memeorandum: This is the dumbest prediction of the 2016 election — and why TV political punditry is a wasteland (TBogg/Raw Story)

12:25 AM ET, May 15, 2016

Top Items:

Inside the GOP effort to draft an independent candidate to derail Trump — A band of exasperated Republicans — including 2012 presidential nominee Mitt Romney, a handful of veteran consultants and members of the conservative intelligentsia — is actively plotting to draft …

Discussion: Hot Air, The Hill, Mediaite, No More Mister Nice Blog, Independent Journal …, whorunsGov, AOL, Trail Blazers Blog, RedState, Fire Andrea Mitchell!, Outside the Beltway, Talking Points Memo and New York Magazine

Jessie Hellmann / The Hill:

Report: Romney recruiting Kasich, Sasse for third-party option — Mitt Romney, the GOP's 2012 nominee, is among those courting prospects for a possible third-party bid to keep Donald Trump — from the White House, according to a Washington Post report. — Among those prospects are Sen. Ben Sasse …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit

Jim Hoft / The Gateway Pundit:

BREAKING UPDATE: Nebraska Republicans PASS RESOLUTION to Reprimand #NeverTrump Senator Ben Sasse — UPDATE— #NEVERTRUMPER GOT THUMPED— NEBRASKA REPUBLICANS PASS RESOLUTION TO REPRIMAND #NEVERTRUMPER BEN SASSE — The Nebraska Republican State Convention is underway today in Omaha, Nebraska.

Kyle Cheney / Politico:
Ben Sasse under fire

Discussion: RedState and JustOneMinute

Michael A. Cohen / BostonGlobe.com:

Trump offers a preview of his authoritarian presidency — Donald Trump says so many things that are offensive, incorrect, and dishonest that it is often impossible to keep up. In just the past few days, he's flip-flopped on his tax position, his support for raising the minimum wage, and his so-called Muslim ban.

Maureen Dowd / New York Times:

The Mogul and the Babe — WASHINGTON — WE are in one of those rare unharmonic convergences when reality is more absurd than satire. — So I decided to dispense with satire and simply call Donald Trump at Trump Tower on Friday to hear about his trip to survey the damage from the volcanic eruption of his imminent nomination.

Discussion: JustOneMinute

Elliot Smilowitz / The Hill: Reporter denies leaking ‘John Miller’ tapes, suggests Trump behind leaks

David Niose / Salon:

This is one weak nominee: Hillary Clinton's problem isn't Bernie Sanders. It's Hillary Clinton — Clinton's camp thinks her résumé will be enough to carry her to the White House. No one should be that sure — No matter what you think about Hillary Clinton …

Discussion: Liberal Values and The Mahablog

Ted Morgan / Salon:

This isn't how a democracy should work: How the media boosted Donald Trump and screwed Bernie Sanders — Voters want change. Elites in D.C. and the media — both liberal and conservative — are actively obstructing it — As this wildly unpredictable primary season heads toward the finish line …

Discussion: The Mahablog

Greg Bluestein / The Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Poll: Clinton vs. Trump a tossup in Georgia

Discussion: Politicus USA and Political Insider blog

Los Angeles Times:
Endorsement For all her faults, Hillary Clinton is vastly better prepared than Bernie Sanders for the presidency

Discussion: Patterico's Pontifications and Guardian

Laredo Morning News:

8 fatalities reported in bus rollover on U.S. 83 — Eight people have died and about 40 were taken to the hospital after a charter bus rolled over Saturday morning on North U.S. 83 in Webb County, authorities said. — The OGA Charters' bus, originating from the Rio Grande Valley …

Discussion: Associated Press and abc11.com

New York Times:

Crossing the Line: How Donald Trump Behaved With Women in Private — Interviews reveal unwelcome advances, a shrewd reliance on ambitious women, and unsettling workplace conduct by Mr. Trump over decades. — Donald J. Trump had barely met Rowanne Brewer Lane when he asked her to change out of her clothes.

Discussion: Slate, Reuters, The New Americana, Gothamist, Refinery29, AOL, Balloon Juice, Politicus USA, Althouse, The Week, Politico and Washington Post

Chris Megerian / Los Angeles Times:

Welcome to a Bernie Sanders Wiccan ritual — Leigha Lafleur, holding a candle, leads a Wiccan ritual to support Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders on Friday in Portland. (Chris Megerian / Los Angeles Times) — Attending a rally for Bernie Sanders usually involves long lines …

Discussion: Mediaite

Reuters:

UK's Cameron struggles to make Britons believe his EU message: poll — Prime Minister David Cameron is struggling to convince voters he is telling the truth about why Britain should stay in the European Union and his main “Out” rival Boris Johnson is doing a better job, an opinion poll found.

Discussion: The Last Refuge

Fox News:

Report: GOP mega-donor Adelson to give Trump up to $100 million — Billionaire Republican donor Sheldon Adelson is reportedly willing to give Donald Trump as much as $100 million for his presidential campaign — a purported record-setting amount for the wealth casino magnate.

Discussion: Algemeiner.com, Associated Press, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, The Gateway Pundit, Mediaite, Business Insider, New York Magazine and Talking Points Memo

Valerie Volcovici / Reuters:
Trump taps climate change skeptic, fracking advocate as key energy advisor

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit

Greg Ip / Wall Street Journal:

Donald Trump's Plans Don't Add Up. Do Voters Care? — The GOP candidate's tax plan will dramatically raise the debt, not decrease it — Donald Trump would slash taxes by trillions of dollars, leave entitlements alone, boost spending on infrastructure and defense, and, claims an advisor …

Discussion: Mother Jones, Hullabaloo, Salon and Buttonwood's notebook

German Lopez / Vox:
Nationwide marijuana legalization could produce up to $28 billion in yearly tax revenue

Discussion: ACLU and Business Insider

Emily Smith / Page Six:

Cannes hotel guests in a panic over false terror alert — MORE FROM: — Wealthy guests at the exclusive Hotel du Cap in Antibes during the Cannes Film Festival were terrified when men wearing what looked like suicide vests arrived by boat bearing a black, ISIS-like flag.

Nicholas Fandos / New York Times:

Capitol Hill Newspapers, Once a Protected Class, Redefine Themselves — WASHINGTON — When Neetzan Zimmerman arrived at The Hill as its first director of audience development in January 2015, he found a publication largely unchanged since its heyday as a scrappy weekly for Washington's deal makers.

David Caplan / ABC News:

Clinton Campaign Releases Video Slamming Trump's Refusal to Release Tax Returns — The Hillary Clinton campaign released a video online Saturday morning, questioning Donald Trump's refusal to release his tax returns, until he allegedly finishes being audited.

Discussion: Daily Mail