memeorandum: Gingrich sharpens attacks against Romney's wealth (Newt Gingrich/CNN)

12:35 AM ET, February 4, 2012

Top Items:

EXCLUSIVE: Ari Fleischer Secretly Involved In Komen Strategy On Planned Parenthood — Ari Fleischer, former press secretary for George W. Bush and prominent right-wing pundit, was secretly involved in the Komen Foundation's strategy regarding Planned Parenthood.

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, TBogg, Daily Kos, Balloon Juice, Mercury Rising, Roger Ailes and The Atlantic Online

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:

Komen caved. Or did it? — As you may have heard, the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation just announced that it was reversing its decision to ban Planned Parenthood from applying for grants to cover breast cancer screenings — after a massive outcry that spread from women's groups to social media to Capitol Hill.

Simon Maloy / Media Matters for America:

National Review Sees “Gangsterism” Behind Komen's Planned Parenthood Shift — Earlier today the Susan G. Komen Foundation released a statement “apologizing” for their decision earlier this week to cease grants to Planned Parenthood to pay for breast cancer screenings.

Discussion: Daily Kos, Hullabaloo, Crooks and Liars, Booman Tribune and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Tom Benning / The Scoop:

Komen apologizes for ‘recent decisions,’ pledges to continue funding Planned Parenthood — UPDATE, 12:32 p.m.Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood, said during a Friday conference call that her understanding of Komen's announcement is that it's a complete reversal of the decision to bar funding to her group.

Jennifer Bendery / The Huffington Post:
Susan G. Komen Foundation Says It Is Not Connected To Pink ‘Hope’ Handgun [UPDATE]

Discussion: Gothamist, CBS Seattle, Religion Dispatches, Runnin' Scared, ThinkProgress, The Moderate Voice, Gawker and Daily Kos

Jill Lepore / New Yorker:
DAILY COMMENT — [Update: On Friday, Susan G. Komen …

Discussion: pandagon.net, Mediaite, Hullabaloo and Political Mojo

Susan G. Komen for the Cure:
Statement from Susan G. Komen Board of Directors and Founder and CEO Nancy G. Brinker

Daniel Foster / National Review:
You Should Find the Anti-Komen Backlash Disgusting, Even If You're Pro-Choice

Discussion: The Hill, Right Wing Watch, LifeNews.com, Sister Toldjah, Washington Post, NewsBusters.org blogs, LifeSiteNews.com Latest …, Live Action News & Opinion, Pressthink, Wonkette, Gawker, Little Green Footballs, Rod Dreher and The Daily Dish

Reuters:
Komen reverses move to cut Planned Parenthood funding

Discussion: Big Journalism, The American Independent, blogs.telegraph.co.uk, THEROOT.COM, Outside the Beltway and LifeSiteNews.com Latest …

Tyler Durden / ZeroHedge:

Implied Unemployment Rate Rises To 11.5%, Spread To Propaganda Number Surges To 30 Year High — Sick of the BLS propaganda? Then do the following calculation with us: using BLS data, the US civilian non-institutional population was 242,269 in January, an increase of 1.7 million month over month …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, The Spectacle Blog, Doug Ross, Don Surber, Wizbang, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS, Vodkapundit and Reuters

Tyler Durden / ZeroHedge:

Record 1.2 Million People Fall Out Of Labor Force In One Month, Labor Force Participation Rate Tumbles To Fresh 30 Year Low — A month ago, we joked when we said that for Obama to get the unemployment rate to negative by election time, all he has to do is to crush the labor force participation rate to about 55%.

James Pethokoukis / The Enterprise Blog:

Why the official 8.3 percent unemployment rate is a phony number—and what it means for Obama's reelection — The January jobs report is out and it seems pretty strong, at least superficially. The unemployment rate fell to 8.3 percent from 8.5 percent, the lowest rate since February 2009.

Discussion: RedState and Weasel Zippers

Lynn Vavreck / Washington Post:

For 2012, the unemployment rate doesn't matter. The change in it does. — How fundamental is the state of the nation's economy to election outcomes? So fundamental that 75 percent of the time forecasters can correctly predict which party will win the general election without even knowing the candidates' names.

Discussion: Washington Monthly and Saint Petersblog

Washington Post:
Unemployment report: January job gains have economists rethinking outlooks

Discussion: The Democratic Daily, Booman Tribune and Political Mojo

Newt Gingrich / CNN:

Gingrich sharpens attacks against Romney's wealth — Las Vegas, Nevada (CNN) - Newt Gingrich, intensifying his efforts to frame the Republican presidential race as a showdown between his populist insurgency and Mitt Romney's establishment-backed campaign, sharpened his criticisms Friday of Romney's wealth and corporate resume.

Discussion: Reuters, Politico, Hot Air and Political Mojo

Ginger Gibson / Reuters:

Newt Gingrich's Nevada campaign unraveling — LAS VEGAS — Newt Gingrich is not on TV here. His daily events have slowed to a trickle. He's got a barebones staff working in a tiny space rented just 2 weeks ago. — The most attention he's received since arriving in Nevada came with his snub of the state's popular governor.

Discussion: Campaign 2012, CNN and Politico

Eric Lichtblau / New York Times:
Gingrich's Deep Ties to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

Discussion: Hot Air

Newt Gingrich / CNN: Gingrich: Romney didn't deserve congrats

Politico:

Mitt Romney splits with Brett O'Donnell — A GOP operative who won plaudits for bolstering Mitt Romney's recent debate performances is not being retained by the frontrunner's campaign, an apparent victim of internal tensions over staff receiving too much credit for the candidate's comeback, POLITICO has learned.

