Subject: POLITICO Playbook, presented by PhRMA: TRUMP says we’ll see a GUN CONTROL bill soon, and JAKE TAPPER grills the Broward County sheriff
From: "Anna Palmer Jake Sherman Daniel Lippman" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 25 Feb 2018 10:32:22 -0600
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Today's POLITICO Playbook presented by PhRMA 
            
By ANNA PALMER ([email-masked]; @apalmerdc), JAKE SHERMAN ([email-masked]; @JakeSherman) and DANIEL LIPPMAN ([email-masked]; @dlippman)

                  Driving the Day         
Good Sunday morning. WHILE YOU WERE ENJOYING YOUR SATURDAY NIGHT, President Donald Trump called into Jeanine Pirro's Fox News show and said, "I think we're going to have a great bill put forward, very soon, having to do with background checks, having to do with getting rid of certain things, and keeping other things, and perhaps we'll do something on age." Trump said he told the NRA they need to get moving on some gun-related legislation.

-- TRUMP said the military parade is most likely going to be on Veterans Day, but said he's considering July 4, because Independence Day in D.C. "would be beautiful." He also said he would scrap the military parade if it can't be done at "a reasonable cost."

CONGRESS returns tomorrow. The House comes in Monday night and is out Tuesday. 

AMAZING INTERVIEW -- CNN'S JAKE TAPPER speaks to BROWARD SHERIFF SCOTT ISRAEL ... TAPPER: "Are you really not taking any responsibility for the multiple red flags that were brought to the attention of the Broward Sheriff's office about this shooter before the incident, whether it was people near him, close to him, calling the police on him?" ISRAEL: "Jake, I can only take responsibility for what I knew about. I exercised my due diligence, I've given amazing leadership to this agency."

TAPPER: "Amazing leadership?" ISRAEL: "Yes, Jake, there's a lot of things we've done throughout. You don't measure a person's leadership by a deputy not going into ... these deputies received the training they needed." 

TAPPER: "Maybe you measure somebody's leadership by whether or not they protect the community. In this case, you've listed 23 incidents before the shooting involving the shooter and still nothing was done to keep guns out of his hands, to make sure the school was protected, to make sure you are keeping an eye on him, your deputy at the school failed, I don't understand how you can sit there and claim amazing leadership." 

ISRAEL: "Jake, on 16 of those cases, our deputies did everything right. Our deputies have done amazing things. We've taken this, in the five years I've been sheriff, we've taken the Broward sheriff's office to a new level. I work with some of the bravest people I've ever met." The rush transcript from CNN  http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=cdd40422c6992c06e59c08bd98065d20bd5a537163376cc2a46b2f7756b3d97e46e44700b14e0feafbf8e133cde671c8 

DEBUT -- MARGARET BRENNAN for the first time as official anchor of CBS' "FACE THE NATION": @FaceTheNation: ".@margbrennan: Should teachers be armed? @RepBrianMast: I think some teachers are the right candidates for this when they have the right training."
 
-- NRA'S DANA LOESCH on ABC's "THIS WEEK" with GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: "I know that people are trying to find daylight between President Trump and five million law-abiding gun owners ... These are just things that he's discussing right now ... He's really looking for solutions."
 
 ON THE BROWARD COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE: "This all stems from their dereliction of duty, and I know they say now it's 23 times that they had called in, in addition to two FBI tips and numerous reports from classmates ... I wish that as much attention were given to the Broward County Sheriff and their abdication of duty as trying to blame 5 million innocent law-abiding gun owners all across the country for this."

-- FLORIDA GOV. RICK SCOTT to CHRIS WALLACE on "FOX NEWS SUNDAY": "I'm going to work every day -- between now and the end of session on one purpose -- get this passed. Make sure we get the $500 million funding. Make sure we have the law enforcement, the mental health issues -- make sure we're not -- people are not going to have access to a gun. I'm going to make sure parents feel confident in sending their child to school."

ON THE NRA: "I think most members in the NRA agree with me, this is logical. I'm sure there's going to be some that disagree. But I'm a dad. I'm a granddad and I'm a governor. I want my state to be safe. I want every child to be in a safe environment when they're trying to be educated. ... I'm not into banning, you know, specific weapons. I think what you need to do is ban specific people from having weapons. Focus on the problem. We've got to focus on solutions that work -- banning the people that are going to potentially cause the problems."

-- CHUCK TODD speaks with SEN. PAT TOOMEY (R-PA.) on NBC'S "MEET THE PRESS": TODD: "On the idea of raising the age on assault weapons from 18 to 21. Are you personally supportive of that?" TOOMEY: "Uh, I'm very skeptical about that. Because the vast majority of 18, 19, 20, 21 year olds are law abiding citizens who aren't a threat to anyone. So I'm skeptical about that. I- I- I'm willing to hear the other side on this, but I'm skeptical."

