Watch Chris Christie Die Inside Beside Donald Trump on Super Tuesday

The New Jersey governor looked like he was in a hostage video

By Tessa Stuart March 2, 2016



Voters in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Vermont and Virginia delivered a clear message to the Republican Party Tuesday, declaring human-sized gumboot chiton Donald Trump their preferred candidate for president.

Trump's one-time rival for the nomination, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, introduced him. "Tonight is the beginning of Donald Trump bringing the Republican Party together for a big victory this November," Christie said. He bit his lip, looking for a moment like he might change his mind, then went on: "Tonight is the beginning of Donald Trump bringing the people of our nation together to help America win again."

He went on to list Donald Trump's favorite Donald Trump qualities: "He has shown himself to be tough and strong and bold. He's shown himself to be a fighter, a leader who speaks plainly to the American people." The description was striking for both how closely is resembles Trump's image of himself, and how little it resembles the dangerously unqualified candidate Christie previously spoke of on the campaign trail.

When Trump emerged to take the podium, Christie stood behind him for the duration of his victory speech, with a surprisingly wide range of pained expressions flickering across his face. The Internet took notice: The hashtag #FreeChrisChristie and jokes about the New Jersey governor looking like he was in a hostage video quickly flooded Twitter.

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/watch-chris-christie-die-inside-beside-donald-trump-on-super-tuesday-20160302

(CNN)GOP operatives told CNN early Wednesday morning that they'll push Ben Carson to drop out of the Republican presidential race, and instead run for a U.S. Senate seat from Florida.

It's unclear how receptive the retired neurosurgeon will be to their pleas. Carson did not appear to be going anywhere as Tuesday night drew to a close.

Sen. Marco Rubio, who's seat is up, has said he will not seek re-election. Carson continues to show no signs of getting out of the race.

"Millions of Americans plead with me to continue," he said in a statement Tuesday night. "They want to have a choice and a representative voice to ensure people of faith are not marginalized and that integrity is restored to leadership, with a focus on common sense solutions to the myriad problems we face as a nation. They know I am a citizen candidate, not a politician, who won't do what is expedient, but what is right."

http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/01/politics/ben-carson-answered-prayers/index.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/marco-rubio-losing-primaries_us_56d60be7e4b0871f60ed1243

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) lost primaries or caucuses in at least nine states on Tuesday, moving his record in the race for the Republican presidential nomination to 1-13.

That's a worse record through the first 14 contests than the worst teams in the NFL last year: The Cleveland Browns and Tennessee Titans at least managed to win three of their first 14 games.

Rubio -- whom the media proclaimed the "real" winner of three of the first four presidential primaries after he finished behind Donald Trump in all four -- lost a bunch more on Tuesday. Trump won primaries or caucuses in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Massachusetts, Tennessee and Virginia. Sen. Ted Cruz won Oklahoma and his home state of Texas. Either Trump or Ohio Gov. John Kasich will win Vermont.

So Rubio is still promising wins. He appeared on Fox Tuesday night to promise that his best states are yet to come. (The next states on the GOP calendar are Kansas, Kentucky and Louisiana this Saturday and Idaho and Mississippi next Tuesday.)

Revenge of the Simple: How George W. Bush Gave Rise to Trump

Bush was just an appetizer — Trump would be the main course

By Matt Taibbi March 1, 2016



http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/revenge-of-the-simple-how-george-w-bush-gave-rise-to-trump-20160301

To hear GOP insiders tell it, Doomsday is here. If Donald Trump scores huge on tonight and seizes control of the nomination in the Super Tuesday primaries, it will mark the beginning of the end of the Republican Party, and perhaps the presidency.

But Trump isn't the beginning of the end. George W. Bush was. The amazing anti-miracle of the Bush presidency is what makes today's nightmare possible.

People forget what an extraordinary thing it was that Bush was president. Dubya wasn't merely ignorant when compared with other politicians or other famous people. No, he would have stood out as dumb in just about any setting.

If you could somehow run simulations where Bush was repeatedly shipwrecked on a desert island with 20 other adults chosen at random, he would be the last person listened to by the group every single time. He knew absolutely nothing about anything. He wouldn't have been able to make fire, find water, build shelter or raise morale. It would have taken him days to get over the shock of no room service.

WASHINGTON -- Payday lenders have been gunning for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau since the day President Barack Obama tapped Elizabeth Warren to set up the new agency. They've had plenty of help from congressional Republicans -- longtime recipients of campaign contributions from the payday loan industry. As the CFPB has moved closer to adopting new rules to shield families from predatory lending, the GOP has assailed the agency from every conceivable angle -- going after it's budget, attempting to tie its hands with new layers of red tape, fomenting conspiracy theories about rogue regulators illegally shutting down businesses and launching direct attacks on payday loan rules themselves.

To date, the GOP blitz has resulted in a few close shaves for the young agency, but no actual defeats. But the industry has cultivated a powerful new ally in recent weeks: Democratic National Committee Chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.).

Wasserman Schultz is co-sponsoring a new bill that would gut the CFPB's forthcoming payday loan regulations. She's also attempting to gin up Democratic support for the legislation on Capitol Hill, according to a memo obtained by The Huffington Post.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/debbie-wasserman-schultz-paylenders-cfpb_us_56d4ce38e4b03260bf77e8fc

Fox News host Bill O’Reilly loses custody of his children after alleged domestic violence incident

The anchor’s two teenage children reportedly said they wanted to live with their mother full-time

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/fox-news-host-bill-o-reilly-loses-custody-of-his-children-after-alleged-domestic-violence-incident-a6904336.html

Fox News host Bill O’Reilly has lost custody of his two teenage children after they reportedly said they would prefer to live with their mother following an alleged domestic violence incident, according to court documents.

As reported by Gawker, Mr O’Reilly’s two children, 13 and 17, will live full time with his ex-wife Maureen McPhilmy.

The decision taken by a Nassau County Supreme Court justice last year that the children should live with their mother was appealed by the news host to delay its enforcement.

According to the 1,400 word opinion issued on 24 February, the court’s four justices unanimously ruled in his ex-wife’s favour based upon “the clearly stated preferences of the children” and the “quality of the home environment provided by the mother”.