Desperate, Panicked GOP Insiders See 'Clearer Path' to Stopping Donald Trump

The Republican Party implosion continues.

It's not pretty.

At WaPo, "Seeing Trump as vulnerable, GOP elites now eye a contested convention":

PARK CITY, Utah — The presentation is an 11th-hour rebuttal to the fatalism permeating the Republican establishment: Slide by slide, state by state, it calculates how Donald Trump could be denied the nomination.

Marco Rubio wins Florida. John Kasich wins Ohio. Ted Cruz notches victories in the Midwest and Mountain West. And the results in California and other states are jumbled enough to leave Trump three dozen delegates short of the 1,237 required — forcing a contested convention in Cleveland in July.

The slide show, shared with The Washington Post by two operatives advising one of a handful of anti-Trump super PACs, encapsulates the newly emboldened view of many GOP leaders and donors. They see a clearer path to stopping Trump following his two losses and two narrower-than-expected wins on Saturday.

In private conversations in recent days at a Republican Governors Association retreat here in Park City and at a gathering of conservative policy minds and financiers in Sea Island, Ga., there was an emerging consensus that Trump is vulnerable and that a continued blitz of attacks could puncture the billionaire mogul’s support and leave him limping onto the convention floor.

But the slow-bleed strategy is risky and hinges on Trump losing Florida, Illinois and Ohio on March 15; wins in all three would set him on track to amass the majority of delegates. Even as some party figures see glimmers of hope that Trump could be overtaken, others believe any stop-Trump efforts could prove futile.

This moment of confusion for the Republican Party is made more uncertain by the absence of a clear alternative to Trump. Cruz, Rubio and Kasich each are collecting delegates and vowing to fight through the spring. Among GOP elites, the only agreed-upon mission is to minimize Trump’s share of the delegates to enable an opponent to mount a credible convention challenge...

I don't know about Illinois and Ohio, but in Florida, Marquito Rubio's pretty much toast. He's behind in the polls, and in some cases, by huge margins.

And later today, if Trump wins Michigan, it just gives him even more momentum heading into March 15th.

The GOP elites are freakin' deranged.

Keep reading.

150 Somali Workers Fired at Cargill Meat Solutions Plant in Fort Morgan, Colorado (VIDEO)

Wild.

At NYT, "Prayer Dispute Between Somalis and Plant Reshapes a Colorado Town, Again."

They've now sued, claiming civil rights violations under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Pamela wrote on this in late-December, "Hundreds of Muslims Walk Off Jobs at Cargill Meat Plant, Demanding More Religious Prayer Accommodation":

At a Colorado meat packing plant, 190 Muslim workers have been fired after they walked off the job to protest not being given special breaks for Islamic prayer. Some of them returned to work, but most of them are staying away, as now the Hamas-tied Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has stepped in to pressure the company, Cargill Meat Solutions in Fort Morgan, Colorado, to grant Muslim workers special privileges.

Read the chapter titled “Mosqueing the Workplace” in my book Stop the Islamization of America to better understand this de facto imposition of sharia in America. It works this way: every accommodation gives way to more demands. Everywhere American mores conflict with sharia, it is our mores that must give way.

Muslims impose their work times, their sharia on non-Muslim coworkers, and punish companies that refuse to submit. Litigation jihad is a huge industry, and American companies are being held hostage by Muslim workers...

Keep reading.

Maria Sharapova Admits She Tested Positive for Meldonium (VIDEO)

Meldonium? What in the heck is meldonium?

At the Guardian UK, "What is meldonium and why did Maria Sharapova take it?":

Meldonium is also known as mildronate, it increases exercise capacity in athletes and the Olympic figure skating champion Ekaterina Bobrova admitted to testing positive to the drug on Monday.

And see the Los Angeles Times, "Maria Sharapova unsure of punishment after failing drug test at Australian Open."

Sixty-One Percent of Israeli Jews Say Donald Trump is Friendly to Israel

Heh.

This won't get a lot of MSM attention.

At Instapundit, "WAIT, I THOUGHT HE WAS HITLER? Poll: 61% of Israeli Jews Say Donald Trump Good for Israel."

