The Commentariat -- April 28, 2015

Defunct videos removed.

NEW. Nick Gass of Politico: "President Barack Obama on Tuesday said the violence that consumed Baltimore overnight was a product of a 'slow-rolling crisis' of policing issues, and that Americans need to get serious about the underlying problem of impoverished communities. 'We as a country have to do some soul searching,' he said in a press conference in the Rose Garden." ...

... Sorry about the Fox "Newsiness" of this, but you will want to hear President Obama's remarks on the situation in Baltimore:

NEW. Mike DeBonis of the Washington Post: "Thanks to protests last week, the public now knows that some of the workers serving meals to U.S. Senate's members, staff and visitors are paid barely enough to scrape by. Many rely on government benefits like food stamps, and at least one of them -- 63-year-old Charles Gladden -- is homeless, spending his nights outside a downtown Metro station. Responding to the protests, eight Democratic senators, led by Minority Whip Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.), plus Bernard Sanders (I-Vt.), on Monday called for better wages and benefits for the Senate's own contract workers, some of whom make less than $10 an hour. They wrote to Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), chairman of the Senate Rules Committee, which oversees Capitol campus matters, telling him a new $10.10 wage baseline supported by President Obama is only a start."

Adam Liptak & Michael Shear of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court on Tuesday seemed deeply divided about one of the great civil rights issues of the age: whether the Constitution guarantees same-sex couples the right to marry. The justices appeared to clash over not only what is the right answer but also over how to reach it. The questioning illuminated their conflicting views on history, tradition, biology, constitutional interpretation, the democratic process and the role of the courts in prodding social change."

... NEW. Noah Feldman in Bloomberg: "No one really believes that Tuesday's oral argument in the gay-marriage case, Obergefell v. Hodges, is an occasion for the justices to make up their minds about how they're going to vote. Rather, it's an exercise in making certain points, not so much to their colleagues as to the public. According to reports from the first section of the questioning, the justices had some messages they want you to hear." ...

... ScotusBlog: "On Tuesday the [Supreme] Court will hear oral argument in Obergefell v. Hodges, which is consolidated with three other cases, on the questions of whether the Fourteenth Amendment requires that states grant and/or recognize same-sex marriages. [ScotusBlog] will be live-blogging updates from the oral argument at this link beginning at 10:45 a.m." ...

     ... "Kennedy multiple times talked about marriage being the same for 'millenia.' He said he 'kept coming back' to that thought. #ReutersSCOTUS ...

     ... "Bonauto closed her argument with a neat turn of phrase. The Court had said that the question is 'who decides' whether same sex marriage will be lawful: the courts or the states? She responded that the choice is not between the Court and the state, but instead whether the individual can decide who to marry, or whether the government will decide for him.... One very interesting aspect of the early argument was that it was primarily a set of questions about what 'marriage' means as an institution, and accordingly, whether it is 'irrational' or 'invidious discrimination' to exclude gays and lesbians." ...

     ... "Ultimately, Justice Scalia seemed satisfied that a minister could refuse to perform those weddings.... Justice Ginsburg spoke of how it was recent changes to the institution of marriage that made it appropriate for gay and lesbian couples -- in particular, it becoming an egalitarian institution rather than one dominated by the male partners who determined where and how the couple would live.... The petrs had said they were looking to 'join the institution of marriage.' The chief [Roberts] objected that perhaps they were not looking to redefine it, not join it. And he emphasized that he had looked up all the definitions he could find, and it was always a man and a woman."

... ** UPDATE: The audio is here. ...

... Here's the New York Times' liveblog of the hearing. ...

... The New York Times story, by Adam Liptak, is here. ...

... John Culhane in Politico Magazine: "There's no real case against gay marriage" so "opponents rely on dubious warnings of social Armageddon." ...

... Emily Bazelon & Adam Liptak discuss the case in the New York Times Magazine. ...

... Garrett Epps of the Atlantic: "... whatever happens with the Court in June, the struggle for gay and lesbian rights -- even for basic humanity -- will go on. A good Supreme Court opinion could make it less divisive. In constitutional law, the reasons for a decision matter as much as the decision itself." ...

