Stories to Watch: 5/8/14

Stupid Republican meme of the day: the kidnapping of schoolgirls, general violence, and bloodshed by the Nigerian religious fanatic group Boko Haram is all Hillary Clinton's fault, because of reasons. It' s all very, very stupid, but it could be worse -- they could be saying she engineered it to distract from BENGHAZI!! Although, I'm pretty sure it's just because that little conspiracy theory hasn't occurred to them yet.


And about the BENGHAZI!! hysteria theater super-serious and sober House Select Committee investigation: it's looking more and more like the GOP is going to try to impeach their second Democratic President in a row. It's like they get so worked up over their own bullshit that they just can't help but overplay their hand.


So why the big BENGHAZI!! fit at this articular moment in time? Because Republicans have quietly accepted that they've lost the Obamacare fight forever and they need some other manufactured mass panic to distract their marks from their failure.


Fox News' Geraldo Rivera stages a "man on the street"-style interview -- hilariously incompetently. This has been another episode of Fox Interviews Fox and Discovers Fox Agrees with Fox.


A bipartisan pair of FCC commissioners are making sure that the fight to save net neutrality isn't over.


Meanwhile, voter ID is dead as dead can be in Pennsylvania.


Finally, what seems to be a good day for Scott Walker is really just a breather. While an appeals court allowed an injuction against his corruption probe to be reissued, it's likely not the final word. Which is a good thing, because if it's allowed to stand, this ruling would be Citizens United times a million. "If sustained, this ruling is the death of campaign finance law as we know it in the state of Wisconsin and across the nation," one of the lawyers involved in the case said. "It will now be possible for a political candidate to personally conduct a campaign — soup to nuts — without disclosing a single campaign contribution." If it weren't for naked corruption and dirty tricks, Republicans wouldn't stand a chance in elections.

[cartoon via McClatchy Newspapers]