{"id":28931,"date":"2013-02-19T01:53:07","date_gmt":"2013-02-19T00:53:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/feedproxy.google.com\/~r\/Truthdig\/~3\/8efcRh0paSM\/"},"modified":"2013-02-19T01:53:07","modified_gmt":"2013-02-19T00:53:07","slug":"gop-senators-unexpected-retirement-sarah-palins-next-step-and-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/breaking-news\/gop-senators-unexpected-retirement-sarah-palins-next-step-and-more\/","title":{"rendered":"GOP Senator\u2019s Unexpected Retirement, Sarah Palin\u2019s Next Step, and More"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<h2>GOP Senator\u2019s Unexpected Retirement, Sarah Palin\u2019s Next Step, and More<\/h2>\n<div class=\"article_tools c19\"><span class=\"st_email_custom\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.truthdig.com\/images\/icon_email.gif\" height=\"10\" width=\"18\" alt=\"Email this item\" align=\"baseline\"\/> Email<\/span> \u00a0 <a title=\"Print this item\" href=\"http:\/\/redirect.viglink.com\/?key=11fe087258b6fc0532a5ccfc924805c0&#038;u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.truthdig.com%2Feartotheground%2Fprint%2Fgop_senators_unexpected_retirement_sarah_palins_next_step_and_more_20130218%2F\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.truthdig.com\/images\/icon_print.gif\" height=\"11\" width=\"16\" alt=\"Print this item\" align=\"baseline\"\/> Print<\/a> \u00a0 <span class=\"st_sharethis_custom\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.truthdig.com\/images\/icon_share.gif\" height=\"11\" width=\"11\" alt=\"Share this item...\" align=\"baseline\"\/> Share<\/span><\/div>\n<h6 class=\"date\">Posted on Feb\u00a018,\u00a02013<\/h6>\n<table class=\"c20\" width=\"300\">\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\"><span class=\"imgborder\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.truthdig.com\/images\/eartothegrounduploads\/politics-today-front-300.jpg\" border=\"0\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"209\"\/><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<p><strong>Stepping Down:<\/strong> Sen. Mike Johanns, R-Neb., surprised many in the political world Monday when he announced that he would not seek re-election after serving only one term. In an email to constituents that was co-signed by his wife, a former state senator, Johanns wrote: \u201cAt the end of this term, we will have been in public service over 32 years. Between the two of us, we have been on the ballot for primary and general elections 16 times and we have served in eight offices. It is time to close this chapter of our lives.\u201d The seat is expected to remain in Republican hands. One name being floated around to run for the GOP in 2014: Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman, who conveniently will be term limited out then. (<a href=\"http:\/\/redirect.viglink.com\/?key=11fe087258b6fc0532a5ccfc924805c0&#038;u=http%3A%2F%2Fatr.rollcall.com%2Fnebraska-mike-johanns-wont-seek-re-election%2F\" title=\"Read more\">Read more<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Still Around:<\/strong> Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin will once again speak at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), organizers of the high-profile right-wing event announced Monday. The onetime GOP vice presidential nominee recently parted ways with Fox News, but has pledged to remain active in politics. Palin will be joining a litany of high-profile conservatives at next month\u2019s event, including House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. (<a href=\"http:\/\/redirect.viglink.com\/?key=11fe087258b6fc0532a5ccfc924805c0&#038;u=http%3A%2F%2Fthehill.com%2Fblogs%2Fblog-briefing-room%2Fnews%2F283661-sarah-palin-to-address-cpac\" title=\"Read more\">Read more<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Write Stuff:<\/strong> David Corn, the Mother Jones reporter who broke the story of Mitt Romney\u2019s infamous \u201c47 percent\u201d remark that helped sink his candidacy, will receive one of journalism\u2019s highest honors in April. Corn will get the Polk award in the political reporting category for uncovering the video of Romney\u2019s comment. The Polk awards, named for former CBS News correspondent George Polk, focus primarily on investigative and enterprise reporting. (<a href=\"http:\/\/redirect.viglink.com\/?key=11fe087258b6fc0532a5ccfc924805c0&#038;u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.masslive.com%2Fpolitics%2Findex.ssf%2F2013%2F02%2Freporter_who_uncovered_mitt_ro.html\" title=\"Read