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From the W moment he launched his presidential campaign on a windy New Hampshire morning in June, Willard Mitt Romney has been the acknowledged front-runner in the Republican race. He has raised more money, earned more support from his party's establishment, hired more paid staff and secured more endorsements than any of the seven other "major" GOP candidates. There is but one nagging thing keeping Romney from being dubbed the "inevitable" GOP nominee in 2012 - a solid 75 per cent of the voters in his party simply cannot stand the guy. "He is cold gravy," said Stephen Schneck, a...

PRINCETON, NJ -- Republicans are most likely to name Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich as their first choice for their party's 2012 presidential nomination, with Herman Cain close behind. Among all Republicans nationwide, Romney is the choice of 20% and Gingrich 19%. Among Republican registered voters, Gingrich is at 22% and Romney at 21%. [snip] ....Implications With the first official nominating contest, the Iowa caucuses, now just six weeks away, there is no clear national front-runner for the Republican nomination....

For Mitt Romney this is like the good old days at Bain Capital, except this time his takeover involves not another company but the Republican Party. In fact, Romney is seeking a hostile takeover of the conservative movement, methodically moving to take over Michele Bachmann, Herman Cain, Rick Perry, Ron Paul, Rick Santorum and finally Newt Gingrich. Conservatives might remember what Romney did after he took over companies. You did not want to be a worker in a firm Romney took over. He liked layoffs. I now expect Romney to move fast to the right for a few weeks while...

For those who believe the current commentariat consensus that Mitt Romney should be coronated as the inevitable Republican nominee, consider the excellent story by Alicia Cohn in The Hill about conservatives uniting to defeat Romney, and remember the GOP primaries in 1976 when Ronald Reagan was almost nominated after a late surge. Cohn's included one bit of news that has not been adequately covered by most media, the creation of a group of conservatives to be found at the notmittromney.com, and one subject that has also not been adequately covered: the importance of the Florida primary in late January and...

Republican candidates for president have been busy for weeks now, laboring strenuously to give the 2012 nomination to Mitt Romney. And he keeps trying to give it back. The former Massachusetts governor could walk to next year's GOP convention without touching the ground, treading exclusively on the bodies of rivals who have fallen on their faces. He's the equivalent of the Alabama Crimson Tide, playing a schedule heavy on Southeastern Louisiana and Middle Tennessee State. He should be running up the score every week. Instead, he keeps finding ways to keep his opponents in the game. Look at the opposition....

The answers are “yes,” quite a bit of “probably not” and a little bit of “maybe so.” George Will’s blistering column about Mitt Romney’s candidacy can be split into two parts. The first part explores a few of Romney’s mryiad flip-flops, straddles and waffles on various issues. Is Will right about Romney being the “pretzel candidate”? Yes. Indeed, on this point, Will did not even scratch the salt off the pretzel. However, it’s the second, shorter conclusion of Will’s column that is getting the buzz in political circles: Romney, supposedly the Republican most electable next November, is a recidivist reviser...

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...

Okay, the creepiness is overwhelming. Mitt Romney strikes me as the guy who wants to be president so bad that his ambition overrides his intellect. During last night's debate it was the cheap shot fired at Perry "well you've had a couple of bad debates" and Romney's hand resting atop Perry's shoulder. But if you've followed all the debates as I have you will notice a repeat offender. There is simply no graciousness to the man. And I'm an avowed Palinista.

BOSTON — On the Republican campaign trail, the health care debate has focused on the mandatory coverage that Mitt Romney signed into law as governor in 2006. But back in Massachusetts the conversation has moved on, and lawmakers are now confronting the problem that Mr. Romney left unaddressed: the state’s spiraling health care costs. After three years of study, the state’s legislative leaders appear close to producing bills that would make Massachusetts the first state — again — to radically revamp the way doctors, hospitals and other health providers are paid. Although important details remain to be negotiated, the legislative...

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...

R.I. Gov. Lincoln Chafee says former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney is “a completely different person” as a presidential candidate than the man who was once a fellow member of the Republican Party’s moderate wing in the Northeast.“It’s the same thing I saw with John McCain, and I saw with George Pataki and with Rudy Giuliani,” Chafee told WPRI.com during an interview at his office Wednesday. Referencing a speech on foreign policy Romney gave last week at The Citadel, Chafee said: “The appeal you have to make to the Republican primary audience – that’s just alien to what’s in our best...