... Lydia Wheeler of the Hill: "Religious leaders are calling on members of the Supreme Court's liberal wing to recuse themselves from the blockbuster gay marriage case that the court will begin considering on Tuesday. Standing on the steps of the Supreme Court, Scott Lively, president of Abiding Truth Ministries, told reporters he's filing a motion with the Supreme Court calling for the recusal of Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Elena Kagan." ...

... Liz Goodwin of Yahoo! News: "Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the 82-year-old leader of the Supreme Court's minority liberal wing, has cast aside her usual restraint in the past months and left little doubt where she stands on the upcoming gay marriage case." ...

... See also Presidential Race below.

Sari Horwitz of the Washington Post: "After months of delay by the Senate, Loretta E. Lynch was sworn in Monday morning as the 83rd attorney general, the first African American woman to serve as the nation's top law enforcement official. With her husband at her side, along with her 83-year-old father, Lynch repeated the oath of office to Vice President Biden during a ceremony at the Justice Department."

... Kendall Breitman & Jennifer Shutt of Politico: "Loretta Lynch barely had the chance to settle into her new office at the Justice Department before she was asked to take up a racially and politically charged topic: the violent and escalating riots in Baltimore. 'I condemn,' the new attorney general said in a statement Monday night, 'the senseless acts of violence by some individuals in Baltimore that have resulted in harm to law enforcement officers, destruction of property and a shattering of the peace in the city of Baltimore. Those who commit violent actions, ostensibly in protest of the death of Freddie Gray, do a disservice to his family, to his loved ones, and to legitimate peaceful protestors who are working to improve their community for all its residents.'" ...

... David McCabe of the Hill: "The Department of Justice will send two officials to Baltimore amid clashes in the city between police and citizens, new Attorney General Loretta Lynch said Monday night. Vanita Gupta, who head's the Civil Rights Division, and Director of Community Oriented Policing Services Ronald Davis 'will be traveling to Baltimore to meet with faith and community leaders, as well as city officials,' Lynch said in a statement." ...

... NEW. Ta-Nehisi Coates of the Atlantic: Many of "the people now calling for nonviolence ... are charged with enforcing the very policies that led to Gray's death, and yet they can offer no rational justification for Gray's death and so they appeal for calm.... When nonviolence begins halfway through the war with the aggressor calling time out, it exposes itself as a ruse."

Burgess Everett of Politico: "Democrats are demanding that Republicans help them rebuff hot button amendments to a bipartisan nuclear review bill. But GOP leaders, on the eve of the first potential votes on the measure, have refused to commit to working in tandem, according to sources in both parties. The bill, which enjoys broad bipartisan support, would allow Congress to review and potentially reject a nuclear agreement with Iran. Democrats want assurances from Republican leaders that GOP amendments requiring Iran to recognize the state of Israel or demanding the release of Americans held by Tehran will be defeated resoundingly with no votes from both sides."

Adam Behsudi of Politico: "Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will get the royal treatment this week during his U.S. visit: an arrival ceremony on the South Lawn; an Oval Office meeting and press conference with President Barack Obama; a State Department lunch with Vice President Joe Biden; and Secretary of State John Kerry and, last but not least, a state dinner with nearly 300 guests. But behind the scenes, White House officials are working feverishly to unsnag a trade deal with Japan and 10 other Asia-Pacific countries that would be the largest such agreement in history. The two major hold-ups: rice and cars."

** Truth through Comedy. Ezra Klein of Vox: "The joke of President Obama's performance [at the White House Correspondents dinner] on Saturday was that he wasn't joking."

** Coral Davenport & Laurie Goodstein of the New York Times: "... as [Pope] Francis prepares to deliver what is likely to be a highly influential encyclical this summer on environmental degradation and the effects of human-caused climate change on the poor, he is alarming some conservatives [link fixed] in the United States.... Top Vatican officials will hold a summit meeting Tuesday to build momentum for a campaign by Francis to urge world leaders to enact a sweeping United Nations climate change accord in Paris in December. The accord would for the first time commit every nation to enact tough new laws to cut the emissions that cause global warming." CW: Pretty enjoyable to read how "alarmed" the deniers are.

