Top Items:
Gideon Resnick / The Daily Beast:
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, The Slot, NBC News, Raw Story, addictinginfo.org and Political Wire
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Benjy Sarlin / MSNBC:
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.
Post and Courier:
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 …
Associated Press:
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 …
Discussion:
TalkLeft
McKay Coppins / BuzzFeed:
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
Katherine Krueger / Talking Points Memo:
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
Theodore Schleifer / CNN:
Ted Cruz worry: Big South Carolina loss equals bad Super Tuesday
Ted Cruz worry: Big South Carolina loss equals bad Super Tuesday
Discussion:
BuzzFeed, Hot Air, The Gateway Pundit, TPNN and Mediaite
Gary Legum / Salon:
Ted Cruz declares war on gluten-free meals (because we are living through the dumbest election in history)
Ted Cruz declares war on gluten-free meals (because we are living through the dumbest election in history)
Discussion:
Slantpoint and ChrisWeigant.com
Katie Zezima / Washington Post:
Pro-Cruz super PAC ad criticizes Trump for supporting removal of Confederate flag
Pro-Cruz super PAC ad criticizes Trump for supporting removal of Confederate flag
Discussion:
addictinginfo.org and NPR
Marist Poll:
2/19: Trump in Close Race in South Carolina... Clinton with Wide Lead
2/19: Trump in Close Race in South Carolina... Clinton with Wide Lead
Discussion:
Politico, Fox News and Washington Post
Cristobal Herrera / Washington Post:
Ted Cruz birther lawsuit makes it to Cook County courtroom
Ted Cruz birther lawsuit makes it to Cook County courtroom
Discussion:
Bloomberg Business, LawNewz, Washington Post and The Daily Caller
Sophie Tatum / CNN:
Ted Cruz suggests Phil Robertson for U.N. ambassador
Ted Cruz suggests Phil Robertson for U.N. ambassador
Discussion:
Yahoo Politics, addictinginfo.org and Right Wing Watch
Molly Ball / The Atlantic:
The Great Republican Stalemate
The Great Republican Stalemate
Discussion:
CBS News, ThinkProgress and ABC News
Henry Olsen / National Review:
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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Marc Caputo / Politico:
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, Political Wire, The Hill, ABC News, Daily Wire and whorunsGov
MA Towery / Opinion Savvy:
Rubio Surges in South Carolina ahead of Saturday's Primary
Rubio Surges in South Carolina ahead of Saturday's Primary
Discussion:
WAGA-TV, RedState, Hot Air and Florida Politics
Alan I. Abramowitz / Sabato's Crystal Ball:
Who Will Win the Nominations? Lessons From Iowa and New Hampshire
Steven Shepard / Politico:
Insiders predict Trump win in South Carolina, Clinton in Nevada
Insiders predict Trump win in South Carolina, Clinton in Nevada
Discussion:
Politicus USA
New York Times:
Republicans Speed Across South Carolina as Race Tightens
Republicans Speed Across South Carolina as Race Tightens
Discussion:
Political Wire, NBC News, JustOneMinute and Talking Points Memo
McKay Coppins / BuzzFeed:
Rubio Bails Last Minute On Conservative Gathering Packed With Cruz Supporters
Rubio Bails Last Minute On Conservative Gathering Packed With Cruz Supporters
Discussion:
AOL, Daily Wire, New York Times, Breitbart, RedState, Daily Kos and Hot Air
Mark Murray / NBC News:
Donald Trump's Lead Slashed in South Carolina: Poll
Donald Trump's Lead Slashed in South Carolina: Poll
Discussion:
Salon, Weekly Standard, MSNBC, CNN, Rush Limbaugh, Washington Post, PolitiSite, New York Magazine, FiveThirtyEight, Politico, Talking Points Memo, Outside the Beltway, The Right Scoop, The Week, Washington Times, The Cook Political Report, New York Times, Trail Blazers Blog, Florida Politics and Political Wire
Daniel Strauss / Politico:
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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Sarah Jones / Politicus USA:
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.
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ABC News:
Discussion:
twitchy.com, abc11.com, Daily Mail and Associated Press
Dolores Huerta:
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 and ThinkProgress
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Abby Phillip / Washington Post:
On caucus eve, Clinton's allies warn Nevada Latinos to beware of Bernie Sanders
On caucus eve, Clinton's allies warn Nevada Latinos to beware of Bernie Sanders
Discussion:
TalkLeft
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.
Julia Hahn / Breitbart:
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
Andrew Kaczynski / BuzzFeed:
Trump One Day Into Iraq Invasion: “It Looks Like A Tremendous Success” — And the stock market would continue to soar as a result, Trump said. — w.soundcloud.com — Donald Trump, faced with his own words from 2002 that directly contradict his claim he opposed an Iraq invasion early on …
Liam Stack / New York Times:
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:
CNN, CBS New York, American Spectator, Business Insider, Telegraph, Althouse, The Hill, Politicus USA, Reuters, Raw Story, dcclothesline.com, FiveThirtyEight, New York Times, Mediaite, Salon, TMZ.com and The Daily Caller
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Connor Sheets / al.com:
Harper Lee dead at age of 89: ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ author passes away — Author Nelle Harper Lee, who won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1961 for her book, “To Kill a Mockingbird,” passed away in her sleep Friday morning at the age of 89, her family has confirmed. — “This is a sad day for our family.
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, NBC News, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, ABC News, The Atlantic, Daily Kos, Raw Story, FiveThirtyEight, Common Dreams, NPR, Mashable, Above the Law, Mediaite, Jezebel, The Verge, Gothamist, WHNT-TV, LGBTQ Nation, CBS Miami, Independent Journal Review, KTLA, The Week, WTVR-TV, fox13now.com, New York's PIX11, WGN-TV, FOX5 San Diego and Mother Jones