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Romney's 'Assault' Attack Contradicts Former Stance

2012-02-11T22:23:07Z

BOSTON -- Mitt Romney faulted President Barack Obama's original push to require church-affiliated employers to pay for birth control as an "assault on religion," but as Massachusetts governor, Romney was largely silent about a state law that required virtually the same contraceptive coverage.

The Massachusetts law, which essentially mirrored Obama's proposal, was signed by Romney's predecessor in 2002, the year before he took office. Romney did not seek its repeal.

Despite his silence on the state law, as a presidential candidate Romney attacked Obama's initial proposal, which would have required Catholic-affiliated employers to pay for a service that violates the church's teachings.

"This kind of assault on religion will end if I'm president of the United States," Romney said, calling it "a real blow ... to our friends in the Catholic faith."

On Friday, Obama backed off the requirement, instead saying that workers at religious institutions would be able to get free contraception directly from health insurers.

As governor, Romney made no similar effort to amend or repeal the state law, which required employers that purchase insurance plans in Massachusetts to pay for contraceptives. He did clash with lawmakers about whether Catholic hospitals should be required to dispense emergency contraception to rape victims.

The 2002 law applies to employers who purchase insurance plans in Massachusetts. Larger employers that have private agreements with insurers and are considered self-insured are subject to federal laws.

Following on Romney's struggles to differentiate his state's health-insurance law from the nearly identical national version championed by Obama, the contraception episode is another example of how hard it is for Romney to contrast himself on some key issues with the president he seeks to defeat.

By choosing to engage Obama on such issues, he also adds to the perception that he shifts positions with the political winds.

The closest Romney came to addressing the question of mandated health care coverage was during the debate over what would become Massachusetts' landmark 2006 health care law.

Romney's version of the law would have lifted all mandated insurance benefit requirements for individuals and small businesses insured through what would become the state's health connector. It also would have lifted benefit requirements from subsidized insurance plans.

The goal was mandate-free insurance. But the version of the bill approved by the Democrat-controlled Legislature rejected Romney's proposal and the mandates remained.

Backers of the 2006 law signed by Romney say it actually expanded contraceptive coverage.

"The uninsured individuals who got access to health insurance because of the health law ... all got access to contraceptive coverage because of that law," said John McDonough, former head of the advocacy group Health Care For All.

While Romney was largely silent on the contraceptive coverage mandate, he fought a much more public battle over whether to require hospitals in Massachusetts to dispense emergency contraception to rape victims.

For Romney, the episode pitted his pledge to expand access to emergency contraception against another campaign promise not to change the state's abortion laws.

In the end Romney vetoed the bill, but declined to press any legal challenge to the new law once his veto was overturned by state lawmakers.

The issue surfaced in 2005, three years into his single term as governor.

The Legislature had just handed Romney a bill requiring that all public and private hospitals offer emergency contraception pills to victims of rape. The measure included the state's Catholic hospitals, whose opposition was based on religious grounds.

Romney said he could accept the measure if the pills simply prevented conception. But because the "morning after" pills can prevent a fertilized egg from developing, Romney said they could also be "abortion pills."

Romney had said he personally could accept abortion in cases of rape, incest and to save the life of the mother, but he nonetheless vetoed the bill.

"If it only dealt with contraception, I wouldn't have a problem with it. But it also in some cases terminates a life after conception, and therefore it ceases in that case to be a contraceptive provision," Romney said at the time.

"I indicated I wouldn't change abortion laws and I won't violate that promise," he added.

The debate stretches back to 2002, when Romney, then a Republican candidate for governor, answered "yes" on a candidate questionnaire distributed by NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts that asked whether he would support increased access to emergency contraception.

During the same campaign, Romney also promised not to alter the state's abortion laws.

Those two promises clashed when the Massachusetts House and Senate approved the emergency contraception bill.

"He went back on what he supported on the questionnaire by returning from vacation to veto a piece of legislation that would ensure broader access for emergency contraception," said Rose MacKenzie, director of policy for NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts. "Emergency contraception is not the same thing as abortion."

The bill required hospital emergency room doctors to offer the medication to rape victims, and made the pills available without prescription from pharmacies. A provision that exempted Catholic hospitals wasn't included in the final bill.

The medication is a hormone in pill form which, when taken after unprotected sex, prevents ovulation, stops the egg from being fertilized by sperm or stops a fertilized egg from attaching itself to the uterus wall.

