The Commentariat -- April 11, 2015

Internal links removed.

** Tim Egan: "The great, nation-shaping accomplishments of Lincoln's day happened only because the South, always with an eye on protecting slavery and an estate-owning aristocracy, had left the union -- ridding Congress of the naysayers.... What unites the Republican Party, on this 150th anniversary of the murder of Lincoln, is that they are against the type of progressive legislation that gave rise to their party." ...

... CW: Wars are always mistakes, albeit sometimes unavoidable. The American Civil War was avoidable. It was Lincoln's Big Mistake. He should have let those people go.

"Karen DeYoung & Nick Miroff of the Washington Post: "President Obama and Cuban President Raúl Castro will hold a bilateral meeting Saturday on the margins of the Summit of the Americas here, the first such encounter between leaders of the two nations in more than 50 years, White House officials said. Planning for an Obama-Castro meeting has been a slow diplomatic choreography since December, when the two leaders announced that Cuba and the United States would restore diplomatic relations, including three rounds of lower-level negotiations over the mechanics of normalization." ...

     ... The New York Times story, by Julie Davis & Randal Archibold, is here. ...

... Josh Lederman of the AP: "The presidents of the United States and Cuba have spoken by phone for only the second time in more than 50 years, setting the stage for a historic encounter between the two leaders at a regional summit starting Friday in Panama. The call between President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro came on Wednesday, shortly before Obama departed Washington on his trip to Latin America and the Caribbean, the White House said." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Coral Davenport of the New York Times: "The Obama administration is planning to impose a major new regulation on offshore oil and gas drilling to try to prevent the kind of explosions that caused the catastrophic BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, administration officials said Friday. The announcement of the Interior Department regulation, which could be made as soon as Monday, is timed to coincide with the five-year anniversary of the disaster, which killed 11 men and sent millions of barrels of oil spewing into the gulf. The regulation is being introduced as the Obama administration is taking steps to open up vast new areas of federal waters off the southeast Atlantic Coast to drilling, a decision that has infuriated environmentalists."

** Tim Egan: "The great, nation-shaping accomplishments of Lincoln's day happened only because the South, always with an eye on protecting slavery and an estate-owning aristocracy, had left the union -- ridding Congress of the naysayers.... What unites the Republican Party, on this 150th anniversary of the murder of Lincoln, is that they are against the type of progressive legislation that gave rise to their party." ...

... CW: Wars are always mistakes, albeit sometimes unavoidable. The American Civil War was avoidable. It was Lincoln's Big Mistake. He should have let those people go.

Emily Badger & Christopher Ingraham of the Washington Post: "In case you are still skeptical that many of the non-poor -- and, in fact, a lot of the rich -- receive benefits from government, too (for which we don't make them pee in a cup or promise not to buy luxuries), we've rounded up some more examples below." CW: Tax week is upon us. Don't forget to take your yacht deduction. ...

... CW: Finally, a "welfare" benefit that I, too, find outrageous. Josh Hicks of the Washington Post: "Hundreds of Puerto Rico's residents qualified for federal disability benefits in recent years because they lacked fluency in English, according to government auditors. The Social Security Administration's inspector general questioned the policy this month in light of the fact that Spanish is the predominant language in the U.S. territory." ...

     ... Update: See today's Comments.

White House: "In this week's address, the Vice President laid out his and the President's plan to make two years of community college free for responsible students":

"The Laffer Swerve." Paul Krugman: "The question you should ask ... is why [Arthur Laffer's] always-wrong economic doctrine now has a stronger grip on the GOP than ever before.... And of course it's not just economic policy. What do we do in the face of a major party gone mad?" ...

... Steve Benen: "... the economic plan Laffer created for Kansas has resulted in debt downgrades, weak growth, and state finances in shambles.... Many Republican presidential hopefuls -- including the entire current top tier -- are eager to bring their economic plans in line with Laffer's discredited thinking. Or put another way, a wide variety of national GOP candidates are looking at recent developments in Kansas and thinking, 'How can I impose this model on the entire United States?'"

Manny Otiko of Salon: Lawrence Wilkerson, a Republican & former Secretary of State Colin Powell's chief of staff on GOP warmongering & racism.

Keith Alexander & Carol Leonnig of the Washington Post: 'An off-duty member of the Secret Service's uniformed division was arrested Friday morning and charged with trying to kick in the front door of his ex-girlfriend's apartment. Arthur E. Baldwin, 29, was charged with first-degree burglary and destruction of property."

Charles Pierce on how police racism makes us all less safe.

Ben Mathis-Lilley of Slate: "The White House released the Obamas' 2014 tax returns Friday.... The Obamas paid an effective federal tax rate of 18.8 percent ($93,362 on total income of $495,964). That's around normal for a household at their income level, per this chart, and is lower than the effective rates paid in many developed countries. It's also more than the 14.1 percent Mitt Romney famously paid in 2011." The President's & Vice President's tax returns are here.

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Hadas Gold of Politico: "Bloomberg Politics published a report about Nancy Reagan based off of fake news site NationalReport.net . The piece, headlined 'Nancy Reagan gives her endorsement to... Hillary Clinton,' quoted a supposed 'Drudge Report' saying that the former first lady told the History Channel series 'First Ladies In Their Own Words' that it's time for a female president.... The piece, which was published just before 5 p.m. on Friday, was deleted within minutes.... Bloomberg has reposted the article with a note that the piece has been retracted. 'This story has been retracted. We fell for a hoax. Apologies,' the note states." ...