more\">Read more<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Celebrating George:<\/strong> Contrary to what many think, Presidents Day isn\u2019t actually about celebrating all of America\u2019s presidents or buying mattresses\u2013it\u2019s really about honoring our nation\u2019s first president around his birthday. The official name of Monday\u2019s holiday is \u201cGeorge Washington\u2019s Birthday,\u201d although his actual birthday is Feb. 22. As The Christian Science Monitor noted, the holiday is \u201csupposed to honor the Father of Our Country, and only him. Not Abraham Lincoln, not Franklin D. Roosevelt, not any other of the nation\u2019s former chief executives. Chester A. Arthur will just have to get his own holiday, if he can.\u201d (<a href=\"http:\/\/redirect.viglink.com\/?key=11fe087258b6fc0532a5ccfc924805c0&#038;u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.csmonitor.com%2FUSA%2FDC-Decoder%2F2013%2F0218%2FPresidents-Day-2013-Actually-there-s-no-such-thing\" title=\"Read more\">Read more<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Video of the Day:<\/strong> In his first congressional campaign ad, disgraced former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford acknowledges his past transgressions while pointing out that everyone\u2013<span class=\"c21\">especially<\/span>including himself\u2013makes mistakes. Of course, most people don\u2019t lie about their whereabouts and cheat on their wives while they\u2019re running a state and then seek public office again, but you get the picture.<\/p>\n<p><em>\u2013Posted by <a href=\"http:\/\/redirect.viglink.com\/?key=11fe087258b6fc0532a5ccfc924805c0&#038;u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.truthdig.com%2Ftracy_bloom%2F\">Tracy Bloom<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"c23\"><em><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.truthdig.com\/images\/eartotheground_arrow.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"7\" height=\"6\" class=\"c22\"\/><a href=\"http:\/\/redirect.viglink.com\/?key=11fe087258b6fc0532a5ccfc924805c0&#038;u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.truthdig.com%2Feartotheground%2Fitem%2Fgop_senators_unexpected_retirement_sarah_palins_next_step_and_more_20130218%2F%3Futm_source%3Dfeedburner%26amp%3Butm_medium%3Dfeed%26amp%3Butm_campaign%3DFeed%3A%2BTruthdig%2BTruthdig%3A%2BDrilling%2BBeneath%2Bthe%2BHeadlines%23below\">More Below the Ad<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p><a name=\"below\" id=\"below\"><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"page c19\">\n<div id=\"share_block\" class=\"c24\">\n<div id=\"instory_newsletter_signup\">\n<p>Get truth delivered to<br \/>your inbox every week.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.truthdig.com\/?ACT=45&amp;vars=YTozOntzOjg6ImVudHJ5X2lkIjtzOjU6IjI5NTU1IjtzOjk6IndlYmxvZ19pZCI7czoxOiIyIjtzOjE2OiJlbnRyeV9pZGVudGlmaWVyIjtzOjU6IjI5NTU1Ijt9\" height=\"1\" width=\"1\" alt=\"\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"c34\">Previous item: <a href=\"http:\/\/redirect.viglink.com\/?key=11fe087258b6fc0532a5ccfc924805c0&#038;u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.truthdig.com%2Feartotheground%2Fitem%2Fgop_lawmaker_pushing_anti-abortion_bill_claims_babies_are_organs_20130218%2F\">Lawmaker Pushing Anti-Abortion Bill Claims Babies Are Organs<\/a><\/p>\n<p><br class=\"c35\"\/><\/div>\n<p><br clear=\"all\"\/><a name=\"comments\"><\/a><\/p>\n<h2>New and Improved Comments<\/h2>\n<p>If you have trouble leaving a comment, review <a href=\"http:\/\/redirect.viglink.com\/?key=11fe087258b6fc0532a5ccfc924805c0&#038;u=http%3A%2F%2Fdocs.disqus.com%2Fkb%2Fcommenting%2F\">this help page<\/a>. Still having problems? <a href=\"http:\/\/redirect.viglink.com\/?key=11fe087258b6fc0532a5ccfc924805c0&#038;u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.truthdig.com%2Fcontact%2F\">Let us know<\/a>. If you find yourself moderated, take a moment to review our <a href=\"http:\/\/redirect.viglink.com\/?key=11fe087258b6fc0532a5ccfc924805c0&#038;u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.truthdig.com%2Fabout%2Fcomment_policy%2F\">comment policy<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><noscript><\/p>\n<p>Please enable JavaScript to view the <a href=\"http:\/\/redirect.viglink.com\/?key=11fe087258b6fc0532a5ccfc924805c0&#038;u=http%3A%2F%2Fdisqus.com%2F%3Fref_noscript\">comments powered by Disqus.