memeorandum: RNC chair says primary process still good for party (CNN)

6:30 PM ET, February 29, 2012

Top Items:

Odds of a Brokered Convention Are Increasing — We're finally close enough to Super Tuesday to get a sense of how the overall delegate count might work out in the GOP primary. The end result: Assuming that none of the four candidates drops out of the race, it looks increasingly …

Discussion: Ballot Box, Hot Air, Salon, Washington Post, Daily Kos, Indecision Forever, American Prospect, The New Republic, Firedoglake, Dean's World and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Rick Santorum / CNN:

Santorum camp: Michigan's a tie — (CNN) - Armed with a new delegate count, a Rick Santorum adviser on Wednesday painted Tuesday's contests as a “disaster” for Mitt Romney. — John Brabender said the campaign's count proves Santorum and Romney are tied in delegates won …

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, 2012 Decoded, Mediaite, Big Government and Riehl World View

Ed Kilgore / Washington Monthly:

Santorum Loses Catholic Vote—But Did He Ever Have It? — As they awaited the final results from Michigan, probably the single biggest topic of conversation in the chattering classes last night was the shocking news from the exit polls that Rick Santorum had lost Michigan Catholics to Mitt Romney by a 44-37 margin.

Discussion: The Caucus, The Agonist, hanoverhenry's Diary, Gawker, Outside the Beltway, The New Republic and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Ross Douthat / Campaign Stops:
What Mitt Lost While He Won

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, p m carpenter's commentary, The Huffington Post and Prairie Weather

Maureen Dowd / New York Times:
G.O.P. Greek Tragedy

Discussion: The Caucus, The PJ Tatler, The Hinterland Gazette, Daily Kos and Connecting.the.Dots

Justin Sink / Ballot Box:
Romney's new Web ad says Obama's ‘Kill Romney’ strategy failed

Discussion: Politico and CNN

Aliyah Shahid / NY Daily News:
Rick Santorum: I regret saying John F. Kennedy speech on religion made me want to throw up

Discussion: New York Times, The Spectacle Blog, The Reaction and ABCNEWS

Andrew Kaczynski / BuzzFeed:
Mitt Romney 2008 Michigan Victory Speech Mentioned Getting Health Care For All Americans

Discussion: BuzzFeed, The Right Scoop and Gawker

Max Abelson / Bloomberg:

Wall Street Bonus Drop Means Trading Aspen for Discount Cereal — Andrew Schiff was sitting in a traffic jam in California this month after giving a speech at an investment conference about gold. He turned off the satellite radio, got out of the car and screamed a profanity.

Discussion: Shakesville, TBogg, Mock, Paper, Scissors, Gawker, Boing Boing, Gothamist, Sky Dancing and Eschaton, more at Mediagazer »

Megan McArdle / The Atlantic Online:

Are the Rich Completely Undeserving of Sympathy? — I saw a fair amount of chortling this morning about this Bloomberg piece on wealthy financial-industry types who are having to cut back because of plummeting bonuses. And to be sure, some of the cuts are in the “Call me a Waaaah-mbulance” category: can't go to Aspen any more?

Discussion: Washington Monthly, No More Mister Nice Blog, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Balloon Juice

Steven Lee Myers / New York Times:

North Korea Agrees to Suspend Nuclear Work — WASHINGTON — North Korea agreed to suspend nuclear weapons tests and uranium enrichment and to allow international inspectors to verify and monitor activities at its main reactor, the State Department and the North's official news agency announced on Wednesday …

Discussion: World Now, Algemeiner.com, Outside the Beltway and Truthdig

Victoria Nuland / US Department of State:
U.S.-DPRK Bilateral Discussions

Discussion: World Now, The Enterprise Blog, News Desk, American Spectator and msnbc.com

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:

The Democrats' nightmare scenario — If Republicans regain the Senate, will they seek to reform the filibuster, sweeping away an obstacle that bedeviled Dems and making it far easier for them to enact their own agenda with a simple Senate majority? — Matt Steinglass argues that the GOP …

