Politico:
Trump lashes out at Mueller probe as release of report approaches
But as Barr’s self-imposed deadline to submit a copy of Mueller’s report to Capitol Hill fast approaches, Trump’s confidence in its “complete and total exoneration” of him has waned, according to one Republican close to the White House.
“He wouldn’t be bringing this up still if everything was hunky dory,” this person said, referring to the president’s tweets about Mueller and his team of federal investigators.
Bess Levin/Vanity Fair:
TRUMP SUDDENLY HAVING SECOND THOUGHTS ABOUT PEOPLE SEEING THE MUELLER REPORT
Strange how his tune changed so quickly!
Why the sudden about-face when it comes to letting the public read Robert Mueller’s findings itself, rather than taking the word of an Attorney General who got the job by pre-emptively declaring that obstruction investigations are bullshit? As many have pointed out, it’s possible that after a week of celebrating, aides have successfully jammed it into Trump’s head that, no, the report does not “exonerate” him and, actually, he doesn’t come off that well in it, not that they’d ever admit it while doing the rounds on Fox News. According to New York, West Wing officials’ initial relief about Mueller not having sufficient evidence to establish a criminal conspiracy between Trump and Russia has turned to fear about “a president inclined to inflict self-harm by taking things too far.” “There will be plenty of unfavorable things about the president in the full report, which we think will eventually come out, so let’s not go overboard saying there’s no wrongdoing. Let’s move on,” a senior White House official told Olivia Nuzzi.
William Saletan/Slate:
Are Republicans Lying About the Mueller Report?
They’ve made 18 extraordinary claims about what the special counsel concluded. Let’s see if they’re right.
So that’s the list. Some of these claims about Mueller’s report—starting with the pretense of exoneration—conflict with Barr’s letter. Others conflict with one another. How, for example, can Mueller have cleared Trump of obstruction while simultaneously leaving that decision to Barr? Trump’s allies have also made further statements that seem far-fetched or absurd. A 19th claim, made at least eight times by Graham in the past two weeks, is that Mueller—who wasn’t appointed until May 2017—has been investigating Trump and Russia for “two and a half years.” A 20th claim, made by McCarthy, is that Mueller’s report vindicates Rep. Devin Nunes, the former Republican chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, who alleged a deep-state conspiracy behind the investigation of Trump. At a press conference on March 28, McCarthy declared, “Devin Nunes was proven correct. That’s what the report says.”
Eventually, we’ll see the report, or at least the parts that aren’t redacted. It might show that some of these claims are true. But if they’re false—if Republicans lied about the report, and the media fell for those lies—then it will be time to talk less about exoneration and more about cover-up. The Barr letter and the blitz of spin around it could turn out to be another chapter in a Republican campaign to bury the truth.
CBS News:
West Virginia poverty gets worse under Trump economy, not better
West Virginia has a growing poverty problem, and experts there who study the issue say Americans in every state should pay attention.
The Appalachian state is, along with Delaware, just one of two states where poverty rose last year, bucking the national trend of growing incomes and declining hardship, according to U.S. Census data released earlier this month. West Virginia's poverty rate climbed to 19.1 percent last year from 17.9 percent, making it just one of four states with a poverty rate above 18 percent.
On Kirstjen Nielsen:
Julian Zelizer/CNN:
Donald Trump's week of utter chaos sends a message
Trump has always perceived the news media to be the central arena through which he fights his battles. An avid consumer of cable news and now a social media fanatic, the President has been less interested in old-fashioned grassroots electoral work than in dominating the national agenda. His rallies are more about putting on a show for the cameras than in making sure his support on the ground is solid.
The President intends to use his mastery of the media cycle to totally control the agenda throughout the next two years, making it difficult -- if not impossible -- for Democrats to discuss their own ideas.
Even the ongoing controversy over seeing the Mueller report continues to push away opportunities for Democratic candidates to debate policy issues.
WaPo:
Democrats’ bill forces GOP to choose between NRA and protecting women
The bill would authorize hundreds of millions of dollars in annual grants and enshrine a variety of legal protections for victims of sexual assault, domestic abuse and stalking, while giving law enforcement agencies resources and authority to pursue perpetrators.
Drawing the NRA’s opposition were Democratic changes to the measure. The legislation closes what gun-control advocates call the “boyfriend loophole” — barring gun sales to convicted abusers of current or former dating partners. The bill would also, for the first time, prohibit gun sales to people found guilty of stalking misdemeanors and those under one-party restraining orders.
Republicans clearly were frustrated with the Democratic revisions.
All but 33 chose the NRA.
Josh Kraushaar/National journal:
Reality Check for 2020 Democrats
This week offered more evidence that moderation is the key for the party to win back the blue-wall states that Trump carried in 2016.
The lesson from these two concurrent races should be clear. One, Democrats can’t rely on mobilization alone to win elections. When they tack left to energize their base, they inevitably energize the other side even more. Persuading moderates and avoiding the alienation of the opposition are critical elements to success.
Many Democrats have become so enamored with the Stacey Abrams model of campaigning that they forget that she lost a very winnable governor race in Georgia in a wave year for her party. Her unapologetic embrace of identity politics is rocket fuel to the very Republicans she’s looking to defeat.
Second, running as woke culture warriors will be a losing strategy. The reality is that much of the country is less revolutionary than the youngest, most-progressive Democratic activists. Wisconsin Republicans rallied behind Hagedorn because they felt he was being punished over his religious beliefs. Attempts to shame individuals’ deeply held values will backfire, and will spur conservatives to protect religious liberty.
Agree or disagree with the above, when talking about presidential and state-wide politics this has always been true: the base is not enough to win with. OTOH, when Republicans offer awful candidates, they create an opening.
And finally, sometimes karma kills, then eats you. Keep that in mind.