According to current polling, January is shaping up to be a tough month for Mitt Romney. There are four contests in January: Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Florida. Romney currently leads only in New Hampshire while Newt Gingrich has a double digit lead in the other three states. But the Republican primary calendar in February looks more favorable for Romney. It could be the month that Romney breaks Gingrich’s January momentum before Super Tuesday, March 6th.

Dayen gives his assessment of yesterday’s election results. Election Day 2011 is over, and the victories for Democrats – and more accurately, for liberal values – across the country largely shared a characteristic – they were successful defensive actions to stave off extremely draconian conservative objectives.

Tomorrow is election day in several states and municipalities around the country. In three states control of the state legislature hangs in the balance. Here is a preview of what is worth watching.

The National Organization for Marriage loses another round in court against Maine’s disclosure laws. Meanwhile, a soon-to-be released documentary threatens to expose the questionable tactics of those the organization employed to defeat Maine’s marriage equality law.

Tonight’s film, Question 1 impartially follows the 2009 election campaign to keep same-sex marriage legal in Maine. It is an honor to have the film here tonight in discussion as the filmmakers, Joe Fox and James Nubile are currently completing the final cut.

It ain’t John Ashcroft ordering the coverup of Lady Justice’s bare breast, but it’s close. The Tea Party-backed Governor of Maine, Paul LePage, has ordered his state’s Department of Labor to remove a mural depicting moments in labor history from its walls. LePage also demanded the state rename the Labor Department’s conference rooms, currently honoring labor icons like Frances Perkins and Cesar Chavez.

“Shared sacrifice,” or as I like to call it, “sacrifice.”

In 2008, the Roman Catholic church was instrumental in two major battles against marriage equality — Maine’s Prop 1 and California’s Prop 8. Leading the fight nationally for the US Conference of Catholic Bishops was Louisville’s Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz. Last month, Kurtz was elected Vice President of the USCCB, after giving a powerful address on the USCCB ad-hoc committee’s work to defend marriage (a committee he chairs).

By elevating Kurtz to the #2 position at the USCCB, the bishops signaled their determination not simply to stand against marriage equality, but to work just as hard against anything that might lead to it as they work against anything that might possibly lead to thinking about considering something that might be akin to abortion.

This past week, two Roman Catholics in Illinois — Governor Pat Quinn and state House Speaker Michael Madigan — worked hard to get a civil unions bill passed the Illinois Legislature, much to the chagrin of the local bishop.

Welcome to the opening round of the 2012 culture wars, featuring the US Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Yesterday, five homeowners in the state of Maine filed a class action suit against GMAC Mortgage, accusing them of filing knowingly false certifications for foreclosure, and false affadavits which back up the documents. Maine is one of the 23 states where judicial sign-off is required to move ahead with a foreclosure, and where GMAC (now Ally Financial) has suspended evictions.

Following the orders of their Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, both Susan Collins (R-ME) and George Voinovich (R-OH) announced they will join the GOP filibuster led by John McCain (R-AZ) of the Defense Authorization bill, making today’s initial steps to repeal of Don’t-Ask-Don’t-Tell very precarious.