It is most effective when taken within 72 hours of intercourse.

The debate was so contentious that Romney's hand-picked running mate, then-Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey, publicly broke with him and urged him to sign the bill.

Romney instead vetoed the bill at the end of July, 2005. Less than two months later the Massachusetts House and Senate easily overrode the veto.

Romney would try one more time to carve out an exemption for the state's Catholic hospitals, a move that would briefly throw the future of the law into chaos.

In December, 2005, just a week before the new law was to take effect, Romney's public health commissioner announced that Catholic and other privately run hospitals could be exempted from the emergency contraception law, pointing to an older law that barred the state from forcing private hospitals to dispense contraceptive devices or information.

Romney initially agreed, saying that while he personally believed hospitals should be required, at the least, to provide information about emergency contraception to rape victims, the new law couldn't supersede the old law.

"We have to follow the law," he said.

The new policy didn't last long.

Less than 24 hours after defending the proposed change, Romney scrapped the push to exempt private hospitals. He had come under intense pressure from women's groups, Democrats, the state attorney general and Healey.

Romney said that a fresh analysis by his legal counsel concluded that the new law in fact superseded the old law, and that all hospitals would now be required to offer the "morning after pill."

"On that basis I have instructed the Department of Public Health to follow the conclusion of my own legal counsel and to adopt that sounder view," Romney said. "In my personal view, it's the right thing for hospitals to provide information and access to emergency contraception to anyone who is a victim of rape."

The veto of the emergency contraception bill came at the time when Romney was contemplating his first run for president in 2008 and was staking out more conservative public positions.

A day after his veto, Romney explained it in an opinion piece in the Boston Globe, saying his anti-abortion views had "evolved and deepened."

"I believe that abortion is the wrong choice except in cases of incest, rape, and to save the life of the mother. I wish the people of America agreed, and that the laws of our nation could reflect that view," he wrote.

Michelle Obama: 'At One Point I Was Normal'

2012-02-11T22:09:09Z

DALLAS -- In just the past few days, she's danced with cheering school kids, chatted with troops, swapped ideas with busy parents and engaged in a friendly cooking competition with stars from "Top Chef."

Michelle Obama's national tour was intended to promote the second anniversary of her campaign against childhood obesity. The images have been disarming, intriguing and nonpolitical, just the type of thing her husband's re-election campaign can't get enough of.

Five years to the day after Sen. Barack Obama announced he was running for president, Mrs. Obama's travels this past week offered fresh evidence of what an out-sized role she's assumed in the public eye and how powerful a political asset a first lady can be.

Make no mistake, Mrs. Obama said she's "incredibly enthusiastic" about making the case for her husband's re-election.

Simply put, "I want him to be my president for another four years," she said in a 40-minute interview Friday with a few reporters.

In recent weeks Mrs. Obama has seemingly been everywhere: doing pushups with Ellen DeGeneres, serving veggie pizza to Jay Leno, playing tug-of-war with Jimmy Fallon in the White House. Then came the tour of Arkansas, Florida, Iowa and Texas to mark the two-year-point for her "Let's Move" initiative.

The first lady draws a line between her policy efforts on childhood obesity and her political activities. But such distinctions often are lost on the public.

In an election year, it's all to the good for Barack Obama that his popular wife is traveling the country promoting can't-miss issues like healthy living.

"This is a bit of a two-fer," Mrs. Obama said in her interview on Friday, "because it's an issue that I care about, and it's an issue that's important to the country. ... I want to make sure that what I do enhances him."

The first lady added that she knew from the beginning of her husband's presidency that she had to choose issues that were important to her personally because "if you're just doing it for political reasons or there's some ulterior, people smell that out so easily and it's hard to sustain."

To a more limited extent, Mrs. Obama also fills a more overtly political role by headlining private fundraisers that raise millions for her husband's campaign, reaching out to supporters through conference calls to various states and shooting out periodic emails to campaign backers around the country.

That part of her labors will increase considerably in the months to come.

But the first lady said she's careful to protect her time as "Sasha and Malia's mom."

"My approach to campaigning is, `This is the time that I have to give to the campaign and whatever you do with that time is up to you, but when it's over, don't even look at me. ... No calls. No anything."

For now, the first lady's most visible role is tied to her signature issue of fighting obesity, allowing her to connect with voters on an emotional level and relate to them as a mother who has struggled with some of the same challenges that other families face.

