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:
Political Insider and Connecting.the.Dots
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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:
Washington Post, Reuters, Associated Press, Guardian, Little Green Footballs, Liberal Values, The Daily Beast, JustOneMinute, National Review, USA Today, Craig Crawford's Trail Mix, The Monkey Cage, American Spectator, Media Decoder, The Confluence, msnbc.com, Politico, Taylor Marsh, Towleroad News #gay, The Caucus, Wall Street Journal, The Political Carnival, Outside the Beltway, The Moderate Voice, Truthdig, BAGnewsNotes, Blue Mass Group, The Page and Sky Dancing
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 …
Discussion:
News Desk, Salon, Rod Dreher, ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*, blogs.telegraph.co.uk, A plain blog about politics, Hot Air, Daily Kos, Balloon Juice, Daily Pundit, Politico, Booman Tribune, The Atlantic Online, Washington Wire, The Daily Dish, The Other McCain, American Spectator, Big Government, Guardian and Weasel Zippers
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.
Discussion:
Rush Limbaugh and Riehl World View
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
American Prospect:
Santorum's Missing Ingredient
Santorum's Missing Ingredient
Discussion:
New York Times, The Caucus, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog 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
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
Politico:
Primer: How super PACs rake it in
Primer: How super PACs rake it in
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, Demos and THE WESTERN EXPERIENCE
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, The Atlantic Online, msnbc.com, Jill Stanek, Florida Independent, Hullabaloo, Feministing 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
Santorum Invents New Front In Fake War On Religion: Obama Wants Female Catholic Priests
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Sky Dancing
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
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, USA Today and Pundit & Pundette
Bloomberg:
Obama Weighed Faith Politics in Contraceptives
Obama Weighed Faith Politics in Contraceptives
Discussion:
Politico, Reuters, ABCNEWS and Weasel Zippers
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:
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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) …
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, Mitt Romney for President … and NOM Blog
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
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
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:
Washington Monthly, Politico, The Heritage Foundation, Hot Air and Business Insider
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John Merline / Investor's Business Daily:
Dependency Index Surges 23% Under President Obama
Dependency Index Surges 23% Under President Obama
Discussion:
Wake up America, RedState, Weasel Zippers, The Enterprise Blog and The Lonely Conservative
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 and USA Today
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, Balloon Juice, The Moderate Voice and Saint Petersblog
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, Reuters, Ballot Box, GOP 12, Campaign 2012, Hot Air, Taegan Goddard's … and Hotline On Call
Shushannah Walshe / ABCNEWS:
Rick Santorum Vows Not to Run for ‘Pastor in Chief’ — MCKINNEY, Texas - After stunning victories in Missouri, Minnesota and Colorado Tuesday night, GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum told a group of pastors here today that despite his focus on “the role of family in our society,” …
Discussion:
Guardian
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Christopher Goins / CNSNews:
Hoyer: 'The Fact Is You Don't Need a Budget' — (CNSNews.com) - House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said that Congress does not need an official federal budget because it can just adopt appropriations bills and authorization policies as needed to keep operating.
Discussion:
Michelle Malkin and Weasel Zippers
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Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Liberals, Dems approve of drone strikes on American citizens abroad — The Post has just released some new polling that demonstrates very strong support for Obama's counterterrorism policies, including 83 percent of Americans approving of his use of drone strikes against terror suspects overseas.
Discussion:
Oliver Willis, emptywheel and Political Mojo
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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, Weasel Zippers, iOwnTheWorld.com, Guardian and The Daily Caller
Brian Tashman / Right Wing Watch:
CPAC Set to Host White Nationalist Leader — Republican presidential candidates Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich, along with several Republican senators and congressmen, are set to appear at the American Conservative Union's Conservative Political Action Conference, but the GOP brass aren't the only ones set to be at CPAC.
Discussion:
Little Green Footballs
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
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