memeorandum: National GOP: Romney 40%, Santorum 24%, Gingrich 16%, Paul 12% (Rasmussen Reports)

12:05 PM 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 …

Charlie Spiering / Campaign 2012:

Liberals celebrate death of Andrew Breitbart — As news broke this morning of the tragic death of Conservative journalist Andrew Breitbart, liberals celebrated the news on Twitter.

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon, Wake up America, Instapundit, Roger L. Simon, Outside the Beltway, Weasel Zippers, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Daily Dish and Randy's Roundtable

Fox News:

Andrew Breitbart dies of ‘natural causes’ — DEVELOPING ... Widely read conservative Internet publisher Andrew Breitbart has died, his attorney confirms. — The websites he founded ran a statement Thursday morning announcing that Breitbart, 43, died “unexpectedly from natural causes” in Los Angeles shortly after midnight.

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, neo-neocon, The Gateway Pundit, The Confluence and Moonbattery

Brendan Smialowski / ABCNEWS:

Andrew Breitbart: Rick Santorum Mourns Conservative Firebrand — Dalton, GA-After a speech where he focused on mostly social issues and urged Georgians to make this a “two man race” by voting for him on Super Tuesday, the press asked Rick Santorum about the death of Andrew Breitbart.

Discussion: USA Today

Tim Mak / Reuters:

Andrew Breitbart dead at 43 — Crusading conservative journalist and activist Andrew Breitbart died suddenly early Thursday morning in Los Angeles at the age of 43. — “Andrew passed away unexpectedly from natural causes shortly after midnight this morning,” Big Journalism author Larry Solov wrote …

Discussion: msnbc.com, Guardian, Towleroad News #gay and The Political Carnival

CNN:
Conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart dead at 43

Discussion: L.A. NOW, Wonkette and Library Grape

Christina Ng / ABCNEWS: Publisher and Author Andrew Breitbart Dead

R. Stickney / KNSD-TV:
Andrew Breitbart Dead at 43

Discussion: JustOneMinute and Conservatives4Palin

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: Reuters, Outside the Beltway, Religion News Service, Booman Tribune, The Political Carnival, The Raw Story, Los Angeles Times, Mediaite, Lawyers, Guns & Money, thump whip, The Daily Dish, The Hinterland Gazette, The Reality-Based Community, Feministing and Shakesville

Ian Millhiser / ThinkProgress:

Bush-Appointed Federal Judge Sends Racist, Anti-Obama Email Comparing Interracial Sex To Bestiality — Chief Judge Richard Cebull, a George W. Bush appointee to the federal district court in Montana, admitted yesterday to sending a racist email forward comparing President Obama's conception to sex with a dog:

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland

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, Clayton Cramer's Blog and neo-neocon

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
McConnell to skip healthcare reform repeal votes until after election

Discussion: ThinkProgress and Erick's blog

Jonathan Weisman / New York Times:
Senator Olympia Snowe's Latest Hard Choice: To Quit

Discussion: Washington Monthly, FiveThirtyEight, Hullabaloo and Prairie Weather

msnbc.com:

First Thoughts: Both parties licking their chops over Blunt amendment — Both parties licking their political chops over today's Blunt amendment vote... But the issue became a headache for Romney... Team Romney springs into action to repair the damage, but has Romney ever followed a win with a good news day? …

Discussion: ABCNEWS, Taegan Goddard's … and Nebraska Watchdog

Philip Elliott / Associated Press:
Romney clarifies his position on Blunt amendment

Discussion: tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com, Washington Monthly, Religion News Service, USA Today and The Daily Dish

Sahil Kapur / 2012.talkingpointsmemo.com:
TPM2012 — Romney Comes Out In Support Of Controversial Birth Control Bill

Discussion: American Prospect, Shakesville, Washington Post, The Hill, New York Times, Talking Points Memo and Firedoglake

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: BuzzFeed, Washington Post, SBNation.com, Weasel Zippers, Outside the Beltway, Campaign 2012, Indecision Forever and Hotline On Call

David A. Graham / The Atlantic Online:

Reports of the Republican Nominee's Doom Are Greatly Exaggerated — In the last few weeks, the GOP has succumbed to despair about beating Obama. Here are seven reasons he's still vulnerable. — Political journalists like to imagine ourselves as wise, discerning observers of the landscape.

Discussion: Hot Air

Lydia Saad / Gallup:
GOP Slightly Ahead in Voting Enthusiasm

Discussion: Hot Air, Politico, CNN and Ballot Box

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 Huffington Post, Sky Dancing, No More Mister Nice Blog, 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 and The Daily Dish

Allen McDuffee / Washington Post:

Koch Brothers sue Cato Institute, president — Billionaires Charles and David Koch have filed a lawsuit against the libertarian Cato Institute, its president Edward Crane and a board member, according to court documents obtained by The Washington Post. — The complaint centers on the the handling …

Discussion: The Sideshow, The Raw Story and LewRockwell.com Blog

John Celock / The Huffington Post:

Kansas Abortion Bill: Governor Sam Brownback Likely To Sign Sweeping Legislation … Abortion , Abortion Rights , Anti-Abortion , Video , National Governors Association , National Governors Association Meeting , Sam Brownback , Women's Health , Kansas Abortion , Kansas Abortion Bill …

Discussion: Mock, Paper, Scissors

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

Rasmussen Reports:

National GOP: Romney 40%, Santorum 24%, Gingrich 16%, Paul 12% — Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, coming off his primary wins in Arizona and Michigan, has jumped to a 16-point lead over Rick Santorum in the battle for the Republican presidential nomination.

Discussion: Christian Science Monitor, GOP 12, Hot Air and Big Government

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