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Appearing on Monday’s Hannity, Sarah Palin minced no words by saying nothing was “off the table” when it comes to vetting Barack Obama. There was a group that wanted to revisit Obama’s past associations, including Reverend Jeremiah Wright, the radical Marxist preacher whose church Obama sat in for 20 years, and now claims was pressured to stay quiet about Obama. Mitt Romney, Speaker of the House John Boehner, and many other GOP establishment leaders have chastised those who would talk about Wright. Never mind the democrats are already raising money off this issue. As Sarah notes, nothing can be left...

According to the Times, the Romney team has decided not to assail Obama's "likability," for fear personal attacks will backfire with independents. Message to the Republican establishment:  do not muzzle those of us who want to focus on Obama's troubling history with angry Marxists, black and white, including Reverend Wright and Bill Ayers.   This is not about race.  It is about knowing who Obama is, understanding what he has already done to our country, and what he is capable of doing.  The issue of Rev erend Wright is not peripheral, it is central.  It gets to the heart of the...

Yesterday it was reported by Guy Benson at Townhall.com that former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, the Republican Party’s presumptive nominee, did something he was reluctant to do during his primary fight: He “repudiated” the efforts of a political action committee to attack one of his opponents. On his Thursday radio show, Levin suggested highlighting Rev. Wright was being “repudiated” because it would be interpreted as racist. “In the next six months, this campaign, or however long it goes — listen to me, but don’t listen to me,” Levin said. “Don’t bring up Rev. Wright, because the Obama campaign says if...

Herman Cain is denouncing Democrats for suggesting that attacking President Barack Obama’s connections to Rev. Jeremiah Wright is racist, saying that using the reverend to go after the president is “fair game.” “It is fair if someone wants to highlight the Rev. Jeremiah Wright and his relationship with Barack Obama because, quite frankly, it wasn’t highlighted enough in 2008 when he was running for president the first time,” Cain told Greta Van Susteren of Fox News on Thursday. “This administration, which has been shown to go after people who donate to Mitt Romney and try and slander their reputation, then,...

Levin is livid over the fact that Romney repudiated anything to do with bringing up Rev. Wright in this campaign even though in the primaries he went full throttle against Newt Gingrich, even with false attack ads:

Mitt Romney says he rejects efforts to use President Barack Obama's former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, in ads attacking the president, insisting the campaign should remain focused on the economy. "I repudiate the effort by that PAC to promote an ad strategy of the nature they've described," Romney said in an interview with Townhall.com. "I would like to see this campaign focus on the economy, on getting people back to work, on seeing rising incomes and growing prosperity—particularly for those in the middle class of America."

Now that the choices are narrowed we should have a Gingrich-Romney debate They would have more time than ever before to say their side, and Gingrich would get a lot of time to speak

Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, and Rick Santorum have agreed to a debate in May sponsored by the Texas Republican party. “Both my staff and myself have reached out to the campaign of Governor Mitt Romney and have been told that they are considering attending the debate,” state-party chairman Steve Munisteri says in a press release. The statement notes:.....

Ann Romney: No more debates for MittBy Keith Laing - 02/25/12 03:10 PM ET Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's wife Ann said the former Massachusetts governor would not participate in any more debates in the GOP primary. Introducing Romney before his speech to the conservative group Americans For Prosperity's forum in Troy, Mich., Ann Romney said that she decided that her husband should stop debating the other Republican candidates. "I've also decided no more debates," Ann Romney said to laugher in her introduction of her husband. "If we do another debate, he's going to sit in the audience and watch...

The front of the GOP pack will be absent at the March 1 debate in Atlanta sponsored by CNN and the Georgia Republican Party, CBS News/National Journal has learned. The Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum campaigns said they have decided to skip the debate, throwing into question whether it will happen as planned. "With eight other states voting on March 6, we will be campaigning in other parts of the country and unable to schedule the CNN Georgia debate," Romney spokeswoman Andrea Saul said. "We have participated in 20 debates, including eight from CNN." The 20 debates include one scheduled for...

