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Breitbart Editor Ordered Staffers To Stop Defending Michelle Fields

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Breitbart senior editor-at-large Joel Pollak ordered staffers in an internal chatroom to stop defending Michelle Fields, the staffer who was allegedly manhandled by Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski.

The internal Breitbart Slack chats, which were obtained by BuzzFeed News, put on display the tension between those at Breitbart who want to act like a publisher — defending their reporter and finding the truth — and those entangled in politics.

"STOP tweeting about the story. Stop speculating about the story," Pollak told staffers in one message, and reminded them that "you were given explicit instructions."

"You may wish to defend your colleague, and that is commendable -- but keep in mind that when you do so, you are also putting other colleagues under direct public pressure, so you are actually hurting some to help another," Pollak said in one of the chats. "That is why we have to be patient, and coordinate our responses."

When staffer Brandon Darby wrote that Lewandowski's behavior was "a declaration of war" and "silence is abandoning our team member," Pollak responded, "In war, we wait for orders that are based on a careful plan. So wait."

On Tuesday after a press conference in Florida, Breitbart reporter Michelle Fields was allegedly yanked nearly to the ground by Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski while trying to ask Trump a question. Despite the fact that there is video, an audio recording, and an eyewitness account that indicate Lewandowski did this, the Trump campaign has denied it, and Breitbart published a story by Pollak arguing that the person who manhandled Fields was not Lewandowski, appearing to side with the Trump campaign over their own reporter. Fields has filed a police report against Lewandowski over the incident.

Pollak could not immediately be reached for comment. Breitbart chairman Steve Bannon did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Breitbart spokesman Kurt Bardella quit in protest on Friday over how the site has handled the Fields situation and has publicly accused the site of lying about what happened to Fields.

In the following screenshots, Pollak repeatedly tells Breitbart staffers not to comment on the Fields situation:



Congresswoman Unveils Plans To Prosecute Severe Online Threats Against Women

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U.s. House Of Photography / Via Facebook: CongresswomanClark

Rep. Katherine Clark unveiled a new proposal at the South By Southwest Interactive festival (SXSW) in Austin, Texas, on Saturday, dedicating millions of dollars to help stop women from being severely harassed and stalked online.

The legislation would establish a $20 million grant for state and local law enforcement to investigate and prosecute cybercrimes that disproportionately target vulnerable groups. An additional $4 million would go towards the creation of a national resource center, serving as a research hub and clearing house for technical know-how for prosecutors and police.

"We hope to raise awareness and develop local expertise for law enforcement so we are able to prosecute more of these cases,” Clark told BuzzFeed News.

Clark has made online harassment, and the need to strengthen laws that might curb it, one of her signature issues in Congress. Over the past year, she's advanced a bundle of policies designed to protect women and minorities from internet-enabled crimes that often go unpunished or unrecognized. Criminalizing the publication of non-consensual pornography and designating "swatting" as illegal are among Clark’s recent initiatives on Capitol Hill.

After speaking to many individuals who have been targeted, Clark said the response by law enforcement is not as effective or robust as it should be. One woman she spoke to was asked by a police officer what Twitter was, another was told to not venture outside until the online harassment blew over, while yet another was told by a judge to stay off the internet.

Clark herself was the victim of a "swatting" attempt last month. After an anonymous call was made on a Sunday night warning of “an active shooter” with “shots fired” in Clark’s home, several police officers were dispatched to her residence, swarming the front of her house with long-guns drawn.

At the time, Clark told BuzzFeed News that she believed she was targeted because of her work, but was determined to continue her efforts even after her personal ordeal. “I didn’t need extra motivation, but it certainly provided that,” she said.

Clark also played a role in shaping this year's SXSW. After organizers canceled a planned panel on the subject of online harassment, a coalition of concerned individuals and organizations threatened to withdraw from the festival. Participants and sponsors, including BuzzFeed, urged SXSW officials to reinstate the panel. Clark, too, leveled criticism at the officials, expressing the urgent need for an open discussion on the subject.

Facing intensifying pressure, SXSW reversed course and added an entire series of panels focusing on issues of discrimination and harassment, leading to Clark's participation in the festival this weekend.

Trump Won't Face Charges Following Violent Rally, Sheriff Says

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A protester was punched last week while being escorted out of a rally in North Carolina. Sheriff’s officials had been looking into whether Trump had incited a riot.

Gerald Herbert / AP

Sheriff's officials in North Carolina said Monday that Donald Trump will not face charges for possibly inciting riot-like conditions at a rally where one of his supporters punched a protester.

The Cumberland County Sheriff's Office had been looking into "the potential of whether there was conduct on the part of Mr. Trump or the Trump campaign which rose to the level of inciting a riot" in Fayetteville, a statement said. But later in the day, investigators determined there wasn't enough evidence to pursue the case.

In a statement, the sheriff's office said "legal counsel advised, and the sheriff concurred, that the evidence does not meet the requisites of the law as established under the relevant North Carolina statute and case law to support a conviction of the crime of inciting a riot."

The lead attorney for the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office, Ronnie Mitchell, had earlier said charges were unlikely.

Police arrested 78-year-old John McGraw after video footage of him punching a protester, Rakeem Jones, emerged.

McGraw was charged with assault and communicating threats after video from Inside Edition showed him saying he would kill Jones the "next time."

youtube.com

The sheriff's office on Monday said it was also considering pressing for additional charges against McGraw.

Asked about the incident during the GOP debate Thursday, Trump said he didn't condone violence, but the people who attend his rallies "come with tremendous passion and love for their country."

