memeorandum: Former Goldman Sachs CEO: ‘I might find it harder to vote for Bernie than for Trump’ (Caitlin Oprysko/Politico)

2:55 PM ET, February 21, 2020

Top Items:

Jonathan Blitzer / New Yorker:

How Stephen Miller Manipulates Donald Trump to Further His Immigration Obsession — Donald Trump's senior adviser has been the true driving force behind this Administration's racist agenda. How far will he go? — One afternoon in November, a half-dozen government officials sat …

Discussion: Slate and Eschaton

Dan Desai Martin / The American Independent:

Stephen Miller: Stopping immigrants from entering US is ‘all I care about’ — 'I don't have anything else. This is my life,' Miller said about his quest to keep immigrants out of the country. — Stephen Miller, Donald Trump's senior policy adviser and the architect of many of his harshest …

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:

Don't mince words. Trump is abetting an attack on our country. — When the Senate acquitted President Trump of the high crimes he committed against our country, Republicans and Democrats alike fell back on a convenient fiction: No, Trump has not really placed himself beyond the law …

Discussion: New Republic, New York Times, CNN, Redstate and HuffPost

Daniel Lippman / Politico:
NSC aide who worked to discredit Russia probe moves to senior ODNI post

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Associated Press, The Hill, The American Independent, The Week, Letters from an American, The Daily Beast, The Guardian, Raw Story, Washington Post and CNN

Bloomberg:
Trump Mad That Democrats Got Spy Agency to Say Russia Favors Him

Discussion: New York Times, New York Post, IJR and The Gateway Pundit

Garrett M. Graff / Wired:
How Trump Hollowed Out US National Security

Discussion: Washington Post, The Independent and The Daily Caller

Cristina Cabrera / Talking Points Memo:
Report: Ex-Nunes Aide Who Helped Smear Russia Probe Now Adviser To New Acting DNI

Discussion: The Week

Washington Post:
Trump dismisses intelligence official's assessment of Russian preference for him as Democratic ‘hoax’

Discussion: Daily Kos and Raw Story

CBS News:

Bernie Sanders on Bloomberg debate performance: “I think it's quite likely that Trump will chew him up and spit him out.” — Bernie Sanders tells 60 Minutes he was surprised by how unprepared Michael Bloomberg seemed at Wednesday's debate and sounded off on a hypothetical debate matchup between Bloomberg and President Trump.

Discussion: New York Times, The Daily Caller, NBC News, Mediaite, Washington Times, The Hill, Raw Story and CNN

Eli Yokley / Morning Consult:

Bloomberg Loses Ground Following Debate Debut in Las Vegas — Former New York City mayor loses first-choice support, and popularity wanes — Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg stands behind the lectern at Wednesday's Democratic presidential debate in Las Vegas.

Carrie Dann / NBC News:

NBC News/WSJ poll: Sanders gains ground on Biden with black voters nationally — Trump's approval rating with black voters stands at just 14 percent — LAS VEGAS — As the Democratic primary battle turns to states with more racial diversity than the first two nominating contests in Iowa and New Hampshire …

Discussion: ABC News, The Hill, Breitbart, New York Post and Mediaite

Tim Perry / CBS News:
Mike Bloomberg trolls Trump with billboards as Trump campaigns in West

Discussion: The Independent, Mediaite, Fox News and The Hill

Tim Miller / The Bulwark:

The 5 Lessons from 2016 Democrats Need to Understand If They Want to Stop Bernie — History is repeating itself. Democrats can learn how to save their party from seeing how the Republicans lost theirs. — Barring a drastic change in the race, Bernie Sanders is going to be the presumptive Democratic nominee 11 days from now.

Maggie Severns / Politico:

Warren, Biden and Buttigieg dangerously close to going broke — Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar and Elizabeth Warren each started the month scraping perilously close to the bottom of their campaign bank accounts, posing an existential threat to their candidacies as the Democratic primary goes national.

Discussion: Washington Post, Redstate, Associated Press, Fox News, CNN, The Hill, Reuters, Outside the Beltway, WTOP and Breitbart

The Daily Beast:
Elizabeth Warren Wanted to Be the Unity Candidate. Now, She's Playing for Keeps

Discussion: Townhall, CNBC, The Hill, BuzzFeed News and HuffPost

CNN: John Legend to campaign for Elizabeth Warren in South Carolina

David Leonhardt / New York Times: Elizabeth Warren's Big Strengths

Edward Luce / Financial Times:

Lloyd Blankfein: ‘I might find it harder to vote for Bernie than for Trump’ — The former Goldman chief executive on the crash, the criticism — and sparring with Bernie Sanders — Lloyd Blankfein has not had far to travel. As we take our table, Goldman Sachs' former chief executive points …

Discussion: HuffPost and Bloomberg

Caitlin Oprysko / Politico: Former Goldman Sachs CEO: ‘I might find it harder to vote for Bernie than for Trump’

Alex Isenstadt / Politico:
Down-ballot Republicans watch with glee as Sanders gains steam

Discussion: The Hill

Catie Edmondson / New York Times:

Ocasio-Cortez Builds Progressive Campaign Arm to Challenge Democrats — Ms. Ocasio-Cortez plans to endorse a slate of progressive challengers to Democratic candidates and incumbents, working to create a liberal counterweight to the party's official campaign arm.

