Politics Links, 3-11-12

Romney won enough states on Super Tuesday to cement his position as frontrunner and extend his delegate lead, but not enough to convince Gingrich, Paul, or Santorum to leave the race.  As a result, Romney's staff began responding to those who question his lack of decisive victories by arguing that the delegate math makes it impossible for any of the other candidates to win.

Santorum, meanwhile, won a decisive victory in Kansas on Saturday, extending his streak of winning every state in the middle of the country.

Meanwhile, turnout is down in the majority of Republican primaries to date -- with the exception of states with "open" primaries that allow Independents and Democrats to vote.

The economy added 227,000 jobs in February -- the third consecutive month with 200K+ jobs added -- and a wide range of figures indicate likely future growth


Harvard Economist (and Romney campaign consultant) Greg Mankiw provides a breakdown of what counts as ordinary earned income and what counts as capital gains using five examples where people make money off the sale of a house.

In a rare act of bipartisanship, the House passed the JOBS Act (Jumpstart Our Business Startups) by a vote of 390-23.  The bill is designed to make it easier for new businesses to obtain financing.

Female legislators in Georgia's State Senate walked out last week to protest votes on limiting access to contraception and abortions -- what they called "a war on women"

Olympia Snowe, a moderate Republican Senator from Maine, has decided not to run again because she sees little possibility of progress given the partisan gridlock

Illegal border crossings along the Mexican border have decreased by about 2/3 over the past six years, but there's been an uptick in violent confrontations