TODD: "What about the AR-15 specifically? I mean, is there an argument to be made that something that powerful you know, you could make an exception for some hunting rifles, but something, something that powerful?" TOOMEY: "Here's the problem, Chuck. There's a lot of hunting rifles that are as powerful as an AR-15. The difference between the AR-15 and an awful lot of commonly sold rifles is just cosmetic. It's got a grip under the barrel and it's painted black. That is uh, that doesn't change its lethality."

SPEAKER PAUL RYAN on the shooting in Florida, via Wisconsin Public Radio: "'We've got to make sure when law enforcement gets all these tips, that doesn't happen again. We have to make sure that people who are mentally unstable -- and we just passed a recent law on this - don't have the ability to go do this,' Ryan said, adding that he thinks it's important that officials get to the bottom of what happened and fix what went wrong 'while preserving citizen rights.'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=cdd40422c6992c06bf1ecf016c4c55e3b15e84633fecbec1b9b189858d34b9728fc88822270748bc517b98dc5fc497ab 

TRUMP'S MONDAY -- PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP hosts governors at the White House tomorrow, and will have lunch with VP Mike Pence, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue and EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt. 

FIRST IN PLAYBOOK -- RUN FOR SOMETHING has placed a full-page ad in the Sun Sentinel -- the main newspaper in Broward County -- to encourage young people to run against the 25 unopposed Florida state legislators who are backed by the NRA. The ad says: "THE NRA IS KILLING OUR KIDS. These 25 state legislators are running unopposed this November -- and they're complicit in the gun violence in our community. Hold them accountable. Run against them. We will help you."

Since the group launched during Trump's inauguration, they say they've recruited more than 16,000 young people to run for office and have endorsed 232. Forty-eight percent are people of color and 42% are women. The group, founded by Amanda Litman and Ross Morales Rocketto, says this ad is their first in a series of ad buys. The ad http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=cdd40422c6992c06d9ee04ad6b1c1ea2f8a2cb1a5c1b5554f7e2eb7fa54ce10b2b6843b400d487dce9fa70e54958289e 

WORTH WATCHING -- MATT SCHLAPP goes on MICHAEL STEELE'S radio show after CPAC spokesman Ian Walters said the RNC made him chairman because he was black. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=cdd40422c6992c06d4ed38897c494394e3e14d57584a4ffe860b6eedbdec58eaae8d8556bb02112edc05e1ba0c84b359 

****** A message from PhRMA: New report from Express Scripts shows spending on medicines grew just 1.5 percent in 2017, which is the smallest increase since the company began tracking spending 25 years ago. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f9fa6c8e6d85a9342ee548d96b361a15f7359594a4cbe21786f377b669977921c10bc61102704cadeb3f1012f8e5e823 ******

DEPT. OF DIPLOMACY -- "After testy call with Trump over border wall, Mexican president shelves plan to visit White House," by WaPo's Phil Rucker, Joshua Partlow and Nick Miroff: "Tentative plans for Mexican President Enrique Pe&ntilde;a Nieto to make his first visit to the White House to meet with President Trump were scuttled this week after a testy call between the two leaders ended in an impasse over Trump's promised border wall, according to U.S. and Mexican officials. Pe&ntilde;a Nieto was eyeing an official trip to Washington this month or in March, but both countries agreed to call off the plan after Trump would not agree to publicly affirm Mexico's position that it would not fund
 construction of a border wall that the Mexican people widely consider offensive, said the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a confidential conversation.

"Speaking by phone on Tuesday, Pe&ntilde;a Nieto and Trump devoted a considerable portion of their roughly 50 minute conversation to the wall, and neither man would compromise his position. One Mexican official said Trump 'lost his temper.' But U.S. officials described him instead as being frustrated and exasperated, saying Trump believed it was unreasonable for Pe&ntilde;a Nieto to expect him to back off his crowd-pleasing campaign promise of forcing Mexico to pay for the wall." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=cdd40422c6992c06a4c38e7d3cbcb64e246a3589ed45d092dafbd16b3204c10f1e9e27baecfb9a2b749467d32029648e

KYLE CHENEY -- "Democratic memo: FBI was investigating Trump campaign associates weeks before receiving dossier": "The FBI team investigating the 2016 Trump campaign's contacts with Russians had already opened inquiries into multiple people connected to the campaign when it received a controversial dossier alleging illicit ties between then-candidate Trump and the Kremlin, a Democratic memo released by the House Intelligence Committee revealed Saturday.

