memeorandum: How the politics of the next nomination will play out (Tom Goldstein/SCOTUSblog)

6:35 PM ET, February 15, 2016

Top Items:

The Daily 202: Why blocking Obama's pick to replace Scalia could cost Republicans their Senate majority — THE BIG IDEA: — Mitch McConnell has decided to wager the Republican majority in the Senate on blocking Barack Obama's pick for the Supreme Court. — It's a bold and understandable …

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, Townhall.com, National Review, The Huffington Post, Guardian, Liberal Values, Daily Kos, New York Times and RedState

Jonah Goldberg / National Review:

Eight Thoughts On Scalia — I'm still a little stunned by the news that Justice Antonin Scalia, perhaps the living public official I've most respected and admired in my adult life, has died. I respected Scalia for all the obvious reasons. As a legal thinker few could hold a candle to him …

Discussion: protein wisdom, Washington Post, Raw Story and The Resurgent

Paul Krugman / New York Times:

How America Was Lost — Once upon a time, the death of a Supreme Court justice wouldn't have brought America to the edge of constitutional crisis. But that was a different country, with a very different Republican Party. In today's America, with today's G.O.P., the passing of Antonin Scalia has opened the doors to chaos.

Discussion: Prairie Weather, The Moderate Voice, Hullabaloo and The Grumpy Economist

Richard Wolf / USA Today:

Who could replace Scalia? Here are 10 names — WASHINGTON — Who could replace Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia if Republicans don't block all of President Obama's nominees, as appears likely? Here are 10 possibilities: — Sri Srinivasan: The 48-year-old federal appeals court judge …

Discussion: The Week, theGrio, New York Times and NPR

Michael Tomasky / The Daily Beast:

The GOP's Worst Nightmare SCOTUS Nominee — Tino Cuellar. California judge. Mexican-American. Harvard. Yale. Stanford. How many Latino votes you think the GOP'd get if they block him? — Here's a name you need to get to know: Tino Cuellar. Who is Tino Cuellar?

Discussion: Washington Monthly and Feministing

Tim Devaney / The Hill:

Bush: 'There shouldn't be deference' on nominee — Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush in an interview Monday morning urged Senate Republicans to block President Obama from nominating a Supreme Court justice, taking a harder stance than during the latest GOP debate.

Discussion: Washington Post and Politico

Richard L. Hasen / Washington Post:

The battle over replacing Justice Scalia is just the start of a war over the Supreme Court — Richard L. Hasen, a professor of law and political science at University of California, Irvine, is the author of Plutocrats United: Campaign Money, the Supreme Court, and the Distortion of American Elections.

Discussion: SCOTUSblog, AOL, The Daily Caller, Joanne Jacobs, NPR, Off the Kuff and New York Times

Adam J. White / Weekly Standard:
The Constitution Does Not Require the Senate to Vote on a Nomination

Discussion: Power Line, National Review, Instapundit and Weasel Zippers

Manu Raju / CNN:
Vulnerable Senate Republicans key to Supreme Court nominee's future

Discussion: Washington Post, Daily Kos, TPNN, American Bridge PAC, JSOnline, Independent Journal Review and theGrio

Los Angeles Times: Editorial Nominating Supreme Court justices is Obama's job. Let him do it.

Tom Goldstein / SCOTUSblog:
How the politics of the next nomination will play out

Discussion: NBC News, AOL, Truth Revolt, The Last Refuge, addictinginfo.org, Weasel Zippers, LifeNews.com, Daily Kos, Common Dreams, No More Mister Nice Blog, Slantpoint, Raw Story, The Week, Mediaite, Above the Law and Washington Monthly

Michael Falcone / ABC News:
The Note: O Brother, Where Art Thou?

Discussion: Washington Post, ThinkProgress and abc11.com

Donald J Trump for President:

DONALD J. TRUMP RESPONDS TO THE LIES OF SENATOR CRUZ AND WARNS OF LEGAL ACTION — Ted Cruz is a totally unstable individual. He is the single biggest liar I've ever come across, in politics or otherwise, and I have seen some of the best of them. His statements are totally untrue and completely outrageous.

Discussion: Hot Air, Althouse and Mediaite

Katie Glueck / Politico:

Cruz skewers Trump's sister in Supreme Court debate — AIKEN, S.C. —Ted Cruz on Monday pledged to make the presidential election a “referendum” on the U.S. Supreme Court, ramping up efforts to make that issue one more increasingly personal point of contention with Donald Trump …

Discussion: The Hill, Talking Points Memo and New York Times

Andrew Shain / The State:

Trump: RNC breaking pledge, calls Cruz a ‘liar’ — GOP front-runner criticized rivals who came after him at debate Saturday — Trump said RNC stacked debate audience with foes who booed him — S.C Republican primary takes place Saturday — MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C.

