The Only Strategy For Hillary Clinton Is To Scorch The Earth  —  If Hillary Clinton manages to beat Bernie Sanders, the early primaries have already revealed that there's only one strategy for the general election against a Republican, be it Donald Trump, Marco Rubio, or Ted Cruz: Scorch the earth.

A Responsibility I Take Seriously  —  The Constitution vests in the President the power to appoint judges to the Supreme Court.  It's a duty that I take seriously, and one that I will fulfill in the weeks ahead.  —  It's also one of the most important decisions that a President will make.

Does Ben Carson Suspect His Campaign Was a Scam?  —  For months, reporters and political operatives (including me) have been pointing out that Ben Carson's campaign bears many of the hallmarks of a political scam operation.  Now Carson seems to agree.  On CNN on Tuesday, Carson discussed his year-end staff shake-up:

Noam Chomsky: We Owe the Rise of Trump to Fear and the ‘Breakdown of Society’  —  Leading GOP candidate is taking advantage of America's fears.  —  Noam Chomsky.  —  Noam Chomsky, 87, is without a doubt the most significant academic figure to cast a highly critical eye on U.S. foreign policies.

Trump Is A Rump, But He Has A Point  —  Let me begin by telling you what I think about Donald Trump.  I stress that I am not trying to tell you what you should think about The Donald; I am merely telling you what I think, how I react to him.  —  I have despised Trump for 35 or 40 years …

Silence in the Face of Evil Is Evil Itself  —  Hello, America, from Las Vegas, Nevada.  —  I got up this morning, and I prayed about what I was going to say to you today.  Because I have a lot on my mind.  And I thought to myself, “Maybe I, maybe I don't say anything.”  —  You know, it's really interesting.

Abortion Clinics Are Closing at a Record Pace  —  At least 162 providers have closed since 2011.  —  Esmé E Deprez  —  Abortion access in the U.S. has been vanishing at the fastest annual pace on record, propelled by Republican state lawmakers' push to legislate the industry out of existence.

Texas Court Clears Ex-Gov. Rick Perry of 2nd Felony Charge  —  Texas' highest criminal court tossed the second and final felony charge against former Gov. Rick Perry on Wednesday, likely ending a case the Republican says helped sink his short-lived 2016 presidential bid.

Clinton Derangement Syndrome Is Alive and Well  —  Memories: … This is all courtesy of Judicial Watch, the Scaife-funded outfit that brought us so much endless Clinton paranoia in the 90s.  To this day, most people—including an awful lot of reporters who ought to know better …

Bernie's South Carolina surrender  —  COLUMBIA, S.C. — With just a few days until the South Carolina Democratic primary, Bernie Sanders is all but writing the state off.  —  He hasn't said that, of course, but his schedule reflects it.  —  Sanders was in Massachusetts Monday night and Virginia Tuesday morning.