Kelly Rohrbach Outtakes Sports Illustrated Swimsuit 2016 (VIDEO)

She's having fun.

Watch, "Kelly Rohrbach's Hilarious (And Sexy) Outtakes Sports Illustrated Swimsuit 2016."

Also at WWTDD, "Kelly Rohrbach Seems Worth Baywatching, Get It?"

Jackie Johnson's Thunderstorm Forecast

I tweeted Ms. Johnson this morning.

At the clip, she says she's been up since 6:00am.

What a storm!

Tomi Lahren: Leftist Media Smears Donald Trump with the KKK (VIDEO)

It's good, and she doesn't even support Trump.

Deal of the Day: Logitech Harmony Ultimate Remote with RF Control

At Amazon, 40 Percent Off - Logitech Harmony Ultimate Remote with Customizable Touch Screen and Closed Cabinet RF Control - Black (915-000201).

Also, from Max Hastings, Inferno: The World at War, 1939-1945, and Armageddon: The Battle for Germany, 1944-1945.

BONUS: From Hannah Arendt, Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil.

Thousands of 'Refugees' Stranded in Greece (VIDEO)

At the New York Times, "European Union Plans Emergency Aid to Help Trapped Refugees."

They're bottle-necked, heh.

Also at NBC News, "Refugee Crisis: EU Leaders Meet on Migrants as Thousands Wait in Greece."

Plus, watch via Euronews:

Transgender Bathrooms: The Next Battleground for LGBT Rights

Hey, if this is the left's hill to die on, they're really gonna die on it!

Some lines you don't cross. Forcing families to integrate public restrooms with transgender activists is one of those lines.

At the Los Angeles Times, "The next battleground for LGBT rights."

Things won't go well for radical homosexual collectivists. Houston's city ordinance was just a glimpse of the future, and that's a multcultural city that had a lesbian mayor and elected Obama twice by massive margins.

Here, "Why Depraved Leftist Democrats Lost on Houston Transsexual Bathroom Ordinance (VIDEO)."

Flashback video, "Campaign for Houston - TV Spot 1."

Western Washington University Assembly for Power and Liberation — OUR DEMANDS

Heh, this is pretty hilarious!

At the Daily Beast, "The College That Wants to Ban ‘History’".

And read the petition, lol: "Student Assembly for Power and Liberation Demands (WWU)."

Talk about crazy people. *SMH*

Judge Jeanine Slams Mitt Romney and the Craven, Panicked GOP Elite (VIDEO)

This is fantastic!

From Saturday's Justice with Jeanine:

Sunday Cartoons

Back at Flopping Aces, "Sunday Funnies."



And Theo Spark's, "Cartoon Roundup..."

Cartoon Credit: Legal Insurrection, "Branco Cartoon – Reality Check."

Miesha Tate Chokes Holly Holm Unconscious at UFC 196 (VIDEO)

I would've liked to watch it live, heh.

At USA Today, "Miesha Tate holds onto dream, opens world of possibility with defeat of Holly Holm."

Also at the Heavy, "WATCH: Miesha Tate Submits Holly Holm With Rear-Naked Choke."

And watch, "Holly Holm v. Miesha Tate (UFC 196) - Meisha WINS chokes out Holly."

Still more, at MMA Fighting, "UFC 196 results: Miesha Tate stuns Holly Holm with fifth-round submission":

LAS VEGAS -- Holly Holm seemed well on her way to retaining the UFC women's bantamweight championship on Saturday night.

Then Miesha Tate scored one of the most stunning finishes in mixed martial arts history.

Tate landed a swift takedown in the final two minutes of the fifth round at UFC 196 and landed a tight rear-naked choke. Holm tried to shake Tate off, and when she couldn't, went unconscious instead of tapping out.

Tate won the title at 3:30 of the final round at the MGM Grand Garden Arena for her fifth straight victory.

"I knew I had to finish the fight," said Tate (18-5). "I knew I had to be perfect in the fifth round."

Tate had very nearly finished the bout in the second round, dominating from bell to bell and securing a rear-naked choke in the final minute.

