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STATEMENT OF GOV. BARBOUR — “I will not be a candidate for president next year. This has been a difficult, personal decision, and I am very grateful to my family for their total support of my going forward, had that been what I decided. — “Hundreds of people have encouraged me to run …
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Haley Barbour bows out of 2012 — Haley Barbour said Monday that he won't run for president in 2012, removing a fundraising powerhouse with establishment clout from the Republican primary field. — “This has been a difficult, personal decision, and I am very grateful to my family …
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway, RedState, Verum Serum, The Iowa Republican and AmSpecBlog


‘Fat Redneck’ for President — Iowa likes Haley Barbour, who's set to announce his 2012 plans. In the huge GOP field, don't bet against him. — Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour in Jackson, Mississippi on August 27, 2009. — Haley Barbour lugs more than his share of baggage into the Republican presidential arena.
Discussion:
Balloon Juice, New York Magazine and The Daily Dish

Gov. Haley's advice to GOP presidential hopefuls: Change your message
Discussion:
CNN, Cubachi, Firedoglake and Liberty Pundits Blog

Haley Barbour 2012 Announcement: ‘I Will Not Be A Candidate For President Next Year’
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars

Barbour will not seek GOP nomination
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers, Plunderbund and FrumForum


Mitch Daniels sounds fiscal alarm, but Indiana Republican hesitant to run in 2012
Discussion:
American Prospect, Washington Monthly, msnbc.com, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Wonk Room, CNN and FrumForum

BREAKING: Barbour not running for prez
Discussion:
Cubachi, Michelle Malkin, The Other McCain, Hot Air and Liberty Pundits Blog

Haley Pressures Obama, '12 Field on NLRB
Discussion:
The Hill, protein wisdom and Ben Smith's Blog

Clement firm drops DOMA case — In a real victory for supporters of same-sex marriage — and marking what seems like real marginalization for its foes — a major law firm has reversed course and will refuse to represent the House of Representatives in defending the Defense of Marriage Act.
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Law Firm Backs Out Of Agreement To Defend DOMA: Vetting Process Was ‘Inadequate’ [UPDATE] … Eric Holder Attorney General , Gay Marriage , Defense Of Marriage Act , Boehner Defense Of Marriage Act , Doma , King And Spalding , King And Spalding Defense Of Marriage Act , Marriage Equality , Politics News

Clement quits firm over Defense of Marriage Act flap — Former Solicitor General Paul Clement resigned Monday from his law firm, King & Spalding, over the firm's abrupt and belated decision to stop defending the Defense of Marriage Act on behalf of the House of Representatives.
Discussion:
Poliglot, RedState, The BLT, New York Magazine, Equality Matters, Weigel, National Review and Joe. My. God.

BELTWAY CONFIDENTIAL — Paul Clement resigns from law firm over DOMA decision
Discussion:
Atlanta Journal-Constitution, AmSpecBlog and Hot Air

High court rejects quick review of health care law — WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court rejected a call Monday from Virginia's attorney general to depart from its usual practice and put review of the health care law on a fast track. Instead, judicial review of President Barack Obama's signature legislation …
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Appeals court set to hear Obama ‘birther’ case May 2
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online

Dems seek leverage by forcing GOP split on Ryan's budget plan — Senate Democratic aides expect Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to force Senate Republicans to vote on the Paul Ryan budget plan. — Reid hasn't made a formal decision yet, and won't until he returns from an overseas trip.
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Let's Take a Hike — When I listen to current discussions of the federal budget, the message I hear sounds like this: We're in crisis! We must take drastic action immediately! And we must keep taxes low, if not actually cut them further! — You have to wonder: If things are that serious …
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online, TalkLeft, PERRspectives, CNN, Just-A-Small-Town-Country-Boy, Washington Post, ThinkProgress, Prairie Weather, DownWithTyranny!, The Mahablog, iOwnTheWorld.com, Daily Kos, NewsBusters.org, Arkansas Blog, Arkansas Times, DailyHowler.com and ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*

