NPR:
Kenyans like to tweet.
A lot.
The report "How Africa Tweets" says Nairobi is "the most active East African city on Twitter.
Dana Milbank:
This is the essence of Walker’s appeal — and why he is so dangerous. He is not as outrageous as Donald Trump and Sen.Ted Cruz (R-Tex.), but his technique of scapegoating unions for the nation’s ills is no less demagogic. Sixty-five years ago, another man from Wisconsin made himself a national reputation by frightening the country about the menace of communists, though the actual danger they represented was negligible. Scott Walker is not Joe McCarthy, but his technique is similar: He suggests that the nation’s ills can be cured by fighting labor unions (foremost among the “big government special interests” hurting America), even though unions represent just 11 percent of the American workforce and have been at a low ebb.
More politics and policy below the fold.
Nate Silver:
Although African-Americans are at a lower risk of death in local jails than whites overall (largely because of the higher rate of suicide among white inmates), they face a higher risk of arrest-related death specifically. Among every 100,000 black people who are arrested, 5.6 die, compared with only 3 of every 100,000 white arrestees.
WaPo:
Sandra Bland was pulled over for failing to signal while changing lanes. A lot of readers have watched the traffic stop which led to Bland’s arrest for assaulting an officer. If you haven’t, you should.
The Bland video brings up an overlooked problem with the law of police-citizen encounters. The police can back up their orders with force because it’s often a crime to disobey a lawful order from a police officer. But from a citizen’s perspective, it’s often impossible to know what is a lawful order. As a result, it’s often impossible for citizens to know what they can and can’t do during a police encounter.
Chicago Tribune:
Many people are wondering how Donald Trump, for all his excesses and eccentricities, could be doing so well in the presidential primary polls. The answer to that mystery may be found right here in Illinois, where voters elected a low-rent Trump doppelganger as governor not once but twice.
Molly Ball:
Who are you going to believe, the pundits? The pundits said Trump would never get this far. They said he would never actually run for president, because he thought about it in 1988, and said he was thinking about it in 2004, and floated it again in 2012. They said he just wanted attention—for his reality television show, for his golf courses, his buildings, his product lines. They said he would never disclose his assets, as required by election law. They pointed out that he is a germophobe who does not like to shake hands, as if something like that would stop Trump when he believed his country was in trouble.
Then, when he did run, they said he would not get anywhere, because, according to polls, the majority of Republicans can’t stand him. Then, when he rose to the top of the field, they said he wouldn’t last. So why should you believe them now?
YouGuv:
A separate YouGov poll completed Wednesday suggests a reason why the McCain controversy may not have affected Trump as much as some expected. Two out of three Republicans view McCain as a war hero. But fewer say they have a favorable opinion of him. In fact, Republicans in that poll gave both Trump and McCain similar ratings. ...
In addition, while a majority of Republicans (54%) think Trump should apologize for this statement about Trump: “He’s not a war hero. He’s a war hero ‘cause he was captured. I like people that weren’t captured. OK? Perhaps he was a war hero, but now he‘s said some very bad things about a lot of people.” 32% of Republicans believe he doesn’t need to apologize. In fact, more Democrats than Republicans want Trump to apologize.
Sahil Kapur:
Has Marco Rubio hit on a way to turn two political minuses into a plus?
The 44-year-old first-term senator is competing for the Republican presidential nomination against a crowded field that includes eight governors or former governors and several more experienced lawmakers. He has also been dogged by questions about his acumen when it comes to his personal finances. In recent days he has come up with an argument that seemingly attempts to handle both potential problems.
At a forum last weekend in Ames, Iowa, Republican pollster Frank Luntz told Rubio that "the single biggest knock on you" is that "you haven't been around long enough." In response, the son of Cuban immigrants from humble beginnings cleverly morphed job "experience" into life "experience," arguing that his makes him the most qualified to understand issues facing ordinary Americans.
WaPo:
Senate conservatives couldn’t stop a vote on the Export-Import bank. So they’re going to try to force a vote on Obamacare instead