Mitt Romney will not take part in March 1 debate in Georgia, the final debate before Super Tuesday on March 6, his campaign said Thursday. And Rick Santorum looks like he will sit it out as well. [snip] By not attending the debate, Romney’s campaign appears to be trying to de-emphasize its importance and instead relying on his overwhelming financial advantage on the airwaves. Romney’s campaign and a super PAC supporting him have all but drowned out their opponents with ads. The debate is in the state Gingrich represented in the U.S. House, but both Romney and Santorum have signaled...

This Tuesday, voters in Florida will have their chance to tell the country which Republican candidate they favor. The winner will say the people have spoken, thank them for their support and move on. The losers will say they’re moving on to the next primary. The media and DC powerbrokers will hype it all like it matters, but if it goes the way they’re predicting, the way they want, nothing will change. Given the millions of dollars he’s dumped into the state, both directly and through supportive SuperPACs, and the early voting in Florida, Mitt Romney is expected to win....

MOUNT DORA, Fla. -- Newt Gingrich trained his full arsenal of weaponry on Mitt Romney at a rally here Thursday morning, charging that his opponent wouldn't stand up to President Obama in a general election and questioning his commitment to the GOP. It was the harshest critique Gingrich has leveled to date and may be a reflection of his slackened showing in the polls. It also underscored Gingrich's strategy of capitalizing on the free media and momentum he tends to capture in debates; tonight CNN is hosting the final debate before Florida voters render their judgment on Tuesday, and the...

COLUMBIA, S.C. – Voters battled rainstorms and tornado warnings as they streamed to the polls here today, capping a tumultuous and at times politically dizzying week of events that, by tonight, could potentially reshape the Republican presidential nomination process once more. Extending a more aggressive phase of his campaign, Mitt Romney today renewed attacks on Newt Gingrich, calling on the former House speaker to release records related to his role consulting Freddie Mac, the quasi-public lending agency that many blame for accelerating the housing crisis. “I’d like to see what he actually told Freddie Mac,” Romney told reporters after visiting...

GILBERT, S.C. — Mitt Romney and a top surrogate called for Newt Gingrich, Romney's chief rival for the Republican presidential nomination, to release the House Ethics Committee report that led to a reprimand of Gingrich and a $300,000 fine. After Romney was pressed on his tax returns, Gov. Nikki Haley (R-S.C.) stepped in and interrupted Romney. "The people of South Carolina are not talking about tax returns. They're not. They're talking about jobs, spending and the economy," she said before taking a shot at Gingrich, who is neck and neck with Romney in recent polls of South Carolina. "In all...

On her show today, radio host Laura Ingraham gave Mitt Romney an opportunity to respond to comments made by rival candidate Newt Gingrich this morning on the CBS Early Show. Gingrich, you’ll recall, referred to the former governor as a “liar” and a “Massachusetts moderate” rather than a true conservative. RELATED: Newt Gingrich: Mitt Romney Is A Liar, ‘Massachusetts Moderate’Mitt Romney’s response was pretty much classic Mitt Romney: “Well, I don’t know why he’s so angry.”“Well,” said Ingraham, “he’s angry because he sees himself lacerated in commercial after commercial and he gets a 98.6 percent pro-life voting record yet, you...

Reporting from Florence, S.C.— Newt Gingrich on Tuesday questioned why Mitt Romney has not released his tax returns, arguing that if the front-runner for the GOP presidential nomination has nothing to hide, he ought to make the documents public before South Carolina holds its first-in-the-South primary on Saturday. "Either there's nothing there, so why isn't he releasing them, or there's something there, so why is he hiding them?" Gingrich told reporters here after holding a town hall at an art gallery. "I believe we have the right to know. Therefore, he owes us the knowledge. If there's nothing there, why...

MYRTLE BEACH, SC - Texas Governor Rick Perry is demanding Mitt Romney release his tax records, warning there can't be any surprises should the GOP front-runner become the party's nominee. "Anita and I put out our taxes every year since back the 80s, and every candidate up there, they should put their taxes out, including Mitt," Perry insisted during a town hall meeting. "You know, November, or excuse me, September and October, is not the time for us to be finding out that whoops, there's something out there that is a problem. We need to know it now." Perry has...

