Top Items:
Jim Yardley / New York Times:
Pope Francis Suggests Donald Trump Is ‘Not Christian’ — ABOARD THE PAPAL AIRLINER — Inserting himself into the Republican presidential race, Pope Francis on Wednesday suggested that Donald J. Trump “is not Christian” because of the harshness of his campaign promises to deport more immigrants …
Discussion:
New York Times, The Atlantic, The Moderate Voice, Washington Post, America Magazine, Taylor Marsh, The Federalist, Right Wing Watch, The Daily Caller, AMERICAblog NewsAMERICAblog …, Independent Journal Review, Gothamist, Friendly Atheist, The Scoop Blog, Business Insider, Political Insider blog, Hit & Run, NO QUARTER USA NET, The Hinterland Gazette, Weasel Zippers, The Slot, Jezebel, Political Wire, Roll Call, Hollywood Life, Charleston City Paper, Daily Kos, New York Magazine and Wall Street Journal
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Donald J Trump for President:
DONALD J. TRUMP RESPONSE TO THE POPE — If and when the Vatican is attacked by ISIS, which as everyone knows is ISIS's ultimate trophy, I can promise you that the Pope would have only wished and prayed that Donald Trump would have been President because this would not have happened.
Discussion:
Guardian, ABC News, Raw Story, Washington Post, New York Times, FiveThirtyEight, The Moderate Voice, CRUX, Politico, Salon, Mother Jones, The Last Refuge, addictinginfo.org, Al Jazeera English, Talking Points Memo, Hot Air, The Atlantic, CNN, Hit & Run, Vatican Radio English, AMERICAblog NewsAMERICAblog …, Friendly Atheist, Right Wing Watch, VDARE, Refinery29, Mediaite, Arkansas Blog, Arkansas Times, The Daily Caller, New York's PIX11 and Althouse
Nick Gass / Politico:
Trump goes to war with the pope — Pope Francis may have picked a fight with the wrong bully. — After months of taking subtle swipes at Republican politicians, the pontiff went for a direct punch at Donald Trump on Thursday, suggesting the GOP poll leader is “not Christian” …
Gillian Mohney / ABC News:
Pope Francis Says Contraception May Be ‘Lesser of Two Evils’ During Zika Virus Outbreak
Pope Francis Says Contraception May Be ‘Lesser of Two Evils’ During Zika Virus Outbreak
Discussion:
Mother Jones, Associated Press, CRUX, ThinkProgress and abc11.com
Ben Shapiro / Breitbart:
Pope Francis Rips Capitalism, American Immigration Policy at Mexican Border
Pope Francis Rips Capitalism, American Immigration Policy at Mexican Border
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Vox, Reuters and Daily Wire
Los Angeles Times:
Trump and Pope Francis clash over immigration, another extraordinary campaign twist
Trump and Pope Francis clash over immigration, another extraordinary campaign twist
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo and American Spectator
Nicole Winfield / Associated Press:
Pope on Trump: Anyone who wants border walls isn't Christian
Pope on Trump: Anyone who wants border walls isn't Christian
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Los Angeles Times, National Review, addictinginfo.org, Daily Wire and Right Wing Watch
BBC:
Pope Francis questions Donald Trump's Christianity
Pope Francis questions Donald Trump's Christianity
Discussion:
Washington Post and Politicus USA
Daniel Burke / CNN:
Pope suggests Trump ‘is not Christian’
Pope suggests Trump ‘is not Christian’
Discussion:
Washington Post, US News, U.S. News, JSOnline, National Review, The San Diego Union … and CRUX
Yahoo Politics:
Pope says Trump ‘not Christian’ in views, plans over immigration
Pope says Trump ‘not Christian’ in views, plans over immigration
Discussion:
Politico and Washington Post
Emma Green / The Atlantic:
Pope, Trump, Decline to Turn Other Cheek
Pope, Trump, Decline to Turn Other Cheek
Discussion:
Washington Post, New York Times, Raw Story and The Resurgent
CBS News:
CBS News poll: Trump maintains commanding lead over GOP field — Donald Trump (35 percent) continues to hold a commanding lead over the rest of the field, with a 17 point lead over his closest rival, Texas Senator Ted Cruz (18 percent). John Kasich (11 percent) has now risen to a virtual third-place tie with Marco Rubio (12 percent).
