Top Items:
Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
McConnell builds case for 2016 — Mitch McConnell is building the case that this Senate is much more productive than the last one. — The Kentucky Republican, who ascended to majority leader after repeatedly ripping the Democratic-led Senate as “dysfunctional,” has to show that the GOP can govern.
Discussion:
Political Wire, Bloomberg Business, Washington Post and US News
RELATED:
Ellen Nakashima / Washington Post:
McConnell introduces bill to extend NSA surveillance — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell introduced a bill Tuesday night to extend through 2020 a controversial surveillance authority under the Patriot Act. — The move comes as a bipartisan group of lawmakers in both chambers …
Discussion:
Political Wire and Hot Air
Doug Sosnik / Politico:
Mitch McConnell Shouldn't Get Comfortable — Why Democrats are poised to recapture the Senate. — After picking up nine seats in the 2014 elections, Republicans maintain a decisive 54-seat majority in the Senate. In 2016, they will face a much more difficult map that coincides with a presidential election year.
Discussion:
The Reaction
Washington Post:
Trade war heating up among Democrats — Hillary Rodham Clinton and other top Democrats began feuding over President Obama's trade initiative Tuesday as his bid for a major late-term win began tearing at the party's unity and threatened to expose old divisions ahead of the 2016 presidential election.
Discussion:
Political Wire
RELATED:
The Hill:
Obama turns up the heat on trade — President Obama is ramping up his sales pitch to congressional Democrats on trade, making a full-throated argument that labor unions and liberals should back “fast-track” legislation seen as crucial to cementing international pacts at the top of his agenda.
Discussion:
Politico
Kyle Cheney / Politico:
Progressives ready big ad buy targeting trade deal
Progressives ready big ad buy targeting trade deal
Discussion:
Common Dreams
Jordain Carney / The Hill:
Reid: I'm a ‘hell no’ on trade bill
Reid: I'm a ‘hell no’ on trade bill
Discussion:
Washington Free Beacon, Mediaite and Hot Air
Michael Crowley / Politico:
President Obama to shun saying ‘genocide’ on 100th anniversary of Armenian massacres — President Barack Obama will not use the word “genocide” to describe the massacre of up to 1.5 million Armenians in his annual statement commemorating the historic atrocity later this month.
Discussion:
The Last Refuge, Hit & Run, The Daily Caller, Gordon Campbell and Hot Air
RELATED:
Jordan Fabian / The Hill:
WH won't call Armenian killings ‘genocide’ — The White House again will not use the term “genocide” to describe the Ottoman Turks' massacre of 1.5 million Armenians in 1915. — Senior administration officials met with leaders from the Armenian-American community Tuesday to discuss …
Michael Grunwald / Politico:
Could Barack Obama's Everglades stop hurt the Everglades?
Could Barack Obama's Everglades stop hurt the Everglades?
Discussion:
Taylor Marsh
Mike Devlin / SantaClarita.com:
Congressman Tells Protester: 'Touch me again, and I'll drop your ass' — Anti-immigration protesters were on hand to greet Congressman Steve Knight at the open house for his Simi Valley office last week. And when one got a little too close, the former LAPD cop was having none of it.
Discussion:
Raw Story
RELATED:
Tim Devaney / The Hill:
'I'll drop your a—,' Republican tells immigration protester
'I'll drop your a—,' Republican tells immigration protester
Discussion:
Liberaland
Andrew Desiderio / Mediaite:
GOP Rep. Knight to Anti-Immigration Protester: 'I'll Drop Your Ass'
GOP Rep. Knight to Anti-Immigration Protester: 'I'll Drop Your Ass'
Discussion:
Americans Against the … and Hullabaloo
Catherine Thompson / Talking Points Memo:
GOP Congressman To Protester: 'Touch Me Again, I'll Drop Your A**' (VIDEO)
GOP Congressman To Protester: 'Touch Me Again, I'll Drop Your A**' (VIDEO)
Discussion:
John Hawkins' Right Wing News and Mashable
Adam B. Lerner / Politico:
Congressman to protester: 'If you touch me again, I'll drop your a—'
Congressman to protester: 'If you touch me again, I'll drop your a—'
Discussion:
Infowars and Washington Post
Timothy P. Carney / Washington Examiner:
When battling Hillary, it's the cronyism, stupid — “The economy, stupid.” Democratic operative James Carville used that simple phrase in 1992 to remind former President Bill Clinton to maintain narrow focus on that issue. — Republicans who want to beat Hillary Clinton in 2016 need …
Discussion:
New York Post, Washington Post, Betsy's Page and Hot Air
RELATED:
Jack Shafer / Politico:
Hillary Clinton Can't Run for President
Hillary Clinton Can't Run for President
Discussion:
Moe Lane, Political Wire, Outside the Beltway, BuzzFeed and Commentary Magazine
Gazette:
Man shoots computer in Colorado Springs alley, gets revenge he wanted - and a citation — Updated: — 3 photos — + caption — When ctrl + alt + delete doesn't work, just shoot the darn thing. — That's what one man did on Monday night, according to Colorado Springs police.
