I would say Jeb Bush’s latest attempt to prove how tough he is is somewhat counterproductive.
Donald Trump has just announced that he won’t be joining or signing the letter put together by the other Republican candidates trying to set the terms for future debates. Trump says he’ll be negotiating directly with the networks on his own. On its face it makes perfect sense: banding together with other candidates in single digits to demand niceness and fairness is not at all in line with Trump’s brand. But more than that, the Syndicate’s aims seem heavily focused on propping up or getting more time for Hucks and Bushes in the race who are struggles to crest over 5% support anywhere.
Politico asks ‘Has Obama Set Loose A New Willie Horton?’
I’m confused about whether “Jeb can fix it” is about his own campaign or about the country. And if about the latter, is he getting ahead of himself?
Marshall E. Leonard, of Tupelo, Mississippi, a prominent supporter of the Confederate Flag has been arrested for allegedly bombing a Wal-Mart after the chain stopped selling the Confederate Flag.
TransCanada asks US to suspend approval request for Keystone Pipeline.
There’s an interesting side note to this battle. And this is not remotely to understate the work of activists who fought for years to scuttle the project. As things ground on over the last two years, a reality came to the surface: the fight over the pipeline had become deeply enmeshed in the nation’s partisan battles. But historically low oil prices were at the same time undercutting the economic rationale for the entire project. I remember thinking earlier this year that there seemed to be more enthusiasm for the project on the part of US Republicans – largely to score political points – than there was on the part of the people trying to build it. In any case, with a formal Obama administration rejection apparently in the offing, years of activism and the collapse of oil prices appear to have conspired together to kill the Keystone Pipeline.
With the news of the demise of the Keystone Pipeline, I wanted to flag some new Insight survey data on fracking. (No, not directly connected; but both centered on energy policy and the environment.) In our question, we asked “Which best fits your opinion about the drilling process calling hydraulic fracturing or “fracking”?
After yesterday’s joint agreement among Republican presidential candidates to negotiate the terms of future debates with right-wing cable networks, it seemed like the biggest breakthrough for collective bargaining in the GOP in half a century. But now it looks like the whole effort is breaking down. First, Trump, striver, says he’ll negotiate directly with the networks. Now Fiorina, Kasich, and Christie each say they won’t sign either.
So now we’re left with, who’s actually going to sign? And can the Syndicate survive at all? Or is it just Ben Carson, Jeb and guys who can’t get over 1%?
Obama: If GOPers can’t handle CNBC moderators, they can’t handle Putin. Watch.
From the Denver Post …
Minutes before 33-year-old Noah Harpham began a shooting rampage Saturday in Colorado Springs that would leave four dead, his neighbor spotted the tall, lanky man standing outside with a rifle.
Naomi Bettis said she called 911 to report Harpham, but a dispatcher explained that Colorado has an open carry law that allows public handling of firearms. Bettis was perturbed by the call taker’s response, which she feels could have prevented catastrophe.
Read the rest here.