We are seeing this culture of death strengthen its foundations when we let bullies have their way with public policy and nonprofits and their corporate sponsors, and when the federal government tells religious Americans they must comply with a radical ideology or be fined — and mercilessly ridiculed, dismissed, or discredited, whatever the facts.

More here.

(Why the Saturday Night Live mention?)

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 him apart from the GOP field. http://is.gd/hkpks0

I like Rick Perry for promoting federalism. But then why is he suing Virginia in federal court to get on the ballot? http://is.gd/lEKYWn

Rick Perry no longer supports abortion in the case of rape. He was convinced after talking with pro-life attorney Rebecca Kiessling, who was born after her birthmother was a victim of sexual assault. http://is.gd/aqBrsh

Former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson formally joins the Libertarian Party, ending his bid for the GOP presidential nomination and declares himself a candidate for the president under the Libertarian Party. We might make a difference on who wins New Mexico. http://is.gd/oumNsV

With the retirement of Sen. Ben Nelson, D-NE, the Democrats’ chances of retaining the Senate in 2012 get dimmer. But they’ll face an even harsher 2014. http://is.gd/5Svqqi

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 editorial (sorta) against the lack of religious exemptions in the HHS mandate (but not without taking a swipe at our bishops).http://is.gd/PQjZsI

You must read this devastating review of George McGovern’s new book by CV blogger Mark Stricherz over at The Public Discourse. (I didn’t know that about his daughter’s abortion nor that she died of alcoholism.)  http://is.gd/LXWI3Y

I tip my hat today to Dale Hansen, a TV sportscaster at WFAA in Dallas, who spoke courageously on the air about the critical need to protect children from sexual abuse. http://is.gd/2Up45G

Conservative columnist Matt Lewis says that a Ron Paul win in Iowa will increase Mitt Romney’s chances of winning the nomination. http://is.gd/Ghrn2d

Newt Gingrich forced to leave Iowa to gather signatures in Virginia to get on the state’s ballot. http://is.gd/1VF1tj

Is there a Rick Santorum surge going on? http://is.gd/w4V7bb

Pro-family activist Bob Vander Plaats denies that he explicitly asked Michele Bachmann to drop out of the race. Frankly, I like his chutzpah. http://is.gd/wb2eMT

Life magazine releases breathtaking vivid color photos from the Battle of the Bulge. http://is.gd/caR44L

U.S. existing homes sold since 2007 is revised down by 14%. http://is.gd/poeWXA

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

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 McClatchy poll has Newt in 2^nd place, with Cain dropping to 3^rd. http://cvote.to/8B

Both Virginia’s and now Mississippi’s Legislatures have flipped to full Republican control. http://cvote.to/8C

Texas Gov. Rick Perry went on a damage control tour after his debate “brain freeze.” He did all the morning news shows and recited the Top Ten list on Letterman. http://cvote.to/8D

Herman Cain also had gaffes. Cain apologized for calling House Minority Pelosi by the nickname ‘Princess Pelosi.’ In Michigan yesterday, he said: “How do you beat Obama – beat him with a Cain.” http://cvote.to/8E Cain then later jokingly asked if Anita Hill, who accused Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment, would be endorsing him. http://cvote.to/8F

Republicans take over Virginia Senate, pending a recount. Bryce Reeves (right) has an 86 vote lead. If that holds, the GOP will control both house of the Legislature and the Governor’s office. http://cvote.to/7w

Ohio voters rejected GOP’s public union reform plan but also rejected President Obama’s health care mandate. http://cvote.to/80

John McCormick in the Weekly Standard: “Why Did Anti-Abortion Mississippi vote down the Personhood Amendment”? http://cvote.to/7x

Penn State head coach Joe Paterno will resign at the end of the season. Paterno is under criticism for not doing enough to report sex abuse charges against a former assistant coach. http://cvote.to/7s

The Obama administration has announced a 15-cent Christmas tree tax. http://cvote.to/7t

Dorothy Rabinowitz: “Why Gingrich Could Win.” http://cvote.to/7u

Atheocracy.  A new word, and a real threat.  Denver’s Bishop James Conley explains. http://cvote.to/7v

Siena College, which is Catholic, invites a speaker to campus who says the Catholic Church has “blood on their hands.” http://cvote.to/7y

22 years ago today, the Berlin Wall was finally opened and the people of East Germany were no longer imprisoned. Why we must always remember. http://cvote.to/7r

It’s been 88 years since a non-Democrat won New York’s 9^th Congressional District, held recently by scandal-tarnished Anthony Weiner. The New York City district covers portions of Queens and Brooklyn. But yesterday, pro-life and pro-family Catholic Bob Turner won the seat by a large margin, 54% to 46%. Mark Amodei, the Republican, also easily won the special election in Nevada’s 2^nd Congressional District 58% to 36% over NARAL-endorsed Kate Marshall. NPR called the two defeats “demoralizing” for Democrats. http://cvote.to/3D

While the number of pro-abortion Republicans has plummeted since the mid-1990s, there are still some that get elected. One is Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval, who professes to be Catholic. Yesterday Sandoval endorsed Rick Perry’s presidential campaign. Political reporter Jon Ralston says Sandoval and Perry have a “strong friendship.” http://cvote.to/3E Would Rick Perry consider naming the Hispanic governor of a swing state as his running mate? If he did, he would violate his pledge with the Susan B. Anthony List. The Texas governor pledged to “select pro-life appointees for relevant Cabinet and Executive Branch positions.”   http://cvote.to/3F (PDF). But the endorsement will likely help Perry compete in the Nevada caucuses (an early voting state in the presidential primaries). Nevada, with its large Mormon population, was once considered an easy Romney win, but a recent poll in Nevada showed Perry actually leading Romney. http://cvote.to/3G