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><\/noscript><\/div>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/pixel.quantserve.com\/pixel\/p-89EKCgBk8MZdE.gif\" border=\"0\" height=\"1\" width=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div>\n<h2>GOP Senator&rsquo;s Unexpected Retirement, Sarah Palin&rsquo;s Next Step, and More<\/h2>\n<div>\n<span><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.truthdig.com\/images\/icon_email.gif\" height=\"10\" width=\"18\" alt=\"Email this item\" align=\"baseline\"\/> Email<\/span> &nbsp;&nbsp; <a title=\"Print this item\" href=\"http:\/\/redirect.viglink.com\/?key=11fe087258b6fc0532a5ccfc924805c0&amp;u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.truthdig.com%2Feartotheground%2Fprint%2Fgop_senators_unexpected_retirement_sarah_palins_next_step_and_more_20130218%2F\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.truthdig.com\/images\/icon_print.gif\" height=\"11\" width=\"16\" alt=\"Print this item\" align=\"baseline\"\/> Print<\/a> &nbsp;&nbsp; <span><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.truthdig.com\/images\/icon_share.gif\" height=\"11\" width=\"11\" alt=\"Share this item...\" align=\"baseline\"\/> Share<\/span>\n<\/div>\n<h6>Posted on Feb&nbsp;18,&nbsp;2013<\/h6>\n<table width=\"300\">\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\"><span><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.truthdig.com\/images\/eartothegrounduploads\/politics-today-front-300.jpg\" border=\"0\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"209\"\/><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<p><strong>Stepping Down:<\/strong> Sen. Mike Johanns, R-Neb., surprised many in the political world Monday when he announced that he would not seek re-election after serving only one term. In an email to constituents that was co-signed by his wife, a former state senator, Johanns wrote: &ldquo;At the end of this term, we will have been in public service over 32 years. Between the two of us, we have been on the ballot for primary and general elections 16 times and we have served in eight offices. It is time to close this chapter of our lives.&rdquo; The seat is expected to remain in Republican hands. One name being floated around to run for the GOP in 2014: Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman, who conveniently will be term limited out then. (<a href=\"http:\/\/redirect.viglink.com\/?key=11fe087258b6fc0532a5ccfc924805c0&amp;u=http%3A%2F%2Fatr.rollcall.com%2Fnebraska-mike-johanns-wont-seek-re-election%2F\" title=\"Read more\">Read more<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Still Around:<\/strong> Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin will once again speak at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), organizers of the high-profile right-wing event announced Monday. The onetime GOP vice presidential nominee recently parted ways with Fox News, but has pledged to remain active in politics. Palin will be joining a litany of high-profile conservatives at next month&rsquo;s event, including House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. (<a href=\"http:\/\/redirect.viglink.com\/?key=11fe087258b6fc0532a5ccfc924805c0&amp;u=http%3A%2F%2Fthehill.com%2Fblogs%2Fblog-briefing-room%2Fnews%2F283661-sarah-palin-to-address-cpac\" title=\"Read more\">Read more<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Write Stuff:<\/strong> David Corn, the Mother Jones reporter who broke the story of Mitt Romney&rsquo;s infamous &ldquo;47 percent&rdquo; remark that helped sink his candidacy, will receive one of journalism&rsquo;s highest honors in April. Corn will get the Polk award in the political reporting category for uncovering the video of Romney&rsquo;s comment. The Polk awards, named for former CBS News correspondent George Polk, focus primarily on investigative and enterprise reporting. (<a href=\"http:\/\/redirect.viglink.com\/?key=11fe087258b6fc0532a5ccfc924805c0&amp;u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.masslive.com%2Fpolitics%2Findex.ssf%2F2013%2F02%2Freporter_who_uncovered_mitt_ro.html\" title=\"Read more\">Read more<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Celebrating George:<\/strong> Contrary to what many think, Presidents Day isn&rsquo;t actually about celebrating all of America&rsquo;s presidents or buying mattresses&mdash;it&rsquo;s really about honoring our nation&rsquo;s first president around his birthday. The official name of Monday&rsquo;s holiday is &ldquo;George Washington&rsquo;s Birthday,&rdquo; although his actual birthday is Feb. 22. As The Christian Science Monitor noted, the holiday is &ldquo;supposed to honor the Father of Our Country, and only him. Not Abraham Lincoln, not Franklin D. Roosevelt, not any other of the nation&rsquo;s former chief executives. Chester A. Arthur will just have to get his own holiday, if he can.