The Midday Brief: Jan 31, 2011

Your afternoon reading:

• "In the first major media salvo of its effort to reclaim the House in 2012, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is launching an advertising campaign against 19 targeted Republican incumbents." — DCCC targets Blake Farenthold with first media offensive, The Fix

• "Representatives from the Texas Association of School Boards and the Texas Association of School Administrators on Monday brought a simple message from a majority of the state’s 1,044 school districts: Make public education a priority." — School administrators call on Legislature to prioritize public education, Postcards

• "Rick Perry's Republican Governors Association served as cashier for the purchase of 700 copies of his book Fed-Up. Dallas-based AT&T paid for the books, which were distributed to state legislators, lobbyists and activists at a conservative policy summit in December in Washington. The cost: $18,349, according to the latest campaign filing by the Republican Governors Association, which Perry heads." — AT&T spends $18,000 buying Rick Perry book, Trail Blazers

New in The Texas Tribune:

• "A federal judge in Florida has ruled that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act — the federal health care reform that was signed into law in March — is unconstitutional, largely because it forces all Americans to purchase insurance." — Federal Judge Rules Health Care Reform Unconstitutional

• "Abortion politics is back on center stage, with Gov. Rick Perry putting it, voter photo ID, state support for a balanced federal budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution, eminent domain and a ban on sanctuary cities at the top of his list of priorities. Why?" — Why Put These Issues on the Emergency List?