The Commentariat -- Sept. 4, 2015

Internal links & defunct video removed.

Afternoon Update:

Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), in a Washington Post op-ed, says he will vote against the Iran nuclear deal.

Alex Seitz-Wald of MSNBC: "In an exclusive interview with NBC News/MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell on Friday, Hillary Clinton said she's 'sorry' there's been so much controversy over her private email server, but declined to apologize for the decision to use it. She also suggested that GOP front-runner Donald Trump is unqualified to be president and weighed in on the surprisingly robust challenge to her candidacy from Democratic primary rival Bernie Sanders":

*****

Ellen Nakashima of the Washington Post: "Justice Department on Thursday unveiled a new policy that will require its law enforcement agencies to obtain a warrant to deploy cellphone-tracking devices in criminal investigations and inform judges when they plan to use them. The department's new policy, announced by Deputy Attorney General Sally Quillian Yates, should increase transparency around the use of the controversial technology by the FBI and other Justice Department agencies. It imposes the highest legal standard for the device's use, and a single standard across the department."

Alexander Burns of the New York Times: "Senator Cory A. Booker, Democrat of New Jersey, endorsed President Obama's nuclear agreement with Iran on Thursday, padding support for the accord, which already has enough votes in the Senate to thwart a Republican-backed resolution of disapproval." ...

... Jordan Fabian of the Hill: "Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) will support the Obama administration's nuclear deal with Iran, he announced Thursday." ...

... ConservaDem Heidi Heitkamp (N.D.) also announced her support today. Via Paul Waldman. That's 37.

... Kevin Drum on why Republicans couldn't kill the Iran nuclear deal: "Ever since 2009, their political strategy has been relentless and one-dimensional: oppose everything President Obama supports, instantly and unanimously. They certainly followed this playbook on Iran. Republicans were slamming the deal before the text was even released.... This did two things. First, it made them look unserious.... Second, by forming so quickly, the Republican wall of opposition turned the Iran agreement into an obviously partisan matter. Once they did that, they made it much harder for Democrats to oppose a president of their own party. A more deliberate approach almost certainly would have helped them pick up more Democratic votes.... [But] it's quite possible that Republicans actually did nothing wrong. They simply never had a chance in the first place." ...

... AND there's this. Times of Israel: "An official from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the leading pro-Israel lobby in the US, on Thursday blasted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for harming the opposition to the Iran nuclear deal by insisting on addressing Congress on the issue in March. 'Netanyahu's speech in Congress made the Iranian issue a partisan one,' the AIPAC official told Israel's Walla news. 'As soon as he insisted on going ahead with this move, which was perceived as a Republican maneuver against the president, we lost a significant part of the Democratic party, without which it was impossible to block the agreement,' said the official, who asked not to be named." ...

... Update: Adam Entous of the Wall Street Journal on Netanyahu's lobbying efforts to scuttle the deal: "Both supporters and opponents say they can't recall any other foreign government inserting itself so directly into an American political debate, especially against a deal the White House considers a cornerstone of President Barack Obama's legacy." Firewalled, so cut & paste a snippet into Google search if you don't have a WSJ subscription.

Amanda Holpuch, et al., of the Guardian: "Aid groups and at least 14 senators have called on the US government to take in thousands more Syrian refugees by the end of 2016, amid international outcry prompted by shocking images of a three-year-old boy's body lying face down in the surf in Turkey.... Asked on Thursday about US plans to take in more refugees, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said there are no 'impending policy changes' and that the US will continue to offer aid to Europe." CW: It isn't clear to me who the 14 senators are, but the article obliquely suggests they're Democrats & that Republicans are resisting bringing Syrian "jihadists" into the U.S. See also Way Beyond the Beltway below.

Paul Krugman: "Take it from those who share our language, but not our currency: There are many ways to make money work.... What's important for both capital and trade, it turns out, is whether your economy offers good investment opportunities under an umbrella of legal and political stability." ...

... CW: Which is why Republicans' ceaseless efforts to destabilize the government & tear down the social fabric & that bolsters the economy are, IMO, the largest drags on the U.S. economy. Our biggest economic problem is Republicans.

Deflategate Punctured. Ken Belson of the New York Times: "In a major setback for the N.F.L., New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady prevailed in his battle to have his four-game suspension overturned on Thursday, as a federal judge reversed a ruling by Commissioner Roger Goodell to bench one of the league's biggest stars in a dispute over underinflated balls he used in a January championship game. Judge Richard M. Berman of Federal District Court in Manhattan did not rule on whether Brady tampered with the footballs in a bid for competitive advantage. Instead, he focused on the narrower question of whether the collective bargaining agreement between the N.F.L. and the players union gave Goodell the authority to carry out the suspension, and whether Brady was treated fairly during his attempt to have his suspension overturned." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Presidential Race

Margaret Talev of Bloomberg: "Vice President Joe Biden opened up for the first time publicly about his painful deliberations over whether to run for president so soon after his son Beau's death to brain cancer, saying the key question is 'whether my family and I have the emotional energy to run. Can I do it? Can my family undertake what is an arduous commitment that we'd be proud to undertake in ordinary circumstances?' Biden told an audience of 2,000 people at an Atlanta synagogue Thursday night, during a question-and-answer session following a speech he gave on U.S. foreign policy. 'The honest-to-God answer is I just don't know.'" CW: So looks like all the tea-leaf reading wasn't complete balderdash. For the first time, Joe himself admits to be considering a run.

Jamelle Bouie cites a number of reasons that Bernie Sanders is likely to lose the nomination. CW: Bouie's list is okay as far as it goes, but he ignores Bernie's biggest hurdle: the superdelegates. These are the 800 or so party poobahs who can shift the nomination despite the states' popular votes. They were such an impotant factor in 2008 that I started Reality Chex because there was no one place where a person could keep track of the superdelegate totals, & those totals would determine whether Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama would get the nomination. No matter how well Bernie does in the primaries, the vast majority of superdelegates are unlikely to give him a nod unless Clinton is under indictment, Biden (or some other savior-candidate) doesn't step in & O'Malley drops out.

Rebecca Traister in New York: "What if the big secret contained in Hillary Clinton's emails is that she's not the monster her critics have portrayed her as for decades? ... Barring the possibility that more serious breaches are turned up, these emails may do the work a thousand soft magazine profiles never could have: letting us in on the fact that after all these years, we do know Hillary Clinton. And she's not half bad." CW: An enjoyable read. ...

... Ellen Brait of the Guardian: "Edward Snowden has branded as 'completely ridiculous' the idea that Hillary Clinton's personal email server was secure while she was secretary of state.... In 2014, Clinton accused Snowden of inadvertently helping terrorists. Since then she has toned down such criticism and said the NSA needs to be more transparent.... Snowden was also asked if he was concerned about what the Republican frontrunner Donald Trump might do to him if he is elected president in 2016. Trump has called Snowden 'a total traitor' and 'a bad guy' and said 'there is still a thing called execution'.... 'It's very difficult to respond in a serious way to any statement that's made by Donald Trump,' he said." ...

... Philip Victor of Al Jazeera America has more here.

