Superb analysis of the Sandra Bland arrest video from policing expert Seth Stoughton: “When we focus on whether the police acted lawfully, we are missing the chance to ask whether they acted appropriately.”
Shatner phasers Cruz’s ‘Kirk would have been a Republican’ line.
A man reportedly opened fire this evening in a movie theater in Lafayette, Louisiana. The shooter is reportedly dead. An unconfirmed report of at least one additional fatality. Multiple injuries. Local ambulance service tweets that it transported eight people from the scene to area hospitals.
This one hits close to home. Lafayette happens to be my hometown. My grandmother lived across the street from that theater for many years.
Jeb Bush says he wants to “figure out a way to phase out” Medicare.
Even after McCain controversy Trump is still holding on first place. Not as big a lead. But 19% support for Trump, closely followed by Walker at 17%.
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.