When pressed on the issue, Trump blamed the violence on protesters themselves, calling them "bad dudes" and "really dangerous."

Trump, meanwhile, has said that he might pay the legal fees for McGraw.


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Hillary On Hot Mic: Ed Sullivan, Downton Abbey, And Media Treating Trump Like "Candy By The Bushel"

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Justin Sullivan / Getty Images

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — On a makeshift television set here inside Springfield's Old State Capitol building, during the taping of a town hall hosted by MSNBC, Hillary Clinton and Chris Matthews were just wrapping up a segment on the state of the race. The crew cut for commercial. Downstairs, reporters watched from another room.

Suddenly, the tiny screen in the press file came back to life.

There they were — Clinton and Matthews, chatting it up as they waited for the next segment — unwittingly airing their idle small-talk to reporters one floor below.

It was immediately clear that the subject at hand was Donald Trump.

"Man, you guys cannot stop talking about him," Clinton was saying. "He is a dangerous presence and, you know, it's just like candy by the bushel."

"We dip into him, dip out of him," said Matthews. "We have a progressive audience, obviously. But, uh, nobody can tell what people want to watch.”

"Yeah," she said, adding that people do "want to watch him."

"— to laugh at him," Matthews replied.

These two innocuous minutes of chitchat amounted to a thing most people — including the reporters who cover her — hardly ever get to hear or see: Clinton in a private moment, Clinton when she doesn't think she's being watched.

Part of the audio cut out, then she and Matthews were on to the next topic: Chris Christie, the New Jersey governor who stunned Republicans by endorsing Trump.

"Why did he support him?" Clinton asked.

He wanted "a future," Matthews said, noting that, with Sens. Cory Booker and Bob Menendez still in office, there wouldn't soon be any big openings in New Jersey. "Chris Christie's not gonna be president... Cory Booker is there. Cory Booker's not going anywhere. There’s nowhere for Christie to go. Unless Menendez has to go."

"I don’t think he could win right now, do you?" said Clinton.

"Not in New Jersey, no," Matthews replied. "I don’t think he could win as a Senate candidate either, a Republican candidate in New Jersey… It’s been a long time."

The conversation stalled. Clinton remarked that the Old State House made a charming venue. Then Matthews offered: "I've known Carson forever."

"You have? Did you know him when he was at John’s Hopkins, too?"

"He was very soft spoken, never said a thing."

"And he was a brilliant surgeon by all accounts," Clinton remarked.

Carson's voice, Matthews said, reminded him of Tommy Smothers — one half of the 1960s comedy duo. "Remember Tommy Smothers?" he asked Clinton.

"I do! The Smothers Brothers!"

Clinton paused. "It's so funny," she said, "when I talk about things like that with my staff, they’re so young —"

"Try Sid Caesar. Try Sid Caesar. Try Sid Caesar," Matthews said.

"Ed Sullivan!" Clinton said.

Another pause.

"So," said Matthews, "did you watch the end of Downton Abbey?"

A moment later, the screen went dark and the audio went silent — the mics were back off. Reporters retreated to their seats. They never heard the answer.

Cruz: Trump Campaign Manager's Alleged "Physical Assault" Should Be Fireable Offense

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Scott Olson / Getty Images

DECATUR, Illinois — Asked about Donald Trump's campaign manager allegedly manhandling a reporter, Ted Cruz told reporters on Monday that physically assaulting a reporter is a "fireable offense."

"Of course it’s not appropriate," Cruz said when asked about the issue. "What a bizarre world we’re in where reporters are forced to ask the question 'Should political campaign staffers physically assault reporters?'"

"I remember some months ago we were all amazed and joking about the fact the Hillary Clinton campaign used ropes to hold back reporters, to keep them away from Hillary Clinton, and that seemed like the height of disdain from a candidate for reporters and the media," Cruz said. "We never envisioned that it would now reach the levels of allegations of significant physical assault. Physically assaulting a reporter is a fireable offense and at the end of the day, the responsibility for any campaign rests with the candidate."

Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski allegedly roughly grabbed former Breitbart reporter Michelle Fields away from Trump at a press conference in Florida last week, leaving bruises on her arm. The Trump campaign denied the incident and Breitbart, where Fields worked, in part defended her — but then ran a piece that cast doubt on Fields' account. Fields and editor-at-large Ben Shapiro quit in protest on Sunday night, accusing Breitbart of having become Trump's "personal Pravda," and more resignations followed on Monday.

Marco Rubio also said earlier on Monday, “If my campaign manager had done that, my campaign would be over. He would have had to resign, and my campaign may be over. I would have had to quit that very day."

Cruz also talked about the Lewandowski incident earlier today on Dana Loesch's radio program, telling her that if a campaign staffer had grabbed a reporter on his own staff, they'd be fired.

Donald Trump Is Attacking John Kasich, But John Kasich Isn't Attacking Him

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J.d. Pooley / Getty Images

WESTERVILLE, Ohio — For days, Mitt Romney has been attacking Donald Trump’s business record, comments, and policy proposals.

But standing alongside John Kasich — the man who has now become the best hope for establishment Republicans to block Trump from outright winning the delegates required for the GOP nomination — at a high school gym on the eve of Ohio’s crucial primary, Romney didn’t mention the billionaire once.

And in the two days leading up to election day, even as Trump was focusing his fire (and tweets) on the Ohio governor, neither did Kasich.