     ... CW: Not anymore. The page has been 404'd as of 8:45 pm ET Friday.

Presidential Race
All Hillary, All Weekend!

Anne Gearan & Philip Rucker of the Washington Post: "Instead of a splashy launch event, Clinton's plan is a calculated understatement. She is scheduling a series of small roundtables and other give-and-take sessions with voters, first in Iowa and later in New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada -- the states holding the first presidential primaries and caucuses early next year. The idea is to showcase Clinton's abilities as a problem-solver and crusader for the rights of those struggling to climb into or stay in the middle class.... Clinton's human-scale approach is modeled on the listening tour she conducted across New York state at the start of her successful 2000 Senate race." ...

... CW: The approach also is a concession to two factors: (1) Clinton can't give the stem-winding, ideologically-winger types of speeches that Ted Cruz & Rand Paul did. (2) She might find it tough to fill a hall with wildly-cheering enthusiasts (even going the Cruz route of assembling a crowd of the conscripted wouldn't work for her, as the detractors wouldn't just be a few fellows in Rand Paul T-shirts).

Brian Beutler of the National Journal: Hillary Clinton's run for the Democratic nomination, which may go virtually unchallenged, is "the source of genuine anxiety among liberals, who worry she'll enter the general election rusty and untested unless someone formidable dares to challenge her in the primary.... It may even be the case that some of these Democrats with rattled nerves are less anxious about Clinton's prowess against Republicans than about the fact that all of the party's hopes now rest on her shoulders. Her campaign has become a single point of failure for Democratic politics.... If she loses, it will be absolutely devastating for liberalism."

John McCormick of Bloomberg: "... nearly three-quarters of Democrats and independents in [a Bloomberg] survey said it would be a good thing for the Democratic Party if she were to face a 'serious' challenger for the nomination. Democrats and independents hold the same view, with 72 percent of both groups saying her party would be best served by a robust primary."

David Freedlander of the Daily Beast: "After [announcing her presidential run, Hillary Clinton's] nascent campaign will embark on a fundraising push that the Clinton camp says will dwarf anything seen in the history of presidential politics. 'They are going to raise in one week what some Republican presidential candidates are going to raise the entire cycle,' said one Clinton aide." CW: Great! I feel much better about the future of democracy now.

Stephen Koff of the Cleveland Plain Dealer: "Wasting no time, the Republican Party says it will launch Web ads critical of Hillary Clinton on Sunday, when she is expected to announce what the world has long expected: She is, in fact, running for the Democratic nomination for president in 2016."

CW: As the news of Hillary's campaign washed me in a bath of ennui, I began wishing for a third Obama term. Now I learn there is hope! (Not that I'm all that thrilled about the "nuclear destruction" part, mind you.) ...

... Apocalypse Soon! Hitler! Brian Tashman of Right Wing Watch: "In a WorldNetDaily column titled 'Is Iran Deal Part Of Obama-3rd-Term Scheme?,' conservative activist Alan Keyes writes today that President Obama has made a secret deal with Iran that allows the country to 'unleash nuclear destruction' since it would give him the justification to launch a Nazi-style 'coup d’état' here at home. Keyes, who was Obama's GOP challenger in the 2004 U.S. Senate race in Illinois, alleges that Obama is aiding both ISIS and Iran in order to create an excuse to illegally remain in power after his second term in office." CW: Thank you, Alan Keyes; I'm feeling better already.

Some Other Candidates

Li'l Randy Walks out on Guardian Reporter. Paul Lewis of the Guardian: "The Republican presidential candidate Rand Paul walked out of a live interview with the Guardian on Friday, in his third testy exchange with a journalist since launching his campaign for president three days ago. The Kentucky senator abruptly ended the interview when he was pressed over whether his campaign focus on the racial imbalances of criminal justice reform would win him support among Republicans." CW: Again, Randy lectured the reporter, in this instance Paul Lewis. With video. Maybe reporters will now quit writing Hillary-hates-the-press stories. So far, she hasn't shushed any reporters or talked over them to lecture them on talking over her. ...

... Jim Rutenberg of the New York Times: "... it's the boring details of the organization that Paul is building that provide the best reason to take him seriously. If Paul's views are unusually idealistic, the ground game that his team is planning is pure realpolitik."

Charles Pierce on Scott Walker's serial mendacity & Politico's penchant for sugar-coating it.

New York Times Editors: "The use of [tax-exempt,] nonprofit groups for partisan politics has been growing in recent elections as the Internal Revenue Service has failed to draw firm lines against blatant politicking. The creation of a pro-Bush group floated by secret donors can only advance the nonprofit guise further, and rivals can be expected to match the deviousness with little to fear from the I.R.S. or the F.E.C."

Beyond the Beltway

Paloma Esquivel of the Los Angeles Times: "Ten San Bernardino County sheriff's deputies were placed on paid administrative leave Friday after TV news video showed them beating and kicking a suspect.... Also on Friday, the FBI opened a civil rights investigation into the incident....."

News Ledes

Reuters: "A man shot himself dead in front of the U.S. Capitol on Saturday, police said, sparking a temporary security lockdown at the complex on one of the busiest days for tourists in Washington."

