* Rebecca Traister goes even farther to imagine a Clinton/Trump race than I did recently.
Clinton’s South Carolina speech, which emphasized racial unity and a message of peace, love, and understanding, forecasts how she plans to frame her campaign in opposition to the bombastic demagogue who trades on anger and prejudice. But it also points up just how much they are running in two separate elections, to be president of two different countries. Trump is running in the country that is in the midst of a dramatic and terrifying backlash to the social movements of the past 50 years; Clinton herself represents the very victories of some of those movements and is seeking to modestly stabilize their gains. In the end, this may be an epic, gory battle between those who are threatened by the changing face of power in America and those who are doing the changing.
* In the past I’ve highlighted the White House initiative named Stand Stronger, which has encouraged immigrants in the United States to become citizens. Apparently Donald Trump’s candidacy is giving those efforts a boost.
Over all, naturalization applications increased by 11 percent in the 2015 fiscal year over the year before, and jumped 14 percent during the six months ending in January, according to federal figures. The pace is picking up by the week, advocates say, and they estimate applications could approach 1 million in 2016, about 200,000 more than the average in recent years.
While naturalizations generally rise during presidential election years, Mr. Trump provided an extra boost this year…At the workshop in Denver, many aspiring voters agreed on why they are naturalizing this year.
“Donald Trump never! Never!” said Minerva Guerrero Salazar, 40, who works for a uniform rental company after moving here from Mexico in 2002. “He has no conscience when he speaks of Latinos. And he is so rude. I don’t know what kind of education his mother gave him.”
* Speaking of Trump, Megan McArdle makes the point that he is too poor for a third party run.
Donald Trump is not going to run as a third-party presidential candidate, even if he’s denied the Republican nomination.
There, I said it.
I’m not saying whether it would be a good idea for the GOP to deny him the nomination if he gets a plurality but not a majority of the delegates. But if it does, he won’t run third-party: He can’t afford it.
I direct you to his personal financial disclosure form, which said he had about $300 million in cash and marketable securities. That’s a lot of money! Stunningly, however, it is not enough money to run a major presidential campaign, which now clocks in at around $1 billion.
Here’s another little tidbit: “Trump’s campaign has raised just $25 million, of which only about $8 million comes from sources other than Donald J. Trump.”
* The EPA made an historic announcement recently:
Today, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Gina McCarthy took an important step in helping protect the environment on tribal lands by issuing the EPA Policy on Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribes: Guidance for Discussing Tribal Treaty Rights…
EPA’s first-ever Tribal Treaty Rights Guidance outlines a process to help navigate treaty rights discussions with tribes during tribal consultations. It is an initial step in EPA’s efforts to improve the methods and process in place to meet the commitment to honor and respect tribal treaty rights and resources protected by treaties.
* Harold Pollack asks a question that I’ve been bringing up occasionally: What if the (non-Republican) Electorate Isn’t as Angry as Everyone Says It Is?
* Finally, Michelle Obama has an announcement for all of our little dreamers and readers.
