First Read:
Collusion or not, Russia probe is worst political scandal in decades
Whether or not Mueller ever finds a smoking gun that Trump and his campaign colluded with Russia, this is already the biggest political scandal in decades. And we are just more than a year into Trump’s presidency and nine months into Mueller’s probe. “Clearly the worst presidential scandal since at least Iran-Contra, but probably since Watergate,” said political scientist Jonathan Bernstein.
Hard times for Javanka. But what are they doing anywhere near US diplomacy in the first place? This is nepotism, plain and simple.
Margaret Sullivan/WaPo:
NBC’s questioning of Ivanka Trump was more than appropriate. It should be just the start.
Instead of questioning Trump — or his spokeswoman — on when he’s going to release his returns or if he’s ever going to release them, what if the query went something like this: “Do you think Americans are entitled to know how tax reform has affected you personally and how it affects your businesses?”
What if, instead of merely fact-checking Trump or tallying up his false statements, he — or his spokeswoman — were asked about them directly:
“Fact-checkers have found more than a thousand examples of your saying things that are simply untrue. These are often simple matters of fact, for example, your repeated statements that the United States is the highest-taxed nation in the world. Why do you — or why does the president — say so many things that aren’t true?”
Speaking of the press, John Warner has some great observations in this twitter thread:
- If Trump suggested going to the moon to harvest the green cheese to feed the homeless, rather than dismissing it as the ravings of a loon, they would bring someone on to talk about the logistics of getting to the moon, and someone else on the dangers of a moon cheese diet.
- Meanwhile, the core delusion persists, and rather than dealing with the underlying issue, guns, we're having a sober discussion about ridiculous nonsense. If the media can't filter out nonsense, what good are they?
- I actually think a bunch of journalists are doing their best on this front, which is why I identify the problem as structural. They're "required" to take these things seriously because to be scornful seems like bias or a violation of journalistic balance.
- This is why the systems need re-examining. Maybe CNN needs to hire a designated John Oliver or Trevor Noah type as an "opinion" contributor who isn't constrained from mocking the ridiculous. The reason The Daily Show and Last Week feel like such antidotes is because they are.
It’s already a disaster. The previous R, Tim Murphy, used to win this seat 70-30. I guess running against Nancy Pelosi and Hillary is another genius move to close the gender gap? Pelosi’s picture is everywhere, and/but it ain’t working for Republicans.
Ron Brownstein/CNN:
Parkland students are first glimpse of post-millennial wave that will change the country
For Republicans who have nervously watched polls showing an enormous backlash against President Donald Trump's insular nationalism among the millennials, this younger generation could represent an even greater threat. By 2024 -- just two presidential elections from now -- the generation of young people that includes the students organizing a march on Washington next month to demand gun control will represent 1 in every 10 eligible voters.
"It's difficult to see how the GOP will gain ground among younger adults as this newest cohort continues its demographic and cultural drift away from the average GOP voter," says Daniel Cox, research director of the nonpartisan Public Religion Research Institute, which recently conducted one of the most extensive surveys of attitudes among post-millennials in partnership with MTV. "The cultural disconnect is only going to grow. The average GOP voter is a middle-aged white Christian. That's simply not what the US is going to look like in the future."
Progressives need to acknowledge sincere gun owners who want to be a part of the process and not be demonized (see Brian Mast). OTOH conservatives have to acknowledge the folks who stockpile guns for the coming race riot.
Moore is being helpful. Read the thread.
Guess it doesn’t count because he didn’t use the correct term. See also Stephen Gutowski, also trying to be helpful.
CNN:
Senate Key Race alert: Texas is no longer Solid Republican
Beto O'Rourke is giving Ted Cruz a run for his money in the Texas Senate contest.
The Democratic underdog from El Paso outraised the first-term Republican senator and former presidential candidate by $1.5 million -- $2.3 million to $800,000 -- from the beginning of 2018 through mid-February. That impressive fundraising haul comes after O'Rourke also outpaced Cruz in the closing quarter of 2017, $2.4 million to $1.8 million.
Cruz still holds a clear advantage in the race.
Nate Cohn/NY Times:
Trump Losing College-Educated Whites? He Never Won Them in the First Place
New evidence that exit polls are a very flawed vehicle for doing post-election analysis.
After Donald J. Trump’s upset victory in the 2016 presidential election, one data point from the network exit polls jumped out at analysts: his two-point win among college-educated white voters.
Many pre-election polls had suggested they would favor Hillary Clinton. And now, more than a year later, polls again show Mr. Trump with striking weakness among well-educated white voters, implying he has alienated many who backed him in 2016.
But it is increasingly clear that there’s another explanation: The exit polls were wrong. Mr. Trump never won college-educated white voters, and therefore he hasn’t lost nearly as much ground among the group as it seems.
OTOH, that means that there were an awful lot of non college whites to contend with.
NY Times:
What Are States Doing About Gun Violence After the Florida Shooting?
Here is a roundup of what states are considering doing or have already done.
A guide.
A survivor:
Don’t mess with them. They will own you.
Jason Sattler/USA Today:
There are two options: Donald Trump’s campaign and Russia worked together to help elect our current president of the United States, or we are witnessing the greatest coincidence since the Big Bang.
Call it collusion. Call it a collaboration. Or, even better, call it a “conspiracy against the United States” — since that’s probably what the indictments will keep calling it.
Just don’t call it a coincidence, especially if the FBI is interviewing you.
David Dayen/Intercept with a great read on how things went down in CA:
A RUCKUS BROKE out on the floor of the California Democratic Party Convention on Sunday following a contested endorsement for a congressional seat in Orange County, California, that Democrats hope to flip, leading to recriminations across the state between the competing ideological wings of the party.
I’m not taking sides on this but I will say that if you lose, accept that you lost and move on.