Washington Post: "An Egyptian American citizen has been sentenced to life in prison for supporting the Muslim Brotherhood in the wake of a military coup that ousted the group from power in 2013. A Cairo criminal court issued the verdict against Ohio native Mohamed Soltan, 27, and 37 other defendants in a televised session Saturday. The judge also confirmed death sentences previously handed down to Soltan's father, Salah Soltan, and 13 others for 'inciting chaos' and planning anti-government demonstrations after the military takeover in July 2013."

The Commentariat -- April 10, 2015

Internal links removed.

Afternoon News:

Josh Lederman of the AP: "The presidents of the United States and Cuba have spoken by phone for only the second time in more than 50 years, setting the stage for a historic encounter between the two leaders at a regional summit starting Friday in Panama. The call between President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro came on Wednesday, shortly before Obama departed Washington on his trip to Latin America and the Caribbean, the White House said."

*****

Karen DeYoung & Nick Miroff of the Washington Post: "President Obama indicated Thursday that he is preparing to announce Cuba's removal from the U.S. State Department's list of state sponsors of terrorism, a move that should quickly lead to a full restoration of diplomatic ties and the opening of embassies in Havana and Washington. Speaking at a gathering of Caribbean leaders here, Obama said the State Department had finished a review of the issue. There is little doubt that it recommends he drop Cuba from the list, and the only real question is when the announcement will be made." ...

... Laurent Thomet & Andrew Beatty of AFP: "US President Barack Obama and Cuba's Raul Castro will put aside decades of Cold War-era tensions Friday, sitting at the same table with other regional leaders for a landmark summit. Obama and Castro will join some 30 other presidents at the two-day Summit of the Americas in Panama City, breaking bread at a seaside dinner in a complex of ruins from the era of the Spanish conquistadores." ...

... AP: "The U.S. State Department says Secretary of State Kerry and Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez met on Thursday evening in Panama City, where the Summit of the Americas kicks off on Friday. Officials described the meeting as lengthy. They say that Kerry and Rodriguez agreed that they had made progress and would keep working to address ongoing issues." ...

... Karen DeYoung of the Washington Post: "The State Department has finished its review of Cuba's presence on the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism and forwarded its recommendation to the White House, President Obama said Thursday. Obama said he is waiting for his top aides to review the document and place it before him for a final decision." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

Jennifer Steinhauer of the New York Times: Chuck Schumer "set off a tempest this week when he issued a statement strongly supporting a bill that could disrupt a nuclear deal with Iran. With that bill, Congress is trying to ensure it has a say in the final agreement, and the strong stand by Mr. Schumer, the Senate's No. 3 Democrat, suggested that he could oppose an accord President Obama sees as a potentially legacy-defining achievement. Mr. Schumer has since largely declined to elaborate and has said only that he will wait for a classified briefing before making further comment. His position -- annoying to the White House, at odds with the majority of Senate Democrats and expressed during a congressional recess -- reflects the vigorous crosscurrents Mr. Schumer faces in his first real test since Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the majority leader, announced that he would retire, placing Mr. Schumer as heir apparent."

Alexander Burns of the New York Times: Sen. Robert "Menendez [D-N.J.] has enjoyed broad support from Democratic officials in New Jersey during his moment of crisis. But few, if any, have defended him as energetically as [Sen. Cory] Booker [D-N.J.], a junior lawmaker who has leaned on Mr. Menendez for guidance since joining the Senate in 2013. If Mr. Booker relied on Mr. Menendez to help ease his arrival in Washington, Democrats say the relationship has been almost reversed: Now, it is Mr. Menendez depending on Mr. Booker to stand by him as he fights to keep his job."

David Scharfenberg of the Boston Globe: "... Senator Elizabeth Warren said Thursday she opposes the death penalty for convicted Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev." Scharfenberg reports on the views of other Massachusetts politicians.

Paul Krugman explains to dummies the reasons the government is better than the private sector at providing retirement income. CW: It's pretty sad that Krugman has to write a column like this, but Republicans & Villagers aren't too bright.

Jim Tankersley of the New York Times Washington Post (Oops!), who appears to know nothing about economics, writes a positive piece on fantasy economist Arthur Laffer, advisor to ignorant GOP presidential candidates, the guiding force behind Sam Brownback's destruction of Kansas's economy, & the world's number-one, ever-wrong supply-sider. (See also Glenn Kessler on Rand Paul, linked below.) For "balance," Tankersley does cite Krugman:

Laffer’s theories are so far detached from mainstream economics that 'there is no point of contact,' said Paul Krugman, a Nobel Prize-winning economist and a liberal columnist for the New York Times. 'This is not a wing of professional economic thought, for what that's worth. This is not at all the same kind of enterprise as what even conservative economics professors do.' Republicans love Laffer, Krugman said, not because his message is simple but because it conforms perfectly to a preexisting limit-the-government worldview: 'The point is, he's telling them what they want to hear.'

... Russell Berman of the Atlantic has a scathing piece on the worsening budget crisis in Kansas. Not to worry. As Tankersley reported, Arthur Laffer says "Kansas is doing fine."

Arlette Saenz of ABC News reports on President Obama's activities in Jamaica. ...

... Jim Kuhnhenn of the AP: Jamaicans show their love for Obama.

