memeorandum: Can the Working Class Be Saved? (Ross Douthat/New York Times)

7:55 PM ET, February 12, 2012

Top Items:

Even Critics of Safety Net Depend on It Increasingly — LINDSTROM, Minn. — Ki Gulbranson owns a logo apparel shop, deals in jewelry on the side and referees youth soccer games. He makes about $39,000 a year and wants you to know that he does not need any help from the federal government.

Discussion: PERRspectives, No More Mister Nice Blog, Zandar Versus The Stupid, Oliver Willis, Power Line, Taylor Marsh, iOwnTheWorld.com, Balloon Juice, Truthdig, Washington Monthly and Booman Tribune

Tom Maguire / JustOneMinute:

I Guess I'm Still Stuck On Stupid — I have made the mistake of peeking at the NY Times headline story before the caffeine has kicked in fully. Thier gist seems to be that the “less government” crowd is a bunch of hypocrites, but their is a glaring problem with their numbers.

Discussion: Patterico's Pontifications, Outside the Beltway and Instapundit

Sahil Kapur / tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com:

TPMDC — McConnell: GOP Will Fight To Let ANY Employer Deny Birth Control Coverage — Not satisfied with President Obama's new religious accommodation, Republicans will move forward with legislation by Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO) that permits any employer to deny birth control coverage …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, TBogg, Washington Monthly, The Raw Story and Balloon Juice

Charles Johnson / Little Green Footballs:

Now the GOP Wants to Permit Any Employer to Deny Contraception Coverage — The Republican Party's descent into Dark Ages misogyny continues; now Mitch McConnell, sensing that the GOP is on a reactionary roll, is planning to introduce legislation to let any employer deny contraception coverage.

Josh Lederman / The Hill:

Santorum suggests Romney may have rigged CPAC poll — Rick Santorum suggested on Sunday that Mitt Romney's campaign may have rigged a straw poll of conservative activists by paying the entrance fee for supporters. — Romney beat Santorum by 7 points Saturday in a straw poll of almost 3,500 attendees …

Discussion: The Huffington Post, The Moderate Voice, Politics, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Impolitic, The Political Carnival, Ballot Box, The Other McCain and Weasel Zippers

Josh Lederman / Ballot Box:

Rep. Ron Paul not conceding Maine vote — Rep. Ron Paul is not conceding the GOP's Maine caucuses, which state party officials and major networks called Saturday for rival Mitt Romney. — With 84 percent of precincts reporting, Romney has 39 percent to Paul's 36 percent …

Discussion: The Raw Story and Blue Mass Group

Glenn Thrush / Politico:

Santorum suggests Romney rigged CPAC vote — A groggy Rick Santorum, donning suit and tie, sans sweater vest, didn't think much of Mitt Romney's 38-to-31 percent win over him in last weekend's CPAC presidential straw poll. — When CNN's “State of the Union” host Candy Crowley …

Discussion: American Spectator and Outside the Beltway

Leigh Ann Caldwell / CBS News:

W.H. official: Contraceptive rule stands — President Obama's top aide addressed the latest controversy over contraception coverage, saying on CBS News' “Face the Nation” Sunday that the latest iteration of the new rule, which was announced Friday, will go forward.

Discussion: US Politics, Washington Wire, City Room and Balkinization

ABCNEWS:
‘This Week’ Transcript: Jack Lew, Paul Ryan and Rick Santorum

Discussion: Althouse and Washington Post

Laurie Goodstein / New York Times:
Bishops Reject White House's New Plan on Contraception

Discussion: The Daily Beast, The Hill, The Moderate Voice, Blue Mass Group, ThinkProgress, Feministe and Hullabaloo

Dennis G. / Balloon Juice:
The Bishops make their move

Discussion: The Moderate Voice and Politico

CNN:
Lew defends new contraception policy

Discussion: Politico

Charles Johnson / Little Green Footballs:

Fox News Commenters Respond to Whitney Houston's Death With Deluge of Hatred and Racism — I don't even know what to say about this any more. There's a real sickness running rampant in the right wing; the Fox News comment thread on Whitney Houston's death is yet another disgusting deluge …

Fox News: Singer Whitney Houston dies at 48

Shelby Grad / L.A. NOW:
Whitney Houston's death: Medics performed CPR for about 20 minutes

Discussion: Los Angeles Times and TMZ.com

Tara Brady / Daily Mail:

'Do not follow me down the road to jihad. Go and get a good education in the West': Osama Bin Laden's extraordinary instructions to his young children — Osama Bin Laden told his children to live peacefully in the West where they would get a good education, his brother-in-law has revealed.

Discussion: BLACKFIVE and Jihad Watch

Walter Russell Mead / Via Meadia:
Bin Laden Gave Up on Jihad

Discussion: Wizbang

Thomas L. Friedman / New York Times:

We Need a Second Party — WATCHING the Republican Party struggling to agree on a presidential candidate, one wonders whether the G.O.P. shouldn't just sit this election out — just give 2012 a pass. — You know how in Scrabble sometimes you look at your seven letters and you've got only vowels that spell nothing?

Discussion: Outside the Beltway and Daily Kos

Karen Tumulty / Washington Post:
Election 2012: Republicans united on goal — beat Obama — divided on how to get there

Discussion: CNN and Washington Monthly

Alex Seitz-Wald / ThinkProgress:

EXCLUSIVE: Conservative Board Unanimously Condemned Gaffney's ‘Reprehensible’ And ‘Unfounded’ Attacks — This is the first in a two-part series about the Islamaphobia network and CPAC. — Frank Gaffney and John Bolton, who condemned Gaffney in a unanimous ACU resolution

Discussion: Outside the Beltway

Amal Jayasinghe / Agence France Presse:

Trouble in paradise: Maldives and Islamic extremism — MALE — At the Maldives' National Museum, smashed Buddhist statues are testament to the rise of Islamic extremism and Taliban-style intolerance in a country famous as a laid-back holiday destination. — On Tuesday, as protesters backed …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, The Gateway Pundit and Jihad Watch