Discussion: American Prospect, New York Magazine, No More Mister Nice Blog, Outside the Beltway and Balloon Juice

Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:

Obama's Most Dangerous GOP Opponent: Netanyahu — This is disturbing news: … What it amounts to is a formal declaration that, if the US attempts at any point to differ seriously with Israel's far right, the alliance is over. That's after the most serious sanctions ever imposed on Iran …

Discussion: Israel Matzav, Balloon Juice and The Huffington Post

Barak Ravid / Haaretz:
Netanyahu will ask Obama to threaten Iran strike

Discussion: New York Times, ABCNEWS, Mother Jones, ABCNEWS and LewRockwell.com Blog

Christian Hartsock / Big Journalism:

EXCLUSIVE: O'Keefe Files Suit Against Al Gore's Current TV, Keith Olbermann, David Shuster — Conservative filmmaker James O'Keefe filed suit for defamation this morning against Al Gore's CurrentTV, as well as “Countdown” host Keith Olbermann and guest host David Shuster …

Discussion: Patterico's Pontifications, Mediaite and National Review

Erick Erickson / Erick's blog:

Three Percent — When you have a candidate few people really like, whose support is a mile wide and an inch deep, whose raison d'etre (a 4am fancy word) is fixing an economy that is fixing itself without him, and who only wins his actual, factual home state by three percentage points …

Discussion: Jay Bookman, A Certain Enthusiasm and Washington Post

ABCNEWS:

Romney Says He Owns Guns - But Does He? — COLUMBUS, Ohio - At a town hall here, GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney said, in response to a question about gun control, “I have guns myself.” — “I believe in the second amendment, I'll protect the second amendment, I have guns myself,” …

Discussion: The Hill and Taegan Goddard's …

Jim O'Sullivan / Hotline On Call:

Poll Shows Brown Leading Warren by 10 — Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass., leads Democratic challenger Elizabeth Warren by 10 points in a private Massachusetts Senate race poll. — The poll, conducted by Opinion Dynamics for Boston-based consulting firm Mass Insight Global Partnerships …

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:

Romney comes out against ‘Blunt-Rubio’ — Jim Heath, a reporter for ONN-TV in Ohio, just Tweeted a remarkable piece of news: Mitt Romney told him he does not support the Blunt amendment, which would empower employers and insurers to deny health coverage they find morally objectionable.

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Talking Points Memo, LifeNews.com, Daily Kos, The PJ Tatler and American Spectator

E.J. Graff / American Prospect:

Do Women Count? — Yesterday, after I made some snarky comment, a friend asked me if I was Eeyore. The truth is, I'm a mash-up of Eeyore and Tigger. Tigger bounces up and down gleefully whenever I talk about gay rights. But today I'm talking about the ladies again, so get ready for Eeyore.

Discussion: Mother Jones

Religion News Service:

Franklin Graham apologizes for questioning Obama's faith — WASHINGTON (RNS) Evangelist Franklin Graham apologized Tuesday (Feb. 28) to President Obama for questioning his Christian faith and said religion has “nothing to do” with Graham's decision not to support Obama's re-election.

Discussion: Politico, Mediaite, Outside the Beltway, Washington Monthly, USA Today, The Democratic Daily, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Balloon Juice and The Political Carnival

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:

Will Olympia Snowe Join Americans Elect? — Olympia Snowe's retirement statement seemed like it dropped a huge hint, and I'm surprised it hasn't received any attention: … This sounds exactly like the kind of rhetoric emanating from Americans Elect, the third-party group that believes …

Discussion: Library Grape, Politico, American Prospect, Guardian, The Maddow Blog, Balloon Juice, Washington Monthly, Salon, No More Mister Nice Blog, Outside the Beltway, The Caucus, The Hill and Mother Jones

Dylan Byers / Politico:

Reid to promote David Brock's ‘Fox Effect’ — My colleague Ken Vogel sends over the following comments from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, which he made at last night's Media Matters For America party, held in honor of the new anti-Fox News book by MMFA founder David Brock.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, The PJ Tatler and The Daily Caller

Stephen Galloway / Hollywood Reporter:

Whatever Happened to Ted Turner? — The “Mouth of the South” is no longer as he devotes his time (and $1 billion) to the U.N., jets between 28 homes and four girlfriends, misses Jane Fonda and opens up to THR about Rupert, Jerry and his abuse as a child. Says a friend: “He's definitely changed.”