WH Fails to Release Easter Proclamation — President Obama failed to release a statement or a proclamation recognizing the national observance of Easter Sunday, Christianity's most sacred holiday. — By comparison, the White House has released statements recognizing the observance …
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White House smacks Rev. Franklin Graham for ‘birther’ talk — The White House slammed influential evangelical leader the Rev. Franklin Graham on Monday for questioning President Obama's birthplace. — Graham, a son of the Rev. Billy Graham who has served as a spiritual adviser …
Discussion:
Politics, The Gateway Pundit, RealClearPolitics Video Log and FrumForum

Norquist: Coburn ‘lied his way’ into office — Grover Norquist, founder of Americans for Tax Reform, just emailed a response to Oklahoma GOP Sen. Tom Coburn's claim that his group is a narrow “special interest” that doesn't represent American conservatives. And it's memorable.
Discussion:
RedState, Daily Kos, The Caucus and National Review
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Union Official, Professor Teach How-to College Course in Violent Union Tactics — If you are wondering why some folks are starting to question whether a college education is worth the cost, the video below goes a long way towards explaining it. Recently, the University of Missouri-St. Louis …
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit, RedState, Breitbart.tv, Weigel, Weasel Zippers and Big Journalism
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Discussion:
Wonk Room, Daniel W. Drezner, Ben Smith's Blog, The Enterprise Blog and The Daily Caller


BITTER PILLS — Multitrillion-dollar piles of debt have a way of making people nervous, so it's not really surprising that Washington is now in the throes of budget-cutting hysteria. Republicans risked a government shutdown over a few billion dollars in spending cuts …
Discussion:
Prairie Weather
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DEFINE ‘PEACETIME’.... Former Gov. Mitt Romney (R), back on the presidential campaign trail, isn't sitting down for a lot of media interviews — but he loves writing op-eds. Romney's latest ran in New Hampshire's largest paper this morning. … The nonsense-per-sentence ratio is awfully high here …
Discussion:
UnionLeader.com, Washington Wire, Fox News, Daily Kos, Eschaton, AMERICAblog Elections and msnbc.com


Newly leaked documents show the ongoing travesty of Guantanamo — Numerous media outlets — The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian, The Telegraph, and NPR, among others - last night published classified files on more than 700 past and present Guantanamo detainees.
Discussion:
BBC, Close Read, Guardian, Verum Serum, The Daily Dish, Emptywheel, Runnin' Scared, Associated Press and The Raw Story
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WikiLeaks discloses new details on whereabouts of al-Qaeda leaders on 9/11
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Guardian, Firedoglake, New York Times, The Huffington Post, Speakeasy, CNN, Danger Room, Telegraph, TPM LiveWire, Hullabaloo, Andy Worthington, techPresident, MiamiHerald.com, The Lede, Emptywheel, NPR, Michelle Malkin, ABCNEWS, Newshoggers.com, The Raw Story, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Nation, Law Blog, The Foundry, Sky Dancing, The Agonist, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Weasel Zippers, Hot Air, Lawfare, The Mahablog, Truthdig, Biased BBC, Mediaite, The BLT, FrumForum and Lawyers, Guns & Money, more at Mediagazer »


Heaven can wait — Don't call him Father Jim just yet. — Former New Jersey Gov. Jim McGreevey — who shocked the nation in 2004 when he announced he was a “gay American” and stepped down from office — has been denied his bid to join the priesthood of the Episcopal Church, The Post has learned.
Discussion:
Mediaite, The Awl, New York Magazine, The Raw Story, Towleroad News #gay and Joe. My. God.

With gas prices rising, Pawlenty jabs at Obama on energy — Likely GOP presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty is using rising gas prices to poke holes in President Obama's energy policy. — The former Minnesota governor, like other GOP hopefuls, said Monday that the Obama administration …
Discussion:
The Politico, The Hill and FrumForum
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IMF bombshell: Age of America nears end — Commentary: China's economy will surpass the U.S. in 2016 — Front Page - News Viewer - Commentary - Markets - Investing - Personal Finance - Community - Games — BOSTON (MarketWatch) — The International Monetary Fund has just dropped a bombshell, and nobody noticed.
Discussion:
Pajamas Media, The Lonely Conservative, The Daily Caller, Weasel Zippers, The Gateway Pundit and iOwnTheWorld.com