Free Republic

UPDATE: John McCain with Sean Hannity immediately after the debate compounds his error on immigration by giving the impression that the only change needed in McCain-Kennedy is border-security first. Wow. He just doesn't get it. Romney followed McCain and by contrast shined, and spent time talking about the Reagn example and inspiration and the Reagan-Bush legacy. Romney also got the opportunity to talk to Michigan voters. "I continue to feel that you cannot write off jobs," he replied to Sean's question about McCain's "straight-talk" about Michigan's economic woes, and spoke specifically to the auto industry's renewal in Michigan. Assuming that...

Wherever Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney goes, memories of Oakland County, Bloomfield Hills and Cranbrook Schools go with him. Willard Mitt Romney lived in Bloomfield Hills and attended Cranbrook from 1959-65. His wife, Ann, also is a Cranbrook graduate. Mitt Romney's Cranbrook schoolmates from 40 years ago - such as Gregg Dearth from Connecticut - have even volunteered to help with his campaign. Dearth reminisced about the Cranbrook years from a cab in New York City on Thursday. "We tried like hell to corrupt him," said Dearth, with a chuckle. "I broke a lot of rules. There was a lot...

Boston, MA – Today, Governor Mitt Romney announced that National Call Day 2008 has raised an estimated $5 million. About 500 Romney volunteer fundraisers from across the country joined Governor Romney in Boston today to call donors nationwide to raise both primary and general election dollars. Today marks the first Romney for President finance event in which general election dollars were raised. The success of today's event will help Governor Romney continue to compete nationwide and help communicate his message of bringing conservative change in Washington. Governor Mitt Romney said, "National Call Day 2008 has been an extraordinary success. I...

Bleeding-heart types looking for a "minority cause” for which to advocate in the 2008 presidential elections are torn between the candidacies of a woman, two African- Americans, a Hispanic and a former mayor of Cleveland who is more of a communist than Vladimir Putin. Tough choices, those, and all of them Democrats. In the interest of fairness, however, the name of Mitt Romney should be added to the shopping list of those searching for an oppressed minority to support. As a practicing member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormons), Romney is aligned with one of...

Last April, Newsmax magazine ran a cover story headlined, “Romney to the Rescue: Romney’s Got the Right Stuff for 2008.” Based on interviews I conducted with Mitt Romney and his friends, family, and aides, as well as with critics and neutral observers, the profile depicted him as a remarkably successful businessman and conservative governor with impeccable character. Since the Newsmax article appeared nothing has changed. No one has revealed that Romney appointed a close friend as police chief who has since been indicted for dealings involving figures with ties to the Mafia, as is the case with Rudy Giuliani. Giuliani...

Mitt: I’ll “go after� retailers who sell violent adult video games posted at 5:03 pm on December 21, 2007 by Allahpundit This comes courtesy of HA’s resident IT czar, Mark Jaquith, whose inner libertarian shivers at the prospect of it. Mine too. We’ve been binging on Huck’s nanny statism for weeks now, but with Mitt emerging as the viable alternative it pays to remind ourselves of the lengths to which he’s willing to go to clean up the “cesspool� that is America. I want to restore values so children are protected from a societal cesspool of filth, pornography, violence, sex,...

I can't be the only one who finds, in this anecdote, something else entirely besides, "emotion-free crisis management": Before beginning the drive, Mitt Romney put Seamus, the family's hulking Irish setter, in a dog carrier and attached it to the station wagon's roof rack. He'd built a windshield for the carrier, to make the ride more comfortable for the dog. [snip] As the oldest son, Tagg Romney commandeered the way-back of the wagon, keeping his eyes fixed out the rear window, where he glimpsed the first sign of trouble. ''Dad!'' he yelled. ''Gross!'' A brown liquid was dripping down the...

Florida evangelist Bill Keller says he was making a spiritual -- not political -- statement when he warned the 2.4 million subscribers to his Internet prayer ministry that ``if you vote for Mitt Romney, you are voting for Satan!'' But the Washington-based advocacy group Americans United for Separation of Church and State says the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) should revoke the 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status of Bill Keller Ministries, nonetheless.