In a presidential race consumed by Trump and his comments, Kasich is counting on voters in his home state on Tuesday to reward him for not getting sucked into the Trump vortex. Although he came out strongly against Trump on Saturday during a press conference about violence at a Trump rally in Chicago, Kasich hasn’t really spent any time on the campaign trail attacking the billionaire who could defeat him in his home state.

Locked in dead heat with Trump in a state on which he has hinged his entire presidential bid, Kasich has focused on reminding voters of his record as governor in a way that often sounds like he’s running for re-election rather than for president. As he seeks to draw a contrast between himself and Trump, Kasich portrays himself as the reformer with a track record of change and the only adult in the room in the raucous primary.

With high approval ratings and help from the Ohio Republican Party, which endorsed Kasich after decades of staying neutral in a presidential primary, Kasich has been reminding voters why they voted for him twice for governor. The super PAC backing Kasich, New Day for America, has also spent significant resources in the state. In the final days before the primary, the super PAC had more than two dozen staffers focused on Ohio and a seven-figure statewide TV ad buy. The anti-Trump group Our Principles PAC has also invested at least $1 million in Ohio.

"The whole country is now watching Ohio, you know that?” Kasich told a group of voters in outside a tavern Hanoverton as he made his closing pitch. "It’s kind of a choice out there now — do we go to the dark side, the negativity, the gnashing of teeth, the division of people or do we go to the hopeful and the bright side?”

Acknowledging that he’s spent most of the election cycle in obscurity because he’s stayed in his bubble of sunshine, Kasich told voters it was trade-off he was willing to make. "It never really bothered me to be ignored to tell you the truth,” he told voters at the same event.

"I want you to know that I will not take the low-road to the highest office. I will not,” he said.

The furthest Kasich usually goes when criticizing Trump on the stump — again, not by name — is pointing to his not-so-presidential conduct.

"All of us have somewhat of a responsibility to be a role model to somebody else,” he told voters. "We all have an obligation to raise the bar for our children and our grandchildren so that they know what it means to be an American and the way we’re supposed to conduct ourselves.”

Trump, however, has not been holding back.

The billionaire has been pushing the narrative that Kasich shouldn’t even be competing in Ohio because he hasn’t qualified for the ballot in Pennsylvania — a charge Kasich’s campaign has strongly refuted.

In recent rallies, Trump — joined by Gov. Chris Christie — has also accused Kasich of being an “absentee governor” and attacked him on trade policy, Medicaid expansion, and Common Core. Trump’s even called Kasich positive campaign a hoax. “He was vicious, which is OK, he's a governor, he's supposed to be a little bit vicious," Trump said of Kasich in the earlier debates at a recent rally. "But now he's playing the good guy."

Trump’s attacks have shifted to Kasich as polls have shown him crushing Marco Rubio in Florida, which is also voting on Tuesday. Kasich is now under mounting pressure to pull off a win not just to keep his own campaign alive but for the sake of the anti-Trump wing of the party. Even Rubio has encouraged his supporters in Ohio to vote for Kasich instead of him. (Kasich's campaign did not return the favor in Florida.)

Romney, who has not yet endorsed in the primary, praised Kasich’s record while campaigning with the governor on Monday, calling him a man of integrity and a candidate who "unlike the other people running... has a real track record.”

Earlier this month, Romney encouraged those against Trump to vote strategically for candidates in a way that would block Trump and lead to a contested convention.

But hours before he took the stage with Romney, Kasich repeatedly rejected the idea that winning Ohio was about blocking Trump on behalf of establishment Republicans.

“I’ve never been the establishment’s first, last, or whatever hope,” he told reporters. “I’m not part of the establishment. I’ve always made them nervous, and I will continue to make them nervous because I’m a change-agent.”

“I’m not running to block anybody, but the math is real and if somebody can’t get to the total number of delegates — we’ve got a 1,000 delegates to go — you’ll see me pick up steam and momentum.”

Trump Campaign Conducting Background Checks On Volunteers

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Matthew Cavanaugh / Getty Images

Donald Trump's campaign informed aspiring volunteers Sunday night that they would have to pass background checks and sign non-disclosure agreements if they wanted serve in the Trump Tower Call Center in Manhattan.

"We need to make sure our call center is a safe environment for all of our volunteers and staff," campaign organizers wrote in an email to volunteers, which was passed along to BuzzFeed News.

Political phone-banking, in which volunteers are organized to gather in a designated location and make calls to prospective voters, is common practice in presidential campaigns. Less common is the "on-boarding and briefing" apparently required by Team Trump.

From the campaign's email: "We need to get you to sign an NDA, a check your identification [sic], and give you an idea of what you can expect as a volunteer in our call center. ... Within a few days, we will complete a very basic and routine background check and then we will invite you to set your own schedule."

The Trump campaign does promise perks to those willing to jump through the hoops: "We will kept you fed, provide frequent SWAG giveaways, and have special guests drop by to say hello!"

A spokesperson for the Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Here is the full email sent to volunteers:

---------- Forwarded message ---------

From: Trump Volunteer Team <<a>volunteer@donaldtrump.com>

Date: Sun, Mar 13, 2016 at 11:10 PM

Subject: Quick Update re: Tomorrow's Trump Tower Call Center's On-Boarding/Briefing

To:

Hello!

Due to the tremendous number of supporters who have signed up to become volunteers in our Trump Tower Call Center, we are making a few changes to help you get in and out a quickly as possible. We really value your time!

We will now do rolling briefings over two sessions; from 10 AM to 2 PM and from 4 PM until 7 PM. The On-boarding and briefing will take fifteen minutes or less once you get through the line, and we plan to keep that line moving at a brisk pace. To answer some questions you may have:

1. What if you signed up for the noon or five PM on-boarding and briefing session earlier?

Don't worry. Just show up anytime during the longer time periods and you'll be fine.

