MORNING MESSAGE
In
a populist time, Trump’s bluster plays well ... But Trump’s appeal is distinctly
limited. He’s insulted women, and his bigotry alienates black and Hispanic
voters as well as anyone with a sense of decency ... In contrast, the populist
challenger in the Democratic Party, Bernie Sanders, scores highest of all
candidates among voters for favorability, honesty and integrity, caring about
your needs, sharing your values ... Not surprisingly, he easily beats Trump in
hypothetical presidential matchups, 48 to 42 percent.
CAN GOP SURVIVE TRUMP?
“Trump
shatters the Republican Party” says Politico: “Suddenly, there are three
strands of the Republicanism … Ted Cruz is the leader of the traditional
conservative purists. Marco Rubio [leads] the once-dominant, now diminished,
mainstream lane of the GOP. But it is Trump’s new alliance of angry populists
that is ascendant … ‘Trump has gotten voters who are so angry that they are
willing to put their ideological concerns aside,’ said Patrick Murray, a
pollster at Monmouth University…”
Not
a done deal, says Bloomberg’s Jonathan Bernstein: “It takes two things. The
first one Republicans finally did, when party actors broke clearly for Marco
Rubio this past week … The second part is to take Trump down. A myth has evolved
that negative ads don’t work against Trump … We’re not talking about someone
with 70 percent of the vote and an insurmountable lead…”
GOP
donors “shy away” from taking on Trump. Politico: “The deepest-pocketed
operation on the right, the network helmed by the billionaires Charles and David
Koch, had seriously debated launching an aggressive assault on Trump, but …
that’s now highly unlikely. And the Karl Rove-conceived Crossroads outfits also
are sitting out the party’s bitter primary, instead spending their cash
attacking Democrats..” (“Megawusses”
says Krugman.)
Little
overlap between Trump and Sanders voters. NYT’s Tom Edsall: “Both candidates
have tapped into the frustration of those stuck on the middle and bottom rungs
of the economic ladder … [But s]ix percent of all voters said they would
consider voting for both men … supporters of Trump and Sanders oppose each other
on three out of four of these moral values: care, proportionality, and
loyalty/authority. They agree only on their support for liberty.”
DEMS MEET AT TOWN HALL
Clinton
pressed on speech transcripts in CNN town hall. Mother Jones: “‘Will you
agree to release these transcripts? They have become an issue,’ [Chris] Cuomo
asked. ‘Sure, if everybody does it, and that includes the Republicans … Why is
there one standard for me and not for everybody else, Chris?’ Clinton
responded…”
Sanders
rallies Virginia. USA Today: “… Sanders told a crowd of about 4,500 gathered
at Scope Arena … that if they don’t get involved, ‘the big money interests will
win.’ … Tuesday’s event marked another detour from the South Carolina campaign
trail for Sanders … [He’s in] Missouri and Oklahoma on Wednesday and to Ohio on
Thursday.”
REPUBLICANS WON'T CONSIDER SCOTUS NOM
Judiciary
Committee Republicans refuse to hold any Supreme Court hearings, after Sen.
McConnell clamps down dissent. The Hill: “McConnell gave potential
dissenters little chance to gather momentum on Tuesday … He called the
Republican members of the Judiciary panel into his office for a special meeting
to make sure everyone was on the same page. [Then] the Judiciary Committee
released a letter signed by all the Republican members of the panel recommending
that no hearings be held this year.”
“Dems
rage” reports The Hill: “‘Sen. McConnell is going to have to wear the collar
for it. He has decided that his Republicans will not do their job. Our message
to them is very, very clear. Three words: do your job,’ Durbin told
reporters.”
Obama
blogs at SCOTUSblog: “…as Senators prepare to fulfill their constitutional
responsibility to consider the person I appoint, I hope they’ll move quickly to
debate and then confirm this nominee so that the Court can continue to serve the
American people at full strength.”
Progressive
Breakfast is a daily morning email highlighting news stories of interest to
activists. Progressive Breakfast is a project of the Campaign for America's
Future. more
»