"We're constantly trying to make sure that what we do is on point with what is going on in people's lives," Mrs. Obama told parents this past week as she chatted with them over low-calorie plates of chicken and pasta at an Olive Garden restaurant in Fort Worth. "I mean, at one point I was normal. I went to the grocery store and I did all that."

Voters typically don't pay attention to whether an event is political or not, said Democratic strategist Chris Lehane.

"They're paying attention to whether they like what they're seeing and whether they connect to it," Lehane said. Wth a first lady talking about issues that transcend the partisan divide, he said, "the mere fact that they're out there talking reflects well on their spouse."

It can't be lost on Obama's political advisers that Iowa and Florida will be strongly contested in the fall election.

While the president's favorability ratings and those of Vice President Joe Biden slipped considerably over their first three years in office, Mrs. Obama's have remained strong.

Barack Obama's favorability rating now stands at 51 percent, Biden's at 38 percent. By contrast, 66 percent of Americans have a favorable opinion of the first lady, about even with her ratings on Inauguration Day, according to the Pew Research Center.

That's about where Laura Bush stood in the fourth year of her husband's first term, and it's considerably higher than Hillary Rodham Clinton's 42 percent at the start of her husband's fourth year as president.

Mrs. Obama is particularly popular with women and younger Americans, polling shows. And she does well with the moderate and liberal Republicans and independents whom Democrats will try to lure away in the fall elections.

There are other ways to measure her appeal: Her Twitter account shot up to more than a half-million followers in less than a month. And her Facebook page has more than 6.6 million "likes."

The first lady still has her detractors. Her anti-obesity campaign has attracted some "nanny state" grumbling from conservatives who think it intrudes on personal matters.

She said Friday that the five years since her husband announced for president actually have turned her from a natural pessimist into more of an optimist, hoping to make the most of her time in the White House.

"There's a window," she said. "Whether it's four years or eight years, it's not a lot of time."

As for how she's preparing her daughters for the coming campaign, sure to be hard-fought and bitter at times, Mrs. Obama said her focus is on reassuring the girls that "whatever happens, you guys are going to be good. So don't worry about this, just focus on your world."

Preparing them for a victory or loss, she said, "I just try to play both sides of the scenario and make both sides seem great."

So far, Mrs. Obama has headlined 32 fundraisers over the past 10 months, including six this year. Tickets to her political events range from $100 to $10,000, making them more accessible than higher-dollar fundraisers for the president. And her political schedule includes smaller cities, such as Charlottesville, Va., and Cape Elizabeth, Maine, that aren't likely to draw a presidential visit.

Still, she's hauling in millions with a fundraising stump speech that mixes a recitation of administration policy initiatives with a personal sketch of her husband as a man who stays up late after the children are in bed fretting over the concerns of ordinary Americans.

It's the same humanizing role that Mrs. Obama serves regularly in her public appearances, as she mixes public policy with stories about her own family.

What parent wouldn't think it was cool when she confessed to her dinner guests at the Olive Garden that her daughters aren't that interested in the White House kitchen garden – "because anything I do they're not interested in."

___

Maine Caucus 2012: GOP Candidates Battle In The Pine Tree State

2012-02-11T22:01:35Z

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

A profile of Maine, site of the Republican caucus on Feb. 11:

NUMBERS

Population: 1,328,361

AGE

Median age: 42.7

Percentage of population 65 and over: 15.9 percent

RACE AND ETHNICITY

95.2 percent white, 1.3 percent Hispanic or Latino origin, 1.2 percent black, 1 percent Asian

LANGUAGE

Language other than English spoken at home: 7.1 percent

EDUCATION

High school graduate or higher: 89.8 percent

Bachelor's degree or higher: 26.5 percent

MONEY

Median household income: $46,933

People below poverty level: 12.6 percent

Home ownership rate: 73.1 percent

2008 PRESIDENTIAL RESULTS:

Barack Obama, 57.6 percent; John McCain, 40.4 percent; Ralph Nader, 1.4 percent.

REGISTERED VOTERS (as of 11/2/11):

Republican: 275,978

Democratic: 324,435

Undeclared: 355,037

Green Independent: 34,435.

MAINE QUICK FACTS:

_ Maine is the nation's most heavily forested state.

_ Maine has 3,500 miles of coastline and 6,000 lakes and ponds.

_ Maine fishermen harvested more than 100 million pounds of lobster in 2011.