2. What is the purpose of the on-boarding and briefing session?

We need to get you to sign an NDA, a check your identification, and give you an idea of what you can expect as a volunteer in our call center.

3. When can you begin volunteering in the call center?

Within a few days, we will complete a very basic and routine background check and then we will invite you to set your own schedule.

4. Why are we doing a background check?

We need to make sure our call center is a safe environment for all of our volunteers and staff.

5. What do you need to bring for the on-boarding and briefing?

Just your ID and a little patience in case you have to wait in line!

6. What do we do in the call center?

Make calls to voters to help our candidate win! We will kept you fed, provide frequent SWAG giveaways, and have special guests drop by to say hello!

6. How can I sign up for the On-Boarding and Briefing if I haven't already?

Right here: http://goo.gl/forms/f17Up1iLAI. Don't worry if you've already signed up for the noon or five PM briefings; you do not need to sign up again!

We look forward to seeing all of you tomorrow and thanks for your efforts to Make America Great Again!

The Trump Volunteer Team


Clinton Camp Looks Ahead To Trump Matchup With A Huge Concert With Latino Artists

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Carolyn Kaster / AP

MIAMI — The Miami crowd waits. A campaign surrogate introduces, say, Ricky Martin, who grabs the microphone and thunders that the Hispanic community will not stand for Donald Trump's divisiveness. Between songs, and before the next artist, Martin tells everyone to take out their phone and text LATINOS to 47246 if they want to stop Trump.

That's the kind of scene the Clinton campaign is hoping for if their early plans to hold a major concert in Florida with Latinos in mind pan out, according to three sources with knowledge of the early planning.

Leading up to the March 15 primaries which feature big prizes like Florida, Ohio, Illinois, North Carolina and Missouri, the Clinton campaign has said its focus is on Bernie Sanders.

But behind the scenes, some planning is taking place about strategies for facing Donald Trump, including engaging the groups he has angered with comments on Mexicans and immigrants, to waffling on disavowing the endorsement of groups like the KKK and proposing a ban on Muslims entering the country.

A face-off with Trump wouldn't be about "winning" the Latino vote, but about maximizing support from the community, and a major concert with Latino artists is being discussed. Latino outreach director Lorella Praeli is said to be leading the effort.

One source said the concert conversation went from possibly doing the event before the primary in Florida to becoming one centered on the general election, with the idea of saving something like that for Trump. Two sources said they heard the concert is in the works but is being delayed until the general election because of the sheer work and logistics that would go into coordinating an event with major artists.

"There’s been a lot of artists who wanted to do something from Marc Anthony to Maná and others," said Democratic donor Freddy Balsera, who is bundling for the Clinton campaign. "These events are tough to organize. Artists say let's do it but it requires logistics. Musicians are very specific, for example, about their sound quality, they don’t just start singing."

The campaign, sources said, has to first identify all of the artists that would want to be a part of an event like this, then must coordinate getting everyone at the same venue at the same time. One major artist who the campaign hopes to land for the event is Juanes, who has not publicly endorsed Clinton yet, but would appeal not just to Latinos in Florida but also Colombians.

The Clinton campaign disputed that they would save anything for the general election. Campaign officials said that if Martin said he wanted to host a concert they would not tell him no. The officials said that coordinating a major artist's schedule with the way campaigns work is difficult, noting that you can't just tell Martin that you want him to show up for a concert In two months.

And campaign officials said that if Juanes or Maná want to endorse or hold a concert they would welcome it.

Democratic strategist Maria Cardona, who supports Clinton, said the concert would be something done in the summer in a general election matchup with Trump and told the story of speaking with Eva Longoria last week — who was in Florida to help launch "Mexican-Americans for Hillary" and spoke at an event along with Clinton after the Univision debate in Miami.

“She said, 'We have to do everything in our power to defeat this man and it may sound like a cliché but your voice is your vote: This will effect your family and your children’s future,'" Cardona said.

Balsera warned that the controversial Republican frontrunner could appeal to conservative Hispanics, underscoring why the Clinton campaign is right to treat him seriously and engage Latinos early on.

"Trump is going to do better than expected among Hispanics in Florida," he said. "I’m hearing it a lot. A lot of old Cubans that are not going to vote for Rubio and instead are going to vote for Trump. They don’t give a shit about his comments about Mexicans because they don’t identify as Mexican. Puerto Ricans as well."

Balsera said senior Clinton staffers he has spoken with agree with his assessment.

"They're going to have a fight on their hands," he said.

That's why the campaign is moving on the logistics for the concert now, hoping to present a major show of force showing Trump that Latinos largely repudiate him.

"The consensus is that it will have a bigger effect if they wait," a source said. "It would be a unifying thing."


What Should We Name This Super Tuesday?

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There are Tuesdays. There are Super Tuesdays. And then there are the Super-est of Tuesdays.

Another Super Tuesday is upon us, folks.

Another Super Tuesday is upon us, folks.

Gerald Herbert / AP

Here's Your First Look At Hillary Clinton On "Broad City"

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Yas!

Well, the episode will finally air this week, and here's your first look at Clinton's meeting with Abbi and Illana.

Recently fired (finally) from her "job" at Deals Deals Deals, Illana has found the time to volunteer for Clinton at her Brooklyn headquarters.

Recently fired (finally) from her "job" at Deals Deals Deals, Illana has found the time to volunteer for Clinton at her Brooklyn headquarters.

