The Commentariat -- March 20, 2016

Justin Grieser of the Washington Post: "This year's spring equinox is the earliest since 1896. For the rest of the 21st century, the March equinox will arrive continually earlier with each passing leap year. Beginning in 2044, the equinox will be on March 19 (UTC) on every leap year until 2100. The earliest equinox of the 21st century will be in 2096, arriving midday on March 19."

Springtime for Castro. Oliver Knox of Yahoo! News: "When Pres. Barack Obama arrives in Havana on Sunday, it will be at the head of what amounts to a different kind of U.S. invasion. There will be air power: Airlines clamoring to be able to run direct flights to Cuba. There will be naval power: Cruise lines launching routes to Cuba. Marriott, looking to become the largest hotel chain in the world through a merger with Starwood, wants to establish a beachhead. And the president has potentially enlisted tens of thousands of infantry by recently loosening restrictions on Americans traveling to Cuba to such an extent that, while a ban on simple tourism remains on the books, it's easy, in practice, to travel there to take in the sights.... 'We're trying a new approach,' White House press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters Friday. 'Our approach now is that the president of the United States ... is going to sit down with the leader of Cuba and say, "You need to do a better job of protecting the human rights of your people.'" ...

... Julie Davis of the New York Times: "President Obama and his family will arrive in Cuba on Sunday afternoon aboard Air Force One and receive a red-carpet welcome from a country that has been a bitter adversary of the United States since before he was born."

CLICK ON CARTOON TO SEE LARGER IMAGE.... Brian McFadden of the New York Times on Republican senators' excuses for not holding hearings for Merrick Garland. If you've been following the hoohah, you'll know that every frame is spot-on.

New York Times: "... the Zika virus has begun spreading through Puerto Rico, now the United States' front line in a looming epidemic. The outbreak is expected to be worse here than anywhere else in the country. The island, a warm, wet paradise veined with gritty poverty, is the ideal environment for the mosquitoes carrying the virus. The landscape is littered with abandoned houses and discarded tires that are perfect breeding grounds for the insects. Some homes and schools lack window screens and air-conditioning, exposing residents to almost constant bites." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Presidential Race

Astrid Galvan of the AP: "Standing in front of the tall, steel fence that divides the United States and Mexico, presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders on Saturday vowed to keep immigrant families together during a visit to Arizona, which holds its primary next week. Sanders was accompanied by Santa Cruz County Sheriff Tony Estrada and U.S. Rep. Raul Grijalva. He started the day walking along a small street next to the Nogales-Morley Gate Port of Entry, where he spoke with two young immigrants about their struggles to obtain legal status in the United States."

Alexander Burns & Jonathan Martin of the New York Times: "Republican leaders adamantly opposed to Donald J. Trump's candidacy are preparing a 100-day campaign to deny him the presidential nomination, starting with an aggressive battle in Wisconsin's April 5 primary and extending into the summer, with a delegate-by-delegate lobbying effort that would cast Mr. Trump as a calamitous choice for the general election."

CBS/AP: "Thousands of protesters gathered in front of one of Donald Trump's signature Manhattan buildings Saturday to protest the GOP front-runner, CBS New York reports." The protesters gathered Saturday in Manhattan's Columbus Circle, across from Central Park, with a heavy police presence. Demonstrators chanted: 'Donald Trump, go away, racist, sexist, anti-gay.' They marched across south Central Park to Trump Tower, the Fifth Avenue skyscraper where Trump lives. Then they marched back to Columbus Circle for a rally."

Robert Costa & Paul Kane of the Washington Post: "Donald Trump will host a group of nearly two dozen top Republicans on Monday afternoon for an off-the-record gathering that his allies hope will improve his relationship with the congressional GOP and the party's Washington establishment...."

Arizona Daily Star: "... at the Tucson Convention Center, [Donald Trump] was repeatedly interrupted by protesters before they were escorted out by police and security. Trump called a protester a 'real disgusting guy' and complained they are 'taking away our First Amendment rights.' The removal of that man temporarily halted the rally action, and the crowd started chanting 'USA! USA!'" ...