_ Hannibal Hamlin of Paris, Maine, served as vice president under Abraham Lincoln.

_ Writer Stephen King was raised in Maine and lives in Bangor.

_ Maine is nearly as large as the other five New England states combined.

_ Maine is home to Mount Katahdin, the northern end of the Appalachian Trail and the state's highest mountain at 5,268 feet

_ Maine has the nation's oldest median age.

___

Sources: 2010 U.S. Census data; Maine Office of the Secretary of State; State of Maine website.

Palin Talks GOP Contest, Remains Coy About Endorsement

2012-02-11T21:48:36Z

Sarah Palin said Saturday that Republicans should be in no hurry to wrap up the presidential nominating contest, declaring that a competitive campaign until the August convention in Tampa would not complicate the partyâs efforts to defeat President Obama.

Mitt Romney Wins CPAC Straw Poll

2012-02-11T21:22:00Z

WASHINGTON -- Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney won the Conservative Political Action Conference straw poll on Saturday, a major symbolic victory as he tries to convince Republicans that he is sufficiently conservative to win the GOP nomination.

Romney won 38 percent of the CPAC straw poll votes, with former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum coming in second at 31 percent. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) picked up 15 percent of the votes and Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), who won the straw polls in 2010 and 2011, received only 12 percent of the vote.

The result came despite what has been a weaker conservative response to Romney than Santorum, who has little to prove as a conservative and Catholic who has strong evangelical support. Romney needed to fight against accusations that he is a "Massachusetts moderate" -- hardly a winning concept among staunch conservatives here -- and weak on pro-life issues.

Romney said in his speech Friday at CPAC that he is "severely conservative," and seemed to have a larger campaign presence at the conference than other groups, with dozens of volunteers lining the halls outside the main ballroom to talk about Romney after every event.

Romney also won in a national telephone poll of self-identified conservatives, also announced at CPAC on Saturday afternoon. In those results, Santorum came only two points behind Romney, at 25 percent to 27 percent.

The CPAC result could bolster the organizers' attempts to make the annual straw poll more relevant to the race after two consecutive wins by Paul. The CPAC straw poll used to be considered an indication of the preferences of strong conservative voters, but in the past two years seemed more indicative of the zeal of Paul supporters, who voted disproportionately among conservative attendees.

This time around, organizers implemented a new system in which CPAC attendees could vote either in person or online via computer or mobile device, hoping that making participation easier would make for a more accurate depiction of the crowd. "We have moved into the twenty-first century," Tony Fabrizio, who ran the straw poll, said before the announcement.

A roughly equal number of individual registrants and student attendees -- about 45 percent each -- participated in the straw poll, Fabrizio said. But votes were down from last year, from 3,742 to 3,408.

Al Cardenas, president of the American Conservative Union, told The Huffington Post's Jon Ward on Thursday that he wasn't "worried" that Paul would win the CPAC straw poll.

"Curious is more like it," Cardenas said. "In the past, to his credit, about 80, 90, 100 percent of people who were there and liked Ron Paul voted, and probably a very small percentage of those who liked others bothered to vote."

Paul had another disadvantage in the straw poll this year: he and his campaign skipped CPAC, unlike the other three candidates. Santorum received a particularly positive reception during his speech on Friday, in which he talked about his conservative and religious values.

The online voting for the CPAC poll was secure and there was no evidence of attempts to hack the system, Fabrizio assured reporters before the results came out on Saturday.

"Theoretically, you could sit there, if you were genius enough, and spend as many hours as you could to try to hack and figure out what the pin sequence is, but that would be a very difficult thing to do," Fabrizio said of the system, which requires a pin number for CPAC attendees to vote online. "Given the voting patterns that we have seen and the number of people participating, there is no indication that any of that is happening."

The straw poll also found that about a third of CPAC attendees believe Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) should be the vice presidential nominee; he was also chosen by 15 percent of participants in the national telephone poll. The national poll results on the vice president were less definitive, leading Fabrizio to joke to CPAC attendees, "You all have opinions. They need your help."

The straw poll could be more important than usual this year, provided the vote is not considered swayed by Paul devotees, because the race has been so divided. Different candidates won the first three contests -- Santorum in Iowa, Romney in New Hampshire and Gingrich in South Carolina -- and Santorum somewhat unexpectedly won all three races last week.

The Maine caucus results, which will be announced later Saturday, could give more of a boost to Romney, who is expected to do well there.