GOP hopeful Mitt Romney made a guest appearance on Fox & Friends Wednesday morning, and hit on everything from his growing feud with Newt Gingrich to his record of conservatism as governor of Massachusetts. Romney added a bit of a soft touch on Gingrich’s inability to get on the ballot in Virginia by explaining why he compared Gingrich to Lucille Ball. “We all make mistakes and sometimes our campaigns can’t get things done quite right. I don’t compare those mistakes to Pearl Harbor. When I see mistakes, I try and find a little humor. In this case, Lucille Ball in...

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is a conservative. At least, that is the point the former Massachusetts governor is trying to make with a new TV ad airing in Iowa. The new ad, titled “Conservative Agenda,” shows Romney speaking on the stump and meeting with voters, as he makes a series of commitments. “I am going to do something to government. I’m going to make it ‘Simpler, and Smaller, and Smarter,’” Romney says. “Getting rid of programs, turning programs back to states, and finally making government itself more efficient.” Romney pledges to repeal President Obama’s health care overhaul and balance...

Poll: Mitt Romney In Command In New Hampshire By Maeve Reston December 25, 2011 Christmas brought good news for GOP presidential contender Mitt Romney, who is holding on to his double digit lead in the critical early primary state of New Hampshire. This morning’s Boston Globe poll shows the former Massachusetts governor leading the Republican field with 39% among voters likely to cast ballots in the Jan. 10 Republican primary. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who has led in some national polls, was tied with Texas Congressman Ron Paul in second place with 17%. Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, who...

Gingrich vs. Romney: Head to Head Debate? Now that Gingrich and Romney have emerged as the clear Republican front-runners, the two candidates are being heavily vetted for the impending primaries and caususes. After a number of crowded GOP stages, some suggest it is time to narrow the debates down to the front-runners. Do you want to see Gingrich and Romney discuss the issues in a one on one debate? Yes No Click the Human Events source link above to vote.

Romney's failure to move above the 25 percent mark in national opinion polls throughout the year is a problem. But if Gingrich's support collapses in Iowa, which holds its nominating contest on January 3, Romney could have a respectable showing and pick up momentum going into the January 10 New Hampshire primary. Texas Congressman Ron Paul holds a narrow lead over Romney in most Iowa polls, with Gingrich having slipped to third. "Wonder why Gingrich's numbers are falling in Iowa? Romney (and Super PACs supporting him) are outspending Gingrich 34:1 this week," noted the Democratic strategy firm Anzalone Liszt Research....

Romney Touts Himself As Successful Consensus Builder Philip Rucker December 23 When Mitt Romney was governor, he had a routine: Every Monday afternoon at 3, he would meet with the two Democrats who controlled the Massachusetts legislature. They rotated offices each week and, over cheese, juice and popcorn, the three negotiated the budget, taxes and health care. Sometimes they just chitchatted about movies, leaving Romney to wonder whether he had just wasted an hour. This was how Romney governed as a Republican here on Beacon Hill, where the legislature was 85 percent Democratic. He was practical, not ideological. He was...

Newt Gingrich intends to draw a contrast of his own with Mitt Romney when he buses through Iowa next week in the lead-up to the Jan. 3 Iowa caucuses – and he’s going right for Romney’s economic plan and experience. The Gingrich campaign has spent the past week on the defensive in the face of criticism from Romney himself that the former House speaker is unreliable, from the Romney campaign for not being staunchly conservative, and from a Romney-affiliated “Super PAC” with an onslaught of negative advertising. But after spending the week scolding the Romney camp for negativity in order...

LANCASTER, N.H. – Mitt Romney today said that the $40 many Americans would lose if the payroll tax holiday isn’t extended would make a “very substantial difference” to those who would be without it. “It’ll be the difference between having a meal that includes meat or just Hamburger Helper,” said Romney in an interview with ABC News’ John Berman aboard his new campaign bus in northern New Hampshire. “It could be the difference between being able to take your family to McDonald’s at the end of the week. It means the difference between being able to go to a movie...

