Obama would lose Pennsylvania if the election were held today, says Paul Kanjorski. http://cvote.to/9B  Kanjorski is a Democrat from Scranton who lost his House seat in 2010.

And by the way, CatholicVote.org’s PAC had something to do with that defeat. http://cvote.to/9C  

Fred Barnes has a must-read article on the unheralded successes of the pro-life movement, which I didn’t notice until now. http://cvote.to/9A

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli is expected to announce a run for governor in days. Cuccinelli is a pro-life Catholic who gained national attention for filing a lawsuit against Obamacare. The election will be held in 2013. http://cvote.to/9D

I love Tim Pawlenty, but his explanation of why he ‘whiffed’ on attacking Romney over “Obamneycare” is just painful. http://cvote.to/9E

A local union leader in Michigan writes in the Detroit News about how the new EPA regulations will ‘devastate’ his state’s economy. http://cvote.to/9F

The Illinois Supreme Court to hear parental notification case. http://cvote.to/9G

There’s fury in Germany after George Papandreou, Greece’s President called upon the people of Greece to vote on the austerity package. Expect stocks worldwide to plummet. http://cvote.to/78

Echoing CV Blogger Mark Stricherz, Ramesh Ponnuru says the flat tax is fool’s gold. http://cvote.to/76

Gays begin a boycott of Chick-Fil-A because their charitable arm supports groups which promote marriage as a union of one man and one woman. http://cvote.to/77

Two people who worked for abortionist Kermit Gosnell plead guilty to murder (warning: graphic details). http://cvote.to/79

Jonah Goldberg says right now could have been Tim Pawlenty’s Moment. (He was my favorite candidate…) http://cvote.to/7A

Why the U.S. needs DOMA. http://cvote.to/7B

US House votes today on resolution that reaffirms “In God We Trust” as the official US motto. http://cvote.to/7C

Mitt Romney and Rick Perry scrapped just hours before the GOP debate in Orlando tonight on Fox News at 9 pm ET. Picking up on the concern that Perry might have a tough time winning suburban voters, Tim Pawlenty wrote an op-ed for Politico with the not-so-subtle title: “Romney is electable.” http://cvote.to/4C It’s still early, but Mitt Romney is running away with it in New Hampshire with a commanding 41%, with Ron Paul in second place at 14%, Jon Huntsman in third at 10%, and Perry in fourth with 8%. http://cvote.to/4D The margin of error on the poll is +/- 4.9%. But in Florida, Rick Perry is on top with 31% to Romney’s 22%. Then it’s Gingrich and Cain each at 8%, with Bachmann at fifth with 7%. http://cvote.to/4E Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback will be Rick Perry’s guest at the debate tonight. Brownback, a convert to Catholicism, endorsed Perry this morning. http://cvote.to/4F

The heavily-gerrymandered new Congressional map drawn up by the Illinois Legislature and signed into law by Democrat Gov. Pat Quinn is now under attack by three black Democratic Congressmen. Reps. Jesse Jackson Jr., Bobby Rush, and Danny Davis have concerns that the new map does not adequately adhere to the Voting Rights Act, which prevents large ethnic populations from being splintered in many different districts through the creation of majority-minority districts. Under the new map, there are three districts which have a black majority, but only one district that is majority Hispanic. This despite the fact that there are more Latinos in Illinois than blacks. One remedy would be the addition of another Latino-majority district. Republicans would support that plan because they believe it would help them keep suburban districts. If the current plan remains unchanged, the GOP could lose as many as five seats in Illinois. http://cvote.to/4G

Pope Benedict XVI returns to his native Germany. If you do nothing else, quickly read his speech to the German Parliament. Quick excerpt: “Unlike other great religions, Christianity has never proposed a revealed body of law to the State and to society, that is to say a juridical order derived from revelation. Instead, it has pointed to nature and reason as the true sources of law – and to the harmony of objective and subjective reason, which naturally presupposes that both spheres are rooted in the creative reason of God.” I thank God every day he is our Shepherd. http://cvote.to/4H

Other articles of interest:

A state-by-state analysis of how unemployment might affect the presidential race in 2012. http://cvote.to/4I

