memeorandum: Newt Gingrich and the Art of Racial Politics (Charles M. Blow/Campaign Stops)

4:55 PM ET, January 17, 2012

Top Items:

Kevinliptak / CNN:

Romney says his effective tax rate is 15% — Florence, South Carolina (CNN) - Mitt Romney said Tuesday he pays roughly a 15% effective tax rate on his income - an acknowledgment that the multi-millionaire pays a smaller percentage of taxes on his income than many middle-income Americans.

Discussion: The Other McCain, Don Surber, The Hinterland Gazette, ABCNEWS, The Mahablog, The Moderate Voice and Shakesville

Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:

Obama up 5 on Romney nationally — PPP's first national poll of 2012 finds Barack Obama with his best standing against Mitt Romney since last May, right after the killing of Osama bin Laden. Obama leads Romney 49-44. — It's not as if Obama's suddenly become popular.

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, Ballot Box, Taegan Goddard's …, Daily Kos, Washington Post, Guardian, The Caucus and INSTAPUTZ

Pat Garofalo / ThinkProgress:

Romney Admits His Tax Rate Is About 15 Percent, Lower Than Many Middle Class Families — Citizens for Tax Justice a few months ago estimated that Mitt Romney, due to most of his income coming from investments, pays a tax rate of around 14 percent, a far cry from the 35 percent top income tax rate.

Discussion: The Huffington Post, ABCNEWS, The Caucus, ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*, Hot Air, The Hinterland Gazette, The Raw Story and Daily Kos

Washington Post:

Mitt Romney to release tax returns, estimates rate at about 15 percent — FLORENCE, S.C. — Bowing to pressure from his Republican rivals as well as the Democrats, Mitt Romney told reporters here Tuesday that he plans to release his federal income tax returns this spring and estimated his rate at about 15 percent.

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The New Republic, Washington Monthly, Paul Krugman, Campaign 2012 and Political Mojo

New York Times:
Romney Says His Effective Tax Rate Is ‘Probably’ 15%

Discussion: Balloon Juice

Maggie Haberman / The Politico:
Mitt says he pays close to 15 percent rate

Discussion: The Hill and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Pat Garofalo / The Atlantic Online:
The Real Scandal in Private Equity? It's the Taxes

Discussion: New York Times and Wonkette

Fox News Insider:

TRANSCRIPT: Fox News Channel & Wall Street Journal Debate in South Carolina — Here's a full transcript from tonight's GOP debate in South Carolina: — BAIER: Thanks, Bill, and welcome to the Myrtle Beach Convention Center and the Republican presidential debate.

Kevinliptak / CNN:

Turkey responds angrily to Perry remarks — Istanbul (CNN) - Most of Turkey was fast asleep when Republic presidential candidates engaged in a spirited debate in South Carolina Monday night. — Turkish newspapers had already gone to print by the time Texas Gov. Rick Perry declared …

Discussion: USA Today, Mediaite and Jihad Watch

ABCNEWS:
Rick Perry Camp Explains Suggestion That Turkey Is Led By ‘Islamic Terrorists’

Discussion: Associated Press, ThinkProgress, CNN, The Hill, Outside the Beltway, Reuters, News Desk, Israel Matzav, The Caucus and Ricochet Conversations Feed

Rosie Gray / Politics: Perry Camp Smooths Over Turkey “Islamic Terrorists” Response

Emily Schultheis / The Politico:

Court rejects Perry's Va. ballot appeal — In a 22-page order, a three-judge panel of a federal appeals court today rejected Rick Perry's appeal to appear on the Virginia ballot. — Perry initially challenged the state's stringent ballot laws on Dec. 27, after he and Newt Gingrich failed …

Discussion: Outside the Beltway

Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:

Romney, Dewhurst lead in Texas — Rick Perry's Presidential campaign is doing about as bad in Texas now as it is everywhere else in the country. When PPP last polled the state in September he was at 49%, leading Mitt Romney by 39 points. Now Perry's support has declined by 31 points, leaving him in 3rd place at 18%.

Discussion: Trail Blazers Blog, Hit & Run, Ballot Box and Campaign 2012

Alexander Burns / The Politico:
Perry: Santorum a ‘good Catholic’

Discussion: CNN, GOP 12, The Hill and Questions and Observations

Washington Post:
NET LEANED VOTE PREFERENCE

Discussion: Campaign 2012, Hit & Run, ThinkProgress, Ballot Box, Prairie Weather, Hot Air, Poll Watch Daily and Fox News

Patrick Marley / JSOnline:

Democrats to file 1 million signatures for Walker recall — By Patrick Marley and Jason Stein of the Journal Sentinel — Madison - Democrats and organizers will file petitions with more than a million signatures Tuesday afternoon as they seek to force a recall election against Gov. Scott Walker …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Media Trackers, Marathon Pundit and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:

Dems gather more than one million signatures to recall Scott Walker — Wisconsin Democrats are telling reporters that they have gathered more than one million signatures to recall Governor Scott Walker — a remarkable number that could have real ramifications for this year's presidential race.