Tim Egan: "In just under two weeks, the Republicans who want to be president will gather in Simi Valley, Calif., at the presidential library of Ronald Reagan for their second debate.... The real Ronald Reagan -- serial tax-raiser, illegal immigrant amnesty granter, deficit creator, abortion enabler, gun control supporter and peacenik -- would never be allowed on the stage. The party has moved so far to the right from Reagan's many centrist positions that the guy would be told to go find a home among the Democrats." ...

... CW: Egan brushes aside Reagan's supply-side economics & neglects to mention his views that elements of the social safety net -- Medicare, Medicaid, food stamps, etc. -- formed a network of communistic programs, that unions were there to be busted, the wilderness was there to be raped, & regulations were there to be cut. Nostalgia for Reagan cuts both ways. Today's Republican elites are merely carrying Reaganism to its logical extremes. ...

Patrick Murray of Monmouth University: "When Republicans and Republican-leaning voters are asked who they would support for the GOP nomination for president, Donald Trump leads the pack at 30%, which is up 4 points from early August before the first debate. Ben Carson (18%) has increased his vote share by 13 points and now holds second place. Jeb Bush (8%) has dropped by 4 points and now stands in a tie for third with Ted Cruz (8%). Following behind are Marco Rubio (5%), Carly Fiorina (4%), and Mike Huckabee (4%). Scott Walker (3%), who held third place in Monmouth's August poll, has dropped 8 points since then. Chris Christie, John Kasich, and Rand Paul each get 2%. The remaining six candidates included in the poll score no higher than 1% each." Via Paul Waldman. ...

... Keep Your Government Hands Off My Medicare. Michael Lind in Politico Magazine: "The success of Trump's campaign has, if nothing else, exposed the Tea Party for what it really is; Trump's popularity is, in effect, final proof of what some of us have been arguing for years: that the Tea Party is less a libertarian movement than a right-wing version of populism.... Tea Partiers are less upset about the size of government overall than they are that so much of it is going to other people, especially immigrants and nonwhites. They are for government for them and against government for Not-Them."

Robert Costa of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump will sign a pledge Thursday to support the GOP nominee in next year's general election, effectively ruling out a third-party or independent run, according to two Republicans familiar with the move." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Paul Waldman: "Since the pledge would be happily violated by the only candidate who it was designed to constrain in the first place, it has little practical significance. But it does make the Republican Party look pathetic. They're so scared of the guy leading their primary race (as well they should be) that they have to beg him to pinkie-swear that he won't turn around and screw them over in the general election...." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Prince Rebus's Pyrrhic Victory. Robert Costa: "... bringing Trump more fully within the party's tent, Republicans gain reassurance about his intentions -- and court possible fallout for working closely with the unpredictable and sharp-tongued billionaire, who has angered Hispanic leaders with his controversial comments on illegal immigration. Trump made his announcement at an afternoon news conference after meeting with the loyalty statement's author, Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus...." ...

... "Trump Outsmarted the GOP." Jim Newell of Slate: "The Republican Party ... has now committed itself to supporting [Trump's] agenda, which goes against decades of its own dogma, if Trump is able to pull off the nomination. Most of [Thursday's] news has been framed as Trump signs pledge to support eventual nominee. Another way to look at it is Establishment Republican candidates pledge to support Donald Trump." ...

... "Donald Trump Has the Republican Party in the Palm of His Hand." Brian Beutler of the New Republic: "Trump wasn't communicating to the party that its knock against him for threatening an independent run has been effective. To the contrary, it's that he doesn't think the threat is necessary anymore -- that he's now genuinely well-positioned to win the primary, rather than an insurgent threat who can be neutralized by party heavyweights.... It is now easy to imagine Trump eclipsing 40 percent of the vote before the primaries begin, and ripping up that pledge if a panicky Republican Party responds by erecting obstacles to his victory." ...

... Jason Horowitz of the New York Times: "In a tussle outside Trump Tower on Thursday, a member of Donald J. Trump's security team responded to a protester, who had grabbed him from behind, by hitting him in the face. The member of Mr. Trump's security team had ripped a large blue sign reading 'Trump: Make America Racist Again' away from protesters gathered outside Trump Plaza, where the candidate signed a pledge to the Republican Party that he wouldn't stage a third-party candidacy...." CW: So, yeah, Trump's rhetoric incites violence against Hispanics -- even in his own staff. ...

... Hugh Stumps Trump. The Internets is abuzz with the news that confederate talk-show host Hugh Hewitt challenged Donald Trump's knowledge on Middle East politics & Trump flunked (oh, & Carly Fiorina pretty-much aced it). But as Steve M. correctly (IMO) notes, "The fans don't care." ...

     ... Update: Trump may not know the names of leaders of Middle-East revolutionary groups, but Greg Sargent notes that his thinking on the Iran nuclear deal is a lot smarter -- and more realistic -- than his rivals'.

What Did the Dingbats Say Today?

Elections Matter -- to the Earth. Sabrina Siddiqui of the Guardian: Marco "Rubio vowed to reverse key components of the climate agenda [President] Obama has been touting in Alaska, while also making the case for turning back some of the nation's energy authority to the states and away from the federal government. While outlining his proposals during a swing through Oklahoma -- currently the fourth-largest producer of natural gas in the United States -- the Florida senator decried in particular the Environmental Protection Agency's new rules to reduce greenhouse emissions under its Clean Power Plan."

Radley Balko of the Washington Post: Scott Walker wrote an opinion piece on the right-wing site Hot Air blaming President Obama -- & others who urge or have implemented scrutiny of policing practices -- for the recent killing of law enforcement officers in Texas & Illinois. Scottie said things were way better in the good old days. "Walker is simply wrong when he tries to use [Texas officer Darren] Goforth's death to say that more oversight and scrutiny of cops have made the job more dangerous. There's just no evidence of that. All the available evidence suggests precisely the opposite.... For some reason, Republicans and conservatives from Donald Trump to Ted Cruz to Walker to Mike Huckabee think the government entity that has the power to detain, arrest and kill should get the least scrutiny of all."

Today, judicial lawlessness crossed into judicial tyranny. Today, for the first time ever, the government arrested a Christian woman for living according to her faith. This is wrong. This is not America.... I stand with Kim Davis. Unequivocally. I stand with every American that the Obama Administration is trying to force to chose between honoring his or her faith or complying with a lawless court decision.... Where is the call for President Obama to resign for ignoring and defying our immigration laws, our welfare reform laws, and even his own Obamacare? Blah blah. -- Ted Cruz, on the incarceration of County Clerk Kim Davis

Lawless, tyrannical Judge David Bunning, who jailed Davis for contempt of court, is a George W. Bush appointee. Not quite sure how a judge who tells a defendant she must obey the law is lawless. Maybe Harvard Law should ask Ted to return his sheepskin. It has to be embarrassing for a prominent law school to have a prominent graduate who doesn't know what the meaning of "law" is. Much less "tyranny." -- Constant Weader

AND Jeb! is still confused about the whole thing. Which he described as "a sign of leadership." The Bush family's idea of leadership might not be just the same as yours.

