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High court takes up health care. Lee backs Romney. Liquor law hearing.
Happy Monday. As the Supreme Court this morning takes up the controversial health care law and its requirement that all Americans purchase health insurance, a senior White House official is giving credit for the individual mandate to a person who'd rather not take it: Mitt Romney. David Plouffe, a top adviser to President Barack Obama, said Sunday on NBC's "Meet The Press" that Romney is the "godfather" of the Democrats' health care plan. [USAToday]
-> Sen. Mike Lee and Attorney General Mark Shurtleff will be attending the historic hearings on the Affordable Heath Care Act. [Trib]
-> Former Sen. Bob Bennett offers his analysis of the Supreme Court hearings on the health care law's individual mandate (which the senator himself included in his own health care proposal). [DNews]
-> Lee predicts the high court will overturn the mandate. [NewsMax]
Topping the news: As Romney continues to battle rivals for the GOP nomination, Obama is launching a national campaign that may be tough for Republicans to catch up to. [LATimes]
-> Gov. Herbert signs legislation demanding the feds give up 30 million acres of its land in Utah. Despite worries it could turn into a court battle, the governor calls it "a fight worth having." [Trib] [DNews] [Fox13] [Herald] [APviaABC4]
-> Utah's liquor laws will come under the federal spotlight this week, as a court will hear arguments that changes to alcohol legislation were made under pressure from the LDS Church. [DNews]
Today's news: Sen. Lee jumps off the sidelines of the presidential race and backs Mitt Romney, arguing that it's time for conservatives to back the eventual GOP nominee. [Trib]
-> Lee Davidson runs the numbers and finds that a Senate Democrat in Utah had the same success rate at passing legislation as House Republicans. [Trib]
-> Utah Republicans are grappling with the new flood of state delegates who will decide Sen. Orrin Hatch's fate at the April convention. [UtahPolicy]
Opinion section: George Chapman argues against abstinence-only sex education, saying that research proves it doesn't work. [Trib]
-> Michael Harold Paulos compares the criticism Mitt Romney experiences over his faith to concerns raised over LDS apostle Reed Smoot's election to the U.S. Senate. [Trib]
-> David Garbett gives his take on Utah's demand for federal lands, saying the act is unconstitutional and the wrong focus for Utah. [Trib]
-> Paul Rolly says extreme conservatives have dominated the Republican caucus system for the past few years, but this time, with record-high turnout, everything changed. [Trib]
-> Kip Sayre says the main difference between the United States and other nations is the Constitution. [Trib]
-> Frank Pignanelli and LaVarr Webb analyze the recent Utah caucuses, giving their take on Sen. Orrin Hatch's fate in the upcoming Senate elections. [DNews]
-> Pat Bagley gives his take on the National Rifle Association's interpretation of the Second Amendment. [Trib]
-> Paul Rolly describes the recent slew of tragedies caused by impersonated police officers, saying our society needs protection from our "protectors." [Trib]
Happy Birthday: To Rep. Jason Chaffetz, former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman and former SL Co. District Attorney Lohra Miller.
Tweet of the day: From @pourmecoffee: "No live coverage of SCOTUS this week because Founding Fathers felt cable news was too sensational and only watched Charlie Rose."
2012 watch: Rick Santorum beats Romney is the Louisiana primary, handily winning with 49 percent of the vote. [APviaCNN]
-> In the eyes of many members of the GOP, Romney's biggest struggle now will be to beat Obama. [NYDaily]
-> Romney is the clear front-runner in nabbing support from lobbyists according to a report released last week. [WaPost]
-> Newt Gingrich says the "elite media" is covering up Obama's ties to Islam [HuffPost], though the presidential candidate admits he believes the president is a Christian. [WaPost]
-> Santorum is attracting the vote of conservative females, with women lining up for his views on family, abortion and faith. [NYTimes]
-> Romney heads to LA on Tuesday for the "Tonight Show" with Jay Leno. [APviaWaPost]
-> Ron Paul's new ad mocks the recent banter over the Etch A Sketch comments. [HuffPost]
-> Former Utah governor Jon Huntsman says he has "zero interest" in accepting a third-party presidential nomination in this election cycle. [Trib]
-> Paul still maintains he will persevere in the presidential race, saying there are "quite a few primaries yet to come." [Chronicle]
Weekend in review: Utah has created more than 30,000 jobs in the past year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics with top gains in professional and business services, the education and healthcare sectors and the manufacturing sector. [Fox13]
-> Rep. Jason Chaffetz ranks among the top Tweeters in Congress. [CityWeekly]
-> Despite statewide job increases, a new study shows Utahns biggest fear is the economy. [Fox13]
-> Utah artist John McNaughton makes waves with a new painting that has conservatives cheering, liberals jeering and art critics cringing. [Trib] [WaPost]
-> Taylorsville Mayor Russ Wall hires a state lawmaker to boost economic development in the city. [Trib]
-> Protesters gathered at the Matheson Courthouse to rally against the federal mandate over contraceptive coverage, calling it an attack on religious freedom. [DNews] [Fox13]
-> FreedomWorks vows to continue fighting until Hatch gets ousted. [HuffPost]
-> Congressional candidate Jason Buck, who is vowing restore fiscal discipline to the U.S. government, has filed for bankruptcy twice. [Trib]
Where are they?
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-- Thomas Burr and Laura Schmitz
