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March 30, 2016
Top Stories
The Trump-Cruz Louisiana Delegate Fight Could Be First Sign Of Turmoil To Come
The Gist: Political observers have wondered for months whether Donald Trump’s unconventional, “political outsider” campaign would put him at a disadvantage if the Republican presidential race were to come down to the wire. Now, a fight stemming from the complicated process of selecting convention delegates suggests it has.
Trump Defends Top Aide: Reporter’s Pen Could Have Been A Bomb
The Gist: Donald Trump on Tuesday night continued to defend his campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, from battery charges, insisting that his aide was protecting him from a reporter wielding a pen.
SCOTUS Asks Objectors To Contraceptive Opt-Out: Show Us Better Alternatives
The Gist: In a surprise move Tuesday, the Supreme Court issued an order asking the challengers objecting to the accommodation for religious non-profits under Obamacare’s contraceptive mandate to brief the court on other alternatives to ensure that employees of religious nonprofits do receive contraceptive coverage.
From The Reporter’s Notebook
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) endorsed Republican presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) as TPM’s Caitlin Macneal wrote. The two candidates seemingly had a chummy relationship while both were campaigning for the White House. At the time, Walker defended Cruz against then-House Speaker John Boehner, calling him a “jackass.” And when Walker ended his failed presidential bid, Cruz helped fundraise to pay off Walker’s campaign debt.
Agree or Disagree?
Josh Marshall: “Here’s the more operative question: if we’re using the stereotype of ‘white working class’ voters, how many white working class voters do you think Trump will pull in the general election who voted for Obama in 2008 and 2012? That second part of the equation is the critical one. Because if it’s voters who were already in the Republican column it doesn’t really matter in terms of reevaluating the 2000-2012 era electoral map. (Democrats would certainly love to get back some of those white voters; but that’s a different question.) My gut sense is that the Obama ’08, ’12/Trump ’16 number is pretty small. Maybe extremely small. If nothing else that hunch is backed up by a lot of highly suggestive if not dispositive polling data.”
Say What?!
After racking up a $900 bill at the Lipstik Club in south Miami-Dade County, Coffey allegedly bit a stripper known only as “Tiffany” during a dispute.
– The lawyer for top Trump aide Corey Lewandowski resigned from his previous Justice Department post after allegations that he bit a stripper.
BUZZING: Today in the Hive
From a TPM Prime member: “I am willing to see how Bernie does in the Western states before making such a bold statement. Those super delegates can switch if Bernie gets good momentum in the West. I do not think the democrats should rely on a very large younger vote in any case. I am old enough to know the importance of the SCOTUS and am a democrat first, but support the person who is most aggressive in turning this nation more to the left. We, many of the democrats have aided in moving that nation so far to the right that we now have the right wing establishment supporting the likes of Teddy Cruz. If that is not a wake up call, then I do not know what is. This is the party that created Drumpf and now are forced to support Cruz. I believe it will be harder to beat Drumpf than Cruz. Bernie polls better at this time against either of them. I do not put much faith in polls at this time either. The thing that bothers me is with voter suppression in many states, they tell us that the dems need to have a 10% increase in voter turnout to win.”
Related: 1/3 of Sanders supporters will not vote for Clinton — here’s why.
Have something to add? Become a Prime member and join the discussion here.
What We’re Reading
Living from rent to rent: tenants on the edge of eviction. ( NPR)
Cable news is a welcoming home for tired ex-campaign staffers. (The Washington Post)
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