memeorandum: Jeb's 2016 departure draws out Mike Murphy critics (Maeve Reston/CNN)

12:25 PM ET, February 22, 2016

Top Items:

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

Conservatives: Court nominee must be stopped at all costs — Conservative leaders are sending a blunt message to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell — : The Supreme Court is more important than your majority. — McConnell's (R-Ky.) top priority since becoming majority leader last year …

Discussion: Politicus USA and Daily Kos

Greg Stohr / Bloomberg Business:

Roberts Calls Late Justice Scalia ‘Our Man For All Seasons’ — U.S. Supreme Court sits for first time since Scalia's death — Black drapes adorn Scalia's chair as eight justices take bench — An empty seat commanded the courtroom as the U.S. Supreme Court took the bench …

Discussion: Althouse

Derek Hunter / Townhall.com: Demeaning The Office — When President Bill Clinton's affair …

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine: Its power is derived from custom and deference. How old-fashioned.

Adam Liptak / New York Times:
How Does It Feel, Chief Justice Roberts, to Hone a Dylan Quote?

Discussion: JustOneMinute

Carl Hulse / New York Times:
Supreme Court Fight Is New Front in Partisan Warfare

Discussion: Washington Post and RedState

Lydia Wheeler / The Hill:
Scalia's legacy: A court transformed

Discussion: Politico

Rick Tyler / Facebook:

I want to apologize to Senator Marco Rubio for posting an inaccurate story about him here earlier today. The story showed a video of the Senator walking past a Ted Cruz staffer seated in the lobby of a hotel reading his Bible. The story misquoted a remark the Senator made to the staffer.

Discussion: Breitbart, RedState, Trail Blazers Blog, CNN, BizPac Review, Mediaite and The Right Scoop

Ellie Schroeder / thedp.com:

Marco Rubio has awkward confrontation with Rafael Cruz, Cruz staffer in hotel lobby — Note from the Editor: We have been receiving lots of questions about the contents of this video, and some have disagreed with our transcript. We stand by our original transcript, but the video …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Politico, Breitbart, The Right Scoop, Mediaite and Betsy's Page

Chris Perez / New York Post:

Donald Trump leads polls in 10 of next 14 voting states — Donald Trump is leading in 10 of the 14 states set to vote in Republican primaries or caucuses over the next two weeks. — Recent polls show that Trump is ahead in Nevada, Alabama, Alaska, Georgia, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Virginia, Oklahoma, Minnesota and Louisiana.

Discussion: Business Insider, The Week, Outside the Beltway and New York Times

Chris Cillizza / Washington Post:

Trump has a stranglehold on the GOP nomination. So why isn't he getting credit? — Donald Trump cruised to a double-digit win over the Republican field on Saturday in South Carolina. It was his second straight easy win — coming 11 days after he swept the New Hampshire primary by nearly 17 points.

Discussion: Politico

New York Times:
Donald Trump's Victory Spurs Renewed Scrambling Among Republicans

Discussion: Washington Post, New York Magazine, BuzzFeed, Breitbart, Downtrend, McClatchy Washington Bureau, Political Wire, The Week, National Review, Guardian, The Huffington Post and ABC News

James Comey / Lawfare:

We Could Not Look the Survivors in the Eye if We Did Not Follow this Lead — The San Bernardino litigation isn't about trying to set a precedent or send any kind of message. It is about the victims and justice. Fourteen people were slaughtered and many more had their lives and bodies ruined.

Discussion: The Atlantic, NPR, Washington Post, NBC News, New York Times, Techdirt, Slantpoint, Business Insider, MacRumors, The Verge, BizPac Review and The Week

Dan Levine / Reuters:
Exclusive: San Bernardino victims to oppose Apple on iPhone encryption

Discussion: Washington Post, CNNMoney, TechCrunch, MacRumors, LawNewz, The Verge and Mediaite

Ed O'Keefe / Washington Post:

Fall of the House of Bush: How last name and Donald Trump doomed Jeb — For Jeb Bush's campaign, August was a cruel month. Donald Trump's attacks on the former Florida governor as a "low-energy" politician were beginning to stick, and the two were bickering over immigration.