Discussion: Naked Politics, Reuters, Taylor Marsh and The Huffington Post

CNN: Romney campaign lets go of new debate coach

Eric Berman / Indy's News Center:

Santorum Fails to Qualify for Indiana Ballot — Election officials still tallying signatures for Gingrich — Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum has failed to qualify for the Indiana ballot. — Listen: — Presidential candidates need 500 signatures in each of Indiana's nine congressional districts.

Discussion: CNN, Politico, The Caucus, The Hill and HotAirPundit

Rosie Gray / Politics:
Santorum Unlikely To Make Indiana Ballot

Discussion: BuzzFeed, Hot Air, Guardian and GOP 12

OFFICE OF THE NEW YORK STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL:

A.G. SCHNEIDERMAN ANNOUNCES MAJOR LAWSUIT AGAINST NATION'S LARGEST BANKS FOR DECEPTIVE & FRAUDULENT USE OF ELECTRONIC MORTGAGE REGISTRY — Complaint Charges Use Of MERS By Bank Of America, J.P. Morgan Chase, And Wells Fargo Resulted In Fraudulent Foreclosure Filings

Discussion: Washington Post, Daily Kos, New York Magazine, Business Insider and TalkLeft

David Dayen / Firedoglake:
Schneiderman Sues Three Big Banks, MERS for Deceptive Practices, Illegal Foreclosures

Discussion: Politics and Suburban Guerrilla

Adrian Chen / Gawker:

Anonymous Leaks Huge Cache of Emails From Iraq War Crimes Case — Anonymous is on a rampage today. Just hours after leaking a confidential phone call between the FBI and Scotland yard, members have released a huge archive of emails and documents related to the 2005 Haditha Massacre, which left 24 Iraqi civilians dead.

Discussion: VentureBeat, Mashable!, TalkLeft and New York Magazine

John Cook / Gawker:
Anonymous' Latest Release Includes Private Info About Sexual Assault Victims and Guantanamo Lawyers

Discussion: The Raw Story and Crooks and Liars

Neil Genzlinger / New York Times:

Ben Gazzara, a Risk-Taking Actor of Stage and Screen, Dies at 81 — Ben Gazzara, an intense actor whose long career included playing Brick in the original “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” on Broadway, roles in influential films by John Cassavetes and work with several generations of top Hollywood directors …

Discussion: Inside Movies, msnbc.com and Big Hollywood

Igor Volsky / ThinkProgress:

Santorum To Gay Man: You Don't Deserve ‘Privilege’ Of Marriage Because Gay Unions Don't ‘Benefit Society’ — Rick Santorum told a gay man in Fulton, Missouri Friday afternoon that he didn't deserve the “privilege” of marriage because his same-sex relationship does not “benefit” society in the same way that opposite-sex marriage does.

Erick Erickson / RedState:

Danger Will Robinson . . . or Ann Coulter — This week is a career milestone for me. I appear in Time magazine writing about the state of the conservative movement. As a kid living overseas, my American history teacher subscribed us all to Time and U.S. News and World Report.

Discussion: Daily Pundit, The Daily Caller, Riehl World View and Conservatives4Palin

Amanda Terkel / The Huffington Post:

Koch Brothers, Allies Pledge $100 Million At Private Meeting To Beat Obama … Barack Obama , Newt Gingrich 2012 , Barack Obama 2012 , Newt Gingrich , Obama , President Obama , Video , Charles Koch , David Koch , Koch Brothers , Sheldon Adelson , Winning Our Future , Ken Griffin …

Discussion: Republic Report, The Hill, ThinkProgress, Political Mojo, The BRAD BLOG and Politico

Vicki Needham / The Hill:

Reid: This year's budget is done — Senate Democratic leaders said they don't expect a fiscal 2013 budget to reach the floor this year because spending levels were set last summer under the debt-ceiling agreement. — “We do not need to bring a budget to the floor this year — it's done …

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Hot Air, Weasel Zippers, Pat Dollard, Campaign 2012, Politico and Daily Pundit

Jennifer Medina / New York Times:

In Las Vegas, Making Sure the Caucuses Accommodate — LAS VEGAS — When Nevada held its first Republican caucuses in 2008, Philip A. Kantor walked to the library next door to his synagogue. He took in the spectacle, watching others ballot for their chosen candidate.

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:

Faced with good news about economy, Romney dissolves into incoherence — Since Mitt Romney announced his candidacy last June, he has continually made two core claims about Obama's economic record, each of which contradicts the other. Depending on the moment, Romney has said either:

Discussion: The Hill, A plain blog about politics, Riehl World View, The Maddow Blog, Shakesville, Political Mojo and The Hill

Alan Colmes' Liberaland:

Anti-Abortion Komen VP Also Anti-Gay — Karen Handel had some choice words for gays when she ran last year for Governor of Georgia, from this interview with the Jim Galloway at the AJC. — KH: I've been very clear. And you know, as a Christian, marriage is between a man and a woman.

Discussion: Gay Politics, Little Green Footballs and Daily Kos

Brian Beutler / tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com:

TPMDC — Bait And Switch: GOP Leaders Renege On Debt Limit Deal Defense Cuts — Republican leaders in Congress have all but reneged on a key agreement they reached with the White House last summer rather than reconsider their unwavering stance against new tax revenue.

Discussion: Firedoglake, The Maddow Blog, Daily Kos and Talking Points Memo

Anne Gearan / Associated Press:

AP sources: Taliban leader sent letter to Obama — WASHINGTON - Reclusive Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar wrote to President Barack Obama last year indicating an interest in talks key to ending the war in Afghanistan, current and former U.S. officials told The Associated Press.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and The Jawa Report

David Leonhardt / New York Times:

The 2016 Election, Already Upon Us — DISTANT as it may now seem, with the Republican race dominating the news and President Obama sitting in the White House, the Democrats are not all that far from the tumult of another nominating contest themselves. — No matter what happens on Election …