Top Items:
Mj Lee / Politico:
Rush Limbaugh mocks GOP establishment — Rush Limbaugh mocked the Republican establishment on his radio show Wednesday for being “shocked” by Rick Santorum's three-state win, saying, “I can't believe how insulated they are.” — “They're literally shocked. The Republican establishment had no idea this was percolating out there.
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CNN:
Trump: 'I don't get Rick Santorum;' talks Romney cabinet position — Donald Trump sits down with CNN anchor Ashleigh Banfield to discuss GOP candidates for president as well as what position he would want in Mitt Romney's cabinet. — Trump says, “Rick Santorum was a sitting senator …
Discussion:
Political Insider and Connecting.the.Dots
Jim Rutenberg / New York Times:
Santorum Upsets G.O.P. Race With Three Victories — His candidacy all but dismissed just days ago, Rick Santorum won the Minnesota and Colorado caucuses and a nonbinding primary in Missouri on Tuesday, an unexpected trifecta that raised fresh questions about Mitt Romney's ability to corral conservative support.
Discussion:
Reuters, The Caucus, Associated Press, The Daily Beast, Washington Post, Liberal Values, Little Green Footballs, National Review, Craig Crawford's Trail Mix, The Monkey Cage, American Spectator, Media Decoder, USA Today, The Confluence, msnbc.com, JustOneMinute, Taylor Marsh, Towleroad News #gay, The Political Carnival, Wall Street Journal, Outside the Beltway, The Moderate Voice, BAGnewsNotes, Blue Mass Group, Politico and The Page
Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:
G.O.P. Race Has Hallmarks of Prolonged Battle
G.O.P. Race Has Hallmarks of Prolonged Battle
Discussion:
Salon, News Desk, Rod Dreher, blogs.telegraph.co.uk, A plain blog about politics, Hot Air, Daily Kos, Balloon Juice, Daily Pundit, ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*, Prairie Weather, Big Government, Politico, Guardian, Washington Wire, The Daily Dish, The Atlantic Online, Booman Tribune, The Other McCain, American Spectator and Weasel Zippers
Shushannah Walshe / ABCNEWS:
Rick Santorum Vows Not to Run for ‘Pastor in Chief’
Rick Santorum Vows Not to Run for ‘Pastor in Chief’
Discussion:
Guardian
Alex Seitz-Wald / ThinkProgress:
The Incredible Shrinking Mitt: Romney's 2008 Support Crumbles In Three Key States
The Incredible Shrinking Mitt: Romney's 2008 Support Crumbles In Three Key States
Discussion:
CNN, National Review, American Spectator, New York Times and The Impolitic
Ronald Brownstein / The Atlantic Online:
Romney's Squeeze: Struggles With the Base and Independents Alike
Romney's Squeeze: Struggles With the Base and Independents Alike
Discussion:
Prairie Weather
American Prospect:
Santorum's Missing Ingredient
Santorum's Missing Ingredient
Discussion:
The Caucus, The PJ Tatler, msnbc.com and Lawyers, Guns & Money
Jonathan Easley / Ballot Box:
Fresh off GOP victories, Santorum goes on attack against Romney
Fresh off GOP victories, Santorum goes on attack against Romney
Discussion:
CNN, Politico, GOP 12 and National Review
Michael D. Shear / New York Times:
Santorum Sweep Sets Stage for New Battle in Republican Race
Santorum Sweep Sets Stage for New Battle in Republican Race
Discussion:
Guardian, The Monkey Cage and Truthdig
Erik Wemple / Washington Post:
CNN's Roland Martin suspended for homophobic tweets — On Super Bowl Sunday, Roland Martin of CNN issued some homophobic tweets that got him in trouble with gay organizations and this blog. CNN stayed silent on the matter, until just moments ago, when it issued this statement:
RELATED:
GLAAD:
ROLAND MARTIN SPEAKS OUT AGAINST ANTI-LGBT VIOLENCE; GLAAD CALLS ON HIM TO MEET WITH ADVOCATES — CNN Remains Silent after Calls for a Statement — CNN political analyst Roland Martin posted an apology on his website following calls from GLAAD, the National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC) …
Sarah Kliff / Washington Post:
Why White House sees political opportunity in the contraception battle — (Public Religion Research Institute) The controversy over the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation's decision to eliminate funding to Planned Parenthood—and subsequent reversal— continues.