Discussion:
Washington Post, NBC News, Reuters, Talking Points Memo, Hot Air, Politico, Political Insider blog, Shakesville and USA Today
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Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Scalia's death has landed Republicans in a nasty trap — THE MORNING PLUM: — A new CBS News poll out this morning finds that Donald Trump continues to dominate among Republican voters nationally: He's backed by 35 percent; Ted Cruz has 18 percent; and Marco-Mentum has 12 percent.
Discussion:
NBC News, CNN, Washington Monthly, New York Times, John Hawkins' Right Wing News and ABC News
CBS News:
CBS News poll: The next Supreme Court justice, Obama, and the economy — The U.S. Supreme Court — With an unexpected vacancy on the Supreme Court as a result of Justice Antonin Scalia's death, it's unclear if he will be replaced before the November election.
Discussion:
ABC News, New York Times, mprnews.org, Politico, NBC News, Hot Air, BizPac Review, Outside the Beltway, abc11.com, The Week, Wall Street Journal and Washington Post
Elianayjohnson / National Review:
Down on Jeb's Prospects, Bob Dole Says Marco Rubio is His Second Choice — Columbia, S.C. — Bob Dole likes South Carolina. “It was South Carolina that put me over the top in 1996,” he recalls in a lengthy phone interview. — But, 20 years later, Jeb Bush, his chosen candidate in the 2016 race …
Discussion:
Politico and Political Wire
Chris Cillizza / Washington Post:
Why aren't we talking about how big a frontrunner Donald Trump is for the Republican nomination? — Barring some sort of cataclysm, Donald Trump is going to win the South Carolina Republican presidential primary easily on Saturday. That will be his second straight large victory …
Hadas Gold / Politico:
MSNBC's Trump town hall falls to CNN and Fox News in the ratings — MSNBC's choice to host Donald Trump in an exclusive town hall on Wednesday did not result in a ratings win against competitors CNN or Fox News. — During the 8 p.m. hour, when MSNBC's Trump town hall was up against CNN's GOP town hall …
Discussion:
RedState and Hullabaloo
Isaac Chotiner / Slate:
MSNBC's Town Hall With Donald Trump Was Disgraceful
MSNBC's Town Hall With Donald Trump Was Disgraceful
Discussion:
RedState, The Hill, Mother Jones and Politico
Dana Blanton / Fox News:
Fox News Poll: Trump leads in South Carolina
Fox News Poll: Trump leads in South Carolina
Discussion:
Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, National Review, Facing South, Power Line, Politico, Political Wire, The Argo Journal and Hot Air
Lloyd Grove / The Daily Beast:
Hurricane Trump Flattens MSNBC Town Hall
Hurricane Trump Flattens MSNBC Town Hall
Discussion:
RedState, Politicus USA, Washington Post and Hot Air
Garrett Epps / The Atlantic:
The Republicans' Scalia Hysteria — A half-century ago, the brilliant British comedy troupe Beyond the Fringe produced “The End of the World,” a skit in which a group of cultists gather atop a mountain to greet the Apocalypse, prophesied for that very day. “Now is the end!” they chant.