Quote of the Day. A broken clock is right once a day. -- Rick Perry, responding to Donald Trump's remark that Perry was dropping out of the presidential race

Beyond the Beltway

Richard Fausset of the New York Times: "Deputy clerks at the [Rowan C]ounty[, Kentucky,] clerk’s office [in Morehead] issued a marriage license to [a] same-sex couple on Friday, a day after their boss was jailed for refusing to do so. Trailed by supporters and the news media, a couple, James Yates and William Smith Jr., entered the Rowan County clerk's office and received a marriage license, ending a standoff that has captured the attention of a country still coming to grips with a Supreme Court decision establishing a constitutional right to same-sex marriage." ...

She has done her job. Just because five Supreme Court judges make a ruling, it’s not a law. -- Legal scholar Joe Davis, husband of Kim, today

Kim Davis mugshot.... Alan Blinder of the New York Times: "A defiant county clerk rejected a proposal that would have allowed her deputies to grant same-sex marriage licenses, hours after she was sent to jail by a federal judge for disobeying a court order. Through her lawyer, the clerk, Kim Davis of Rowan County, said she would not agree to allow the licenses to be issued under her authority as county clerk. Had she consented, the judge would have considered releasing her from custody. Five of the six deputies told Judge David L. Bunning of Federal District Court that they would issue the licenses, though some of them said they would do so reluctantly. The lone holdout was Ms. Davis's son, Nathan." CW: Holy cow! Nepotism, too? This story was linked yesterday when the lede was,

A federal judge [in Ashland, Ky.,] on Thursday ordered a Kentucky clerk jailed for contempt of court because of her refusal to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. The clerk, Kim Davis of Rowan County, was ordered incarcerated after a hearing here before Judge David L. Bunning of Federal District Court. ...

... Ryan Felton of the Guardian, relying partially on new agencies: After Davis refused to allow her clerks to issue the licenses in her stead, "the judge then ordered ... the deputies to begin issuing the licenses on Friday. Upon the hearing's conclusion, [Judge David] Bunning said he expects compliance, even with the clerk's continued dissent.... Davis, a Democrat, earns $80,000 annually; she took office in January after winning a close election last fall." ...

... MEANWHILE, Davis's lawyer sees the whole thing as the U.S. goosestepping toward the Holocaust. ...

... Noah Feldman of Bloomberg: "It's just fine ... for a public official to say that he or she won't enforce any law that's fundamentally immoral and in contradiction to God's laws. But the only way to keep that promise consistent with the oath of office is for the official to resign when she thinks enforcing the law would be wrong.... Indeed, she must [resign] -- or she'd be living in a position of hypocritical sin.... Under the Constitution, the government can't force you to engage in a religious action or stop you from exercising your freedom of religion. Normally, it shouldn't coerce you to act against your faith. But no one was or is coercing Kim Davis. She's free to serve the public and obey her oath to God to follow the law. And she's free to quit and absolve herself of that oath. The choice is hers." ...

... CW: One of Davis's arguments is that she is following her oath because she is obeying the law as it was at the time she swore the oath. That is ridiculous. It would suggest that public officials are required to enforce only the laws in effect at the time of their swearings-in. In addition, if Davis had no idea the law in regard to same-sex marriage could change while she was in office, it's her own damned fault. She has said, "I never imagined a day like this would come, where I would be asked to violate a central teaching of Scripture and of Jesus Himself regarding marriage." As I noted in a comment yesterday, Davis suffers mightily from a lack of imagination. It was common knowledge while Davis was running for office -- thanks in part to Nino Scalia -- that the Court would likely make marriage equality the law of the land. By the time Davis swore her oath, Obergefell was already before the Supreme Court, & there was a better-than 50-50 chance that the Court would uphold Obergefell's petition. Davis knew the risk she was taking that her beliefs would force her to violate her oath. I'd say it was "immoral" for her to run for office, then swear an oath that she knew from the get-go she could not keep. So in addition to breaking the law, encouraging her employees to break the law & being a first-rate bigot, she ran for & accepted a public position under false pretenses. Immoral cow. ...

... Charles Pierce: "Let me explain to you what happens now. The entire political communications apparatus of the wingnut welfare system goes to DefCon 1.... Kim Davis now becomes the latest ornament on the Hang Yourself Cross of Bible-banging victimhood. There will be marches and vigils. There will be a six-figure book deal; my money's on John Fund as Davis's ghost. There may even be one of those movies produced by gullibility trawlers like the one helmed by Rick Santorum. Anybody want to bet me that she doesn't speak at next year's Republican National Convention? You have made a star, Judge Bunning, and the rest of us have to live with her."

Michael Miller of the Washington Post: "Last week, a Tenn. judge refused to grant a straight couple a divorce because the U.S. Supreme Court allowed gay marriage." Thanks to D. C. Clark for the link. The judge -- who is elected -- is using the travails of this couple -- who reportedly presented valid & customary reasons to divorce -- for his own ideological purposes. The state judicial bar should sanction him for dereliction of duty in failure to follow established state law.

AP: "The white man accused of killing nine black churchgoers during a Bible study will face the death penalty, according to court documents filed Thursday. The documents said prosecutors would pursue the death penalty against Dylann Roof, 21, because more than two people were killed, and that others' lives were put at risk." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Mookie's Misfire. Henry Curtis of the Orlando Sentinel: "Spike's Tactical [in Apopka, Florida] is marketing an assault rifle it claims was 'designed to never be used by Muslim terrorists.' The AR-15 assault rifle is laser-etched on one side with a Knights Templar Long Cross -- a symbol of the Christian Crusades to reclaim the Holy Land from Muslims -- and Psalm 144:1 on the other side: 'Blessed be the Lord my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle.' The company's spokesman, former Navy SEAL Ben 'Mookie' Thomas said he came up with the idea and believes no devout Muslim would touch such a weapon.... 'Is it designed for Christian terrorists?' asked Hasan Shibly, executive director of CAIR-FL, who said out of 205 mass killings so far this year in the U.S. only one involved a Muslim." CW: Sorry, Mookie. I think Hasan just pointed out a teensy flaw in your anti-terrorism plan. But nice try.

Way Beyond

Nicholas Watt of the Guardian: British Prime Minister David Cameron has bowed to overwhelming domestic and international pressure and announced that Britain will accept thousands more Syrian refugees." ...

... Rick Lyman & Alison Smale of the New York Times: "With thousands of migrants pouring out of Afghanistan and the Middle East, the business of smuggling them across the Balkans into the European Union has grown even larger than the illicit trade in drugs and weapons, law enforcement officials said. In Greece alone, there are 200 such smuggling rings, said Col. Gerald Tatzgern, head of the Austrian police service fighting human trafficking." ...

... Ishan Tharoor of the Washington Post: "As Amnesty International recently pointed out, the 'six Gulf countries -- Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain -- have offered zero resettlement places to Syrian refugees.' This claim was echoed by Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch.... That's ... shocking..., given these countries' relative proximity to Syria, as well as the incredible resources at their disposal. As Sultan Sooud al-Qassemi, a Dubai-based political commentator, observes, these countries include some of the Arab world's largest military budgets, its highest standards of living.... Moreover, these countries aren't totally innocent bystanders. To varying degrees, elements within Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the U.A.E. and Kuwait have invested in the Syrian conflict, playing a conspicuous role in funding and arming a constellation of rebel and Islamist factions fighting the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad." ...

