Monday Open Thread, June 13, 2016

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Josh Marshall on the political fallout from the Orlando Massacre. Don't be so sure it helps Trump.
There appears to be a general consensus - met with glee by Trumpites and frustration by Democrats - that the atrocity in Orlando will be a boon to the campaign of Donald Trump. It will 'change the narrative' and play to Trump's call for a ban on Muslim immigration and general claim to be the only one tough enough to protect Americans. Put me down as skeptical about that assumption. [...] Trump's tweets [yesterday] morning were slashing but they were also preening, self-congratulatory and manic. There are ways to effectively politicize a tragedy. Trump appears psychologically incapable of doing so. He does sound 'tough' at some level. But far more he seems unsteady, erratic and self-obsessed. [Trump's speech today] will hurt him rather than help him. Because Trump is Trump. Most people have little appetite for a self-congratulatory and wildly politicized screed the day after a horrific attack. Some of you might be saying, You're being naive: fear sells. You're missing my point. Of course it does. But Trump's emotional instability, his temperament largely prevents him from effectively selling it. More than benefiting from a climate of fear, I suspect he is driving home what already worries voters, what is already his singular vulnerability: he lacks the temperament and emotional stability to be president. The other part of equation is Clinton. [...] When pollsters ask whether she has the temperament to be president and whether she is 'tough' and a leader she consistently and even today gets very high marks. That means she's well positioned to withstand hard attacks on this front. The same polls show that voters overwhelmingly believe Trump lacks the temperament to be president. If he acts now like he always acts he will confirm doubts and fears that are already at the forefront of the public mind.
Poppiti Proposes Pardons Fix

Poppiti Proposes Pardons Fix

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Last week I divulged my one essential candidate questionnaire question: Do you think that there is a “Democratic” approach to this office? Reading through some of the Lt. Governor candidates web sites, it appears to me that Poppiti's idea for giving the Board of Pardons direct legal authority to grant pardons for low-level, non-violent offenses is simple and rooted in Democratic principles of fairness. I can't cut and paste from the site, but click through here and give it a read.