The Hill’s 12:30 Report

If you’d like to subscribe to The Hill’s midday political newsletter, please click here: http://bit.ly/1lsUchu

 

The Hill’s 12:30 Report: Hillary barks like a dog to taunt GOP | Names floated for Scalia’s replacement | Trump up big in SC | What your favorite BBQ sauce says about your 2016 vote

HILLARY BARKS LIKE A DOG — SAY WHAT NOW??: Via The Hill’s Mark Hensch, Hillary Clinton literally barked like a dog to taunt Republicans. Please, friends. Watch this video. This is why presidential politics can be so entertaining. http://bit.ly/1RJsslN

RELEASED THIS MORNING — TRUMP UP IN S.C.: Via The Hill’s Mark Hensch, Donald Trump has 25 percent support in South Carolina, according to a new Public Policy Polling survey. Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) are tied for second with 18 percent apiece. Gov. John Kasich (R-Ohio) ranks fourth at 10 percent, followed by Jeb Bush and Ben Carson deadlocking at 7 percent each. Important note: this poll was conducted after Saturday’s debate. http://bit.ly/216xzPt

ODD TIDBIT FROM THE POLL: While conducting the survey, PPP also asked respondents what type of barbeque sauce they prefer, cross-tabbing it with their political preferences. Yep, that happened. http://bit.ly/1TlsLTV

It’s a dreary Tuesday in Washington, D.C., but welcome back from the long weekend! I’ll let this video speak for itself: http://on.fb.me/1okYwAz I’m Cate Martel with a quick recap of what you missed this morning — and what’s on tap for the rest of the day. Send tips, comments, and suggestions to cmartel@digital-staging.thehill.com, @CateMartel and on Facebook. 

FUNERAL PLANS FOR SCALIA: Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia will lie in repose at the Supreme Court on Friday. Services for the late justice will be held Saturday at 11 a.m. EST at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington. http://bit.ly/1POV74j

{mosads}SCALIA REPLACEMENT SPECULATION: Via Corky Siemaszko of NBC News, the influential Supreme Court analyst SCOTUSBlog thinks Attorney General Loretta Lynch is the most likely candidate to replace Justice Scalia. http://nbcnews.to/1Tlv1dy

HERE ARE SCOTUS CASES SCALIA’S DEATH WILL AFFECT THIS YEAR: Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia‘s passing will complicate the year ahead for the Supreme Court. Where Scalia fit in ideologically: Scalia was a solid vote for the conservative wing of the court, often helping to tip the balance in their favor. But with Scalia gone, the conservative and liberal wings can count four justices each. How does SCOTUS decide with eight judges? It takes five votes to accomplish most things, so a split vote would effectively uphold lower court decisions. SCOTUS options with a missing judge: The high court can either decide to let a decision stand with eight justices or rehear a case again — the criteria for both is pretty opaque. Here are some of the most important cases this year:

OBAMA’S IMMIGRATION PLAN: The case involving President Obama‘s plan to defer the deportation of four million illegal immigrants is one of the most-watched cases this year. Why Scalia’s absence matters: An equally divided court would represent a big loss for the administration. A tie would keep a lower court’s decision against the plan in place.

RACE IN COLLEGE ADMISSION: Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin challenges the university’s race-conscious admissions plan. Why Scalia’s absence matters: Justice Elena Kagan has already recued herself from the case based on her work as U.S. solicitor general. With Scalia’s absence, the case will now only have seven justices.

OBAMACARE: Things are now trickier in a challenge to regulations under the Affordable Care Act. The issue is whether some employers can be required to provide contraception coverage to female workers or opt out. Scalia’s absence makes a split vote likely and would keep the contraceptive mandate in place, even for religious businesses that want to be exempt.

LABOR UNIONS: When the case, Friedrichs v. CaliforniaTeachers Association was heard in January, it was clear it would be a close decision. Now with just eight justices, a split would uphold the mandatory union payments — and hence provide a major win for public unions.

VOTING RIGHTS: The case examines whether every citizen or every eligible voter is counted when deciding voting districts. For instance, if there’s a big prison population in one district with inmates who can’t vote, should they be counted when determining districts? With Scalia’s absence, a split would uphold the practice of counting everybody, not just eligible voters.

ABORTION: Abortion clinics in Texas are challenging a state law that imposes tough restrictions on doctors and abortion facilities. Scalia’s absence may not affect the outcome though, as abortion groups already suspect there are 5 votes against them.

