memeorandum: Does the Romney-Ron Paul Pact Make Paul a Sellout? (Molly Ball/The Atlantic Online)

10:15 AM ET, March 1, 2012

Top Items:

In Memoriam: Andrew Breitbart (1969-2012) — With a terrible feeling of pain and loss we announce the passing of Andrew Breitbart. — Andrew passed away unexpectedly from natural causes shortly after midnight this morning in Los Angeles. — We have lost a husband, a father, a son …

John S. Adams / Great Falls Tribune:

Chief U.S. District Judge sends racially charged email about president — HELENA — Chief U.S. District Judge Richard Cebull on Wednesday admitted to sending a racially charged email about President Barack Obama from his courthouse chambers. — Cebull, of Billings, was nominated …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Reuters, Religion News Service, Booman Tribune, The Political Carnival, Mediaite, The Raw Story, Los Angeles Times, Lawyers, Guns & Money, thump whip, The Hinterland Gazette, The Reality-Based Community and Feministing

Bill Allison / Sunlight Foundation Reporting Group:

Did lawsuit factor in Olympia Snowe's departure? — Last August, while Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, was in the midst of an intensive round of fundraising for her 2012 reelection bid, a four-year-old civil lawsuit alleging fraud by an education company in which she and her husband are heavily invested became public.

Discussion: Don Surber, neo-neocon and Portland Press-Herald

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

McConnell to skip healthcare reform repeal votes until after election — Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) told his colleagues this week that he does not want to vote again on repealing President Obama's healthcare reform law until after the November elections.

Discussion: ThinkProgress and RedState

Jonathan Weisman / New York Times:

Senator Olympia Snowe's Latest Hard Choice: To Quit — WASHINGTON — The looming Senate vote on a Republican plan to give employers the right to withdraw health care coverage based on religious and moral convictions put Senator Olympia J. Snowe in a tough but familiar position …

Discussion: The Confluence, FiveThirtyEight, Hullabaloo and Prairie Weather

Bradley Olson / Bloomberg:

Keystone Oil Pipeline May Raise U.S. Gas Prices — TransCanada Corp. (TRP)'s Keystone XL oil pipeline, a project backers including Republican Presidential candidate Rick Santorum say will create cheaper U.S. gasoline, instead risks raising prices as much as 20 cents a gallon in the Midwest, Great Plains and Rocky Mountains.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, msnbc.com and InsideClimate News

Ben Geman / The Hill:
Obama to demand Capitol Hill vote on killing oil tax breaks

Discussion: Detroit Free Press

Nicholas Ballasy / The Daily Caller:
Bill Clinton: ‘We should embrace’ Keystone pipeline [VIDEO]

Discussion: Breitbart.tv

Darius Dixonand Dan Berman / Politico:
Bill Clinton on Keystone XL pipeline: ‘Embrace’ it

Discussion: Hot Air, Ecocentric and Scared Monkeys

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: No More Mister Nice Blog, The Huffington Post, pandagon.net, Addicting Info, Crooks and Liars, The Political Carnival, his vorpal sword, The Maddow Blog, The Gateway Pundit, Hullabaloo, Little Green Footballs, RADAMISTO and Balloon Juice

Mike Lillis / The Hill:
Pelosi: Limbaugh's ‘vicious attacks’ on student uncivilized

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

New York Times:

Romney Wins, the Middle Class Loses — Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum fought each other to nearly a draw in the Michigan primary and may actually have to split its delegates, but together they may have lost Michigan for their party by running campaigns that were completely disconnected …

Discussion: Daily Kos, 2012 Decoded, Washington Post and The Caucus

Amie Parnes / Ballot Box: With Romney on the horizon, Obama turns up his blue collar

Ashley Perks / Ballot Box:
Ohio is next battlefield for the GOP

Discussion: CNN, Guardian and Prairie Weather

Rick Santorum / CNN:
Santorum camp: Michigan's a tie

Discussion: ABCNEWS, The Other McCain, Politico, 2012 Decoded, The Caucus, Mediaite, Big Government, Liberal Values, Donklephant, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, American Spectator, Wake up America, Boston Herald and New York Times

Tom Cohen / CNN:
Romney, Santorum tie for Michigan delegates

Discussion: New York Times, Strangely Blogged, The Reaction, Gawker, American Power, Don Surber, Washington Post and Wonkette

Sahil Kapur / 2012.talkingpointsmemo.com:

TPM2012 — Romney Comes Out In Support Of Controversial Birth Control Bill — One day before a critical Senate vote that could loom large as a 2012 election issue, Mitt Romney came out for a congressional Republican measure designed to roll back the Obama administration's requirement that employer health plans cover birth control.

Discussion: Washington Post

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Romney comes out against ‘Blunt-Rubio’

Discussion: American Prospect, Guardian, Salon, The Maddow Blog, pandagon.net, Metro, LifeNews.com, Daily Kos, Talking Points Memo and American Spectator

Daniel Strauss / The Hill:
Sen. Manchin will vote for Blunt amendment on contraceptive care

Discussion: CNN, Power Line, The Hill, Sky Dancing, Firedoglake and New York Times

Bill Simmons / ESPN.com - null:

B.S. Report Transcript: Barack Obama — Bill Simmons: Welcome to the White House. Very proud to have the President of the United States of America, Barack Obama, on the B.S. Report. This is your first podcast? — President Barack Obama: This is — well, I used to have my own podcast.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, Hotline On Call, Campaign 2012 and Indecision Forever

Molly Ball / The Atlantic Online:

Does the Romney-Ron Paul Pact Make Paul a Sellout? — The proudly incorruptible libertarian's all-but-open collusion with Mitt Romney, the establishment candidate, should infuriate his fans. And yet somehow it doesn't. — Ron Paul is helping Mitt Romney. It's been obvious for months.

Discussion: The Agonist, Balloon Juice, naked capitalism and Addicting Info

John Campbell / 3 News:

Kim Dotcom's first TV interview: 'I'm no piracy king' … Campbell Live has spoken exclusively with Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom in his first TV interview since being arrested. — Dotcom faces a barrage of FBI charges relating to the operation of his file sharing company Megaupload.

Discussion: Guardian, TalkLeft and Stuff.co.nz

Lydia Saad / Gallup:

GOP Slightly Ahead in Voting Enthusiasm — Both parties far less enthusiastic today than Democrats were in 2008 — PRINCETON, NJ — By 53% to 45%, Republicans, including independents who lean Republican, are slightly more likely than Democrats and Democratic leaners to say they are …

Discussion: Politico, CNN and Ballot Box

Alan Johnson / The Columbus Dispatch:

New Ohio vote on same-sex marriage? — A proposed constitutional amendment to undo Ohio's 2004 same-sex marriage ban will be submitted today to Attorney General Mike DeWine. — The Freedom to Marry Coalition expects to file more than 1,700 signatures of registered Ohio voters …

Discussion: ThinkProgress

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 …

Discussion: Library Grape

Bleeding Cool Comic Book, Movies and TV:

One Million Homophobic Moms Target Archie Comics And Toys R Us (UPDATED) — UPDATE: John Goldwater, c0-CEO of Archie Comics has responded to the story below. He writes; … Despite a few Fox News commentators, the introduction of gay characters and gay marriage into Archie Comics had gone down rather smoothly.

Discussion: The Daily What, Mediaite, Dependable Renegade and Towleroad News #gay