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Cruz, Carson Held Secret Meeting About Dirty Tricks in a Closet — Ted Cruz called a private meeting with the former neurosurgeon in South Carolina on Thursday night, the Carson campaign told The Daily Beast. It did not go as planned. — Two grown men running for president met in a storage closet last night.
Discussion:
Mediaite, Yahoo Politics, AOL, The Slot, Raw Story and addictinginfo.org
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Pro-Cruz Robocall Slams Trump Over Exchange With Lesbian Reporter — CLEMSON, S.C. — A new robocall going out to South Carolina voters on the eve of the state's Republican primary blasts Donald Trump as a culture war appeaser in the battle between gay rights and religious freedom …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Raw Story and The Daily Caller


Pro-Ted Cruz robocall blasting Trump and Gov. Haley on Confederate flag — A pro-Ted Cruz robo-telephone call blasts Donald Trump for his support of the Confederate flag coming down. An honor guard from the South Carolina Highway patrol removes the Confederate battle flag …


Cruz, Carson Reportedly Had Secret Meeting In A Closet: 'It Didn't Go Well' — Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Ben Carson walked into a closet in South Carolina on Thursday night. — That's not a joke. — The two Republican candidates for president convened for a mano-a-mano meeting …
Discussion:
Little Green Footballs


Ted Cruz declares war on gluten-free meals (because we are living through the dumbest election in history)
Discussion:
Slantpoint and ChrisWeigant.com

Report: Cruz, Carson met secretly in storage closet to discuss feud
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit

Ted Cruz worry: Big South Carolina loss equals bad Super Tuesday
Discussion:
BuzzFeed, The Gateway Pundit, Hot Air, TPNN, The Atlantic and FiveThirtyEight

2/19: Trump in Close Race in South Carolina... Clinton with Wide Lead
Discussion:
Politico, Daily Kos, Fox News and Washington Post

Pro-Cruz super PAC ad criticizes Trump for supporting removal of Confederate flag
Discussion:
addictinginfo.org

Ted Cruz suggests Phil Robertson for U.N. ambassador
Discussion:
addictinginfo.org, Right Wing Watch and Yahoo Politics

Ted Cruz birther lawsuit makes it to Cook County courtroom
Discussion:
LawNewz, The Daily Caller, Bloomberg Business and Washington Post


Trump hails torture, mass killings with ‘pigs blood’ ammo in SC — North Charleston, SC - Donald Trump closed his South Carolina campaign on Friday with a rambling speech highlighted by a giddy, almost childlike, enthusiasm for torturing and summarily executing the suspected enemies of America in the name of safety.
Discussion:
Boing Boing, Associated Press, Mediaite, Daily Mail, Raw Story and Little Green Footballs
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Bush staff float resumes with Florida consultants — Several Jeb Bush campaign workers are already shopping their résumés with Florida political consultants as expectations mount inside his team that their candidate won't push on after South Carolina.
Discussion:
RedState, ABC News, The Hill, Daily Wire and whorunsGov

South Carolina, Nevada Votes to Test Anti-Establishment Mood — Trump eyes win in South as Democrats battle for western state — Barbara Bush returns to campaign trail seeking votes for son — Donald Trump confronted two top U.S. companies, a popular pope and virtually anyone else …


The Latest: Trump leads GOP race with a third of the votes — MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. — The Latest on campaign 2016 ahead of Saturday's South Carolina Republican primary and Nevada Democratic caucuses (all times Eastern Standard Time): — Donald Trump has emerged as the front-runner …


Trump tells story about Muslims being shot with bullets dipped in pig's blood
Discussion:
NBC News, Washington Post, Mother Jones and The Daily Caller

Insiders predict Trump win in South Carolina, Clinton in Nevada
Discussion:
Politicus USA


On Immigration, Bernie Sanders is Not Who He Says He Is. — If you've been following the Democratic primary, you may have noticed that Bernie Sanders has positioned himself as a champion of the immigrant community. From the letter he sent to Barack Obama last week, to the work he …
Discussion:
US News
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I Don't Believe The Latest SC Polls - Here's Why — Two polls, one from Clemson University and the other from Opinion Savvy, have been released since I wrote my blog post on SC. Both have Trump in the high 20s, suggesting tomorrow night will be closer than I predicted. Here's why I discount each poll.
Discussion:
The Right Scoop
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Rubio Surges in South Carolina ahead of Saturday's Primary
Discussion:
Vox, WAGA-TV, Fox Business, RedState, Hot Air and Florida Politics


Who Will Win the Nominations? Lessons From Iowa and New Hampshire
Discussion:
Taylor Marsh

Palmetto Poll: Frequent voters in South Carolina favor Trump
Discussion:
Weekly Standard, Raw Story, PolitiSite, RedState and Hot Air

Harry Reid accuses Republicans of ‘trickery and gimmicks’ in Nevada caucuses — Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) accused members of the Republican Party of resorting to “trickery and gimmicks” to spoil his state's Democratic caucuses. — “These Republican plans to interfere …
Discussion:
NVDems, RedState, Talking Points Memo and The Huffington Post
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Republicans Are Trying To Rig The Nevada Democratic Caucus To Hurt Hillary Clinton — The party that screams about voter fraud while getting busted for voter fraud is at it again. This time, it's a plot to hurt Hillary Clinton with an organized effort to rig the Democratic caucus.
Discussion:
The People's View and Joe.My.God.


On Eve of South Carolina Vote, Nation's ICE Officers Detail How Marco Rubio Betrayed Them — In an exclusive Q&A with Breitbart News, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Council President Chris Crane provides never-before-heard details about the 2013 Gang of Eight immigration fight …
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit


Arrest photo of young activist Bernie Sanders emerges from Tribune archives — A Chicago Tribune archival photo of a young man being arrested in 1963 at a South Side protest is Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders, his campaign has confirmed, bolstering the candidate's narrative about his civil rights activism.


Italian author Umberto Eco dies aged 84 — The revered literary critic, author and essayist - most famous for 1980 novel Name of the Rose - has died at home — The novelist and intellectual Umberto Eco has died, aged 84, according to reports. Eco, who was perhaps best known for his 1980 work …
Discussion:
The Atlantic and Agence France-Presse
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Umberto Eco, 84, Best-Selling Academic Who Navigated Two Worlds, Dies
Discussion:
Slantpoint


In Defense of Trump, Some Point (Wrongly) to Vatican Walls — Supporters of Donald J. Trump were quick to suggest on Thursday that Pope Francis was being hypocritical to criticize as un-Christian Mr. Trump's proposal to build a wall between the United States and Mexico because the pontiff himself lives …
Discussion:
JustOneMinute, dcclothesline.com, CBS New York, CNN, American Spectator, Business Insider, Telegraph, Althouse, The Hill, Politicus USA, Reuters, Salon, New York Times and FiveThirtyEight
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