This Tuesday, Missouri holds its Republican primary and Colorado and Minnesota hold their caucuses. If you have reservations about supporting Mitt Romney, and live in one of these three states, this is your last chance to prevent Mitt from winning the GOP nomination. To put it bluntly, I don’t think Newt Gingrich will be able to challenge Mitt Romney in a 1-on-1 race. Santorum has proven (in... More

… And no one is bleating anti-their-religion mantras against them with any credibility. Am I the only one who finds this pleasantly weird? K-Lo noted Rick Perry’s repeated references to Rick Santorum’s Catholicism down in South Carolina, perhaps because Perry was getting more support among Evangelical Protestants than was Perry, who is an Evangelical Protestant. Perhaps Perry was... More

Two important news items to watch today, with South Carolina’s crucial primary just one week away. Just a couple days ago, Newt Gingrich was in 2nd place in South Carolina polls, with Rick Santorum tied with Ron Paul in third. But after Newt attacked Mitt Romney for an entire week on his business career, an amazing thing happened: Romney’s numbers went up while Newt’s numbers wen... More

Newt failed to make the ballot in his adopted state of Virginia. There’s no doubt that ballot access in Virginia is onerous. You need 10,000 signatures (400 from each Congressional district) and only Virginia voters can collect the signatures. I think they need to change this law for next time. Nonetheless, the rules are the rules. And Romney and Paul both got on the ballot. Romney poked fun... More

Welcome to the Lunchtime Reader, where we assemble important stories to keep your eyes on. Veepwatch: New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez has sky-high approval ratings, has “conservative cred” and is a Hispanic woman.http://is.gd/R8lmjN Note: I’m not posting any polls from Iowa for a couple of days, as polling over Christmas is highly unreliable. But here’s a primer on how the Iowa Caucuses... More

Welcome to the Lunchtime Reader, where we assemble important stories to keep your eyes on. Don’t like the 2012 Republican presidential field? Blame George W. Bush, says conservative columnist Philip Klein. http://is.gd/uxXhFU Do you still support Herman Cain-style harsh anti-immigration rhetoric? Here’s your wake up call: “The Coming Latino Majority” in the U.S. Catholic Church. ... More

Welcome to the Lunchtime Reader, where we assemble important stories to keep your eyes on. Michael Sean Winters is not a right-winger. Michael Sean Winters of the National Catholic Reporter rails against the Obama administration for not providing a true religious exemption in their contraception mandate and also calls it bad politics. http://is.gd/WaNb1l Even Commonweal magazine published an ed... More

Welcome to the Lunchtime Reader, where we assemble important stories to keep your eyes on. One despicable leftist ad showed a Republican pushing a grandmother off of a cliff. Christmas comes early for Paul Ryan. Politifact calls the claim that “Republicans voted to end Medicare” as the “Lie of the Year 2011.” http://is.gd/vgJWIm GOP unhappiness with the field fuels buzz for... More

Welcome to the Lunchtime Reader, where we assemble important stories to keep your eyes on. Vaclev Havel was a playwright, anti-Communist, and former leader of a free Czech Republic. He died yesterday at 75. http://is.gd/5xzOCB Brutal North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il dead at age 69. Pray for the people suffering in North Korea. http://is.gd/yrGU23 Christopher Hitchens: Abortion survivor, post... More

Welcome to the Lunchtime Reader, where we assemble important stories to keep your eyes on. Pat Archbold is still praying for Christopher Hitchens, an atheist writer who passed away this morning. [Correction: he died last night.] http://is.gd/uOtopL Our own Thomas Peters encouraged Catholics to pray for Hitchens when word first broke out about his cancer back in 2010. http://is.gd/ZODe9L Pla... More