Top Items:
Daniel Strauss / Talking Points Memo:
RNC Spokesman Is Furious The GOP Has Been Lumped With Bundy (VIDEO) — A top spokesman for the Republican National Committee got heated during an interview Friday on CNN, saying Republicans have been unfairly linked to Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy and his racist remarks.
Discussion:
BobCesca.com, The Daily Caller, The Raw Story, No More Mister Nice Blog, RedState, Pirate's Cove, BizPac Review and TruthRevolt.org
RELATED:
Crystal Wright / CNN:
Why we conservatives are still getting it wrong with Bundy — Editor's note: Crystal Wright is a conservative writer who runs the blog ConservativeBlackChick.com. She also is a principal at the Baker Wright Group, a communications and public relations firm. You can follow her on Twitter @GOPBlackChick.
Discussion:
Hot Air, TruthRevolt.org, The Daily Caller, American Spectator and The Dish
Paul Waldman / American Prospect:
Daily Meme: Embrace the Discomfort — Try to relax; today's meme is all about discomfort. And there's no one feeling more of it than Republicans, who were hit yesterday with the rhetorical stylings of their erstwhile hero Cliven Bundy—Nevada rancher, defier of laws, and racial philosopher.
Discussion:
Hullabaloo
ThinkProgress:
Cliven Bundy Says If People Thought His Comments Were Racist, It's MLK's Fault — Cliven Bundy, the embattled rancher who revealed himself this week to be not just a critic of the government, but also a blatant racist, dug himself further into a hole Friday morning by saying that Martin Luther King …
Paul Begala / CNN:
Conservative hero is racist rancher? Didn't see that one coming — Editor's note: Paul Begala, a Democratic strategist and CNN political commentator, was a political consultant for Bill Clinton's presidential campaign in 1992 and was counselor to Clinton in the White House.
Discussion:
New Day, TruthRevolt.org and Sky Dancing
Catherine Thompson / Talking Points Memo:
Bundy's Black Bodyguard: ‘I Would Take A Bullet For That Man’ (VIDEO)
Bundy's Black Bodyguard: ‘I Would Take A Bullet For That Man’ (VIDEO)
Discussion:
Mediaite
Josh Rogin / The Daily Beast:
Exclusive: Putin Halts All Talks With White House — As new U.S. sanctions against Russia loom, the Kremlin has shut down—at least for now—intensive high level communications between top U.S. and Russian officials. — Since the invasion of Crimea, President Vladimir Putin …
Discussion:
Fox News, RT, Mediaite and The Gateway Pundit
RELATED:
New York Times:
Ukraine Says It Will ‘Blockade’ Pro-Russian Militants
Ukraine Says It Will ‘Blockade’ Pro-Russian Militants
Discussion:
Lawfare, Firedoglake and Wall Street Journal
John Kerry / US Department of State:
Remarks on Ukraine
Remarks on Ukraine
Discussion:
Consortiumnews.com, The Moderate Voice, ABC News and CNN
Politico:
Michael Grimm expected to be indicted — Rep. Michael Grimm is expected to be indicted by the U.S. attorney in New York, according to the New York Republican's lawyer. — Grimm has been under investigation by federal authorities for alleged campaign finance violations.
Discussion:
Staten Island Advance, New York Times, Washington Post, BuzzFeed, Roll Call, Capital New York and Daily Kos
RELATED:
CNN:
Feds close to filing charges against Rep. Michael Grimm, officials say — (CNN) — Federal prosecutors are preparing criminal charges against Rep. Michael Grimm, capping a two-year FBI investigation that ranges from his business dealings to his first campaign for Congress in 2010, U.S. officials briefed on the matter said.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo
Michael Tomasky / The Daily Beast:
Republicans Are Racists? No, It's Just All a Big Coincidence — The revolting comments. The emails. The jokes. The posters. The T-shirts. The ghostwriters. It's not like it's a pattern or something. — Come on, fellow liberals. Calm down. I guess maybe it's fair to call Cliven Bundy a racist.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly and The PJ Tatler
Alex Pappas / The Daily Caller:
Exclusive: Gov. Tom Ridge Resigns From Bloomberg's New Gun Control Group — Former Republican Gov. Tom Ridge is stepping down from his position with Michael Bloomberg's new anti-gun organization, The Daily Caller has learned. — “When I signed on as an advisor to Everytown …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Mediaite and The PJ Tatler
RELATED:
Mike Hayes / BuzzFeed:
Bloomberg Group Sends Hundreds Of Gun Reform Activists To NRA Convention
Bloomberg Group Sends Hundreds Of Gun Reform Activists To NRA Convention
Discussion:
USA Today, ABC News and National Review
David Brooks / New York Times:
The Piketty Phenomenon — Many people join the political left driven by a concern for the poor. But, over the past several years, the Democratic Party has talked much more about the middle class than the poor. Meanwhile, progressive political movements like Occupy Wall Street directed their fervor at the top 1 percent.