Discussion: Michelle Malkin, The Daily Caller, Weasel Zippers and The PJ Tatler, more at Mediagazer »

Stephen Adams / Telegraph:

Killing babies no different from abortion, experts say — Parents should be allowed to have their newborn babies killed because they are “morally irrelevant” and ending their lives is no different to abortion, a group of medical ethicists linked to Oxford University has argued.

Discussion: Power Line and National Review

Peter Schroeder / The Hill:

Bernanke warns lawmakers nation headed for ‘massive fiscal cliff’ — Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke warned Congress Wednesday it risked taking the nation over a “massive fiscal cliff” at the end of the year. — The central bank's boss warned expiring tax cuts and spending cuts set …

Discussion: Politico and Taegan Goddard's …

Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:

Obama: I'll veto bill that will provide water to California's Central Valley — I've called the judicially-imposed drought in California's Central Valley “the Dust Bowl Congress created” through its creation of the Endangered Species Act, invoked in this case by the Delta smelt, a fish that's not suitable for eating.

Discussion: Hit & Run and Ed Driscoll

Sacramento Bee:

Support for gay marriage takes dramatic leap in California, new poll shows — A new poll shows gay marriage has arrived in California - in public opinion if not in state lawbooks. — Golden State registered voters now favor same-sex unions by 59 percent to 34 percent …

Discussion: The Political Carnival, Mother Jones, Outside the Beltway, ThinkProgress, The Daily Dish, Towleroad News #gay, Steve Rothaus' Gay …, Joe. My. God. and Law Blog

Alex Seitz-Wald / ThinkProgress:

Limbaugh Calls Student Denied Spot At Contraception Hearing A ‘Slut’ — Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh called Sandra Fluke, the Georgetown student whom House Republicans wouldn't let testify at a contraception hearing last week, a “slut” and a “prostitute” today, because …

Discussion: The Political Carnival, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Maddow Blog and The Gateway Pundit

Julian Pecquet / The Hill:

House subcommittee votes to repeal healthcare reform law's ‘death panel’ — Bipartisan legislation to repeal the healthcare law's cost-control board sailed through a House panel on Wednesday, raising pressure on the Senate to take up the bill and dealing President Obama a political blow.

Discussion: Hot Air, LifeNews.com and The PJ Tatler

Michelle Boorstein / Washington Post:

D.C. archdiocese: Denying Communion to lesbian at funeral was against ‘policy’ — Deep in grief, Barbara Johnson stood first in the line for Communion at her mother's funeral Saturday morning. But the priest in front of her immediately made it clear that she would not receive the sacramental bread and wine.

Discussion: NewsBusters.org blogs, The Daily Caller, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and WJLA-TV

Jason Clayworth / Des Moines Register:

House Democrats to return to Capitol, hold press conference after daylong absence to protest gun bills — Update: House Democrats will hold a press conference at the Capitol at 4:15 p.m. — Update: House Speaker Kraig Paulsen met with reporters at about 3 p.m. to say he had spoken by phone …

Discussion: Don Surber, The PJ Tatler, Big Government and The New Editor

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:

GOP divided on birth control? — So Senate Dems are set to force a high-profile vote tomorrow on the controversial Blunt amendment, which would allow employers and insurers to deny coverage for health care services they deem morally objectionable. Dems have been hammering GOPers on it for weeks …

Discussion: American Prospect, New York Times, ThinkProgress and Daily Kos

Juliet Eilperin / Washington Post:

Utilities announce closure of 10 aging power plants in Midwest, East — Two separate utilities announced the closure of 10 aging U.S. power plants Wednesday, a move environmental groups hailed as a major victory in their ongoing effort to phase out the nation's coal-fired electricity generation.

Discussion: Chicago Tribune, Mother Jones, ThinkProgress and New York Times