The Midday Brief: Jan. 11, 2012

Your afternoon reading:

• "Rick Perry filed a brief Wednesday morning with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, asking that the court not reverse a district court judge's order earlier this week to stop printing Virginia absentee ballots." — Perry urges appeals court to uphold Va. absentee ballot order, Politico

• "The Texas congressman told the crowd of about 350 people in an aviation hangar near the Columbia Metropolitan Airport that his support was expanding beyond 'a tireless irate minority.' 'We’re marching on. The numbers are growing. They grew exponentially in New Hampshire, and they’re going to grow contagiously here in South Carolina,' he said." — Ron Paul says support growing beyond an 'irate minority,' Los Angeles Times
  

• "Five candidates — Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, Rick Perry, Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum — are now running ads on local television. Four super PACs have also been on the air in recent days, and other outside issue groups are lining up behind them. One major factor that will differentiate this contest from the New Hampshire primary is the sheer amount of money expected to go into television advertising. In just the last few days, campaigns and super PACs have committed more than $5 million. And that amount will only grow." — Expensive and Bitter Media War Already Ignited, The New York Times
  

• "Despite an onslaught of criticism from conservative commentators who have rushed to Mitt Romney's defense, Texas Gov. Rick Perry is not backing down on his attacks on Bain Capital's 'get-rich-quick' schemes." — Perry doesn't back down from his Bain criticism, NBC News
  

• "Mitt Romney's campaign just announced that he raised $24 million in the fourth quarter of 2011 — his biggest quarterly number so far — and has more than $19 million cash on hand." — Romney raises $24 million in fourth quarter, Politico

New in The Texas Tribune:

• "The Obama administration is touting a plan to ease restrictions on illegal immigrants trying to re-enter the U.S. after applying for legal status. The administration says several immigrant families will benefit from the plan, which would allow the applicant to apply for a re-entry waiver before leaving the country. But some caution that the plan shouldn't be oversold as a major step in reform." — Immigration Proposal Not Seen as Major Step