Sarah Palin Documentary Setting Stage For 2012

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has authorized a feature-length film about her rise, added staff and recently said she has "that fire in the belly" for a presidential bid – all steps that fuel speculation she's inching toward a White House run.

Her supporters are putting together a campaign-in-waiting in Iowa, the lead-off nominating caucus, in the hopes the Republicans' 2008 vice presidential nominee decides to join the race.

There are even reports she bought a home in Arizona, not far from her daughter's, which aides have suggested could be a campaign headquarters if she goes forward.

The Republican governor of Wisconsin signed a bill

The Republican governor of Wisconsin signed a bill on Wednesday that will require voters in the state to show photo identification when they go to the polls.

The measure, which Democrats characterize as a voter suppression effort but Republicans defend as a protection against fraud at the polls, will take partial effect just as nine state senators -- including six of Governor Scott Walker's Republican allies -- face recall challenges in mid-July.

Walker called the law a "common sense reform" that would "go a long way to protecting the integrity of elections in Wisconsin."

The law will requires poll workers to immediately begin asking voters to show state-issued IDs before they vote. But voters won't be required to actually produce the IDs until next year. In the meantime, voters who come to the polls without IDs will be handed a flyer outlining the new requirement.

Ryan budget was used as a Democratic rallying cry in the New York race,

Senate Democrats wasted no time capitalizing on Tuesday's Medicare-fueled upset in a New York special election, holding a vote on the GOP budget plan Wednesday designed to put Republicans on record backing the controversial House budget plan.

The measure failed, 57 to 40, with five Republicans breaking ranks: Sens. Scott Brown of Massachusetts, Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Rand Paul of Kentucky.

The spending plan, crafted by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), would turn Medicare into a private program and transform Medicaid into a state block-grant system.

The Ryan budget was used as a Democratic rallying cry in the New York race, which saw Kathy Hochul triumph in the heavily Republican district.

Just before the vote Wednesday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) took to the floor to portray the GOP budget in stark terms.

"The Republican plan to kill Medicare is a plan to make the rich richer and the sick sicker," Reid said. His speech repeatedly used the phrase, "Republican plan to kill Medicare."

Tea Party group is to stop Mitt Romney from winning the Republican nomination

A top goal of the nation’s most influential national Tea Party group is to stop Mitt Romney from winning the Republican nomination for president.

Interviews with top officials at FreedomWorks, a Washington-based organizing hub for Tea Party activists around the country, revealed that much of their thinking about the 2012 election revolves around derailing the former Massachusetts governor.

“Romney has a record and we don’t really like it that much,” said Adam Brandon, the group’s communications director.

FreedomWorks is led by former House Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-Texas) and Matt Kibbe, an economist and former Capitol Hill aide. More than 30 employees, as well as a fresh class of several interns, work out of spacious seventh floor offices near the U.S. Capitol. The group knows they cannot impose their will on the fiercely independent conservative organizers fueling the Tea Party

White House Beefs Up Online Rapid Response

The Obama administration has created and staffed a new position tucked inside their communications shop for helping coordinate rapid response to unfavorable stories and fostering and improving relations with the progressive online community.

"This week, Jesse Lee will move from the new media department into a role in the communications department as Director of Progressive Media & Online Response," read an internal memo from Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer, provided to The Huffington Post. "For the last two years, Jesse has often worn two hats working in new media and serving as the White House's liaison with the progressive media and online community. Starting this week, Jesse will take on the second role full time working on outreach, strategy and response."

The post is a new one for this White House. Rapid response has been the purview of the Democratic National Committee (and will continue to be). Lee's hire, however, suggests that a portion of it will now be handled from within the administration. It also signals that the White House will be adopting a more aggressive engagement in the online world in the months ahead.