How far are Republicans willing to run under the banner of “defending” religious liberty?
Today will tell.
Our Congressional reporters Brian Beutler and Sahil Kapur explain just what’s at stake in the upcoming vote on Roy Blunt’s amendment, which seeks to provide all employers the sort of conscience objections to health care benefits that forced the standoff between the Catholic Church and the White House.
Must read piece.
Lest anyone be fooled by Joe Arpaio’s latest stunt — a fun-filled paean to birtherism coming later today — let us recount some of our previous favorites from the man from Maricopa.
Federal judge forwards to pals racist ‘joke’ email suggesting President Obama was the product of a union between his white mother and a dog.
If you listen to the on-going political conversation in Washington, Israelis hate President Obama and are pining for a Newt Gingrich or Mitt Romney to take the White House, destroy Iran and generally make the world a happy place again. But a new poll paints a very different picture. Read More
The Romney campaign thinks it’s found the silver bullet for taking Rick Santorum down on Super Tuesday: Santorum’s the turncoat robocaller.
About an hour ago, a reporter for a cable-only TV news station in Ohio tweeted that Mitt Romney has told him in a yet-to-air interview that he opposed the Blunt amendment, which would allow employers to refuse to provide health insurance policies that cover contraception and other matters of conscience. Opposition to the Blunt amendment by Romney would mark a sharp break from the current orthodoxy of national Republicans, but it’s not entirely clear yet what Romney said.
The Ohio reporter, Jim Heath of the Ohio News Network, let Greg Sargent of the Washington Post listen to the audio of the interview. Greg’s account suggests Romney did voice opposition of some kind to the bill.
The Romney campaign has been quiet for the last hour despite reporters scrambling to ascertain Mitt’s position. Just now, there are reports that the campaign is saying ONN’s reporting is wrong (the tape will resolve that), and the campaign is saying Romney in fact supports the Blunt amendment.
Our full report shortly.
Update: Sahil Kapur and Benjy Sarlin with the full report.
Tough anti-union measures in Arizona that caused an uproar in January have now largely withered on the legislative vine. But could a push from the Koch brothers-backed Americans for Prosperity bring them back to life?
The push in Virginia for mandatory vaginal ultrasounds before an abortion was met with national outrage that soon saw the measure modified. This week a representative in Alabama introduced a similar measure before also walking things back under pressure.
But by setting the bar to the extreme, and then drawing back, are the proponents of these measures actually changing the conversation in their favor? Our Jillian Rayfield reports.
The exit polls tell a familiar story out of Michigan. Rick Santorum won blue collar and middle class voters. Romney, meanwhile, won big among more affluent voters and crushed it among voters making over 200k a year.