STRONG ENOUGH TO CRY

Obama's tears. It seems to me that when you are the person in charge, and the pointless massacre of children happens on your watch, you have to feel that deeply. It's not the same as for any other observer. So I get Obama's tears - tears of sadness, tears of frustration, tears of fury. But of course that's not the way Republicans want to interpret it. They have no sense of that kind of responsibility. Or perhaps they're just inhuman

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/01/white-rage-and-obamas-tears.html

More: http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2016/1/7/1466929/-Conservatives-have-theories-about-Obama-s-tears-Grief-over-murdered-children-doesn-t-make-the-cut

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/01/07/1466985/-Paul-Ryan-slams-Obama-for-being-distracted-by-murdered-children

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/fox-news-host-accuses-obama-faking-tears-speech-article-1.2487208
Fox News host Andrea Tantaros accuses President Obama of faking his tears during gun control speech by hiding onion near podium 

 It's getting nasty on the GOP side

http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2016-01-07/republicans-get-nasty-in-new-hampshire-with-even-boots-fair-game

More: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/01/07/1467018/-Republican-candidates-turn-desperate-Let-the-New-Hampshire-pie-fight-begin

I've been wondering when someone would bring up that John McCain faced the same sort of "disqualification" squabble as Ted Cruz -- but I didn't think it would come up this way

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/01/07/1466913/-Panama-born-John-McCain-doesn-t-know-if-Canada-born-Ted-Cruz-is-eligible-for-presidency
Panama-born John McCain doesn't know if Canada-born Ted Cruz is eligible for presidency

http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2016/01/07/ted-cruz-and-john-mccain-share-history-of-facing-natural-born-questions/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/01/07/there-was-a-very-real-birther-debate-about-john-mccain/

Cruz responds: https://politicalwire.com/2016/01/07/cruz-says-mccain-is-secretly-backing-rubio/
“I think it is no surprise to anybody that John McCain is going to be supporting Marco Rubio in this election. It’s no surprise at all that he’s trying to do what he can to help the candidate that he’s favoring who he thinks shares policy positions with him.”

How Trump does it

http://time.com/4170772/the-art-of-the-steal/?xid=homepage

More: http://www.vox.com/2016/1/7/10730150/ted-cruz-citizenship-mccain-trump

"Get em out!" Watch how Trump deals with protesters at his rally

https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/politics/count-the-disruptions-at-donald-trumps-vermont-rally/2016/01/08/28e6431a-b5d8-11e5-8abc-d09392edc612_video.html

Dr. Magoo wanders through life cluelessly

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/01/ben-carson-asks-5th-graders-to-point-out-dumbest-student.html
Ben Carson Asks Crowd of 5th-Graders to Point Out Dumbest Kid in Class

Jeb, in danger of fading away . . .

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/01/07/1466757/-Let-s-be-honest-Jeb-Bush-was-never-ready-for-anything
Let's be honest, Jeb Bush was never ready for anything

More: http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/news/a40960/jeb-bush-new-hampshire-event/
 
Obamacare repeal -- like Benghazi, the Republicans keep thinking this fight is accomplishing something for them. It's not

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/01/obamacare-repeal-is-a-trainwreck.html

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/01/congress-makes-obama-admit-hes-pro-obamacare.html

More: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/01/07/1466925/-House-Republicans-on-Obamacare-repeal-massive-waste-of-time-Today-is-a-really-good-day-for-us
'Today is a really good day for us'

I know it's not as interesting as Marco Rubio's boots, but we're going to have to start paying attention to the Saudi-Iran fight

http://www.vox.com/2016/1/7/10725896/saudi-insecurity-iran
Why Saudi leaders keep making bad decisions: they're scared

Bonus item: Larry Wilmore wants to rename Fox News

http://www.salon.com/2016/01/07/larry_wilmore_renames_fox_news_this_may_be_his_crowning_moment_on_guns_and_right_wing_horror/

More: http://mediamatters.org/video/2016/01/07/the-daily-shows-trevor-noah-excoriates-fox-news/207821

***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.***

HISTORICAL PARALLELS

Donald Trump 2015, and George Wallace 1968 (watch!)

http://crooksandliars.com/2016/01/rachel-maddow-compares-donald-trump-george 

Why Trump is attacking Cruz; why Cruz won't respond in kind

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2016/01/06/ted-cruz-is-refusing-to-take-trumps-chump-bait-heres-why/

