memeorandum: Trump defends inflammatory comments, asks ‘Who is doing the raping?’ (Eugene Scott/CNN)

6:00 PM ET, July 2, 2015

Top Items:

Jesse Byrnes / The Hill:

George Takei: Justice Thomas ‘a clown in blackface’ — Actor and gay rights advocate George Takei is slamming Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas after his dissent to last week's decision legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide claimed that the government can neither give nor take away human dignity.

Discussion: Twitchy, The Gateway Pundit and The Daily Caller

Scott Whitlock / NewsBusters:

George Takei's Racist Rant: Clarence Thomas Is a ‘Clown in Black Face’ — Share it Tweet it — George Takei unleashed a racist rant against Clarence Thomas, sneering that the Supreme Court justice is a “clown in blackface.” The Star Trek actor on Monday fumed, “[Thomas] is a clown in blackface sitting on the Supreme Court.

Discussion: The Federalist, Washington Free Beacon, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Hot Air and Patterico's Pontifications

Miranda Blue / Right Wing Watch:
Steve King: Impeach Ginsburg & Kagan Over Gay Marriage Decision

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Mock Paper Scissors

Mike Allen / Politico:

HILLARY'S OMNIPRESENT HUMA emerges as own power center - DEMS WANT BILL to rai$e for HRC super PAC; fears she'll lag Jeb - PERRY speech courts African Americans - RAND banks on Nev. — By Mike Allen (@mikeallen; mallen@politico.com), and Daniel Lippman (@dlippman; dlippman@politico.com)

Discussion: Associated Press, BostonGlobe.com, Outside the Beltway, Bloomberg Business and The Week

New York Times:

Scott Walker's Hard Right Turn in Iowa May Hurt Him Elsewhere — Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin spent months persuading influential Republicans that he alone had the impressive conservative achievements and mainstream American appeal needed to not only win the party's nomination but also to recapture the White House.

Discussion: Latest from Crooks and Liars, Rush Limbaugh, No More Mister Nice Blog, US News, Hot Air, Daily Kos, Politico, Talking Points Memo, CNN and Bloomberg Business

Annie Karni / Politico:
Hillary's shadow — After years as the former secretary …

Discussion: Shakesville, New York Times and Taylor Marsh

Nick Gass / Politico:
Scott Walker to announce White House run on July 13

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Talking Points Memo and The Week

Eugene Scott / CNN:

Trump defends inflammatory comments, asks ‘Who is doing the raping?’ — Washington (CNN)Businessman Donald Trump continued his verbal attack against illegal immigrants on Wednesday, in an exclusive interview set to air at 10 p.m. on CNN Tonight with Don Lemon.

Discussion: Gawker, Guardian, Daily Mail, Washington Post, FOX News Radio, RedState, The Daily Caller, Balloon Juice, The Huffington Post, Mediaite, Slantpoint and Business Insider

Elliot Smilowitz / The Hill:

Trump stands behind comments on Mexicans — Donald Trump refused to back down in the face of criticism of his recent comments about illegal immigrants in an interview with CNN on Wednesday. — The 2016 Republican presidential contender has faced a backlash for saying that Mexico was sending criminals and rapists across the border.

Discussion: CNN and Daily Kos

Rich Lowry / Politico:
Sorry, Donald Trump has a point

Discussion: BREITBART.COM, The Daily Caller and New York Magazine

Michael WalshReporter / Yahoo Politics:

Former Virginia Sen. Jim Webb announces candidacy for 2016 presidency — Former Virginia Sen. Jim Webb announced Thursday that he is running for the Democratic presidential nomination. — Webb, 69, revealed the decision to throw his hat in the ring via a lengthy open letter to his supporters, posted to his official website.

Discussion: Bloomberg Business, The Atlantic, ABC News, Talking Points Memo and CNN

Ben Brody / Bloomberg Business:
Bernie Sanders Gains on Hillary Clinton in Iowa, Quinnipiac Poll Says

Discussion: Politico, Outside the Beltway, Liberal Values and The Hill

NBC News:
First Read: Is the GOP the Party of Big Business No More?

Discussion: Politico, New York Times, Washington Monthly and The Reaction

Ben Brody / Bloomberg Business:

Rick Perry Assails Republicans' Lack of “Moral Legitimacy” on African Americans — Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry accused his party of trading its “moral legitimacy” for political pragmatism in abandoning the cause of African Americans and, along with it, the black vote.

Discussion: Hullabaloo

Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:
Democrats Regain Edge in Party Affiliation

Discussion: Daily Kos, Booman Tribune, National Journal and Democratic Strategist

Steve Peoples / Associated Press:
Perry: Republicans Are Ones Offering Hope for Black Families

Discussion: ABC News

kff.org:

Kaiser Health Tracking Poll: Late June 2015 - A Special Focus On The Supreme Court Decision — Liz Hamel, Jamie Firth, and Mollyann Brodie … Public Attention and Awareness Of King V. Burwell — The health care law faced its second major test at the Supreme Court this session …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Wonk Wire, Daily Kos and ACASignups.net

NOLA River:
Bobby Jindal says Louisiana government won't recognize same-sex marriages for now

Discussion: TIME, Advocate, Hot Air, Talking Points Memo, Daily Kos, Joe. My. God., Towleroad, Associated Press, BREITBART.COM, Washington Blade and BuzzFeed

Rick Wilson / The Federalist:

A Field Guide To Acela Republicans — As the 2016 campaign enters its first full summer, the Acela Republican, that rare but widely heralded species of candidate, is increasingly apparent on the national stage. With Tuesday's entry of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie into the presidential contest …

Yahoo Politics:
Christie can't win New Jersey. Does that matter?