... Anne Barnard of the New York Times: "It was never any secret that a rising tide of Syrian refugees would sooner or later burst the seams of the Middle East and head for Europe. Yet little was done in Western capitals to stop or mitigate the slow-motion disaster that was befalling Syrian civilians and sending them on the run."

News Lede

New York Times: "The American economy added 173,000 jobs in August, a bit less than expected, making it less likely that the Federal Reserve will feel comfortable enough to make its long-awaited move to raise interest rates when policy makers meet this month."

The Commentariat -- Sept. 3, 2015

Defunct video removed.

Afternoon Update:

Alan Blinder of the New York Times: "A federal judge [in Ashland, Ky.,] on Thursday ordered a Kentucky clerk jailed for contempt of court because of her refusal to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. The clerk, Kim Davis of Rowan County, was ordered incarcerated after a hearing here before Judge David L. Bunning of Federal District Court." ...

... Mike Wynn & Chris Kenning of the Louisville Courier-Journal: "The court is expected to reconvene at 1:45 p.m. [CT], when Davis' deputies will tell the judge whether they will comply with the order or risk jail."

AP: "The white man accused of killing nine black churchgoers during a Bible study will face the death penalty, according to court documents filed Thursday. The documents said prosecutors would pursue the death penalty against Dylann Roof, 21, because more than two people were killed, and that others' lives were put at risk."

Robert Costa of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump will sign a pledge Thursday to support the GOP nominee in next year's general election, effectively ruling out a third-party or independent run, according to two Republicans familiar with the move." ...

... Paul Waldman: "Since the pledge would be happily violated by the only candidate who it was designed to constrain in the first place, it has little practical significance. But it does make the Republican Party look pathetic. They're so scared of the guy leading their primary race (as well they should be) that they have to beg him to pinkie-swear that he won't turn around and screw them over in the general election...."

Deflategate Punctured. Ken Belson of the New York Times: "In a major setback for the N.F.L., New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady prevailed in his battle to have his four-game suspension overturned on Thursday, as a federal judge reversed a ruling by Commissioner Roger Goodell to bench one of the league's biggest stars in a dispute over underinflated balls he used in a January championship game. Judge Richard M. Berman of Federal District Court in Manhattan did not rule on whether Brady tampered with the footballs in a bid for competitive advantage. Instead, he focused on the narrower question of whether the collective bargaining agreement between the N.F.L. and the players union gave Goodell the authority to carry out the suspension, and whether Brady was treated fairly during his attempt to have his suspension overturned."

*****

Jonathan Weisman of the New York Times: "Senator Barbara Mikulski of Maryland on Wednesday came out in support of President Obama's Iran nuclear accord, the 34th Democrat in favor. Her decision gave Mr. Obama the votes needed to assure the deal will survive a congressional challenge.... With momentum on their side, the White House and Senate Democrats hope to find seven more votes next week to filibuster the Republican resolution of disapproval. That would ensure the resolution would never leave the Senate, and Mr. Obama would not be forced to use a veto." ...

... Carl Hulse & David Herszenhorn of the New York Times: "One after another, lawmakers pointed to the warnings from foreign leaders that their own sanctions against Iran would be lifted regardless of what the United States did. But the president's potentially legacy-defining victory -- a highly partisan one in the end -- was also the result of an aggressive, cooperative strategy between the White House and congressional Democrats to forcefully push back against Republican critics, whose allies had begun a determined, $20 million-plus campaign to kill the deal." ...

... Jennifer Steinhauer of the New York Times: "With President Obama securing the votes Wednesday needed to assure the Iran nuclear accord will survive congressional challenge, Republicans are considering legislative options to counter the deal, including the possible reimposition of sanctions the agreement is supposed to lift."

... Julie Davis of the New York Times: In Northwest Alaska, "climate change is not a political talking point or a theoretical scientific phenomenon but a punishing everyday reality. Some communities are sinking into the water, as erosion and melting permafrost wash away their foundations. It was here that President Obama arrived on Wednesday to deliver his alarm-sounding message about the warming of the planet -- a phenomenon occurring twice as quickly in Alaska as in the rest of the United States -- bringing with him promises of new aid for Arctic communities whose shorelines and infrastructure are crumbling because of rising temperatures. In a history-making stop -- the first presidential visit to Arctic Alaska -- Mr. Obama delivered a speech laying out new federal efforts to help these communities cope with coastal erosion and high energy costs and, in some extreme cases, relocate altogether." ...

Dan Lamothe of the Washington Post: "The Army announced Wednesday that it is opening its legendary Ranger School to women on a full-time basis, following the historic graduation last month of two female soldiers. The school, with headquarters at Fort Benning, Ga., has been a centerpiece of the military's ongoing research on integrating women into more jobs in combat units."

Я Kidz Я Dum. Nick Anderson of the Washington Post: "Scores on the SAT have sunk to the lowest level since the college admission test was overhauled in 2005, adding to worries about student performance in the nation's high schools."

E. J. Dionne on violence & racism: "... politicians and, yes, even political commentators have an obligation: to try to make things better, not worse. There is always a choice between the politics of resentment and the politics of remedy." So Ted Cruz -- who is also a big fat liar -- & Bill O'Reilly should STFU or change their tactics.

Welcome, Plaintiffs! Linda Greenhouse: Conservative judges find creative ways to establish "standing" in order to allow plaintiffs to bring suits against the Obama administration "modern regulatory state."

A 180-Foot Pope. Emily Rueb of the New York Times: The Diocese of Brooklyn has commissioned "possibly the largest hand-painted mural of [Pope] Francis ever done" at 494 Eighth Avenue. The billboard "towers over Madison Square Garden, where Francis will celebrate a Mass on Sept. 25...." CW: It's no 900-foot Jesus but still pretty cool.

Anemona Hartocollis, et al., of the New York Times: "Desperate migrants poured into the Keleti train station in Budapest on Thursday morning but were prevented from traveling to Germany as Hungary's prime minister, Viktor Orban, said that the migration crisis was a 'German problem' and that Europe had a moral duty to tell migrants not to come. The comments by Mr. Orban, and the scenes of chaos at Keleti, which has emerged as a potent symbol of Europe's struggle to come to terms with the migration crisis, highlighted Europe's lack of preparedness to cope with an influx of refugees from Africa, the Middle East and elsewhere." ...

... Rick Lyman & Dan Bilefsky of the New York Times: "A ragged metropolis of thousands of weary and bedraggled migrants continued to rise [in Budapest, Hungary,] on Wednesday in the labyrinth of underground passageways outside Keleti train station. The Hungarian authorities, saying they were merely obeying European migration regulations, continued to keep migrants out of the station, despite having allowed thousands onto westbound trains on Monday. At the same time, the desperate migrants fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East, Africa and Afghanistan -- most of them hoping to reach Germany -- continued to pour over the Hungarian border from Serbia. The construction of a razor-wire fence seems to have barely slowed them down." ...