"The dossier, compiled by former British spy Christopher Steele, wasn't provided to the FBI's counterintelligence team until mid-September 2016, according to the memo. By then, the counterintelligence investigation into Trump's campaign was seven weeks old. 'The FBI had already opened sub-inquiries into ... individuals linked to the Trump campaign,' according to the findings of the committee's nine Democrats." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f9fa6c8e6d85a9342850b36d19b815bdfc2c96c7c9ec35e8ff3e726743cdf8b9aba48711ee648d0cf3696e7152db791a ... The full memo http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f9fa6c8e6d85a93472c27d2d93ba1c520b523963c8678f552c3483de487b9d4a86f66b19b419e39ed363ec949670f9d1 

-- KEY SENTENCE: "[I]t opens a new partisan front in a battle that has consumed the House Intelligence Committee and has all but derailed its efforts to probe Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election."

DCCC PASSES ON AN INCUMBENT!? -- "Anti-abortion Democrat snubbed by party for reelection," by Heather Caygle: "Dan Lipinski is the kind of candidate Democrats need more of for the party to win the House in November. But the national Democratic party is refusing to endorse him. The seven-term congressman from Chicago, who opposes abortion and voted against Obamacare, marriage equality and immigration reform, is one of the most conservative members of the House Democratic Caucus.

"The question of whether the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee will officially back Lipinski for reelection -- he faces a stiff primary challenge from the left -- has triggered an outbreak of ill will and finger-pointing from each wing of the party toward the other. With less than a month until the March 20 primary, tensions that have been brewing privately for weeks between the caucus' centrist and progressive lawmakers are now spilling out into a messy public spat.

"Caught in the middle are House Democratic leaders, who govern a caucus more aligned with Lipinski's opponent, Marie Newman. But they are wary of appearing to kick one of their incumbents to the curb, aware of the potential long-term implications for party that is struggling to regain its standing with blue-collar voters. 'I don't think what the DCCC does or says means a lot for my race as much as sending a signal to other Democrats who are looking to run,' Lipinski said in an interview." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f9fa6c8e6d85a93424bf2c4261930b621d26cb4744d883bb81552a1f8970340a2d53615b6eb9b35fc63fa55da55d947e

-- AND THEN THERE'S THIS: "California Democrats decline to endorse Feinstein," by California Playbookers David Siders and Carla Marinucci in San Diego: "In a sharp rebuke of Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the California Democratic Party has declined to endorse the state's own senior senator in her bid for reelection. Riven by conflict between progressive and more moderate forces at the state party's annual convention here, delegates favored Feinstein's progressive rival, state Senate leader Kevin de Le&oacute;n, over Feinstein by a 54 percent to 37 percent margin, according to results announced Sunday. 

"Neither candidate reached the 60 percent threshold required to receive the party endorsement for 2018. But the snubbing of Feinstein led de Le&oacute;n to claim a victory for his struggling campaign." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f9fa6c8e6d85a934138bb68590047b16c8b94d9e3f8d250428d0f14c197213440d4043022b2f3b060ab3e8ae41f51c3b

IN THE COURTS -- "Supreme Court could cripple public unions in run-up to 2018 midterms," by Andrew Hanna and Caitlin Emma: "The Supreme Court will hear arguments Monday in a case that could shrink government unions and their campaign war chests by as much as two thirds, with potentially devastating consequences for the Democratic Party in a competitive election cycle.

"The case, Janus v. AFSCME, challenges the money that public unions representing teachers, firefighters, nurses and other government employees collect from non-members to cover their share of collective bargaining costs. Democratic candidates and causes rely on these unions for more than $100 million in contributions every election cycle, and for armies of workers dispatched to staff phone banks and canvass neighborhoods across the country." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f9fa6c8e6d85a93473a5ed32596e4ac8be039c6f58e372d8feb2c9ef7984afc0cf61a2119ff9d71d4db8e3e103f46feb

THE MUELLER REPORT ... 

-- WSJ'S PETER NICHOLAS: "White House Legal Team Considers Ways Trump Could Testify Before Mueller: Possible options include written answers to special counsel's questions or limited verbal testimony by president": "President Donald Trump's lawyers are considering ways for him to testify before special counsel Robert Mueller, provided the questions he faces are limited in scope and don't test his recollections in ways that amount to a potential perjury trap, a person familiar with his legal team's thinking said.

"Mr. Trump's legal team is weighing options that include providing written answers to Mr. Mueller's questions and having the president give limited verbal testimony, another person familiar with the matter said." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f9fa6c8e6d85a93410b28027e906c9b403f7e772b461700e0cff9d7e3884aca498eb81ccef097b47b84cd825f6f6ca92 

-- PETER BAKER in the NYT, "Mueller Is Gaining Steam. Should Trump Worry?": "With each passing day, Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel investigating Russia's interference in the 2016 election, seems to add another brick to the case he is building - one more indictment, one more interview, one more guilty plea. Mr. Trump and his advisers insist they are not worried because so far none of the charges implicate the president. Yet no one outside Mr. Mueller's office knows for sure where he is heading and the flurry of recent action seems to be inexorably leading to a larger target.