Yes, yes, Illana seems more like a Bernie supporter, but just go with it.

Comedy Central / Via cc.com

The two are discussing Illana's desk when someone walks in and catches their eye...

The two are discussing Illana's desk when someone walks in and catches their eye...

Comedy Central / Via cc.com


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Donald Trump's Favorite Luxury Brands Are Mostly Foreign

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“To have the best, you have to know the best,” Trump says.

Scott Halleran / Getty Images

Donald Trump has campaigned on making America great again, but a reading of his book, Think Like a Billionaire, reveals that when it comes to luxury goods, Trump believes most of the finer things in life are foreign-made.

Billionaires, Trump says, "are not defined simply by the size of their holdings but also by the quality of their stuff."

"To have the best, you have to know the best," Trump writes. "Thinking like a billionaire means recognizing the best and enjoying the best. Of course, it takes practice. Can you confidently name the top five jewelers in the world? The best champagne? The best, most exclusive real estate? The most highly rated restaurants? The top art dealers? If not, you've got a long way to go to be a billionaire. But don't feel bad, because I don't know all the answers—other than the real estate ones—either!"

Here are the products Trump views as "the best":

"The Best Car: My favorite car is a Mercedes. I've had one for a long time, and it's reliable, elegant, and sturdy all at once. I have no complaints about my Mercedes. It's never disappointed me. The cars are not temperamental, and they make my life easier. Mercedes cars are also great because they are classy without being ostentatious. I also have a Ferrari, a Lamborghini, and a bunch of other cars in different places."

"The Best Suit: I wear Brioni suits, which I buy off the rack. Some people think it's best to have custom-tailored clothing. I don't recommend it unless you have an oddly shaped body, and unless you have a great deal of time."


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N.C. Lawmaker On Not Having Correct Voter ID: "I Was Inconvenienced" But Nothing More

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Win Mcnamee / Getty Images

WASHINGTON — The chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee said he was inconvenienced by his state’s new voter ID law that imposed strict requirements on forms of photo identification necessary to vote.

Republican North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr made news when he had to cast a provisional ballot, used when a voter’s eligibility is in question. Burr presented his Senate-issue ID but it wasn’t valid under the state’s new law, which Burr supported though it has drawn the ire of critics on the left who say it’s a voter suppression tactic.

“I said that night when I gave a speech that I went through exactly what anybody would go through if they were challenged on their ID,” Burr told BuzzFeed News shortly after receiving an award at the National Kidney Foundation’s annual congressional dinner. “They let me cast a provisional ballot and they gave me the sheet of everything that was acceptable. I went out and found something that was acceptable and got back to the elections office that afternoon.”

Burr took advantage of an exception in the law which allows voters to cast a provisional ballot because of a “reasonable impediment." Had he not returned, his provisional would have been counted with absentee ballots the final vote tally on March 22.

North Carolina’s law also shortens the early voting period by a week, put a stop to same-day registration, and ended a voter pre-registration program for teenagers in addition to requiring stricter forms of photo ID.

On Tuesday, there were reports of college students in North Carolina not being able to vote.

“I don’t think it’s discriminatory at all,” Burr said. “As a matter of fact, there were more ways to find an ID than one can imagine even using an expired driver’s license that's up to four years old. I don't think anybody's disadvantaged. Inconvenienced? Sure, I was inconvenienced. But being inconvenienced to have the right to vote? I think we can put up with that in America.”

Regarding accusations on the left that the law amounts to voter suppression, Burr told BuzzFeed News he predicted early voting would be up 50%.

“I had until the 21st even after the votes had been cast for tomorrow you had to be there by the time they canvassed. Even though they know who I was — I had a Senate ID — that wasn't good enough. And that's fine. At the end of the day, even though they knew me, they wanted to verify legally that I'm who I said I was. And there's nothing wrong with that.”

Burr said he couldn’t comment on the president election because of his role on the Intelligence Committee.

“It’s the weirdest election I’ve seen in my lifetime.”

"It’s Best To Avoid Criticizing Anyone" Is A Real Thing Donald Trump Wrote

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Nothing matters.

A large part of Donald Trump's shtick is to hurl cutting, oddly specific insults at his opponents.

A large part of Donald Trump's shtick is to hurl cutting, oddly specific insults at his opponents.

Andrew H. Walker / Getty Images

HOW TO CRITICIZE SOMEONE

It's best to avoid criticizing anyone. Compliments work better, and sometimes silence is the best form of criticism available. I've known people who have said bad things to and about me who cannot take criticism themselves. Most people are one-way streets, and it's better not to spend your time dodging head-on traffic. If you stay silent, people will eventually make fools of themselves without your help at all. It's revenge the easy way.


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Cuomo Ducks Trump Park Question

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Asked about a movement to change the name of Donald J. Trump state park, the New York Gov. said he doesn’t “get into signage.”

Alan Kroeger

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo Tuesday avoided a small but symbolic question facing his administration: Whether to keep high-profile signs celebrating Donald Trump on New York roadways.

State legislators led by Senator Daniel Squadron are trying to change the name of a 436-acre park north of New York City, and Assemblyman Charles Lavine pushed Cuomo to take action in a letter.

"Oh, I don't know. I don't get into signage," Cuomo said in response to a question about Trump and the park, according to The Journal News.

One potential obstacle to renaming the park could be a 2005 agreement between New York State and Trump, reported by BuzzFeed News, in which the state agreed that the park would bear and prominently display the name of the real estate tycoon. George Pataki, the governor at the time of the agreement, has said of the park, "I wish it didn't have name on it."

