Monday Reading

As always, please go to the links provided for the full articles.

Jeff Greenfield on the murder of Robert F. Kennedy, 50 years ago:

To see him at the podium claiming victory in the crucial California primary, jokingly thanking his dog Freckles, passionately hopeful that the divided country could come together, flashing a peace sign as he exhorts: ‘So it’s on to Chicago and let’s win there!” Knowing what is to come a moment later, it is hard not to assume that it was only Sirhan Sirhan’s bullets that kept Robert Kennedy out of the White House.

Sam Fullwood summarizes yet another study about how the dehumanizing rhetoric of sociopath Donald "Rump" Trump is "awakening and emboldening" his nativist, anti- democratic base, and the long- term threat that poses:

The most recent such study comes from political scientists Steven V. Miller at Clemson University and Nicholas T. Davis at Texas A&M University.  Their working paper – “White Outgroup Intolerance and Declining Support for American Democracy” – fires a warning shot to signal a budding threat to the nation. Miller and Davis collected and compared polling data compiled between 1995 and 2011 by the World Values Survey and discovered an escalating impulse among some white Americans to embrace “an unwillingness to associate or fraternize with individuals whose cultural, racial, or religious ideas or ways differ” from their own. They identified such attitudes as “socially intolerant,” which they also found to correlate with a willingness to sacrifice democratic notions, such as political compromise or respect for minority rights, if such principles conflicted with their selfish interests.  (our emphasis)

As Rump's minions frantically spin their inane thoughts about presidential powers and immunity, their notion that a president can't obstruct justice would have a hard time passing a smell test given this precedent:

Sitting GOP senators who voted to toss President Clinton from office for obstruction of justice:
BLUNT
BURR
CRAPO
ENZI
GRASSLEY
GRAHAM
HATCH
INHOFE
MCCAIN
MCCONNELL
MORAN
PORTMAN
ROBERTS
SHELBY
THUNE
WICKER
***
SESSIONS also voted to remove Clinton for obstruction.

— Steven Dennis (@StevenTDennis) June 3, 2018

There are primaries tomorrow in multiple States, including a problematic "jungle primary" in California:

There are primaries in five states Tuesday: California, New Jersey, Iowa, Montana, and New Mexico. 

California will likely be the most closely watched state. With seven Republican-held districts that Hillary Clinton won in 2016, the state is an integral part of Democrats’ path to regaining control of the House in November. 

But the states is also home to the chaotic “top two” primary system — in which all candidates of all parties compete against each other, with only the first- and second-place finishers advancing to the general election. It’s high stakes for Democrats, who legitimately fear losing out to Republicans because of the crowded field of Democratic candidates in many contests.

California should have done something about its primary system before now. We'll see if that omission will cause Democrats to miss an opportunity to pick up vulnerable Republican seats.

Man Baby Trump not like mean Frenchie boyfriend criticizing him!

A call between President Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron last week that focused on trade and immigration went badly and saw Macron be highly critical of Trump’s policies, two sources familiar with the call told CNN. 

"Just bad. It was terrible," one of the sources told CNN. "Macron thought he would be able to speak his mind, based on the relationship. But Trump can't handle being criticized like that."

Meanwhile, the Trumpy U.S. Ambassador to Germany (and ex- internet troll) wants to facilitate the spread of Trumpism far and wide in Europe:

Germany has asked the U.S. government to clarify remarks by President Donald Trump’s new ambassador to Berlin after he told a right-wing website he wanted to empower “other conservatives” in Europe. 

The comments from Richard Grenell, a former U.S. spokesman at the United Nations and outspoken defender of Trump, drew criticism from politicians across the German political spectrum, who cautioned him against meddling in domestic politics.

There's some diplomatic tact for you right there! Meddling in another country's domestic politics -- sounds Putin- esque.

Finally, we once again recommend the excellent link round- up provided by Infidel 753, containing "Various interesting stuff I ran across on the net over the last week."