memeorandum: Early entrance polls show close race in Nevada Democratic caucuses (CBS News)

5:45 PM ET, February 20, 2016

Top Items:

Cruz Campaign Sends SC Mailer Morphing Rubio's And Obama's Faces (PHOTO) — Sen. Ted Cruz's (R-TX) latest move in South Carolina is a mailer that merges President Barack Obama's face with that of Cruz's rival Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL). … South Carolina state Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter (D) …

Discussion: Balloon Juice, The Week, Marco Rubio, abc11.com and ABC News

Ed O'Keefe / Washington Post:

Is this it for Jeb Bush? — CENTRAL, S.C. — Jeb Bush has been fighting all week to dismiss talk of his demise. — But his final South Carolina campaign event here felt bittersweet on Friday night. Staffers and volunteers hugged warmly, realizing that they had just one more day to convince Republicans to pick their guy.

Discussion: Politico

Bradford Richardson / The Hill:

Bush on joining a Trump ticket: ‘No’ — Republican presidential hopeful Jeb Bush on Saturday sneezed at the notion of serving as the running mate to primary front-runner Donald Trump. — “No,” he responded sharply to a reporter in South Carolina, drawing laughs. “Let's be clear, I don't think he would ask me.”

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

John McCormick / Bloomberg Business:

Combative Trump Takes on Boeing, Apple at Close of South Carolina Race — As Donald Trump barreled toward his next test of strength in the Republican nomination fight, the billionaire confronted two top U.S. companies, a popular pope and virtually anyone else in his way.

Discussion: Bloomberg Politics

Patrick O'Connor / Wall Street Journal:
In Football-Mad South Carolina, Rubio Offers the Greatest Pander of All

Discussion: RedState, Politico and Florida Politics

Benjy Sarlin / MSNBC:
Trump hails torture, mass killings with ‘pigs blood’ ammo in SC

Nolan D. McCaskill / Politico:
GOP campaigns trade allegations of dirty tricks in South Carolina

Discussion: Yahoo Politics

Philip Rucker / Washington Post:
Kasich's chief strategist: ‘No path forward’ for Jeb Bush

Discussion: The Hill

Valerie Bauerlein / Wall Street Journal:
Critics See Racial Subtext in Obama-Rubio Photo Mashup

Discussion: Slantpoint, NPR, BuzzFeed, Newsmax and The Daily Beast

Jeremy Diamond / CNN:
Trump cites story of general who dipped bullets in pigs' blood to deter Muslims

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, New York Magazine, addictinginfo.org, Hot Air, The Hill, The Week and Independent Journal Review

Andrew Prokop / Vox:
South Carolina Republican primary 2016: poll closing time and what to expect

Discussion: New York Times and Hullabaloo

Associated Press:
The Latest: Trump leads GOP race with a third of the votes

Discussion: Yahoo Politics

John McCormick / Bloomberg Business: South Carolina, Nevada Votes to Test Anti-Establishment Mood

Colton Lochhead / Las Vegas Review-Journal:

Attempt to place Review-Journal obituary for Hillary Clinton prompts report to Secret Service — The Las Vegas Review-Journal on Friday reported a possible threat related to Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton after a man tried to place an obituary notice for the former secretary of state.

Discussion: Washington Post, BizPac Review, Jezebel, The Week, The Moderate Voice, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, The Hinterland Gazette, Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, Mediaite and Moe Lane

NBC News:

Clinton Lead Over Sanders Among Latino Voters Rapidly Narrowing — SurveyMonkey national weekly election tracking survey of the Democratic nomination contest shows a rapid narrowing of Hilary Clinton's lead over Bernie Sanders among Latino voters over the past two weeks.

Discussion: The Atlantic

John Wagner / Washington Post:
Clinton projected to defeat Sanders in Nevada caucus vote

Discussion: Politico, Yahoo Politics, Business Insider and Common Dreams

New York Times:
Superdelegates, Clarify Your Role

Discussion: Prairie Weather and VTDigger

Liz Goodwin / Yahoo Politics:
Hillary Clinton's week-long sprint to save Nevada

Discussion: Politico

Robby Soave / Hit & Run:

Did Twitter's Orwellian ‘Trust and Safety’ Council Get Robert Stacy McCain Banned? — Remember a few days ago, when Twitter elevated anti-GamerGate leader Anita Sarkeesian to its “Trust and Safety Council,” an imperious-sounding committee with Robespierre-esque powers to police discussion on the social media platform?