THE ISSUE: Whether Mitt Romney can become the first Mormon president. (Rich Lowry "Mauling Mitt For Mormonism," PostOpinion, May 15) **** As a conservative, Romney is among the candidates for president I like most. The appearance of a squeaky-clean "Ozzie and Harriet" family life is no small part of his appeal. We need a leader who lives the way we should all aspire to.....the liberal media who idolize the likes of Bill Clinton do not feel the same way. Manhattan **** Romney should be given a fair shake.....his policies and leadership qualities should be scrutinized, not his religious affiliation. That...

MILWAUKEE, Wis. --Don't expect Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney to endorse hair dye products anytime soon. The former governor of Massachusetts laid to rest on Friday any rumors that he dyes his hair black. His sleek dark coif, with just a hint of gray on his sideburns, is completely natural, he told reporters following a fundraiser in Milwaukee. "I don't dye it. I don't color it and you can take a real close camera shot and see there's a lot of gray mixed in with all that black," said a laughing Romney. Earlier this month Romney turned 60, an age...

WASHINGTON, March 10 — In the months before announcing his bid for the Republican presidential nomination, former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts contributed tens of thousands of dollars of his personal fortune to several conservative groups in a position to influence his image on the right. Last December, a foundation controlled by Mr. Romney made contributions of $10,000 to $15,000 to each of three Massachusetts organizations associated with major national conservative groups: the antiabortion Massachusetts Citizens for Life, Massachusetts Citizens for Limited Taxation and the Christian conservative Massachusetts Family Institute. Mr. Romney and a group of his supporters also contributed...

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is the richest man in the presidential race.Presidential candidates are not required to disclose their net worth, and Romney has not. But analysts who track compensation in Romney’s business field said it was likely to exceed $500 million, according to a report in Saturday's New York Times.Romney built his fortune with the Boston-based Bain Capital, a venture and buyout firm. In 1984, Romney began investing Bain’s $40 million venture fund that eventually grew to billions. Romney’s fund was the first investor in Staples, the office supplies store. The Times also suggests that Romney has...

Dear New Hampshire Republican Primary Voter:It’s early yet, but I, for one, am pleased that your dominant role in the presidential primary process remains intact. The no-nonsense vetting, for which you are rightly recognized, of the people who wish to be our party’s nominee is needed more than ever before.Why, you ask. Well, neighbor to neighbor, Republican to Republican, I feel compelled to confide in you: The newest official entrant into the 2008 race is a fiscal phony. I covered Mitt Romney’s governorship for four years, from the singular vantage point of a former Republican operative turned journalist. You see,...

WASHINGTON - Republican Mitt Romney's choice of a museum honoring auto pioneer Henry Ford as the site of his presidential announcement was strongly criticized Monday by Jewish Democrats, who noted Ford's history of anti-Semitism. The former Massachusetts governor, who is scheduled to formally launch his presidential candidacy from the Henry Ford Museum in Detroit on Tuesday, was taken to task by The National Jewish Democratic Council.The council "is deeply troubled by Governor Romney's choice of locations to announce his Presidential campaign," executive director Ira Forman said in a statement."Romney has been traveling the country talking about inclusiveness and understanding of...

BOSTON - Lately it seems as if Mitt Romney — a Mormon who wants to disabuse the public of the misconception that his church condones polygamy — simply cannot catch a break. First there was “Big Love,” a TV series about polygamy in Utah that made a major splash on HBO in March. Although the show’s creators pointed out that the official Mormon Church has banned polygamy since 1890, casual viewers don’t always make the distinction. Then came the high-profile arrest last month of polygamist Warren Steed Jeffs, who was on the FBI’s Most Wanted List. Jeffs was the leader...

Evangelical leader says voting for a Mormon not a problem Politics over religion: He says Romney's faith not a barrier to his presidential bid By Peggy Fletcher Stack The Salt Lake Tribune Salt Lake Tribune The Rev. Ted Haggard, president of the National Association of Evangelicals, said Friday he would have no problem voting for a Mormon for U.S. president. "We rejected an Evangelical [Harriet Meiers] for the Supreme Court and accepted a Catholic [Samuel Alito]," said Haggard, who was in Salt Lake City to address the annual convention of Religion Newswriters Association. "It's a question of competence." Evangelical Christians...

