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On this week’s Slate Political Gabfest, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss Mitt Romney’s take on the 47 percent, Sasha Issenberg’s data-driven strategies for winning elections, and the gay marriage cases that may be taken up this term by the Supreme Court.  

Here are some of the links and references mentioned during this week's show:

• The New York Times has a useful historical review of the evolution of tax policy across GOP and Democratic administrations.
• Who are the 47 percent? John mentions that most people pay payroll taxes. For more data on the 47 percent, see Mark Thoma and Ezra Klein.
• Slate’s Dave Weigel considers the conservatives defending Romney and asks: What would Pat Buchanan do?
• Slate’s Eliot Spitzer considers why redistribution is good for America.
• Emily is surprised when David omits the part about naked swimming pool parties; David Corn, the Mother Jones writer who first posted the video of Romney, goes there.
• David points to David Frum’s two-part essay on the sinister message that underlies Romney’s gaffe.
• John remembers that Romney’s week started with news about campaign infighting; Politico has the piece driving that discussion.
• Sasha Issenberg’s The Victory Lab: The Secret Science of Winning Campaigns.
• You can read more from Sasha on Slate’s Victory Lab blog.
• David recommends Sasha’s piece about the search for missing black voters in Milwaukee.
• Read Emily’s piece for more about SCOTUS and gay marriage. SCOTUSblog also has a post on the challenge to California’s Proposition 8 and about the cases relating to DOMA’s benefits ban.

John chatters about a Twitter conversation between two Star Trek commanders about their cable woes.

Emily chatters about a New York Times policy change on after-the-fact quote approval by sources.

David chatters about an amazing cancer story.

Topic ideas for next week? You can tweet suggestions, links, and questions to @SlateGabfest.

The email address for the Political Gabfest is gabfest@slate.com. (Email may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) Podcast production by Mike Vuolo and Andy Bowers. Links compiled by Jeff Friedrich.