"'When you put that all together, the White House should be extremely worried,' said Benjamin Wittes, editor in chief of Lawfare ... and a friend of James B. Comey, the former F.B.I. director who was leading the Russia investigation until being fired by Mr. Trump last year. 'You have to ask the question about whether there is a certain measure of self-delusion going on here.'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f9fa6c8e6d85a934336a189d252c1a8246b0826c492157584d493bcbd0da136828d6894721d4f1fda1ba30f61d8f54ac

-- "How Skadden, the Giant Law Firm, Got Entangled in the Mueller Investigation," by NYT's Ken Vogel and Matt Goldstein: "The interest of the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, in Skadden appears to go beyond [Alex] van der Zwaan. Mr. Mueller's team has requested and received documents from Skadden related to its Ukraine work, according to two lawyers familiar with the investigation. The special counsel has investigated $4 million in secret payments that Mr. Manafort and Mr. Gates are accused of funneling to Skadden and other firms from accounts in Cyprus, and could get more information on Skadden from Mr. Gates, who worked closely with the firm.

"Lawyers at Skadden are on edge, according to people who have worked with the firm. Mr. Mueller's inquiry threatens the delicate balance that Skadden has struck between lucrative sources of revenue. The firm has made huge profits from corporate work for image-conscious United States companies, while also representing riskier international clients, such as Russian oligarchs and companies with close ties to President Vladimir V. Putin and former Soviet states." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f9fa6c8e6d85a934fe11d408f105cb148006785b49477701c1bf4c28742425c92d62d2dc346325cb8584aefc92341300

COMING ATTRACTIONS -- "North Korean envoy, in South, opens door to U.S. talks," by AP's Hyung-Jin Kim and Kim Tong-Hyung in Pyeongchang: "A North Korean envoy making a rare visit to South Korea said Sunday that his country was willing to open talks with the United States, a rare step toward diplomacy between enemies after a year of North Korean missile and nuclear tests and direct threats of war from both Pyongyang and Washington. Kim Yong Chol, who Seoul believes masterminded two attacks in 2010 that killed 50 South Koreans, was in South Korea for the end of the Olympics. He said North Korean leader Kim Jong Un wanted to improve ties with Washington and had 'ample intentions of holding
 talks' with its rival, according to the South's presidential office." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f9fa6c8e6d85a934e815ed3a0aa12ab9437dd4785cc72b227fd761637e3fdb638e2a79bc9aec289e51b1e9cab3a12883

THE JUICE ... 

-- AMERICA FIRST ACTION, a super PAC linked to President Trump, dropped $200,000 with Brad Parscale's firm to do digital advertising opposing Conor Lamb. 

TRUMP'S SUNDAY -- The president and the First Lady will host the Governors' Ball this evening. 

          Playbook Reads         

PHOTO DU JOUR: Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) speaks at the 2018 California Democrats State Convention on Feb. 24. Despite being a sitting senator, the party did not endorse Feinstein. | Denis Poroy/AP Photo

FOR YOUR RADAR -- "At U.S. Urging, Pakistan to Be Placed on Terrorism-Financing List," by NYT's Salman Masood: "At the urging of the Trump administration, an international task force has decided to place Pakistan on a terrorism-financing watch list, a decision that has stunned and alarmed Pakistani officials and one that could deliver a major blow to the nation's economy. The Paris-based organization, the Financial Action Task Force, which conducts much of its business in secret, concluded its meetings on Friday with no public statement on Pakistan's status. But Miftah Ismail, a financial adviser to Pakistan's prime minister, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, said he expected Pakistan to be placed on
 the list in June, after the country and the task force agreed on an action plan." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f9fa6c8e6d85a9343572ac83e9e9aee61353888d3b1f9cc68fc63428bc1ef854dbc7f3a12840709e46d8256bc2a4cefe

THE IVANKA TRAVEL BEAT -- "Ivanka Trump: Visit to Olympics 'so incredibly inspiring,'" by AP's Errin Haines Whack in Pyeongchang: "Trump spent part of Sunday morning watching the U.S. team compete in the bobsled competition and meeting with athletes, including Team USA bobsled silver medalist Lauren Gibbs - who offered Trump a taste of Olympic glory by letting the first daughter try on her hardware. 'I feel like this almost is like trying on someone's wedding band,' Trump said. "Am I allowed?' Gibbs placed the medal around Trump's neck. She raised the medal with one hand and draped her other around Gibbs' while posing for a photo, saying, 'That is so cool!'" 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f9fa6c8e6d85a934c05e262241b03746f954246fe19b76627287f44be2129587d54b39bd18f9c552b9c523a154b9049f

