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(Ben Garvin of the AP and The St. Paul Pioneer Press)

Andrew Kaczynski of BuzzFeed has unearthed a 2006 political battle involving then-Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, the state Department of Public Health, and vocal advocacy groups that you don’t see everyday.

A battle involving a group that then Romney spokesman and current campaign adviser Eric Fehrnstrom dubbed “a very vocal minority of breast-feeding advocates.”

In 2006, Romney urged the Massachusetts Department of Public Heath to reconsider a decision that would have made Massachusetts the first state to ban gift bags to new mothers leaving the maternity ward that included infant formula, coupons, and other presents paid for by the formula companies.

The Department of Public Health had previously made the decision to strike down the gift bags for the belief that the giveaways encourage mothers to give up on breast-feeding, which several medical studies show lead to babies less-likely to suffer from several illnesses and ailments in comparison to bottle-fed babies.

”We’re not disputing the health benefits of breast-feeding, but we think that new mothers should make that choice,” Fehrnstrom said at the time. ”If they choose to bottle-feed, they should be supported in that decision.”

Kaczynski discovered that as the debate went on, Romney took a firmer anti-big government stance on the state attempting to influence the decision of mothers on how to best feed their babies.

“I’m not enthusiastic about the heavy arm of government coming in and saying, ‘We think we know better than the mothers and we are going to decide that they can’t get free formula when it comes as a welcome home kit from the suppliers of formula with Q-tips, baby lotion and so forth,’ ” ABC reported in 2006 Romney said on the issue. “Let’s let the moms decide.”

The administration would face challenges to their stance on the issue, as a coalition formed against Romney, running ads, and circulating a petition. Critics argued that the governor was giving in to corporate interests looking to market their product to consumers on day 1, literally.

As many hospitals began to do away with the gift bags on their own, the Romney Administration argued that the issue had become overblown thanks to a small number of vocal critics.

“No one is seeking to end those practices,” Fehrnstrom said as discussion around the issue persisted. “Yet there is a very vocal minority of breast-feeding advocates who want to take a punitive approach with mothers who choose formula.”

Eventually, Romney was able to direct the state’s public health commissioner to overturn the all-out ban on formula giveaways, but many prominent Massachusetts hospitals still prohibit the gift bags.

In December 2011, Rhode Island became the first state to ban the gift bags.

On Thursday the White House weighed in on the longstanding criticism from many regarding Augusta National’s men-only membership policy, while the club hosts the Masters Tournament this weekend.

“Well the president’s answer to this question is, ‘Yes,” Press Secretary Jay Carney said. “His personal opinion is women should be admitted.”

On that note, President Obama kicked off Easter weekend on Saturday with a trip to the golf course. The Hill reports:

“The president, a frequent golfer, left the White House shortly before 1 p.m. for a ride to what has become his home course at Andrews Air Force Base.

The weather is beautiful in the Washington D.C. area this weekend, sunny with temperatures in the low 60s.”

The White House Dossier notes that the trip is the president’s second golf outing of the year and ninety-fourth since Inauguration Day.

The presidential campaign of Mitt Romney has been the first to make an official move on the invitation from the Republican National Committee to start raising money jointly.

POLITICO has obtained official filings made Friday by Keith A. Davis of political accounting firm Huckaby Davis Lisker to establish Romney Victory, Inc., the joint fundraising committee that will include the Romney campaign, the RNC, the Idaho Republican Party, Oklahoma Leadership Council, Vermont Republican Federal Election Committee and the Massachusetts Republican State Congressional Committee as participants. Davis will serve as treasurer.

POLITICO notes that joint fundraising committees may raise money on behalf of any or all of its member committees and distribute contributions to them at its discretion, so long as the contributions stay within federal campaign finance limits.

The joint committee will allow top donors to write checks as large as $75,000 per person, by giving to party organizations in addition to the campaign. During the primary process campaign donors are limited to $2,500, and another $2,500 for the general election.

The Wall Street Journal first reported Tuesday that Romney would be the first of the four remaning viable Republican candidates to accept an invitation from the RNC to participate in joint fundraising. A spokesman for Newt Gingrich told WSJ that he didn’t plan to work alongside the RNC, and Rick Santorum’s campaign said they had no plans to join forces, but “would be happy to raise money with the RNC.” The Ron Paul campaign did not immediately respond to WSJ.

The fight for the White House and Congress is heating up with November just around the corner. Many Americans are asking, “Where is the Tea Party?”

The small-government movement seems absent. Have they lost steam? Are they asleep? What’s really going on? And what is their plan?

The April 2012 issue of The Blaze magazine examines the true state of the Tea Party.

Also in this issue, we have an exclusive excerpt from a new book exposing the truth behind Fast and Furious, the program that sent thousands of guns to drug cartels in Mexico and has resulted in the deaths of hundreds of people, including federal agents. The administration is doing everything possible to hide the gory details and use the scandal to push an anti-Second Amendment agenda.

Plus: the atheist movement’s faith system of religious practices to spread secular beliefs; a new faith-friendly film that’s getting major secular kudos; the truth about the U.S. oil supply; an exclusive interview with Sen. Rand Paul; and much more.

Subscribe to The Blaze Magaizne today.

We asked you yesterday to caption that photo!

The winner:

“Bill? Bill who?”– PAVEPAWS

Runners-up:

“Not again Joe, you have to put the toast IN the toaster, then push the button!”– ALLAMERICANGIRL22

“I’ve set the contrast up to max…yet why is the screen so dark?”– KICKINBACK

“Oh for God’s sake! No Bill, I don‘t know when I’ll be HOME! Is that a problem for you?”– LUCY LARUE

“Kim Jung-il lives, in drag.”– CAROLYN252

“Ok Bill, if you didn’t mean to send this picture of your wiener to me, then who DID you mean to send it to?”– BALTHAZOR

“Bill, you’re getting a little too old for this sexting thing aren’t you?– ZEN PATRIOT

Gov. Mary Fallin (R-OK) :

“The bottom line is this administration is taking credit for American energy production while it works to aggressively undermine it.”

For millions of Americans, this weekend is a time to celebrate redemption at God’s hand. Tonight, Jews will gather for a second Seder, where they will retell the story of the Exodus. And tomorrow, my family will join Christians around the world as we thank God for the all-important gift of grace through the resurrection of His son, and experience the wonder of Easter morning.

These holidays have their roots in miracles that took place thousands of years ago. They connect us to our past and give us strength as we face the future. And they remind us of the common thread of humanity that connects us all.

For me, and for countless other Christians, Easter weekend is a time to reflect and rejoice. Yesterday, many of us took a few quiet moments to try and fathom the tremendous sacrifice Jesus made for all of us.

Tomorrow, we will celebrate the resurrection of a savior who died so that we might live.

Read the full transcript here.

The Blaze recently posted a handy guide to vetting the potential Vice Presidential candidates for current leader, Mitt Romney.

If the GOP 2012 Presidential Candidate is ultimately Mr. Romney, who should be his Vice Presidential pick?

Update from Saturday morning:

After more than 240,000 responses have been counted, the current, top three vote-getters in our GOP Veepstakes are:

1. Allen West

2. Marco Rubio

3. Paul Ryan

We will continue to monitor the results and publish a final update on Monday.

Take our poll and add your own candidates.

VEEPSTAKES 2012