vox.com/2016/2/27/11128240/south-carolina-primary-sanders-clinton-polling
Why South Carolina may be the first of many big losses for Bernie Sanders

http://www.vox.com/2016/2/27/11127640/south-carolina-democratic-primary-results-2016
Super Tuesday will be tough for Sanders
 
More: http://www.vox.com/2016/2/27/11128086/bernie-sanders-south-carolina
Bernie Sanders lost poor voters in South Carolina by a big margin — a problem for his political revolution 

http://www.vox.com/2016/2/27/11127754/south-carolina-democratic-primary-results-black-margin

Clinton winning black voters 84-16, bigger margin than Obama in 2008, when he won 78-19

— Martin Gelin (@M_Gelin) February 28, 2016

How we got Trump

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2016/02/qotd-thomas-schaller.html
With the rise of the tea party and with the vexing issue of immigration, the Republican Party faced a choice between the recovery and retrenchment paths, and each time chose retrenchment. Why? Don’t rational political parties make choices that best further their electoral goals? Usually, but not always. When a party sets its course down a particular path, it often closes off options or preempts alternatives that seem patently beneficial in the abstract but are conditionally less preferable than doing the opposite, or doing nothing at all. That is the nature of path dependency: it alters the cost-benefit analysis of future decisions. The Republican Party’s rising congressional fortunes have led the party quite rationally down a path that has made retrenchment more attractive and recovery less so. . .  [read on]

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/02/gops-failure-to-take-out-donald-trump.html
The GOP’s Spectacular Failure to Take Out Donald Trump

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/gop-overwhelmed-by-debt
Inside the GOP Implosion
 
Great news for the fall: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/02/27/donald-trump-math-utter-catastrophe/
Donald Trump + math = utter catastrophe

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2016/02/27/donald-trumps-misleading-claim-that-hes-won-most-of-lawsuits-over-trump-university/
Donald Trump’s misleading claim that he’s ‘won most of’ lawsuits over Trump University

[NB: What a defense!]
  
Now this

https://politicalwire.com/2016/02/27/general-says-military-would-disobey-trump/
Gen. Michael Hayden, the former director of the CIA and NSA, said that if the military would have to disobey Donald Trump if he followed through on certain campaign promises as president, The Hill reports.  Referring to Trump’s suggestion to torture suspected terrorists and kill their families, Hayden said, “If he were to order that once in government, the American armed forces would refuse to act.”
 
The Sunday talk show line-ups

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/02/28/1491895/-Sunday-Talk-Losing-is-the-new-winning
NBC Meet The Press: Raging Narcissist Donald Trump (R); Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX); Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R); Roundtable: Guests TBD.

CBS Face The Nation: Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT); Raging Narcissist Donald Trump (R); Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX); Democratic Strategist David Axelrod; Roundtable: Ruth Marcus (Washington Post), Peggy Noonan (Wall Street Journal), Jamelle Bouie (Slate) and Ben Domenech (The Federalist).

ABC This Week: Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT); New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R); Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX); Roundtable: Democratic Strategist Donna Brazile, Radio Host Hugh Hewitt, Katrina vanden Heuvel (The Nation), Jonathan Karl (ABC News) and Greta Van Susteren (Fox News).

CNN State of the Union: Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX); Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R); New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R). 
 

Bonus item: Could automated cars be bad for pollution?

http://www.vox.com/2016/2/27/11121416/study-fully-automating-self-driving-cars-worse

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL: http://pbd.blogspot.com

I don’t get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don’t run ads, etc.). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a “mission,” it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

BULLY BOYS

Do these two ever deserve each other

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/02/26/4-reasons-why-chris-christie-endorsed-donald-trump/
4 reasons Chris Christie endorsed Donald Trump

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/02/trump-christie-and-the-art-of-the-deal.html
The best way to understand Christie is to read Alec MacGillis’s profile of him from two years ago. MacGillis’s thesis is that Christie, who posed as a reformer, was in fact a master of New Jersey’s crooked machine. He rose to power under the guise of cleaning out its corruption, but actually shoved aside the competition so he could take over the rackets for himself. To understand Christie in ideological terms is to miss the point about him. He’s a throwback to a figure from the pre-polarized era, the machine pol. . . 