Thomas Erdbrink of the New York Times: "Iran's supreme leader challenged on Thursday two of the United States' bedrock principles in the nuclear negotiations, declaring that all economic sanctions would have to be lifted on the day any agreement is signed and that military sites would be strictly off limits to foreign inspectors.The assertions by the leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, could be tactical...." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Peter Beinart of the Atlantic: "... although the legislative branch's constitutional prerogatives don’t depend on whether Congress reflects public opinion, it's worth noting on that on Iran, it most certainly does not. Since last Thursday's framework agreement, polls from both The Washington Post/ABC News and Reuters/Ipsos have shown that a small plurality of Republican voters actually support the Iran deal. Yet it's likely that every single Republican senator will oppose it. Democrats, the polls show, back the agreement by margins of three or five to one. Yet key Senate Democrats are skeptical of the deal, and few have endorsed it enthusiastically."

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Digby explains the Daily Caller & editor Tucker Carlson: "Carlson's brother wrote a bogus story for Carlson's magazine and the magazine refused to correct it. Carlson's brother called the person who was asking for the retraction names in an email and sent it to her. When it was publicly revealed, Carlson defended him with a puerile wisecrack thus proving that this magazine not only hires puerile idiots it is being run by an overgrown 12 year old boy who has serious issues with women. (This is not surprising to anyone who has followed Carlson's career over the years.)" ...

... Erik Wemple of the Washington Post has more. I like the part where Friar Tucker portrays his brother as the victim. (Then -- apparently falsely -- claims his brother apologized to the actual victim.) ...

... CW: Seems kinda unfair of Digby & Wemple to imply the Daily Caller is a joke when their reportorial skills are so excellent: Matt Wilstein of Mediaite: "Daily Caller Didn't Realize Politico Writer Was Being Sarcastic About Hillary. The Daily Caller learned the danger of basing an entire story on one tweet today when media reporter Alex Griswold posted a piece with the headline, 'Liberal Politico Reporter: Clinton Campaign "Collapsing Completely"' that focused on a tweet from Glenn Thrush that most would read as sarcasm." A Twitter flurry ensued. Thrush's last tweet: "It's funny how an organization with name 'caller' never does, at least before they press 'send'"

Presidential Race

Lauren Gambino of the Guardian: "Hillary Clinton is planning to officially launch her US presidential campaign on Sunday while en route to Iowa, a source familiar with the campaign has confirmed to the Guardian. The former secretary of state is scheduled to declare her second run for president on Twitter at noon eastern time on Sunday, the source told the Guardian, followed by a video and email announcement, then a series of conference calls mapping out a blitzkrieg tour beginning in Iowa and looking ahead to more early primary states." ...

... Ken Vogel of Politico: "During a private Clinton Foundation fundraiser last week in Austin, Texas, [Bill] Clinton rejected the premise of a March 29 New York Times story that described him as looking 'older than his 68 years' and detailed efforts by Hillary Clinton advisers 'to harness both the rare gifts and rash impulses' of the former president.'" ...

... Ben Kamisar of the Hill: "The Clinton Foundation reportedly accepted millions of dollars from a Colombian oil company head before then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton decided to support a trade deal with Colombia despite worries of human rights violations." Here's the original report in International Business Times. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... The End of the Inevitable. Again. Sabrina Saddiqui of the Guardian: "The Republican presidential candidate Rand Paul is leading Hillary Clinton in a pair of key swing states, according to a poll released on Thursday. The survey, conducted by Quinnipiac University, finds Paul ahead of Clinton by three percentage points in Colorado, at 44% to 41%, and by one point in Iowa, at 43% to 42%. Several recent surveys have shown that Clinton's advantage is waning in a number of such battleground states."

Scott MacKay of Rhode Island Public Radio: "Former Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee has announced that he is considering a campaign for the 2016 Democratic nomination for president. Chafee said the launch of his exploratory committee will be made via videos posted on his website, Chafee2016.com .... Chafee said he plans to spend the next few months in Iowa, the first caucus state, New Hampshire, which holds the kickoff presidential primary and 'other key battleground states.'" ...

... Joan McCarter of Daily Kos: "He says, 'I'm not naïve about the task ahead of me.' That task apparently includes letting people know he actually still exists." ...

... Annie Laurie of Balloon Juice also is less than impressed. ...

... Erik Loomis of LG&M: "I haven't felt this excited since Joe Lieberman finished in a 3-way tie for 3rd place (which was actually a pretty decisive 5th) in the 2004 New Hampshire primaries."

Michael Gerson, former and evidently current Bush flak, of the Washington Post: "In case after case, [Rand] Paul is attempting to cloak libertarian positions in Republican rhetoric. And sometimes he goes much too far. The emotional center of Paul's presidential announcement speech was the story of conducting a cataract operation on a man in Guatemala, who was then able to see his wife for the first time in years.... But Paul, of course, would eventually cut off funding for the USAID Child Blindness Program. And for vaccinations, and AIDS drugs and malaria treatments. Freeing nations from foreign aid, after all, is one reason he became a politician.... Paul is deceptive, because he can't talk frankly about his breathtakingly ambitious ideology, which is fundamentally unsuited to the strategic and moral challenges of our time." ...