Discussion: Little Green Footballs

Robert Stacy McCain / The Other McCain:

The #FreeStacy Story: Why Was My @rsmccain Account Suspended? — Unexpectedly, and without explanation, my @rsmccain Twitter account was suspended Friday evening. Based on past experiences, my guess would be that this resulted from a complaint by one of the leading “social justice warriors” …

Discussion: twitchy.com, TheRalphRetort.com, protein wisdom and American Power

Jonathan Levin / Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion:
A trend or just coincidence? — Twitter, an invaluable news aggregator …

Discussion: RedState

Datechguy / Da Tech Guy Blog:
The Twitter Star Chamber Suspends Stacy McCain

Discussion: Vox Popoli

Scott Eric Kaufman / Salon:

Paul Krugman: For wonks like me, Bernie Sanders is frankly horrifying — Sanders is just as delusional when it comes to the economics as those vying for a spot on the GOP ticket — Paul Krugman pulled no punches in his Friday New York Times column, claiming that Democratic presidential …

Discussion: the daily howler and Slantpoint

Katherine Skiba / Chicago Tribune:

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.

Discussion: Yahoo Politics, Hit & Run, Mother Jones, Weasel Zippers, The Daily Caller, The Gateway Pundit, Towleroad, Business Insider and The Week

Yamiche Alcindor / New York Times:

Man Captured on Film Being Arrested in a 1963 Protest is Bernie Sanders, His Campaign Says — In recent days, Hillary Clinton's campaign has questioned Senator Bernie Sanders's commitment to civil rights, trying to cement her support among black voters who could be crucial in upcoming primaries such as South Carolina's.

Discussion: New York Magazine, Mashable and Mediaite

CBS News:

Early entrance polls show close race in Nevada Democratic caucuses — 3:30 p.m.One issue that has come up in the primary and caucus season for the Democratic candidates is whether they will continue to pursue President Obama's policies or whether they will move in another direction.

Discussion: Slate, CBS Miami, AOL, Business Insider, NBC News and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Greg Stohr / Bloomberg Business:

U.S. Supreme Court Rejects Republicans on North Carolina Voting Map — The U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for a new congressional voting map in North Carolina this year, rejecting a Republican bid to reinstate district lines thrown out by a lower court.

Discussion: AOL

Lyle Denniston / SCOTUSblog:
North Carolina redistricting delay denied

Discussion: Common Dreams, Politicus USA and New York Times

Lydia Wheeler / The Hill:
Applesauce, broccoli left at Supreme Court in Scalia's memory

Discussion: Politico, Josh Blackman's Blog, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Business Insider and LifeNews.com

Michael Gove / Coffee House:

Why I'm backing Brexit — For weeks now I have been wrestling with the most difficult decision of my political life. But taking difficult decisions is what politicians are paid to do. No-one is forced to stand for Parliament, no-one is compelled to become a minister.

Discussion: National Review

Laura Kuenssberg / BBC:
EU referendum: Cameron sets June date for UK vote

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Telegraph, Infowars, Washington Post and The Agonist

Mike Giglio / BuzzFeed:

America Is Now Fighting A Proxy War With Itself In Syria — Confusion in the Obama administration's Syria policy is playing out on the ground as U.S.-backed groups begin battling each other. — Reporting From — Istanbul, Turkey — A YPG fighter stands near a wall on the Syria-Turkey border.

Steven Hayward / Power Line:

Robert Reich Endorses Ted Cruz — Of course he hasn't—Reich is foursquare behind Bernie Sanders. But this two-minute video making the case for why Cruz is more “dangerous” than Trump presents the best case for Cruz that I can think of. Cruz “believes the 2nd Amendment guarantees the right to a gun.”

Discussion: National Review