More: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/02/26/chris-christie-just-endorsed-trump-a-few-weeks-ago-he-said-trump-had-no-experience-and-would-hand-the-race-to-democrats/
Chris Christie just endorsed Donald Trump. He’s said a lot of bad things about him. A lot.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2016/02/26/chris-christie-just-endorsed-donald-trump-here-are-the-best-10-reactions-on-twitter/
Chris Christie just endorsed Donald Trump. Here are the best 10 reactions on Twitter.

Trump wants to "open up" libel laws to make it easier to sue the press

http://crooksandliars.com/2016/02/donald-trump-im-going-open-our-libel-law

More: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/trump-we-ll-prune-back-1st-amendment

Trump REALLY doesn't want to release his tax returns

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/02/26/trump-now-on-his-third-new-reason-to-not-release-tax-returns.html

"Trump University" was a scam

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/trump-university-back-the-spotlight

More: http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2016/02/26/conservative-group-to-air-ads-of-ex-students-complaining-about-trump-university/?partner=rss&emc=rss

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/02/26/ive-been-to-trump-university-this-is-what-i-saw/

Why Trump is a candidate like no other

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2016/02/26/pay-close-attention-to-what-chris-christie-just-said-about-trump-democrats/
[Christie] “There is no doubt in my mind that the single most important thing for the Republican Party is to nominate the person who gives us the best chance to beat Hillary Clinton. I can guarantee you that the one person that Hillary and Bill Clinton do not want to see on that stage come next September is Donald Trump. They know how to run the standard political playbook against junior senators, and run them around the block. They do not know the playbook with Donald Trump, because he is rewriting the playbook. . . .”

More: http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2016/02/donald-trump-rediscovers-and-old-truism-big-lies-are-better-little-ones
Donald Trump Rediscovers an Old Truism: Big Lies Are Better Than Little Ones

Yes, he said it

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/02/26/trump-i-could-have-nailed-princess-diana.html
Trump: ‘I Could Have ‘Nailed’ Princess Diana’

Tennessee has an official state gun. It can shoot down commercial aircraft

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/02/26/tennessees-new-official-state-rifle-is-so-powerful-it-can-destroy-commercial-aircraft/

Bonus item: Goodbye Jeb!

http://crooksandliars.com/2016/02/open-thread-buh-bye-jeb

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL: http://pbd.blogspot.com

I don’t get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don’t run ads, etc.). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a “mission,” it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

CHAOS

There's that word again

http://www.vox.com/2016/2/25/11118290/cnn-republican-debate-trump
Watch the Republican presidential debate descend into chaos

More: http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2016_02/the_ugliest_campaign_ever059737.php
The Ugliest Campaign Ever

Winners and losers in the GOP debate
 
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/02/25/winners-and-losers-from-the-10th-republican-presidential-debate/

http://www.vox.com/2016/2/25/11118336/cnn-republican-debate-2016-winners-losers

http://crooksandliars.com/2016/02/who-won-2016-cnn-houston-gop-debate-0

More: https://politicalwire.com/2016/02/25/reaction-to-the-republican-presidential-debate/

19 tweets

http://www.vox.com/2016/2/26/11118372/twitter-gop-debate

The Repubs are trying hard to slam and lock the door on any possible Supreme Court nominee. Don't even bother, Mr. President! (It's not working)

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/26/us/politics/supreme-court-congress.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
Supreme Court Fight Won’t Die, No Matter How Hard Republicans Try

More: https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2016/02/25/heres-one-way-the-gop-might-cave-in-the-supreme-court-fight/
Here’s one way the GOP might cave in the Supreme Court fight

The GOP did no oppo research on Trump. Now it's probably too late

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trump-research_us_56cf2c6de4b03260bf75b395

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/02/25/we-can-still-beat-donald-trump-and-here-s-how.html

More: http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2016/02/why-hell-wont-anyone-attack-trump

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2016/02/republicans-have-totally-lost-their-mojo

Trump says he will create American jobs -- yeah, right: just like this

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/02/trump-wont-bring-our-jobs-back-from-his-hotels.html

More: http://www.vox.com/2016/2/25/11118276/donald-trump-polish-workers

The unthinkable has become thinkable, and this buffoon has taken control of the GOP nomination process. But what will happen in the general election?

