IT'S DEAD: Brewer Vetoes Anti-Gay Bill  —  Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R) announced Wednesday night that she has vetoed the anti-gay bill that has been sitting on her desk since last week.  —  The bill “does not address a specific or present concern related to religious liberty in Arizona,” she said in explaining her decision.

Insurers become O-Care foot soldiers  —  Insurance companies are serving as foot soldiers for ObamaCare with a multimillion-dollar ad campaign intended to push customers into the insurance exchanges.  —  Though the companies are reluctant to publicize their role in the unpopular law …

G.O.P., Though Deeply Split, Has Election Edge, Poll Shows  —  Republicans are in a stronger position than Democrats for this year's midterm elections, benefiting from the support of self-described independents, even though the party itself is deeply divided and most Americans agree …

Federal Judge Strikes Down Texas' Ban on Same-Sex Marriage  —  HOUSTON — A federal judge in Texas struck down the state's ban on same-sex marriage on Wednesday, ruling that the laws restricting marriage to a man and a woman violated the United States Constitution and handing gay-rights advocates …

Bradley A. Smith: Connecting the Dots in the IRS Scandal  —  The ‘smoking gun’ in the targeting of conservative groups has been hiding in plain sight.  —  The mainstream press has justified its lack of coverage over the Internal Revenue Service targeting of conservative groups because there's been no …

Bill Clinton's rescue ride  —  Springtime is coming, baseball teams have reassembled for training, Robert Redford is back on cable playing Roy Hobbs in “The Natural” and Bill Clinton has begun his ride to rescue Democrats in the 2014 midterm elections.  —  In politics, the trick …

U.S. REP. CORY GARDNER TO ENTER U.S. SENATE RACE AGAINST MARK UDALL  —  Republican Congressman Cory Gardner is planning to drop his re-election bid and run for the U.S. Senate seat held by Democrat Mark Udall, a political bombshell that is expected to alter Colorado's political landscape.

Obama's Pipeline  —  WASHINGTON — WHEN I was elected to Congress in 2002, George W. Bush was president and big business wrote environmental policy.  We all remember Vice President Dick Cheney's energy task force — a who's who of mining and oil interests — and the administration's constant questioning of climate science.

How the Fed Let the World Blow Up in 2008  —  High oil prices blinded the Fed to the growing danger before the crash  —  It was the day after Lehman failed, and the Federal Reserve was trying to decide what to do.  —  It had been fighting a credit crunch for over a year, and now the worst-case scenario was playing out.

Republicans flip-flop on ‘judicial activism’  —  There was a time not too long ago when Republicans decried “activist judges.”  Now they're lamenting that judges are not being activist enough.  —  “Unfortunately, the courts have been reluctant to exercise their constitutionally conferred power …

Was Bush Really a Champion of Democracy?  —  For five years now, it's happened again and again.  A dictatorship somewhere wobbles, protesters crowd the streets, and the Obama administration strikes a careful tone, urging respect for human rights while trying to safeguard various American interests.

De Blasio's school fight: Column  —  New York disagreement over charter schools spotlights Democrat vs. Democrat battle.  —  Most non-New Yorkers know only two things about Bill de Blasio, the city's new progressive mayor: He eats pizza with a knife and fork, and Al Roker attacked him for sending students to school in a snowstorm.

Joe Biden in winter  —  “The only thing I know is I ain't changing my brand.  I know what I believe.  I'm confident in what I know.  And I'm gonna say it.  And if folks like it, wonderful.  If they don't like it, I understand.”  —  Vice President Joe Biden and I were riding the Amtrak to Philly on a frigid February day.

Generic Ballot Model Shows Senate Control at Tipping Point  —  Look for more partisan conflict and polarization in new Senate  —  Crystal Ball Senior Columnist Alan Abramowitz's discussion of his Senate elections model not only confirms how close we expect the 2014 Senate campaign will be …

Top Senate Dem: Koch Brothers Are Un-American  —  The Senate's top Democrat criticized a pair of billionaire brothers in unusually harsh terms Wednesday, accusing the conservative duo of being “un-American,” spreading lies about President Barack Obama's health care overhaul and lacking a conscience.

Brewer's Foolish Veto  —  In addition to the federal government, 18 states have such statutes and about a dozen other states interpret their state constitutions as extending the same protections, according to the letter.  The statutes, the scholars write, “say that before government can burden …

GOP loves tax reform, in theory.  In reality?  Not so much  —  Washington (CNN) - Republicans, who have spent years clamoring for tax reform, were much less enthusiastic Wednesday when faced with a sweeping tax overhaul plan in an election year, reticent to discuss whether the proposal …