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Driftglass on David Brooks, counterculture hero, featuring more on the Club You Are Not In. A very enjoyable way to be reminded that these people are here to annoy us at best or ruin us at worst, as they pat each other on the ass for their cunning deeds.

Presidential Race

Ryan Lizza has a long piece in the New Yorker on Elizabeth Warren as a "virtual candidate." CW: I'd call it "Stalking Hillary." Lizza always provides an enjoyable read packed with stuff you didn't know. ...

... Gabriel Debenedetti of Politico: Hillary Clinton is promising to beef up the local Democratic party in New Hampshire & Iowa.

Matea Gold & Ed O'Keefe of the Washington Post: "Never have so many candidates entered a White House contest boosted by such huge sums. The financial arms race could fuel a protracted primary season similar to the one in 2012 -- exactly what party leaders were hoping to avoid.... The political money boom is being driven largely by super PACs, which can collect unlimited donations from individuals and corporations. The groups are supposed to operate independently from the candidates they support, but in this race they are functioning as de facto arms of the campaigns." ...

Adam Nagourney of the New York Times: "Republican presidential candidates are struggling to adjust to a rapidly changing legal, political and cultural landscape this primary season, as the Supreme Court prepares to hear arguments Tuesday on whether same-sex marriage is a constitutionally protected right. Once a winning primary issue as well as a powerful wedge issue wielded against Democrats, opposing same-sex marriage has grown far more complicated for Republicans. While it could offer conservative candidates a way to break through a crowded primary field, it looms as a liability with general election voters, particularly independent ones...." ...

... Brian Tashman of Right Wing Watch: "While his campaign touts his outreach to gay Republicans, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio told David Brody of the Christian Broadcasting Network this weekend that anyone who believes that gay people have a constitutional right to marriage have a 'ridiculous and absurd reading of the U.S. Constitution.'"

Walker Worried the Stupid Will Show. Patrick Healy & Nicholas Confessore of the New York Times: "Advisers said [Scott] Walker ... is devoting considerable time ... to addressing a weakness that could derail him with a single gaffe no matter how much some donors love him: his lack of depth on issues facing a president, especially national security. He is attending near daily policy briefings...."

Evan McMurry of Mediaite: "Senator and 2016 GOP candidate Rand Paul (R-KY), who has made hay of his opposition to the use of drone against American citizens in the past, defended President Barack Obama on Fox & Friends Monday morning over the January drone strike that killed two hostages." CW: You read that right.

Beyond the Beltway

Zoe Sullivan of the Guardian: "The Kenosha[, Wisconsin,] Professional Police Association (KPPA) posted a billboard thanking the community for its support. Some residents question the message behind the ad. It features Pablo Torres, a young officer who shot two people within a 10-day period in March." CW: If the Guardian's characterizations of the shooting deaths is accurate, both sound avoidable.

News Ledes

CNN: "A U.S.-flagged ship was recently intercepted by an Iran Revolutionary Guard naval patrol, the U.S. Navy revealed to CNN Tuesday. The incident occurred on Friday when four Iranian naval vessels surrounded the U.S.-flagged Maersk Kensington in the Strait of Hormuz. The episode came ahead of an encounter Tuesday in which Iran Revolutionary Guard patrol boats fired shots at a commercial cargo ship and then intercepted the vessel, the Marshall Islands-flagged M/V Maersk Tigris, which was also crossing the Strait of Hormuz. At this point, no U.S. military action is expected on the ship that was seized Tuesday aside from monitoring the situation."

TMZ: "Joni Mitchell is unconscious in a hospital, unable to respond to anyone, with no immediate prospects for getting better."

Washington Post: "Violence swept through pockets of a low-income section of West Baltimore on Monday afternoon as scores of rioters heaved bottles and rocks at riot-gear-clad police, set police cars on fire, and looted a pharmacy, a mall and other businesses. At least 15 officers were injured." ...

... The Post has live updates here. The Baltimore Sun's liveblog is here.

New York Times: "Two days after Nepal's worst earthquake in 80 years, the official death toll rose to more than 4,000, and humanitarian aid was starting to flow to the capital. Katmandu's airport had been so overloaded by aid and passenger planes that incoming flights sat for hours on the runway."