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2016/02/donald_trump_would_very_likely_lose_to_hillary_clinton.html

Tell us, Lindsey: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/lindsey-graham-donald-trump-win-nomination
Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, who unsuccessfully sought his party's presidential nomination, on Thursday called Donald Trump a "nut job" who likely will win the GOP nod, but lose in November's general election.  "He's just generally a loser as a person and a candidate," the South Carolina senator told reporters, adding, "You can't nominate a nut job and lose and expect it doesn't have consequences." . . . This is what happens if you nominate Trump."  "I think he's going to lose, he's going to lose badly. . . .

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2016/02/25/the-gop-faces-brutal-demographic-woes-and-theyre-only-getting-worse/
The GOP’s brutal demographic woes are only getting worse

Bonus item: Yes, he said it

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/02/25/jimmy-kimmel-makes-donald-trump-campaign-ad-by-an-for-the-poorly-educated.html
Jimmy Kimmel Makes Donald Trump Campaign Ad For the ‘Poorly Educated’ 

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL: http://pbd.blogspot.com

I don’t get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don’t run ads, etc.). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a “mission,” it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

TAXING BEHAVIOR

Does The Rich Guy have a tax problem?

https://politicalwire.com/2016/02/24/romney-slams-trump-on-his-taxes/
[Mitt Romney] “We have good reason to believe that there’s a bombshell in Donald Trump’s taxes. Either he’s not anywhere near as wealthy as he says he is, or he hasn’t been paying taxes we would expect him to pay or perhaps he hasn’t been giving money to vets or to the disabled like he’s been telling us he’s been doing.”

More: http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2016/02/22/donald-trump-says-hell-release-tax-returns-at-some-point/?partner=rss&emc=rss
Donald Trump Says He’ll Release Tax Returns ‘at Some Point’

More trouble ahead?

https://www.yahoo.com/politics/with-gop-nomination-looming-trump-slated-to-take-191550876.html
In court filings last Friday, lawyers for both sides in a long-running civil lawsuit over the now defunct Trump University named Trump on their witness lists. That makes it all but certain that the reality-show star and international businessman will be forced to be grilled under oath over allegations in the lawsuit that he engaged in deceptive trade practices and scammed thousands of students who enrolled in his “university” courses in response to promises he would make them rich in the real estate market. . . .

Yes, Trump is a joke. But not a very funny joke

Video: https://www.facebook.com/ezraklein/videos/vb.232843448409/10153996823213410/?type=2&theater

More: https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2016/02/24/why-trump-could-be-tougher-in-general-election-than-you-think/
Why Trump could be tougher in general election than you think

Is Chris Christie already angling for a position in the Trump Administration?

https://politicalwire.com/2016/02/24/would-chris-christie-endorse-trump/ 

I once thought that Trump was a demagogic extremist on the fringe of the GOP. But the rest of the party has caught up with him

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/02/25/senate-republicans-make-donald-trump-look-good.html

Lindsey lets the truth slip

https://politicalwire.com/2016/02/24/graham-admits-supreme-court-fight-is-payback/
Graham Admits Supreme Court Fight is Payback  

You should have known this story would have a "but. . . ." in it

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/02/24/the-recovery-is-generating-more-high-wage-jobs-but-does-that-matter/
The recovery is generating more high-wage jobs

Bernie's radical past

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2016/02/bernie_sanders_radical_past_would_haunt_him_in_a_general_election.html 
On Monday, Politico published a story headlined “Sanders Once Urged Abolishing CIA.”  . . . [read on]

The debate over superdelegates continues

http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/ken-walshs-washington/2016/02/23/clinton-racking-up-delegates
Clinton Racking Up Delegates

http://theweek.com/articles/607786/bernie-sanders-already-been-defeated-by-superdelegates-give-break
Bernie Sanders has already been defeated by superdelegates? Give me a break.

http://www.salon.com/2016/02/25/hillary_is_far_from_inevitable_stop_counting_her_bogus_delegate_lead_partner/
Hillary is anything but “inevitable”: The political press is lying to you about her delegate lead 

Where Dr. Magoo's campaign money is going

http://digbysblog.blogspot.sg/2016/02/that-snake-oil-is-tasty-bencarson.html

Town halls versus debates

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/25/us/politics/cnn-politics.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Bonus item: Trevor Noah takes on Dr. Magoo

