--- title: Morning Must Reads: February 19 description: Morning Must Reads: February 19 canonical: https://time.com/4230322/two-visions-for-the-gop/ author: Zeke Miller article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-02-19T15:05:04.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T15:12:52.113Z article:section: Politics og:title: Morning Must Reads: February 19 og:description: Morning Must Reads: February 19 og:url: https://time.com/4230322/two-visions-for-the-gop/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb24c27fcf0ec0da8/6986837dcd6848a30809364f/morning-must-reads1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Morning Must Reads og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Morning Must Reads: February 19 twitter:description: Morning Must Reads: February 19 twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb24c27fcf0ec0da8/6986837dcd6848a30809364f/morning-must-reads1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Two Visions for the GOP by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Feb 19, 2016 3:05 PM UTC  The early morning sun rises behind the US Capitol Building in Washington, DC. The early morning sun rises behind the US Capitol Building in Washington, DC.Mark Wilson—Getty Images by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Feb 19, 2016 3:05 PM UTC The South Carolina primary has a reputation for nastiness and dirty tricks and it’s living up to its reputation in spades in 2016\. The Republican race is more bitter than most thought possible, as a fast-paced game of attacks, counter-attacks, and counter-counter-attacks playing out on television and Twitter. The fighting has centered around **Donald Trump, Ted Cruz** and **Marco Rubio,** who have been trading attacks on each others’ credibility for more than a week. But it’s not just them—Pope Francis weighed into the fray Thursday suggesting that Trump and other candidates who focus on building border walls are not Christian. Rubio’s campaign appearances with Nikki Haley and Tim Scott—two endorsers—is showing the diversity the GOP has been hoping for since the 2012 election, showing glimmers of the Republican Party fulfilling its autopsy recommendations. But those visions are facing a stiff test from Trump and Cruz, who are making the case for a GOP that turns out more of its traditional voters, rather than bringing new faces to the party. **Jeb Bush** is fighting for his political life in South Carolina, facing doubts about how long he can continue his candidacy should Rubio beat him in the state. Bush is stumping with his mother, son, and two brothers in hopes of putting up a better-than-expected result on Saturday with his national security-heavy message. Meanwhile. Trump is facing new questions about his positions on the Iraq War and 9/11\. And Rubio is facing questions after backing out of a conservative gathering at the last minute. Across the aisle, **Bernie Sanders** is accusing **Hillary Clinton** of embracing **President Obama** to pander to black voters. **Joe Biden** weighs in on Obama’s Supreme Court nomination. And a Black Lives Matter activist snubs the White House. Here are your must-reads: **Must Reads** [South Carolina Republican Mudslinging Reaches New Heights in 2016 ](http://time.com/4230200/south-carolina-republican-primary-trump-cruz-rubio-carson-bush/)The state is living up to its reputation—and then some \[TIME\] [Pope Francis Joins the 2016 Race at Key Time ](http://time.com/4229473/pope-francis-donald-trump-analysis/)A shot at Trump takes over the GOP race, TIME’s Elizabeth Dias writes [Republican Insiders Plan for a Convention Fight Against Donald Trump or Ted Cruz ](http://time.com/4229062/donald-trump-republican-convention-ted-cruz/)The most likely outcomes, they warn, are Trump or Cruz wins, or a contested convention \[TIME\] [Rubio Endorsement Rally Shows a More Diverse Vision for GOP ](http://time.com/4230230/marco-rubio-nikki-haley-tim-scott-endorsement-diversity/)Haley and Scott fulfill GOP dream after 2012 \[TIME\] [Donald Trump Challenged Over 9/11, Iraq War Comments ](http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/18/politics/republican-town-hall-highlights/index.html)As poll approval ratings fall, Trump is called to defend inconsistencies and controversial statements \[CNN\] [Rubio Bails Last Minute On Conservative Gathering Packed With Cruz Supporters ](http://www.buzzfeed.com/mckaycoppins/rubio-bails-last-minute-on-conservative-gathering-packed-wit?utm%5Fterm=.apaAVoW64#.snvZPXJvY)Cruz campaign charges cowardice \[BuzzFeed\] **Sound Off** “I thought it was probably inappropriate for the Pope to intervene at the—in the height of a contested primary in that way. I don’t—I don’t question Donald Trump’s Christianity, that’s between him and his creator. The fact is, he’s got the wrong policy, building a wall and making Mexico pay for it is not a policy.” — Jeb Bush on Pope Francis’ comments about Donald Trump in an interview with MSNBC’s Morning Joe “By the time the war started, I was against the war.” — Donald Trump explaining his comments in favor of the Iraq War, though he now claims he was against the war **Bits and Bites** [Why No Republican Woman Has Ever Served on the Senate Judiciary Committee](http://time.com/4228880/antonin-scalia-death-supreme-court-vacancy-congress-republican-women/) \[TIME\] [Sanders: Clinton Is Embracing Obama to Pander to Black Voters](http://edition.cnn.com/2016/02/18/politics/bernie-sanders-attacks-hillary-clinton-bet/index.html) \[CNN\] [Rubio Campaign Fires Back at Cruz Over Photoshopped Image](http://time.com/4229092/marco-rubio-ted-cruz-photoshop/) \[TIME\] [Black Lives Matter Activist Says Obama Meeting Was Positive](http://time.com/4229987/obama-black-lives-matter-meeting/) \[TIME\] [Ted Cruz’s Politically Risky Tax Proposal](http://time.com/4227896/ted-cruz-taxes-vat-payroll-corporate-alternative-minimum-gift-estate/) \[TIME\] [Black Lives Matter Activist Snubs White House Invite](http://time.com/4229329/black-lives-matter-activist-snubs-white-house-invite/) \[TIME\] [Biden Suggests Obama’s Supreme Court Pick Shouldn’t Be Too Liberal](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/02/19/in-interview-biden-suggests-obamas-supreme-court-pick-shouldnt-be-too-liberal/) \[Washington Post\] [John Kasich Hugs Grieving Student in Emotional Moment in South Carolina](http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/john-kasich-hugs-student-emotional-moment-south-carolina/story?id=37040687) \[ABC\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4230322/two-visions-for-the-gop/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4230322/two-visions-for-the-gop/"},"headline":"Two Visions for the GOP","datePublished":"2016-02-19T15:05:04.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T15:12:52.113Z","description":"Morning Must Reads: February 19","url":"https://time.com/4230322/two-visions-for-the-gop/","keywords":["Morning Must Reads"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb24c27fcf0ec0da8/6986837dcd6848a30809364f/morning-must-reads1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Zeke Miller","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb24c27fcf0ec0da8/6986837dcd6848a30809364f/morning-must-reads1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Morning Must Reads","caption":"Capitol","creditText":"Mark Wilson—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4230322/two-visions-for-the-gop/","name":"Two Visions for the GOP"}}]}] ```