The Commentariat -- April 27, 2015

Internal links removed.

CW: I won't be doing much this week, & this weekend, probably nothing.

NEW. Tom Junod has a long piece re: drone warfare in Esquire titled "The Lethal Presidency of Barack Obama." CW: I take it Junod is horrified by the practice.

E. J. Dionne: "The world's democracies, perhaps especially our own, face a peculiar set of contradictions that are undermining faith in public endeavor and unraveling old loyalties.... This is a big problem for self-government, since aggregating sustainable majorities is the first task of politicians in democratic countries. They are not doing a very good job, and the unfolding 2016 campaign doesn't inspire much confidence that they'll do better." ...

... ** Paul Krugman: "... we live in an age of unacknowledged error.... Refusing to accept responsibility for past errors is a serious character flaw in one's private life. It rises to the level of real wrongdoing when policies that affect millions of lives are at stake." ...

... CW: I would like just one or two prominent ObamaCare opponents to stand up & say, "ObamaCare is working pretty well. And no wonder: it was a Republican idea."

Michael Cohen of the Boston Globe: "WikiLeaks has done far more damage to privacy than the NSA.... Wikileaks has been a huge supporter of [Edward] Snowden and various other leakers, on the grounds that we need to hold governments accountable. Yet Wikileaks' actions this week are in the direct service of those who originally hacked Sony -- the totalitarian rulers of North Korea."

The Price of Packer's Ennui. Corey Robin in Salon: George "Packer belongs to a special tribe of ideologically ambidextrous scribblers -- call them political romantics -- who are always on the lookout for a certain kind of experience in politics.... They want a feeling. A feeling of exaltation and elation, unmoored from any specific idea or principle save that of sacrifice, of giving oneself over to the nation and its cause." What they're really looking for is violence & war.

Presidential Race

Evan McMurry of Mediaite: "linton Cash author Peter Schweizer appeared on This Week and faced a very skeptical George Stephanopoulos, who argued that his accusations that Hillary Clinton exchanged favorable treatment from the U.S. State Department for multimillion dollar donations to the Clinton Foundation were unsubstantiated." ...

... Mistakes Were Made. Rosalind Helderman of the Washington Post: "The acting chief of the Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation acknowledged in a new statement that the global philanthropy launched 15 years ago by the former president has made missteps -- but defended the organization's charitable work and its commitment to transparency." ...

... Here's the statement, by Maura Pally, acting CEO of the foundation.

Margaret Hartmann of New York: "The 2016 campaign has barely begun and Jeb Bush has already uttered what's likely to be the most ironic statement of the whole cycle. 'I don't think you need to spend a billion dollars to be elected president of the United States in 2016,' Bush said on Sunday.... Bush made the remark at a press conference in Miami Beach, where he's just kicked off a two-day conference for 350 of his top campaign bundlers.... Bush told donors on Sunday night that he believes Right to Rise[, a Bush superPAC,] has raised more money in 100 days than any modern Republican campaign.... Presumably Bush won't need to raise a billion for his actual campaign fund if he simply lets super-PACs handle his advertising, data gathering, and get out the vote efforts." ...

... Jason Horowitz & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "Former President George W. Bush offered rare, and broad-ranging, remarks Saturday night about current national security threats and the 2016 presidential campaign to a large audience of Jewish donors, suggesting that sanctions on Iran should not be lifted, that his last name was a burden to his brother, the likely presidential candidate Jeb Bush, and that Hillary Rodham Clinton, while 'formidable,' was beatable." ...

... Matea Gold of the Washington Post: "Former president George W. Bush plans to stay off the 2016 campaign trail as his younger brother prepares to mount a presidential bid, telling a group of Republican Jewish donors here that he does not want to fuel an anti-dynastic backlash."

Martin Hensch of the Hill: "... at the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition summit in Waukee, Iowa..., [Ted] Cruz said same-sex marriage had produced rabid zealotry in Democratic ranks. This ideology, he argued, was excluding people of faith. 'Today's Democratic Party has become so radicalized for legalizing gay marriage in all 50 states that there is no longer any room for religious liberty.'" ...

