memeorandum: How the North Dakota GOP is freezing out Trump (Shane Goldmacher/Politico)

10:35 PM ET, April 2, 2016

Top Items:

Maureen Dowd / New York Times:

Trump Does It His Way — WASHINGTON — YOU could hear how hard it was for Donald Trump to say the words. — “Yeah, it was a mistake,” he said, sounding a bit chastened. “If I had to do it again, I wouldn't have sent it.” — I was telling him he lost my sister's vote when he retweeted …

Discussion: Washington Post, The Right Scoop, NBC News, RedState, Politico, The Resurgent, The Daily Caller, Raw Story, Mediaite, Guardian, Fire Andrea Mitchell!, Mother Jones, CNN and Page Six

Frank Bruni / New York Times:

The Republicans' Gay Freakout — OUR infrastructure is inexcusable, much of our public education is miserable and one of our leading presidential candidates is a know-nothing, say-anything egomaniac who yanks harder every day at the tattered fabric of civil discourse and fundamental decency in this country.

New York Times:
Why Should ‘Never Trump’ Mean Ted Cruz?

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog

New York Times:
North Carolina Law May Risk Federal Aid

Discussion: CBN.com, The New Civil Rights Movement, Advocate, RedState, Hot Air, Fusion, Althouse, Associated Press, Towleroad and Washington Examiner

New York Daily News:

Hillary Clinton wears leather, talks trash and blows a stop light — Hillary Clinton showed her wild side at an LGBT event at SoHo's Capitale, where the presidential wannabe sported a leather jacket, boasted about her Democratic-leading campaign and ran a red light on her way out.

Discussion: New York Daily News

Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:
Democrats Increasing Their Edge in U.S. Party Affiliation

Discussion: Politicus USA

Tennessean.com:

Trump camp accuses Tennessee GOP of stealing delegates — Donald Trump's campaign for president is accusing the Tennessee Republican Party of “doing the bidding” of the national GOP establishment in a calculated attempt to “steal” pro-Trump delegates and stop them from being a part of Tennessee's GOP delegation.

Discussion: RedState, The Hill, The Daily Caller and The Last Tradition

Kenneth P. Vogel / Politico:
Trump campaign shrinks Lewandowski's role

Discussion: Hot Air, New York Magazine, The Week, Fire Andrea Mitchell! and CNN

Kyle Cheney / Politico:
Tennessee GOP delegate fight erupts ahead of party meeting

Discussion: RedState

David Chazan / Telegraph:

Air France stewardesses mutiny over order to wear headscarves — Air France stewardesses, furious at being ordered to wear headscarves in Tehran, say they will refuse to fly to the Iranian capital when the airline resumes the service later this month. — Female members of flight crews …

Discussion: Mashable and Pamela Geller

Bob Woodward / Washington Post:

In a revealing interview, Trump predicts a ‘massive recession’ but intends to eliminate the national debt in 8 years — Here's what's at stake in the Wisconsin GOP primary … Donald Trump said in an interview that economic conditions are so perilous that the country is headed for a …

Discussion: Independent Journal …

Shane Goldmacher / Politico:

How the North Dakota GOP is freezing out Trump — North Dakota will select its delegates to the Republican National Convention this weekend, but the party won't be asking any actual voters to help do it. Instead, state party officials are relying on the ultimate insider process …

Discussion: Washington Post

Ben Kamisar / The Hill: Spotlight to shine on GOP rules committee at convention

Kevin Cirilli / Bloomberg Business:
RNC Lays Groundwork for Nominee Who May Not Be Trump

Discussion: Politico and Washington Times

Harper Neidig / The Hill:

Former Defense secretary: Obama ‘double-crossed’ me — Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates says he felt President Obama “double-crossed” him during his tenure over budget cuts to the Pentagon. — In a Fox News report Friday that explored the president's approach to the military …

Discussion: The Daily Caller and Washington Free Beacon

Fox News:
Tune in to FNC for ‘Fox News Reporting: Rising Threats - Shrinking Military’

Discussion: Hot Air

Margot Kidder / CounterPunch:

How Hillary Clinton Bought the Loyalty of 33 State Democratic Parties … Collusion between the Clinton campaign and the DNC allowed Hillary Clinton to buy the loyalty of 33 state Democratic parties last summer. Montana was one of those states. It sold itself for $64,100.

Tyler Durden / Zero Hedge:

Wikileaks Reveals IMF Plan To “Cause A Credit Event In Greece And Destabilize Europe” — One of the recurring concerns involving Europe's seemingly perpetual economic, financial and social crises, is that these have been largely predetermined, “scripted” and deliberate acts.

Discussion: RT

New York Times:

Electoral Map Is a Reality Check to Donald Trump's Bid — Donald J. Trump's presidential candidacy has stunned the Republican Party. But if he survives a late revolt by his rivals and other leaders to become the party's standard-bearer in the general election, the electoral map now coming into view is positively forbidding.

Discussion: Los Angeles Times

NBC News:

Obama Nixed CIA Plan That Could Have Stopped ISIS: Officials — The CIA in 2012 proposed a detailed covert action plan designed to remove Syrian President Bashar Assad from power, but President Obama declined to approve it, current and former U.S. officials tell NBC News.

Discussion: Power Line

John Hinderaker / Power Line:

A Deranged Anti-Semite Accuses Me of Libel — I wrote earlier this week about a 9/11 Truther named Kevin Barrett. Barrett once taught at the University of Wisconsin, where his belief that the United States government, in conjunction with Israel, carried out the September 11 attacks made him controversial.

Max Brantley / Arkansas Blog, Arkansas Times:

Video provided of Jefferson County Election Commission gun incident — Here's video of a confrontation at a Jefferson County Election Commission meeting last week at which Republican Commissioner Stu Soffer pulled a derringer from his pocket because he felt threatened by former Democratic commissioner Ted Davis.

Discussion: Raw Story

Michael Strickland / Progressives Today:

Day 1 Of “Whiteness History Month” At PCC - Speaker Defends Black Rapists — Day 1 of “whiteness history month” is in the books at Portland Community College. Before the first workshop, the Dean Of Student Instruction, Craig Kolins, tried to explain what the month long series was about …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit

Jackie Calmes / New York Times:

Obama Gets Scant Credit in Indiana Region Where Recovery Was Robust — ELKHART, Ind. — Seven years ago President Obama came to this northern Indiana city, where unemployment was heading past 20 percent, for his first trip as president. Ed Neufeldt, the jobless man picked to introduce him …

Discussion: Balloon Juice

Naomi Jagoda / The Hill:

College endowments under scrutiny — The tax-exempt endowments of colleges and universities are coming under scrutiny in a presidential election year where the cost of higher education has become a top issue. — Leading Republican tax-writers in Congress have sent questions …

Dianne Marshall / THE MARSHALL REPORT:

CRUZ WHY IS YOUR NUMBER ON THE LIST OF D.C. MADAM? — If you don't know what this is. It is a page of Debora Pelfrey,s phone records. (The DC Madam) Ted Cruz private numbers are supposedly on it! — So now what Cruz? Who are you going to blame now? — Looks like Teddy has been a very naughty boy for a very long time.

Discussion: The Right Perspective, The Last Tradition and CANNONFIRE

Glenn Kessler / Washington Post:

Fact checking the Clinton-Sanders spat over Big Oil contributions — Here's what's at stake in the Wisconsin GOP primary … — Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.), interview on ABC's “Good Morning, America,” April 1 … — Bernie Sanders campaign, in a news release, April 1