Discussion:
Reuters, msnbc.com, Jill Stanek, Florida Independent, Hullabaloo, Feministing, The Atlantic Online and CNN
RELATED:
New York Times:
Obama Tries to Ease Ire on Contraception Rule — WASHINGTON — Facing vocal opposition from religious leaders and an escalating political fight, the White House sought on Tuesday to ease mounting objections to a new administration rule that would require health insurance plans …
Ian Millhiser / ThinkProgress:
Santorum Invents New Front In Fake War On Religion: Obama Wants Female Catholic Priests — For weeks, Republicans have pretended that President Obama is waging some kind of war on religion because his administration recently approved regulations requiring insurers to cover contraceptive care …
Discussion:
The Loyal Opposition, Sky Dancing and Alan Colmes' Liberaland
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Pete Kasperowicz / The Hill:
Boehner, GOP pledge to reverse Obama birth-control mandate
Boehner, GOP pledge to reverse Obama birth-control mandate
Discussion:
CNN, Politico and ThinkProgress
Ben Pershing / Washington Post:
Tim Kaine splits with Obama on birth control rule for religious groups
Tim Kaine splits with Obama on birth control rule for religious groups
Discussion:
Firedoglake, CatholicVote.org, National Review, Speaker, Religion Dispatches and Hot Air
Steven Ertelt / LifeNews.com:
Boehner Pledges Congress Will Overturn New Obama Mandate
Boehner Pledges Congress Will Overturn New Obama Mandate
Discussion:
Hot Air, Weasel Zippers, Live Action News & Opinion, Pundit & Pundette and USA Today
Eugene Volokh / The Volokh Conspiracy:
Thoughts on the Ninth Circuit's Same-Sex Marriage Decision — 1. This is going up to the Supreme Court. I suspect that the backers of Prop. 8 won't even ask for en banc review by the Ninth Circuit, since they're unlikely to win there. Depending on how quickly they file their petition for certiorari …
RELATED:
Igor Volsky / ThinkProgress:
Santorum Compares 9th Circuit To Soviet Union, Says Court Is ‘Intolerant’ For Striking Down Proposition 8
Santorum Compares 9th Circuit To Soviet Union, Says Court Is ‘Intolerant’ For Striking Down Proposition 8
Discussion:
Good As You, The Raw Story, Towleroad News #gay and NOM Blog
Daniel Strauss / Ballot Box:
In wake of Proposition 8 ruling, Santorum attacks Obama
In wake of Proposition 8 ruling, Santorum attacks Obama
Discussion:
Daily Kos
David Badash / The New Civil Rights Movement:
Prop 8 Supporters Announce U.S. Supreme Court Appeal
Prop 8 Supporters Announce U.S. Supreme Court Appeal
Discussion:
Firedoglake
Frank Newport / Gallup:
Congress' Job Approval at New Low of 10% — Republicans and Democrats equally negative — PRINCETON, NJ — A record-low 10% of Americans approve of the job Congress is doing, down from 13% in January and the previous low of 11%, recorded in December 2011.
Discussion:
Politico, The Hill, Lez Get Real, The Reaction and USA Today
ABCNEWS:
The White House Has No Opinion About Whether the Senate Should Pass a Budget - Today's Q's for O's WH - 2/8/12 — TAPPER: President Obama is going to be introducing his outline for a budget. Fed Chair Bernanke has said the lack of a budget having been passed by the Senate has had an adverse affect …
Discussion:
RedState
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Christopher Goins / CNSNews:
Hoyer: 'The Fact Is You Don't Need a Budget'
Hoyer: 'The Fact Is You Don't Need a Budget'
Discussion:
Michelle Malkin, Hot Air and Weasel Zippers
Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
Republican Enthusiasm Issue is Real — The paltry turnout in the Republican Presidential contests over the last week reflects what we've seen in our recent national polling: Democrats are now more excited about voting this fall than Republicans are, reversing the enthusiasm gap that plagued the party in 2010.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, The Maddow Blog, Politico, The Moderate Voice, Balloon Juice and Saint Petersblog
Heritage Foundation:
The 2012 Index of Dependence on Government — Abstract: The great and calamitous fiscal trends of our time—dependence on government by an increasing portion of the American population, and soaring debt that threatens the financial integrity of the economy—worsened yet again in 2010 and 2011.
Igor Volsky / ThinkProgress:
Six Republican Senators — Including Snowe And Collins — Co-Sponsored Federal Contraception Mandate In 2001 — Republicans have gone to war against President Obama's regulation requiring employers and insurers to provide contraception coverage, portraying the measure as a “government takeover” …
Discussion:
The Maddow Blog and Balloon Juice
Mike Blasky / Las Vegas Review-Journal:
Video shows officers beating motorist in diabetic shock — Loading the player... Adam Greene is on his stomach as a pack of police officers pile on him, driving their knees into his back and wrenching his arms and legs. One officer knees him in the ribs; another kicks him in the face.
Discussion:
Hullabaloo, NEWS ON 6 and The Agitator
Quinnipiac University:
Obama Inches Past Romney In Virginia Presidential Race, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Senate Race Still Tied — For the first time in this election cycle, President Barack Obama inches ahead of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, the leading Republican candidate, 47 - 43 percent in Virginia …
Discussion:
ABCNEWS, CNN, The Political Carnival, Ballot Box, GOP 12, Hot Air, Reuters, Campaign 2012, Taegan Goddard's … and Hotline On Call
Paul Bond / Hollywood Reporter:
Study: ‘Conservative’ Movies Make More Money Than ‘Liberal’ Movies (Exclusive) — Patriotism and traditional values, like those displayed in “Thor,” “The Artist,” “Soul Surfer” and “Hugo,” are what moviegoers want, says a group that will honor such films at an awards gala Friday.
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Guardian, Weasel Zippers, iOwnTheWorld.com and The Daily Caller
Peter Schroeder / The Hill:
Grassley: House GOP doing Wall Street's bidding on STOCK Act — Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) accused his Republican counterparts in the House of doing the bidding of Wall Street by removing a provision from the STOCK Act that would have required political intelligence firms to register in a similar fashion to lobbyists.
Discussion:
Politico, The Maddow Blog and New York Times
Ed Kilgore / Washington Monthly:
The Gasoline “Bubble”? — Since we are all trying to get to know Ricky Santorum a bit better, at least until such time as a barrage of attack ads reduce him to a whimpering wreck huddling under a stack of fetus posters, it's worth noting he has some pretty exotic ideas outside the cultural arena.
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, The Atlantic Online and DeSmogBlog