Live Coverage: the Michigan and Arizona Primaries

post from FiveThirtyEight on 28 February 2012 06:58:25 PM. © FiveThirtyEight

Welcome to FiveThirtyEight's live blog of the Michigan and Arizona primaries. As the votes are counted, we'll have exit-poll results, data-driven analysis and historical context.

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http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/28/live-coverage-the-michigan-an
d-arizona-primaries/

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This Station is Non-Operational

post from The American Prospect on 28 February 2012 06:30:42 PM. © The American Prospect

Americans aren?t so sure that they want to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

One of the things I look forward to about the return of Game of Thrones is the smart commentary that will come with it.

Mitt Romney?s intensely antagonistic position on immigration is going to be a huge self-inflicted wound in the general election.

Comic books are best read on paper, but if digital comics are your thing?and you own an Apple device?this is pretty cool.

What if The Phantom Menace were good?

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http://prospect.org/article/station-non-operational-3

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Playing With Fire

post from The American Prospect on 28 February 2012 06:27:36 PM. © The American Prospect

When Michigan Democrat Crystal Larson voted today in Dearborn Heights, she told CNN it ?felt like I made a deal with the devil.? The devil, in this case, is Rick Santorum, whose quest to upset Mitt Romney in his native state is getting a boost from Operation Hilarity, the Daily Kos effort to convince Democrats like Larson to throw a wrench into the GOP campaign. ?Do you want this primary season to be over, or do you want this primary season to be hilarious?? asks a cheeky video at Kos, recommending a vote for the former Pennsylvania senator. With its open primaries, Michigan has a long tradition of crossover voting designed to trip up the other party?including yuk-fests that helped Democrat George Wallace win the state in 1972, and helped Republican John McCain temporarily slow George W. Bush?s momentum in 2000. In the latter primary, Democrats made up 17 percent of the vote. Today, the numbers aren?t expected to be so high?despite Santorum?s own robo-call urging Democrats to support him ?but with polls showing a deadlock among Republicans, Democrats could put Santorum over the top and send the Washington GOP establishment into a full-tilt tizzy.

Big fun, right? Sure, except that general-election polls belie the liberal assumption that Santorum couldn?t possibly beat President Obama?which supposedly makes a vote for Santorum ?safe.? While President Obama is looking stronger, there is no shortage of potential catastrophes ahead?namely Israel, Iran, and gas prices. With his history of agitating for regime change in Tehran, Santorum could take political advantage of a Middle East blow-up. And economic turmoil is always deadly for the incumbent. For liberals behind this campaign, the peril of the prank is obvious: They?ll be the ones who feel like ?throwing up? in November if president-elect Santorum, celebrating his ultimate upset victory, takes a moment to thank Kos and his ?Democratic friends in Michigan? for paving his road to the White House.

So They Say

?Yes. Next question.?

?Mitt Romney, asked this morning if he realized that comments accentuating his wealth were hurting his campaign

Daily Meme: Who You Got in Michigan?

Nate Silver says it's too close to call.
But Romney (surprise!) predicts he will win a close contest?
?as does Donald Trump.
The New Yorker?s John Cassidy thinks Santorum will win "in a squeaker"?
?and the Santorum campaign (another surprise!) agrees.
If Santorum does win, Romney will blame his "dirty tricks."
Or hey, maybe everybody wins!
But whoever wins, what will the results mean?

What We're Writing

Jamelle Bouie writes of Romney: ?Republican voters aren?t looking for a consultant-in-chief; they want someone who can communicate their values.?
Harold Meyerson exposes Americans? ?anti-government hypocrisy.?

What We're Reading

The Obama campaign is sneakily undermining the GOP in Michigan.
How Michigan breaks down, county by county.
Even the Washington Times is giving Santorum grief for his ?ignorance? about Kennedy and church-state separation.
From the archives: Santorum's love for PACs goes all the way back to college.
What happens in Iran?or doesn?t?could turn the general election.
Is Santorum running on fumes?

Poll of the Day

New general-election polls show that Romney has?at least for now?lost his ?electability? edge over Santorum.