The Rev. Ted Haggard, president of the National Association of Evangelicals, said Friday he would have no problem voting for a Mormon for U.S. president. "We rejected an Evangelical [Harriet Meiers] for the Supreme Court and accepted a Catholic [Samuel Alito]," said Haggard, who was in Salt Lake City to address the Religion Newswriters Association's annual convention. "It's a question of competence." Evangelical Christians are more interested "in good government," than in religious affiliation, the founder and senior pastor of New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colo., said. As the leader of the influential National Association of Evangelicals, which has...

Cross Posted at Iowans for Romney: Disclaimer: THis is a Pro-Romney Piece and I run a pro-Romney blogsite. I am not paid for my efforts. What I've created below is in response to a commonly recurring attack on Romney: that he can't be trusted to appoint good conservative/constructionist judges because of his record of judicial appointees as Massachusetts Governor, specifically regarding gay-activist judges. The issue came up in a discussion thread to an article I posted on Free Republic (Over 135 comments so far, and some heated debate). One comment (#123), by JohnnyZ summed up the most common attack: Romney's...

Romney in the Dock: Or Are Traditional Christians in the Dock? Mitt Romney is nearly a picture perfect Republican candidate for President. With a long family Republican heritage, he is a popular and successful governor and that is the job that has been the best stepping-stone to the Presidency in my lifetime. He is a traditional conservative from New England with Michigan roots who would put several Blue States in play for the Republicans. He is close enough to Bush to comfort Republicans, but distant enough as a governor to allow him to be critical of specific policies in the...

http://www.spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=10274 Things are looking up for Mitt Romney. Not only has the outgoing Massachusetts governor been getting reasonably favorable press from usually hostile places but, courtesy of George Allen's Macaca moment, his position in the 2008 Republican presidential field suddenly looks more secure -- the most viable candidate to the right of front-runners John McCain and Rudy Giuliani. Romney appears to sense the opportunity . . . (READ ON at the link above)

He’s not ready to run “Mitt for President” TV ads yet, but Gov. Mitt Romney has already hit the Internet with a video painting him as a hero in the battle of Beacon Hill, a move political watchers say should remove any doubt about his White House ambitions. Romney’s Commonwealth PAC Web site now features a video of the Republican’s “great American story,” which opens with a victorious Romney standing amid falling election-night confetti. Then, using not-so-subtle imagery, the video cuts to shots of Boston’s skyline under ominous dark clouds and crackling lightning, and an uphill shot of the State...

- Adults in the United States place three Republican politicians as their top choices for the next presidential nomination, according to a poll by the Pew Research Center for the People and Press. 26 per cent of respondents would vote like Arizona senator John McCain to be the next presidential candidate.Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani is a close second with 24 per cent, followed by current state secretary Condoleezza Rice with 18 per cent. Support is lower for former House of Representatives speaker Newt Gingrich, Virginia senator George Allen, Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, Tennessee senator Bill Frist, and...

LOS ANGELES Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney told the California GOP convention Saturday that the United States should encourage foreigners with skills to immigrate, while discouraging those who come here illegally and without skills. "It is wrong for us to build an absolute concrete wall against those with skills and enterprise," he said, referring to foreign students who come here for advanced study, "and have a wide open door for people with no education and no skills." His remarks were greeted with enthusiastic applause from this conservative crowd, for whom illegal immigration is a hot issue. Romney, a Republican governor in...

I've been scanning the news in the last few months about who the Republican party should key in on as far as a viable candidate for the upcoming presidential election. And it's not as far in the future as we might think.

Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, trailing in national polls of Republican voters, has the lead in organizing early primary states for the 2008 presidential run, in the opinion of neutral GOP politicians. Romney is particularly strong in Iowa, where caucuses begin the presidential hunt. A win there would swell Romney's now anemic identification among Republican voters. A footnote: A report in this column that Rudy Giuliani intends to run for president has been confirmed by one of the former New York mayor's closest Republican friends. He said Giuliani definitely is running.

Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Virginia Sen. George Allen are strong candidates for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008, although each has serious challenges to overcome. That’s the view of Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, and one of the most influential conservatives in Washington. “When I talk to each of the presidential candidates, every one of them brings up Romney — unsolicited — because they’re all focused on him as the smartest, toughest guy in the race,” Norquist told reporters Wednesday at a breakfast hosted by the Christian Science Monitor. “He is very well thought of.” But...

First a disclaimer . . . I run a pro-Romney blogsite but do not get paid for it. I am a physician who blogs in my spare time and consider myself simply a vocal grassroots Romney supporter. ********************* Now on to the news at hand: This Examiner article has some interesting "insider information" for the 2008 GOP presidential race. To quote the start of the article: "Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Virginia Sen. George Allen are strong candidates for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008, although each has serious challenges to overcome. That’s the view of Grover Norquist, president of...

Related Links Arizona Politics Neither of the frontrunners has publicly committed to running. McCain repeatedly has said he will not decide until after the mid-term elections in November. Clinton also has been vague. Among Republicans, McCain was the top choice among more than 40 percent of those surveyed in the Rocky Mountain Poll. McCain unsuccessfully sought the party’s nomination in 2000. He was followed in the survey by former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Next were former Rep. Newt Gingrich of Georgia, Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, Sen. Bill Frist of Tennessee and Sen. George Allen of Virginia. “Seeing McCain...

BOSTON --Gov. Mitt Romney issued an executive order Friday abolishing the state's 14-year-old governor's commission on gay and lesbian youth after lawmakers overrode his veto of a bill creating a new commission out of the reach of the governor's office. A spokesman for Romney said he issued the executive order because there was no need for two commissions both focused on the needs of gay and lesbian youth. Romney angered many gay rights activists and lawmakers when he flirted with the idea earlier this year of abolishing the commission, the first of its kind in the nation, after a press...

So, is anyone else baffled by the fact that John McCain is listed as the "strong frontrunner" among GOP 2008 presidential hopefuls? The political pundits all have him as the head honcho (usually followed by Romney and Allen) as evidenced here, here, here, here) and in the most recent National Journal 2008 Republican Insiders Poll. This was not always so . . . just a few months ago to a year ago Allen was leading in that Insiders Poll (actually, you can look at the figures and find that Romney has been gaining the most, percentage-wise, of any candidate.) However,...

After studying Mitt Romney’s experience with Homeland Security (HS), I would argue that Romney’s Homeland Security experience and credentials exceed those of any other 2008 presidential hopeful—republican or democrat (rivaled only by the “wild-card” candidate, Rudy Giuliani). His experience is not limited to sitting on committees and being briefed on these issues. He is often the one called upon TO DO the briefing to key committees due to his “on the ground” experience with devising and implementing large-scale security plans. Much of this stems from his great success in leading Salt Lake to a safe and successful Olympic Games in...

Most traditional barriers to religion in presidential elections have toppled, a new Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll has found. In particular, the survey to be released Monday showed that anti-Semitism and anti-Catholicism are fading as voter taboos. But uneasiness about some religions persists. Thirty-seven percent of those questioned said they would not vote for a Mormon presidential candidate -- and 54 percent said no to the prospect of a Muslim in the White House. In addition, 21 percent said they could not vote for an evangelical Christian. Only 15 percent replied that they would not vote for a Jewish presidential candidate....

Gov. Mitt Romney says he would be willing to talk about his Mormon religion in broad terms should he run for president but would shy away from debating specific beliefs. "I think initially some people would say, `Gosh, I don't know much about your faith. Tell me about it.' And I'd probably outline the fundamentals: I'm a religious person, I believe that Jesus Christ is my savior," Romney said during an appearance on PBS's "The Charlie Rose Show." "But then as you get into the details of doctrines, I'd probably say, 'Look, time out.'" Among other things, Mormons believed in...

WASHINGTON - Mormon Republicans may have a watershed moment coming soon, depending on whether their fellow party and religious member, Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, will be accepted by the GOP's evangelical wing. If the Republican conservative base rejects a Mormon for office largely because of his faith, do followers of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints continue their staunchly Republican loyalty anyway? Do they stay home in November? Do some ditch the GOP for independent status, or migrate to the Democratic tent? "I think that's a real possibility," says Charles Reagan Wilson, director of the University of Mississippi's...

