NATIONAL

“Investigators said Thursday they have recovered 32,000 emails in backup tapes related to the Internal Revenue Service targeting of conservative organizations. Though they don’t know how many of them are new, they told a congressional oversight committee that IRS employees had not asked computer technicians for the tapes, as directed by a subpoena from House oversight and other investigating committees. That admission was in direct contradiction to earlier testimony of IRS Commissioner John Koskinen.” – Fox News

“A movement is underway to stage an informal protest when former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush hits the CPAC stage Friday. William Temple, a member of the Golden Isle Tea Party, told The Washington Times that the party doesn’t need another Bush in office, and said that the party should listen to the grass-roots activists that helped fuel their gains in the 2014 election.” – Washington Times

“As promised, President Obama is using executive actions to impose gun control on the nation, targeting the top-selling rifle in the country, the AR-15 style semi-automatic, with a ban on one of the most-used AR bullets by sportsmen and target shooters.” – Fox News

“You cannot overcome that perception by ardently pleading that the very folks who call you racist, sexist, homophobic bigots are well-intentioned but incompetent. If someone calls you a racist, and you respond by stating that they are a reasonable human being with policy differences, you grant their premise: A reasonable person has called you a racist, which means it is reasonable to call you racist. You lose.” – Ben Shapiro/Front Page Mag

“It is entirely within the power of the newly elected Republican majority in the Senate not to confirm Ms. Lynch. The only question is whether the GOP majority will exercise its constitutional authority to do so.” – Ted Cruz/POLITICO

“MSNBC is not a very formidable network, but its wheezing is similarly instructive. MSNBC’s slogan is ‘Lean Forward,’ which has a robust sound to it. But it turns out the phrase is a more apt descriptor of how the Peacock Network’s mini-me is poised to teeter off its perch and plunge beak-first into the droppings-stained pages of the fading New Republic below.” – Jonah Goldberg/National Review

“If you want to infuriate a liberal, question his patriotism. He’ll sneer, mock and ridicule the question. And then when he is up against the wall, he will mumble that the real patriots don’t need to wear flag pins because they covertly perform their patriotism in the dead of night when no one is looking.” – Daniel Greenfield/Front Page Mag

“Republicans believe they have identified a potent weapon in their fight against President Obama’s regulatory agenda. GOP lawmakers plan to employ the seldom-used Congressional Review Act (CRA), which gives lawmakers the power to formally disapprove of major agency rules, as they seek to ratchet up their attacks on federal red tape.” – The Hill

“Although several former Walker aides have been convicted in two of these probes over the years, neither has come close to bringing charges against Walker himself. Nor have the investigations done any real damage to him politically in Wisconsin. Walker became the first governor in the country to survive a recall in 2012 even after several aides from his old Milwaukee County executive office had been charged. And a series of revelations from the second investigation did nothing to stop Walker’s march to re-election in 2014 as he won with 52.3 percent of the vote, identical to his margins in the 2012 recall and his first win in 2010. But if he runs for president, the national media may not be so careful to make such distinctions—between Walker and his associates, and between allegations that have stuck and those that haven’t—that Wisconsinites have grown used to.” – POLITICO

“Barack Obama wants us all to simmer down about Iran. He wants Senator Bob Menendez, a fellow Democrat, and the donors he represents to butt out of the sanctions debate. He wants Republicans to quit crying wolf about Iran’s nuclear weapons program. He wants the media to stop hyping terror threats. He wants the American people in the dark about the secret correspondence he’s had for years with Iran’s supreme leader. He wants John Boehner to be mindful of protocol. And most of all, he wants Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to stop questioning his accommodationist approach to Tehran. With the breezy confidence that is his trademark, the president has repeatedly delivered a reassuring message on Iran to the country and the world: Trust me. With respect, Mr. President: No.” – Stephen Hayes/Weekly Standard

LOUISIANA

“You’re not going to get a tax increase out of the Legislature at this session but you don’t need more revenues,” Sen. Jack Donahue, R-Mandeville, said during a luncheon panel discussion sponsored by Leaders With Vision. “You need to do a better job managing the revenues we have.” – Baton Rouge Business Report

“Senate President John Alario said Gov. Bobby Jindal will propose saving the state around $500 million by changing some of Louisiana’s refundable tax credit programs during the governor’s budget presentation Friday morning (Feb. 28). ” – NOLA.com

“Gov. Bobby Jindal is proposing to spend $526 million less on refundable tax credits next year, and direct that money to lessen the budget cuts on public colleges and health services. The plan will be contained in the governor’s budget proposal for next fiscal year, to be unveiled to lawmakers Friday. ” – Baton Rouge Advocate

“A federal judge has refused to throw out Gov. Bobby Jindal’s lawsuit against President Barack Obama’s administration over the Common Core education standards.” – Monroe News Star

“Mark Halperin, managing editor of Bloomberg Politics, graded the Louisiana governor’s performance along with Ben Carson, Chris Christie, Carly Fiorina, Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush, Ted Cruz, Rick Perry, Rick Santorum and Rand Paul at the Conservative Political Action Conference in National Harbor, Maryland on Thursday. Halperin held all speakers to four standards: style, substance, best moment, worst moment, which Halperin said Jindal graded out with a B minus overall.” – Baton Rouge Advocate

“‘We must repeal every single word of Obamacare,’ said Jindal to applause. He echoed that sentiment for the Common Core education standards, which he once supported, but now believes has created dangerous federal mandates that forced his then 2nd grade son last year to explain how he determined 18+4 is 22 in a fuzzy and convoluted exercise.” – NOLA.com

“Considering Jason Brad Berry and I broke this story in November and in light of conservative commentators demanding that I issue some sort of statement of apology, I wanted to make this unequivocally clear: I absolutely do not regret and will not apologize for calling attention to this important story.” – Lamar White/Lafayette Independent

“Louisiana state Sen. Elbert Guillory is marking Black History Month by hitting the airwaves to promote the Republican Party on hip-hop and R&B stations in 11 cities across the country.” – Baton Rouge Advocate

“The city of Lake Charles is continuing to pursue the idea of placing body cameras on police officers. The latest conversation about the issue took place during Tuesday’s City Council agenda meeting. Former councilman Ken Schexnider introduced the topic, saying he was representing a group of concerned residents, attorneys and businessmen.” – Lake Charles American Press

“A recruit’s decision not to enroll at LSU after signing a financial aid agreement has the football program in some hot water. LSU is banned from signing early enrollee recruits to financial aid agreements for the next two years, and the program will be stripped of 10 percent of its recruiting evaluation days in 2015, according to public records obtained by The Advocate.” – Baton Rouge Advocate