Squadron, who said that the agreement would not deter him from seeking the name change, said in a statement to BuzzFeed News on Tuesday that he appreciates Cuomo's "continued strong condemnation of Mr. Trump's divisive rhetoric."

"I'll continue to push my legislation to rename Trump park and remove the signs, along with Assemblymember Lavine," he added.

Donald Trump Just Called Fox's Megyn Kelly "Crazy Megyn"

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People are slamming him online for the tweet.

Donald Trump has had issues with Fox News' Megyn Kelly ever since he says she treated him unfairly in a debate in August.

Donald Trump has had issues with Fox News' Megyn Kelly ever since he says she treated him unfairly in a debate in August.

Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

After the debate, the GOP presidential candidate said that during the debate the host had "blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever."

Many people criticized Trump for the comment, which they said implied Kelly was on her period.

Trump then refused to attend a Fox News debate in January over Kelly's involvement.

But, the two played nice at the most recent Fox News debate, in an apparent cooling of the tensions between them.

But, the two played nice at the most recent Fox News debate, in an apparent cooling of the tensions between them.

Alex Wong / Getty Images

But, it appears Trump still doesn't like Kelly, since he just called her "Crazy Megyn" on Twitter.

But, it appears Trump still doesn't like Kelly, since he just called her "Crazy Megyn" on Twitter.

Twitter


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Clinton Solidifies Her Grip On The Latino Vote Nationally With Big Florida Win

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Carolyn Kaster / AP

MIAMI — As Clinton supporters at her event Tuesday waited for the big win in Florida, a new song played on the speaker system. "La Gozadera," a raucous Latino anthem by Gente de Zona and Marc Anthony blared, interrupting TV reporters with it's first line: "Miami me lo confirmo."

And just like the song, Miami and the rest of Florida's large Hispanic community confirmed something for Clinton: Her strength with the critical voting bloc — one that looks different in key states — has now helped deliver big wins in Texas and Florida where 27.5% of all Latinos in the country live.

The results looked similar to Texas and other counties around the country where Hispanics are densely populated. Clinton won 69% of Latino support in Florida, compared to just 31% for Sanders. She performed well across all groups, with 74% support from Latinas and 72% from the sizable non-Cuban Hispanic population in Florida where Puerto Ricans, Colombians, Venezuelans, and others contribute to a Latino voter profile that is different than in other states.

Florida always looked like a tough state for Sanders, with its older population and demographics. And while he had support in a place like Nevada that has younger Latinos with 50% of eligible voters at 18 to 35 years old, that figure was only 35% in Florida.

"They are older Cubans and older Puerto Ricans," said Pew Hispanic's Mark Hugo Lopez. "They're not recent immigrant communities."

Clinton devoted a fair amount of her speech to Donald Trump on Tuesday, saying that deporting 12 million people and banning Muslims from entering the country as he has proposed is not "strong" but "wrong." Some on her campaign have been working behind the scenes on a major Latino unity show of force concert anticipating Trump.

At the famed Versailles in Little Havana, the self-proclaimed "world's most famous Cuban restaurant," Trump was on the mind of Clinton voters, too.

Luisa Benjabib, an American citizen from Peru who was once undocumented, stood away from the crowd enjoying strong Cuban cafecitos and pastelitos de guayaba y queso. As she held her little dog wearing an "I Voted" sticker, she at first hesitated to say who she had voted for, aware of the throng of opinionated Cuban Republicans arguing about politics just feet away. "Hillary," she said, in a low whisper, after prodding.

"Trump will take away my citizenship and send me back to Peru and my baby will stay here," she joked in Spanish, even though she is a citizen. Throughout its history, the United States has been a "country not just for white people but also for immigrants," she said.

John Kasich's Big Win Is A Key Step Toward A Contested Convention

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Brendan Smialowski / AFP / Getty Images

BEREA, Ohio — John Kasich pulled off a big win over Donald Trump in his home state of Ohio on Tuesday, giving the GOP establishment at least some cause for celebration — a rarity this presidential election.

Kasich defeated the billionaire handily in the Buckeye State, where he had pinned his presidential hopes from the get-go. His win — the first primary victory for Kasich — will make it harder for Trump to secure the Republican nomination for president outright, increasing the chances of a chaotic contested convention in July set to take place just a few miles from where the governor celebrated his win complete with confetti canons on Tuesday.

"I labored in obscurity for so long," Kasich told the crowd gathered at Baldwin Wallace College outside of Cleveland.

"People counted me out. People in Ohio were saying, 'Why don't they ever call on him?' But we put one foot in front of the other."

Kasich will move on to campaigning in Pennsylvania and Utah this week. His campaign repeatedly points out that there are still almost 1,000 delegates to go before the convention and that the map for upcoming contests in the next few weeks is more suitable for Kasich's message. "We're going to hitch up a covered wagon and we're going West," the governor told reporters the day before the election.

In a memo released by his campaign Tuesday night, Kasich's chief campaign strategist, John Weaver, said their internal data shows that Marco Rubio voters break to Kasich by a 3:1 margin. Kasich, who some establishment Republicans had grumbled for weeks was only helping Trump by staying in the race, ended up being more helpful in blocking Trump than Rubio. The Florida senator got crushed in his home state to Trump on Tuesday and suspended his campaign.

"With a narrowing field, Gov. Kasich is the candidate best positioned to go toe-to-toe in the remaining states," Weaver said.

At Kasich's election night event, his supporters said the governor he had been wrongly underestimated and ignored in favor Rubio, but now he will have a better shot at getting his message out.

