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From The Reporter’s Notebook
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump refused to answer whether he was considering former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin as his running mate. TPM’s Sara Jerde notes that his comments came a day after Palin formally endorsed him and months after Trump and Palin last made waves when she “interviewed” him on her show “On Point” on the One America News Network.
Agree or Disagree?
Religious scholar Robert P. Jones: “A defensive, embattled posture has been part of the DNA of the Christian right since its entrance into modern politics in the late 1970s. But in the first wave of conservative Christian activism, leaders could plausibly (at least from a demographic standpoint) make a claim to be a ‘moral majority.’ And there has always been an element of apocalyptic rhetoric. The difference today is that the sense of being an embattled minority is now demographically true. So I think this adds real fuel to the fire, and we are in many ways seeing an uptick in apocalyptic appeals.”
Say What?!
“The fact of the matter is, most of them are childless single men who masturbate to anime. They’re not real political players. These are not people who matter in the overall course of humanity.”
– A GOP strategist categorized Trump supporters as men who “masturbate to anime,” a stereotype we weren’t aware existed.
BUZZING: Today in the Hive
From TPM live chat guest and religion expert Robert Jones: “There is certainly solid evidence that the Christian Right has lost influence as a political and cultural force today, compared even to the recent past. In 2012, Christian Right leaders had difficulty getting behind a candidate, and eventually coalesced behind Rick Santorum (a Catholic). But even with this “anyone-but-Romney” move, they were unable to derail Romney’s candidacy. I write in the book that Romney’s campaign was the last in which a “White Christian Strategy” would be plausible. Romney basically garnered the same levels of turnout and support among evangelicals that George W. Bush enjoyed, but still lost the election, mostly because the electorate had changed. But white evangelicals represent a crucial voting bloc in the GOP primary and have considerable influence in early voting states like Iowa, where they make up 43 percent of Republican voters.”
Related: Bobby Jindal said he’d vote for a Muslim president as long as the candidate honored America’s Judeo-Christian heritage.
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What We’re Reading
John Kasich may be the GOP’s worst nightmare. (Slate)
The endless trial of Trey Gowdy’s Benghazi committee. (Rolling Stone)
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