Free Republic

Mitt Romney is running into tax trouble. The GOP presidential front-runner said Tuesday that he “probably” pays a tax rate of about 15 percent, providing additional fodder for critics already calling on Romney to release his tax returns. The admission, days before a South Carolina primary where Romney is the prohibitive favorite, is also likely to play into a general-election contest that seems destined to be fought along lines of class. President Obama is calling for tax rates on the wealthy to be increased, including the capital gains tax. He has trumpeted billionaire Warren Buffett’s argument that the rich should...

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...

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...

Mitt Romney, like many Republicans, has mocked President Obama's use of a teleprompter, suggesting it speaks to the overall ineptitude of the commander-in-chief. But there he was at his victory speech Tuesday -- possibly one of the biggest speeches of his life -- reading from a pair of teleprompters. The two clear screens were hard to miss in front of the stage. They stood tall, well above the heads of the crowd that gathered on the floor of the Southern New Hampshire University dining hall to listen to the former governor's speech, which ended up being very well received. Mr....

San Diego (CNN) -- Mitt, we hardly knew ye. Or should I say, "primo!" As much as it embarrasses me to admit it, given some of his views and how he expresses them, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee and I could be distant cousins. Romney's father, George, was born in Chihuahua, Mexico, and so was my grandfather, Roman. Que? You didn't know that Mitt Romney was half-Mexican? It's true. In fact, if he makes it to the White House, in addition to becoming the first Mormon in the Oval Office, he could also be the nation's first Hispanic president. Don't...

As Matthew Boyle noted, the ad wars for New Hampshire are about to heat up. Here is the full-page Union Leader ad that Mitt Romney can look forward to seeing when he arrives New Hampshire tomorrow…

INDEPENDENCE, Iowa — No more Mr. Nice Guy. Newt Gingrich will “draw a very clear contrast” with Romney “every day” immediately after the Iowa caucuses Tuesday, the former House speaker told ABC News. “Everything we say will have Romney’s quote, Romney’s videotape, Romney’s record; it’ll all be based explicitly on Romney,” Gingrich said in an interview in Independence, Iowa. Gingrich has said repeatedly that Republicans should aim their attacks at President Obama, not fellow Republicans. But after getting hammered by millions of dollars in negative ads, Gingrich says he will now return fire, targeting Romney over and over again.

Matt Romney may not want to count on inheriting his dad's millions. Mitt Romney's son stole a bit of the news cycle on Friday after he joked to a group of seniors in New Hampshire that his dad would release his tax records when President Obama released his birth certificate. "He has not said that he will not do it, he has also not said that he will. I think it's a matter of time until that issue comes up because I think everybody has to get a chance to do that. And so I don't know the answer to...

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...

Requiring people to have health insurance is "conservative," GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney told MSNBC on Wednesday, but only if states do it. The argument aims to improve Romney's appeal to Republican voters concerned about the healthcare reform plan he signed into law as governor of Massachusetts in 2006. The Massachusetts law contains an individual mandate similar to the one in President Obama's healthcare law, which conservatives despise. "Personal responsibility," Romney said, "is more conservative in my view than something being given out for free by government."

A bevy of prominent New York Republicans endorsed Mitt Romney’s candidacy for the presidency Tuesday, saying the former Massachusetts governor represents the GOP’s best chance to beat President Obama. And in saying so, some of them said former House Speaker Newt Gingrich would likely fare far worse against Obama — and might just pull other Republicans on the ballot down to defeat, as well. “I think Mitt Romney represents the best chance for Republicans to win the White House,” said former Erie County Republican Chairman Robert E. Davis. “I just don’t see Newt Gingrich beating Barack Obama. He’s controversial.” What’s...

MSNBC daytime anchor Thomas Roberts says Mitt Romney's "Keep America America" line pays homage to the Ku Klux Klan. The patriotic slogan, which is used in this video, was apparently used by the KKK in the early 1900s.

In 1994, Mitt Romney, running against Ted Kennedy for the senate, did not back the Contract with America. From the October 1, 1994 edition of the Boston Globe (emphasis mine): Republican US Senate hopeful Mitt Romney yesterday distanced himself from a GOP leadership move to rally congressional candidates behind a “contract with America” – a 10-point manifesto that embraces welfare cuts, tax cuts and a beefed-up military. The contract, promoted by Rep. Newt Gingrich of Georgia, is already a hot issue in Massachusetts’ 6th and 3d congressional districts, where Republican freshmen Peter Torkildsen of Danvers and Peter Blute of Shrewsbury...

In a speech to supporters, Mitt announced that it was time to wrap up this whole primary thing and get on with the business of running for office, for Pete’s sake. Today, Mitt announced that his friend in the private equity industry, Gordon Gekko, as his running mate on the Republican ticket.

Every once in a while you need to bring yourself back down to Earth and make sure you’re prepared for hard times, no matter how optimistic you may be feeling. No, we’re not talking about the coming zombie apocalypse or the idea that the Patriots might still win the AFC East title this year. This is even more dark and foreboding. What would happen if Obama wins the election next November? That’s pretty much the point of a lengthy essay at Outside the Beltway by Doug Mataconis this week.After noting that Obama’s prospects are certainly looking dim, Doug reminds us...

Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee gave his thoughts on the 2012 Republican presidential candidates Sunday in an interview with WABC’s Aaron Klein. As the candidates continue to trade rankings in the national polls, Huckabee, who won the Iowa caucuses in his own election bid in 2008, spoke of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney’s chances of winning the primary. The former Republican presidential candidate urged conservative Republicans to support Romney because he believes the former Massachusetts Gov. has the best chance of defeating Barack Obama in 2012. “Mitt Romney may not be their first choice, but Mitt Romney every day of...

Mitt Romney, under fire from all sides on the strength of his political convictions, said Thursday he has been as consistent as a person can be during his political career. "I've been as consistent as human beings can be," the presidential candidate said in a meeting with the editorial board of New Hampshire's Seacoast Media Group. "I cannot state every single issue in exactly the same words every single time, and so there are some folks who, obviously, for various political and campaign purposes will try and find some change and try to draw great attention to something which looks...

"WASHINGTON – Former Governor Mitt Romney resigned today from the board of directors of Marriott International, potentially another sign of his preparations for another presidential run. Romney, who served on Marriott’s board for 10 years before resigning to run for governor in 2002, rejoined the board in January 2009.

Campaigning in Ohio today, Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney stopped by a Republican Party phone-bank making calls in support of Gov. John Kasich's government union reform referendum, but refused to endorse the actual referendum. CNN's Peter Hamby called the scene an "incredible moment in politics."

South Carolina Republican U.S. Senator Jim DeMint downplayed speculation that he is preparing to endorse Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, saying reports were little more than “fabrication.” “That story is a fabrication made up of anonymous sources that obviously have no clue what Senator DeMint is thinking,” DeMint spokesman Wesley Denton said. “He has said over and over again that he is not leaning toward any candidate yet and may end up not endorsing in the presidential race.”