Insider Trading Probe Has Boehner In Tough Spot

2012-02-11T21:15:57Z

An ethics investigation of Financial Services Committee Chairman Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.) has put Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) in a politically tricky spot.

Years ago as minority leader, Boehner called on Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) to relinquish his Ways and Means Committee chairmanship during a high-profile ethics investigation.

Bachmann Blasts Stern Over Criticism

2012-02-11T21:01:34Z

Congresswoman Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) hit back at radio host Howard Stern after he called her "the worst person in the world."

Stern actually called Bachmann one of the "worst two people on the planet" while criticizing the former Republican presidential hopeful and current GOP candidate Rick Santorum for their views on gay rights. Bachmann and Santorum have both been outspoken on their opposition to same-sex marriage, rallying against it in Republican debates and signing anti-gay marriage pledges.

Bachmann sent an email to supporters Saturday blasting Stern for his "years of corrupting America's youth" and negative message:

Earlier this week, notorious shock jock Howard Stern called me "the worst person in the world" during his daily radio show.
To conservatives, this message from Howard Stern, a man whose only contribution to our culture was years of corrupting America's youth on public airwaves, was clear: "either abandon your beliefs and agree with me, or be dragged through the mud and demonized on national radio." I don't accept this false choice, and I know you don't either.

While Stern can say anything he wants on satellite radio, his words have an impact on his millions of listeners as well as the people his listeners talk to, which is why I need your help to counteract with our positive message. We must fight back and maintain our focus on what is important.

...

These are serious times, and our nation faces serious issues. The direction that America is headed requires serious discussion by serious people, and Howard Stern is not a serious person. We cannot allow attacks from him or anybody else to distract us from a laser focus on what is truly important: holding President Obama and his Democratic allies accountable for their mortgaging of our future. I know you share my determination and, with your help, our message of prosperity for our nation's future will drown out the noise of their attacks.

Palin Impersonator Crashes Conservative Confab

2012-02-11T20:25:00Z

A convincing Sarah Palin impersonator, sitting in the Woodley Park Noodes & Co. near the hotel hosting the Conservative Political Action Conference, said she will not endorse Newt Gingrich during Sarah Palin's speech at CPAC on Saturday -- because, in fact, she is not (as reporters learned afterward) Sarah Palin.

The woman, who calls herself "the world's premier Sarah Palin impressionist," winked and used a folksy voice while discussing the need for the political process to work its course before she endorsed. "It's cold here in Washington!" she said, then stammering, "And Alaska."

Click here for HuffPost's CPAC live blog. Below, a photo of the woman impersonating Palin.

WATCH: Woman Confronts Romney About Offshore Funds

2012-02-11T20:21:16Z

Mitt Romney was forced to defend his offshore accounts on Friday when confronted by a woman at a town hall event in Maine, CBS News reports.

"Do you think it's patriotic of you to stash away your money in the Cayman Islands?" the woman asked, according to a video of the event, available above.

After the jeers and boos from the crowd subsided, the former Governor of Massachusetts said, "That's okay, that's a good question. C'mon, I gotta take some shots now and then or it won't be interesting."

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE

Romney proceeded to explain that a he doesn't manage his money. Instead, a blind trustee has managed his money for the last ten years, because Romney "wanted to make sure I didn't have a conflict."

While he didn't address the question of "patriotism," he did say his offshore investments didn't save him any money on his taxes.

"I have not saved one dollar by having an investment somewhere outside this country," Romney said. "The investment in an offshore account was to invest back here in the United States and the reason it was there they explained was so foreign investors could also invest in that entity. So I pay all the taxes I'm required to pay under the law, and by the way, not a dollar more. Thank you."

The crowed erupted in applause after Romney answered.

Following pressure from other Republican presidential candidates and from the media, Romney in January released his 2010 tax returns and estimates for his 2011 filings. The Associated Press reported days before the records were released that Romney's offshore accounts could contain between $7 million and $32 million.

"There have been reports that these investments are evading taxes," Brad Malt, Romney's tax lawyer, said in a conference call when the tax returns were made public. "Again that is flatly wrong...The blind trust's investment in the Cayman funds is taxed the same as if Governor Romney made the investments himself."