"Lane" theory: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/01/06/why-the-2016-republican-race-makes-no-sense/

More brownshirt behavior from the crowds at Trump events

https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/politics/trump-supporters-rip-up-protesters-signs/2016/01/07/fe619b06-b502-11e5-8abc-d09392edc612_video.html

The House passes another Obamacare repeal bill, because. . . . well, because they can

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/01/06/1466740/-House-Republicans-define-insanity-vote-to-repeal-Obamacare-Again

The Benghazi investigation is a joke

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/gops-benghazi-committee-passes-ignominious-milestone
As of Wednesday, the House Select Committee on Benghazi has been in existence for 609 days, surpassing the length of time the 9/11 Commission took to investigate the terrorist attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people on Sept. 11, 2001. . . . [read on]
 
Dr. Magoo's tax plan -- it's a doozy!

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2016/01/ben-carson-has-tax-plan
This is great! At a guess, your average zillionaire would have an effective tax rate of about 8 percent compared to about 20 percent today. Ka-ching!  And how much would this blow up the deficit? My horseback guess is that it would cost around $12 trillion over the next ten years. That's even more harebrained than Donald Trump's plan. . . . [read on]

More: http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2016/01/poor-people-really-get-screwed-ben-carsons-tax-plan
Poor People Really Get Screwed By Ben Carson's Tax Plan

North Korea explodes a bomb, but it's not a hydrogen bomb

http://www.vox.com/2016/1/5/10721180/north-korea-earthquake-nuclear-test

The difference: http://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2016/1/6/10723918/whats-a-hydrogen-bomb

Making sense of North Korea

http://www.vox.com/2016/1/6/10724334/north-korea-history
There is probably no other country on Earth that draws such obsessive fascination from Americans yet is so widely misunderstood. . . . [read on]

More: http://www.vox.com/2016/1/6/10723260/north-korea-explained-video

Judge Roy Moore, he of the giant Ten Commandments statue, personally tries to block same sex marriages in Alabama

http://www.vox.com/2016/1/6/10725078/alabama-gay-marriage-roy-moore
Alabama's top judge keeps trying to stop same-sex marriages in the state

More: http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2016/01/roy_moore_says_probate_judges.html#incart_river_home

CNN today had TWO "Breaking News" segments, running concurrently, about stupid things Trump said. Let's think about what "breaking news" should mean

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2016/01/just-because-donald-trump-says-it-doesnt-mean-you-have-report-it
Stop it, stop it, stop it, STOP IT! Just because Donald Trump says something calculatingly stupid and provocative doesn't mean it has to be reported as front-page news. . . . [read on]

Bonus item: Brain games don't work

http://www.vox.com/2016/1/6/10724096/science-brain-games-lumosity

***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.***

BIRTHER 2.0

The Rich Guy now wants to make the Big Phony's Canadian birth (to a U.S. mother) an issue. This isn't what he said before

Now: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-says-cruzs-canadian-birth-could-be-very-precarious-for-gop/2016/01/05/5ce69764-b3f8-11e5-9388-466021d971de_story.html
Trump says Cruz’s Canadian birth could be ‘very precarious’ for GOP

Then: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/donald-trump-flip-flops-canada-born-ted-cruzs/story?id=33637878
“I hear it was checked out by every attorney and every which way and I understand Ted is in fine shape,” Trump told ABC News . . .

More b.s. from the Trump campaign. They run an ad video from Morocco, claiming it was Mexico. After their lawyer blurts out the obvious truth (it was a goof), their campaign spokesperson says it was, like, totally intentional

http://crooksandliars.com/2016/01/donald-trumps-lawyer-grudgingly-admits
Donald Trump's Lawyer Grudgingly Admits Using Morocco Footage Was A Mistake

http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/trump-ad-fact-checked-mexican-border-footage-campaign-says-no-n489981
"No s***, it's not the Mexican border but that's what our country is going to look like. This was 1,000 percent on purpose."  