Yeah, Rick Perry low-balled the amount of money he’s received from Merck by a factor of five. His PAC received $28,000 from the pharmaceutical company which produces the Gardasil vaccination that Perry forced all Texas girls to receive. http://cvote.to/3H Voters will have to determine whether this amount of money proves that Perry’s motivations were not as pure as he claims. Michele Bachmann has relentlessly pushed the issue, even after Perry backed down and admitted his order was a mistake. In fact radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh thinks Bachmann’s decision to cite a mother claiming Gardasil caused her daughter to become mentally handicapped proves that Bachmann may have ‘jumped the shark’ – a pop culture reference that means a once credible force has now become a farce. http://cvote.to/3I

ABC News is uncovered embarrassing details of the Obama administration influence in securing a $535 million loan to a Solyndra, a “green energy” firm that recently went bankrupt and shut its doors two weeks ago. The firm is now the subject of a criminal investigation and their factory was raided by the FBI in a joint investigation with the Energy Department’s inspector general. ABC News noted: “One of the largest private investors in the deal, Oklahoma billionaire George Kaiser, was also a prominent fundraiser for Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign.” http://cvote.to/3J

Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, a pro-life Republican (and Catholic) enjoys sky-high approval ratings from just about every demographic. 61% of Virginians approve of the job he’s doing, including 79% of Republicans and 67% of independents. He’s managed to get even footing among Democratic voters (39% in support and 40% opposed). A plurality of Blacks also approve of McDonnell, with 46% in support and 32% opposed. http://cvote.to/3M Conservative blogger Christian Heinze says this poll will amplify talk of McDonnell as a possible Vice Presidential pick next year — especially since Virginia is a definite swing state next year. http://cvote.to/3N Virginia’s Constitution only allows governors to serve one consecutive term.

Other articles of interest:

Democrats on the Hill pick apart Obama’s jobs plan. http://cvote.to/3P

Just 21% of Americans believe our mission in Afghanistan has been accomplished. http://cvote.to/3K

When we give Congress the power to regulate so much economic activity, then we shouldn’t be surprised that 5,400 former Capitol Hill staffers in just the past decade have cashed out and become lobbyists? http://cvote.to/3L

Dr. Gerard Nadal is the new National Director of Med Students for Life. http://cvote.to/3O

Virginia Sen. Jim Webb‘s decision not to seek re-election creates an open seat in traditionally Republican territory that could further tilt the map in the GOP’s favor as they aim to win back the Senate in 2012.

Right now, it is expected that Republicans will nominate former Senator George Allen. He lost to Webb in large part to his insulting use of ‘macaca’ to one of his opponent’s campaign workers (who would videotape all of Allen’s speeches). Now Allen wants to win his seat back. Allen, like most Virginia Republicans these days, is pro-life. But that wasn’t always the case. Pro-abortion Republican John Warner served in the Senate from 1979 to 2007.

Since this Senate seat will be held along side the Presidential election, the winner of the race might very well depend on who wins the White House. Barack Obama was the first Democrat to win the Old Dominion since LBJ’s landslide in 1964. And the population in Northern Virginia continues to grow (and they tend to support Democrats).

But since the 2008 campaign, Virginia has been returning to its Republican trend. Bob McDonnell was elected governor and Ken Cuccinelli elected attorney general in 2009. (Cuccinelli garnered national attention for leading the fight against Obamacare in federal court.)

In 2010, Virginia Republicans added to these gains by defeating three House Democrats: Rick Boucher (in office since 1982) and Glenn Nye and Tom Perriello (both freshmen).

Tom Perriello, you might remember, co-founded of Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good, an organization which has made excuses for supporting pro-abortion candidates.

If former Gov. Tim Kaine (now the DNC chair) decides not to run for this Senate seat, Tom Perriello is a name frequently mentioned as a candidate. During the last week of the campaign, President Obama dropped into southwest Virginia to help Tom Perriello in his effort to win reelection. It didn’t help.

But even though Obama didn’t help Perriello win in southwest Virginia last year, having the President’s name at the top of the ticket might help a Democrat win this statewide race in 2012. No matter who the Democrats nominate, Republicans should expect this to be a spirited contest.

“An individual’s personal decision to purchase — or decline purchase — (of) health insurance from a private provider is beyond the historical reach” of the U.S. Constitution, Judge Henry Hudson wrote. “No specifically constitutional authority exists to mandate the purchase of health insurance.”

This news comes on the same day that ABC News is reporting that public support for the new health care law dropped to a new low of 43 percent.

Leading the constitutional charge against this mandate is Virginia’s attorney general. Said Kathryn Lopez, “Needless to say a big winner in the VA health-care ruling is Ken Cuccinelli.”

Ken Cuccinelli

Indeed. One has to think that George Allen is fuming at all the attention that Cuccinelli is getting today. The former Senator wants his old job back and it looks like Jim Webb (who defeated him) might not run for reelection. People had suspected that Allen would be first in line for the Republican nomination so he could try and return to the Senate.

But perhaps now, Republicans in Virginia will try to convince Ken Cuccinelli to continue his fight against Obamacare from the United States Senate.

Cuccinelli has solid pro-life and pro-family credentials. As attorney general, Cuccinelli concluded that the Commonwealth of Virginia could hold abortion clinics to the same standards as hospitals.

I’d reserve my judgment on Cuccinelli until I learn more about his record, but one thing is for sure: He would make a much better candidate than a recycled George Allen (famous for his bone-headed ‘macaca’ moment.)