Question to Broun: Who's going to shoot President Obama?  —  At Rep. Paul Broun's town hall meeting on Tuesday, the Athens congressman asked who had driven the farthest to be there and let the winner ask the first question.  —  We couldn't hear the question in the back of the packed Oglethorpe …

Pulling Apart  —  Congress was more polarized last year than in any other year since National Journal began compiling its vote ratings.  Overlap between the parties is disappearing.  —  Republicans in lockstep: House Speaker John Boehner, flanked by GOP Whip Kevin McCarthy (left) …

Breaking: Kathleen Parker Splits From CNN's ‘Parker Spitzer’  —  Kathleen Parker, the co-host of “Parker Spitzer,” CNN's four-month-old, ratings-challenged primetime show, is being dropped from the program, according to sources inside the CNN newsroom.  Eliot Spitzer, her co-host, will remain …

Jeremy Bernard: A historic choice for White House social secretary  —  The White House is set to make news and history this afternoon when it announces the new social secretary.  Jeremy Bernard, currently the chief of staff to the U.S. ambassador to France, will become the third person to hold the job in the Obama administration.

Why a U.S. government shutdown is worth it  —  The cost-cutting battle lines are drawn in the U.S. Congress.  But the fight will affect only maybe a sixth of spending, with big-ticket items like defense and Social Security getting a bipartisan pass for now.  Still, tackling even that small slice would save money and reassure markets.

How To Run America Like a Business: Get Rid Of All The Old People  —  Jamelle Bouie tags Sarah Lacy's piece on why America can't “function like a fiscally responsible company” as a good example of “why tech writers should stay away from politics.”  —  I endorse his critiques, but there's really a deeper issue here.

Teabags and Sympathy  —  So the New York Times posted an interesting article the other day about how some guys who work or have in the past worked with private-sector unions are actually supportive of Scott Walker's public-sector union busting.  Take a look:

DSCC attacks Brown on abuse revelation  —  The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is circulating a number of clips to reporters suggesting that Sen. Scott Brown's (R-Mass.) revelations of sexual abuse as a child is either a political stunt or a hypocritical move in the light of his endorsement …

Pelosi edits honorary resolution...on Pelosi  —  The Democratic National Committee wanted to honor Nancy Pelosi Thursday — but its praise wasn't good enough for the House minority leader.  —  When the DNC's Resolutions Committee brought up a resolution commemorating Pelosi's years as speaker of the House …

The Untold Story of Scott Walker's Longstanding History with Labor  —  may be a new marvel to cable news, but he is certainly no stranger to Wisconsin politics.  Scott K. Walker, son of a Baptist preacher, began his political career in the early 1990s when he ran for an Assembly seat in the State Legislature.

Rep. Anthony Weiner Wants ‘Sexist’ Queens Statue Removed  —  NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - Congressman Anthony Weiner is taking a stand against a statue in Queens that has been a source of controversy for nearly 90 years.  —  1010 WINS' Al Jones with Rep. Anthony Weiner who says the statue does not represent civic virtue

Run Mitch, Run  —  On Feb. 11, Gov. Mitch Daniels of Indiana met with a group of college students.  According to The Yale Daily News, he told them that there is an “excellent chance” he will not run for president.  Then he mounted the podium at the Conservative Political Action Conference …

Jury Nullification Advocate Is Indicted  —  Julian P. Heicklen sat silent and unresponsive as his bail hearing began last week in federal court in Manhattan; his eyes were closed, his head slumped forward.  —  “Mr. Heicklen?” the magistrate judge, Ronald L. Ellis, asked.  “Mr. Heicklen?

Shock Doctrine, U.S.A.  —  Here's a thought: maybe Madison, Wis., isn't Cairo after all.  Maybe it's Baghdad — specifically, Baghdad in 2003, when the Bush administration put Iraq under the rule of officials chosen for loyalty and political reliability rather than experience and competence.

Foiled by the winter: The £25,000 eco-classroom that can't be used because solar panels don't provide enough heat  —  Eco-campaigners who built a classroom powered by the sun believed they were paving the way for the future.  —  Instead they have been taught a valuable lesson …

Editor: Cal Thomas column ‘essentially plagiarized’ from NYT  —  The Temple Daily Telegram decided not to run Cal Thomas's latest column after noticing that it's “essentially plagiarized from the New York Times,” says managing editor Carroll Wilson.  “I will be looking very closely …

New Study Shows That Offshore Drilling Could Make Alaska the Eighth Largest Oil Producer in the World - Ahead of Libya and Nigeria  —  (CNSNews.com) - A new study says drilling on Alaska's Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) could make Alaska the eighth largest oil resource province in the world — ahead of Nigeria, Libya, Russia and Norway.

Darrell Issa asks business: Tell me what to change  —  Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) wants the oil industry, drug manufacturers and other trade groups and companies to tell him which Obama administration regulations to target this year.  —  The incoming chairman of the House Oversight …

Mississippi Rates as the Most Conservative U.S. State  —  Vermont, Rhode Island, District of Columbia have highest percentages of liberals  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Mississippi is home to the largest percentage of conservatives among U.S. states, with a slim majority identifying their political views as conservative.

George W. Bush skips conference over WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange  —  Former President George W. Bush has backed out of a speech he was set to deliver on Saturday after learning that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange would be speaking at the same conference.