Here’s a detailed explanation of each case from Adam Liptak of The New York Times: http://nyti.ms/1okz6D6

HOUSE REPUBLICANS AREN’T GOING THERE: Via The Hill’s Cory Bennett and Julian Hattem, instead of launching formal investigations or creating a special committee to investigate Hillary Clinton‘s emails — as they did Benghazi — House Republicans have gone out of their way to avoid formal inquiries into allegations that classified information was mishandled on Clinton’s personal machine. Why: To let the FBI handle it and to avoid making the issue look like political warfare. http://bit.ly/1Kn8LyT

FEMALE SENATORS RALLY AROUND HILLARY: Via The Hill’s Alex Bolton, female senators are rallying around Hillary Clinton, blaming her struggles in recent weeks on sexism. Here’s the argument in essence: MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough said on Morning Joe, “I was watching her and I said to myself, ‘Has nobody told her how the microphone works?'” Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) responded, “She’s often judged by a double standard.” http://bit.ly/1SuRAxJ Here’s the background of how female lawmakers are rallying behind Clinton from The Hill’s Cristina Marcos. http://bit.ly/1QFKhNE

WAIT, TOM BRADY GOT HOW MANY VOTES??: Via The Boston Globe’s Kenneth Singletary, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady got 4 write-in votes in the New Hampshire primary last week. Now, just wait for Massachusetts’s March 1 primary for his real comeback. Former Republican nominee Mitt Romney received 23 write-in votes. Michael Bloomberg got 24 write-in votes. Vice President Biden received 36 write-ins. http://bit.ly/1WpoPRi

 

THE ENTERTAINMENT SECTION:

NOW, HE AIN’T SAYIN’ HE’S A GOLD DIGGER: On Saturday night before releasing an album and performing on “Saturday Night Live,” rapper Kanye West disclosed he’s $53 million in debt — and asked Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg on Twitter (?) for help. http://nbcnews.to/1TlpPX6

YOU’RE A WINNER AND YOU’RE A WINNER!: Via CNN, Here’s a quick list of the 2016 Grammy winners: http://cnn.it/1QFPmFH

 

NOTABLE DEBATE TWEETS:

The Boston Globe’s Matt Viser (lol to this photo)
In which Jeb Bush’s communications director Tim Miller trolls Donald Trump http://bit.ly/1QiQ2qp

Reuters’s Patricia Zengerle
Trump went there: “The World Trade Center came down” (in discussion of George W Bush’s presidency) http://bit.ly/1WpnBFz

CNN’s Manu Raju
Sounds like Trump has not packed the [debate] hall with his backers http://bit.ly/1PYRts8

The Hill’s Jordan Fabian
“Nana nana boo boo” – this debate http://bit.ly/1PYRzzN

Matt Gorman, rapid response for Jeb Bush’s campaign (this video was floated around on Twitter)
Everybody saying Donald Trump was terrible at debate! Not a conservative and can’t be commander in chief. Sad! 

 

ON TAP:

The House and Senate are both in recess this week.

2 p.m. EST: Donald Trump holds a rally in North Augusta, S.C. 

3 p.m. EST: The RAND Corporation is holding a briefing about lessening the risk of Syrian refugee radicalization. Barbara Sude and John Parachini of RAND will be speaking. 

4:15 p.m. EST: Jeb Bush holds a town hall in Leesville, S.C. 

4:35 p.m. EST: President Obama holds a press conference in Rancho Mirage, Calif. He’s attending a summit with Southeast Asian leaders.

5:30–10 p.m. EST: Jeb Bush, Ben Carson and Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) will speak at “The Last Word in the South” presidential forum in Aiken, S.C. Details: http://bit.ly/1PODZM6 

6 p.m. EST: Trump holds a rally in Beaufort, S.C.

7 p.m. EST: Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) holds a town hall in Lexington, S.C. 

9 a.m. EST tomorrow: Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) holds a town hall in Mt. Pleasant, S.C.

 

NOW FOR THE FUN STUFF…

Today is National Almond Day!

LATE-NIGHT LAST NIGHT: Stephen Colbert mocks Hillary Clinton‘s youth vote outreach efforts. It’s funny — and exactly what you’d expect. http://wapo.st/1oGtEuQ

ANOTHER “FIXER-UPER,” IF YOU WILL: David Rubenstein, who helped repair the Washington monument after earthquake damage, has donated $18.5 million to restore the Lincoln Memorial. http://cnn.it/1VjY0hh

WHAT EVERYONE’S SHARING ON MY FACEBOOK FEED: This is a shameless plug, but I’m too excited not to share. Krispy Kreme is opening four stores in New Hampshire! http://bit.ly/20BuYLn

And with that, here is a baby directing a choir. It’s great. http://on.fb.me/1okGezm

 

To view past editions of The Hill’s 12:30 Report, click here: http://bit.ly/1M1mIfw

To receive The Hill’s 12:30 Report in your inbox, please sign up here: http://bit.ly/1lsUchu