A limited, means-tested voucher bill passed the Ohio Senate last night 12-10, setting the stage for a full House vote this fall. If the measure passes the House, Republican Gov. John Kasich is expected to sign the bill into law. http://cvote.to/4J

Read a great profile on Father Robert Barron’s exciting new DVD series “Catholicism” by Tim Drake over at the National Catholic Register. http://cvote.to/4K

Former employees of the now bankrupt Solyndra say the company went hog wild on spending as soon as they received $535 million grant from the Obama administration. http://cvote.to/4L

A human rights activist is glad that Congress is holding hearings on how China’s one-child policy is brutally enforced. http://cvote.to/4M

Election 2012

Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty endorses Mitt Romney for President. http://cvote.to/2k Political analyst Larry Sabato says that Pawlenty is unlikely to be Mitt’s running mate since they are both northern governors. http://cvote.to/2l Katrina Trinko of National Review Online notes that at the last debate, Pawlenty didn’t just criticize Romney’s health care plan, but also Romney’s record of high state spending and liberal judicial nominees. http://cvote.to/2m

GOP presidential debate in Tampa tonight at 8 p.m. ET on CNN. Politico has six things to watch for in the debate (hint: Social Security). http://cvote.to/2n The L.A. Times interviewed seniors in Tampa about Rick Perry calling Social Security a ‘Ponzi scheme.’ The responses should that the issue is thorny, but not a death knell. http://cvote.to/2n

Political analyst Larry Sabato outlined some Electoral College scenario possibilities for the 2012 presidential election, including the real chance of a nightmare 269-269 tie, which would throw the presidential election into the U.S. House of Representatives. http://cvote.to/2t There’s a simple way to prevent this possibility: Increase the size of the House by one. Yours truly outlined this almost a year ago. http://cvote.to/2u

Special elections happen tomorrow in Nevada’s 2nd and New York 9th and Republicans might win both. The New York race is to fill the seat of Democrat Anthony Weiner, who left office after a sending inappropriate images to women who were not his wife. Republican Bob Turner is a pro-life and pro-marriage Catholic who might just win an upset in this district that covers parts of Queens and Brooklyn. Polling for a Democratic firm show him leading over Democrat David Weprin 47% to 41%. The poll noted that Jewish voters upset over President Obama’s stance on Israel were supporting Republican Bob Turner, who leads with the Jewish vote 56% to 39% http://cvote.to/2p.  The National Organization for Marriage noted that this poll showed another major reason that Bob Turner might win tomorrow. In that PPP poll, a plurality of voters in the 9^th District opposed so-called ‘same-sex’ marriage 45% to 41%. Of those polled, 55% said the issue of SSM was either very or somewhat important in deciding who they will support tomorrow. http://cvote.to/2q

Over in Nevada, the latest polls show Mark Amodei cruising to victory 50% to 37% over Kate Marshall (endorsed by EMILY’s List) in Nevada’s 2^nd. http://cvote.to/2o The race is being held to replace Republican Dean Heller who was appointed to the Senate seat of Republican John Ensign, who resigned several years after ethics complaints surrounding his extramarital affair.

The Chairman of the Pennsylvania Republican Party wants Rep. Pat Meehan, Rep. Jim Gerlach, or Rep. Charlie Dent to face off against Democrat Sen. Bob Casey next November. http://cvote.to/2x

Other articles of interest:

The President’s jobs proposal is nothing but a “$447 billion reelection plan” says James Pethokoukis of Reuters. He cites economists at Moody’s and George Mason University who note it will do little to boost the economy. http://cvote.to/2r

Green subsidies are a “breeding ground of corruption” says Tim Carney of the Washington Examiner, noting that companies with ties to the Democratic Party received billions in subsidies from the federal government. http://cvote.to/2s

Catholic schools in Indiana see a surge in enrollment because of a recent voucher bill became law. Amazing what freedom brings. http://cvote.to/2v

Pat Archbold recounts the horror of a young woman who so casually and loudly called a group of mentally handicapped runs ‘retards.’ http://cvote.to/2w

Chris Slattery founded EMC FrontLine Pregnancy Centers in New York City.

