Comment on Rand Paul wins CPAC straw poll; Rubio close second

“I’m keeping the door open to many possibilities, but right now, all I can say is this: I’m not going anywhere. I’m just getting started.” — Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO), quoted by The Guardian, on her departure from Congress after losing a Democratic primary.

Jonathan Bernstein: “The other thing worth emphasizing when these stories come up is that there is now almost certainly a partisan difference, with Republican politicians more likely to commit criminal or otherwise heinous or scandalous acts (some empirical support can be found looking through here, here and here).” “This didn’t used to be the case, and I do not believe that Republicans or conservatives are any more prone to such thing than Democrats.

“It was once the club every Wall Street institution wanted to join: the elite network of primary dealers who serve as gatekeepers of the world’s biggest and most influential bond market, US Treasuries,” Bloomberg reports. “Not so much anymore. Just as America’s debt load is poised to balloon beyond already-record levels, a variety of forces has made membership in this vital cohort less coveted.“

New York Times: “Now, still desperately seeking sufficient manpower to maintain pressure on Ukraine, Russia has expanded recruitment even more. Men (and women) no longer have to be convicted of a crime — under new laws, any suspects detained by the police are informed that pending charges will disappear if they volunteer.

“A South Korean court approved an arrest warrant for impeached President Yoon Suk-Yeol on Tuesday morning local time,“ Axios reports. “The warrant related to Yoon’s brief martial law declaration this month that sparked widespread protests and shocked allies would mark the first time one has been issued for an incumbent president in South Korea, per local media.”

“Afghanistan’s Taliban-led government, which launched strikes on Pakistani military posts over the weekend, said it won’t escalate the situation but warned it will retaliate if attacked again,” Bloomberg reports.