The last president we had was Ronald Reagan that said we're going to dramatically cut tax rates. And guess what? More revenue came in, but tens of millions of jobs were created. -- -- Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), interview with Sean Hannity of Fox News, April 7

Paul falls into the trap of suggesting the Reagan tax cuts paid for themselves == and then some.... The Treasury Department in 2006 confirmed that tax cuts reduced revenue. Moreover, Reagan repeatedly boosted taxes during his term as president, in part to make up for lost revenue from his original tax cut. ... The tax cut itself was a money-loser -- and it was not the sole reason for 'tens of millions' of jobs. We cannot quite say Paul committed a Four-Pinocchio violation, but it's close. -- Glenn Kessler of the Washington Post

Rand Paul is an alarmingly ignorant -- and dangerous -- ideologue who has zero understanding of macroeconomics & no connection with facts. -- Constant Weader

... Katie Zezima of the Washington Post: "Sen. Rand Paul's presidential campaign has sent a cease-and-desist letter to television stations, demanding that they stop airing an ad that attacks Paul's position on Iran. The ad was created by the Foundation for a Secure and Prosperous America. It ties Paul to President Obama's Iran policy.... It labels the Kentucky senator as 'wrong and dangerous.' Politifact has rated the ad 'mostly false.'" ...

Dave Weigel of Bloomberg: "As Olivia Nuzzi reported in the Daily Beast, [Rand] Paul joined New Jersey Governor Chris Christie in the elite, unhappy club of Republicans snubbed by the NRA this year.... 'The interesting thing is that there's probably no greater advocate for the Second Amendment in Congress than myself,' Paul said today [in a successful effort to prove he is unfamiliar with the proper employment of reflexive pronouns]. 'To not be invited, probably, will serve more to cast aspersions on their group than it would on me. Because my record's pretty clear. It probably looks a little bit petty for them not to invite a major candidate because I raised money for other Second Amendment groups.'"

... Eric Lichtblau of the New York Times: "Presidential fund-raising, never known for its transparency, may have just become even more secretive. In announcing his candidacy for president this week, Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky waded into new waters when he said he would accept campaign contributions in Bitcoins, a largely untraceable virtual currency, in amounts up to $100.... In a ruling last year, the Federal Election Commission agreed to allow a political action committee to accept Bitcoins with a voluntary limit of $100, but the commissioners split over how the online currency -- which can fluctuate widely in value -- should be treated on a broader scale or whether it should be capped." CW: But can I use Bitcoins to buy me a nice pair a'them Rand Paul Flip-Flops?

Tina Nguyen of Mediaite: "In an interview with CNBC, GOP presidential candidate Ted Cruz expressed anger towards the 'left-wing editorial writers' who liked to call him out for making 'non-factual statements.' Cruz, speaking to John Harwood during a ten-question interview, dismissed the tendency of people to do things like fact-check his claims supporting his argument that the IRS should be abolished." Nguyen fact-checks Ted's complaint.

... Why shouldn't somebody listen to you and say, 'The guy'll just say anything -- doesn't have to be true'? -- John Harwood

There is a game that is played by left-wing editorial writers. It's this new species of yellow journalism called PolitiFact. -- Ted Cruz

Ironically, even as Cruz pans PolitiFact, some of their investigations debunk not Cruz's assertions but untrue things that have been said about him. However, it is true that his Politifact "Report Card" (undated, but apparently issued in late March) gives him what looks like a solid D-minus grade. -- Constant Weader

... Danny Vinik of the New Republic: "'The simple reality is millions of Americans are hurting right now under the Obama economy,' [Ted] Cruz [told John Harwood]. 'Yes, some jobs are being created, but not nearly as many have been destroyed. The rich, the top 1 percent, today earn a higher share of our income than any year since 1928.'... Cruz's reply becomes even more amazing when you consider Harwood was asking, in part, why anyone should take Cruz's claims seriously.... Cruz tried to prove Harwood wrong. Instead, he proved him correct." ...

... Jonathan Chait: "Cruz's interview seems dedicated to the proposition that attempting to shove him in just one of the categories of stupid, evil, or crazy is a false choice. You can be all of those things! There's also a fourth category: evasive. Cruz displays this quality in droves." ...

... Here's the full text of Harwood's interview of Cruz.

Beyond the Beltway

Matt Hamilton & Richard Winton of the Los Angeles Times: "A group of San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputies are seen in a video shot Thursday repeatedly kicking and punching a suspect at the end of a bizarre horseback pursuit in a scene the county's sheriff described as 'disturbing.' A KNBC Channel 4 helicopter captured the chase, which appears to show the deputies striking the man, identified as 30-year-old Francis Pusok, even after he was on the ground with his hands held behind his back."

Jon Swaine of the Guardian: Dashcam "video footage showing Walter Scott fleeing a traffic stop minutes before he was shot dead by police officer Michael Slager has been released by authorities in South Carolina." Includes video. ...

... Jon Swaine: "Walter Scott and police officer Michael Slager were struggling on the ground in the seconds before Slager shot Scott dead, [Feidin Santana,] the man who recorded video footage of the killing in South Carolina, said on Wednesday evening.... Santana said that as his video indicated, Scott was trying to escape a stun gun that Slager had fired into him when the North Charleston patrolman shot him repeatedly in the back." ... Video of the interview is here. ...

