Article of the Day -- "Trump shatters the Republican Party (1302 hits)
How the 2016 primary will define the GOP for years to come," by Shane Goldmacher: "The populist billionaire's rise ... has upended what had been decades of relative GOP stability, a 40-year span in which most Republican presidential contests since 1976 neatly narrowed to an establishment-embraced front-runner and a conservative insurgent alternative. No more. Suddenly, there are three strands of the Republicanism, each entrenched and vying for supremacy." http://politi.co/1R0H4sc
PLAYBOOK HIGHLIGHT REEL -- "Rubio endorsement spree may be too late: The stars are aligning for Marco just as Donald Trump seems to be steamrolling," by Anna Palmer and Eli Stokols: "[W]ith the primary electorate in such an anti-establishment mood this year, the avalanche of endorsements from venerable politicians could actually bury Rubio, not his opponents, by making him appear as the new avatar of the Washington political class many voters so detest." http://politi.co/1QxsesQ
--"Mega-donors shy away from fight with Trump: Fearful of counterattacks, rich conservatives and their allies are mostly holding their fire," by Ken Vogel and Isaac Arnsdorf: "As Donald Trump picks up momentum, the chances of a well-funded assault to block him from the Republican presidential nomination are dramatically dwindling." http://politi.co/1VDFvnW
--"Bernie's South Carolina surrender," by Gabe Debenedetti in Columbia, S.C.: "With just a few days left until the South Carolina Democratic primary, Bernie Sanders is all but writing the state off. He hasn't said that, of course, but his schedule reflects it." http://bit.ly/1WIi8Kl
THINGS TRUMP SAYS - At a rally in Nevada yesterday: "I know why I get bad treatment in The New York Times. Because it's owned by Mexico." (Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim is a minority owner.) http://nws.mx/1OtT5V7
- Trump also still loves insulting people by comparing them to dogs - yesterday @realDonaldTrump tweeted: "Ted Cruz lifts the Bible high into the air and then lies like a dog -over and over again! The Evangelicals in S.C. figured him out & said no! ... Wow was Ted Cruz disloyal to his very capable director of communication. He used him as a scape goat-fired like a dog! Ted panicked." See HuffPost's earlier compilation of 7 tweets in which Trump uses the phrase http://huff.to/1Wd4UVG
ROGER SIMON, "Trump is No. 1, but who's his No. 2?": Respected GOP operative "Tom Rath ... was willing to provide a list. ... Jeff Immelt ... [Sen.] John Thune ... Jeb Bush ... Joe Scarborough ... Charlie Baker: Republican governor of Massachusetts. ... Roger Goodell ... [Sen.] Tim Scott ... the only African-American in U.S. history ever to be elected to both the House and Senate. ... Oprah Winfrey." With cameos by Juleanna Glover, Chris Lehane, Bill McInturff, Charlie Cook, Garry Wills http://politi.co/1S0DPWx
