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Perry ‘taken aback’ by debate crowd reaction — TAMPA, FL — The morning after a sometimes-rocky appearance in front of a Tea Party debate audience, Gov. Rick Perry said he was “taken aback” by cheers from some crowd members on a hypothetical question of whether a young man who decides …
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Campaign 2012, 24Ahead, Associated Press, Business Insider, National Review, GOP 12, New York Magazine, Gawker and The Daily Caller
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Bachmann: Gardasil causes “mental retardation” — Earlier today, I noted that Michele Bachmann finally scored points on Rick Perry by hitting him on his ties to Merck and linking that to the Gardasil mandate Perry imposed through executive order in Texas. This is a fair point on Perry's record …


The frontrunner has no clothes — The applause identified Rick Perry as the crowd favorite when he took the stage in Tampa for Monday night's Tea Party debate, greeting his lesser rivals as “fellas.” — But two hours later, those fellas - and a gal from Minnesota - had made some serious …


Social Security hurting Perry? — Americans strongly disagree with the statements Rick Perry made about Social Security in last week's Republican Presidential debate, and Barack Obama has nearly doubled his lead over Perry nationally in the span of just 3 weeks.

Rush: Bachmann jumped the shark over Gardasil causing mental retardation — Rush had high praise for Bachmann's performance last night, but in the clip below he says she's gone too far today, jumping the shark over repeating the anecdote she heard last night after the debate that suggested that Garadasil might cause mental retardation:
Discussion:
Washington Post, GOP 12 and Hot Air

The Gardasil Flap — I can't make up my mind over this whole controversy. I think I'm torn because both sides are making good and bad arguments. I think the charge of crony capitalism against Perry is valid generally and looks on target in this case in particular. The issue isn't just that he got $5,000 from Merck.
Discussion:
alicublog and Campaign 2012

Bachmann: ‘Crying’ mother shared HPV story — Michele Bachmann again accused Rick Perry of practicing “crony capitalism” Tuesday morning, appearing on NBC's “Today” show to criticize Perry for seeking to force “innocent little 12-year-old girls or 11-year-old girls” to take a “potentially dangerous” vaccine injection.


Is Rick Perry Making Mitt Romney a Better Candidate?
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online, No More Mister Nice Blog, Mother Jones, Washington Post, FrumForum, Marbury and Washington Monthly

Romney's Win — If a debate more than four months …
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New York Times, Hot Air, Washington Post, National Review, Campaign 2012, Outside the Beltway, americanthinker.com and FrumForum

Bachmann's vaccine doubts ‘dangerous and irresponsible’
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ThinkProgress, RedState, Campaign 2012, The Volokh Conspiracy and The Politico

Rick Perry as Howard Dean
Discussion:
No More Mister Nice Blog and A plain blog about politics

Today in SAT Prep: Romney Is to Clinton as Perry Is to Obama
Discussion:
A plain blog about politics and Washington Post

Bachmann Asks: Can Gardisil Make Your Kids Retarded?
Discussion:
msnbc.com, Gawker and Washington Monthly

Obama leads Romney by 4, Perry by 11 nationally
Discussion:
The New Republic, The Politico and National Review

Perry Better Get Better — I don't think Rick Perry lost …
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Washington Post, American Spectator, Swampland and AmSpecBlog

Path to the nomination: What about someone else?
Discussion:
AmSpecBlog, The Politico and Campaign 2012

Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2010 — Summary of Key Findings — The U.S. Census Bureau announced today that in 2010, median household income declined, the poverty rate increased and the percentage without health insurance coverage was not statistically different from the previous year.
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The Great Recession in five charts
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Washington Monthly and msnbc.com

Poverty continues to rise in U.S., now 15.1%
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The Huffington Post, AmSpecBlog and The Gateway Pundit

Percentage of Americans Living in Poverty Rises to Highest Level Since 1993
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Brookings Institute, The New Republic, The Atlantic Online, Guardian, Sky Dancing, Gawker, Wonkette and Washington Monthly


