Top Items:
Jim Messina / Barack Obama:
We Will Not Play by Two Sets of Rules — In 2010, the Supreme Court's decision in the Citizens United case opened the door to a new wave of so-called Super PACs—non-candidate political committees that can receive and spend unlimited money from special interests.
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Mike McIntire / New York Times:
Major Obama Donors Tied to Fugitive Who Fled to Mexico — Two American brothers of a Mexican casino magnate who fled drug and fraud charges in the United States and has been seeking a pardon enabling him to return have emerged as major fund-raisers and donors for President Obama's re-election campaign.
Discussion:
Associated Press, ABCNEWS, Politico, The Hill, JustOneMinute, Guardian, Hot Air, The Daily Caller, Weasel Zippers, Washington Post and Election Law Blog
Glenn Thrush / Politico:
Obama embraces the super PAC — President Barack Obama — in an act of hypocrisy or necessity, depending on the beholder — has reversed course and is now blessing the efforts of a sputtering super PAC, Priorities USA Action, organized to fight GOP dark-money attacks.
Discussion:
ABCNEWS, CommonBlog, Pirate's Cove, CNN and Datechguy's Blog
New York Times:
Obama Yields in Marshaling of ‘Super PAC’ — WASHINGTON — President Obama is signaling to wealthy Democratic donors that he wants them to start contributing to an outside group supporting his re-election, reversing a long-held position as he confronts a deep financial disadvantage on a vital front in the campaign.
Discussion:
The Hill, Political Mojo, News Desk, Randy's Roundtable, Mediaite, ABCNEWS and ThinkProgress
Josh Gerstein / Politico:
Obama backs act limiting spending
Dan Eggen / Washington Post:
Obama gives blessing to a super PAC
Obama gives blessing to a super PAC
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers and Politico
Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
Big Day for Santorum? — Rick Santorum could be headed for a big day in today's contests in Colorado, Minnesota, and Missouri. Missouri looks like a probable win for Santorum. He's at 45% there to 32% for Mitt Romney and 19% for Paul. Minnesota provides an opportunity for a win as well.
Discussion:
msnbc.com, The Moderate Voice, GOP 12, The Maddow Blog, Hot Air, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Taegan Goddard's …, Outside the Beltway, Campaign 2012, Saint Petersblog, Pundit & Pundette, The Caucus, Washington Post, The Atlantic Online, Wake up America, The Lonely Conservative and National Review
RELATED:
Jonathan Easley / The Hill:
Influential conservative blogger endorses ‘sweet meteor of death’ in GOP primary — Influential conservative blogger Erick Erickson said he would endorse the “sweet meteor of death” over any of the current GOP candidates, but would back the party's eventual nominee in the general election against President Obama.
Discussion:
American Prospect, Erick's blog, PolitiCal, Hot Air and The Reaction
Politico:
5 things to watch Tuesday
5 things to watch Tuesday
Discussion:
Washington Post, Washington Wire, Time, Stateline.org and The Atlantic Online
Marjorie Clifton / The Huffington Post:
Birth Control and Why the Catholic Church Needs to Inform Its Own Conscience — I am the product of 14 years of Catholic school and am a practicing Catholic, actively involved in the church all of my life. As a woman with a career in politics and women's leadership, I have quietly worked within …
Discussion:
Pirate's Cove
RELATED:
CBS New York:
Catholic League Poised To Go To War With Obama Over Mandatory Birth Control Payments — NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — Catholic leaders upped the ante Monday, threatening to challenge the Obama administration over a provision of the new health care law that would require all employers …
David Dayen / Firedoglake:
White House, Surrogates Push Back on Catholic Bishop Uproar Over Contraception
White House, Surrogates Push Back on Catholic Bishop Uproar Over Contraception
Discussion:
National Review, The Hill and Hullabaloo
Jgalloway / Political Insider:
Karen Handel resigns from Komen for the Cure — Karen Handel, the former GOP candidate for governor, just announced her resignation as a senior vice president for public of Susan G. Komen for the Cure - one week after the breast cancer charity reversed itself on a decision to sever financial ties with Planned Parenthood.
Discussion:
Jill Stanek, US Politics and Colorlines
RELATED:
TBogg:
It's All Over But For The Severance Package and Non-Disclosure Agreement
It's All Over But For The Severance Package and Non-Disclosure Agreement
Discussion:
Suburban Guerrilla
Erin Gloria Ryan / Jezebel:
Komen Posts Job Listing for Position That Looks Suspiciously Like Karen Handel's [Disgrace For The Cure]
Komen Posts Job Listing for Position That Looks Suspiciously Like Karen Handel's [Disgrace For The Cure]
Discussion:
Angry Black Lady Chronicles, Balloon Juice and TBogg
Sorourke / nation.foxnews.com:
Clint Eastwood: ‘I am Certainly Not Affiliated with Mr. Obama’ — FoxNation.com — Following the fall out over the controversial Chrysler Super Bowl halftime ad, Clint Eastwood spoke exclusively with O'Reilly Factor producer Ron Mitchell... Obama campaign strategist David Axelrod tweeted his support for the ad last night.
