Politics/elections

Former Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain downplayed the controversy surrounding comments made by conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh at a campaign stop for Newt Gingrich on Tuesday, saying that he did not believe the comments would ultimately impact GOP chances in November.

"No, I don't think [his comments] hurt the party because Rush Limbaugh is not running for anything, so I don't think they hurt the party at all," Cain said, according to MSNBC.

Limbaugh drew heavy criticism for calling Sandra Fluke, a Georgetown Law student who testified in favor of government-subsidized contraception, a "slut" and a "prostitute."

Democrats continued to hammer radio host Rush Limbaugh on Tuesday, as he lost some 30 advertisers. Limbaugh has been under fire from Democrats and women’s groups since calling Georgetown University law student Sandra Fluke a “slut” and a “prostitute” last week. He apologized over the weekend for using “those two words,” but critics are pressuring his advertisers to stop buying time on Limbaugh’s show.

House Minority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) slammed Limbaugh during a press conference.

"Rush Limbaugh's attack on Sandra Fluke was beyond the pale, indefensible, vicious, intimidating to others who might want to ... testify before the Congress of the United States, and a ... continued demeaning of the public debate," Hoyer said.

The Hill has more.

President Obama also stepped back into the controversy on Tuesday, saying during a press conference that he thought about his own daughters when he decided to call Fluke and offer some moral support last week. The Hill has the story from Obama’s press conference.

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Senate Republicans are clashing with conservative groups over whether to hold votes this year to repeal the health reform law.

In a 2009 USA Today op-ed, Romney says the Massachusetts law would be a good model for national reform.

Rick Santorum in 1993 called for more government involvement in healthcare, Mother Jones reports.

The FDA and the USDA are under pressure to overhaul their "dramatically different" inspection procedures, The Washington Post reports.

The GAO says the Medicare agency needs to improve its ability to oversee a nursing home quality indicator survey, Modern Healthcare reports.

California prosecutors have charged a doctor with murder for allegedly overprescribing painkillers, USA Today reports.

Biden acknowledged the administration “screwed up” the first iteration of the contraception mandate. 

Sen. McConnell said GOP lawmakers were all on record opposing the healthcare law, and a new vote would accomplish nothing.

“If it’s made a contraception issue, they’ll win,” GOP Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle said Monday.

More than half of voters in swing states perceive Obama’s signature domestic legislation negatively, a new poll finds.

The Senate majority whip brushed off a new poll that suggests Obama's healthcare law is hurting his reelection chances.