Free Republic

Mitt Romney was firm and direct with the abortion rights advocates sitting in his office nine years ago, assuring the group that if elected Massachusetts governor, he would protect the state’s abortion laws. Then, as the meeting drew to a close, the businessman offered an intriguing suggestion — that he would rise to national prominence in the Republican Party as a victor in a liberal state and could use his influence to soften the GOP’s hard-line opposition to abortion. He would be a “good voice in the party” for their cause, and his moderation on the issue would be “widely...

Mitt Romney was a moderate governor in Massachusetts with an unimpressive record of governance. He left office with an approval rating in the thirties and his signature achievement, Romneycare, was a Hurricane Katrina style disaster for the state. Since that’s the case, it’s fair to ask what a Republican who’s not conservative and can’t even carry his own state brings to the table for GOP primary voters. The answer is always the same: Mitt Romney is supposed to be “the most electable” candidate. This is a baffling argument because many people just seem to assume it’s true, despite the plethora...

Here is a “Reality Check” report from North Dakota on how Mitt Romney is walking away with 16 of North Dakota’s 25 GOP Delegates to the National Convention even though he came in third place behind Rick Santorum and Ron Paul in Super Tuesday voting.

VERNON HILLS, Ill. (AP) -- Mitt Romney's wife says now is the time for Republicans to unite behind one presidential nominee. Ann Romney stood at her husband's side Sunday night at a rally in suburban Chicago and offered the campaign's most aggressive plea yet for Republicans to end their extended nomination fight.

(Reuters) - Mitt Romney is struggling to regain control of the race for the Republican presidential nomination, but his allies appear ready to offer him a strong crutch for the road ahead. Restore Our Future, the independent "Super PAC" that supports Romney, spent $13.5 million in January on ads attacking his rivals and still emerged with $16.3 million in the bank, according to disclosures filed Monday with the Federal Election Commission.The pro-Romney PAC, or political action committee, spent $12.3 million alone on TV, Internet and radio ads that went after former U.S. House of Representatives speaker Newt Gingrich, Romney's chief...

Mitt Romney says it's been a good night for Rick Santorum, but that he still expects to become the Republican nominee for president. After losses to Santorum in Missouri's non-binding primary and the Minnesota caucuses -- where he is in third place -- Romney is congratulating the former Pennsylvania senator but continuing to focus on President Barack Obama. Despite Tuesday's setbacks, Romney says he is ready to lead the Republican Party and is happy to compare his record on leadership to Obama's.

Romney: The Castor-Oil CandidateRepublicans are finding the prospect of nominating Mitt hard to swallow. Nominating Mitt Romney is sort of like taking Grandma’s castor oil. Republicans are dreading the thought of downing their unpleasant-tasting medicine but worry that sooner or later they will have to.By any logical political calculus, the former Massachusetts governor is an ideal presidential candidate. Ramrod straight, fit, and well-educated, he knows all sorts of facts and figures and comes across like a cinematic chief executive.At any other time, an informed technocrat like Romney would seem a dream candidate. Yet in the run-up to this election, Americans...

NOVEMBER 13, 2011 WSJ/NBC Poll: Cain, Perry Woes Bolster Romney and Gingrich By Jonathan Weisman A week of turmoil in the race for the Republican presidential nomination has damaged Herman Cain and devastated Texas Gov. Rick Perry, all apparently to the benefit of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, according to new polling numbers from the Wall Street Journal/NBC News survey. (The full results are here.) Republican presidential hopefuls (L-R), Herman Cain, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry at the South Carolina Presidential Debate at Wofford College Saturday. (Paul J. Richards/AFP/Getty Images) The Journal/NBC News polling team late last week...

The large Republican presidential field, along with the dramatic surges and collapses of several of its candidates, may ultimately be much ado about nothing. That, at least, is the conclusion of the Republican strategists surveyed in this week's National Journal Political Insiders Poll, who almost unanimously identified Mitt Romney as the most likely candidate to win the nomination. In the five times the GOP Insiders have been asked that question in 2011, Romney has never surrendered the top spot.

The large Republican presidential field, along with the dramatic surges and collapses of several of its candidates, may ultimately be much ado about nothing. That, at least, is the conclusion of the Republican strategists surveyed in this week's National Journal Political Insiders Poll, who almost unanimously identified Mitt Romney as the most likely candidate to win the nomination. In the five times the GOP Insiders have been asked that question in 2011, Romney has never surrendered the top spot.