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Huffington Post: Mitt Romney Slams Birth Control Decision Similar To One He Made In Massachusetts

On January 30, 2012, the Huffington Post reported:

The Mitt Romney campaign sharply criticized President Barack Obama's recent decision to require most religiously affiliated employers to offer their employees birth control coverage in an email to The New York Times Sunday, calling it a "direct attack on religious liberty." But in 2005, Romney made an almost identical decision as governor of Massachusetts.

GQ: How Your Oppo-Research Sausage Is Made: Bain Vs. Newt Edition

On January 30, 2012, GQ reported:

A couple weeks ago I met some of the guys from American Bridge, the pro-Democratic super-PAC, loafing around a restaurant in New Hampshire in between interviews. Pointing out how poorly the Republican candidates have fared in attacking Romney's economic record, American Bridge president Rodell Molineau told me his crew was "here to help" with that job. Unlike the other opposition research shops, which are usually affiliated with actual campaigns and do their business only on an anonymous basis, the unaligned American Bridge actually wants credit for landing hits. Curious to sample their wares, we said we'd be happy to oblige. Here's what they sent us:

Daily Caller: Richard Lugar Doesn’t Live Here Anymore

On January 30, 2012, The Daily Caller reported:

Indiana Republican Sen. Richard Lugar is running for re-election in a state he has not lived in for over 30 years. Lugar sold his home at 3200 Highwoods Court in Indianapolis shortly after first assuming office in 1977. But due to a loophole in Indiana law, both he and his wife Charlene Lugar are still registered to vote at that address.

POLITICO: Connie Mack Relishes Newt-Stalker Role

On January 29, 2012, POLITICO reported:

But Mack’s big splash into the presidential race has also earned him enhanced media scrutiny. After Mack’s critique of Gingrich for not talking about profits he made from Freddie Mac, The Miami Herald uncovered that the congressman had turned a profit off its cousin company, Fannie Mae.

POLITICO's Arena: Will The Meaner Mitt Win?

It looks now like Florida will be Romney's second victory of the primary, meaning that he will finally get back to where he thought he was three weeks ago. But the sudden shift in strategy indicates a short-sightedness that has to call into question his long-term viability as a candidate, to say nothing of whether he is capable of serving as president. Mitt Romney has tried to convince Republican primary voters that he is the only candidate capable of defeating Barack Obama. The decision to go after the low-hanging fruit that are Newt Gingrich's shortcomings does nothing to advance that purpose. If anything, it has to be a factor in why his unfavorable ratings have risen dramatically of late. Nobody liked Romney when he was the phony who was trying way too hard to get people to like him; now we see they like him even less as the phony who is bitter and nasty about it. Being seen as the boss who enjoys firing people is not the path to victory. Instead of playing Whack-a-Newt, the Romney campaign would have been better served handling the release of his tax returns in a manner that at least resembles a competent, professional organization. They botched it so badly that it actually raised more questions than it answered. They might have also tried a little bit of self-research, so that their candidate wasn't launching attacks against Newt (e.g., Fannie and Freddie) that left him vulnerable to attacks himself - not that American Bridge is complaining about that.

Akron Beacon Journal Editorial: Running Man

In a January 29, 2012 editorial, the Akron Beacon Journal wrote:

The Associated Press reported last week that Josh Mandel hasn’t been attending meetings of the state Board of Deposit. That isn’t a severe offense. State treasurers often send a designee. Yet Mandel is the first treasurer in recent memory who hasn’t made one appearance. [...] So what is Josh Mandel doing?

Miami Herald: Freddie Mac Attack Boomerangs On Connie Mack

On January 27, 2012, the Miami Herald reported:

And, it turns out, Mack and his wife, California Rep. Mary Bono Mack, have turned a profit as well off Fannie Mae, a government-sponsored enterprise that, along with Freddie Mac, is blamed for stoking the mortgage crisis.

ProgressVA: After Vehemently Opposing Stimulus, Allen Touts The Success Of Firms That Received Millions Of Dollars In Stimulus Grants

On January 27, 2012, ProgressVA posted the following:

Paying no heed to his months of criticism of a "failed stimulus", George Allen has spent the past two weeks touring and touting the economic successes of two Virginia firms that received millions of dollars in stimulus grants. January 21^st, Allen visited Ennis Electric Company, an "admirably managed" business in Manassas. Left out of Allen's praise for Ennis was the fact the firm has benefitted from nearly $14 million in stimulus funding. Unfortunately, this isn't the first time Allen's hypocrisy has caught up with him on the campaign trail. Earlier this month, Allen hosted a town hall meeting at Micron Technology, a firm that solicited and received $5 million in stimulus funds. Micron CEO Steve Appleton certainly didn't seem to agree with Allen's assessment of the stimulus program--he met with President Obama to show his support for the legislation in 2009.

BuzzFeed: Romney Camp Keeps Bad News Out Of The Emails

On January 26, 2012, BuzzFeed reported:

For example, last Monday, during a press call with Tim Pawlenty, a Miami Herald reporter asked the campaign surrogate about Romney's investments in Freddie Mac. "The Democratic group American Bridge has pointed out that Mitt Romney invested in these federal government loan ventures as well, and therefore his hands aren't clean," reporter Marc Caputo said. "Can you respond to that?" Pawlenty punted on the question--saying that he'd "have to ask the campaign to follow up with you." But when the Romney press shop e-mailed out a transcript of the call later that day, the exchange was nowhere to be found.

MEMO: 12 Things We Could Learn From Previous Romney Tax Returns

ICYMI: With Mitt Romney still refusing to release his pre-2010 returns, we wanted to be sure that you saw our previous memo explaining why it is so important that Mitt Romney release them. Click through for the 12 questions that Mitt Romney needs to answer by releasing his previous years’ tax returns.