And now this

https://politicalwire.com/2016/01/06/trump-alleges-widespread-voter-fraud/
Trump Alleges Widespread Voter Fraud  

Trump's support isn't just broader, it's deeper

http://www.vox.com/2016/1/5/10717092/donald-trump-poll

No, Cruz isn't the safer alternative to Trump

http://www.vox.com/2016/1/5/10716142/ted-cruz-immigration-ad
Ted Cruz's new ad positions him as the respectable face of Trumpism

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2016_01/now_they_notice_cruz_is_no_bet059171.php
Cruz Is No Better Than Trump

More: http://www.politico.com/story/2016/01/donald-trump-ted-cruz-gop-fear-217345#.owohwos:I1lt

I read this the same way -- they want a woman on the ticket and it isn't going to be Carly Fiorina

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/01/06/gov-nikki-haley-just-got-a-chance-to-try-out-for-vice-president/
Gov. Nikki Haley just got a chance to try out for vice president

Obama's gun control executive orders -- pretty modest, really, despite all the haranguing from the NRA and its proxies

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/01/06/hey-nra-and-republican-stoolies-obama-s-not-the-tyrant-here.html

http://www.vox.com/2016/1/4/10708324/obama-gun-control-executive-order
  
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/the-missing-piece-the-gops-anti-obama-pitch-guns
At no point yesterday did any Republican candidates or lawmakers point to anything specific in the president’s policy that they found objectionable. Not one measure, not one idea, not one initiative, not one paragraph, nothing. . . .[read on]

More: https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2016/01/05/here-is-how-obamas-most-controversial-new-action-on-guns-really-works-its-fairly-modest/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/01/05/where-america-gets-its-guns-and-how-easily/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/01/05/why-gun-advocates-should-love-obamas-new-gun-rules/
Why gun advocates should love Obama’s new gun rules

Pssst . . .  these polices are widely supported, even by Republicans

http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2015/08/pew-gun-study

More: https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2016/01/05/why-obama-and-democrats-are-pushing-the-gun-issue-so-hard-in-one-chart/
 
Understanding the Sunni-Shia conflict

http://www.vox.com/2016/1/5/10718456/sunni-shia

Fox World goes to the movies

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/01/06/1466396/-Fox-News-pins-their-Benghazi-hopes-and-dreams-on-Hollywood-director-Michael-Bay
I can safely predict that Michael Bay's new movie about Benghazi will receive more free advertising from Fox News than any other movie has ever received in the history of movies. . . .

Bonus item: Chill, dudes!

http://crooksandliars.com/2016/01/brrr-authorities-cut-power-oregon-militia

Brrr! Authorities To Cut Power To Oregon Freedom Doers

More: http://www.salon.com/2016/01/06/stephen_colbert_solves_oregon_standoff_frankly_its_a_bit_of_a_sausage_fest/

***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.***

WHO ARE THEY?

Who are the Oregon federal building occupiers?

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/meet-the-militia-cowboys-held-up-in-oregon-wildlife-refuge

http://www.vox.com/2016/1/5/10712084/oregon-militia-history-experts

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/01/04/1466122/-Oregon-standoff-roundup-The-dumbest-revolutionaries-on-the-planet

What do we call them?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/01/04/what-do-you-call-a-bunch-of-white-guys-with-guns/

Tennessee state Republican cheers them on

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/andy-holt-oregon-bundy-support

Trump's new ad

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2016/01/04/donald-trumps-new-tv-ad-make-america-great-by-keeping-the-darkies-out/
Donald Trump has unveiled a riveting new television ad that perfectly sums up Trumpism in all its xenophobic glory — and also perfectly captures the problem Trumpism has created for the Republican Party. . . .

More: http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2016/01/play-it-again-i-love-feel-of-it.html

http://www.salon.com/2016/01/04/inside_donald_trumps_incoherent_campaign_ad_a_shot_by_shot_breakdown/
 
http://www.politico.com/story/2016/01/donald-trump-ad-footage-border-morocco-217332#.owohwos:lb03
Donald Trump's new TV ad is not quite what it seems. Footage that is implied to be from the U.S. border with Mexico is actually from more than 5,000 miles away, in Morocco. . . .

The rise of "Trumpism"

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/01/the-eight-causes-of-trumpism/422427/

The enabler: https://politicalwire.com/2016/01/04/quote-of-the-day-1148/
“I’m not one of these people that think that Donald Trump can’t win a general election.”  

    — RNC Chairman Reince Priebus

Meanwhile

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/01/donald-trump-ted-cruz-gop-fear-217345#ixzz3wN3gmMap
In Washington and elsewhere, meanwhile, Republicans are on the hunt for a political entity that can be used to stop Trump. In recent weeks, Alex Castellanos, a veteran TV ad man who was a top adviser to George W. Bush and Romney, has been meeting with top GOP operatives and donors to gauge interest in launching an anti-Trump vehicle that would pummel the Manhattan businessman on the television airwaves. . . . 