There’s nothing new about politicians making promises they are in no position to keep. Herbert Hoover’s 1928 campaign promised a “chicken in every pot and a car in every backyard, to boot.” Michele Bachmann is promising $2 a gallon gasoline. President Obama promised “hope and change.” But when it comes to political pandering, it’s hard to beat a promise Mitt Romney made on Thursday in New Hampshire to a 21-year-old college student named Kallie Durkit, who wanted to know why college students should support Romney instead of Obama. “What I can promise you is this – when you get out...

Mitt Romney said he will not release his tax returns if he wins the Republican nomination for president, a rare move for a candidate. When asked if he would, Romney, in an unaired segment of an interview with MSNBC’s Chuck Todd, said that he doesn’t “intend to” release the returns. “I doubt it. I will provide all the financial info, which is an extraordinary pile of documents which show investments and so forth,” he said, according to video provided by NBC. When Todd pointed out that Romney had asked Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) to release his returns during their 1994...

In an interview with the AP while campaigning in New Hampshire today, Mitt Romney said he would not meet Newt Gingrich in a one on one debate "out of respect" for the other candidates in the GOP race. What a copout. Were Herman Cain, Rick Santorum and Jon Huntsman being disrespectful to Romney when they agreed to one on one debates with Gingrich? When it comes to Newt, I guess Mitt is content to hide behind his surrogates and third party attack ads. And here I thought Mitt wanted to earn the nomination. Well, if Mitt wants to earn my...

Newt challenged Mitt Romney to debate him on the lies Romney's attack ads are spewing out over the airways in Iowa. America Live, on FOX News, just now (1:08 p.m. CST), questioned Romney about it and asked if he would accept the Speaker's challenge to debate. Surprise, surprise; Romney said that as long as there are still other candidates in the race, he must respect them and not debate without them. WHAT A LOW-LIFE, LYING, SCUMMY COWARD MITT ROMNEY IS!!!

BETHLEHEM, N.H. (AP) - Mitt Romney is telling The Associated Press that he won't agree to debate Newt Gingrich one on one. The former Massachusetts governor says in an AP interview that he's not declining his rival's debate challenge because he's afraid to square off against Gingrich, as the former House speaker has implied. Rather, Romney says he doesn't want to define the contest as a "two-man race." And he says that debating Gingrich alone would be disrespectful to other candidates. Romney also is continuing to distance himself from the Washington standoff over the payroll tax-cut extension. He suggests it's...

There’s Good Newt, Bad Newt, and now Righteously P.O.’d Newt. The image of Romney as a gutless, too-slick moneybags who’s paying others to do his dirty work for him while pretending that he’s powerless to stop them would resonate deeply if Gingrich can really push it over the next two weeks. But how’s he going to do that? There are no more debates scheduled before the caucuses and people are tuning out of politics for the holidays. And even if Newt decided to run ads about it, the likely beneficiary as Romney suffers and slumps in the polls would be...

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) - Newt Gingrich's presidential campaign hit back at GOP rival Mitt Romney on Friday, saying criticism by the former Massachusetts governor's campaign seemed desperate. "What we're seeing from Mitt Romney in Boston is desperation and panic and I think that's going to be very frustrating to people moving forward," said Iowa state Rep. Linda Upmeyer, one of Gingrich's surrogates here, referring to Romney's campaign headquarters in Massachusetts. "That isn't what wins you caucuses or elections here in Iowa." Former Rep. Greg Ganske, who was elected to Congress in 1994 and served under Gingrich when he was...

To the list of absolutely crucial wedge issues distinguishing the Republican primary candidates, this week added a new one: What is your position on Donald Trump? In my latest TIME column (subscription required), I look at the latest step in the reality-TV-ification of the Republican primary—Trump’s plan to moderate a GOP debate later this month—and how it reflects the bifurcated race between (for now anyway) “frontrunner” Newt Gingrich and “favorite” Mitt Romney. Gingrich and Romney’s responses to the debate offer showed the difference between their style and their political positioning. Gingrich accepted almost instantly, seeming to relish what a hoot...

