memeorandum: Pastor at Santorum rally: Americans won't vote for Mormon president, Mormon church is racist (Andrew Abramson/Post on Politics)

3:19 AM ET, January 23, 2012

Top Items:

Daniel Strauss / The Hill:

Christie: Gingrich ‘embarrassed’ GOP — Gov. Chris Christie called Newt Gingrich an embarrassment to the Republican Party. — “I think Newt Gignrich has embarrassed the party, over time,” Christie (R), who endorsed Mitt Romney, said Sunday on NBC's Meet the Press. “Governor Romney never has.”

Discussion: Riehl World View, No More Mister Nice Blog and Naked Politics

Reid J. Epstein / The Politico:

Mitt Romney: Newt Gingrich is a ‘failed leader,’ ‘disgrace’ — ORMOND BEACH, Fla. - Mitt Romney landed here Sunday with a simple message: Newt Gingrich is a failure and a fraud. And a disgrace. And a hapless showman. — Standing under a brilliant orange Florida sunset …

Discussion: CNN, The Gateway Pundit and Ballot Box

Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:

An open letter to Republican leaders — Dear Govs. Haley Barbour, Mitch Daniels, John Kasich, Bobby Jindal; Sens. Jon Kyl, Marco Rubio and Jim DeMint; and Reps. Eric Cantor (R-Va.), Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), and Mike Pence (R-Ind.): — You've each declined to run for the presidency or even endorse one of the final candidates.

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Patterico's Pontifications, The Gateway Pundit and Booman Tribune

Alexander Burnsand Maggie Haberman / The Politico:

Mitt Romney's misery, in a word: Bain — COLUMBIA, S.C. - The verdict is in: Mitt Romney's Bain Capital problem is real. — Of all the forces that converged to doom Romney in Saturday's South Carolina primary, none may be as disconcerting for Republicans as the attacks on Romney's private equity work …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice and Reuters

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
Quick Thoughts on Tonight's Results

Discussion: Quote and Comment, Balloon Juice, The Mahablog, No More Mister Nice Blog and Guardian

Adam Weinstein / Mother Jones:

Gays “Make God Want to Vomit”: Meet Santorum's Honorary Florida Chairman — Rick Santorum's first stop in the Sunshine State is the church of a gay-bashing, Islamophobic pastor. — While the network news shows spend this Sunday marveling over Newtmentum in South Carolina …

Discussion: Firedoglake, Mediaite, Towleroad News #gay, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Raw Story and Joe. My. God.

Andrew Abramson / Post on Politics:

Pastor at Santorum rally: Americans won't vote for Mormon president, Mormon church is racist — Rev. O'Neal Dozier, the conservative pastor of Pompano Beach's Worldwide Christian Center, told the Palm Beach Post Sunday that Mitt Romney cannot win the presidency because Americans won't vote for a Mormon president.

Arizona Daily Star:

Giffords to step down from Congress — U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords will step down from Congress this week to focus on her recovery, her staff announced Sunday. — “I have more work to do on my recovery, so to do what is best for Arizona, I will step down this week,” Giffords said in a video message.

Discussion: msnbc.com, Scared Monkeys, Patterico's Pontifications, Daily Kos, Mediaite, Outside the Beltway, The Democratic Daily and The Raw Story

James Bennett / KOLD-TV:

Governor will declare April special election for Giffords' seat — Gabrielle Giffords' decision to resign from Congress will force Gov. Jan Brewer to call an April special election to replace her. — The governor will set the date for special primary and general elections to determine …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit

CNN:
Gabrielle Giffords will resign to focus on her recovery

Discussion: This Just In and American Spectator

Gabrielle Giffords:
U.S. REP. GABRIELLE GIFFORDS WILL STEP DOWN FROM CONGRESS THIS WEEK

Discussion: Healthland

Amy Bingham / ABCNEWS:
Giffords' Vow: ‘I Will Return’

Discussion: New York Times, Zandar Versus The Stupid, Guardian, The Daily Caller, The Political Carnival, RedState, CBS New York and The Impolitic

Dan Nowicki / Arizona Republic:
Giffords stepping down from Congress

Discussion: Washington Post and The Moderate Voice

Daniel Strauss / Ballot Box:
Rep. Giffords to step down from Congress to focus on recovery

Discussion: The Politico and The Hill

John Heilemann / New York Magazine:

Five Consequences of Gingrich's South Carolina Win — Newt ascendent. — By the time the voting started yesterday in the South Carolina Republican primary, the collective judgment of the political class was that Newt Gingrich was all but certain to beat Mitt Romney badly—the only question was how badly.