Rubio, desperate for attention, goes full wingnut

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/01/04/1465996/-Rubio-jumps-the-shark-Barack-Obama-has-deliberately-weakened-America
'Barack Obama has deliberately weakened America'

Sheesh

https://politicalwire.com/2016/01/04/romney-told-bush-he-wasnt-going-to-win/
Mitt Romney told the Washington Post that he confronted Jeb Bush with his fears about his candidacy a year ago. . . [read on]

How Obama makes foreign policy

https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/2015-12-07/obamas-way

More: http://www.salon.com/2016/01/04/a_year_of_war_10_destructive_armed_conflicts_the_u_s_fueled_in_2015_explained/

Obama's new gun rules

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/barack-obama-gun-background-checks

http://www.vox.com/2016/1/4/10708324/obama-gun-control-executive-order

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/obama-gun-control_568b03bce4b014efe0db7356

More: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/01/05/is-obamas-executive-action-on-guns-legal-lets-break-it-down/
Is Obama’s executive action on guns legal?

The enemy of my enemy is my . . . what?

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/05/us/politics/us-struggles-to-explain-alliance-with-saudis.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
U.S. Struggles to Explain Alliance With Saudis
 
More:  http://www.vox.com/2016/1/4/10708682/sunni-shia-iran-saudi-arabia-war
  
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/war_stories/2016/01/saudi_arabia_and_iran_may_be_seeking_a_new_crisis.html
 
http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2016/01/saudi-arabia-our-great-and-good-ally

Bonus item: The end of Jeb!

https://politicalwire.com/2016/01/05/the-end-of-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.***

STANDOFF

Right-wing militia occupies federal building in Oregon. Now what?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/armed-activists-in-oregon-touch-off-unpredictable-chapter-in-land-use-feud/2016/01/03/17a45e5c-b272-11e5-a76a-0b5145e8679a_story.html

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/01/04/the-oregon-occupiers-complaint-explained-in-9-maps/

http://www.samefacts.com/2016/01/everything-else/push-comes-to-shove-in-oregon/

How Fox News views it: http://crooksandliars.com/2016/01/cliven-bundy-s-sons-and-pals-have-seized

Is America becoming more liberal? A debate

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/01/why-america-is-moving-left/419112/
Why America Is Moving Left

https://newrepublic.com/article/126519/america-not-becoming-liberal
America Is Not Becoming More Liberal

Five more big 2015 stories on gender and politics

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/01/04/5-more-intriguing-developments-in-gender-and-politics-in-2015/ 

Trump - the historical precedents

https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2016/01/02/shribman/Hf5VsuRa48kWhIt1zghwgM/story.html

Trump's new ad -- greeted breathlessly (by whom?)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/donald-trumps-provocative-first-tv-ad-raises-the-temperature-of-gop-race/2016/01/03/873cceb8-b243-11e5-a76a-0b5145e8679a_story.html
The Republican presidential candidate’s long-awaited and hotly anticipated first ad . . .

More: http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2016/01/news-media-infatuated-donald-trump-part-4387
I know it's tedious to complain about the mainstream media going gaga over everything Donald Trump says, but WTF? It's an ad. There's nothing special about it. It's just a narrator saying the same stuff Trump has been saying forever. . . .

The man behind Dr. Magoo

https://politicalwire.com/2016/01/03/quote-of-the-day-1147/
“I think they need some psychologists to figure that out.”  

      — Ex-Carson campaign manager Barry Bennett, in an interview with Time, on why commentator Armstrong Williams has so much influence over Ben Carson.

Who is Armstrong Williams? http://www.rawstory.com/2015/11/meet-armstrong-williams-the-shady-grifter-whos-running-ben-carsons-bizarro-campaign/

Bonus item: John Oliver on News Year's resolutions

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/01/04/john-oliver-give-up-on-your-new-year-s-resolutions-now.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.***

POLICY WONK

Hillary's proposals are connecting with people

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/01/03/the-media-are-bored-but-below-the-radar-clinton-is-connecting.html
As we go into the New Year mesmerized by Donald Trump and his politically incorrect rants, it’s worth noting that among all the candidates in both parties, the one with the best odds of becoming the next president is Hillary Clinton. With the Iowa caucuses just weeks away, don’t you think it’s time we paid attention to the multitude of policies, proposals and programs she has rolled out over the last seven months? . . .