GOP Candidates to Trump Debate: You’re Fired Planned debate strikes some as a publicity stunt for the moderator. By Walt Cronkite Updated: December 6, 2011 Donald Trump may have mastered the art of the real-estate deal, but when it comes to debates, he’s still an apprentice. From National Journal: The celebrity businessman is having difficulty securing commitments from Republican presidential candidates for a Dec. 27 debate that he’s planning to moderate in Des Moines, Iowa. Mitt Romney became the latest big-name candidate to send his regrets, telling Fox News’ Neil Cavuto that he informed Trump earlier on Tuesday that he...

The National Journal has an article about the Trump debate that is to happen on December 27th. Ron Paul and Jon Huntsman aren't going to be there, and now Romney says he won't "kiss the ring" of the Trumpster either. You know, if I was Trump, I'd ask Sarah Palin to join him to moderate the debate. The left in the media are talking about how Trump is just a publicity hog, and how he's not a serious journalist who can moderate a debate, forget that, if Sarah Palin, who did go to college for journalism's sake and knows a...

Via Mediaite. He did the right thing but, Mitt being Mitt, I can’t help wondering what the political calculus was behind it. Remember, he’s not above pandering to Trump. He met with him at his office a few months ago while taking care not to be caught on camera doing so, natch. Skipping the debate, I take it, is designed to show undecideds that he’s more presidential (and therefore electable?) than Newt and Perry, and maybe to signal that he’s more willing than people assume to take a political risk. Expect a “Sistah Souljah” reference or two in the coverage...

n an interview Tuesday with Neil Cavuto on Fox News, Mitt Romney announced that he will not be participating in the NewsMax debate on December 27 — which will be hosted by Donald Trump, the businessman, media personality and, most controversially, prominent birther activist. Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum have so far accepted the invitation. Ron Paul and Jon Huntsman have turned down the invitation, and gone out of their way to reject Trump himself as a debate moderator who would demean the process. In Romney’s case, however, he is simply chalking it up to scheduling. “No, I’m not participating...

With the Republican presidential primary appearing to have narrowed into a two-man contest, Human Events and Red State moved quickly to lock down a date for a Lincoln-Douglas-style debate between Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich. The two organizations went so far this past Monday as to firm up the Annenberg Theater at the Newseum in Washington as the venue on Dec. 19 after another debate originally scheduled that day was canceled. For its part, the Newseum was excited to host the pre-primary forum. There was just one problem. While Gingrich was ready to take his place on the stage, the...

Via the Right Scoop, I encourage you to watch the interview if you missed it last night or read the transcript. Here’s the sort of “uncalled for,” out-of-left-field word grenade that Bret Baier was lobbing at poor defenseless Mitt Romney: BAIER: About your book, you talk about Massachusetts healthcare. We’ve heard you many times, in the debates and interviews, talk about how it is different in your mind than the president’s healthcare law, Obamacare. The question is, do you still support the idea of a mandate? Do you believe that that was the right thing for Massachusetts? Do you think...

The LDS Church is politically neutral, as is MDL. Mormons hold elected office and positions of responsibility in both US political parties and various parties worldwide. When we respond to any issue regarding politics, we do so only to correct misinformation and misperceptions about the Church, not in an effort to promote a particular candidate or party. Recently, Politico reported that part of President Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign strategy will be to portray Mitt Romney, a Mormon and possible Republican presidential nominee, as “weird.” The Politico report did not specifically tie the “weird” charge to Romney’s Mormon faith, but many...

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is preparing for a higher profile in Iowa, where he possibly could land a knockout punch if two top rivals don't quickly fix their campaign problems and back-of-the-pack contenders such as Newt Gingrich [and Herman Cain who is currently leading in the pols] don't move quickly to energize voters. Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, recently recorded a TV campaign ad at a sheet-metal plant in Dubuque, in eastern Iowa. It's not shocking that he would prepare such ads. But every Romney step in Iowa intrigues GOP activists. After a crushingly disappointing loss there in 2008,...