-- @NateWeberActual (2018 Olympian and member of the USA Bobsled National Team): "Regardless of your politics you have to admit that it's pretty cool when @IvankaTrump invites your kids to watch the #Olympics with her. It was an amazing experience for them. #teamusa". http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f9fa6c8e6d85a9343c18f1e19f37c375a65b07751c9f55faeebf3afe8ac0266ada4f8490ff31443d34e83db951b4ea59 

2020 WATCH ... 

-- POST AND COURIER: "As 2020 Democratic primary warms up, L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti stakes early claim to South Carolina," by Jamie Lovegrove: "Eric Garcetti insists he's plenty busy just being mayor of Los Angeles right now.

"But as he traversed early presidential primary state South Carolina this week, the 47-year-old California native was already testing a national-oriented stump speech.

"He stopped by a Waffle House in Mauldin. He autographed baseballs. He roused a diverse crowd in the Democratic stronghold of lower Richland County. He toured an automotive research center at Clemson University wearing a tiger paw lapel pin. He raised more than $30,000 for local Democrats and met with many of the state party's most influential movers and shakers. ... 

"'I wish I could say that Mayor Garcetti was here because of me,' joked U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-Columbia, at a Wednesday unveiling for a statue of the first black professor at the University of South Carolina. 'But I think he has other things on his mind.'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f9fa6c8e6d85a9345125d77284f53b3d14835e7839ed9118e703ff7d3ceaebc3a6cfdc4ae3967a3c7df67a659cdc7b3a 

-- NYT'S SHANE GOLDMACHER, BRIAN ROSENTHAL and AGUSTIN ARMENDARIZ: "In Spite of Executive Order, Cuomo Takes Campaign Money From State Appointees": "In late November, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo flew to Buffalo for a fund-raising trip, a quick two-stop jaunt that brought in more than $200,000 in donations for his re-election campaign. The events, one at an Embassy Suites hotel and the other a more intimate gathering at a private residence, were hosted by two men familiar to Mr. Cuomo -- and to state government.

"One host, Steven J. Weiss, had been appointed by Mr. Cuomo to the New York State Housing Finance Agency in 2011 and the state board of the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in 2016. Government records show that Mr. Weiss has donated $53,000 to the governor's campaign since being picked for the housing agency.

"The other, Kenneth A. Manning, had been named by Mr. Cuomo to the same cancer research institute board in 2015, as well as another public authority. Records show that Mr. Manning has donated $50,500 since his appointments." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f9fa6c8e6d85a93409dccce312bd34dd0fb4e2378a91b75c6a5267cee63d720fa855d3653467e4bbb003f8d9339c6e13 

****** A message from PhRMA: Middlemen, like PBMs and insurers, have been shifting more of the costs of your health care to you for years - with deductibles increasing 300% since 2006. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f9fa6c8e6d85a9342ee548d96b361a15f7359594a4cbe21786f377b669977921c10bc61102704cadeb3f1012f8e5e823 ******

TRUMP INC. - "Police, yelling, power turned off: Confrontation over Trump's Panama hotel escalates," by Ana Cerrud, David Fahrenthold and Jonathan O'Connell in WaPo: "The majority owner of President Trump's only hotel in Latin America abruptly ordered Trump employees out of the property on Thursday, triggering a confrontation in which Trump employees refused to leave and asked police to intervene, according to the Trump Organization and local news reports. This attempt at a takeover by Orestes Fintiklis - a Cypriot businessman based in Miami - marked a sharp escalation in his months-old effort to re-brand the Trump International Hotel Panama and replace the Trump Organization as its
 manager. Fintiklis blames Trump's brand and Trump's company for declining revenue and empty rooms.

"So far, his tactics had been confined to lawsuits and angry letters. That changed on Thursday, when Fintiklis and a group of others arrived at the hotel, seeking to deliver letters of termination to the staff. That caused at least one confrontation, which included yelling but no physical altercation, according to a Trump Organization official. The police came, the Trump Organization official said, but did not allow Fintiklis to eject the staff. At one point, the hotel's power was turned off, apparently by an ally of Fintiklis. ... The power has been restored." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f9fa6c8e6d85a934730d0cedfd19b7cd7c7e5bc24dac705eec0cd464f3ff8103df678fd1b7e823551c2b11127936cdbf

BONUS GREAT WEEKEND READS, curated by Daniel Lippman:

-- "The Poison We Pick," by Andrew Sullivan in NY Mag: "No other developed country is as devoted to the poppy as America. We consume 99 percent of the world's hydrocodone and 81 percent of its oxycodone. We use an estimated 30 times more opioids than is medically necessary for a population our size. And this love affair has been with us from the start. The drug was ubiquitous among both the British and American forces in the War of Independence as an indispensable medicine for the pain of battlefield injuries." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f9fa6c8e6d85a9349bff567a8fb0db8eefef1ea923462cf8c67587ad3a29a26f051b148525fa77403128ad8d9d959df4

-- "The Case Against Google," by Charles Duhigg on the cover of today's N.Y. Times Magazine: "Critics say the search giant is squelching competition before it begins. Should the government step in?" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f9fa6c8e6d85a93484d5a9a32f110730b2c34d87f476552500146319e631f85ae7cc27b4506274e525b2b9858acb9b8a ... The cover http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f9fa6c8e6d85a9345a71b1d534a424879d231445c942b88ca60d580bf2f9b40e738cda8f99dcbcc0ba13f9822e710721 

-- "Hawai'i's Last Outlaw Hippies," by Brendan Borrell in Hakai Magazine: "After half a century, the counterculture squatters of Kalalau Valley are facing a final eviction." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f9fa6c8e6d85a9348df300b6f3dc6cb29c19b34826de53c66729d14d290ca6a31b80aa90b5fabacd382f4e041b84b5e8 (h/t Longform.org)

-- "John Shuster and the U.S. Curling Team Win First Gold Medal," by NYT's Scott Cacciola: "He found three curlers who still believed in him: George, a liquor salesman who competes in 8-year-old sneakers with holes in them; Hamilton, a sweeping wizard renowned for his mustache; and Landsteiner, an engineer. The team became known in curling circles as Team Reject, a moniker it came to embrace." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f9fa6c8e6d85a934da6ad28289a8158f46f77d84c9a5d1a888d4804a2836b19051fa027ea01bbaaa74e5859cfc2a82be (h/t Doug Heye)

-- "The Half of the World That Doesn't Make Out," by William Jankowiak, Shelly Volsche, and Justin R. Garcia on Sapiens.org: "We looked at 168 cultures and found couples kissing in only 46 percent of them. Societies with distinct social classes are usually kissers; societies with fewer or no social classes, like hunter-gatherer communities, are usually not. For some, kissing seems unpleasant, unclean, or just plain weird. Kissing is clearly a culturally variable display of affection." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f9fa6c8e6d85a93461a6a6ca3c323c3ecdf773d9424701265d4bcb7479b76715c5dd00859630aac61a68c050b8975f45 

-- "Americans Will Struggle to Grow Old at Home," by E. Tammy Kim in Bloomberg: "Some 80 million people will be seniors by 2050. Our national home-care infrastructure isn't close to ready." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f9fa6c8e6d85a934d3b19c078a7da33a10cd1c2512f76180fe1f686e7bb5d644261a9a0330991890e9b33cec78ba806a

-- "American Manufacturing Doesn't Have to Die," by Meredith Haggerty in Racked: "But will businesses make the choice to try and save it?" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f9fa6c8e6d85a934a7a82bec16ad0583175d96dc746ac6615826d5f7edbc5b2aada5ab514fee5dd85305fd12a85f7bc1

-- "Mohsin Hamid on the rise of nationalism: 'In the land of the pure, no one is pure enough'" -- The Guardian: "In the land of the pure, no one is pure enough. No one can ever be sufficiently pure to be lastingly safe. No Muslim is Muslim enough. And so all are suspect. All are at risk. And many are killed by others who find their purity lacking, and many of their killers are in turn killed for the same reason. And on and on, in a chain reaction. The politics of purity is the politics of fission." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f9fa6c8e6d85a9344c8992d0ba7603d3e9c6707e87d7712e35067c70e06726cd74634afd21db2ebfbd2d8ba84e37159f

-- "The Great Online School Scam," by Noliwe Rooks in Longreads in an excerpt of "Cutting School: Privatization, Segregation, and the End of Public Education": "Students are performing worse than ever, but private companies are making millions." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f9fa6c8e6d85a934e79cac23533099218c6d7e9456201b28a86130e618525763dbe90ce7fa533689a985f89048d661c5 ... $17.67 on Amazon http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f9fa6c8e6d85a934da173d4d2401a24dc6778adea8ce2e0b8bece84838ef432db0cacb13657f9bd3eef78021a9950098

-- "Abraham Lincoln's Secret Visits to Slaves," by William R. Black in the Atlantic: "In the mid-1930s, the Federal Writers' Project interviewed thousands of former slaves, some of whom claimed the president came to their plantations disguised as a beggar or a peddler, telling them they'd soon be free." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f9fa6c8e6d85a934f8da3c06a3964ee09ee9cfe04aeb6f4dcfcbd229d5b9e5cffbb60e1b1d8e4a6570a5ae5b98ec8c45