... AND This Is Totally Believable. Michael Barbaro & Nicholas Confessore of the New York Times: "Ian Reisner, one of the two gay hoteliers facing boycott calls for hosting an event for Senator Ted Cruz, who is adamantly opposed to gay marriage, apologized to the gay community.... Mr. Reisner put the apology on Facebook, where a page calling for a boycott of his properties, the gay-friendly OUT NYC hotel and his Fire Island Pines holdings, had gotten more than 8,200 'likes' by Sunday evening.... 'I've spent the past 24 hours reviewing videos of Cruz' statements on gay marriage and I am shocked and angry.'" CW: Sorry, Ian, nobody is as ignorant as you claim to be. Your apology will not to CYA.

Beyond the Beltway

Giving Gruesome New Meaning to "Beat the Press." Evan Serpick of the City Paper: "City Paper Photo Editor J.M. Giordano was tackled and beaten by Baltimore City police outside of Western District headquarters last night while covering protests over the death of Freddie Gray in police custody. In a video shot by City Paper Managing Editor Baynard Woods you can see Giordano, wearing a green jacket, and a protester, both of whom had just been knocked to the ground by police, being beaten as Woods yells, 'He's a photographer! He's press!'" ...

... Kevin Rector of the Baltimore Sun: "A photographer for Reuters was detained and another for the Baltimore City Paper was thrown to the ground by Baltimore Police officers while covering protests over police brutality late Saturday, they said.... The City Paper is owned by the Baltimore Sun Media Group.... Police said there were 34 arrests citywide on Saturday and early Sunday in relation to the protests." CW: Sounds as if somebody should have arrested a few of the cops.

News Ledes

Washington Post: "Police on Monday clashed with protesters who tossed rocks and bricks at officers, looted stores and damaged police cruisers, injuring several officers. Police said that seven officers have been hurt in incidents that began near the Mondawmin Mall in the Reisterstown Road area. Some officers suffered broken bones and one officer was unresponsive, police said in an afternoon press conference.... On Monday evening, Governor Larry Hogan declared a state of emergency and announced he had activated the Maryland National Guard. The Baltimore Orioles announced they had postponed a game set for Monday evening against the Chicago White Sox." ...

... Baltimore Sun: "In a funeral service Monday that was both personal and political, family, friends and strangers alike said farewell on Monday to Freddie Gray, the Baltimore man whose death from injuries sustained in police custody has sparked a national furor."

... Here's the Sun's liveblog.

New York Times: Climbers at Mount Everest describe the earthquake & avalanche.

New York Times: "Jayne Meadows, a glamorous redheaded actress who starred on Broadway, in the movies and on television, but who was probably best known for her 46-year role as Steve Allen's wife, business partner and frequent co-star, died on Sunday at her home in Encino, Calif. She was 95."

The Commentariat -- April 26, 2015

Internal links * defunct video removed.

President Obama speaks at the White House Correspondents dinner. The guy is a natural comedian; watch his timing:

... CW: Here's something I didn't know, & Michael Shear of the New York Times brings me up to speed: Keegan-Michael Key is "half of Comedy Central's irreverent 'Key and Peele' show" & last night he was "reprising his TV role as Luther, the president's Anger Translator." ...

... Cecily Strong followed President Obama, because it "feels right to have a woman follow President Obama." CW: I thought she did a swell job, but Strong is a professional comedian & IMO, her delivery wasn't as good as the President's:

Zach Carter of the Huffington Post: "Progressive Democrats have been hoping to see a showdown between Elizabeth Warren and Hillary Clinton for years. Instead, they're getting a public feud between the senator from Massachusetts and President Barack Obama. Obama accused Warren and congressional Democrats on Friday of being 'dishonest' and spreading 'misinformation' about the Trans-Pacific Partnership... On Saturday, Warren and Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) responded with a letter essentially telling Obama to put up or shut up. If the deal is so great, Warren and Brown wrote, the administration should make the full negotiation texts public before Congress votes on a "fast track" bill that would strip the legislative branch of its authority to amend it." Thanks to P. D. Pepe for the link.

