NATIONAL

“Every Republican candidate for president will have to move to significantly to the right, starting with Jeb Bush and Scott Walker, and define their position on amnesty for illegal aliens, on fighting and winning the war radical Islam has declared on America, on spending, the deficit and the debt, and on repealing Obamacare, against the positions Ted Cruz will talk about and campaign on in the coming months.” – Richard Viguerie/Conservative HQ

“Rush Limbaugh has imagined a Ted Cruz presidency and he likes what he sees.” – Daily Caller

“There’s something interesting going on online. Just go to Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ and search for ‘Ted Cruz,’ ‘#TedCruz2016’ or ‘Ted Cruz candidate.’ Do you notice something? That’s right, people’s heads are truly exploding.” – PJ Media

“One way or another, the congressional GOP must stop making promises it can’t keep and start strategizing about how to keep its promises. It also should use its communications staffers better, and in some cases it should hire better communications staffers.” – Quin Hillyer/National Review

“It is amazing how a simple question can cause a complex lie to collapse like a house of cards. The simple question was asked by Bill O’Reilly of the Fox News Channel, and it was addressed to two Democrats. He asked what has Hillary Clinton ever accomplished.” – Thomas Sowell/Townhall

“President Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton met privately at the White House Monday afternoon. The White House says the former rivals-turned-colleagues met for about an hour and discussed a range of issues.” – Rare.us

“And therefore, as the Left sees things, it must be stopped. People cannot be permitted a choice, because, being captive to the ‘white privilege and entitlement and, yes, racism and classism . . . defining what constitutes ‘good’ for them,’ they will choose the wrong things. So charter schools must be held illegitimate and, if possible, stopped.” – Kevin Williamson/National Review

“Personally, liberal students scare the shit out of me. I know how to get conservative students to question their beliefs and confront awful truths, and I know that, should one of these conservative students make a facebook page calling me a communist or else seek to formally protest my liberal lies, the university would have my back. I would not get fired for pissing off a Republican, so long as I did so respectfully, and so long as it happened in the course of legitimate classroom instruction.” – White Hot Harlots

“Next year, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will start denying disaster funding to states that don’t incorporate global warming into their emergency preparedness plans.” – Daily Caller

“The final moments of Germanwings Flight 4U 9525 were shrouded in mystery today after air traffic controllers claimed they received no SOS despite the jet nosediving 32,000ft in just eight minutes. All 144 passengers and six crew were today presumed dead after the Airbus A320 crashed in a remote region of the French Alps en route from Spain to Germany.” – Daily Mail UK

LOUISIANA

“Louisiana pays $526 million a year to recipients of refundable credits. That is, the state writes a check to people. Many of my liberal friends dislike Jindal because he is pretty conservative. But liberals and conservatives alike should support this proposal. Liberals should bemoan the regular payment of a half-billion dollars, most of which I suspect goes to upper-income people. That money could be used for education or transportation or healthcare. Conservatives should support the proposal because almost all of these credits represent attempts to muck with the markets. Refundable credits to businesses are the definition of crony capitalism.” – David Brunori/Forbes

“Jindal’s solution: eliminating $526 million in tax rebates, most notably for the state’s business inventory tax. Norquist’s group blessed the decision, concluding that ending tax rebates would not amount to a tax increase. But that distinction has prompted ridicule from state lawmakers and political commentators on both the right and the left, who accuse Jindal of selling out the state’s tax policy to Norquist.” – Washington Post

“Rep. Dalton Honore, D-Baton Rouge, has filed legislation to put possession, distribution and dispensing of marijuana and its derivatives on the Louisiana ballot Nov. 8, 2016. Voters would be deciding on not only the presidential race, but also congressional seats that day as well.” – NOLA.com

“Taxpayers may feel certain government functions can simply go away. Don’t need it. Don’t want it. Don’t want to pay higher taxes just to keep someone in a government job. Who can blame them? The taxpayers also are demanding results, including better service, greater efficiency, priority budgeting, outsourcing and restraint on the expansion of benefits for public employees. They want new models for the future, just like in business. Government institutions must respond. In fact, it’s long overdue.” – Rolfe McCollister/Baton Rouge Business Report

“Louisiana Economic Development released the newest edition of its biannual economic impact study of the state’s entertainment tax credits, including the controversial film tax credits. The study, which was completed by Loren C. Scott & Associates, also examined tax credits for sound recording, live performance infrastructure, sound recording performance production.” – NOLA.com

“A city selection committee is expected to pick a winner this morning from this list of finalists to redevelop the now shuttered World Trade Center at 2 Canal Street in New Orleans. The city is hoping that re-imaging the 50-year-old, 33-story landmark will “turbocharge” redevelopment along the central riverfront and Spanish Plaza area along the Mississippi.” – WWL-TV

“In its poll, LSU found that Louisiana residents say they are overwhelmingly willing to raise taxes to keep certain services however. Even among Republican voters, 75 percent of people surveyed said they would prefer a mix of spending cuts and tax hikes to solve the budget problem. Most do not want to rely on spending cuts alone.” – NOLA.com

“LSU is investigating allegations of ‘behavioral misconduct’ involving the Acacia fraternity. ‘LSU is in contact and working with the Acacia national office, the alumni and chapter leadership,’ LSU spokesman Ernie Ballard said in response to The Advocate’s inquiry into the fraternity investigation.” – Baton Rouge Advocate

“Robert Durst, the real estate scion awaiting extradition to California to face a murder charge, was denied bail on Monday in New Orleans, as police in Vermont said they were probing a link between him and an 18-year-old woman who went missing in 1971.” – Fiscal Times

“The LSU men’s basketball season is finally over, and frankly, aren’t you just a little relieved?” – Scott Rabalais/Baton Rouge Advocate