Friday News: “Truth and Trumpism;” Eating a Taco Bowl=”Latino Outreach” for GOP Presidential Nominee

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Friday, May 6.

• Paul Krugman: Truth and Trumpism (“For the record, Mr. Trump has impugned his rivals’ manhood, called them liars and suggested that Ted Cruz’s father was associated with J.F.K.’s killer. On her side, Mrs. Clinton has suggested that Bernie Sanders hasn’t done his homework on some policy issues. These things are not the same.”)
• Tensions Rise Over Republican VP Options (“Adviser Ben Carson says GOP front-runner Donald Trump could pick a Democrat or an independent” — Seriously, freakin’ Ben Carson is an “adviser” to freakin’ GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump in America 2016. My god…)
• Everyone Is Getting Today’s Trump Tweet Totally Wrong (“This is not an awkward and embarrassing outreach to Hispanics. It’s not aimed at Hispanics at all. It’s aimed at white people. This is the kind of thing that Trump’s base—the white working class—views as a perfectly sincere appreciation of Mexican culture.” Ee gads.)
• Majority of GOP insiders won’t commit to Trump (Anyone who supports this neo-fascist should be automatically disqualified from holding public office in America. Here in Virginia, that includes Ed Gillespie, of course.)
• The GOP now belongs to Trump. What are Republicans going to do about it?
• House Speaker Ryan ‘not ready’ to back Trump, deepening GOP divide (The question is how long will it take for Lyin’ Ryan to flip flop.)
• McCain on tape: Trump damages my reelection hopes
• Investigators: Scant evidence Clinton had malicious intent in handling of emails (Of course she didn’t, how stupid.)
• Political ‘outsider’ Donald Trump, the most politician-y politician ever (“The Donald has elevated pandering, lying, flip-flopping and overpromising into art forms.”)
• The ideological earthquake and the aftermath (“Donald Trump and the GOP don’t care about principle.” I can’t believe I’m linking to right-wingnut Charles Krauthammer, but crazy times call for crazy measures — or something?))
• Neil Cavuto Calls Trump’s Taco Bowl Tweet “An Olive Branch” To The Mexican People (As soon as you read the words “Fox host,” or anything to do with Fox, you know it’s going to be bad.)
• Mary Matalin, Republican Strategist and Pundit, Changes Political Parties (Every other Republican needs to join her.)
• Senate Dems field large roster of women in the Year of Trump
• Hannity Advocates Replacing House Speaker Paul Ryan After He Fails To Endorse Trump (And, of course, as soon as you hear Sean Hannity has opened his mouth, you know it’s going to be crazy, nasty, stupid, etc.)
• Senate Republicans Are Breaking Records for Judicial Obstruction (The question, as always: will voters punish Republicans for their wildly irresponsible behavior? I’m not holding my breath, as voters haven’t punished them in the past for case after case of being breathtakingly irresponsible.)
• What Pundits Keep Getting Wrong About Donald Trump and the Working Class (“The working class is blacker and browner than it used to be.”)
• Donald Trump’s flip-flops: He’s banking on bigotry and ditching right-wing economic orthodoxy (“Donald Trump is making some rapid, careful policy shifts and trusting that his core group of supporters won’t care”)
• The sad spectacle of “Morning Joe’s” Trump denial: How Rob Reiner laid bare the brazen failures of MSNBC’s morning crew (I’m amazed anyone watches this crap.)
• Republicans are officially in last-resort mode: They’re considering a third-party candidate to sabotage Trump — and that will blow up in their faces, too
• Is Sen. Tim Kaine on Hillary Clinton’s veep short list? (Short answer: yes, obviously.)
• The Media Is Spreading A Myth of ‘Donald The Dove.’ It’s Wrong. (“In stark contrast to Barack Obama’s anti-war speech in October 2002, however, there is zero public record that Trump opposed the war before it began.”)
• Selective outrage from the state GOP (“Never mind that Virginia is one of the few states not to automatically restore voting rights after prison sentences are served. Or that the state’s constitutional provision against blanket rights restoration is rooted in early 1900s racism. Or that Gov. Bob McDonnell, R, automated the rights restoration process for some 100,000 nonviolent felons in 2013, to no Republican outrage.”)
• Taxpayer costs approach $4 million in Virginia election lawsuits
• VHSL votes to move most state championship events from Liberty University (Good move, that school richly deserves to be shunned.)
• Blue Virginia Interview: 4th CD Democratic Candidate Donald McEachin
• Legislators say Peninsula fared well in the session
• New poll reports tight race in GOP 2nd Congressional District primary (“Rep. Randy Forbes was favored by 39 percent of those polled, Del. Scott Taylor by 35 percent and attorney Pat Cardwell by 4 percent.”)
• Virginian-Pilot editorial: Portsmouth’s casually shreds records, credibility
• Video: Erik Gutshall Says It’s Time to “Turn the Page” From Libby Garvey After Arlington County “Divisiveness”
• Alexandria raises property taxes to fix schools, aging buildings
• Wet and chilly today, then slowly ‘nicer’ through the weekend