     ... CW: It's worth noting that Mitch McConnell & Co. are preventing President Obama from appointing a Supreme Court justice so that a guy who hasn't an elementary understanding of the First Amendment can make the appointment. The First Amendment does not protect Trump & the Trumpbots from being shouted down by individuals; it prevents the Congress from passing laws that abridge free speech. ...

... Jose DelReal of the Washington Post: "Donald Trump's campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, is under heavy scrutiny after video footage surfaced Saturday showing him and another unidentified man forcefully engaging with a demonstrator at a rally [in Tucson, Arizona]. of the Washington Post: The video shows Lewandowski and the man reaching for a young protester in the stands amid a large group of anti-Trump demonstrators congregated in a section of the Tucson Convention Center. The protester was pulled backward, the footage shows, and aggressively began to push the man to Lewandowski's left."

Meg Wagner of the New York Daily News: "A man inside a Donald Trump rally in Arizona Saturday was caught on cell phone video violently punching and kicking a protester who was being led from the event. The disturbing melee occurred around 3 p.m. in Tucson -- amid a chanting, rabid crowd that booed as a group of protesters made their presence known. In the video, an adult male starts punching a protester -- who can't be clearly seen amid the crowd. When the protester falls, the man was caught wildly kicking at the body while people try to pull him away." ...

Dan Nowicki & Yvonne Sanchez of the Arizona Republic: "... Donald Trump swaggered into Arizona again Saturday, repeating his promises to build a border wall, renegotiate U.S. trade deals and generally 'make America great again.'... As he addressed the thousands gathered in Fountain Hills Park, Trump made a final pitch ahead of Arizona's presidential primary on Tuesday. Trump was joined on stage by Sheriff Joe Arpaio, former Gov. Jan Brewer and Treasurer Jeff DeWit. Former Arizona lawmaker and 9/11 'truther' Karen Johnson prayed to open the event.... Trump's angry tone endured throughout his shorter-than-usual 30-minute speech, which also focused on immigration-related themes." ...

... Edward Hilmore of the Guardian: "Protesters blocked roadways leading to a Donald Trump rally in Phoenix, Arizona, on Saturday, ahead of an event where the Republican frontrunner for president would appear alongside Joe Arpaio, the 83-year-old sheriff best known for his hardline views on immigration."

Todd Gitlin, in a Washington Post op-ed: "... Trump's bludgeoning rhetoric may be even more dangerous than [George] Wallace's. Defeat could prove to be Trump's victory, just as Barry Goldwater's 1964 rout paved the way for Ronald Reagan's ascent. Trump has opened the gates for imitators in the years to come -- not only mainstream politicians (he has already won the support of right-wing Florida Gov. Rick Scott) but nativist outliers all over."

Josh Gerstein of Politico: "... Donald Trump is fighting efforts to hold a trial in a federal class-action lawsuit over his Trump University real-estate program either just before or after the Republican National Convention in July. Such a trial has the potential to pull Trump off the campaign trail in order to serve as a witness. And in a filing late Friday night in federal court in San Diego, lawyers for Trump said plaintiffs' lawyers are intentionally trying to schedule the trial to interfere with his presidential campaign."

I have an organization but it's largely myself. -- Donald Trump (who else?) ...

... Maureen Dowd interviews Donald Trump. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Peter Wehner in a New York Times op-ed: "That Mr. Trump's rise has occurred in the Republican Party is painful for those of us who are Republicans. That more and more Republicans are making their own accommodation with or offering outright support for Mr. Trump -- governors like Chris Christie and Rick Scott, the former candidate Ben Carson and the former speaker of the House Newt Gingrich -- makes things even worse. Because we can no longer deny what Mr. Trump is and what he represents. The prospect of turning the party apparatus over to such a person is sickening."

Kristen East of Politico: "Ohio Gov. John Kasich on Saturday broke with much of his party on Merrick Garland, saying he'd not only consider meeting with President Barack Obama's nominee for the Supreme Court -- he'd consider nominating Garland himself if he were elected president.... The comments came after Dickerson asked Kasich if he would've looked at Garland himself. Kasich also said he believes the senators should 'all sit down and meet with the guy.'"