... AP: "The white South Carolina police officer charged with murder for shooting an unarmed black man in the back was allowed to stay on the force despite a 2013 complaint that he used excessive force against another unarmed black man." ...

... Evan McMurry of Mediaite: "The Morning Joe roundtable wondered Thursday morning whether there would be more charges leveled in the shooting death of Walter Scott, especially against the second police officer, who appeared on video to have witnessed Officer Michael Slager plant evidence by the victim’s body."

News Ledes

AFP: "The US Justice Department said Friday it arrested an Islamic State sympathizer who was plotting to carry out a suicide bomb attack on a US military base in Kansas. John T. Booker Jr, 20, is charged with 'attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction... attempting to damage property by means of an explosive and one count of attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant,' the Justice Department said."

New York Times: "Islamic State fighters launched a heavy attack on government-held territory in Anbar Province late on Thursday and on Friday, killing 25 Iraqi police officers and soldiers, and then executing 15 family members of local police officers, according to Iraqi officials."

Washington Post: "A security guard was killed in a shooting at the Census Bureau's headquarters in Suitland[, Maryland,] on Thursday evening in an incident that authorities said began with an abduction in the District and ended with the suspect shot on H Street NE after a dramatic chase and shootout." ...

     ... UPDATE: "The man who authorities say fatally shot a security guard at the Census Bureau and was later wounded during a gun battle with D.C. police officers on Thursday has been identified as a 48-year-old from Southeast Washington. The suspect, Ronald Anderson, had been scheduled to appear in court in Prince George's County on Friday for a preliminary hearing on an assault charge."

The Commentariat -- April 9, 2015

Internal links removed.

Afternoon News:

Thomas Erdbrink of the New York Times: "Iran’s supreme leader challenged on Thursday two of the United States’ bedrock principles in the nuclear negotiations, declaring that all economic sanctions would have to be lifted on the day any agreement is signed and that military sites would be strictly off limits to foreign inspectors.The assertions by the leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, could be tactical...."

Karen DeYoung of the Washington Post: "The State Department has finished its review of Cuba’s presence on the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism and forwarded its recommendation to the White House, President Obama said Thursday. Obama said he is waiting for his top aides to review the document and place it before him for a final decision."

... Ben Kamisar of the Hill: "The Clinton Foundation reportedly accepted millions of dollars from a Colombian oil company head before then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton decided to support a trade deal with Colombia despite worries of human rights violations." Here's the original report in International Business Times.

*****

Sahil Kapur of TPM: "President Barack Obama warned the Supreme Court in an interview Wednesday that a ruling to invalidate Obamacare subsidies would be 'a bad decision' and result in 'millions of people losing their health insurance.'... In a separate interview with ABC News on Wednesday, Obama called the lawsuit 'the last gasp' of Obamacare opponents. The remarks in the pair of interviews represent the most extensive thoughts the president has offered recently on King v. Burwell...."

President Obama on the impacts of climate change on public health:

... CW: Sometimes I imagine myself being asked the same questions President Obama is asked. And each time I realize that my responses would not be a quarter as thorough or compelling as Obama's answers. We are really fortunate to have a president who is, as Joe Biden once put it, "articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy. I mean, that's a storybook, man." Me, I'm clean.

Michael Shear of the New York Times:"President Obama is calling for an end to ... therapies aimed at 'repairing' gay, lesbian and transgender youth. His decision on the issue is the latest example of his continuing embrace of gay rights. In a statement that was posted on Wednesday evening alongside a WhiteHouse.gov petition..., Mr. Obama condemned the practice, sometimes called 'conversion' or 'reparative' therapy, which is supported by some socially conservative organizations and religious doctors."

Michael Shear: "A federal judge in Texas on Tuesday angrily denied the federal government’s request to allow President Obama’s immigration executive actions to proceed, even as an appeals court signaled that it might disagree with the judge when it takes the issue up next week. Judge Andrew S. Hanen, of Federal District Court for the Southern District of Texas, in Brownsville, refused late Tuesday night to lift the injunction he had placed in February on the president’s immigration program, saying that to do so would cause irreparable harm."

Carol Leonnig & Keith Alexander of the Washington Post: "The Secret Service has put a senior supervisor on leave and suspended his security clearance after a female employee accused him of assaulting her after-hours at agency headquarters last week, the agency said Wednesday.... The Secret Service also took away his gun and badge after agency investigators launched a preliminary review of the complaint and conducted 'subsequent corroborative interviews' Thursday afternoon...."

Nicholas Kristof: "A newly released global index finds that America falls short, along with other powerful countries, on what matters most: assuring a high quality of life for ordinary citizens.... As an American, what saddens me is also that our political system seems unable to rise to the challenges.... Our children — so our political system remains in gridlock, even as other countries pass us by."

David Sanger of the New York Times: "The C.I.A. director, John O. Brennan, speaking Tuesday night at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, suggested that a key to the deal [on containment of Iran's nuclear program] was the election of President Hassan Rouhani, who had hardly been the supreme leader’s first choice. It took more than two years, he suggested, for the new president, a former nuclear negotiator himself, to persuade the far more isolated Ayatollah Khamenei that 'six years of sanctions had really hit,' and that the economic future imperiled the regime."

Andrew Kaczynski of BuzzFeed: Sen. Tom "Cotton said any military action against Iran would not be like the Iraq War and would instead be similar to 1999’s Operation Desert Fox, a four-day bombing campaign against Iraq ordered by President Bill Clinton." ...