Discussion: Crooks and Liars and JSOnline

Sue Gardner / Wikimedia Foundation:

English Wikipedia anti-SOPA blackout — To: English Wikipedia Readers and Community From: Sue Gardner, Wikimedia Foundation Executive Director … Today, the Wikipedia community announced its decision to black out the English-language Wikipedia for 24 hours, worldwide …

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, Washington Post, L.A. Times Tech Blog, Taylor Marsh, The Raw Story, Moon of Alabama, The Democratic Daily, New York Magazine and Outside the Beltway

Reuters:
SOPA protest nears zero hour

Discussion: Wikimedia Foundation, Wake up America, Across The Fence … and The Politico, more at Techmeme »

Trevor Timm / Electronic Frontier Foundation:
Search form — How PIPA and SOPA Violate White House Principles …

Discussion: GigaOM, The Huffington Post, Making Light, Balloon Juice, War in Context, Concurring Opinions, Computerworld and Techdirt

David Brooks / New York Times:

South Carolina Diarist — Sumter, S.C. — When I started covering presidential primaries, the best part was getting to know the candidates. We journalists would ride around in vans and buses with them and get an intimate look at what it's like to endure this soul-destroying process.

Discussion: The State, No More Mister Nice Blog, Booman Tribune, Poynter and CNN

Washington Examiner:

Will frontrunner Romney keep debating? — MYRTLE BEACH, SC — After a debate in which Republican frontrunner Mitt Romney faced attacks from all sides, the Romney campaign says it has not yet accepted invitations to participate in two high-profile debates leading up to the January 31 Florida primary …

Discussion: The Politico, GOP 12, American Spectator, Hot Air and The Daily Caller

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

Obama warns left: You won't like budget — Top White House officials are warning liberal and labor leaders to brace themselves for President Obama's budget proposal. — Gene Sperling, director of the National Economic Council, sought in meetings last week to lift the left's gloom …

Discussion: The Politico, Firedoglake, Pirate's Cove, Liberal Values, Prairie Weather and Shakesville

David Dayen / Firedoglake:

An Economic Recovery Is Not Fated for 2013 — Can this be fixed by 2013? - Calculated Risk job loss chart Click to see enlarged original at CR — I've seen a spate of stories recently suggesting that a economic recovery is fated to happen by 2013, and whoever wins the Presidential election …

Discussion: Washington Monthly and The New Republic

Ezra Klein / Washington Post:
Who will get the ‘Recovery Presidency’? — Julie Schmit reports …

Discussion: USA Today, The Daily Dish and Political Mojo

Seung Min Kim / The Politico:

Nancy Pelosi: GOP knows Mitt Romney can't win — House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday launched political grenades at Mitt Romney, arguing that Republicans haven't coalesced behind the GOP frontrunner because they don't believe he can beat President Barack Obama in November.

Discussion: Wizbang and Weasel Zippers

Seung Min Kim / The Politico:
‘Occupy Congress’ protesters arrested

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and The Gateway Pundit

Charles M. Blow / Campaign Stops:

Newt Gingrich and the Art of Racial Politics — That's the way I like to spend my Martin Luther King, Jr. Day: watching Newt Gingrich sneer at Juan Williams, a black man, for having the temerity to ask him if his condescending remarks about the work ethic of poor black people are indeed condescending:

Discussion: Rush Limbaugh, Mediaite, Ricochet Conversations Feed, The Atlantic Online and The Daily Dish

Danny Yadron / Washington Wire:
Gingrich: ‘I Would Be Delighted’ With a Santorum Endorsement

Discussion: CNN, Washington Post and Hot Air

Marie Diamond / ThinkProgress:

Santorum Staffer Says Women Shouldn't Be President Because It's Against God's Will — In an article about the reasons Rep. Michele Bachmann's campaign fizzled, the Des Moines Register points to “sexism among conservatives,” singling out an offensive email written by a staffer to Rick Santorum:

Discussion: The Hinterland Gazette

Jim Watson / ABCNEWS:

New Polls Show Signs Of Serious Vulnerability For President Obama — There are plenty of Democrats and even some Republicans who view the Republican primary as a gift to President Obama. Sixteen debates, web videos and “you can't even make this up” candidate behavior …

Discussion: Investor's Business Daily, Big Journalism, Taylor Marsh and Gallup