From
Mark Murray, highlighting R's out of step with country
Joe Nocera:
I wonder, in fact, whether even now Trump is a serious candidate, or whether this is all a giant publicity ploy. Once a real developer, Trump is largely a licenser today; the more famous he becomes, the more he can charge to slap his name on buildings or perfume or men’s suits.
I’m not alone in wondering this, of course. Several Republican consultants I spoke to openly questioned whether Trump is in it for the long haul. “You would see him spending a lot more money if he were putting together a true national infrastructure,” said Rick Wilson, a Republican strategist.
There’s one other thing. All his life, Trump has had a deep need to be perceived as a “winner.” He always has to be perceived coming out on top. That’s why, ultimately, I don’t think he’ll ever put himself at the mercy of actual voters in a primary. To do so is to risk losing. And everyone will know it.
He’ll be out before Iowa. You read it here first.
Eugene Robinson:
How angry is Carly Fiorina? So angry she can’t see straight. That’s the only explanation for the yawning gulf between what she says and the plainly visible facts.
Fiorina stands out among the Republican presidential candidates not just because she is a woman but also because she has adopted a strategy of breathing fire. She presents herself as mad about everything, and she never gives an inch on anything she says, no matter how demonstrably untrue. Unhappily for our democracy, this approach has vaulted her into the upper tier of the multitudinous GOP field.
In case it needs decoding: Carly Fiorina's the liar, Ben Carson is the nutter, Donald Trump is the fool, and Ted Cruz is the demagogue. And this is the 'strong bench' for the GOP? Good luck with that. Tell me again they're not hurting the party.
More politics and policy below the fold.
Paul Waldman:
Today Cecile Richards, the head of Planned Parenthood, testified before Congress amid a scrum of cameras and spectators. Hearings like this one are of course not about fact-finding but are created as media events, in the sense that they exist only for the purpose of being broadcast. They allow members of Congress to attempt to get on the evening news, and both parties hope what comes out of the hearing will aid their side in an ongoing controversy, in this case the question of whether the government should “defund” Planned Parenthood (and whether Republicans should shut down the government over it).
The hearing also demonstrated why Republicans are going to lose on this issue.
Jennifer Rubin:
The Hill newspaper reports: “Sen. Ted Cruz on Monday was blocked from trying to link the Iran nuclear deal and a one-year ban on federal funding for Planned Parenthood to a government funding bill. The Texas Republican, who is running for president, was blocked from offering his amendment during a voice vote. He tried to get a roll call vote but couldn’t get the necessary support from his colleagues.”
It seems Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and fellow Republicans have finally learned the key to managing the self-promoting, destructive freshman: They ignore him and deprive him of his grandstanding moments. And boy, was he miffed: “Cruz warned that he will try to offer his amendment again on Tuesday, suggesting that constituents should watch to see which senator block his effort. He added that on Monday only Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) joined him in trying to get a voice vote on offering his amendment while ‘the remaining senators on the Republican side — you had Leader McConnell, you had Whip Cornyn, you had Senator Alexander, you had Senator Cochran — those four senators voted no.'”(As an aside, Lee’s inability to break from Cruz’s hold should concern his Utah constituents, as should his continued opposition to tough anti-terrorism measures such as the National Security Agency. Surely Utah Republicans can find a challenger who would promote the state’s interests, not Cruz’s.)
This raises the question: What took them so long?
NBC News:
Six in 10 Americans say they're opposed to completely eliminating Planned Parenthood's federal funding -- including more than 40 percent who are "strongly" opposed, according to a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll.
And strikingly, attitudes about Planned Parenthood are virtually unchanged months after a string of secretly taped videos showing Planned Parenthood employees talking about the use of fetal tissue and organs in scientific research from pregnancies that had been terminated at their facilities.
In the poll, 44 percent of Americans say they're strongly opposed to completely eliminating federal funding for Planned Parenthood, and another 17 percent are "somewhat" opposed.
That's compared with 22 percent who strongly favor eliminating its funding, and another 13 percent who somewhat support it.
Jeffrey Toobin:
When Boehner announced his impending departure, he expressed pride that he had kept the government open (after a sixteen-day shutdown in 2013) and raised the debt limit. This, to paraphrase a famous Republican, reflects the soft bigotry of low expectations. Keeping the government open and paying its debts are the minimal undertakings of an elected body, not legislative triumphs. But Boehner could point to almost nothing else that happened on his watch, because the Tea Party would tolerate nothing else.
And what did Boehner’s cowardice in the face of the Tea Party stalwarts get him? They forced him out anyway. Boehner built his career around keeping his job, and he still failed. If Boehner had allowed the passage of immigration reform, it’s entirely possible that the Tea Party would have rebelled and evicted him—but at least he would have had a substantial accomplishment to his credit. Instead, Boehner tried nothing, accomplished nothing, and lost his job anyway. It’s the legacy he deserves.
Tim Alberta:
“It’s a hot topic. These early states are very used to fighting this out every four years. It’s just something I think we ought to look at as a party,” [RNC Chair Reince] Priebus said. “If you look at my history, I’ve been very supportive of the early states as general counsel and as chairman. But I don’t think anyone should get too comfortable.”
Such statements are known to sound alarms in Iowa and New Hampshire, the first two states on the nominating schedule, where party leaders guard their special status with a righteous zeal. Iowans, in particular, feel perpetually targeted by national Republicans and worry that their leadoff status could be in jeopardy after 2016. Many party officials there feared the collapse of this year’s straw poll could foreshadow the demise of their caucuses.