The trouble with my uncle, Rick Santorum  —  If you want another big-government politician who supports the status quo to run our country, you should vote for my uncle, Rick Santorum.  America is based on a strong belief in individual liberty.  My uncle's interventionist policies …

Rick Santorum's curious closing argument  —  POLK CITY, Iowa — Nothing fires up a crowd like cloture.  —  Rick Santorum, the man who has improbably become a contender in Tuesday's Iowa caucuses, was making his closing argument to a sea of TV cameras here on Monday when he swerved into a thicket of Senate trivia.

Workers of the World, Unite!  —  The Republican Party is the party of the white working class.  This group — whites with high school degrees and maybe some college — is still the largest block in the electorate.  They overwhelmingly favor Republicans.  —  It's a diverse group, obviously …

Why Iowa gets to go first, and other facts about tonight's caucus  —  (Jessica Reilly) David Redlawsk is a political scientist at Rutgers University and co-author of “Why Iowa?  How Caucuses and Sequential Elections improve the Nominating Process.”  We spoke earlier today …

Gingrich: Mitt Romney is a liar  —  PLAY CBS NEWS VIDEO  —  Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, whose support in Iowa has withered after riding on top of the polls, today called former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney a liar who would lie to the American people if elected to the White House …

W.H. to Boehner: Ditch the GOP, pass bills  —  John Boehner walks to a news conference on the payroll tax cut with Eric Cantor on Capitol Hill on Thursday, Dec. 22, 2011.  AP Photo  —  A senior White House official challenged House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) to buck his own Republican conference …

Santorum: States Should Have The Right To Outlaw Birth Control  —  Rick Santorum reiterated his belief that states should have the right to outlaw contraception during an interview with ABC News yesterday, saying, “The state has a right to do that, I have never questioned that the state has a right to do that.

Gingrich: I 'Wouldn't Make Exceptions' For Abortions In Cases Of Rape Or Incest  —  Newt Gingrich explicitly told a voter in Iowa this afternoon that he opposes all abortions, even in cases of rape and incest, joining fellow GOP presidential candidates Rick Santorum, Michele Bachmann …

Krugman's response to Alex  —  You'll read it here, see also various (mostly weak) responses in the comments to Alex's original post.  Most of you, including Krugman, are missing Alex's point.  The issue is not that Krugman changed his mind (I've done that plenty, Alex too).

Huckabee: Rs more interested in defeating Obama than in rebuilding USA (audio)  —  Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, victor in the 2008 Iowa Caucuses, called into the Radio Iowa newsroom this morning for a chat.  I'll be posted snippets over the next few hours.

Michelle Obama's backside is your business how?  —  Can you imagine how the incident would play out if an African American congressman made a crude remark about First Lady Laura Bush's body?  It certainly would have taken more than an insincere apology to wash that sin away.

Probe reveals feds pressuring agents to rush immigrant visas - even if fraud is feared  —  One-quarter of the USCIS officers surveyed said they have pressured to approve questionable cases.  —  Alejandro Mayorkas heads the agency.  —  Higher-ups within U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services …

The Next War: Pentagon to Present Vision of Reduced Military  —  WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta is set this week to reveal his strategy that will guide the Pentagon in cutting hundreds of billions of dollars from its budget, and with it the Obama administration's vision …

Perry: ‘This is Omaha Beach’  —  WEST DES MOINES, Iowa — With a sense of history on the biggest political day — to date — of the 2012 cycle, Texas Gov. Rick Perry today compared the GOP's quest to defeat President Barack Obama to one of the deadliest battles of the D-Day landings in Normandy in 1944.

Bad-Faith Journalism  —  PolitiFact tacks right, further illustrating why its approach is wrong.  —  It's not as eagerly awaited as Time's “Man of the Year” was back when people paid attention to Time, but PolitiFact's “Lie of the Year” nonetheless manages to generate a lot of chatter, aimed as it is at those who chatter for a living.

Young, gay caucus-goers talk politics, support for GOP  —  Several young gay Iowa caucus goers discuss which GOP candidates they will support today.  (Washington Blade photo by Chris Johnson)  —  DES MOINES, Iowa — For some gay Iowa Republicans, the 2012 presidential election is about more than just LGBT issues.

Un-American Activities  —  In the tenth paragraph of a page A15 Times piece, Rick Santorum accuses Barack Obama of engaging in “absolutely un-American activities.”  What are they?  The article doesn't say.  The quote appears without explanation or comment, in an article entitled …

Wisconsin: No Roger, No Rerun, No Recall?  Barrett and the unusual nature of the recall Rematch/Rerun  —  As we heard earlier this week, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, the losing Democratic gubernatorial candidate in 2010, is considering running in the recall against Governor Scott Walker.

Meteor shower to kick off 2012  —  If you snooze you'll lose Wednesday morning, when a little known but active meteor shower will start 2012 for people stalwart enough to brave the chilly hours before dawn.  —  The Quadrantids, named for a now-extinct constellation, will be visible …