Top Items:

First Thoughts: Newt-mentum returns? — Is Newt-mentum returning?... Even if so, Gingrich faces two challenges: time and math... Romney's wealth and Bain Capital have been THE story in the GOP race for the past 10 days (and counting)... Are the first Obama TV ads going up?
Discussion:
Taegan Goddard's … and The Caucus
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Newt Gingrich: If Mitt Romney Wins South Carolina, It's Over … South Carolina Primary Election , South Carolina Primary Election 2012 , Politics News — COLUMBIA, S.C. — Newt Gingrich came clean Tuesday afternoon, admitting that if he can't win this state's primary on Saturday …


SC evangelicals split, frustrated — ‘Who gets to tell the other two that they should drop out?’ — More than two-thirds of South Carolina's evangelical voters do not want Republican presidential front-runner Mitt Romney to become the GOP's nominee for president, according to a new poll from Monmouth University.
Discussion:
2012 Decoded and msnbc.com


Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum set South Carolina expectations
Discussion:
Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog and CNN

Palin: I'd vote for Gingrich in South Carolina
Discussion:
Hit & Run, Wonkette, New York Times, The Reaction and CNN

Not the Bane of His Existence — Newt Gingrich's closing argument …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Mail Online, The Huffington Post and Fox News

Unbowed by protests, Lamar Smith to move ahead on piracy bill — House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) vowed to push forward with his controversial anti-piracy bill on Tuesday as popular websites prepared to go dark in protest. — “I am committed to continuing to work …
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Washington Monthly, The Politico, Media Decoder, The American Independent, Networking Blog, RedState and Instapundit
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SOPA protests shut down Web sites
Discussion:
Scientific American, The Mahablog, The BLT and US Politics


Web Site Will Shut Down to Protest Antipiracy Bills
Discussion:
nytm.org, Bits, Media Decoder, msnbc.com, Campaign 2012 and Poynter, more at Mediagazer »


Romney Caricatures Himself — Mitt Romney, in all likelihood, is going to walk away with his party's presidential nomination. Yet from the standpoint of positioning himself for the general election, the primary season has been a disaster for him. Romney's campaign has worked hard …
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Perry: It's ‘important’ for Mitt to release tax returns now
Discussion:
Daily Kos and Ballot Box

Romney Reveals his Tax Rate is ‘Probably Closer to 15 Percent’
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway, New York Magazine, Angry Bear, Daily Kos and Hot Air


Mitt Romney Sent Millions to Mormon Church — Republican presidential hopeful and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney walks toward his campaign plane, Jan. 11, 2012 in Bedford, Mass. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) — Underscoring the prominent, if little discussed role that Mitt Romney played …
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New Obama OMB director a Bain alum
Discussion:
Pat Dollard, Betsy's Page, Hot Air and The Politico

‘Occupy’ protesters suspected of throwing smoke bomb over White House fence — WASHINGTON - The Secret Service was responding Tuesday night to an escalating protest that may have involved one or more smoke bombs being thrown over the White House fence. — An estimated 1,000 protesters have gathered.
Discussion:
Scared Monkeys, Weasel Zippers, RedState, Fire Andrea Mitchell!, The Heritage Foundation and Hot Air
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Taxpayers on Hook for D.C. Protester's Potties
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit, americanthinker.com, Weasel Zippers and The Lonely Conservative

Protest Sapped of Cash
Discussion:
Associated Press, NewsBusters.org blogs, Weasel Zippers, New York Magazine, Hot Air, The Politico, ThinkProgress, The Hill and Gothamist


The Book On Mitt Romney: Here Is John McCain's Entire Opposition Research File … The Book On Mitt Romney: Here Is John McCain's Entire Opposition Research File — Politics Buzz A document found online by BuzzFeed appears to be John McCain's entire, 200-page opposition research file …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Political Mojo, Shakesville, Grim's Hall, Gawker and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Recess appointments might not hold — Some legal experts, including those who have sided with President Obama on other constitutional issues, think there is a good chance the courts could overturn his recent recess appointments. — Legal experts said courts could invalidate Obama's appointments …
Discussion:
americanthinker.com and Prairie Weather


Why They Stood and Cheered — Gingrich confronts the left's insidious theory of racial supremacy. — Bye-Ku for Jon Huntsman — Call me crazy, but — I think insulting voters — Will warm them to me — The live-audience reaction to Republican presidential debates is a matter …
Discussion:
No More Mister Nice Blog and The Raw Story

Obama's jobs council report says ‘drill’ — President Obama's jobs council called Tuesday for an “all-in approach” to energy policy that includes expanded oil-and-gas drilling as well as expediting energy projects like pipelines. — “[W]e should allow more access to oil …
Discussion:
JustOneMinute, Questions and Observations and Betsy's Page


Dear Andrew Sullivan: Why Focus On Obama's Dumbest Critics? — A major defense of the president exaggerates Obama's accomplishments and misses the point: his scandalous transgressions against rule of law. — After reading Andrew Sullivan's Newsweek essay about President Obama, his critics …
Discussion:
Samizdata.net, The Daily Dish, Mediaite, Mother Jones and Patterico's Pontifications


Did Rick Santorum Win the Iowa Caucuses, Not Mitt Romney? — Incorrect precinct numbers from one Iowa town, and a 20-vote misallocation to Mitt Romney, casts his eight-vote victory in question—along with his claim to be the only candidate to win both Iowa and New Hampshire.
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice and Taegan Goddard's …


Obama's not-so-super PAC — Last spring, Sean Sweeney — a co-founder of Priorities USA Action, Barack Obama's not-so-super super PAC — rode an elevator up to a donor's office atop a Chicago skyscraper, hoping to ride down with a big check. — His pitch: Sure, Obama has made a career …
Discussion:
The Politico

Democrats file 1 million signatures for Walker recall — Petitions to recall Gov. Scott Walker are delivered Tuesday to the Government Accountability Board headquarters in Madison. Recall supporters filed about twice as many signatures as they needed. Republicans, meantime …
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Enough signatures collected to recall Wisconsin governor
Discussion:
americanthinker.com, The Moderate Voice and Crooked Timber


No union labor used at DNC speech site, contractor says — One of the contractors responsible for building Bank of America stadium in Charlotte, N.C. is ‘praising’ President Obama and the Democratic Party for holding a convention event there, calling the stadium an ‘outstanding example’ of the free enterprise system.
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers


White House locked down because of ‘smoking objects’ — The White House was locked down Tuesday night because of “smoking objects” found near the North Portico as hundreds of protesters rallied outside the executive mansion, Secret Service officials said. — “We had approximately 1,000 …
Discussion:
Hullabaloo and The Hill
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