memeorandum: Grassley: GOP presidential race will be over next Tuesday with Romney as nominee (William Petroski/Des Moines Register)

6:20 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 Monthly, americanthinker.com, The Democratic Daily, Balloon Juice, Jack Shafer, Washington Free Beacon, Weasel Zippers, Outside the Beltway, Booman Tribune, The Daily Dish, No More Mister Nice Blog, his vorpal sword 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: Rolling Stone, The Gateway Pundit, CNN, The Democratic Daily, MLive.com, Vodkapundit, The Confluence, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, American Spectator, Roger L. Simon, Pharyngula, neo-neocon, Weasel Zippers, CANNONFIRE and Moonbattery

Jack Mirkinson / The Huffington Post:

Andrew Breitbart Dead: Conservative Blogger Dies Suddenly At 43 … REACT: — FOLLOW: — Video, Andrew Breitbart, Andrew Breitbart Dead, Andrew Breitbart Dies, Media News — Andrew Breitbart, the conservative blogger and journalist, died suddenly on Thursday morning, according to his website Big Journalism.

Discussion: Balloon Juice, Mediaite, Poynter, SQUATLO RANT, The Daily Dish, TBogg, The Heritage Foundation, Outside the Beltway, The PJ Tatler and Truthdig

David Frum / The Daily Beast:

Andrew Breitbart, 1969-2012 — Conservative activist Andrew Breitbart listens to a question during an event at the Heritage Foundation April 21, 2011 in Washington, DC. , Brendan Smialowski / Getty Images — “Of the dead, speak nothing but what is good.”

Discussion: Balloon Juice, The Impolitic, The Daily Caller, david-frum and Weasel Zippers

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
Breitbart, RIP — I was ... I am stunned to hear of the death of Andrew Breitbart.

Discussion: National Review and Campaign 2012

Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:
Breaking: RIP, Andrew Breitbart; Update: Collapsed while taking a walk near home

Discussion: KNSD-TV, Ed Driscoll, Mediaite, Guardian, RedState, Hit & Run, JustOneMinute and Conservatives4Palin

Yahoo! News:
Click to see more photos — Breitbart was pronounced dead …

Discussion: NewsBusters.org blogs, The Gateway Pundit and Corrente

Michelle Malkin:
DEVASTATING: Andrew Breitbart, R.I.P.

Discussion: ABCNEWS, Instapundit, Mediaite, The PJ Tatler, NewsBusters.org blogs, New York Times, The Radio Equalizer, The Gateway Pundit and Wake up America, more at Mediagazer »

Rush Limbaugh:
Andrew Breitbart: Bulldog for the Cause

Discussion: NewsBusters.org blogs, The Gateway Pundit and Althouse

Thomas Lifson / americanthinker.com:
Stunning news: Andrew Breitbart has died (Further Updated)

Discussion: The Daily Caller, The Moderate Voice, blogs.telegraph.co.uk and The Prudence Paine Papers

Detroit Free Press:

Mitt Romney gets Michigan's at-large delegates — The Mitt Romney-Rick Santorum Michigan primary results just got a little more contentious. — Michigan's two at-large delegates to the Republican National convention will be awarded to Michigan native Mitt Romney, following a vote last night …

Discussion: msnbc.com, GOP 12, Taegan Goddard's …, Washington Post and Guardian

Daniel Strauss / The Hill:

Santorum accuses Romney of rigging Michigan's delegate distribution — Rick Santorum is accusing Mitt Romney of rigging the delegate count in Michigan. — The Michigan Republican Party is awarding Romney two-at large delegates, leaving him with 16 delegates to Santorum's 14, according to the Detroit Free Press.

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, Outside the Beltway and The PJ Tatler

Felicia Sonmez / Washington Post:
Mitt Romney: ‘I have worn a garbage bag for rain gear myself’

Discussion: The Raw Story, Swampland and Wonkette

Peter Fenn / Pundits Blog:
The Republicans' panic attack: Is it over or just beginning?

Discussion: Reuters and CNN

William Petroski / Des Moines Register:
Grassley: GOP presidential race will be over next Tuesday with Romney as nominee

Discussion: Mediaite

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

Discussion: Christian Science Monitor, Ballot Box, NO QUARTER, Shot in the Dark, Hot Air, Wall Street Journal, GOP 12, Los Angeles Times and Big Government

Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
Obama doing well in Wisconsin and beyond

Discussion: Politico and JSOnline

Saul Anuzis / That's Saul Folks!:
Saul Anuzis's Statement on Michigan's Delegate Allocation

Discussion: USA Today

Alicia M. Cohn / Ballot Box:
Sen. Grassley: GOP down to ‘person-and-a-half race’

Discussion: Politico

Politico:

Blunt amendment defeated in Senate — The Senate defeated Sen. Roy Blunt's amendment to allow employers to refuse to cover health services Thursday, dealing Republicans a high-profile setback in the fight over the Obama administration's contraception coverage mandate.