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, New York Times, The People's View, BloombergView.com, SCOTUSblog, Fusion, Prairie Weather and PrawfsBlawg
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Scott Thistle / Sun Journal:
Gov. LePage says Congress should follow Constitution on Supreme Court vacancy — AUGUSTA — Maine Gov. Paul LePage on Thursday added his voice to the ongoing debate regarding the U.S. Supreme Court vacancy created with the unexpected death of Justice Antonin Scalia last Saturday.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo and Politico
Tierney Sneed / Talking Points Memo:
Outside Groups Warn GOP: Don't Even Think About Holding A SCOTUS Hearing
Outside Groups Warn GOP: Don't Even Think About Holding A SCOTUS Hearing
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Judicial Crisis Network and Daily Kos
Dylan Byers / CNN:
Glenn Beck: God took Scalia to give America Ted Cruz as president
Glenn Beck: God took Scalia to give America Ted Cruz as president
Discussion:
TheBlaze.com, Independent Journal Review, Mediaite, TPNN, Weasel Zippers, The Daily Caller, The Gateway Pundit and Raw Story
Jordan Fabian / The Hill:
White House: Obama ‘regrets’ his filibuster of Supreme Court nominee
White House: Obama ‘regrets’ his filibuster of Supreme Court nominee
Discussion:
Daily Wire, CNN, Business Insider, American Spectator, Politico, The Daily Signal, ABC News, CNBC and Power Line
Associated Press:
Superdelegates help Clinton expand her lead despite NH loss — WASHINGTON (AP) — So much for Bernie Sanders' big win in New Hampshire. — Since then, Hillary Clinton has picked up endorsements from 87 more superdelegates to the Democratic National Convention, dwarfing Sanders' gain …
Discussion:
Washington Post, NPR, Politicus USA and ABC News
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Amie Parnes / The Hill:
Tightening race rattles Clinton World's nerves — Allies of Hillary Clinton are growing nervous as the Democratic presidential race with Bernie Sanders tightens ahead of contests in Nevada and South Carolina. — A new CNN/ORC poll released Wednesday found Clinton with a 1-point lead in Nevada, which hosts its caucuses on Saturday.
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Margaret Talev / Bloomberg Business:
Clinton Strong in South Carolina But Warning Signs Ahead, Bloomberg Poll Shows — Hillary Clinton holds a commanding lead over Bernie Sanders in South Carolina thanks to a 3-to-1 advantage among African-American voters, according to a Bloomberg Politics poll that shows the Democrats' fourth …
Discussion:
Politico and Political Wire
Bradford Richardson / The Hill:
Obama ‘Hope’ designer endorses Sanders
Obama ‘Hope’ designer endorses Sanders
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, Daily Wire, Outside the Beltway, Politico and The Huffington Post
Miranda Blue / Right Wing Watch:
Cruz: ‘Disastrous’ Marriage Equality Ruling Led To ‘Persecution’ That's ‘Unprecedented’ — In an interview yesterday with conservative Christian broadcaster Janet Mefferd, Sen. Ted Cruz once again touted his support from anti-gay leaders including the Family Research Council's Tony Perkins …
Discussion:
Towleroad, Mediaite and addictinginfo.org
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Brian Tashman / Right Wing Watch:
Donald Trump: ‘Trust Me’ To Overturn The ‘Shocking’ Gay Marriage Decision
Donald Trump: ‘Trust Me’ To Overturn The ‘Shocking’ Gay Marriage Decision
Discussion:
LifeNews.com, CBN.com, Towleroad and Hot Air
Ben Rhodes:
President Obama is going to Cuba. Here's why: — Cuba is only 90 miles from Florida, but for a long time the distance between our two countries seemed a lot greater. — For more than fifty years, the United States pursued a policy of isolating and pressuring Cuba.
Patrick Howley / Breitbart:
Exclusive — SC Blogger: Marco Rubio's Campaign Manager Pushed Story That Nikki Haley Had An Affair With Me — COLUMBIA, S.C. — The campaign manager of 2016 GOP presidential candidate Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) once pushed out the story that South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley had an affair …
Ross Douthat / New York Times:
How to Break a Party — Beginning with the Tea Party wave and continuing through the not-Romney musical chairs of the 2012 Republican primary and the battles over debt limits and fiscal cliffs, most coverage of the Republican Party's internal divisions during the Obama era fell into an easy groove …