Michael Schmidt & David Sanger of the New York Times: "Some of President Obama's email correspondence was swept up by Russian hackers last year in a breach of the White House's unclassified computer system that was far more intrusive and worrisome than has been publicly acknowledged, according to senior American officials briefed on the investigation. The hackers, who also got deeply into the State Department's unclassified system, do not appear to have penetrated closely guarded servers that control the message traffic from Mr. Obama's BlackBerry, which he or an aide carries constantly.... On Thursday, Secretary of Defense Ashton B. Carter revealed for the first time that Russian hackers had attacked the Pentagon's unclassified systems, but said they had been identified and 'kicked off.'">

... CW: Digby sees this exactly as I do: "After all the sturm und drang over Clinton having her private and unclassified emails on a private server, this is a wee bit ironic.... It appears our vaunted security experts aren't that expert ... shocked, I am."

Disciples of Dick. Digby, in Salon: "... Republican senators John McCain and Lindsay Graham ... are losing their positions as the most hawkish members of the GOP.... Now it's time for Dick Cheney's disciples to take the reins and bring the party's warmongering spirit into the 21st century. Tom Cotton is prepared to lead the way."

Anna Palmer, et al., of Politico: House Transportation Committee chair Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) secretly fast-tracked an airlines-friendly bill through the House while he was dating Shelley Rubino, an airlines lobbyist. "The ties go beyond Shuster and Rubino: The wife of Shuster's chief of staff is a top executive for Airlines for America, which is known as A4A. And the congressman recently hired an A4A lobbyist to run the committee's aviation panel.... A4A was unsuccessful in getting the measure through the Senate, and it's now seeking Shuster's help again. The trade association is trying to wedge the legislation into a massive overhaul of the Federal Aviation Administration pending before the transportation panel. Shuster is crafting that bill, and Rubino's group has a major stake in it."

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Matt Gertz & Joe Strupp of Media Matters: "Journalists have suggested that conservative author Peter Schweizer's forthcoming book attacking Hillary Clinton is more credible because he will follow it up with a similar book examining Jeb Bush. But according to his publisher, no such book is in the works: Schweizer's reporting on Bush will be published on the website of his non-profit organization.... Bloomberg Politics reported on April 23 that in contrast to the 'left-wing clamor that Schweizer is simply out to get Hillary Clinton,' 'Schweizer is working on a similar investigation of Jeb Bush's finances that he expects to publish this summer.'" ...

... CW: AND as a commenter (MAG???) pointed out here some time ago, won't we be surprised if Schweizer can't find a single irregularity in Bush's financial dealings? If, on the other hand, he does self-publish a Bush hit job, to me that means he's supporting a more confederate candidate.

God News

It's Not God's Country Anymore. For the first time in the history of our country, the government is attacking people, prosecuting people, calling for people to be rehabilitated.... We have the state establishing a new religion, a secular state religion.... We have now the secular church that is being imposed on this country and anybody that defects is subject to persecution and prosecution. -- Rick Santorum, this week on the radio

We are moving rapidly toward the criminalization of Christianity. -- Mike Huckabee, this week

Just this week, Michele Bachmann actually predicted that I would bring about the biblical end of days. Now, that's a legacy. That's big. I mean, Lincoln, Washington, they didn’t do that. -- President Obama, White House Correspondents dinner speech

William Eskridge in a New York Times op-ed: "... leaders in the Episcopal Church, the United Church of Christ, the Unitarian Universalist Association, the official organizations of conservative and reform Judaism, and more than 1,900 theologians signed a brief urging the court to legalize same-sex marriage.... The faith traditions supporting marriage equality are telling the court that religions, like American families, are diverse. An increasing number of Bible-based faith communities have an inclusive attitude toward gay families and marriages.... The current Baptist view that God condemns 'homosexual behavior' and same-sex marriages comes from the same kind of broad and anachronistic scriptural readings as prior support for segregation.

Presidential Race

Michael Hirsh of Politico Magazine: "... it is highly unlikely that very much of what [Peter] Schweizer alleges will stick, if only because that classic Washington omelette made of equal parts policy and political reasons can never be unmade once it's cooked: Especially among the uber-cautious Clintons, you'll never find the smoking ingredient; no one will ever be caught saying, 'Let's make a policy decision for Bill's donors.'"

