Democratic Women Boycott House Contraception Hearing After Republicans Prevent Women From Testifying  —  This morning, Democrats tore into House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) for preventing women from testifying before a hearing examining the Obama administration's …

Mitt Romney to skip March 1 CNN debate  —  Mitt Romney will skip the CNN Republican debate scheduled for March 1, just days before Super Tuesday.  —  “Gov. Romney will be spending a lot of time campaigning in Georgia and Ohio ahead of Super Tuesday,” Romney press secretary Andrea Saul said in a statement.

Ohio GOP Primary: Santorum 42%, Romney 24%  —  Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum continues to ride his polling momentum into Ohio where he leads Mitt Romney by nearly two-to-one in the first Rasmussen Reports survey of Republicans in the state.  —  The new statewide telephone survey …

The Colbert Report suspended temporarily  —  The late-night comedy program hosted by Stephen Colbert will suspend production for at least two days this week, POLITICO has confirmed.  —  The Colbert Report, the home of relentless parodying of super PACs and the campaign finance system …

Santorum Sugar Daddy Foster Friess Gives ‘Gals’ Contraception Advice: Put An Aspirin Between Your Knees  —  Appearing of MSNBC with Andrea Mitchell today, Foster Friess, the main donor to the Super PAC backing Rick Santorum's presidential bid, dismissed the controversy surrounding President Obama's …

'Don't Say Gay' bill advances  —  As students protest, House subcommittee reignites debate  —  “Don't Say Gay” Bill Provokes Protest: HB229, or the so-called “Don't Say Gay” Bill, passes subcommittee.  —  A bill to restrict teaching about homosexuality before high school cleared …

Who Wants to See Tina Korbe's Thighs?  —  The title of this post is not a hypothetical question, because last week the aforesaid Miss Korbe joined her Hot Air colleague Ed Morrissey for a video interview with Rick Santorum, which I didn't see until somebody brought it to my attention yesterday:

New Phase and Shifting Balance  —  The latest national survey by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner for Democracy Corps and Women's Voices.  Women Vote Action Fund shows a Republican Party in deepening trouble and emerging underlying trends that may have shifted the balance for 2012.

Supreme Court should take on New York City's rent control laws  —  James and Jeanne Harmon reside in and supposedly own a five-story brownstone on Manhattan's Upper West Side, a building that has been in their family since 1949.  But they have, so to speak, houseguests who have overstayed their welcome by …

Senators pledge to back Obama if he attacks Iran to halt nuclear program  —  Sens. Graham and Lieberman introduced a resolution calling on the US to stop Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.  —  A group of bipartisan senators said Thursday they would stand by President Obama if he decided …

THE NON-PROCREATIVE FUNCTIONS OF SEX: “If you're interested in the stability of families, then you should also be a fan of non-procreative sex (which, let's face it, is going to be a majority of sex any couple engages in, even if they're choosing to forgo birth control).

Contraception's Con Men  —  By a revolting combination of con men and fanatics, the current primary race has become a demonstration that the Republican party does not deserve serious consideration for public office.  Take the controversy over contraceptives.

A Graphic Question: Where Are the Jobs?  —  Tomorrow, February 17, 2012, will be exactly 3 years since President Obama signed his infamous stimulus package into law.  It was a plan designed to create jobs by growing the size of government, and its record has not been good.

Polls Networks Dare Not Name  —  Just possibly you've heard of a surge Rick Santorum is enjoying in Michigan.  A surge that has now put him ahead of Mitt Romney in Romney's childhood home state.  And quite possibly you've seen the chart above from TPM, or one like it at HuffPost/Pollster or RealClearPolitics.

Jodi Rudoren of the New York Times, I hope I'm wrong  —  A couple of days ago, I had a conversation with a Jewish official who bitterly complained about the New York Times' choice for its new Jerusalem correspondent.  He didn't even mentioned the name, as far as I remember …

Leaked Docs From Heartland Institute Cause a Stir—but Is One a Fake?  —  The climate blogs have been swept by quite a scoop in the past few days.  An anonymous leaker identified only as “Heartland Insider” has dumped a cache of documents on climate blogs purporting to reveal the inner workings …

More Than a Touch of Malice  —  When Barack Obama first announced that he intended to force all employers, including Catholic institutions, to provide contraception and abortifacients as part of the healthcare package they offer their employees, my friend Michael Barone observed …