"I think it will wake people up and show them that there is a alternative to Trump and make people pay attention to him," said Amy Schoch, who voted for Kasich and attended his election night event.

"I think think this is huge," said Brad Himes, 51, resident of Berea who has been friends with Kasich for years. "Kasich is the man left to challenge Trump."

In the days leading up to the election, Kasich focused on reminding voters how he had led the economic recovery in the state as governor and refused to attack Trump even as the real estate mogul was going after him during rallies and on Twitter. He made references to violence at Trump rallies and the mudslinging by other campaigns; however, Kasich didn't aggressively attack the real estate mogul as other candidates have done.

But Kasich has already hinted that he will be bringing up Trump more moving forward.

"I will be however forced going forward to talk about some of the deep concerns I have about the way this campaign has been run by some others — by one other in particular," he told reporters earlier on Tuesday.

"I just saw a commercial I guess it was last night, of these comments that were made about women. I have two daughters. They see this stuff. What do you think they think? I’ll have more to say about that. But that’s going to be not designed to be negative as much as it is to point out things that I’ve seen that are deeply disturbing in this process. And I think I have the right to do that as a candidate, but in terms of rolling around in the mud that’s not where I intend to ever really go even in the fall election."

Kasich, who has previously won two dozen elections in Ohio since 1979, already had the help of the Ohio Republican Party, which endorsed him for president, and a super PAC that spent significant resources on ads and getting out the vote. But on the eve of the primary, former GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney flew out to Ohio to campaign with him. Romney hasn't endorsed yet but came pretty close to throwing his support behind Kasich hours before polls opened.

Standing alongside Romney, his family, and Ohio Sen. Rob Portman, the governor closed out his campaign in his home town of Westerville Monday night, encouraging voters to choose his hopeful message in an increasingly negative campaign season.

"I think people are proud," he told reporters of his neighbors and friends in his hometown earlier on Tuesday. "I think it’s really interesting because I’ve been asked, ‘Do you regret the fact that you’ve been so positive in the campaign?’ And we all know that by the fact that I ran a positive campaign — or our team has run a positive campaign — that there were probably missed opportunities to get attention early on, but by continuing to run the race the positive campaign is now starting to shine through like a beacon all over the country."

Small Confetti Blizzard Dropped On John Kasich Because Last Time There Wasn't Enough

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The governor complained about the confetti showing in New Hampshire, according to a campaign staffer.

This time, in Ohio where Kasich won, there was serious confetti. Oh was there confetti.

This time, in Ohio where Kasich won, there was serious confetti. Oh was there confetti.

Brendan Smialowski / AFP / Getty Images


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Bernie’s Best Week Ever Falls Flat

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Ralph Freso / Getty Images

WASHINGTON — There were few better stretches for Bernie Sanders than the days after his insurgent campaign pulled off an upset win in the Michigan primary.

The primary map shifted to states where Sanders felt confident, he finally found a message that allowed him to seriously compete for the black vote, rival Hillary Clinton stumbled badly several times, and several days were dominated by the battle between Sanders and Donald Trump that Team Bernie always wanted.

But in the end, everything did not come up Bernie.

The Sanders campaign hoardes “momentum” — an intangible possession, unlike delegates — and after Tuesday night, the Sanders campaign is back to insisting they have momentum, as they did in the dire weeks between New Hampshire and Michigan.

Those weeks featured highs and lows for Sanders — but more than anything, they featured Clinton winning big numbers of delegates in southern states, and holding fairly tight in the ones she lost. Then came Michigan, the dream night for Sanders aficionados. All the polls were wrong, all the pundits were wrong, all of the establishment predictions were wrong. Sanders won a narrow victory, but one that was big enough to earn him the momentum.

(Clinton actually won more delegates thanks to her blowout win in Mississippi the same night, but that’s not how momentum works.)

During the week since, Sanders enjoyed multiple days of Clinton apologies after she incorrectly gave the Reagans credit for starting a national conversation about AIDS and drew criticisms for a tone-deaf response to well-publicized violence at Trump rallies.

Sanders, meanwhile, used that same Trump rally violence to launch a well-publicized fight with the Republican frontrunner Sanders aides privately relished and Clinton aides privately dreaded. Trump blamed Sanders for protesters at his rallies, Sanders called Trump a liar, cable news was dominated for days. Trump, said a Bernie aide, gave the Sanders campaign the greatest possible gift: picking a fight.

Meanwhile, Sanders enjoyed a primary battle where he appeared to finally have the upper hand with black voters. Illinois gave him a chance to prove he could compete for black voters. The scale of Sanders’ losses among black voters across the south sent even the most senior members of his campaign reeling, shocked at the scale with which Clinton could rely on voters both candidates had fought for. In Illinois, his campaign ran hard against Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel, a Clinton ally who’s lost a lot of support with the black community during his time as the city’s leader. The campaign included a TV ad and dozens of mentions of Rahm by Sanders surrogates on the trail.

The Sanders campaign was extremely confident in the message. He contrasted himself much more sharply with Clinton, trying hard to use Michigan, where the candidates held their most contentious televised debate of the cycle, as a model.

Sanders was so confident this approach would work he actually predicted a victory in Ohio despite polls showing him trailing. Polls didn’t matter after Michigan, Sanders insisted. On Tuesday, he lost Ohio and he lost it early in the evening. Clinton, sensing momentum had shifted her way, spoke right away, claiming the night as her own before the final tallies in other states came in.

