Ambinder's analysis:
The announcement today does nothing to the law directly. That would take an act of Congress or a final finding by the judicial branch, probably the Supreme Court. But it changes the vector of the legal cases considerably. Privately, the administration believes that five justices of the Court, including Anthony Kennedy, the swing vote, would find parts of most of DOMA invalid if the federal government withdrew its arguments that the law was unconstitutional.
Port Moody, British Columbia, 9.43 am
Max Eden praises Daniels' moderation:
Mitch Daniels once again showed that he is not interested in running for president. And by doing so, he has shown why he should.
Governor Daniels has taken criticism for refusing to order Indiana state troopers to hunt down Democratic state legislators who have, like their Wisconsin counterparts, fled the state. If Daniels were truly interested in running for president he should forget the context of his job and try to one-up Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker for the spotlight. Yet Daniels refuses to forget his context and his job, and it may serve his critics well if they took 30 seconds to consider it.
Allahpundit attacks:
Daniels claims the Star mischaracterized his comments, insisting that he didn’t tell the legislature to drop the bill but merely said that, in his opinion, they should wait until next term. Why wait? Because, according to Daniels, the right-to-work bill is a big enough deal that it shouldn’t be taken up unless voters are expecting a debate on it. And because the GOP didn’t campaign on it last fall, voters aren’t expecting it this term. Which … is an interesting “good government” principle, but not a convincing one. If you have a legislative advantage, why not press it to advance your agenda and let the public deal with you at the polls next cycle? That’s precisely how the Democrats passed ObamaCare.
Except Obama did campaign on healthcare reform. Explicitly and clearly and in sometimes mind-numbing detail. Daniels' insistence, in contrast with Walker, that you should not impose a big change when you haven't campaigned on it, strikes me as the sensible position. And Daniels has as conservative a fiscal record as you can find in state government.
In a major shift, the DOJ will no longer defend the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act in the courts.
According to a blogger Malia Litman's account of a phone interview with a spokesman for the Anchorage Police Department, the APD has admirably corrected its initial statement to the National Enquirer regarding this unconfirmed story. Money quote from Litman:
"Officer Parker confirmed that the Officer Billiet was the officer who had spoken with William Fortier when the initial call was made regarding possible prostitution activities. Dave Parker did not know about Officer Billiet’s involvement or his tip from William Fortier. Thus Dave Parker confirmed that he did not have all the information when he prepared the press release for the National Enquirer.
Officer Parker confirmed that no attempt was made by him, and to his knowledge, by anyone with the Anchorage Police Department, to check the computer records or cell phone records of either Kashawn Thomas or Shailey Tripp. Thus he confirmed that the names of many people could be on the computer or cell phones seized, but he would not know about that.
Thus if Todd Palin’s name appeared on the cell phone or lap top of Shailey Tripp, Officer Parker was not in a position to confirm or deny that. He did say that 'rabid' anti-Palin people might try to 'conjure' something up. He did confirm that the cell phones and computer would be returned when both cases are closed, and that there would be no reason for any phone numbers or names to have been deleted.
In conclusion, the Press Release issued by the Anchorage Police Dept was inaccurate and misleading.
The 'evidence' seized, and 'examined' by the APD did include cell phones and computers, but they were not examined to determine if the name of Todd Palin appeared on them. There was a call placed to the Anchorage Police Department that ultimately led to the arrest of Shailey Tripp and Kashawn Thomas. Officer Parker just didn’t have all the information available at the time he prepared and issued the press release to the National Enquirer."
The original and now retracted statement from the APD allegedly came after one of Palin's lawyers allegedly called to ask them to deny allegations in the NE piece. So far, the National Enquirer's reporting holds up. But the police investigation will presumably get to the bottom of this. But it's unfortunate they first responded with inaccuracies.
"Use live ammunition," – Jeffrey Cox, a deputy attorney general for Indiana, responding to a report that riot police might be used to clear demonstrators from the capitol building in Madison, Wisconsin. Confronted about his comment, Cox doubled down.
Just when you're not expecting, she ruins your day:
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"I campaigned on [the proposals in the budget repair bill for Wisconsin] all throughout the election. Anybody who says they are shocked on this has been asleep for the past two years," – Wisconsin governor Scott Walker.
"We introduced a measure last week, a measure I ran on during the campaign, a measure I talked about in November during the transition, a measure I talked about in December when we fought off the employee contracts, an idea I talked about in the inauguration, an idea I talked about in the state of the state. If anyone doesn't know what's coming, they've been asleep for the past two years," – Scott Walker.
These two statements are untrue with respect to collective bargaining rights for some public sector unions, the crux of the current controversy. Politifact confirms the Dish's conclusion yesterday.
The GAO has a new report (PDF) on the enormous dangers.
The Dish 