Discussion: Washington Post and Politico

Loretta Chao / Wall Street Journal:

Revamped Bubble Wrap Loses Its Pop — Sealed Air, maker of the iconic packaging material, is rolling out a new flat version to cut down on the high costs of shipping air — Sealed Air Corp. has revamped its iconic Bubble Wrap. The new product dubbed iBubble Wrap looks …

Discussion: The Verge, Mashable, The Week, CBS Boston, Business Insider and The Huffington Post

Scott Conroy / The Huffington Post:

Watch Lindsey Graham Choke Up Talking About Joe Biden — When Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) celebrated his retirement from the Air National Guard last week after 33 years of military service, he was greeted at the ceremony by an unexpected guest: Vice President Joe Biden.

Discussion: Business Insider and Political Wire

Oliver Darcy / TheBlaze.com:

Activists Planned to Burn U.S. Flag in NYC Park — When They Showed Up, These Guys Were Waiting — Anti-police activists were set to burn the American flag at a New York City park Wednesday evening, but their plans seemingly changed when dozens of bikers and veterans came out to counter protest.

Discussion: Raw Story, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, CBS New York, BizPac Review, Gothamist, The Daily Caller, Twitchy and Washington Times

PR Newswire:

New Bipartisan Poll Finds Grateful Dead Popular Across Political Party Lines, All Age Groups — Favorable/Unfavorable Rating by Party: Republicans 32/15, Democrats 31/6, Independents 26/9 — WASHINGTON, June 29, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The following is being released by Strategic Media, Inc.:

Discussion: Washington Monthly and Booman Tribune

William Leitch / Bloomberg Business: Why Republicans and Millennials Love the Grateful Dead All the Same

German Lopez / Vox:

This Bill O'Reilly piece on homeless people might be the worst Fox News segment ever — Fox New's Bill O'Reilly on Monday ran a horrible segment in which he characterized homeless people in New York City's Penn Station as dangerous, playing into some of the worst stereotypes about the homeless …

Discussion: NewsHounds blog and Hullabaloo

Nick Gass / Politico:

Barack Obama jabs at GOP's ‘Hunger Games’ — May the odds be ever in your favor, Republicans? — President Barack Obama had a little fun on Thursday talking about the GOP presidential contenders, comparing the seemingly ever-growing field to a certain book and movie series. — Story Continued Below

Discussion: ABC News, Political Wire and Joe. My. God.

Tanya Eiserer / WFAA-TV:

Attorney General Paxton could face first-degree felony case — The criminal investigation against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has taken a more serious turn, with special prosecutors now planning to present a first-degree felony securities fraud case against him to a Collin County grand jury, News 8 has learned.

Discussion: Towleroad, Dallas Morning News and Joe. My. God.

Gov. Scott Walker / Real Clear Politics:

Welcome to Wisconsin, Mr. President — Bright spots in the Obama economy are few and far between, as opportunities for small businesses and entrepreneurs are often quashed by a federal government that has grown too large, powerful and pervasive. That's why it's telling that the president …

Discussion: Business Insider, WBAY-TV and Politico

Claire Boston / Bloomberg Business:

Serta Will Stop Selling Donald Trump Mattress Line in Latest Defection — The move comes after the presidential candidate made disparaging comments about Mexican immigrants. — Serta, the largest U.S. mattress manufacturer, will end its business relationship with Donald Trump …

Discussion: Gawker, The Mahablog, Mediaite, Hinterland Gazette, The Atlantic, Business Insider, Mashable, New York's PIX11 and New York Times

Philip Klein / Washington Examiner:

Social conservatives and libertarians will get married — The Republican Party, broadly speaking, is comprised of many factions that are often at odds with one another. Prominent examples are the battles between the grassroots and the national party establishment and between defense hawks and non-interventionists.

Discussion: Instapundit

Jason Gordon / Writers Guild of America East:

Salon Media's Editorial Staff To Unionize with the Writers Guild of America, East — NEW YORK, NY (JULY 2, 2015) - The editorial staff at Salon Media, Inc., the pioneering digital media outlet founded in 1995, today issued the following letter announcing plans to unionize with the Writers Guild of America, East, AFL-CIO (WGAE):

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Poynter. and New York Times, more at Mediagazer »

Scott Johnson / Power Line:

Philip Hamburger: Chevron's last days? — Philip Hamburger is the Maurice and Hilda Friedman Professor of Law at Columbia Law School and the author, most recently, of Is Administrative Law Unlawful? (Editor's note: Answer: Yes.) It is easily one of the most important books published …

Discussion: Law and the Environment

Reuters:

IAEA says Iran uranium stockpile reduced, but questions remain — Iran's stockpile of low-enriched uranium gas dropped below the maximum level required under a 2013 interim nuclear agreement with world powers, a U.N. report showed, but a U.S. think-tank suggested Tehran had not entirely met its obligations.

Discussion: US News and Power Line