memeorandum: Taxpayers on Hook for D.C. Protester's Potties (Paul Bedard/US News)

9:10 AM ET, January 18, 2012

Top Items:

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 …

Discussion: ABCNEWS, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS, The Hill, msnbc.com and Mediaite

Alexander Burns / The Politico:

Palin: I'd vote for Gingrich in South Carolina — Sarah Palin's not quite endorsing Newt Gingrich for president, but if she were a South Carolina voter, he's the one she'd cast her ballot for this weekend. — The idea, Palin explained on Fox News, would be to keep the primary season going.

Discussion: The Reaction and CNN

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: Washington Post, The American Independent, Hot Air, Ballot Box, Daily Kos, The Caucus, Gothamist, No More Mister Nice Blog, INSTAPUTZ and Guardian

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:

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 …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Jared Bernstein, American Prospect and Economix

Wallacegw / CNN:

Gingrich urges Santorum, Perry to drop out — Florence, South Carolina (CNN) - Newt Gingrich is urging competitors Rick Santorum and Rick Perry bow out of the Republican presidential race so conservatives can rally behind one “anti-Mitt Romney” candidate. — A reporter asked …

Discussion: The Politico, CBS News, New York Magazine, The Hill, The Other McCain, Rick Santorum for President, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Hot Air, The Lonely Conservative and Washington Examiner

Jon Bershad / Mediaite:
Chris Matthews Accuses Newt Gingrich Of Racially Charged Use Of The Name ‘Juan’

Discussion: Rush Limbaugh, THEROOT.COM and National Review

Pete Kasperowicz / Ballot Box:
Gingrich doubles down on promise to follow Obama around the country to force debates

Discussion: CNN, No More Mister Nice Blog and Political Mojo

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

Discussion: Mediaite, Ricochet Conversations Feed, Faith in Public Life, The Atlantic Online and The Daily Dish

Pat Garofalo / ThinkProgress:
Romney Admits His Tax Rate Is About 15 Percent, Lower Than Many Middle Class Families

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, The Atlantic Online, The Huffington Post, The Moderate Voice, Daily Kos, Fire Andrea Mitchell!, Wonkette, The Caucus, Hot Air, CNN, The Raw Story, ABCNEWS and The Mahablog

Patrick Marley / JSOnline:

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 …

Discussion: Rush Limbaugh, Big Government, ThinkProgress, The Daily Caller, The Mahablog, Marathon Pundit, Booman Tribune, Althouse, The Impolitic, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Colorlines, Media Trackers and Balloon Juice

Brendan O'Brien / Reuters:
Enough signatures collected to recall Wisconsin governor

Discussion: americanthinker.com, The Moderate Voice and Crooked Timber

Monica Davey / New York Times: Organizers Say 1 Million Signed Petition to Recall Wisconsin Governor

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Dems gather more than one million signatures to recall Scott Walker

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, Crooks and Liars, The Nation, JSOnline and US Politics

Fox News:

‘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: RedState, Fire Andrea Mitchell! and Weasel Zippers

Paul Bedard / US News:

Taxpayers on Hook for D.C. Protester's Potties — The Capitol installed 17 Don's Johns for today's Occupy protests. They were lined up next to the Ulysses S. Grant Memorial seen in the background. — America's taxpayers, already on the hook for watching over the Occupy movement's three-month seizure …

Discussion: americanthinker.com, The Gateway Pundit, Weasel Zippers and The Lonely Conservative

Jessica Firger / Wall Street Journal:

Protest Sapped of Cash — Occupy Wall Street Freezes Spending on New Projects as Donations Dry Up — Occupy Wall Street—the movement built on protesting corporate greed and income inequality—is running out of money. — After raising more than $700,000 last fall …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, Hot Air, New York Magazine, The Politico, ThinkProgress, The Hill and Gothamist

CNET:

Google will protest SOPA using popular home page — The tech sector is pulling out the big guns. — Google, the Web's top search company and one of technology's most influential powers in Washington, will post a link on its home page tomorrow to notify users of Google's opposition …

Discussion: Scientific American, Emily L. Hauser, Political Mojo, Techdirt and TechCrunch, more at Techmeme »

Megan Ruyle / The Hill:
Unbowed by protests, Lamar Smith to move ahead on piracy bill

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Politico, msnbc.com, New York Times and Instapundit

Roxanne Cooper / The Raw Story:
Announcement: Raw Story to go dark on January 18 to protest SOPA/PIPA

Discussion: Computerworld, Taylor Marsh, Company Town, Boing Boing and Crooks and Liars, more at Techmeme »

Mike Masnick / Techdirt:
It's Baaaaaaaaack: Lamar Smith Says SOPA Markup To Resume In February

Discussion: The Hill, Deadline.com, Daily Kos and Making Light, more at Techmeme »

Donovan Slack / The Politico:

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, Firedoglake and The Hill

nbcwashington.com:
Apparent Smoke Bomb Tossed Over White House Fence

Discussion: msnbc.com and Talking Points Memo

Andrew Restuccia / The Hill:

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: Betsy's Page

Andrew Kaczynski / Politics:

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: Grim's Hall and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Gary Martin / MySanAntonio.com:

State's attorneys defend redistricting maps — They insist the process was fair and transparent. — WASHINGTON — Lawyers for Texas defended the state's redistricting plans Tuesday as open, bipartisan and compliant with constitutional requirements despite legal challenges …

Discussion: Off the Kuff

Joel Gehrke / Campaign 2012:

WH: Newt's Obama food stamp charge is ‘crazy’ — President Obama's White House spokesman dismissed as “crazy” Newt Gingrich's claim that Obama has “put” people on food stamps, citing the ailing economy as the cause for the expanded use of welfare programs. — “Well, you know as well as I …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

RealClearPolitics Video Log:
Gingrich On Food Stamp Comment: “Among The Politically Correct, You Are Not Supposed To Use Facts …

Discussion: Big Government and RedState

James Taranto / Wall Street Journal:

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

Nycsouthpaw / Politics:

Michelle Obama's Birthday Restaurant Has Occupy-Themed Burger Menu — Michelle Obama's Birthday Restaurant Has Occupy-Themed Burger Menu — Politics Buzz The Obamas are celebrating Michelle's birthday with friends at BLT Steak in Washington, DC this evening.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and Pat Dollard