Discussion: Rolling Stone, CNN, National Review, The National Interest, Raw Story, VICE, The Independent, Twitchy, The Intercept and The Hill

Rebecca Shabad / NBC News:
AOC announces new PAC, endorses slate of progressive candidates for Congress

Discussion: Washington Post and New York Post

Axios:

Scoop: New White House personnel chief tells Cabinet liaisons to target Never Trumpers - Axios — McEntee has told people there will be no more promotions for “Never Trumpers.”

Discussion: The American Independent, Daily Kos, Raw Story and Law & Crime

Will Sommer / The Daily Beast:

Ilhan Omar's Challenger Is Literally on the Run From the Law — It's not every day that someone can't campaign in their district because it might result in arrest. — It's not unheard-of for members of Congress to resign their seats because of serious legal trouble.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, The Independent and Contemptor

NBC News:

‘Taking no chances’: Nevada Dems hire massive call center to avoid caucus meltdown — The state party, and the DNC, are taking steps to avoid an Iowa-style voting fiasco on Saturday. — LAS VEGAS — Nervous about another fiasco like Iowa's, Democrats here and nationally are going to extra lengths …

Discussion: New York Times, The Week and MSNBC

CNN: Perez under pressure: the DNC chairman is in the hot seat as Nevada caucuses loom

Molly Jong-Fast / The Daily Beast:

Roger Stone Judge Amy Berman Jackson: Look Out, America, ABJ Is the New RBG — “The truth still matters.” With those words, a brave judge sent away a man who's deserved it for years—and reminded us of what this country can be again. — BEAST INSIDE — “The truth still exists …

Barbara McQuade / USA Today:
Stone prison term: Will courts hold Trump accountable after Congress, Mueller failures?

Discussion: Daily Kos, American Greatness and The National Memo

The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation:

KFF Health Tracking Poll - February 2020: Health Care in the 2020 Election — Key Findings: — The U.S. Supreme Court will decide today whether to take up Texas v. United States, which challenges the constitutionality of the 2010 Affordable Care Act (ACA).

Peter Sullivan / The Hill:
ObamaCare favorability hits highest level: poll

Discussion: The Henry J. Kaiser … and Balloon Juice

Alex Ward / Vox:

Mike Bloomberg tweeted a doctored debate video. Is it political spin or disinformation? — Former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg is shown on a screen during a Democratic debate watch party at the candidate's field office on February 19, 2020. Jeenah Moon/Getty Images

Discussion: Washington Post, Reason, The Hill, HuffPost, Breitbart, NBC News, IJR, The Verge, Digital Polity, NB Blog and Outside the Beltway, more at Mediagazer »

David Rutz / Washington Free Beacon:
Media Scramble to Fact Check Whether There Were Actual Crickets on Debate Stage

Discussion: Mediaite, Louder With Crowder, The Gateway Pundit, The Week and Twitchy

Brandy Zadrozny / NBC News:

She wanted a ‘freebirth’ with no doctors. Online groups convinced her it would be OK. — As Judith's pregnancy stretched past 44 weeks, she grew worried. But rather than seeking medical assistance, she turned to extreme online communities.

Discussion: Matt's Newsletter and Gothamist, more at Mediagazer »

Greg Bluestein / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

Collins won't accept Trump's intel post, vows to stay in Georgia Senate race — Trump floated Collins for the job, possibly sparing GOP of brutal Senate fight — U.S. Rep. Doug Collins rejected the idea of becoming the permanent director of national intelligence on Friday …

Discussion: The Hill, National Review, IJR, Raw Story and Roll Call

Wall Street Journal:

Democratic Presidential Candidates Ended January Short on Cash — Pete Buttigieg and Joe Biden haven't invested in any ads in the crucial Super Tuesday states, data show — Four of the top six Democratic presidential campaigns spent heavily ahead of the Iowa caucuses …

Discussion: The Hill

Dana Schwartz / Washington Post:

I criticized ‘South Park’ for spawning a generation of trolls. And so the trolls came for me. — Dana Schwartz is an author based in Los Angeles and the creator of the podcast “Noble Blood.” — About a week ago, I tweeted about a TV show. I was fed up with the way that conversations …

Jamelle Bouie / New York Times:

The Authoritarian Stamp of Jim Crow — We don't have to look overseas to find models that help explain where Trumpism may be taking us. — When critics reach for analogies to describe Donald Trump — or look for examples of democratic deterioration — they tend to look abroad.

Christian Toto / Hollywood in Toto:

Esquire Bullies John Krasinski: Are You a Closet Conservative? — Men's magazines obsess over more than just style, personal grooming and the latest ab workout. — Too often GQ, Esquire and Men's Health double as progressive magazines meant to push liberal talking points.

Discussion: Fox News, TheBlaze and Vanity Fair

Mac Stipanovich / Tampa Bay Times:

I'll be voting in the Democratic primary for the first time in 40 years | Column — Long-time Republican strategist Mac Stipanovich explains why he has registered as a Democrat ahead of Florida's presidential primary. — Registration for the March 17 Democratic presidential primary in Florida has closed.

Discussion: Raw Story

Eric Lach / New Yorker:

Harry Reid Misses George W. Bush and Always Kind of Liked Bernie Sanders — Harry Reid was rarely accused of being charismatic in his public life. But he told people what he thought. He called George W. Bush a “loser,” Clarence Thomas an “embarrassment,” and Alan Greenspan a “hack.”

Discussion: Bloomberg

Anna Slatz / The Post Millennial:

Female prisoner claims she was raped by transgender inmate, sues prison — A female inmate at the Logan Correctional Centre in Illinois is suing the prison after alleging they attempted to cover up her sexual assault by a transgender inmate that was housed with her.

Discussion: National Review, WTTW News and Big League Politics