Am I being too conspiratorial wondering why Rick Perry is talking about Rick Santorum being Catholic on the campaign trail in South Carolina? Via NBC: FLORENCE, SC — Speaking to media during an impromptu press conference Tuesday, Texas Gov. Rick Perry twice mentioned rival Rick Santorum’s Catholic faith in criticizing his record on fiscal issues. “Rick Santorum is a good man, he is ... More

Welcome to the Lunchtime Reader, where we assemble important stories to keep your eyes on. Romney is campaigning now in eastern Iowa, where he did well in 2008. http://is.gd/Dr8LRd Noteworthy: Romney did well in an area dominated by Catholics. (Dubuque is 75% Catholic). Just look at the map from 2008. http://is.gd/6vaE99 Rich Lowry says Santorum’s focus on families and the working class sets h... More

Welcome to the Lunchtime Reader, where we assemble important stories to keep your eyes on. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-OR Bipartisan support, finally! Rep. Paul Ryan, R-WI, teamed up with Oregon Democrat Sen. Ron Wyden on a new plan to reform Medicare. Wyden said it was time for conservatives and progressives to come together and “deal with the costs and demographic challenges.” It won’... More

Welcome to the Lunchtime Reader, where we assemble important stories to keep your eyes on. Mitt Romney suggests that Newt Gingrich should return over a million dollars in consulting money to failed housing giant Freddie Mac. Gingrich responds suggesting that Romney return money he earned at Bain for laying people off. Newt’s response backfires big time. http://is.gd/jqLHqv If Romney or Gingrich ... More

Welcome to the Lunchtime Reader, where we assemble important stories to keep your eyes on. There is little room for dissent with Kathleen Sebelius in charge, says WSJ columnist Bill McGurn. He gives a shout out to the new CatholicVote ad in his column. (Subscription might be required). http://is.gd/gzNO77 Too soon to call it a comeback, but Rick Perry climbs up to 13% in the latest Iowa poll. Per... More

Welcome to the Lunchtime Reader, where we assemble important stories to keep your eyes on. Catholic blogger Matthew Warner thinks Rick Perry’s new ad about gays in the military is overly simplistic red meat that doesn’t help the pro-marriage cause. (I think Matt’s right.) http://cvote.to/9m   Non-partisan political analyst Charlie Cook says Newt Gingrich’s campaign fundamentals are very... More

My, how the times change. Who would have believed even a couple months ago that Newt Gingrich would sweep CatholicVote’s Thanksgiving straw poll by a whopping 44%?! What’s propelling the Newt surge? My take is that many GOP primary voters are looking for someone who understands how the heck Washington works (or doesn’t) and who can explain to them in a believable way how he plans... More

Welcome to the Lunchtime Reader, where we assemble important stories to keep your eyes on. Another triumph for the aggressive secularist state: Catholic dioceses in IL drop lawsuit, will no longer provide foster care. http://cvote.to/8O Catholics have a duty to fight against pornography and its devastating spiritual and societal consequences, says family activist Patrick Trueman. http://cvote.to/8... More

Welcome to the Lunchtime Reader, where we assemble important stories to keep your eyes on.  Hooray! Supreme Court to hear challenge to Obamacare. http://cvote.to/8I Everyone in the political world is talking about this explosive 60 Minutes story about Congressmen making money on insider trading. The corruption will make your blood boil. http://cvote.to/8G Jay Newton-Small of TIME magazine says th... More

Welcome to the Lunchtime Reader, where we assemble important stories to keep your eyes on. Bishop Joseph P. McFadden of Harrisburg, PA: “School choice is a social justice issue.” http://cvote.to/88 Austin, Texas suspends law attacking pregnancy centers.  http://cvote.to/89 New national CBS poll has Cain 18, Romney 15, Gingrich 15; Cain losing support of women. PDF. http://cvote.to/8A But a M... More