But Holm (10-1), who had won the opening round, regained control and won the third, fourth, and appeared to be winning the fifth. She stuffed every Tate takedown attempt in that time frame up until the final, fateful attempt.

Still more at MMA Mania, "UFC 196 results: Miesha Tate mounts incredible comeback, chokes Holly Holm unconscious to win Bantamweight belt late in final round."

Young Reporters, Steeped in Social Media, Accustomed to Digital Speed and Always-On World, Grab Spotlight on U.S. Campaign Trail

This is really fascinating, although, except for Time's Zeke Miller, it's all women.

And it's weird, because when I first really started following politics back in the early 1980s, it was the old-timers who were all the most prolific, and authoritative. That's when shows like "This Week with David Brinkley" were the rage. Even CNN was still catching on back then.

Nowadays, fresh out of college and you're reporting from the presidential campaign trail? Pretty amazing.

At NYT, "Millennial Reporters Grab the Campaign-Trail Spotlight":

Had a total fan girl moment seeing the ever fabulous @katieglueck grace the cover of today's @NYTStyles: pic.twitter.com/jyRE36ojfY

— Caitlin Huey-Burns (@CHueyBurnsRCP) March 6, 2016

When the last presidential race was in its early stages, Katie Glueck was a senior at Northwestern University. Now covering the Ted Cruz campaign for Politico, Ms. Glueck, 26, belongs to a select group of millennial reporters who have a front-row seat to the greatest political show on earth.

While youth is a virtue for those covering the turbulent 2016 campaign, it has been known to get in the way now and then. Caitlin Huey-Burns, 28, who covers primaries and caucuses for the website RealClear Politics, said, “I often get asked by voters if I’m writing for the school paper.”

Rosie Gray, 26, who covers the campaign for BuzzFeed, said that her age is only occasionally a factor. “Honestly, the times I feel the most young is when I’m talking to a voter on the trail and I sound like a pipsqueak saying, ‘Excuse me, ma’am, can I ask you a question?’” she said. “A lot of that had to do with how you present yourself and how you act. You can either act like a young little thing or not.”

And she disputed the notion that her age is much of an issue. “I’m not that young,” she said. “I’m 26. Thirty is staring me down the barrel of a gun.”

But Maralee Schwartz, a former longtime political editor at The Washington Post, said that the rise of these correspondents is new indeed.

“They’ve become much more prominent,” Ms. Schwartz said, adding that 2012 “was the first year that you saw how many younger reporters were on the trail. One veteran reporter called me from the bus, stunned, saying: ‘I am the oldest person here. One of them brought brownies.’ They may lack experience, but they can keep pace with the changes and demands and responsibilities of the web.”

*****

Unlike some of their more experienced colleagues, the reporters under 30 also seem to accept the notion that they are always on the clock, that keeping up a running patter with news-hungry audiences via Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat is as much part of the job as filing a 550-word dispatch.

“There are points where I have to remind myself, ‘You haven’t tweeted all day,’ because it is an important part of building our brands and sharing our work, and that doesn’t come to me naturally,” said MJ Lee, a 29-year-old politics reporter for CNN. “But there’s no going back.

“You have no excuse,” continued Ms. Lee, who is married to Alexander Burns, who covers politics for The New York Times. “You have to be up-to-date on everything, because you can be. You have your iPhone and you have Twitter. Why aren’t you up-to-date on the latest thing that happened two minutes ago? When I get on a plane and it’s a small plane and there’s no Wi-Fi, I get uncomfortable.”

Ms. Lee, a 2009 Georgetown University graduate who majored in government and Chinese, said: “Yesterday, we went to dinner, and for some reason I stopped getting email on my phone. And that made me really nervous. And it was maybe 17 minutes.”

The energy required to maintain a constant online presence is just part of the challenge. To write or broadcast anything connected with politics in 2016 is to be exposed to instant backlash. Even a deeply reported and elegantly written campaign story is likely to draw malicious attack.

Well, I'm getting a kick out of the "always-on" digital culture reference, although I hate it, since to me it implies that these young cub reporters don't really know anything. They don't have a personal wealth of political knowledge, and should they come up short, well, there's always Wikipedia.

But then, I'm online much of the time myself, reading the news, and blogging. So, I can't gripe too much about that without being hypocritical.

