A great Brian Murphy look at how Scott Walker turned the Wisconsin agency tasked with economic development and job creation into a goodie bag for campaign donors.
I doubt it ever happens. But Trump just showed the threat he can hang over the GOP every time they attack him: a no-holds-barred independent run from the right.
The most disturbing part of this Trump/Graham phone number saga is that Lindsey Graham still has a flip phone. Watch.
Some interesting Gallup polling data on American attitudes toward Pope Francis. Not surprisingly, conservatives view the Pope much less favorably than they did in February 2014. Approval has dropped from 72% to an anemic 45%. What stands out to me, though, is that positive attitudes toward the pope have also dropped among moderates and liberals. The drop isn’t nearly as great. And both groups still view him positively overall. But across the board, Americans view him less favorably.
Here at TPM, we’re making our first foray into the public opinion survey business. Our core audience is definitely Democrat-leaning. But t tends to be more center-left than left-left. That’s a key demographic to look at for understand where the trends of national political discussions are moving.
So here are a few findings, each with at least 2000 qualified responses.
WaPo has a piece out today on a new Quinnipiac poll which shows Hillary is tied or losing to three top Republican challengers in three key swing states – Iowa, Colorado and Virginia. These numbers need context and caveats, of course. They’re way, way out in advance of the election. They are, with the exception of Jeb Bush, against largely unknown candidates, Walker and Rubio. And perhaps as much as anything, they come on the heels of two major controversies, Benghazi! (tm) and the emails story, that have significantly knocked down her numbers on trust and honesty.
Alito: Gay marriage ruling could allow judges to end minimum wage laws.
We read that insane National Review article saying Bernie Sanders is a Nazi so you don’t have to. Here are the most ridiculous and outrageous parts.