On Santorum's big day, GOP candidates hit Romney on contraception rule

Rick Santorum snapped his four-state losing streak Tuesday with wins in three GOP presidential caucuses. Meanwhile, the GOP candidates are hitting front-runner Mitt Romney on the similarity of a rule he presided over in Massachusetts that required even Catholic hospitals to provide the morning-after pill -- comparing it to a recent Obama administration controversy on contraception.

Los Angeles Times: Before Caucuses, Romney Joins Attack On Birth Control Rules
At a morning rally in this town on the northern Colorado front range, the former Massachusetts governor echoed rival Rick Santorum's fierce attack Monday on an Obama administration rule that will force many religious employers to include birth control in the health plans of their workers (Finnegan, 2/7).

The Washington Post: The Fact Checker: Romney And Plan B: The Santorum And Gingrich Claims
With GOP front-runner Mitt Romney attacking President Obama over the administration's new rule requiring many Catholic institutions to offer birth control and other contraception services as part of employees' health care coverage, his Republican rivals have begun attacking Romney for allegedly doing the very same thing when he was governor of Massachusetts. We seem forever doomed to delve deep into ancient Bay State political tussles (Kessler, 2/8).

The Associated Press: Abortion, Birth Control Grab Political Spotlight
The two-track drama pumped new furor into longstanding disputes that sometimes take a backseat in political campaigns because the lines are so familiar and firmly drawn. Last week's Komen-Planned Parenthood dispute stirred many women's groups that support legal abortion. And the Obama ruling touched a nerve with moderate Roman Catholics who support contraceptives but also defend their church's right to run its hospitals and other institutions according to religious convictions (Babington, 2/7).

NPR: White House: 'Ways To Resolve' Contraception Issue
Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney has joined the chorus criticizing President Obama over a controversial policy that would require most employers, including Catholic hospitals and universities, to include birth control in their employees' health insurance. Catholic opinion leaders have denounced the policy as an assault on their religious freedom (Horsley, 2/7).

The Hill: GOP Field, Obama Campaign Say Romney Hypocritical In Contraception Attacks
Romney has been hammering Obama's mandate, believing the issue can help him to appeal both to the religious right and centrist Catholic voters who supported the president in the last election. But both his Democratic and Republican opponents on Tuesday pointed out that as governor of Massachusetts, he required all hospitals -; including Catholic institutions -; to provide the morning-after pill (Sink, 2/7).

Market Watch: Santorum, Obama, Romney Trade Charges After Catholic Uproar Over New Health-Care Rule
Republican presidential contender Rick Santorum and the Obama re-election campaign apparently agree on something: they both say Mitt Romney is acting like a hypocrite. ... "I will defend religious liberty and overturn regulations that trample on our first freedom," Romney said Saturday night after handily winning the Nevada primary. Obama campaign spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter quickly fired back at Romney, saying Massachusetts had a similar law (Bartash, 2/7).

The Associated Press: In Ohio, Gingrich Hits Romney On Contraception
In Cincinnati, Gingrich criticized both Romney's and Obama's records on Catholics and contraceptives. ... Romney also has criticized the Obama administration's actions, but Gingrich says Romney has a weak record on the issue. Gingrich said Romney insisted that Catholic hospitals give out abortion pills against their religious beliefs when he was governor of Massachusetts (Babington, 2/8).

The Associated Press: Romney's Bad Day Is Santorum's Best In GOP Race
Republican Rick Santorum is looking to capitalize on a string of stunning victories that snapped his four-state losing streak and raised new questions about front-runner Mitt Romney's clout with conservatives... "I don't stand here to be the conservative alternative to Mitt Romney, I stand here to be the conservative alternative to Barack Obama," Santorum said. On health care, cap and trade and the Wall Street bailout, he charged, "Mitt Romney has the same positions as Barack Obama" (Kellman, 2/8).

Minnesota Public Radio: Santorum Wins Bragging Rights In Minnesota Caucus
Santorum told the crowd that President Barack Obama was not listening to voters when he supported legislation meant to help banks, or signed health care reform into law. He contended that his GOP rival Romney isn't much different from Obama on those issues (Collins, 2/8).