* I’m going to lead with something that isn’t the hot news of the day. But if you read nothing else today, I recommend this one from Jon Ralston titled: The child I love. Amidst all the judgment and fear over who uses what bathroom, he gets to the heart of the matter…a father’s love for his son. This is an incredibly powerful, brave and important story – so just go read the whole thing.
* Speaking of panic about bathrooms, there are a couple of interesting items out of North Carolina today – neither of which is good news for Republicans in that state. First of all, from a PPP poll.
PPP’s newest North Carolina poll continues to find that HB2 is very unpopular, and voters want to see it repealed.
Only 35% of voters in the state support the bill, to 44% who are opposed to it. We continue to find that there are a lot more Republicans (28%) who are opposed to it than there are Democrats (16%) in support of it. 50% of voters in the state would like to see it repealed, compared to only 38% who think it should stay on the books. That includes a 46/39 spread among independents in favor of repealing it.
The reason for voters wanting HB2 repealed are pretty straightforward- they think it’s hurting the state both economically and in terms of its national reputation.
* North Carolinians are right to be concerned about the impact HB2 is having on their economy.
Mecklenburg County [Charlotte area] has suffered an economic blow of $285 million and a loss of as many as 1,300 jobs as a result of House Bill 2, a new Charlotte Chamber report says.
The report also says inquiries about new economic development are down 58 percent since lawmakers passed the bill in March, and client visits down 69 percent from last year.
“We have said all along that the economic loss has been real, the risk of further loss is great, and this is potentially catastrophic to our economy,” Chamber President Bob Morgan said.
* A study by Health Policy Institute produced some interesting news for Republicans in Texas and Florida.
The survey, conducted by marketing research firm Nielsen, assessed attitudes about the health care system, and possible solutions, in five populous states: Texas, California, Florida, New York and Ohio…
In California, New York and Ohio, politicians took advantage of federal funding in the law to expand Medicaid. The survey showed most residents in those three states approved of that decision.
The Republican leaders of Texas and Florida refused to expand Medicaid. However, the survey showed two-thirds of people in those two states wanted them to do it anyway.
* Another example of Bernie trolling today:
“I was disturbed, but not surprised that Secretary Clinton has backed out of the debate,” Sanders said at the Santa Monica, California, rally, according to The Hill. “I think it’s a little bit insulting to the people of California — our largest state — that she is not prepared to have a discussion with me about how she will help the Californians address the major crises that we face.”
The real insult was to expect Democrats to be enlightened about their choices in a debate moderated by Faux News. If Clinton had agreed to that, people would have been right to call it an example of political malfeasance.
* Greg Sargent has the scoop on what the latest WaPo/ABC News polling tells us about Hillary Clinton’s favorability/unfavorability with Democrats and Dem-leaning independents.
The Democratic-leaning voters who view Hillary Clinton unfavorably are disproportionately young, male, white, suburban, and independent.
This week’s Post poll found that among Democrats and Dem-leaning independents, Clinton is viewed favorably by 72 percent, and viewed unfavorably by 26 percent…
Of those Dem-leaning voters who view Clinton unfavorably, far more are below 30 years old (37 percent) than from any other age group. Marginally more males than females view Clinton unfavorably (52-48), while those who view her favorably are overwhelmingly female (63-37). Those who view her unfavorably are disproportionately white, suburban and moderate.
* Finally, is anyone else old enough to remember Lily Tomlin as Earnestine the telephone operator on Laugh-In? Here’s a great clip that includes some things that are still relevant today.