Bernie has a pretty good fundraising quarter too

https://politicalwire.com/2016/01/02/sander-pulls-in-another-33-million/

Could the GOP actually split?

https://politicalwire.com/2016/01/02/will-the-gop-break-apart-in-2016/

More: http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/12/the-split-within-conservatism/419400/

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2016/01/republican-lawmakers-probably-shouldnt.html
The party is in crisis. And a lot of it is caused by Republicans promising these people that they will go to Washington and create radical, revolutionary change. . . . 

Trump -- the kind of guy he is

https://politicalwire.com/2016/01/02/trump-helped-cut-brothers-children-from-will/
Trump Helped Cut Brother’s Children from Will

Scott Walker is ruining Wisconsin

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2016_01/more_conservative_economics_fa059138.php

"Taking the public out of public education"

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/01/02/1459447/-Taking-the-public-out-of-public-education

Politics and gender

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/01/03/the-5-most-intriguing-developments-in-politics-and-gender-in-2015/

The Sunday talk show line-ups

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/01/03/1465320/-Sunday-Talk-For-the-ladies
NBC Meet The Press: Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R); Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY); Others TBD.

CBS Face the Nation: Raging Narcissist Donald Trump; Former CIA Deputy Director Michael Morell; Former National Security Adviser Tom Donilon; Roundtable: Reihan Salam (National Review), Ruth Marcus (Washington Post), Molly Ball (The Atlantic) and Jonathan Martin (New York Times).

ABC This Week: Idiot Savant Dr. Ben Carson (R); Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT); Roundtable: Matt Bai (Yahoo News), Republican Strategist Alex Castellanos, Progressive Activist Van Jones and Republican Strategist Alice Stewart.

CNN State of the Union: Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT); Failed CEO Carly Fiorina (R); Rep. Dave Brat (R-VA).

Bonus item: More words from Donald Trump -- 95,000 of them

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/06/us/politics/95000-words-many-of-them-ominous-from-donald-trumps-tongue.html

This pattern of elevating emotional appeals over rational ones is a rhetorical style that historians, psychologists and political scientists placed in the tradition of political figures like Goldwater, George Wallace, Joseph McCarthy, Huey Long and Pat Buchanan, who used fiery language to try to win favor with struggling or scared Americans. . . . [read on]

***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.***

ROLLIN' IN IT

Hillary has a mountain of primary money, and is already collecting funds for the general election 

https://politicalwire.com/2016/01/01/clinton-smashes-fundraising-goal/

More: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/01/01/hillary-clintons-campaign-raised-55-million-in-the-latest-fundraising-quarter/

Hillary and the likability question

http://www.vox.com/2016/1/1/10695570/hillary-clinton-likable

Be careful what you ask for

Then: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/12/21/donald-trump-demands-hillary-clinton-apologize-for-making-up-tapes-and-videos-which-dont-exist/
Trump demands Clinton apologize for ‘making up tapes and videos which don’t exist’
 
Now: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/02/world/africa/al-qaeda-uses-video-of-trump-for-recruiting.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
Qaeda Affiliate Uses Video of Donald Trump for Recruiting

Trump's latest is to call Hillary "weak"

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/behind-trumps-strong-new-push-to-attack-clinton-as-physically-weak/2016/01/01/96e3196c-ae65-11e5-b820-eea4d64be2a1_story.html

The tribal nature of political parties

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/01/02/america-s-political-parties-are-just-tribes-now.html

2015 was a rough year for conservatives

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/01/02/how-conservatives-lost-2015.html

The Big Phony goes full theocrat

http://crooksandliars.com/2016/01/ted-cruz-running-jesus
“If we awaken and energize the body of Christ– if Christians and people of faith come out and vote our values– we will win and we will turn the country around,” Cruz told volunteers on a conference call Tuesday. . . . [read on]

Jeb W Bush tries to save his candidacy

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/02/us/politics/jeb-bush-presidential-campaign.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=second-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news

Rubio just doesn't quite get this campaigning thing

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2016/01/marco-marco-marco.html

Carly Fiorina (is she still running?) shows us how pandering is really done

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/01/01/carly-fiorina-just-brought-political-pandering-to-a-whole-new-level/

Dr. Magoo tells us something about the state of the Republican party

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2016_01/carsons_implosion_is_a_reflect059136.php
Carson’s Implosion Is a Reflection of the Con Artistry That Has Overtaken the GOP
 