... Ishan Tharoor of the Washington Post: "Twelve migrants thought to be Syrian refugees were feared to have drowned off the coast of the Greek island of Kos on Wednesday after the boats carrying them sank. A number of bodies washed ashore on a beach in the Turkish resort town of Bodrum, probably connected to the disaster. The images of the dead, captured by Dogan News Agency, soon circulated on social media. They included, most hideously, photographs of children.... The scale of the Syrian refugee crisis is hard to grasp: About 11 million people (half of Syria's population) have either died or fled their homes since the Syrian conflict began in 2011. About 4 million of that number have been forced out of the country."

Edward Wong, et al., of the New York Times: "President Xi Jinping of China announced on Thursday that he would reduce the country's military personnel by 300,000, using a parade marking 70 years since the end of World War II to present the People's Liberation Army as a force for peace and regional stability. The Chinese military has more than two million members, and Mr. Xi has embarked on an accelerated modernization of the armed forces, which would shift spending from the traditional land forces to more advanced sea and air forces, which require fewer but better trained personnel."

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Par for the Course. CW: Ben Terris, the Washington Post reporter most famous for accidentally ending Rep. Aaron Schock's career by marvelling at Schock's taxpayer-funded "Downton Abbey" office decor, now has a piece on Donald Trump's golf game, citing different sources who claim he cheats (or doesn't cheat). I wasn't going to link the story till I read digby, who cites this graf from Terris's report:

Trump has shown that his candidacy is immune to the types of attacks that can bring down normal Republican candidates. He's on record mocking a war hero and praising Nancy Pelosi, he's advocated for higher taxes, donated to Democrats and called for single-payer health care. None of that has mattered. But does his golf history provide opponents with the opening they need? ...

... digby: "They have totally accepted the fact that calling Mexican immigrants rapists and criminals, proposing to deport millions of people (including American children), talking about women like dirt, starting trade wars and real wars isn't something that would bring down 'normal' Republican candidates. That's just par for the course these days. Praising nancy Pelosi, however, would 'normally' bring down any candidate."

Presidential Race

I am not a populist. But Bernie Sanders, he's doing a helluva job. -- Joe Biden, at a Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee fundraiser in Miami

... Jordain Carney of the Hill: "Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) on Wednesday declined to say whether she and Vice President Joe Biden discussed a potential joint 2016 ticket during a meeting late last month. 'It was a long conversation,' she said after pausing briefly when asked during an event at Suffolk University in Boston whether the subject was brought up even jokingly."

Thanks, GOP! Patrick Healy of the New York Times: "... as she seeks the Democratic presidential nomination, [Hillary] Clinton is struggling with declining poll numbers, questions about her honesty and doubts about her ultimate electability. And once again her Republican rivals are allowing her to turn their own words against them in ways that could help win over some of her skeptics. Branding Mexicans as rapists, calling the children of immigrants 'anchor babies,' decrying abortions for rape and incest victims, threatening to shut down the government over federal aid to Planned Parenthood -- Republicans are giving Mrs. Clinton a political advantage as she tries to divert attention from her woes and bounce back from a politically challenging summer." ...

... Carol Leonnig & Tom Hamburger of the Washington Post:Bryan Pagliano, "a former State Department staffer who worked on Hillary Rodham Clinton's private e-mail server tried this week to fend off a subpoena to testify before Congress, saying he would assert his constitutional right not to answer questions to avoid incriminating himself." The letter to the House Benghaaazi! committee from Pagliano's attorney "quoted a Supreme Court ruling in which justices described the Fifth Amendment as protecting 'innocent men ... "who otherwise might be ensnared by ambiguous circumstances."'.... The committee's ranking Democrat, Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), complained yesterday that [chairman Trey] Gowdy [RTP-S.C.] unilaterally issued the subpoena. He said the subpoena of a low-level aide is one of several signs that Gowdy is using the committee for the political purpose of trying to smear a Democratic presidential candidate."

Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "Senator Bernie Sanders is on the verge of signing a joint fund-raising agreement with the Democratic National Committee, his aides said, a week after Hillary Rodham Clinton entered such an arrangement with the party."

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, in a Washington Post op-ed, contrasts Donald Trump's & Bernie Sanders' responses to uncomfortable public challenges: "Two roads diverged in a political wood, and one man took the road of assaulting the Constitution and soon will be lost forever. The other will be a viable candidate who, regardless of whether he wins the nomination, will elevate the political process into something our Founding Fathers would be proud of." ...

     ... Donald Trump's response to Abdul-Jabbar, handwritten on a copy of the essay: "Dear Kareem, Now I know why the press always treated you so badly -- they couldn't stand you. The fact is that you don't have a clue about life and what has to be done to make America great again! Best wishes, Donald Trump." Includes photo of Trump's note. ...

     ... Abdul-Jabbar: "Trump's response to my piece is the best, though inelegant, support for my claims. Here again, he attacks a journalist who disagrees with him, not by disputing the points made but by hurling schoolyard insults such as 'nobody likes you.' Look behind the nasty invective and you find an assault on the Constitution in the effort to silence the press through intimidation."

Jonathan Martin of the New York Times: "Responding to growing pressure from party donors and officials to dissuade Donald J. Trump from mounting an independent campaign for president, the Republican National Committee on Wednesday asked each of the party's presidential candidates to sign a statement vowing not to run as a third-party candidate. With little warning, committee officials called and emailed campaign representatives requesting that they put in writing what every candidate, except for Mr. Trump, has already pledged to do." ...

     ... The Politico story, by Alex Isenstadt, is here.

I like Jeb. He's a nice man. But he should really set the example by speaking English while in the United States. -- Donald Trump

Because speaking to people in their first language is so rude, even if it helps win elections. -- Constant Weader

Donald Trump is trying to insult his way to the presidency.... To say you can only speak English is kind of ridiculous, if you think about it.... This is a diverse country. We should celebrate that diversity and embrace a set of shared values. Mr. Trump doesn't believe in those shared values. He wants to tear us down. He doesn't believe in tolerance. He doesn't believe in the things that have created the greatness of this country. -- Jeb!, Thursday

... Turns out Jeb! isn't feuding only with the Donald. He is also heavily into a smackdown contest with Stephen Colbert. In English!

Ben Kamisar of the Hill: "Ohio Gov. John Kasich said he backs a 'reasonable' federal minimum wage increase Tuesday, becoming one of the few GOP presidential candidates to do so.... He declined to get into the specifics of a proposed increase, noting Ohio's 'gradual' minimum wage that moves with the consumer price index."

Peter Suderman of the libertarian Reason: Scott "Walker is running a pandering, cringe-worthy campaign marked by a consistent inability to clearly articulate, and stick to, his own positions.... This is the Walker campaign playbook: Say something awkward or ill-advised, watch as the media swarms to cover it, then insist that there was never anything to see.... This sort of flip-flopping, what might generously be called policy confusion, has dogged Walker's campaign essentially from the moment it began." CW: And that's what a would-be supporter thinks.

Ed Kilgore: Ben Carson's soothing bedside manner masks the crazy.

Danica Coto of the AP: "Republican presidential hopeful Marco Rubio is scheduled to visit the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico this week, his staff said Tuesday.... Rubio's one-day visit will coincide with that of Democrat Hillary Clinton." CW: Oh noes! I hope they don't set & bad example & speak Spanish there!