... Steve Benen: "Look, we’ve seen this play before, and we have a pretty good idea how it turns out. When a right-wing neoconservative tells Americans that we can launch a new military offensive in the Middle East, it won’t last long, and the whole thing will greatly improve our national security interests, there’s reason for some skepticism.... But don’t worry, America, Tom Cotton thinks this would all be easy and we could drop our bombs without consequence. What could possibly go wrong?" ...

... Yo, Bibi!

Worth sharing: Here's how the #IranDeal would shut down Iran's pathway to a nuclear weapon → http://t.co/BWuabs0TNz pic.twitter.com/8aYQi2KEgq

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) April 8, 2015

     ... Via David Knowles of Bloomberg.

Presidential Race

"Rand Paul Gets 'Testy' on Abortion and Foreign Policy Flip-Flops." Sabrina Siddiqui of the Guardian: Rand Paul's "defensive demeanor in response to tough questions has reporters wondering if Paul is truly prepared to run for president.... in a pair of contentious interviews during his first stop in New Hampshire, Paul found himself on the defensive – on topics ranging from Iran and Israel to abortion and his confrontations with women – as political watchers raised questions about whether Paul would be too extreme for the world’s biggest campaign stage.... The testy exchange [between Paul & NBC's Savannah Guthrie] was quickly seized upon as another example of Paul being condescending toward a female reporter, following a February interview on CNBC in which he 'shushed' anchor Kelly Evans and told her to 'calm down'." ...

... Gail Collins: "Once Paul began sniffing the presidential air, position changes started coming rapid-fire, and he’s gotten quite touchy when people point that out. 'No, no, no, nonononono,' he said, accusing NBC’s Savannah Guthrie of 'editorializing' when she listed several of his recent shifts." Also, Rand has put the kibosh on asking him any questions about things he said prior to his getting into politics, which was way back in 2010. ...

... Fortunately for us all, as Akhilleus pointed out in yesterday's commentary, for a mere $20 we can now purchase Rand Paul Flip-Flops from his own campaign:

Show off your support with these full color, and vibrant flip flops. -- Small print in the ad.

CW: As Akhilleus pointed out, the main text of the ad describes the flip-flops as "sandals." It appears to me Rand's crack staff did some careless editing. Probably the original description of the footwear used the term "flip-flops"; then for some completely unknown reason, somebody decided "flip-flops" were an inauspicious campaign product. Unfortunately for Senator Flip-Flop, the campaign editor missed the small print & forgot to change the title of the product photo, which includes the word "flipflop". Those little red flames on the flip-flops may signify what Randy is going down in.

... Here's Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post journosplaining why Rand's mansplaining is not good campaign strategy. CW: Cillizza doesn't mention that the Democratic nominee in all likelihood will be a woman. Should Randy be her opponent, there's a mighty good chance we'll see Rand's shushing & mansplaining in Democratic campaign ads.

... Philip Elliott of the AP: "Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul ... is dodging a central question about abortion: What exceptions, if any, should be made if the procedure were to be banned? In an interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday, Paul would not say if his opposition to abortion rights includes an exception in cases of rape, incest or risk to the life of the mother.... In the past, Paul has supported legislation that would ban abortion with exceptions, while at other times, he's backed bills seeking a broader bar on abortion." ...

... Eric Bradner of CNN: "Rand Paul says he doesn't want to be grilled about abortion until Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz answers similarly tough questions. Wasserman Schultz hit back -- highlighting Paul's testy interviews with female television anchors, too, by saying she hopes he can 'respond without 'shushing' me.' But Paul, the Kentucky Republican senator who launched his 2016 presidential campaign this week, said her answer made it sound like she is indeed okay 'killing a seven-pound baby.'" ...

... Brian Beutler of the New Republic: "... for all his natural talent, Paul can't reconcile his beliefs with his ambitions. That's a huge problem for a national politician. It will define his candidacy." ...

... Paul tells Wolf Blizter he gets "universally short-tempered & testy with both male & female reporters" & describes his hostility as "pretty much equal opportunity." Video.

Nicholas Confessore of the New York Times tries to figure out the sources of Ted Cruz's $31 million -- the amount his campaign claims a network of secretive SuperPACS has raised this week. Thanks to Victoria D. for the link.

Beyond the Beltway

Kate Zernicke of the New York Times: "The federal investigation into the lane closings at the George Washington Bridge appears to be coming to a head, with an announcement of indictments as early as next week.... [Chris] Christie’s political ambitions wait on [U.S. Attorney Paul] Fishman. As [the investigation] has dragged on, he has pushed past the dates he set for a decision on whether to run for president in 2016.... Even if the investigation produces no legal problems for Mr. Christie, any indictments will almost certainly add to his political challenges. People close to the case say prosecutors are likely to bring charges based on a rarely used provision of a fraud statute...."

Wesley Lowery & Elahe Izadi of the Washington Post: "The mayor of the South Carolina town [-- North Charleston --] where a white officer was filmed fatally shooting an unarmed black man called the incident a 'horrible tragedy' as he announced that all patrol officers would be outfitted with body cameras." ...

... Lauren Williams of Think Progress: "The popular crowd-funding site GoFundMe rejected a campaign to raise money for the South Carolina officer charged with fatally shooting an unarmed black man last week." ...