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/02/25/trevor-noah-blasts-ben-carson-for-claiming-president-obama-was-raised-white.html
Trevor Noah Blasts Ben Carson for Claiming President Obama Was ‘Raised White’ 

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL: http://pbd.blogspot.com

I don’t get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don’t run ads, etc.). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a “mission,” it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

WINNING UGLY

A heck of a way to pick a president

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/02/23/things-are-getting-ugly-as-nevada-votes/
The Nevada Republican caucuses are turning ugly

More: https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/politics/crowds-and-chaos-overwhelm-nevada-caucus-sites/2016/02/24/330e8e2a-dab7-11e5-8210-f0bd8de915f6_video.html
Crowds and chaos overwhelm Nevada caucus sites 

http://www.vox.com/2016/2/24/11105290/nevada-caucus-mess-tweets
Nevada's GOP caucuses were a chaotic mess, in 4 tweets 

Rubio - the alternative?

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/02/rubio-trump-underperformed-in-nevada.html?mid=full-rss-di
Marco Rubio Loses to Trump by 22 Points in Nevada, Says Trump ‘Underperformed’ 

Is Cruz finished?

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/02/theres-just-one-winner-in-nevada-donald-trump.html
There’s Just One Winner in Nevada: Donald Trump

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/02/23/early-data-suggest-an-angry-nevada-electorate-that-should-favor-donald-trump/
How Donald Trump dominated Nevada, in one word: Anger

http://crooksandliars.com/2016/02/donald-trump-lauds-poorly-educated-nevada
Donald Trump Lauds The 'Poorly Educated' In Nevada Victory Speech

http://www.vox.com/2016/2/24/11107788/donald-trump-poorly-educated
The strangest line from Donald Trump’s victory speech: “I love the poorly educated”

More: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/02/24/after-a-nevada-stumble-ted-cruz-looks-home-to-texas/
After a Nevada stumble, Ted Cruz looks home to Texas

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/02/24/ted-cruz-s-no-good-night-in-nevada.html
Did Nevada Just Kill Ted Cruz?

I think this comment reveals so much about Trump's candidacy

http://www.salon.com/2016/02/24/electionconfessions_com_i_tell_everyone_that_i_hate_trump_but_im_going_to_vote_for_him/
“I tell everyone that I hate Trump but I’m going to vote for him!” 

More: http://www.vox.com/2016/2/24/11104782/republican-donald-trump-polls-delegates
Donald Trump could get an effectively insurmountable delegate lead in just 21 days

Do you remember when the GOP was going to remake itself into a more inclusive party?

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/02/24/requiem-for-a-republican-autopsy.html

Is an eight-person Supreme Court the New Normal?

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/24/us/politics/justice-alito-addresses-prospect-of-an-8-member-court.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

More: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/gopers-embrace-the-three-nos
Indeed, from what I'm hearing McConnell won't even commit to an up or down vote on a nominee from the next President. So he may want to keep this going into a next Democratic term if there is one. . . .

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/02/gop-obama-partisan-for-not-respecting-blockade.html
McConnell: Obama Should Stop Being Partisan, Respect Our Unprecedented SCOTUS Blockade

Obama decimates the GOP justification for not holding a vote

http://www.salon.com/2016/02/24/watch_president_obamas_point_by_point_rebuttal_of_republicans_supreme_court_obstructionism/

Sandoval?

https://politicalwire.com/2016/02/24/white-house-looking-at-sandoval-for-supreme-court/
Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval (R) is being vetted by the White House for a possible nomination to the Supreme Court . . .

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/02/24/1490454/-GOP-instantly-rejects-Republican-Gov-Brian-Sandoval-for-Supreme-Court-It-s-not-about-the-person
GOP instantly rejects Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval for Supreme Court: 'It's not about the person'

Bonus item: In Texas, students can now carry weapons into your class and into your office hours

http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2016/02/23/university_of_houston_faculty_reacts_to_texas_campus_carry_gun_law.html

If having armed students seems like it would pretty significantly alter the balance of power and academic freedom in a college classroom, you need look no further than the Univ. of Houston. The university’s faculty senate held a meeting recently with a Powerpoint presentation aimed at assisting faculty in adapting to the new gun-toting normal. Here’s a slide that pretty much sums it up . . .

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL: http://pbd.blogspot.com

I don’t get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don’t run ads, etc.). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a “mission,” it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***