.....“Governor Perry has always released his tax returns and Mitt Romney and the other candidates should do the same.” If history is any indication, watch for Perry to push that theme hard, and for Romney to remain firm in his decision to keep his returns private. “We’ll take a look at the question of releasing tax returns during the next tax filing season,” says Romney spokeswoman Andrea Saul about the Perry campaign’s request. By then, of course, the primary campaign could be effectively over. Perry communications director Ray Sullivan responds: “Governor Perry made a decision a long time ago in...

Hohmann: Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace publicly called out Mitt Romney this morning for avoiding press scrutiny. At the end of a 26-minute interview with Texas Gov. Rick Perry in Austin, Wallace noted that he has now interviewed all the major candidates as part of his 2012 one-on-one series, except the frontrunner. ---- “He has not appeared on this program or any Sunday talk show since March of 2010,” Wallace said. “We invited Gov. Romney again this week, but his campaign says he’s still not ready to sit down for an interview.” Because of the influence Fox wields among...

It might have been Mitt Romney’s most revealing moment in all the Republican debates. Badgered by Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who was continually interrupting him, Romney appealed to CNN moderator Anderson Cooper to reassert the rules of the debate: “Anderson?” That one-word plaint could stand for all of Romney’s straight-arrowness. It is a virtue and a curse. “Scandal” and “Romney” are two words you expect never to have to see in a sentence together. He’s every bit as upstanding as you would expect from a former Mormon bishop, a father of five and grandfather of 16. Romney is a familiar...

Republican presidential candidate Cain hadn’t been in the state for two months, but he was able to connect with a majority of about 800 conservatives at the Des Moines event and reassure them that he was pro-life. “In terms of preventing abortion on demand, I would not sign any legislation for government-funded abortion,” Bloomberg quoted the former Godfather’s Pizza CEO as telling the audience, as he sought to defend his Oct. 19 statement to CNN that although he opposed abortion,“it’s not the government’s role or anybody else’s role to make that decision.” “I would not sign any legislation that in...

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa - At his third and final stop of a one-day swing through the state of Iowa, Mitt Romney did his best to keep the focus on the economy, but ended up addressing both his faith and President Obama's role in bringing down Libyan dictator Muammar el-Qaddafi. Asked by reporters as he was leaving the Council Bluffs Chamber of Commerce whether the president deserves some credit for the death of the ousted Libyan leader, Romney said: "Yes. Yes, absolutely." At an earlier town hall in Sioux City, Romney expressed satisfaction at Qaddafi's demise. "I think it's about time....

After watching the GOP presidential debate the other night, it was hard to avoid this conclusion: Mitt Romney looks more and more like the GOP presidential nominee. He's the best debater. He's got his issues and his rejoinders down pat. He brushes away his opponents like lint on his lapel. And all with such ease. That said, there's a teensy problem he just can't seem to beat: Conservatives don't like him. Or trust him. Or really want him to be the GOP nominee. Sure, you say, Republicans never like their nominees, and they still manage to vote for them. There...

“You Maniacs! You blew it up! Ah, damn you! God damn you all to hell!” – Taylor (Charlton Heston); The Planet of the Apes, (1968) This classic line is all that came to mind when I read this piece in POLITICO—following New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s decision not to enter the presidential field, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s law firm made a number of calls requesting early state filing deadlines… that’s right. She thinks she can blow it up. She just might. Poll Shows Palin Within 5 Points of Obama She Has A Documentary Out, Doncha Know? Palin’s political action...

If California Republicans didn't already suspect they are nonentities in the lively GOP presidential primary contest, they got a clear message this week from one of their party's leading 2012 candidates - La Jolla (San Diego County) homeowner Mitt Romney. [Romney] has eight-point lead over....Rick Perry among Republican voters in California, according to a new Field Poll, and will be scouring California on a fundraising drive Friday. But while he'll visit San Diego, Atherton and Pebble Beach, Romney doesn't plan to greet hundreds of activists who make up the nation's largest Republican organization as they kick off a three-day state...