Discussion: New York Times, Vox, Weasel Zippers, Independent Journal Review, New York Magazine and Hot Air

Bradford Richardson / The Hill:

Cruz: Trump will get rid of the Second Amendment — Republican presidential hopeful Ted Cruz on Sunday said primary rival Donald Trump will erase the Second Amendment if he is elected. — “And if Donald Trump becomes president, the Second Amendment will be written out of the Constitution …

Discussion: Little Green Footballs, ThinkProgress, The Slot and CBS News

Robert Costa / Washington Post:
Debate rips open GOP wounds, and party risks tearing itself apart

Discussion: Booman Tribune, The Moderate Voice, Friendly Atheist, Politico, BloombergView.com and New York Times

Rebecca Savransky / The Hill:
Code Pink praises Donald Trump after debate

Discussion: Infowars, The Gateway Pundit and The Huffington Post

Betsy Woodruff / The Daily Beast:
The Secret Army Stumping for Ted Cruz

Discussion: Washington Monthly and The Resurgent

Brad Mielke / ABC News:
Donald Trump Floats Idea of a Third-Party Run Again

Discussion: Associated Press, American Spectator and abc11.com

Nick Corasaniti / New York Times:
Ted Cruz Ad Goes After Donald Trump's Stance on Planned Parenthood

Discussion: RedState

Eli Stokols / Politico:
Trump trashes Cruz as a liar and a ‘nut’

Discussion: Washington Post

Columbia Missourian:

MU chancellor to confer with Board of Curators about body camera footage of Melissa Click — COLUMBIA — MU assistant professor of communication Melissa Click's interaction with a Columbia police officer during the university's Homecoming Parade on Oct. 10 warrants a conversation with the University …

Discussion: KMOV-TV, The Daily Caller, Associated Press, Independent Journal Review and FOX2now.com

The College Fix:
Mizzou's Melissa Click told police ‘get your f**king hand off me’ at previous racial protest

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Hot Air, Columbia Missourian, Mediaite, Slantpoint, Power Line and FOX2now.com

Caitlin Cruz / Talking Points Memo:

RNC Committeewoman Says Cruz, Rubio Both Ineligible For Presidency — A Republican National committeewoman from Nevada said Monday that she believes both Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Ted Cruz (R-TX) are ineligible to run for President. — Diana Orrock tweeted that “Rubio and Cruz are ineligible …

Discussion: Hullabaloo

Devvy / NewsWithViews: TRUMP SHOULD MOVE ON THIS: CRUZ, RUBIO AND SECRETARIES OF STATE

Byron York / Washington Examiner:

GOP Iraq battle shines new spotlight on Jeb Bush weakness — It's entirely reasonable to say the war in Iraq was a disaster. Maybe you disagree, or maybe you think that's too harsh, but it's an arguable proposition. — To Jeb Bush, though, it's an attack on his family, and therefore out of bounds.

CNN:
Bush family values: 43 comes to Jeb's rescue

Discussion: Washington Post, The Atlantic, Politico and CBS News

Guardian:

Kanye West claims to be $53m in debt, and asks Mark Zuckerberg for help — West says tech entrepreneurs Zuckerberg and Larry Page listen to hip-hop, but are more interested in opening schools in Africa than helping celebrity rappers — It was a busy weekend for Kanye West …

Discussion: Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Mother Jones, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, KTLA, AOL, CBS Philly and Observer

Brandon Griggs / CNN:
Kanye West drops album, says he's $53 million in debt

Discussion: RedState, WCMH-TV, New York Times, Gothamist and The Week

Megan Apper / BuzzFeed:

Opening Shot In Rubio's “Morning Again In America” Ad Appears To Be Canada — (Ted Cruz plot?) — youtube.com — “It's morning again in America,” a calm narrator says as an idyllic scene of a boat crossing a harbor plays in Marco Rubio's latest ad — a darker riff on the classic Ronald Reagan ad.

Discussion: Florida Politics

Alex Jaffe / NBC News:

Rubio: Gang of 8 Bill Never Intended to Become Law — ROCK HILL, SC — Marco Rubio on Monday insisted the immigration reform bill he helped spearhead through the Senate was never intended to become law and that the authors of the bill expected conservatives in the House to make it “even better.”

Discussion: Daily Kos and Political Wire