Discussion: American Prospect, The Huffington Post, No More Mister Nice Blog, Associated Press, Boston Globe, The Democratic Daily, Little Green Footballs, The Daily What, Mediaite, Indecision Forever, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Bangor Daily News and Balloon Juice

Obama for America:

If Mitt Romney and a few Republican senators get their way, employers could be making women's health care decisions for them. — clytemnestras reblogged this from couldbeyourlife — raenbow reblogged this from thesongbeneath — tumbleflakes reblogged this from robot-heart-politics

Discussion: BuzzFeed, Campaign 2012, Firedoglake, ABCNEWS, Feministing, The Maddow Blog, pandagon.net and Weekly Standard

tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com:
TPMDC — GOP Struggles To Contain Birth Control Fallout

Discussion: The Caucus, Indecision Forever, Religion News Service, The Maddow Blog, Daily Kos, Talking Points Memo, Washington Post and Firedoglake

Robert Pear / New York Times:
Senate Kills G.O.P. Bill Opposing Contraception Policy

Discussion: The New Republic, Washington Monthly, JustOneMinute, Gothamist and Prairie Weather

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

Discussion: The PJ Tatler, Daily Kos, Erick's blog, ThinkProgress and Rush Limbaugh

Ian Swanson / The Hill:
Senate rejects Blunt amendment to limit birth-control mandate

Discussion: The Hill, Wonkette, Washington Free Beacon and Prairie Weather

Alex Seitz-Wald / ThinkProgress:

Limbaugh Doubles Down On Sexist Attack Against Sandra Fluke, Demands She Post Sex Tapes Online — Yesterday, as ThinkProgress noted, conservative shock jock and strident women-basher Rush Limbaugh called Sandra Fluke, the Georgetown student who House Republicans wouldn't let testify …

Discussion: Feministing, The Daily What, Little Green Footballs, NewsHounds blog, The Raw Story, Crooks and Liars, Hullabaloo, The Daily Dish, pandagon.net and Addicting Info

Jeremy Holden / Media Matters for America:
Limbaugh's Misogynistic Attack On Georgetown Law Student Continues With Increased Vitriol

Discussion: US Politics

Alexa Keyes / ABCNEWS:
He Won't Back Down: Rush Renews ‘Slut’ Insults Against Georgetown Birth Control Proponent

Discussion: Don Surber, BuzzFeed and The Progressive Pulse

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: ThinkProgress, The Impolitic, The Sideshow, The Raw Story and LewRockwell.com Blog

Mike Allen / Politico: Kochs launch court fight over Cato

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 …

Mj Lee / Politico:
Gonzalez calls for judge's resignation

Discussion: ThinkProgress and Reuters

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: Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Weasel Zippers, BuzzFeed, Hotline On Call, SBNation.com, Campaign 2012, Indecision Forever, Outside the Beltway, ESPN, Gawker and Jammie Wearing Fools

Justin Sink / The Hill:

Gingrich says Obama should fire energy secretary for remark about gas prices — Republican candidate Newt Gingrich said President Obama should fire Energy Secretary Steven Chu following his remark this week that reducing gas prices is not the “overall goal” of his agency.

Bob Kingand Darius Dixon / Politico:
Newt Gingrich: Fire Steven Chu over gas price remarks

Discussion: Hot Air

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: Don Surber, Rush Limbaugh, Hot Air, Randy's Roundtable, americanthinker.com, Firedoglake, Politico, CNN and Ballot Box

Politico:

Biden: We ‘screwed up’ contraception mandate — Vice President Joe Biden, reflecting on the contraception debate that forced the administration to alter the policy to appease Catholic leaders, said that the administration “screwed up” the first version of the mandate.

Discussion: Mediaite

Derek Thompson / The Atlantic Online:

The White House's Economic Case for Reelection in 13 Charts — Whether you love the president, hate the president, or think he's just in over his head, you'll want to see this. It's the Treasury Department's visual slideshow of the state of the economy, called simply The U.S. Economy in Charts …

Discussion: The Enterprise Blog and BuzzFeed