Conservative hacks are trying to embarrass the Clinton campaign with undercover sting operations in what appears to be a smallish right-wing conspiracy. The Washington Post gave Donald Trump "Four Pinocchios" for saying the unemployment rate is 42 percent, because if you count toddlers the rate is actually more like 52 percent. And Scott Walker said there are a "handful" of reasonable Muslims out there, though it's not clear if he considers President Obama reasonable. This is HUFFPOST HILL for Friday, August 21st, 2015:
JEB BUSH USED TO CARE ABOUT NOT NEEDLESSLY UPSETTING LATINOS - Way, way back in 2013 Jeb Bush believed that saying "anchor baby" was bad. Roque Planas: "Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) worked for years with a group that specifically told politicians not to use the term 'anchor baby' because the offensive term would alienate Latino voters." [HuffPost]
IRAN DEAL HAD A GOOD DAY - It's had its ups and downs this week. The Iran deal is SO ready for some Friday cocktails. Associated Press: "President Barack Obama's nuclear deal with Iran is picking up crucial support from swing-state Senate Democrats despite Republican opposition heightened by revelations of a secret side-agreement between Iran and the U.N. agency that inspects nuclear facilities. On Thursday, Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., became the latest to declare her backing, saying in a statement, 'This deal isn't perfect and no one trusts Iran, but it has become clear to me that the world is united behind this agreement with the exception of the government of Israel.' McCaskill's announcement followed a similar declaration a day earlier from Sen. Joe Donnelly, D-Ind., who said, 'I am willing to give this agreement the opportunity to succeed.'" [AP]
After wondering why his texts were being ignored, Obama tried sending an old timey letter to Democratic lawmakers this about why the Iran deal is on fleek.
DRAMA INSIDE CLINTONLAND? UNPOSSIBLE! You may find this unfathomable, but things inside Hillary Clinton's campaign are less than chill. But they have a plan! Sam Stein: "There is no such thing as a smooth presidential campaign, veterans of the crucible note. Crises can't be avoided, just merely separated into categories of existential and superficial threats. Inside the Hillary Clinton campaign right now, the modus vivendi is about differentiating between those two." [HuffPost]
SCOTT WALKER IS NOT INTIMIDATED BY HIS OWN PAST POSITIONS - Maybe he bumped his head really hard when he made those cabinets for his wife. John Harwood: "Days after seeming to echo Donald Trump's call for ending birthright citizenship, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker Friday said he isn't for or against the idea. 'I'm not taking a position on it one way or the other,' the 2016 Republican presidential hopeful said. Only after securing America's borders, he explained, is it appropriate to address the issue of birthright citizenship." Walker's earlier support for ending birthright citizenship didn't seem ambiguous at the time. [CNBC]
The Walker campaign sent this additional clarification: "Despite the best efforts to mischaracterize Governor Walker’s position, he has clearly and consistently stated that we need to enforce the laws on the books, keep people from coming here illegally, and enforce e-verify to stop the jobs magnet before we address the issue of birthright citizenship." Thanks, Walker campaign!
CLINTON CAMPAIGN WISE TO UNDERCOVER SHENANIGANS - Another tall stranger with a cash donation turned out to be two kids in a trenchcoat. Zeke Miller: "Hillary Clinton’s campaign offices around the country have been put on alert after at least two women approached Iowa staff under the guise of being supporters in an apparent effort to catch the campaign engaging in improper or illegal activity, a Clinton campaign official said." [Time]
RICH PERSON VACATIONS IN FANCY PLACE - Apparently, Hillary Clinton is supposed to go to Wildwood or something instead of the Hamptons? Annie Karni: "On the one hand, Clinton talks up her humble, middle-class upbringing, and positions herself as a fighter for those who have been knocked down but not out. On the other, she prefers to vacation where she fits in best -- next to the one percent." [Politico]
Donald Trump is a liar.
DAILY DELANEY DOWNER - Hannah Sparling: "Cincinnati Public Schools launched an investigation into a fourth-grade math assignment after parents at North Avondale Montessori complained about questions referencing alcohol and food stamps. It’s a series of three word problems centered around addition and subtraction, according to a post on the school’s Facebook page. The first question: 'A recipe for 48 ounces of punch calls for 23 ounces of fruit juice and liquor. The rest is club soda. How much of the recipe is club soda?'