Discussion: Politico, New York Magazine, Downtrend and Yahoo Politics

Maeve Reston / CNN:

Jeb's 2016 departure draws out Mike Murphy critics — Las Vegas (CNN)In the unsparing judgment of the Twittersphere, there was one clear loser after Jeb's Bush's graceful exit from the Republican presidential race Saturday night: political strategist Mike Murphy and the Bush-allied super PAC Right to Rise USA, which he directed.

Discussion: Political Wire and Hot Air

Zachary Mider / Bloomberg Business: Rubio Seeks Cash Infusion From Donors Who Backed Bush

Erick Erickson / The Resurgent:

I Will Not Vote For Donald Trump. Ever. — When I wrote in National Review that I was against Donald Trump, I said and have maintained since his entry into the race that if Donald Trump is the Republican nominee, I would support him. No longer. — Donald Trump believes the federal government should fund Planned Parenthood.

Discussion: Washington Monthly and Politico

Jon Ralston / USA Today:

Harry Reid delivers for Hillary Clinton: Jon Ralston — Nevada's ‘neutral’ power players may have saved a campaign and changed history. — I'd like to congratulate the winner of the Nevada Democratic caucuses: Harry Reid. — What's that, you say? The Senate Democratic leader wasn't running?

Discussion: Taylor Marsh, NBC News and The Hill

Jon Ralston / Reno Gazette-Journal:
Ralston Reports: ‘Reid-Culinary bond’ won Nevada for Clinton

Discussion: Scared Monkeys

Maggie Haberman / New York Times:
Donald Trump Hopes to Follow Hillary Clinton's Lead in Nevada

Discussion: Los Angeles Times and Washington Examiner

Philip Bump / Washington Post:

Did Bernie Sanders really just win the Hispanic vote in Nevada? — This is not what the results from the Democratic Nevada caucus were supposed to look like. — Well, the first two bars are. We expected to see about an even split among white voters, leaning toward Bernie Sanders.

Discussion: Hot Air and Wall Street Journal

Taylor Millard / Hot Air:
Why Charles Koch's awesome Bernie Sanders op-ed matters in future elections

Discussion: Christian Science Monitor

Nate Cohn / New York Times:
No, the Polling Doesn't Prove Bernie Sanders Won the Hispanic Vote in Nevada

Discussion: Trail Blazers Blog

Hans A. Von Spakovsky / National Review:

The Obama Administration Wants to Make Sure Non-Citizens Vote in the Upcoming Election — Several well-funded organizations — including the League of Women Voters and the NAACP — are fighting efforts to prevent non-citizens from voting illegally in the upcoming presidential election.

Discussion: Power Line, RedState and Clayton Cramer

Washpostpr / Washington Post:

Margaret Sullivan joins The Post as media columnist — Announcement from Liz Seymour, executive features editor: — I am thrilled to tell you that Margaret Sullivan, the public editor of the New York Times, will be joining The Post later this year as our media columnist.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The New York Times Company, New York Times and Washingtonian, more at Mediagazer »

Robert Costa / Washington Post:

Donald Trump consults with Rudy Giuliani as he builds political kitchen cabinet — Fresh off back-to-back victories in the Republican presidential race, Donald Trump is moving to expand his tight-knit campaign by building a political kitchen cabinet that includes former New York mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani.

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

Walter Smith-Randolph / WWMT-TV:

Alleged gunman worked as Uber driver during deadly shooting spree; passenger shares story — KALAMAZOO COUNTY, Mich. (NEWSCHANNEL 3) - In an exclusive interview with Newschannel 3, a passenger of Jason Dalton's details his Uber experience before Dalton allegedly shot eight people across Kalamazoo County.

Discussion: The Daily Beast, WOOD-TV, Washington Post, New York Times, Slantpoint, The Verge, Refinery29 and NPR

Patrick Healy / New York Times:

Delegate Count Leaving Bernie Sanders With Steep Climb — Senator Bernie Sanders vowed on Sunday to fight on after losing the Nevada caucuses, predicting that he would pull off a historic political upset by this summer's party convention. — But the often overlooked delegate count …

Discussion: USA Today, Slate, Washington Post, Guardian, Prairie Weather and CNN

Betsy McCaughey / New York Post:

Obama is looting the Treasury to pay off insurers — The Obama administration will tell any lie and break any law to prevent the president's signature health-care program from collapsing. — Insurance companies such as UnitedHealthcare and Aetna are losing billions trying to sell ObamaCare plans …

Discussion: Power Line