Bonus item: How Trump talks

https://politicalwire.com/2016/01/02/how-donald-trump-answers-a-question/

***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.***

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

More on Marco Rubio's big scandal

http://www.vox.com/2015/12/31/10695274/marco-rubio-orlando-cicilia-real-estate
Marco Rubio's presidential aspirations have long been dogged by vague unsubstantiated allegations that he is a "risky bet" with skeletons in his closet that could prove damaging in a high-profile election. This week, Scott Higham and Manuel Roig-Franzia of the Washington Post became the first reporters to put some meat on these bones with a story alleging that as Majority Whip of the Florida House of Representatives Rubio "used his official position to urge state regulators to grant a real estate license to his brother-in-law, a convicted cocaine trafficker who had been released from prison 20 months earlier." . . . [read on]

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2015_12/marco_rubios_miami_vice_proble059130.php
Let’s start with the fact that “ex-con” doesn’t really do justice to Marco Rubio’s brother-in-law. Orlando Cicilia was a major drug trafficker at a time and in a place that has gone down in history in movies like Scarface and television programs like Miami Vice for being notoriously violent and destructive. . . . 

More: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/12/31/1465041/-Marco-Rubio-s-scandal-plagued-career-just-got-a-little-more-interesting
This sounds a little like the beginning of an Elmore Leonard novel—or maybe it's just how things in Florida really work. It's got everything: Cocaine trafficking, real estate, and a powerful politician. . . . 

Dr. Magoo shakes up his campaign -- which was pretty shaky to begin with

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/12/31/1465084/-Top-aides-desert-Ben-Carson-s-sinking-ship
Last week, Ben Carson said he was shaking up his presidential campaign. Then he said he wasn't, because he had “100 percent confidence in my campaign team.” On New Year’s Eve, we learn that his top staff looked at their situation on Carson’s fading campaign and decided to take Option A themselves.  

Campaign manager Barry Bennett and communications director Doug Watts are both leaving the campaign, and though they released a statement with a bunch of “best wishes” and “respect” yada yada, the back story sounds somewhat messier . . . [read on]

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2015/12/a-broken-bottle-of-snake-oil.html
"Chaos"

http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2015/12/31/top-ben-carson-aides-quit-amid-campaign-turmoil/?partner=rss&emc=rss
"Turmoil"

More: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2015/12/31/ben-carsons-top-staffers-resign-in-a-delayed-campaign-shake-up/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2015/12/31/ben-carsons-new-campaign-chairman-is-a-christian-soldier-who-believes-in-him/
"A lot of politicians have fans, but Dr. Carson has believers," says [new campaign manager] Robert Dees. . . . 

Hair spray

https://politicalwire.com/2016/01/01/trump-says-obama-is-preventing-use-of-hairspray/

Donald Trump said that President Obama’s concerns about the environment were infringing on his rights to use aerosol hairspray, the New York Times reports.  Said Trump: “You can’t use hairspray because hairspray is going to affect the ozone.”  However, aerosol sprays were actually phased out in the United States in the 1990s, years before Obama was president.

The Trump way

https://politicalwire.com/2016/01/01/quote-of-the-day-1145/
“It’s not a political strategy he’s pursuing, it’s a short-term public relations strategy. Every day, he figures out some way to dominate the news. But in the general election, not only is Bill Clinton still popular with a lot of swing voters, they don’t think it’s fair to run against the spouse. This is not a legitimate general election issue. It’s simply a tactic of Donald’s to dominate the news.”

      — GOP lobbyist Charlie Black

The State Dept releases 5500 more Hillary emails - and it's still not enough

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/01/us/politics/state-department-hillary-clinton-email.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

More: http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2015/12/state-department-releases-5500-more-hillary-clintons-darkest-secrets

Executive action in the new year

http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/31/politics/obama-to-announce-new-executive-action-on-guns/
President Barack Obama is expected to announce in the coming days a new executive action with the goal of expanding background checks on gun sales . . . 

Incarceration numbers are down, again

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/01/01/the-era-of-mass-incarceration-is-unwinding/
The rate of U.S. adults under some form of criminal justice supervision declined for the seventh straight year . . .

Bonus item: The 5 craziest right-wing conspiracy theories of 2015

http://www.alternet.org/culture/5-craziest-right-wing-conspiracy-theories-2015

***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.***