The Associated Press reports:

Independent tax policy experts said Romney's use of the Cayman-based investments was legal, but some criticized the strategy as a province of wealthy investors allowed by a tax code studded with loopholes.
"The bottom line is, they're taking advantage of a system that's flawed," said Nicole Tichon, director of Tax Justice Network USA, part of a global network promoting tax transparency. "It may be legal, but these are loopholes that show problems in our tax code."

Romney currently leads the Republican presidential contest with 112 delegates. 1,144 delegates are needed to secure the party's nomination.

Sen. Barbara Boxer: Time to End Political Attacks on Contraception

2012-02-11T20:02:13Z

With his announcement on Friday, President Obama affirmed that we must protect women's health and the religious freedom of all.

The president's effort to work with all sides to find the middle ground has garnered support from groups ranging from Planned Parenthood and the National Organization for Woman to the Catholic Health Association, Catholic Charities USA and Catholics United. With organizations and individuals across the political spectrum expressing support for the administration's move, now is the time to put an end to the political attacks on women's access to contraception.

But some people just don't know how to take yes for an answer. They don't understand what a true compromise is.

Speaker Boehner and Republicans in Congress continue to inject a right-wing political agenda into the issue of women's health care.

It began with an effort to defund family planning programs -- and shut down the government -- over politics. Then several weeks ago, we saw a move to limit women's access to life-saving breast cancer screenings -- once again, over a narrow political agenda.

And now, congressional Republicans continue to position themselves outside the mainstream.

As the Los Angeles Times reported on Friday, they are "reluctant" to let go of the birth control issue.

But this is the 21st century.

Ninety-nine percent of women, including 98 percent of Catholic women have used birth control. And 77 percent of Catholic women voters support requiring insurance plans to cover contraception for free.

While we will always stand up and fight to make sure politics and an ideological agenda don't come between a woman and her health care, now is the time to move on.

Let's move on to making sure our families are healthy. Let's move on to growing our economy. And let's move on to creating jobs and getting people back to work.

The agreement forged by the president should allow us to do just that.

Maine Caucuses: A Chance For Paul To Shine?

2012-02-11T19:36:06Z

WASHINGTON -- The most important thing to know about the Republican caucuses in Maine that will report their results Saturday night is that turnout four years ago was extremely low.

How low? Four years ago, just 5,338 Republicans participated. Total. In a state with just over a million adults eligible to vote, that amounts to a turnout rate of 0.52 percent.

How low? By comparison, as a percentage of the voting-eligible population, the turnouts for this month's Colorado, Minnesota and Nevada caucuses were 2 to 3 times higher. The turnout for Iowa's caucuses in early January was more than 12 times higher.

How low? The turnout rate for Maine's 2008 Republican Caucuses was even lower than the turnout for the Ames Iowa Straw Poll in August, both in absolute terms (Ames attracted 16,892 Iowa Republicans) and as a percentage of Iowa's eligible adults (0.75 percent).

Keep in mind that first two winners of the Ames Straw poll -- Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), with 29 percent, and Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), 28 percent -- went on to receive far less support in the full Iowa caucuses in January (5 and 21 percent respectively).

The lesson from the Ames Straw Poll is that a combination of strong organization and die-hard support can combine to produce unpredictable results in extremely low turnout contests. Paul's campaign had that combination for the Ames vote and may well have it again Saturday in Maine.

Recent polling, which had been sparse before the other early February caucuses, has been non-existent for Maine, due the virtually insurmountable challenge of sampling this sort of micro-electorate.

Anecdotal reports, however, suggest that this may be Paul's best chance for a victory: Exeter Patch reports that Paul's supporters turned out in force Saturday morning at one Maine caucus site.

"His people are the most organized here," according to one caucus worker. Patch reporter Jason Claffery also found "zero presence" for the Gingrich and Santorum campaigns.

"Ron Paul has made a strong play for Maine," the Associated Press reports, "making it essentially a two-man contest since Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum aren't actively competing there." Meanwhile, according to AP, Mitt Romney's campaign and affiliated super PAC have been "all but absent" from Maine with a "virtually nonexistent" television advertising presence.

Finally, Public Policy Polling (PPP), the Democratic-affiliated firm that conducted polls for the earlier caucuses but conducted a recent tracking poll in Maine, posted an analysis casting some doubt on the conventional wisdom that Romney should run strong in a state like Maine due to its proximity to New Hampshire (which Romney won by a comfortable margin) and Massachusetts (where Romney served as Governor).