Weiner flees amid Dem panic over vote today — Disgraced former Rep. Anthony Weiner did his fellow Democrats no favors yesterday — moving out of his district just as his panicking party struggled to hold on to his endangered congressional seat. — Winer took the last ramining items …
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers, Left Coast Rebel and Campaign 2012
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Dems' fate in NY special sparks '12 fears — A looming Democratic loss in New York's special election Tuesday would be seen as a sign of big political and policy problems for President Obama and his party heading into next year's election. — Democrats have held former Rep. Anthony Weiner's …
Discussion:
NY Daily News, CNN, Ballot Box, The Politico, Taylor Marsh, Weasel Zippers, YID With LID and JammieWearingFool

Axelrod: 'We're not in a negotiation' on Obama $447B jobs package — Obama's top political adviser David Axelrod said Tuesday that the administration was unwilling to break up the president's $447 billion jobs plan if Republicans were only receptive to passing certain elements.
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Republicans block Senate disaster aid bill
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The Hill, Open Congress, ThinkProgress, Little Green Footballs and Mock, Paper, Scissors

House GOP widening scope of Solyndra probe, wants answers from White House — House Republicans are planning to widen the scope of an investigation into a California solar company that declared bankruptcy last month after receiving a $535 million loan guarantee from the Obama administration.
Discussion:
The Politico
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White House says Obama would sign pieces of jobs package
Discussion:
Ben Smith's Blog and AmSpecBlog

The Death of the Confidence Fairy — In the first half of last year a strange delusion swept much of the policy elite on both sides of the Atlantic — the belief that cutting spending in the face of high unemployment would actually create jobs. I went after this stuff early and hard …
Discussion:
Hullabaloo
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IMF: Austerity boosts unemployment, lowers paychecks
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Mother Jones and Indecision Forever

Elizabeth Warren To Announce Senate Run Wednesday … Elizabeth Warren , Scott Brown , Scott Brown Senate , Warren Senate , Elizabeth Warren 2012 , Elizabeth Warren For Senate , Elizabeth Warren Massachusetts , Elizabeth Warren Massachusetts Senate , Elizabeth Warren Scott Brown …
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Hotline On Call, ThinkProgress, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Boston Globe and The Page
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Democrat Warren to announce Senate candidacy targeting Scott Brown
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The Raw Story and DealBook

CBO chief warns debt panel spending cuts could slow recovery — The director of the Congressional Budget Office on Tuesday painted a bleak picture of the nation's fiscal future and warned the deficit-reduction supercommittee to be wary of the nation's ailing economy while weighing deep spending cuts and tax increases.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, TPMDC and CNN
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HPV, Perry, and Bachmann — HPV is an acronym for human papillomavirus, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calls “the most common sexually transmitted infection.” Some twenty million Americans carry the virus and there are about six million new cases each year.
Discussion:
Taegan Goddard's …, Campaign 2012, Balloon Juice and National Review
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Perry has deep financial ties to maker of HPV vaccine
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The Huffington Post, The Washington Independent, ThinkProgress and msnbc.com

Some real Shock and Awe: Racially profiled and cuffed in Detroit — Silly me. I thought flying on 9/11 would be easy. I figured most people would choose not to fly that day so lines would be short, planes would be lightly filled and though security might be ratcheted up …


Stop and frisky — The NYPD has launched an investigation after a raunchy YouTube video surfaced featuring uniformed officers gyrating and rubbing their crotches against semi-nude women at the violence-racked West Indian Day Parade in Brooklyn. — The explicit footage shows the cops wildly bumping …
Discussion:
Runnin' Scared, Politics, New York Magazine and The Awl


TPM2012 — Tea Party Debate Audience Cheers Idea Of Letting Sick Man Without Insurance Die (VIDEO) — The last two Republican presidential debates have been some of the most macabre on record. Last time around, at the Reagan Library, the crowd gave the biggest applause of the night …

Hatch to Craig Becker: Did You Write the SEIU Intimidation Manual? — Utah Senator Writes NLRB Board Member and Former SEIU Official Craig Becker To Demand Answers — WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) today wrote to National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) member …
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, Weasel Zippers and Pajamas Media