Jeremy Peters of the New York Times: "Senator Marco Rubio of Florida said on Wednesday that the government should respect the beliefs of the Kentucky county clerk who has denied marriage licenses to same-sex couples, saying society needs to accommodate public officials who object to carrying out duties they say violate their religious beliefs." CW: Yo, Marco, there already is a way to respect her beliefs: just like any conscientious objector, she can refuse to serve & quit her job. Do you think the military paid conscientious-objector draftees when they refused to serve? Pandering is so often blatantly stupid.

As a public official, comply with the law or resign.... The rule of law is the rule of law.... I appreciate her conviction, I support traditional marriage, but she has accepted a job where she has to apply the law to everyone.... -- Sen. Lindsey Graham, on the right-wing Hugh Hewitt radio show (no link), thus inadvertently demonstrating that Marco hasn't met the minimum qualifications to be president

Gubernatorial Race

Philip Bailey of the Louisville Courier-Journal: "Republican gubernatorial candidate Matt Bevin said during a national conference call Tuesday he fully supports Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis' right to refuse gay couples seeking marriage licenses. 'I absolutely support her willingness to stand on her First Amendment rights,' he said. 'Without any question I support her.'The strong defense of Davis' actions underscores how the GOP nominee hopes to make the fight over gay marriage a centerpiece of the 2015 governor's race, which polling shows is a tight race between him and Democratic nominee Jack Conway." ...

... Ed Kilgore: "Bevin does, however, have a broader vision: like his junior senator, Rand Paul, he's talking about getting government out of the marriage business altogether.... It may take Bevin a while to explain to regular Kentuckians that they should no longer be in state-sanctioned marriages because some county clerk wants to get paid to do some but not all of her job.

Beyond the Beltway

Ryan Felton of the Guardian: Kim Davis is "not the only defecting clerk in Kentucky. Two other clerks, Casey Davis of Casey County and Kay Schwartz of Whitley County, are also still refusing to perform same-sex marriages." CW: Yo, Ryan, Kentucky clerks don't perform marriages; they issue marriage licenses. That's a difference with a distinction. According to Kentucky law (which still has a specific prohibition against same-sex marriage).

Marriages shall be solemnized only by clergy, justices and judges of the Court of Justice; retired justices and judges of the Court of Justice, except those removed for cause or convicted of a felony; county judge/executives; such justices of the peace and fiscal court commissioners as the Governor or the county judge/executive authorizes, and certain religious societies.

... Scott Lemieux in LG&M: "It may seem like cheap shot to bring up her serial marriages, but I don't think it is. The tendency to be more rigorous about enforcing biblical principles when they impose burdens on others than when they impose burdens on you is one of the many reasons we don't want state officials selectively applying the law according to their own 'principles.'" ...

... CW: Exactly right. There are plenty of people, no doubt some of them license-issuing clerks, who genuinely believe divorce is a sin & remarriage to another person is a worser sin, as some major churches like the Roman Catholic one hold. But those clerks, however deep their religious convictions, cannot deny a license to someone like Kimmy there who applied to marry her second husband after divorcing her first husband while pregnant with the children of her third husband.

She's not being asked to perform a sacrament, she is tasked with ascertaining that the people in front of her, the couple in front of her, have a legal right to get married and to provide them with that license. She is not a minister. She actually thinks she works for God there in the county courthouse, when she actually works for Caesar -- and someone needs to acquaint her with that fact. -- Dan Savage, on Rowan County, Kentucky Clerk Kim Davis

CW: Finally (I wish), here's another problem for Kim of God, & it might be the biggest, baddest one there is: her oath of office:

I ... do swear that I will well and truly discharge the duties of the office of .............. County Circuit Court clerk..., and that I will not knowingly or willingly commit any malfeasance of office, and will faithfully execute the duties of my office without favor, affection or partiality, so help me God.

     ... As Dan Savage might put it, she swore to God she would carry out Caesar's law. In the Gospel of Mark 12, Jesus makes the clear distinction. Paul, in Romans 13, is even more direct:

Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.... For the one in authority is God's servant for your good.... But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God's servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience.

     ... The authors of these rules wrote them specifically to inoculate believers like Kim from fear of following secular (Caesar's) laws that did not comport with their own Christian views. Since she doesn't seem to read the New Testament much (& I have a feeling she doesn't check in here), somebody should tell Kim.

Lynh Bui & Ovetta Wiggins of the Washington Post: "Six officers charged in the arrest and death of Freddie Gray will have separate trials, a judge decided Wednesday, one of three rulings issued during the first Circuit Court hearing in the closely watched case. Judge Barry G. Williams also denied defense motions to dismiss charges against the officers or force Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby and her staff to recuse themselves from the case."

More in Responsible Gun Ownership. Reuters: "A 19-year-old Texas man who was posing with a gun for a social media selfie photo accidentally shot himself and died from the wounds, Houston police said on Wednesday."

News Ledes

AFP: "Embattled Guatemalan President Otto Perez announced his resignation Thursday, after a warrant was issued for his arrest for allegedly masterminding a huge fraud scheme."

New York Times: "Five Chinese Navy ships were sailing in international waters of the Bering Sea off the coast of Alaska on Wednesday, in what Pentagon officials said was the first such foray by Beijing. The move came on the last day of President Obama's three-day visit to Alaska.... The White House said that the intent of the Chinese operation was unclear, but that the Pentagon had not detected any threatening activities."

The Commentariat -- Sept. 2, 2015

Internal links & defunct video removed.

David Herszenhorn of the New York Times: "President Obama all but clinched victory for his Iran nuclear deal on Tuesday, as two Democratic senators threw crucial support behind the landmark accord. The announcements by the senators, Bob Casey of Pennsylvania and Chris Coons of Delaware, came a week before the Senate was to formally debate a Republican resolution disapproving the agreement between Iran and six world powers. Mr. Obama would veto any such resolution, and with further announcements of support for the accord expected as soon as Wednesday, any move to override him would almost certainly fail. Mr. Coons's decision in particular is likely to have resonance with the few remaining undecided Democrats."

Peter Eavis & David Jolly of the New York Times: "Stock markets around the world tumbled again on Tuesday, dashing hopes that financial markets would calm down after two weeks of turbulence. Investors appear to be growing more nervous about the strength of the global economy. China released a weak report on manufacturing on Tuesday, and an influential international policy maker sounded a downbeat note on the outlook for Asian economies."

Greg Miller of the Washington Post: "The CIA and U.S. Special Operations forces have launched a secret campaign to hunt terrorism suspects in Syria as part of a targeted killing program that is run separately from the broader U.S. military offensive against the Islamic State, U.S. officials said. The CIA and the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) are flying drones over Syria in a collaboration responsible for several recent strikes against senior Islamic State operatives, the officials said. Among those killed was a British militant thought to be an architect of the terrorist group's effort to use social media to incite attacks in the United States, the officials said." CW: I guess it isn't secret any more.

Julie Davis of the New York Times: "President Obama on Wednesday will pledge to step up government aid for Arctic communities whose shorelines and infrastructure are crumbling as warming seas melt their foundations, intensifying his administration's effort to cope with the effects of climate change where they are being felt most acutely. Venturing north of the Arctic Circle to Kotzebue, where he will become the first sitting president to visit Arctic Alaska, Mr. Obama will announce federal grant programs to help villages there cope with coastal erosion and high energy costs, and, in some extreme cases, relocate altogether, the White House said." ...