"Maine GOPers are definitely not in love with Romney," writes PPP's Tom Jensen, noting that Romney had trailed Herman Cain in a survey PPP conducted there in October. Romney's favorable rating at the time was net positive (51 percent favorable, 37 percent unfavorable) though far lower than the rating Romney received on a PPP poll in neighboring New Hampshire in December (63 percent favorable, 30 percent unfavorable).

The PPP analysis also points out that while Paul was "not that popular with Maine Republicans" (his rating was 34 percent favorable, 51 percent unfavorable), "that doesn't mean Paul can't win." Motivate enough hard-core supporters to participate in a low-turnout caucus, and the numbers on the October PPP poll might be less relevant.

Will that strategy work for Paul in Maine? We should know the answer in a few hours. Caucus results are expected Saturday night, sometime after 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time.

Under Pressure, Obama Exempts Religious Groups From Contraception Rule

2012-02-11T19:35:48Z

By David Gibson
Religion News Service

(RNS) Facing growing furor from religious groups, President Obama on Friday (Feb. 10) unveiled an "accommodation" in which health insurance companies, rather than religious institutions, will provide employees with contraception coverage.

The revised approach effectively removes all faith-based organizations -- not just houses of worship but also hospitals and universities -- from covering employees' contraception costs.

"Every woman should be in control of the decisions that affect her own health," Obama said in a midday address at the White House.

"Now, as we move to implement this rule, however, we've been mindful that there's another principle at stake here -- and that's the principle of religious liberty, an inalienable right that is enshrined in our Constitution," Obama said. "As a citizen and as a Christian, I cherish this right."

At issue was a mandate, part of Obama's 2009 health care overhaul, that employers provide free birth control coverage. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced the mandate Jan. 20.

Religious groups, particularly Catholics, fiercely objected, saying the federal government should not force institutions to violate the tenets of their faith. Women's advocates argued that employees should have access to birth control regardless of where they work.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which led the charge against the contraception mandate, said on Friday that it would study the revised rule.

"While there may be an openness to respond to some of our concerns, we reserve judgment on the details until we have them," said Cardinal-designate Timothy Dolan, president of USCCB.

"We hope to work with the administration to guarantee that Americans' consciences and our religious freedom are not harmed by these regulations."

Obama was under fierce pressure to forge a compromise. Conservatives labeled the mandate an abridgment of religious freedom, a rallying cry taken up by GOP presidential candidates, including front-runner Mitt Romney.

Under the new plan, a religiously affiliated institution would not be required to provide contraception coverage. Rather, the institution's insurance company would offer the coverage for free and without raising premiums.

Sister Carol Keehan, head of the Catholic Health Association, an umbrella group for more than 600 Catholic hospitals, said Friday she was "very pleased" with Obama's compromise, which she said "protects the religious liberty and conscience rights of Catholic institutions."

Keehan was a key supporter of the president's health care reform law -- against the wishes of the U.S. Catholic bishops -- but she had voiced strong criticism of the initial contraception regulations.

Keehan was joined by a range of progressive Catholic groups and leaders in praising the new rules. Many of them had been upset with the administration's initial decision on the mandate.

Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood, also welcomed Friday's decision.

"We believe the compliance mechanism does not compromise a woman's ability to access these critical birth control benefits," Richards said.

The furor over the contraception mandate appeared to catch the White House off guard, as it struggled to keep the focus on access to contraception, which is broadly used by American women, even Catholics.

Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski told CNN he thought Obama is "just kicking the can down the road."

"He's hasn't really addressed our concerns," Wenski said. "I think the only thing to do is...to take back the whole thing."

In recent days, as they sensed the political tide turning in their favor, several USCCB officials have indicated they wanted to go for more than just a broader exemption and wanted the entire contraception mandate eliminated.

That tack may have less appeal in light of the White House's new plan. But that may not stop Catholic conservatives from keeping up the pressure on Obama.

William Donohue, president of the conservative Catholic League, called the new policy a "ploy" and said Catholics "will only be impelled to revolt."

Family Research Council President Tony Perkins likewise called the proposal "paperwork gimmicks."

"This revised HHS mandate does nothing to change the fundamentally anti-religious, anti-conscience and anti-life contraceptive mandate," he said.

On the other side, some abortion rights supporters were also unhappy.

"This administration has shown that it will not stand with women when it comes to supporting access to, and easing the availability of, reproductive healthcare services," said Jon O'Brien, head of Catholics for Choice. "One wonders what has been gained by this 'accommodation.' It certainly isn't the support of Catholics."