Discussion: Hot Air, CNN, Washington Wire and News Desk

Sean Trende / Real Clear Politics:
Three Takeaways From South Carolina

Discussion: Ricochet Conversations Feed, Big Government, PJ Media, The Buzz Florida Politics Feed, RedState, CNN, Patterico's Pontifications, Hot Air, Hit & Run and Daily Kos

Washington Examiner:
Why Gingrich won — Why Romney lost

Discussion: American Thinker, americanthinker.com, The State, The Other McCain, Power Line, American Spectator, Don Surber, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Instapundit, Ricochet Conversations Feed, PJ Media, Weekly Standard, Riehl World View and Outside the Beltway

Karen Tumulty / Washington Post:
Newt Gingrich wins South Carolina primary

Discussion: americanthinker.com, Althouse, Cato @ Liberty, Harry's Place, Prairie Weather, New York Times and Ballot Box

New York Times:
South Carolina's Divisive Message

Discussion: The Caucus, 2012 Decoded, The Daily Caller, Guardian, Hullabaloo, Big Journalism and Washington Post

Jeremy Herb / The Hill:
Romney to release tax returns on Tuesday, calls delay ‘a mistake’

Discussion: The Politico, Taylor Marsh and The Political Carnival

Alexander Burns / The Politico:
Next stop: A brawl at the 2012 Florida primary

Discussion: Reuters, CNN, Taegan Goddard's … and Washington Monthly

Hugh Hewitt / National Review:
The Ball Is in Florida's Court Now

Discussion: Riehl World View, Wall Street Journal, The Daily Dish, The PJ Tatler, Booman Tribune, The Moderate Voice, ABCNEWS and New York Times

Candice M. Giove / New York Post:

'God'-awful OWS mob steals sacred item from church — There's no longer room at the inn at a Manhattan church that's sheltering Occupy Wall Streeters after a holy vessel disappeared from the altar last week. — When the Rev. Bob Brashear prepared for Sunday services at West Park Presbyterian Church …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, Weasel Zippers and Jammie Wearing Fools

Thomas Kaplan / New York Times:

New York's Redistricting Process Led by Insiders — ALBANY — Howard Leib, a 53-year-old entertainment lawyer, is considering a run for the New York State Senate this year. — But Mr. Leib, a Democrat from the Finger Lakes region, has an unexpected first challenge: he does not know what district he lives in.

Martin Frost / The Politico:

The electoral train wreck scenario — Train wrecks don't happen often in American politics. But there could be one in this presidential election. And if it occurs, it will be big. — Consider: The Constitution has a specific provision regarding an Electoral College deadlock.

Richard Goldstein / New York Times:

Joe Paterno, Longtime Penn State Coach, Dies at 85 — Joe Paterno, who won more games than any other major-college football coach, and who became the face of Penn State University and a symbol of integrity in collegiate athletics only to be fired during the 2011 season amid a child sexual-abuse scandal …

Discussion: Towleroad News #gay and The Atlantic Online, more at Mediagazer »

David Ingram / Reuters:

U.S. lawyer for Megaupload.com withdraws — (Reuters) - Content-sharing Internet service Megaupload.com has lost the help of one of the best-known U.S. defense lawyers as it begins to fight charges of copyright infringement, a person familiar with the matter said.

Discussion: Law Librarian Blog and TalkLeft

Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:

Romney partially caves on tax returns — Watching Mitt Romney discuss his willingness to disclose his tax returns, it's been hard not to marvel at the rapid evolution. It was only about a month ago when he was asked whether he'd release his tax returns, and Romney replied, “I doubt it.”

Discussion: Associated Press and The Impolitic