President Obama near the Exit Glacier, viewed from Kenai Fjords National Park. AP photo via the Guardian.... Issi Lapowsky of Wired: "Over the next few days, the President will be posting photos [on Instagram] of his trip to Alaska -- photos we're told he's taking himself -- where he'll be meeting with world leaders to discuss the pressing problem of climate change."

Melinda Deslatte of the AP: "The U.S. Justice Department told a federal judge that Gov. Bobby Jindal's decision to oust Planned Parenthood from Louisiana's Medicaid program appears to violate federal law by denying Medicaid patients the right to choose their health care providers. In a court filing, the agency said the Jindal administration hasn't offered 'sufficient reasons' to keep Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast's clinics in New Orleans and Baton Rouge from receiving Medicaid payments. Removing Planned Parenthood from the Medicaid program 'without providing any justification related to (the organization's) qualifications to provide medical services would violate Louisiana's obligations under the Medicaid statute's "free choice of provider" provision,' the Justice Department wrote." ...

... Jackie Calmes of the New York Times: "With the calls to stop funding for Planned Parenthood, a visit to New Orleans and Baton Rouge suggests that it would not be as easy to do without the nonprofit centers as some Republicans and their anti-abortion allies say. Other states would face similar problems. Louisiana is among a number of states counted as medically underserved: It has a large poor and unhealthy population, with high rates of unintended pregnancies, a shortage of health professionals and too few who will accept Medicaid, as Planned Parenthood does."

Lisa Miller of New York on Pope Francis's letter re: absolution for abortions (story linked yesterday): "... what's breathtaking about this move is that Francis has chosen abortion, of all things, as the issue on which to stake this vision of mercy.... He singled out abortion, which just so happens to be the most divisive culture-war issue of the past half-century -- the issue around which the politically powerful religious right coalesced..., the issue that has won and lost innumerable elections and pitted whole American tribes against one another in red-faced screaming battles of 'values.' He is making a bet that his vision of a compassionate church can overcome all of that.... Francis knows that Catholics have hardly been bystanders in this culture war, but active participants -- that is another reason his choice of cause is so stunning.... Francis is not changing doctrine. He has not condoned abortion...."

Kali Holloway of AlterNet has a long piece, republished in Salon, on how the Walton Family Foundation tried to privatize public schools in Arkansas (and do so around the country), & -- at least in the short term -- failed in their own home territory. CW: I don't think there's a bigger scam going in this country than privatization of K-12 schools, & that effort, more than any other, is why I would not vote for Jeb!. Ever.

Ken Belson of the New York Times: "In dozens of studio emails unearthed by hackers, Sony executives; ['Concussion'] director Peter Landesman; and representatives of [lead actor Will] Smith discussed how to avoid antagonizing the N.F.L. by altering the script and marketing the film more as a whistle-blower story, rather than a condemnation of football or the league."

Bradford Richardson of the Hill: "Barvetta Singletary, "a White House staffer, has been indicted on assault charges stemming from a dispute in which she allegedly fired a gun at her U.S. Capitol Police boyfriend." Singletary, a special assistant to the President, has been on unpaid leave since the White House learned of the incident.

Presidential Race

Shocking New Video Proves Hillary Clinton Is a Hardened Criminal. Dana Milbank: "Conservative activist James O'Keefe, whose undercover videos brought down ACORN and embarrassed National Public Radio, came to Washington Tuesday to unveil evidence of 'illegal activity conducted by high-level employees within Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign.' He then rolled tape of ... a Canadian woman attempting to buy a T-shirt and some campaign pins at a Clinton rally. To O'Keefe, this was evidence of foreign contributions being made to Clinton -- an 'illegal activity' with a total value of $75." Then it turns out that the Clinton campaign refused to sell the shirt to the supposed foreigner (O'Keefe couldn't verify that the woman actually was Canadian -- [maybe she kept saying "eh"]), so O'Keefe's videographer bought the shirt for her. "Even in the anything-goes world of the Clinton scandal industry, though, O'Keefe's latest exercise suggests her accusers are running out of ammunition. O'Keefe's video did show evidence of law-breaking -- by his own organization."

CW: Watching Joe's Every Move. Vice President Biden is off to Miami to give a couple of speeches & attend a fundraiser. Also, "On Saturday, he turned up unannounced at an annual event given by the Sussex County Democratic Party in Delaware." Never mind that Delaware is Biden's home state & that the Miami events are routine for the Vice President, the tea leaves say these are moves toward another presidential run.

Karen Tumulty of the Washington Post: "The organizers of the next Republican presidential debate have announced changes to debate criteria that mean former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina will almost certainly join the rest of the top-tier candidates on the main stage at the Reagan Library on Sept. 16. 'CNN reevaluated its criteria and decided to add a provision that better reflects the state of the race since the first Republican presidential debate in August,' the network announced. 'Now, any candidate who ranks in the top 10 in polling between August 6 and September 10 will be included.'" ...

... CW: Tumulty writes of one advantage to having Fiorina on the stage: "In the enormous Republican field, she is the only one who has demonstrated anything that rivals the thrust-and-parry skills of front-runner Donald Trump.... Trump dominated the main stage in Cleveland, in part because none of his rivals had any idea how to take him on." ...

... The Manly Party. Steve M.: "... now we have fifteen conservative men running against a bully named Donald Trump -- including Christie, a guy we were old for years was tough as nails. And yet the Daddy Party may believe a woman is the only person who might be able to back the bully down. Hilarious, I tell you."

Meet the Trump Voters. Tom Jensen of Public Policy Polling: "Our new poll finds that Trump is benefiting from a GOP electorate that thinks Barack Obama is a Muslim and was born in another country, and that immigrant children should be deported. 66% of Trump's supporters believe that Obama is a Muslim to just 12% that grant he's a Christian. 61% think Obama was not born in the United States to only 21% who accept that he was. And 63% want to amend the Constitution to eliminate birthright citizenship, to only 20% who want to keep things the way they are. Trump's beliefs represent the consensus among the GOP electorate. 51% overall want to eliminate birthright citizenship. 54% think President Obama is a Muslim. And only 29% grant that President Obama was born in the United States. That's less than the 40% who think Canadian born Ted Cruz was born in the United States." ...

... Greg Sargent: "... vowing to 'make America great again' by building a wall on the Mexican border and deporting 11 million people ... is not 'telling it like it is.' It is not 'straight talk.' Yet many of [Trump's] supporters seem to enjoy being told these 'truths.' So perhaps the better way to understand what's happening here is that Trump's supporters like the story he is telling them, which is largely that immigrants are to blame for the suffering of American workers." CW: You might call it old-fashioned scapegoating. hey, at least its' "traditional." ...

... And the Winner Is.... Brian Beutler of the New Republic: "Short of sabotaging Trump by changing the rules in the middle of the race, which would risk driving him to mount an independent candidacy, the race itself will have to take on a completely new character for Trump to lose steam. Otherwise, he will win." ...