Sanders didn’t win Illinois either, a huge blow to his campaign. If he did win Missouri, it was extremely close. (Missouri’s results have not yet been decided.) In the end, it was a clean Clinton sweep, or close to one.

Democratic proportional delegate awarding — the delegate math Clinton has relied on in the face of Sanders’ momentum argument — suddenly became very interesting to the Sanders campaign. The campaign was now trying to just do well enough to win delegates everywhere, aides told the Wall Street Journal in an off-message Super Tuesday preview.

There is little doubt that Sanders will go on, however. His team has said over and over they will fight for the last delegate in the last state on the Democratic nomination calendar. As Clinton’s sole opponent, they see little reason to drop out while the money is still pouring in from Sanders’ remarkable grassroots funding base, and they see no point in leaving delegates Clinton hasn’t won to her without a fight.

Sanders was in Arizona Tuesday night, far away from the latest Super Tuesday contest he pushed so hard to win and spent so big to do well in. He didn’t speak directly to the results — offering instead a stump speech in Phoenix that included fewer of the barbs aimed at Clinton from the week previous.

But on Tuesday, Clinton had the momentum, the precious fuel the Sanders campaign needs to survive as viable threat for the Democratic nomination.

Ted Cruz's Plans To Go One-On-One With Donald Trump Got Messed Up By John Kasich

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Bob Levey / Getty Images

HOUSTON — Ted Cruz continued to cast himself as the last remaining viable alternative to Donald Trump on Tuesday, inviting Marco Rubio supporters to join his campaign and casting himself as the sole authentic conservative left.

It’s a sign of the up-is-down nature of the Republican presidential race that Cruz is able to make this argument despite not having won a state on Tuesday night (as of this writing, the Missouri primary had still not been called).

It’s true that Cruz has won more states than any other non-Trump candidate. But the fact remains that Trump still has by far the best shot of winning the nomination outright, and while tonight’s John Kasich win in Ohio increased the chances of a contested convention, it did not help to clear the path for Cruz.

“Tonight was a good night. Tonight we continued to gain delegates to continue our march to 1,237,” Cruz said on Tuesday, speaking to a small crowd of supporters gathered in a Houston hotel ballroom with a cash bar.

Cruz extended an olive branch to Rubio, who dropped out of the race after a crushing defeat in his home state of Florida, and his supporters, saying “Marco’s story, his passion, inspires me.”

“To those who supported Marco, who worked so hard, we welcome you with open arms,” Cruz said.

And he drew contrasts with Trump, asking the crowd, “Do you want a candidate who shares your values or a candidate who has spent decades opposing your values?"

The Cruz campaign still say that they can get to 1,237 delegates and win the nomination outright, but there is growing acknowledgement that a contested convention could be in the works.

“We believe there’s a path for two candidates after tonight who can solve this where it should be, which is among the voters,” Cruz campaign manager Jeff Roe told reporters before results started coming in on Tuesday. “And if we’re not able to get those numbers, then we’re prepared for a convention. I think that’s less than a 50% chance, but there is a chance that we end up there.”

The continued presence of Kasich in the race makes the entire process more complicated — and Cruz’s path to a one-on-one battle with Trump further away.

Kasich is “going to be very helpful to Donald,” Roe said. “He does not help us.”

The Cruz campaign will likely have to start dealing with Kasich, someone who hasn’t much attracted their attention before this beyond Cruz encouraging voters who were considering voting for Rubio or Kasich to vote for him. Cruz campaign chief strategist Jason Johnson hinted at this when speaking with reporters after Cruz’s event on Tuesday.

“He has an interesting record that’s gone without examination,” Johnson said of Kasich. “We’ll see. “

“To the extent that he earns a single delegate, it’s a wasted earning of a delegate because he can’t get there,” Johnson said. “It’s like my dream of making the senior tour on the PGA or my dream of being a NASCAR driver, it ain’t gonna happen.”

Johnson even called Kasich a “spoiler,” saying “there are only two people who actually have a viable path” to the nomination.

Cruz, who often says that conservatives are “coalescing” around his campaign, did start seeing some coalescing in the past two weeks. The campaign rolled out a surprise endorsement from Carly Fiorina, and also snagged the endorsement of Sen. Mike Lee — Cruz’s first Senate endorsement — and National Review, the august conservative publication.

Kasich staying in could dilute some of that coalescing, just as Cruz was starting to build tentative bridges with Republican establishment figures — Neil Bush, for example, has endorsed Cruz. And tensions with the establishment remain high. CNN reported on Tuesday that some Republican senators want Cruz to apologize to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell before they will consider supporting his candidacy.

The Cruz team continues to project confidence going forward into the next contests, sticking to the two-man-race narrative.

A fundraising email with the subject line “one-on-one” went out later in the evening. “Tonight, there is no ambiguity,” the email read. “I'm the only candidate that has defeated Trump outside my home state, that can unify all conservatives, and who has a pathway to win the delegates necessary to earn the nomination. I've been telling you: this is a ONE-ON-ONE race between me and Donald Trump.”

And the campaign circulated a memo on Tuesday written by director of research and analytics Chris Wilson that projects that Cruz has a “clear and realistic path” to winning 1,262 delegates, arguing that “It will soon prove accurate that Trump in fact simply does not have a large enough lead built up to survive a head-to-head contest with Senator Cruz going forward.”

The memo posits that the map going forward favors Cruz because most of the upcoming states are closed primaries, where he does well compared to Trump’s dominating open primaries. And it predicts strong Cruz performances in Utah, Wisconsin, and the June 7 primaries.

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