Are you sick and tired yet of hearing about Mitt Romney being the "most electable" candidate? I am. Lately, via the media and our own RNC elites, we have been fed this constant drivel about the electability of Mitt Romney. The same tired story goes that, because Romney was the centrist Republican governor of a blue state, he has the widest voter appeal, and thus the best chance to win in a general election. This is a bad joke. Now, I'm no beltway "expert." However, I've had the opportunity to work on campaigns ranging from U.S. Senate down to City...

This column is about hypocrisy. As a libertarian, I support marriage equality for gays and abortion rights although I admit I have struggled mightily with the latter and my views have changed after the birth of my grandchildren. I have always been and remain a Second Amendment man. Mitt Romney once agreed with me. When running for the US Senate in 1994, Romney supported abortion on demand, gay marriage and gun control. That same year he attacked President Ronald Reagan and Vice President George Bush saying "I don't want to take us back to that, to Reagan-Bush." Now suddenly Mitt...

Health care remains one of President Barack Obama's greatest political weaknesses. The issue remains an equally serious problem for Republican Mitt Romney. President Obama's program to centralize medical decision-making in Washington remains as unpopular as ever. Insurers are raising premiums and canceling policies. The president's promise that Americans can keep their existing coverage has turned out to be void. Health care providers and insurers are cutting back operations and dropping jobs to comply with the new law. Washington has been forced to issue temporary waivers — over 1400, as of mid-June — to moderate the legislation's impact. Moreover, ObamaCare has...

1) She theoretically appeals to a bigger slice of the GOP (conservatives) than Romney does (moderates-centrists) 2) Her strength is in the red states while Romney's is in the blue states 3) She is a superstar; he is not 4) She draws bigger crowds than he does on the campaign trail 5) She is a far more eloquent speaker than he is 6) She does retail politicking better than Romney 7) She is younger and has far more energy than 64 year old Romney 8) She apparently is much more Internet and social networking savvy than Mitt is. 9) Palin...

The fact is that Mitt Romney is an unprincipled chameleon with ZERO core beliefs... a synthetic, calculated opportunism has taken their place. Meanwhile, most of what he actually has said and done betrays a Big-Government social liberal. Other fun facts regarding this 'conservative' fraud'spast actions, positions, and failures: refused to endorse the 1994 GOP "Contract with America" distanced himself from the Reagan legacy: "I was an independent during the time of Reagan-Bush" lost GOP House seats in both Massachusetts elections of his tenure, 2004/2006 (leaving Republicans with the least # of seats there since the Civil War)   strongly supported gay rights...

The Mama Grizzly is coming out of hibernation. This weekend, Sarah Palin is launching her "One Nation" bus tour, visiting historical sites across the country. Palin will start on Memorial Day at the Rolling Thunder weekend motorcycle rally that starts at the Pentagon. Where it will end has yet to be announced. But given Palin's other recent move—the announcement of a feature-length film on her tenure as governor—it looks as if her ultimate destination may be the White House. Whatever Mitt Romney had on his plate for Memorial Day, he'd better make room. If we assume—for the purposes of page...

Massachusetts retained its status as the most violent state in the Northeast, according to a report released Tuesday morning by public health advocates and based on statistics compiled by the FBI. In its biennial report that studies health care trends in the state, the Massachusetts Health Council said approximately 30,000 violent crimes were committed in Massachusetts in 2009 or 456 violent crimes per 100,000 people, making it the highest per capita crime rate in the Northeast. The report looked at the six New England states, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. The violent crimes include murder, manslaughter, rape, armed robbery,...

Free Republic is a pro-life, pro-family, pro-liberty constitutional conservative activist web site. Those who cannot live with that should simply stay away!! (saves wear and tear on my zot button - bitterly clinging redneck, Jim) Romney is an unrepentant abortionist/statist lying political whore! Just to be absolutely clear, there will never ever be a RINO Romney campaign on FR!! If he somehow becomes the nominee, FR will be running a full-time campaign to DEFEAT him!! If you wish to support him then I suggest you sign off FR and onto Wankers for Mitt!! Those statments make me worry that FreeRepublic...

Former Gov. Mitt Romney will have to grapple with the growing political clout of Tea Party activists — many of whom are steaming mad about his role in Massachusetts’ universal health care — as he gears up for a likely 2012 GOP presidential bid, party activists said yesterday. “It’s gonna be something he’s going to have to explain — and it might just be a disaster for him,” said Christen Varley, president of the Greater Boston Tea Party.