So, it's all good.

RTWT.

Marco Rubio Is Toast

If Rubio can't win his home state of Florida, it's all over.

The polls are a little mixed so far. A new survey out yesterday from Our Principals PAC (an anti-Trump operation) had Rubio just 5 points behind Trump, 35-30 percent. See the Miami Herald, "Poll for anti-Donald Trump group finds narrowing Republican presidential race in Florida."

But Quinnipiac had Trump up 44-28 over Rubio among likely Republican primary voters the other day. See, "Trump Trumps Rubio Among Florida Republicans, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Leadership Is Important Factor In Race."

But hey, Rubio's doing his best Baghdad Bob impersonation. At NBC News, via Memeorandum, "Rubio on Losses: ‘The Map Only Gets Better for Us’."

And see Politico, "Battered Rubio vows race ‘only gets better for us’: Rivals call on the Florida senator to drop out after he took a shellacking on Saturday night":

The Florida senator, badly trailing Donald Trump and Ted Cruz, lost every state and even failed to pick up delegates in some of the contests.

Despite the dismal news, Rubio offered a rosy picture of the race going forward, especially in the winner-take-all Florida primary.

“We’re going to win Florida, and you’ll find out on March 15 how confident we are,” Rubio said, in Spanish, to supporters in San Juan, Puerto Rico, which holds its primary on Sunday. “Tonight we will have more delegates than we did last night,” Rubio promised. “This map only gets better for us.”

Cruz’s campaign, however, said it’s all but over for Rubio.

“It’s devastating. The Florida-or-bust strategy hasn’t worked in the past and it won’t work this time,” Cruz’s spokeswoman Catherine Frazier said. “Cruz continues to amass delegates as conservatives rally behind him and gets closer and closer to making this a two-man race between him and Trump.”

Trump eked out narrow wins in Kentucky and Louisiana Saturday night, while Cruz scored two big, surprise victories in Kansas and Maine. Rubio was left choking on their dust. He lost by double digits in Louisiana, Kentucky, Kansas, and in Maine, where he failed to even pick up a single delegate.Trump eked out narrow wins in Kentucky and Louisiana Saturday night, while Cruz scored two big, surprise victories in Kansas and Maine. Rubio was left choking on their dust. He lost by double digits in Louisiana, Kentucky, Kansas, and in Maine, where he failed to even pick up a single delegate.

Rubio spokesman Alex Conant said the Florida senator has been hurt by the heavy schedule of caucus contests and expressed hope that Rubio’s fortunes will improve with the primaries ahead. “So we feel really good about the map moving forward. And after we win the Florida primary, the map, the momentum and the money is going to be on our side,” Conant said. “At this point, nobody is on track to having the 1,237 delegates needed to secure the nomination. But after we win Florida, we are going to be on our way to doing so.”

Rubio so far has only won one state – Minnesota – and has only half of Cruz’s delegate count and one-third of Trump’s...

Keep reading.

Image Credit: Dr. Marty Fox.

The First Full Biography of Julia Ward Howe

This looks great, from Elaine Showalter, The Civil Wars of Julia Ward Howe: A Biography.

It's released on Tuesday, but you can pre-order.

Donald Trump Leads in CBS 'Battleground Tracker' Poll Ahead of Michigan Primary

At CBS News, via Memeorandum, "Battleground Tracker poll: Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton lead in Michigan."

PREVIOUSLY: "Great Donald Trump Interview on 'Face the Nation' (VIDEO)."

Great Donald Trump Interview on 'Face the Nation' (VIDEO)

Watch, in two parts, "Donald Trump on torture: 'I will always abide by the law'," and "Trump on KKK: 'Hate groups are not for me'."

Great comments on fighting terrorism, especially --- another reason why I really like Trump.

Why Is Donald Trump So 'Yuge'?

At the Mad Jewess Woman's, "WHY Is #Trump So “Yuge”? Not Hard to Figure Out If You Were Raised Old School American."

And at CNN, ".@realDonaldTrump calls for @MarcoRubio to drop out, jokes @TedCruz won Maine bc it's close to Canada #SuperSaturday."