• Oral arguments begin today in a federal court in New York City. At issue is the City of New York‘s zealous attempt to eliminate the free speech rights of those who work for crisis pregnancy centers. Similar legislation was struck down in two separate decisions in federal court. The courts ruled that the Government cannot, consistent with the First Amendment, require a pro-life pregnancy-related service center to post a sign that would essentially compel Government mandated speech. The American Center for Law and Justice and the Alliance Defense Fund is involved in this case.
• Jennifer Fulwiler offers Five Reasons the Internet will make America more pro-life. For #5 she noted that it’s easier to find alternatives to abortion by going to Google. “The average person in the places I lived was probably not even aware that maternity homes and pro-life crisis pregnancy centers existed.” Read the rest from her list over at the National Catholic Register.
• After Tim Pawlenty‘s refusal to slam Mitt Romney over his health care plan in Monday’s presidential primary debate, Minnesota native Michael Moreland wondered over at the Mirror of Justice if folks from the North Star State are just too nice to be president. He noted that past Minnesota presidential candidates had the same problem: “Gene McCarthy was also reluctant to attack Robert Kennedy in the 1968 campaign (though McCarthy was privately disdainful of Kennedy), and Hubert Humphrey distanced himself from President Johnson and the Administration’s policy on the Vietnam War only very late in the 1968 general election campaign, which may have cost Humphrey the election against Nixon. Minnesotans’ civility and decency are a tonic for a coarsened political culture, but perhaps they have also been our undoing.” Question: Does this mean your blog editor shouldn’t bother ordering Mercer 2016 signs?

• David Rivkin, Jr., and Lee Casey are the lead attorneys representing 26 states challenging the constitutionality of Obamacare in the federal courts. They state in the WSJ: “The government’s lawyers keep changing their arguments as each one is exposed as constitutionally suspect.” One of the Obama administration‘s arguments in favor of the individual mandate (that requires all citizens to buy health insurance) is that there really was no difference between activity and inactivity since eventually a consumer would purchase some form of health care. Rivkin and Casey note: “But because the future consumption of nearly all existing goods and services is inevitable across the entire population, this argument means that Americans can then be compelled to purchase an infinite variety of goods and services chosen by Washington. Far from limiting what government can do, this is the ultimate enabling principle. Even Soviet apparatchiks, who told producers what to make, did not dare tell people what to buy.” Read the rest of the article here.
• T-Paw pulled his punch in last night’s GOP debate. Politico.com reports: “Tim Pawlenty’s puzzling decision at Monday’s debate to abandon a new line of attack on Mitt Romney’s health care record is prompting fresh doubts among members of his own party about his readiness to confront the GOP frontrunner. One day after Pawlenty linked Romney’s Massachusetts health care plan with the federal health reform law as ‘Obamneycare‘ in a nationally televised interview, the former Minnesota governor retreated from the sharp critique at the first debate featuring Romney.” Pawlenty has a solid pro-life and conservative record, but it was puzzling to see him backtrack from his attack on Mitt Romney’s health care plan (which President Obama said he modeled his plan after.) The reaction is nearly universal that Pawlenty has a ‘missed opportunity.’ “Debates are competitions – they are alpha dog battles,” explained longtime GOP ad man Alex Castellanos. “To win one, you have to create what I call an ‘MOS,’ a moment of strength. Tim Pawlenty had a chance to get in the ring tonight with the heavyweight champion and create such a moment. He refused to enter the ring. It was like LeBron refusing to take the big shot [Sunday] night.”
• Speaking of NBA star LeBron James, whose Miami Heat team lost to the Dallas Mavericks. Ohio Gov. John Kasich thumbed his nose at LeBron James by making all Dallas Maverick players and fans ‘honorary Ohians’ for a day. Last year, the NBA star announced that he was leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers to join the Miami Heat in a much-hyped 30-minute ESPN special that clearly has Ohioans still upset at LeBron.
• South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint is not running for president, but he likes Rep. Michele Bachmann, who exceeded expectations in last night’s debate.
• Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman will announce his candidacy for president next week with the Statue of Liberty as a backdrop.