Discussion:
Associated Press and Outside the Beltway
RELATED:
Wbastone / The Smoking Gun:
“Fed Up” Colorado Man, 38, Busted For Killing His Computer In Cold Blood
“Fed Up” Colorado Man, 38, Busted For Killing His Computer In Cold Blood
Discussion:
The PJ Tatler
Eliott C. McLaughlin / CNN:
Protesters rally in Baltimore over the death of Freddie Gray — Story highlights — (CNN)Chanting “No justice! No peace!” protesters rallied in Baltimore late Tuesday, the same day police released the names of the officers involved in the arrest of Freddie Gray.
Discussion:
Guardian, UPI, The Atlantic Online, BuzzFeed, New York Magazine and Common Dreams
RELATED:
Richard Pérez-Peña / New York Times:
Baltimore Officers Suspended Over Death of Freddie Gray Are Identified
Baltimore Officers Suspended Over Death of Freddie Gray Are Identified
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online, BizPac Review, Mediaite, Baltimore Sun and NBC News
Andrew Dugan / Gallup:
Conservative Republicans Alone on Global Warming's Timing — Story Highlights — WASHINGTON, D.C. — While notable majorities of all other political party/ideology groups say the effects of global warming will happen within their lifetime, fewer than four in 10 conservative Republicans …
Discussion:
Politico
Josh Feldman / Mediaite:
Watch Out, Hillary: Waka Flocka Flame Is Running for President — The 2016 campaign is getting quite a shake-up, because none other than Waka Flocka Flame himself announced yesterday to Rolling Stone he's running for president. — And yes, he very deliberately made the announcement on 4/20 …
Discussion:
FOX News Radio
RELATED:
Simon Vozick-Levinson / Rolling Stone:
Waka Flocka Flame for President: Watch His Exclusive Campaign Video
Waka Flocka Flame for President: Watch His Exclusive Campaign Video
Discussion:
Politico, Washington Post, The Daily Caller and The Huffington Post
M.D. Kittle / Watchdog.org:
Who was the reporter outside Cindy Archer's house? — Part 194 of 193 in the series Wisconsin's Secret War — MADISON, Wis. - Of all of the frightening accounts of government abuses in Wisconsin's political John Doe investigation, David French's description in National Review …
Discussion:
Althouse
The Daily Blog:
EXCLUSIVE: The Prime Minister and the Waitress — This is a guest blog from an anonymous waitress about the way John Key kept touching her when he repeatedly visited her place of work. The waitress contacted us with her story, The Daily Blog did not seek her out or pressure her in anyway to write this blog.
Discussion:
Guardian, Mediaite, New York Times and BuzzFeed
Ben Kamisar / The Hill:
Obama's approval numbers rise; Americans optimistic on economy — President Obama's approval ratings have reached their highest mark in almost two years, according to a new poll from CNN/ORC. — Forty-eight percent of Americans approve of how Obama is running the country, compared to 47 percent who disapprove.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Daily Kos and PoliticusUSA
Ed Kilgore / Talking Points Memo:
Election 2016: Exploding The Governor Savior Myth — During every election cycle, there are storylines or interpretive memes that are widely repeated but turn out to be completely irrelevant or plain wrong. Early in this presidential cycle, yesterday's cliches about the presidential race seem to be exploding all around us.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly and susiemadrak.com
Benjy Sarlin / msnbc.com:
Scott Walker's turn against legal immigration shakes up 2016 — Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's newfound skepticism of legal immigration levels is a potential turning point in the still nascent presidential race, potentially dragging the Republican Party further to the right than Mitt Romney's hardline immigration platform in 2012.
Discussion:
Politico, Political Wire, Hot Air, Bloomberg Business, Outside the Beltway and Mickey Kaus