The next two questions reference the Jones family, whose food stamps are getting cut $14 a week next month. How much will the Joneses get now? How much were they getting before?" ANSER: the punch is 25 ounces of club soda. [Cincinnati.com]
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OH GOD TRUMP MIGHT ACTUALLY WIN - Non-crazy political analyst Norm Ornstein thinks the Donald Trump thing might not be the same flash-in-the-pan phenomena we've seen in past elections. Gulp. "So is anything really different this time? I think so. First, because of the amplification of rage against the machine by social media, and the fact that Barack Obama has grown stronger and more assertive in his second term while Republican congressional leaders have become more impotent. The unhappiness with the establishment and the desire to stiff them is much stronger." [The Atlantic]
More than half of Republican voters think Trump will be the nominee. It's all happening.
RICH DONORS, PARTY BOSSES GO GUTLESS - Robert Costa & Philip Rucker report: "Though flummoxed by Trump’s staying power and aghast at the coarse tone he has brought to the race, party elites said they have no plan to take him down. Donors feel powerless. Republican officials have little leverage. Candidates are skittish. Super PAC operatives say attack ads against him could backfire. And everyone agrees that the Trump factor in this chaotic multi-candidate field is so unpredictable that any move carries dangerous risks." [WashPost]
Oh good -- super PACS to light millions of dollars on fire for Chris Christie and the other also-rans.
REMEMBER WHEN I WAS YOUR FAVORITE ANGRY NUTJOB? - Ted Cruz has a sad. Katie Glueck: "Cruz, who led the government shutdown over Obamacare and is his party’s most virulent critic of GOP leadership, was once considered the most anti-Washington candidate in the field, but Trump has stolen that mantle." [Politico]
Federal cop pleads guilty to blowing up a government lab while trying to make meth
O'MALLEY RESORTS TO BRIBING OLD PEOPLE - Non-Bernie-Sanders Democratic presidential "hopeful" Martin O'Malley (who was governor of Maryland or something) wants to fatten Social Security checks, which actual Bernie Sanders already said. Sam Frizell: "The plan would boost monthly Social Security benefits for retirees, though O’Malley’s campaign did not say precisely by how much." [Time]
Liberal groups wondering why Hillary Clinton also isn't promising more Social Security money.
TED CRUZ WANTS TO MAKE SURE YOU KNOW HE HATES AN OLD MAN WITH CANCER - Because nothing is more important than arguing about politics from four decades ago. John McCormick: "A day after Jimmy Carter appeared on national television to talk about the cancer that's ravaging his body, Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz criticized the former president's administration in a speech in Iowa. 'I think where we are today is very, very much like the late 1970s,' the senator from Texas said on the Des Moines Register's political soapbox stage at the Iowa State Fair." [Bloomberg]
SCOTT WALKER'S GOT THE WHOLE ISLAMIC WORLD IN HIS HANDS - Nice guy Scott Walker grudgingly allows that a "handful" of the world's 1.6 billion Muslims might not be crazed murderers. Amanda Terkel: "Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) admitted Friday that not every Muslim in the world is a terrorist, saying there are a 'handful' of 'reasonable' people out there." [HuffPost]
BECAUSE YOU'VE READ THIS FAR - Bears go swimming in some family’s backyard pool.
"I WAS RESEARCHING WHETHER ANYONE FROM THE OPPOSITION WANTED TO DO IT WITH ME" The head of Louisiana Republican Party got caught up in the Ashley Madison mess. - Kevin Litten: "Louisiana GOP executive director Jason Doré said Thursday that his name is on a list of accounts released as part of the Ashley Madison cheating website hack because the site was used for 'opposition research.'" [The Times-Picayune]
COMFORT FOOD by @dmoralesgomez & @yujia_pan
- Arizona man jams out to Dr. Dre on piano
- The Swiftalogues: dramatic readings of Taylor Swift lyrics, as performed by actress Nina Millin (also see The Beyoncélogues)
TWITTERAMA
@PaulBlu: Column if Franzen had adopted Iraqi orphan: Young are "angry and cynical" bc families died in destabilizing invasions by foreign empire.
@elisefoley: Ugh there’s a story on Trump’s thoughts on the War on Christmas. They get earlier every year! In my day they started after Thanksgiving.
@owillis: god who is leaking our secret plans to you? ill get the plumbers on this.
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