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Rachel Weiner / Washington Post:
Karl Rove ‘offended’ by Clint Eastwood's Chrysler ad
Karl Rove ‘offended’ by Clint Eastwood's Chrysler ad
Discussion:
Campaign Stops, The Moderate Voice, New York Times, The Atlantic Wire, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, 24 Frames, Paul Krugman, New York Magazine, Weekly Standard, nation.foxnews.com, The New Republic, National Review, detroitnews.com, emptywheel, Wonkette, The Nation, Hollywood Reporter, Philly.com, Big Government, Prairie Weather, Salon.com, The Car Connection, The Raw Story, Christian Science Monitor, Los Angeles Times, Poynter, Outside the Beltway, Hullabaloo and Daily Kos
Wall Street Journal:
Designer Gear for Obama Raising a Ruckus — Republicans Contend Relatively Low-Cost Items to Be Sold at Fund-Raiser May Amount to Campaign-Finance Violations — WASHINGTON—Move over, PACs. The latest campaign-finance flap is about sacks. — At a New York fund-raising event Tuesday called …
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers
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Mj Lee / Reuters:
Russell Simmons defends Obama campaign designer goods
Russell Simmons defends Obama campaign designer goods
Discussion:
Michelle Malkin and American Prospect
Gretchen Morgenson / New York Times:
DocX Faces Foreclosure Fraud Charges in Missouri — One of the largest companies that provided home foreclosure services to lenders across the nation, DocX, has been indicted on forgery charges by a Missouri grand jury — one of the few criminal actions to follow reports of widespread improprieties against homeowners.
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, msnbc.com, naked capitalism and Foreclosure Fraud
James Joyner / Outside the Beltway:
David Frum Eviscerates Charles Murray's Latest Book — David Frum begins a withering review for The Daily Beast, “Charles Murray's Coming Apart: The State of White America, 1960-2010 is an important book that will have large influence. It is unfortunately not a good book.”
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice
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Patrick Temple-West / Reuters:
FBI warns of threat from anti-government extremists — (Reuters) - Anti-government extremists opposed to taxes and regulations pose a growing threat to local law enforcement officers in the United States, the FBI warned on Monday. — These extremists, sometimes known as “sovereign citizens …
Discussion:
Blogcritics, The PJ Tatler, Weasel Zippers, Hot Air, Scared Monkeys and Atlas Shrugs
Lawrence Hurley / eenews.net:
SUPREME COURT: — Judges already citing Wal-Mart ruling in environmental cases — A major Supreme Court ruling from last year that is widely predicted to reduce the number of successful class-action claims against big companies is already being cited in environmental cases.
Discussion:
Law Blog and SCOTUSblog
RELATED:
Prashant Gopal / Bloomberg:
Banks Paying Cash to Homeowners to Avoid Foreclosures — Banks, accelerating efforts to move troubled mortgages off their books, are offering as much as $35,000 or more in cash to delinquent homeowners to sell their properties for less than they owe. — Lenders have routinely delayed …
Discussion:
Eschaton and Calculated Risk
James Fallows / The Atlantic Online:
This Is So Classy: ‘Yellow Girl’ — Thanks to TPM for a tip to what you see if you examine the HTML code* of the Pete Hoekstra / Fred Davis “we take your jobs” video. — The image of the “Chinese” girl in the video, who speaks American-accented English, is labelled as ... well, see for yourself:
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, News Desk, Balloon Juice and Politico
Washington Post:
Congressional earmarks sometimes used to fund projects near lawmakers' properties — (Video by Ben de la Cruz and David S. Fallis/Motion graphic by Sohail al-Jamea/The Washington Post) — AU.S. senator from Alabama directed more than $100 million in federal earmarks to renovate downtown Tuscaloosa near …
Discussion:
Questions and Observations, Mediaite, NewsBusters.org blogs, Betsy's Page, JONATHAN TURLEY and msnbc.com
Rose French / Minneapolis Star Tribune:
Rabbis oppose Minnesota marriage amendment — With its signed statement, the Minnesota Rabbinical Association adds to the spirited debate in advance of the November vote. — Dozens of Minnesota rabbis have gone on record opposing the proposed marriage amendment, urging …
Discussion:
ThinkProgress
Chris Good / ABCNEWS:
Why Missouri Is Holding a ‘Meaningless’ Primary — Thanks to in-state political disputes and a slow-moving legislature, today's Missouri presidential primary has been reduced to an afterthought. — Most presidential candidates have ignored the contest, which will not affect any of the state's 52 GOP delegates.
Discussion:
Washington Post and Booman Tribune