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http://prospect.org/article/playing-fire-0

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Olympia Snowe Will Not Seek Re-Election in Maine

post from Firedoglake on 28 February 2012 06:21:48 PM. © Firedoglake

In a highly unexpected announcement, Olympia Snowe, the Senator from Maine, will not seek re-election, putting another seat on the table for the Democrats in the Senate and possibly shifting what was seen as a likely Republican takeover into more of a[...]

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GOP Unwittingly Sticks Up For Sharia

post from TPMMuckraker on 28 February 2012 06:02:09 PM. © TPMMuckraker

In their ongoing attempt to portray the Obama administration's birth control rule as infringing on religious freedom, House Republicans invited a Muslim witness to a hearing who pointed out that such a precedent could permit the government to make laws that violate Islamic code.

Asma Uddin, editor-in-chief of the Muslim-American website altmuslimah.com and an attorney at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, argued in her testimony Tuesday that the contraception mandate is a violation of the free exercise of religion under the First Amendment. Later, under questioning from House Judiciary Chairman Lamar Smith (R-TX), Uddin explained how the regulation's precedent could infringe upon the rights of Muslims.

"If the government mandated everything that had positive health benefits, it could possibly mandate that everyone drink red wine for heart health even though it violates the religious beliefs of Muslims," Uddin said.

She went on: "And it could mandate that everyone eat shellfish, even though that violates the religious beliefs of Jews. And it could mandate gym memberships because it's widely accepted that exercise is beneficial."

With that, Smith ended his questioning of Uddin.

It's clear Uddin wasn't singling out the potential plight of Muslims that could arise from this regulation. But siding with a witness who argues that government should not create laws that oppress the Islamic faith is still deeply ironic for a party whose members, including Smith, have spent the Obama presidency warning about the specter of "Sharia law," suggesting that that Muslims want to exert greater control over U.S. laws.

In this instance, whether they like it or not, GOP success in rolling back the birth control mandate would go hand-in-hand with making the health care law more Sharia-compliant.

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_up_for_muslims_religious_fr.php

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Wha!!

post from Talking Points Memo on 28 February 2012 06:00:46 PM. © Talking Points Memo

Reports emerging in the last few minutes that Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) will not seek re-election this year. As far as I know, this news comes completely from left field, with Snowe previously expected to cruise to re-election. It sets up a prime[...]

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To Rick Or Not To Rick

post from Talking Points Memo on 28 February 2012 06:00:46 PM. © Talking Points Memo

Evan McMorris-Santoro talks to Michigan Democratic voters wrestling with whether to sow chaos by voting for Rick Santorum.[...]

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http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Talking-Points-Memo/~3/KKfyC59qGFI/to_rick_or_not_
to_rick.php

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I Shouldn't Be Surprised

Olympia Snowe's resignation statement reads like an application for membership in the club of professional DC centrist handwringers:As I enter a new chapter, I see a vital need for the political center in order for our democracy to flourish and to find[...]

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urprised.php

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A Trap Of Their Own Making

How the RNC deliberately engineered an extended primary calendar only to see it backfire.[...]

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_own_making.php

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Olympia Snowe is retiring

Big news from Maine today:

Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, announced this afternoon that she has decided not to run for re-election after 33 years in Congress.

In a statement issued by her campaign, Snowe said that both she and her husband, former Gov. John R. McKernan, are in good health and she is certain she would have won re-election.

Snowe, however, cited frustation over "an atmosphere of polarization and ?my way or the highway? ideologies has become pervasive in campaigns and in our governing institutions."

This can only be good for Democrats. I imagine Congresswoman Chellie Pingree is taking a look at this opening. I hope she is.

As a Mainer, I've followed Snowe's career for years. I never got the fascination people had with her. She's had a long career in public service -- and has had taxpayer funded benefits for all those years, too. When she and her new husband, then-Governor, John McKernan, got married back in 1989, they used her campaign funds to pay for the wedding reception.

And, an update. Let's not forget this: Company run by ex-GOP Gov. of ME (husband of Olympia Snowe), facing lawsuit backed by DOJ