-- "Tulip mania: the classic story of a Dutch financial bubble is mostly wrong," by Anne Goldgar in The Conversation -- per TheBrowser.com's description: "Debunking of myths about tulip mania in 17C Holland, most of them spread by 19C historian Charles Mackay. The market in tulip bulbs was small, and consisted mainly of merchants who could well afford such indulgences. Very few bulbs - a few dozen at most - sold for the price of houses. Trading was never frenzied, and often among friends. There is no evidence that the collapse of prices in 1637 caused any bankruptcies or suicides. The Dutch economy was completely unaffected." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f9fa6c8e6d85a934da1709ebc6fd3475daf840faf5cc039e945d1e45959428b8a108c5fa6dfabdd70a8f6fb1deb4115d

-- "The Daring Plan to Save a Religious Minority from ISIS," by Jenna Krajeski in The New Yorker: "When the terrorist group attacked the Yazidis, a small group of American immigrants knew they could do something." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f9fa6c8e6d85a934be3f691cb9c320deaacd9426bfe509355c8d0e6fa1b3828331b5b5adadff4f920db87aa93940365d

-- "Hunter S. Thompson, The Art of Journalism" -- Interviewed by Douglas Brinkley and Terry McDonell in the Fall 2000 Paris Review:  http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f9fa6c8e6d85a934cd2a8ebff8a17f9e9b7c015ee1437c1a2fcb06a0f89d4b71f4bbaac61a8cea789c28e4dee5d0e878

-- "The polite extremist: Jacob Rees-Mogg's seemingly unstoppable rise," by Martin Fletcher in the New Statesman: "A Brexit ultra and profound reactionary, the eccentric MP is a strong contender to be the next prime minister. How dangerous is he?" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f9fa6c8e6d85a934220aa537605cc5940d73825c6756938ec8eaa93b1f8e676fcefa528ab42f0c85092c03b5f19c2a0d

MEDIAWATCH - "Hoax attempts against Miami Herald augur brewing war over fake, real news," by McClatchy's Tim Johnson: "Two incidents hit The Miami Herald in recent days that underscore new tactics by those seeking to discredit mainstream media, and they augur what experts said are dark days in the battle between credible news and misinformation. Both incidents came in the wake of the shooting in Parkland, Florida ... In the first incident, a perpetrator used a software tool to create two fake tweets that looked like they came from the account of Alex Harris, a Herald reporter preparing tributes to the slain students. One fake tweet asked for photos of dead bodies at the school and another
 asked if the shooter was white. The reporter almost immediately began getting angry messages." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f9fa6c8e6d85a934b95ac8c770ce2c51a1cd7409e543e2d4826263cdada24f48b7d13e9c29164c6416f7b285c4c87a6d

                  Playbookers         
SPOTTED: Mick Mulvaney brunching this morning at a window table at B Too on 14th Street near Logan Circle ... Terry McAuliffe and his wife at a table with several people last night at Dubliner.

OUT AND ABOUT - Pool report: "Maryland Governor Larry Hogan (R) and Montana Governor Steve Bullock (D) teamed up to co-host the National Governors Association's 'Purple Party' at the Park at Fourteenth last night. Democratic and Republican governors and their staff sipped 'Purple-tician' cocktails and noshed on purple mini cupcakes at the bipartisan affair."

SPOTTED: Govs. Larry Hogan, Steve Bullock, Scott Walker, Doug Ducey, and Phil Scott, Matt Clark, Jim Barnett, Tiffany Waddell, Allison Meyers, Lenny and Amelia Alcivar, Mark Holman, Doug Mayer, Keiffer Mitchell, Ashley O'Connor and Ted Kaczmarski, Matt Hirsch, Ellington and Shareese Churchill, Jim Bognet.

-- SPOTTED at Ashley and Ben Chang's annual Chinese New Year party at the Gibson:Larry La of Meiwah, Molly Ball and David Kihara, Brad and Anna Klapper, Mike and Margret Hammer, Jay Newton-Small, Mieke Eoyang, Evelyn Farkas, Maggie Feldman-Piltch, Alexandra Bell, Graham Brookie, Josh and Kara Cartin, Evan Medeiros and Bernadette Meehan, Irene Castagnoli, Colin and Rebecca Kahl, Steve Clemons and Andy Oros, Tom Forrest, Dany Pletka and Olivia Rademaker, Andrew Albertson, Shaila Manyam, Nancy Payne and Ben Goodkind.