Trip Gabriel & Jonathan Martin of the New York Times: "Nine declared or likely Republican candidates descended on a large church in Iowa on Saturday to court evangelical Christians, the voters who played the starring role in the state's two most recent caucuses. They included the winners of those two contests (Rick Santorum and Mike Huckabee), newcomers whose biographies lend themselves to evangelical support (Ted Cruz and Scott Walker), and candidates who would like to win some support from the Christian right but are eyeing broad coalitions (Rand Paul and Marco Rubio). The nine-candidate lineup in the worship hall of Point of Grace Church in Waukee, a Des Moines suburb, was proof of evangelical power in Iowa, but also a warning that the script may be rewritten in 2016, with so many candidates competing for social conservatives that their votes splinter." ...

... James Hohmann of Politico: "Leading Republican presidential candidates came to Iowa Saturday to assure social conservatives that they still oppose gay marriage, despite shifting public attitudes and the recent backlash against religious liberty laws. Speaking to some 1,000 evangelicals at the Point of Grace Church in [a] suburb of Des Moines, a procession of presidential candidates expressed support for a constitutional amendment that would allow states to re-ban gay marriage if the Supreme Court recognizes a right to such unions."

Ben Jacobs of the Guardian: "Michigan governor Rick Snyder may be the newest GOP candidate for the White House. Snyder mingled with donors at a meeting of the Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) in Las Vegas on Friday and told at least one attendee that he was a candidate. On Saturday morning, the former Minnesota senator Norm Coleman told reporters: 'I met with Rick Snyder yesterday. He's running. He's running.'"

Beyond the Beltway

Sour Cakes. George Rede of the Oregonian: "The lesbian couple turned away by a Gresham bakery that refused to make them a wedding cake for religious reasons should receive $135,000 in damages for their emotional suffering, a state hearings officer says. Rachel Bowman-Cryer should collect $75,000 and her wife, Laurel Bowman-Cryer, $60,000 from the owners of Sweet Cakes by Melissa, an administrative law judge for the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries said in a proposed order released Friday, April 24."

If you were wondering why so many boat people are drowning as they seek refuge in Europe, Philip Gourevitch of the New Yorker has the answer: "... when, in October of 2013, some three hundred people drowned in a wreck off Lampedusa, Italy was spurred to spend nine million euros a month -- and to deploy a good part of its Navy -- on a humanitarian search-and-rescue mission called Mare Nostrum (Our Sea). The results were immediate: after a year, a hundred and fifty thousand people had been rescued. Mare Nostrum had made crossing the Mediterranean safer -- and easier. For that reason, late last year, the European Union called for an end to the mission. Britain's Foreign Office minister, Joyce Anelay, explained that search and rescue creates 'an unintended "pull factor," encouraging more migrants.'... International maritime law and custom require that you save everyone you can...." CW: As good a reason as many to give Britain's conservative government a no-confidence vote.

News Ledes

New York Times: "A powerful earthquake shook Nepal on Saturday near its capital, Katmandu, killing more than 1,900 people, flattening sections of the city's historic center, and trapping dozens of sightseers in a 200-foot watchtower that came crashing down into a pile of bricks." ...

     ... Update: "By Monday afternoon, Nepalese authorities had sharply raised the death toll to more than 3,400, but the full extent of the devastation and death was still unclear."

New York Times: "A largely peaceful protest over the death of Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old black man who suffered a spinal cord injury in police custody, gave way to scattered scenes of chaos [in Baltimore] on Saturday night, as demonstrators smashed a downtown storefront window, threw rocks and bottles and damaged police cruisers, while officers in riot gear broke up skirmishes and made 12 arrests near Camden Yards. Shortly before 10 p.m., Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake convened a news conference at City Hall, where she appeared with several others -- including Mr. Gray's twin sister, Fredericka; a prominent pastor, Jamal Bryant; and City Councilman Brandon Scott -- to appeal for calm. By that time the disturbances had largely settled.