Jeb Lund of Rolling Stone wrote a fine autopsy of Marco Rubio's brilliant career. You might think Rubio is so yesterday, it's not worth reading Lund's piece, but Lund really captures the essence of the boy who would be president because he was bored with his day job: "Rubio was a Reagan Republican in the same way that all other Republicans are Reagan Republicans: 95 percent of what he believes hasn't been updated since 1981."

Senate Race

Alexander Bolton & Scott Wong of the Hill: "Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is facing what may be the toughest reelection of his Senate career in an unpredictable presidential year, when many voters are angry with Washington. Early polls show McCain tied with his Democratic challenger, Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick (D-Ariz.), at around 40 percent despite having nearly 100-percent name recognition in the state he has represented in either the Senate or House since 1983."

Beyond the Beltway

Jennifer Uffalussy of the Guardian: "A bill passed in the Florida legislature this week would effectively defund Planned Parenthood and other reproductive rights clinics by preventing state agencies from working with any organization that provides abortion care other than that for victims of rape, incest, or if the life of the woman is at risk. As the bill heads to governor Rick Scott for his signature, several state lawmakers who have insisted that plentiful alternatives exist for reproductive and sexual healthcare have cited a list of health centers that includes dentists, optometrists, and elementary schools." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Way Beyond

James McAuley, et al., of the Washington Post: "The man at the top of Europe's terrorism wanted list is cooperating with Belgian investigators, his attorney said Saturday, raising the prospect that he can shed light on the planning and logistics of the November attacks in Paris that exposed gaping holes in the continent's security system." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

News Ledes

Washington Post: "Belgium's foreign minister, Didier Reynders, said Sunday that terror suspect Salah Abdeslam, who was wanted in the terror attacks that shook Paris in November, was planning more attacks while he was hiding in Brussels."

New York Times: "the arrest in Belgium on Friday of Salah Abdeslam, who officials say was the logistics chief for the Paris attacks, offers a crucial opportunity to address the many unanswered questions surrounding how they were planned. Mr. Abdeslam, who was transferred to the penitentiary complex in Bruges on Saturday, is believed to be the only direct participant in the attacks who is still alive."

... ABC News: "Suspected Paris attacker Salah Abdeslam said he planned to commit a suicide bombing at France's main stadium but then 'backtracked' and abandoned his explosive belt, Paris prosecutor Francois Molins said."

Comments

[Ken Winkes]

Looking back over the country's state since Reagan's reign, specifically at the trajectory of the Republican Party over those same years, I don't see that that much has changed. The party elites expressing dismay at Trump's boorishness can't have looked in a mirror in years.

After all, before Reagan we had Nixon, whose attorney general was himself a criminal. As they developed the nativist anti-minority Southern Strategy, Republicans joyfully applauded the hard hats who pummeled hippies, while at the same time Nixon and CREEP deliberately employed bullies and thugs to do their bidding. Nativism and violence have been Republican staples for a long time.

And always just below the surface of the occasional public violence was the economic violence the Party and its supporters deliberately inflicted on millions. With its top-down organizational principle, its pursuit of immediate profit regardless of social cost, its anti-regulation stance, and its worship of the giant monopolies that have replaced a nation of independent shopkeepers, the capitalism the party elites espouse and profit by is itself virulently anti-democratic.

As are their social policies, with abortion and gun control two obvious cases in point. That people favor choice and more gun regulation matters not at all to Republicans and their conservative base. Democracy and American conservatism are not friends.

In Trump's intellectually shallow arrogance and strong-man tactics, the Republican genie has been released from the bottle for all to see. He's ugly and naked, with no fine rhetorical clothing to soften the harsh picture of its essence. For the last sixty years at least American conservatism has not been and cannot be any more humane or compassionate than it is democratic. Conservatism and compassion are in natural opposition.

Trump then is the embarrassing mirror image the party elite, the puppet masters, can no longer avoid.

No wonder they don't like him and want him to go away.

But we all know how genie stories often end.

[Ken Winkes]

Blame my age.

How could I have forgotten Spiro Agnew, Nixon's thug-in-chief?