Walker: 'Lord Help Us If We Fail'

2012-02-11T19:04:54Z

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker (R) gave a passionate speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference Friday, rallying against recall election efforts that he said could do lasting damage.

"Lord help us if we fail," Walker said. "I'm not planning on it, but if we were to fail, I think this sets aside any courageous act in American politics for at least a decade if not a generation."

"This recall isn't about me and it isn't just about who will be the Governor of Wisconsin," Walker continued. "It is about all of us and whether or not we can make bold decisions for the future."

Walker said the "swift action" he took to help the state's economy -- which included a controversial budget proposal that stripped public workers of their collective bargaining rights and caused union uproar -- was necessary to "fix" the fiscal crisis and show "Wisconsin is open for business."

"Collective bargaining is not a right," Walker said. "In the public sector, it is an expensive entitlement."

Walker criticized protesters who have disrupted government events and those who "bust in" outside his home. Protesters have rallied at the state capital since February 2011 in protest of Walker and his budget legislation.

Click here for more updates from CPAC 2012.

Bill McKibben: Keystone XL: Time for the Senate to Show Some Courage

2012-02-11T18:49:00Z

At least for now, the battle over the Keystone Pipeline -- the most visible environmental cause in many years -- has moved from the scarred boreal forest of Alberta and the Sand Hills of Nebraska to the halls of Congress. Or rather, it's moved to send button on your email application, because that's the best way we've got right now to stiffen the spines of our Senators.

Beginning at noon on Monday, the progressive community will focus for 24 solid hours on the Keystone battle. We'll try to generate half a million emails to the Senate -- the most concentrated burst of environmental advocacy this millennium. We'll know if it works if the Democrats who control the chamber do one simple thing: back their president.

Barack Obama did the brave thing. He stood up to the American Petroleum Institute (a.k.a. big oil) and their explicit threat to exact 'huge political consequences' unless he granted Keystone an immediate permit. And the GOP did the expected thing -- all along they've voted with near unanimity to speed up the pipeline. That's par for the course from a party awash in oily money -- a party whose leaders vie to denounce global warming as a hoax, and whose current frontrunner believes that thanks to the EPA Americans are living through 'a reign of environmental terror.'

But the Senate is in the hands of a Democratic majority, whose leader Harry Reid has said the right things about Keystone -- namely that the tarsands it connects to are an "unsustainable supply of dirty and polluting oil." These Democrats know that the biggest labor unions in the country are backing the president, and they know that every environmental group is firm in its opposition, from the corporate friendly Environmental Defense Fund to the corporate unfriendly Rainforest Action Network. And yet these Senators still wobble -- we keep hearing rumors that one or another of them will cut a deal with the oil industry.

In fact, one already has. Joe Manchin, of West Virginia, has said he'll vote for Keystone. And what do you know -- he's taken more money from the fossil fuel industry than any other Democrat in the chamber. Many of the rest of the Democrats have taken industry money too, but usually far less than the Republicans. My guess is that they actually want to do the right thing, but they're scared -- scared that the oil industry will run ads against them at election time, scared that no one will come to their defense. In a way it's kind of sad to see Senators living in fear, but that's how it works.

And so to the keyboards. We've been to jail, we've marched on Washington; this week it's pixels and keystrokes. This electronic blitz is an effort to show Congress that there's support out there for doing the right thing -- that the American people know the stakes and that they want to see a little bit of the president's courage on this issue reflected in the Senate. This Congress is clearly not going to solve global warming -- no one expects Harry Reid to work miracles, converting implacable Republican opponents. But they can clearly hold the line if they want to. Maybe a letter or two -- or half a million all at once -- will nerve them up.

Senator Moved To Stroke Rehab Center

2012-02-11T18:33:05Z

CHICAGO — Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk has left the Chicago hospital where he was treated after his stroke last month and has been transferred to a rehabilitation center.

Dr. Richard Harvey of the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago says a team of experts will spend the next few days assessing the 52-year-old Republican's condition. They will also design a rehabilitation program for him.

The doctor said Friday that Kirk's good general health and fitness level before his stroke will work in his favor as he recovers.

On Tuesday, the senator's neurosurgeon said swelling in Kirk's brain had subsided and a portion of his skull that had been removed was reattached.

The stroke is expected to affect movement on the left side of Kirk's body.