... Alan Rappeport of the New York Times: Donald "Trump invited Javier Palomarez, president of the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, to his Manhattan office for a meeting to clear the air. Each were joined by two staff members for a 90-minute meeting that Mr. Palomarez described as surprisingly cordial and productive." ...

Ed O'Keefe & Sean Sullivan of the Washington Post: "Jeb Bush went on the offensive Tuesday against GOP presidential front-runner and frequent antagonist Donald Trump, releasing an attack video portraying the mogul as a closet liberal and signaling that he will attempt to bring Trump down in coming weeks.... Allies of the former Florida governor insist that he had no choice but to adopt a more aggressive posture, elevating his feud with Trump to the marquee contest in the GOP primary contest." ...

... Nice work, Jeb! Your vid makes Trump look pretty good:

Trip Gabriel of the New York Times: "... while almost all Republicans were upstaged by the bombast of Donald J. Trump in recent months, [Ben] Carson, a retired neurosurgeon whose low-key personality and celebrated medical career are the antithesis of a politician's usual path, gained ground as few seemed to notice."

Andy Borowitz: "Saying that 'things just didn't work out,' the billionaire Koch brothers have decided to put Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker up for sale. The Kochs, who earlier had purchased Gov. Walker with great fanfare, announced their plan to sell the politician in a terse statement from Koch Industries headquarters in Wichita." ...

... Joshua Green of Bloomberg: "... standard-issue Republican candidates such as Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, who have tried to emulate Trump, typically fail and will always fail" because if they were honest & forthcoming, "it upsets the patrons and supporters they depend on for their livelihood (this is another Trump straight-talk point)." ...

... CW: There's the Koch-22: GOP candidates must be devious & evasive to please the Kochs, but to win public support, they must say things that would displease the Kochs. This works out okay if all the candidates follow a phony, evasive party script (think 2012). But an outsider candidacy like Trump's breaks the official GOP liars' code. Remember Mitt's saying that one only talks about wealth inequality "in quiet rooms." What he meant was that he & his billionaire friends might discuss these matters among themselves, but publicly politicians should talk only about realizing the American dream through hard work, innovation, freeedom, blah-blah. ...

... Walker Rule 1(f): When You Say Something Monumentally Stupid (and we're talking 5,500-mile Monument Stupid here), Pretend It Was "Just a Joke." Tierney Sneed of TPM: "Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) said Tuesday that things had 'run amok' with reports that he was open to building a wall on the U.S.' northern border and that all the talk was 'just a joke.'"... He said Sunday that building a wall was a 'legitimate issue' to be considered." CW: Every word Walker utters is a lie, including "and" and "the." (Thank you, Mary McCarthy.)

Rick Perry's Iowa staff is down to one paid worker. Don't worry, Iowa pols. Bernie's hiring. ...

... CW: Let's hope the DOJ arrests Bobby Jindal for breaking federal law in his anti-Planned Parenthood pander (story linked above). Otherwise, if Perry leaves the race, there won't be a single GOP candidate who's currently under indictment. ...

... FINALLY, there's always room for Mitt. Via Paul Waldman. Because ...

These guys like Walker and Perry, they were big deals in their states, but you get them onto the national stage and it's a different story. It's like they were in middle school, and now they're freshmen in high school and they're getting their faces slammed in the toilets. -- A former Romney advisor

Beyond the Beltway

Ian Lovett of the New York Times: "California has agreed to an overhaul of its use of solitary confinement in its prisons, including strict limits on the prolonged isolation of inmates, as part of a landmark legal settlement filed in federal court on Tuesday. The settlement is expected to sharply reduce the number of inmates held in the state's isolation units, where inmates are often kept alone for more than 22 hours a day inside cells that sometimes have no windows, and cap the length of time prisoners can spend there."

And if [a wife] divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery. -- Jesus, according to the Gospel of Mark 10:12

Marriage is between a woman and a man; and a woman and another man; and a woman and still another man; and a woman and yet another man. But if a man shall lie down with another man and shall marry that man, or if a woman shall lie down with another woman and marry that woman, the whole fornicating lot of them will go straight to burning hell, so sayeth the Lord. -- Jesus's friend Kim, according to the Gospel of Kim 1:1-6 ...

... Welcome to Kentucky! Steven Nelson of US News: "The Kentucky county clerk facing potentially stiff penalties for refusing to issue same-sex marriage licenses has been married four times, raising questions of hypocrisy and selective application of the Bible to her life. The marriages are documented in court records obtained by U.S. News, which show that Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis divorced three times, first in 1994, then 2006 and again in 2008. She gave birth to twins five months after divorcing her first husband. They were fathered by her third husband but adopted by her second. Davis worked at the clerk's office at the time of each divorce and has since remarried." Emphasis added because I couldn't help it. ...

... Clare Galofalo of TPM: "U.S. District Judge David Bunning moved swiftly Tuesday after a lesbian couple asked him to find Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis in contempt.... A hearing is scheduled for 11 a.m. Thursday...."

CBS Chicago: "A manhunt is underway in far north [Chicago] suburban Fox Lake, after a police officer was shot and killed while chasing three suspects on foot.... At a late-morning news conference, Lake County Sheriff's Det. Chris Covelli said, around 7:50 a.m., the officer radioed he was pursuing three suspects, after looking into their 'suspicious activity.'... Shortly after the news conference, Covelli confirmed that the officer died. The officer was identified as Lt. Charles Joseph Gliniewicz, a 32-year police veteran.... Covelli said police were conducting a ground and air search for three suspects -- two white males and a black male."

AP: "Police officers who arrived at the wrong metro Atlanta home after a report of suspicious activity shot the man who lives there, killed his dog and 'likely' shot a fellow officer, leaving him seriously wounded, authorities said Tuesday."

AP: "A white ex-police chief agreed Tuesday to plead guilty to misconduct in office in the shooting death of an unarmed black man, a far lesser offense than the murder charge that ended in two mistrials. Prosecutors agreed to drop the murder charge against 38-year-old Richard Combs, who is the former police chief of the small town of Eutawville[, South Carolina].... Authorities say Combs shot Walter Bailey in May 2011 as he tried to arrest him on an obstruction of justice charge weeks after he argued about his daughter's traffic ticket.... When Bailey came to talk to the police chief at Eutawville town hall about the traffic ticket, Combs was not threatened and could have stepped away, but fired his weapon anyway, hitting Bailey three times, prosecutors said."

Way Beyond

Griff Witte & Karla Adam of the Washington Post: "Just 216 Syrian refugees have qualified for the [British] government's official relocation program, according to data released last week. (Tube trains seat about 300.) British Prime Minister David Cameron has reassured his anxious public that the total number won't rise above 1,000. As Germany prepares for an expected onslaught of 800,000 asylum applications just this year, the contrast between the two biggest powers in Europe couldn't be sharper. On a continent that is supposed to be bound together by a common set of rules and values, the impact of this summer's migrant crisis is being felt disproportionately by a handful of countries while others, such as Britain, have resisted efforts to more equitably share the burden. Britain's approach helps explain why efforts to forge a unified European asylum policy have failed, and it could become a major obstacle to agreement when top officials gather for an emergency meeting later this month."