... Alan Blinder & Marc Santora of the New York Times: "For many in [North Charleston, S.C.,] a city that has long had a troubled relationship between the police and black residents, [the police killing of Walter Scott] was proof not just of a possible crime but of a pattern of abuse — a concern that mirrors many of the issues over policing that have played out nationally. As in other parts of the nation, the distrust here was rooted in police tactics put in place many years ago to combat rising violence that have remained in force as crime has ebbed.... On Wednesday, dozens of people gathered outside City Hall in North Charleston to protest what they said was a persistent abuse of power by the police." ...

... CW: Jamelle Bouie looks at the traffic stop itself, which is what caught my eye immediately upon first reading the story about the video of this apparent murder. "Where traffic safety stops are mostly painless (other than tickets), investigatory stops involve searches, impromptu interrogations, and occasionally handcuffs and weapons.... In investigatory stops..., drivers are stopped for exceedingly minor violations — driving too slowly, malfunctioning lights, failure to signal — which are used as pretext for investigations of the driver and the vehicle.... In [a national] study, 60 percent of all stops for whites were for traffic safety, versus 35 percent for blacks. By contrast, 52 percent of all stops for blacks (versus 34 percent for whites) were for events in which the reasons were minor (“You didn’t signal at the stop sign”). ...

... David Graham of the Atlantic: "Of more than 22,000 stops in 2014 in North Charleston, 16,730 involved African Americans — almost 76 percent of stops, much higher than the city's black population. Most of those, some 10,600, involved black men, like Scott.... Two-thirds of stops that failed to produce a ticket or arrest involved black drivers.... Slager wasn't the only officer charged in South Carolina on Tuesday. Justin Gregory Craven, an officer in North Augusta, was arrested and charged in the death of Ernest Satterwhite, whom Craven shot repeatedly after a car chase that ended in Satterwhite's driveway. That shooting, too, was caught on video. " ...

... Jeff Stein of the Ithaca Voice in Salon: "South Carolina police have fired on 209 suspects over the past five years, but only a few have been charged and none have ever been convicted, according to The State, a South Carolina newspaper.... Legal documents present a stunning account of police brutality in North Charleston, where the population is 47 percent black but the police force is about 80 percent white, according to the [New York] Times." ...

... Jonathan Capehart of the Washington Post: "For the second time in exactly seven months, an unarmed African American man was shot by a white South Carolina police officer in broad daylight during a routine traffic stop. For the second time, the law enforcement officer fabricated events to bolster his 'felt threatened' defense. For the second time, video emerged showing the truth.... A routine traffic stop is never routine when you’re black." ...

... Matt Apuzzo & Timothy Williams of the New York Times: "While cameras frequently exonerate officers in shootings, the recent spate of videos has raised uncomfortable questions about how much the American criminal justice system can rely on the accounts of police officers when the cameras are not rolling.... Though the courts have held that people have a constitutional right to record the police, those who do are frequently challenged by officers.... Data is [sic.!] still spotty, but an early study in Rialto, Calif., suggests that when officers carry body cameras, they are less likely to use force." ...

... But for the Video. Ryan Grim & Nick Wing of the Huffington Post write a report of the police killing of Walter Scott as if the video of the actual shooting had never been shot or become public. Their story "relies entirely on local news reports, which sourced their version of events to information from police, the attorney for the officer, 'witnesses' and police statements. Many of those claims turned out to be lies. Slager has been charged with murder. Whenever possible, this article pulls verbatim from local news reports."

Ana Swanson of the Washington Post: "Kansas became the first state to sharply restrict second-trimester abortions on Tuesday, opening another front in the battle between anti-abortion and pro-choice activists at the state level. Republican Gov. Sam Brownback, a strong opponent of abortion, signed the law on Tuesday surrounded by anti-abortion activists and poster-sized images of fetuses. The law, which takes effect July 1, will ban a type of abortion called dilation and evacuation."

Hunter Schwarz of the Washington Post: Louisiana Gov. Bobby "Jindal said he plans to support his state's own [marriage discrimination] bill. Judging from how Indiana's bill catapulted Gov. Mike Pence (R) to the national spotlight, Jindal could soon see the same thing happen for him — and not necessarily in a good way.... Louisiana's Marriage and Conscience Act is more focused and deals specifically with religious beliefs in relation to same-sex marriage.... The bill would allow private businesses to refuse to recognize same-sex marriage and not provide the same benefits to same-sex married couples...."

Mark Stern of Slate: "In March, Florida’s severely conservative House of Representatives did a surprisingly good thing and voted to repeal a state law barring gay couples from adopting children. The vote was entirely symbolic, since the blatantly unconstitutional statute had already been invalidated by the courts.... In response to the adoption ban repeal, Republican representatives are supporting a 'revenge' bill that would give state-funded adoption agencies the ability to refuse to adopt out children to gay couples in the name of religion.... In a recent Florida House Judiciary Committee meeting, [10-year-old] Nathaniel Gill — the son of the gay man who successfully toppled Florida’s adoption ban in the courts — ...was abruptly cut off [mid-testimony] by Republican Committee Chair Charles McBurney." ...

... CW: Stern doesn't seem to understand that being mean to kids is an integral part of the GOP platform.