WEEKEND WEDDING - "Lindsay Mendoza, Patrick Temple-West" - N.Y. Times: "The bride, 37, was until December, working in Washington as the global vice president of sustainability at AstraZeneca, the pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical company based in Cambridge, Mass. She graduated from McGill University and received a master's degree in social policy and development from the London School of Economics. ... The groom, 33, is a journalist in Washington for Politico. He graduated from St. Joseph's University and received a master's degree in journalism from Northwestern University. ... The couple met during the Christmas season in 2013 while volunteering to wrap gifts for the needy in the
 basement at St. Matthew's Cathedral in Washington." With pic  http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f9fa6c8e6d85a93417e18d60d4fb444c66bf2ae01b505abadd7e020ac113a749793135cc6784b6afb34e1f293ad1c1da

BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY: Mona Charen, syndicated columnist, EPPC senior fellow and author of the forthcoming "Sex Matters: How Modern Feminism Lost Touch with Science, Love, and Common Sense". Her fiery appearance yesterday at CPAC, in which she criticized President Trump for his treatment of women and then had to be escorted by a three-man security detail after her panel, was featured in a Tim Alberta Politico Magazine piece (http://politi.co/2GGJcIg). 

-- A trend she thinks deserve more attention: "Not so much a trend as a neglected angle on our national agony of mass shootings. There is something that we can do to address this scourge without transcending our divisions on guns - deny to mass shooters the fame/notoriety they crave. The press, especially TV, need only exercise a little discipline. Decline to show the face or say the name of the killer. We can't be sure that this would help, but it costs nothing to try and should unite liberals and conservatives. Our intuition as well as the words of many of the murderers, suggests that the sick longing for attention is a big motivator for these atrocities." Read her Playbook Plus Q&A: 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f9fa6c8e6d85a93498afe19c9d9bc7568df6dfecaaed9fc699197af7865ccdc2238246d41f4c23640f8ded3f7b327c75

BIRTHDAYS: CNN's Hadas Gold (hat tip: Oliver Darcy) ... Bob Schieffer is 81 ... Keith Smythe Meacham ... Andy Rosenthal is 61 ... Andrew Burk, director of digital marketing at the U.S. Chamber, is 31 (h/t Blair Latoff Holmes) ... Barbara Levin, VP of comms. at CNN (h/t Matt Dornic) ... Lauren Kapp, president of Prospect Media Group and a HuffPost and NBC alum ... Jessica Yellin ... Anne Kornblut, director of strategic comms. for Facebook (h/t Tucker Bounds) ... Tom Nides, former Deputy Secretary of State under Hillary Clinton now managing director and vice chairman of Morgan Stanley (h/ts Steve Elmendorf and Ben Chang) ... Burlington (Vt.) Mayor Miro Weinberger ... Dan Riordan, president of
 global political risk and trade credit at XL Catlin (h/ts Jon Haber) ... Politico's Matt Dixon ... Jeremy Tunis is 4-0 ... former Pennsylvania first lady Michelle Ridge, wife of Tom Ridge (h/t Ed Cash) ... Tyler Houlton, acting press secretary at DHS (h/ts Alex Schriver, Lauren Claffey, Blain Rethmeier and Mac Zimmerman) ... Steve Gutow, former CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs ... Gabi Ashkenazi, former chief of the General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces, is 64 ... Brian Davis ...

... Tim Berry, head of global government relations at JPMorgan Chase, is 5-0! (h/t his bride Lisa Barclay) ... Ralph Fertig ... Mini Timmaraju ... Hollis Gurley ... Greg Crist, EVP of public affairs at Advamed (h/t Ken Spain) ... Jack Burns (h/t dad Mike) ... FINRA's Eric Wall, a Coons alum (h/t Sophie White) ... Anna Albert ... Rep. Darren Soto (D-Fla.) is 4-0 ... former Rep. Jim Gerlach (R-Pa.) is 63 ... Bridgett Frey, comms director for Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) ... Paul Nash ... David White ... Rep. Bill Flores (R-Texas) is 64 ... Arnold Garcia ... Bayanne Surdashi ... Edelman's Diego Hofman ... Bob Healy ... Trey Graham ... OFA alum Laurin Manning ... Charles Faulkner is 43 ...
 Stuart Wagner ... Gloria Torres ... Julie Goldman ... Harrison Clark ... George M. Urban ... Jim Mulhall ... Christina Sanchez ... Genevieve Craggs ... Sarah Aburdene ... Jack Dew ... Xholina Nano ... Chelsea Handler is 43 (h/t AP)

****** A message from PhRMA: While spending on medicines grew just 1.5 percent in 2017, unfortunately it doesn't feel that way for patients. More than one-third of a medicine's list price is often rebated back to middlemen, like insurers and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). These discounts and rebates create savings of more than $100 billion, but insurers don't always share these savings with patients. Patients share the costs. They should share the savings. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f9fa6c8e6d85a9342ee548d96b361a15f7359594a4cbe21786f377b669977921c10bc61102704cadeb3f1012f8e5e823 ******

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