&rdquo; (<a href=\"http:\/\/redirect.viglink.com\/?key=11fe087258b6fc0532a5ccfc924805c0&amp;u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.csmonitor.com%2FUSA%2FDC-Decoder%2F2013%2F0218%2FPresidents-Day-2013-Actually-there-s-no-such-thing\" title=\"Read more\">Read more<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Video of the Day:<\/strong> In his first congressional campaign ad, disgraced former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford acknowledges his past transgressions while pointing out that everyone&mdash;<span>especially<\/span>including himself&mdash;makes mistakes. Of course, most people don&rsquo;t lie about their whereabouts and cheat on their wives while they&rsquo;re running a state and then seek public office again, but you get the picture.<\/p>\n<p><em>&mdash;Posted by <a href=\"http:\/\/redirect.viglink.com\/?key=11fe087258b6fc0532a5ccfc924805c0&amp;u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.truthdig.com%2Ftracy_bloom%2F\">Tracy Bloom<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.truthdig.com\/images\/eartotheground_arrow.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"7\" height=\"6\"\/><a href=\"http:\/\/redirect.viglink.com\/?key=11fe087258b6fc0532a5ccfc924805c0&amp;u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.truthdig.com%2Feartotheground%2Fitem%2Fgop_senators_unexpected_retirement_sarah_palins_next_step_and_more_20130218%2F%3Futm_source%3Dfeedburner%26amp%3Butm_medium%3Dfeed%26amp%3Butm_campaign%3DFeed%3A%2BTruthdig%2BTruthdig%3A%2BDrilling%2BBeneath%2Bthe%2BHeadlines%23below\">More Below the Ad<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p><a name=\"below\"><\/a><\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<p>Get truth delivered to<br \/>your inbox every week.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.truthdig.com\/?ACT=45&amp;vars=YTozOntzOjg6ImVudHJ5X2lkIjtzOjU6IjI5NTU1IjtzOjk6IndlYmxvZ19pZCI7czoxOiIyIjtzOjE2OiJlbnRyeV9pZGVudGlmaWVyIjtzOjU6IjI5NTU1Ijt9\" height=\"1\" width=\"1\" alt=\"\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Previous item: <a href=\"http:\/\/redirect.viglink.com\/?key=11fe087258b6fc0532a5ccfc924805c0&amp;u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.truthdig.com%2Feartotheground%2Fitem%2Fgop_lawmaker_pushing_anti-abortion_bill_claims_babies_are_organs_20130218%2F\">Lawmaker Pushing Anti-Abortion Bill Claims Babies Are Organs<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a name=\"comments\"><\/a><\/p>\n<h2>New and Improved Comments<\/h2>\n<p>If you have trouble leaving a comment, review <a href=\"http:\/\/redirect.viglink.com\/?key=11fe087258b6fc0532a5ccfc924805c0&amp;u=http%3A%2F%2Fdocs.disqus.com%2Fkb%2Fcommenting%2F\">this help page<\/a>. Still having problems? <a href=\"http:\/\/redirect.viglink.com\/?key=11fe087258b6fc0532a5ccfc924805c0&amp;u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.truthdig.com%2Fcontact%2F\">Let us know<\/a>. If you find yourself moderated, take a moment to review our <a href=\"http:\/\/redirect.viglink.com\/?key=11fe087258b6fc0532a5ccfc924805c0&amp;u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.truthdig.com%2Fabout%2Fcomment_policy%2F\">comment policy<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Please enable JavaScript to view the <a href=\"http:\/\/redirect.viglink.com\/?key=11fe087258b6fc0532a5ccfc924805c0&amp;u=http%3A%2F%2Fdisqus.com%2F%3Fref_noscript\">comments powered by Disqus.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/pixel.quantserve.com\/pixel\/p-89EKCgBk8MZdE.gif\" border=\"0\" height=\"1\" width=\"1\"\/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1213,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[487],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-28931","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-breaking-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28931","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1213"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28931"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28931\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28931"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28931"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28931"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}