Top Items:
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:
ThinkProgress, TalkLeft, Political Insider and Connecting.the.Dots
RELATED:
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:
Little Green Footballs, JustOneMinute, The Monkey Cage, Wall Street Journal, National Review, Craig Crawford's Trail Mix, American Spectator, Taylor Marsh, The Caucus, Towleroad News #gay, The Confluence, Truthdig, msnbc.com, BAGnewsNotes, The Political Carnival, FiveThirtyEight, The Page and Blue Mass Group
Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:
G.O.P. Race Has Hallmarks of Prolonged Battle — Whatever your perspective on how likely Mitt Romney was to lose the Republican nomination race prior to Tuesday evening, it should be acknowledged that he had about the worst results conceivable. — In Minnesota, a state which Mr. Romney carried easily …
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:
GOP 12, CNN, Ballot Box, Taegan Goddard's …, Hot Air, Hotline On Call and Campaign 2012
Washington Post:
Santorum revives campaign with wins in Colorado, Missouri and Minnesota — DENVER — Rick Santorum had a breakthrough night Tuesday, winning GOP presidential contests in Missouri, Minnesota and Colorado, all of which is expected to breathe life into his struggling campaign and slow Mitt Romney's march …
Discussion:
Reuters, 2012.talkingpointsmemo.com, Washington Wire, Wake up America, Daily Pundit, Guardian, Los Angeles Times, The Colorado Independent, Outside the Beltway, BuzzFeed, USA Today, The Daily Beast, The Huffington Post, The Other McCain, Investor's Business Daily, American Spectator, Wonkette, Denver Post, Don Surber, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, The Moderate Voice, Scared Monkeys, Right Wing News, US Politics, Israel Matzav, Pundit & Pundette, Taegan Goddard's …, The PJ Tatler, Michelle Malkin, ThinkProgress, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Last Tradition, CBS News, Newshoggers.com, Shakesville and Althouse
American Prospect:
Santorum's Missing Ingredient — Despite the fact that Mitt Romney chose not to compete in Missouri and Minnesota—and spent little time in Colorado—his loss last night in all three states, to Rick Santorum, has been spun by the media as a terrible wound for the former Massachusetts governor.
Discussion:
New York Times, msnbc.com, Washington Post and Lawyers, Guns & Money
Wall Street Journal:
Santorum Delivers a GOP Stunner — Former Senator Sweeps Missouri, Minnesota, Colorado; Romney Campaign Plays Down Nonbinding Contests — DENVER—Rick Santorum jolted the Republican presidential race Tuesday with a three-state sweep of nominating contests in Colorado, Missouri and Minnesota …
Discussion:
Washington Post, National Review, Big Government, Hit & Run and NewsBusters.org blogs
Alex Seitz-Wald / ThinkProgress:
The Incredible Shrinking Mitt: Romney's 2008 Support Crumbles In Three Key States — Rick Santorum decisively swept all three primary contests last night, shattering the myth of inevitability that presumed front-runner Mitt Romney has tried to construct. While the vote in Missouri assigned …
Discussion:
New York Times, The Impolitic, The Maddow Blog and Campaign 2012
Newt Gingrich / CNN:
TRENDING: Romney will take tougher approach to Santorum, adviser says
TRENDING: Romney will take tougher approach to Santorum, adviser says
Discussion:
Reuters, Big Government, Riehl World View, The Reality-Based Community, Opinion L.A. and nation.foxnews.com
Christian Heinze / GOP 12:
Huckabee: Santorum shows Romney isn't inevitable
Steve Holland / Reuters:
Santorum claims momentum with wins in three states
Santorum claims momentum with wins in three states
Discussion:
National Review and THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS
William Kristol / Weekly Standard:
Romneycare: Worth Getting Worried About
Romneycare: Worth Getting Worried About
Discussion:
Power Line and Politico
Alexander Burns / Politico:
Santorum scores triple win
Santorum scores triple win
Discussion:
CNN, Associated Press, Erin Burnett OutFront, Gawker, Outside the Beltway, Reuters, No More Mister Nice Blog, The American Independent, Marbury, ABCNEWS, Conservatives4Palin, The Colorado Independent, Donklephant, Opinion L.A., Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Reaction, Sky Dancing and 2012.talkingpointsmemo.com
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
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:
GOP 12 and National Review
Ashley Parker / The Caucus:
Romney Campaign Tries to Put an Optimistic Face on a Disappointing Night
Romney Campaign Tries to Put an Optimistic Face on a Disappointing Night
Discussion:
Media Decoder, more at Mediagazer »
John Avlon / The Daily Beast:
Newt's Two-Man-Race Narrative Collapses After Santorum Victories
Newt's Two-Man-Race Narrative Collapses After Santorum Victories
Discussion:
2012 Decoded, Erick's blog, Politico, Ballot Box, National Review and The Moderate Voice
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:
The Atlantic Online, Jill Stanek, Florida Independent, CNN, Feministing and News Desk
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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 …
Pete Kasperowicz / The Hill:
Boehner, GOP pledge to reverse Obama birth-control mandate — House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) on Wednesday vowed that Congress would repeal an Obama administration regulation requiring employers, including religious organizations, to provide birth-control coverage in their employees' health plans.
Discussion:
ThinkProgress and Politico
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.
Discussion:
Politico, The Heritage Foundation and Business Insider
RELATED:
John Merline / Investor's Business Daily:
Dependency Index Surges 23% Under President Obama — The American public's dependence on the federal government shot up 23% in just two years under President Obama, with 67 million now relying on some federal program, according to a newly released study by the Heritage Foundation.
Discussion:
RedState, The Enterprise Blog, Weasel Zippers and The Lonely Conservative
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:
The Moderate Voice, Taegan Goddard's …, The Maddow Blog, Politico and Saint Petersblog
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 …
Discussion:
Slate, National Review, L.A. NOW, Concurring Opinions, Poliglot, News Desk, Balkinization, Rod Dreher, Sky Dancing, The Daily Dish and Election Law Blog
RELATED:
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
Ross Douthat / Campaign Stops:
The Persistence of the Culture War
The Persistence of the Culture War
Discussion:
Business Insider, TBogg, New York Times, American Prospect and The Maddow Blog
New York Times:
Another Campaign for Sale — Two years ago, while delivering his State of the Union address, President Obama looked the Supreme Court justices in the face and told them they were wrong to have allowed special interests to spend without limits on campaigns. “I don't think American elections …
Discussion:
msnbc.com, The Huffington Post, Don Surber, Political Mojo, Democracy 21, Washington Free Beacon, Guardian and Mail Online
RELATED:
Robert Reich / Business Insider:
Obama Has Handed The Election Over To The Super Rich
Obama Has Handed The Election Over To The Super Rich
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, Althouse, AlterNet, Clayton Cramer's Blog and Crooks and Liars
Tina Daunt / Hollywood Reporter:
Clint Eastwood's Chrysler Super Bowl Ad: The Untold Obama Connection — Two members of the creative team that produced the two-minute minute spot for ad agency Wieden+Kennedy donated their personal time in 2008 to make pro-Obama art. — This year's most discussed Super Bowl ad …
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, The Hill, The Other McCain and nation.foxnews.com
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:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland
Reihan Salam / National Review:
If You're Going to Accept Direct Loans and Pell Grants, You Should Tell Us If Students Are Actually Learning Something — Thanks to Arnold Kling, I had another opportunity to talk to Kevin Carey today about higher education. I've written about Carey's work in the past …
Discussion:
EconLog