• Well-respected Catholic scholar Robert George slammed presidential candidate Herman Cain for saying he would only hire a Muslim only after they have agreed to a degree of “loyalty proof” to the Constitution, a loyalty he would not demand of other faiths. Robert George has a strong reputation as a pro-life and pro-marriage scholar. Professor George gave credit to Cain for standing strong on the life and marriage issue, but said that Cain needed “to do the right thing” and retract his comments on Muslims. “If his words are being reported accurately, what he said is wrong, foolish, and unacceptable. It is disrespectful of Muslims, the vast majority of whom in our country are, as Cain himself seems to acknowledge, loyal, honorable citizens; and it is incompatible with a sound understanding of religious freedom (and with the spirit, if not the letter, of the Constitution’s no-religious-tests clause). It puts Cain in a camp with Martha Coakley, the hapless Massachusetts Democrat who, when running against Scott Brown for the United States Senate, infamously said that devout Catholics should not work in emergency rooms inasmuch as they are unwilling to be involved in providing contraceptives and abortions,” said Robert George. Kudos to the Professor George for re-affirming the Framers wise decision to not include religious tests as a requirement for holding high office. We Catholics understand this issue. Read the rest over at Mirror of Justice.
• There are two competing visions of the Church competing in Detroit. A group called the American Catholic Council is hosting conference this weekend in the Motor City. They are calling for married priests as well as female priests. Archbishop Allen Vigneron has warned of severe penalties if any priest or deacon participates in this venue. Deacon Greg Kandra has more on this story at his blog The Deacon’s Bench over at Patheos.
• Former Gov. Tim Pawlenty‘s presidential campaign won the endorsement of Rep. Joe Wilson, a South Carolina Republican famous for shouting “You Lie” at President Obama during the State of the Union address. It’s Pawlenty’s first Congressional endorsement (outside of the Minnesota delegation). Considering South Carolina’s importance as the third state to vote during the primary schedule, the endorsement is a big one. The winner of the South Carolina primary has also gone on to win the Republican presidential nomination every time since 1980. And Pawlenty also got a great boost from former GE CEO Jack Welsh, who said on CNN last night: “Everything I see Tim Pawlenty say in the last month appeals to me.”

• The Minnesota House might vote as early as this afternoon to place a proposed Constitutional amendment that would define marriage as a union of one man and one woman before the voters in 2012. The Minnesota Senate has already approved the measure. Even before the House opened at 9 a.m. this morning both supporters and opponents of the amendment were lined up with placards defending their position. Brian Brown of the National Organization for Marriage is pleading with all Minnesotans to get involved today: “This issue could be taken up by the House of Representatives as early as this afternoon. We urgently need thousands of our supporters to email Republican legislators in Minnesota right away.” Visit this action page at NOM to get involved.
• On the topic of marriage, you can read my latest column at Headline Bistro: “Same-sex marriage is not inevitable.”
• And speaking of Minnesota, to no one’s surprise, former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty will formally announce he’s running for President on Monday with a speech in Iowa.
• Today marks 60 days since President Obama notified Congress under the War Powers Act that he sent American troops into action against Libya. Jaime Dupree of the Atlanta Journal Constitution notes: “And since the Congress has not authorized such military action, technically, U.S. military action must cease against Libya. So far though, the White House has not said anything publicly about how it will deal with this 60 day time frame, which was put into law during the Vietnam War by the Congress – passed over the veto of President Richard Nixon.”
• Bill McGurn unloads on Dick Notebaert, Notre Dame’s Chairman of the Board, for defending the decision to invite Roxanne Martino to serve on ND’s Board. Martino gave large sums of cash to Emily’s List, which should disqualify her from serving on the Board, McGurn says. “On the home page of it’s website, Emily’s List asks you to ‘HELP US ELECT PRO-CHOICE DEMOCRATIC WOMEN.’ Pace Mr. Notebaert, this is not a group that ‘also takes’ a view on abortion. Abortion is the issue here. Emily’s List has no other purpose. This is America’s premier group for electing pro-choice Democratic women.  If Ms. Martino in her innocence truly did not realize that elementary fact about an exceptionally well-established political group that she chose to give her money to, is this a person who belongs on a university’s board of trustees? And what does her decision to support that group over several years say about Mr. Notebaert’s claim that she is not pro-choice?”