Discussion:
No More Mister Nice Blog and Balloon Juice
RELATED:
Paul Krugman / New York Times:
The Piketty Panic — “Capital in the Twenty-First Century,” …
The Piketty Panic — “Capital in the Twenty-First Century,” …
Discussion:
JustOneMinute, CalWatchDog, Hullabaloo, Prairie Weather, TheBlaze.com, CNN, Capitol Report, This Is Brad DeLong's … and Forbes
Byron York / Washington Examiner:
Why Elizabeth Warren should run for president — BARACK OBAMA JOE BIDEN HILLARY CLINTON 2016 ELECTIONS CAMPAIGNS ELIZABETH WARREN — Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren is starting a publicity tour for her new campaign-style book, A Fighting Chance. As she talks to the press …
Discussion:
Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and CANNONFIRE
RELATED:
Eleanor Clift / The Daily Beast:
How a Kids Program Hillary Brought to Arkansas Could Unite Democrats
How a Kids Program Hillary Brought to Arkansas Could Unite Democrats
Discussion:
Yahoo! News
Ashley Killough / CNN:
Rand Paul on being ‘libertarian-ish’ — (CNN) - Sen. Rand Paul hopes to infuse the Republican Party with some of his libertarian views, but the Kentucky Republican said Friday he'd still support the GOP presidential nominee in 2016 even if he didn't entirely agree with that person.
Discussion:
Little Green Footballs and Mediaite
RELATED:
Bill Ruthhart / Chicago Tribune:
Emails show Emanuel aides, producers coordinated CNN ‘Chicagoland’ scenes — If it seemed as though some scenes of CNN's documentary series “Chicagoland” were coordinated by Mayor Rahm Emanuel's City Hall and the show's producers, that's because they were.
Discussion:
Politico, The Daily Caller, Deadline.com, The Huffington Post, TruthRevolt.org, The PJ Tatler, Mediaite, Firedoglake, Hot Air and CNN
Tim Cavanaugh / National Review:
Chris Hayes Wants to Kill About 5.7 Billion People — MSNBC host Chris Hayes is getting an alarming amount of attention for his latest effort in The Nation, a stemwinder arguing that the abolition of fossil fuels is like the abolition of slavery. — The argument may sound forced …
Discussion:
RedState and The Daily Caller
John Boel / WAVE-TV:
EXCLUSIVE: Politicians at cockfighting rally caught on video — LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE) - It's part of Kentucky's landscape, even when it's not readily visible. This part is hidden in a Henry County valley behind the trees by Lake Jericho. — It features sprawling farms that raise chickens, but not the kind you eat.
Weekly Standard:
The Obamacare Opportunity — An opening for a genuine alternative. — Widget tooltip — Obamacare's defenders are doing their best to sustain a triumphant mood these days. In the wake of the late-March surge in exchange enrollment, many proponents of the law have insisted it can no longer be rolled back.
Jeff Spross / ThinkProgress:
Drought Now Covers Every Last Inch Of California — For the first time in at least 15 years, all of California is officially in drought. — According to the April 22 release of the U.S. Drought Monitor, every last inch of California is in a state of “moderate” to “exceptional” drought …
Discussion:
Associated Press, Farm Futures, ncdc.noaa.gov and Shakesville
Burgess Everett / Politico:
Tea party eats its own in Oklahoma — TULSA, Okla. — Down here in the buckle of the Bible Belt, conservatives might eat one of their own. — Tea party celebrities Sarah Palin, Ted Cruz and Mike Lee descended here on Thursday night to anoint their candidate to replace retiring Republican Sen. Tom Coburn …
Discussion:
CNN and Washington Post