State GOP Pick Gingrich In Presidential Straw Poll (AP) Minneapolis Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who engineered the Republican takeover of Congress a dozen years ago, got a boost Friday from Minnesota conservatives who want him to run for president in 2008. Gingrich was the top vote-getter in a straw poll of GOP activists at the state party convention. But the vote is at best a limited reflection of Republican sentiment in the state -- the ranks of the 1,275 delegates had thinned down considerably by the time the poll was taken, and 540 valid votes were cast. That was...

The state’s rising waters also lifted Gov. Mitt Romney’s national media profile as outlets ranging from local newspapers to The Weather Channel covered his tour of flood-ravaged neighborhoods throughout the state. Another turn in the national spotlight could introduce Romney to potential presidential supporters across the nation as a take-action leader if he handles it right, experts said. “His ability to part the waters like Moses in Massachusetts will serve him enormously well if he can pull it off,” said Richard Parker, public policy professor at Harvard’s Shorenstein Center. Political pundits said images of Romney on network and cable news...

Voters nationally see Mitt Romney as a pretty face but an empty suit, giving him high marks for his chiseled good looks but low grades for honesty, conviction and uniqueness, according to a high-tech poll provided exclusively to the Herald. “He’s seen as the same old pol - nothing that makes him stand out,”said Aaron A. Reid, chief behavioral scientist for RKM Research and Communications. The survey used online responses from a scientific sample of participants to measure emotional “gut” responses to photographs of the candidates. Researchers say the cutting-edge technique - so far untested in the political polling field...

Gov. Mitt Romney flirted with abolishing a state advisory commission on gay youth for promoting a parade featuring a crossdressing master of ceremonies and embracing transgender teens, a spokesman said Friday. Initially, Romney spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom said the governor, who signed a proclamation hailing a similar parade in 2003, considering killing the Gov.'s Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth because the parade press release was issued without the administration's blessing. On Friday, Fehrnstrom expanded on that explanation. "This year what was brought to our attention was a press release that was not authorized by this office but which went out...

Though well-respected, Novak and his sources are not free from a challenge, so let me do the challenging. Are Novak and his sources implying that the most morally conservative voters in the United States would rather endorse a left-wing, abortion-endorsing, socialist-leaning, gay agenda-adopting, Bill Clinton-marrying, liberal than a God-fearing, card-carrying conservative Mormon, who has had remarkable success in business and in politics, and who has shown he is able to win a liberal state like Massachusetts? Either something is very wrong with Novak or something is very wrong with the Evangelicals he is interviewing.

A Mormon President? David M. Bresnahan David M. Bresnahan has over 30 years of experience in journalism, public relations, and broadcasting. He has authored several books, hosted talk radio programs, owned a radio station, on-line newspapers, and other businesses. He maintains a web site at www.Bresnahan.org where more information can be found about his work. David M. Bresnahan May 4, 2006 Day after day some newspaper somewhere decides to run the same old tired story about unannounced Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, declaring that a Mormon could never be elected president because the evangelical Christians would never support him. The...

Gov. Mitt Romney knows he must make the speech of his life from the presidential campaign pulpit to set American voters at ease with his Mormonism, just as John F. Kennedy did in 1960 to help them accept his Catholicism. Romney said he knows he has to give a speech along the lines of the famous address in which Kennedy told Houston Protestant ministers: “I do not speak for my church on public matters, and the church does not speak for me.” Romney said he would insist his loyalty as president would be to the American people, not the Mormon...

Prominent, respectable Evangelical Christians have told me, not for quotation, that millions of their co-religionists cannot and will not vote for Romney for president solely because he is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. If Romney is nominated and their abstention results in the election of Hillary Rodham Clinton, that's just too bad. The evangelicals are adamant, saying there is no way Romney can win them over.

April 24, 2006 Issue Copyright © 2006 The American Conservative  Where Have All the Conservatives Gone?  The Republican Party’s top contenders for 2008 aren’t paleoconservatives—or any other kind.  By W. James Antle III  Come 2008, who will succeed George W. Bush at the helm of a troubled Republican Party? Though the next presidential race is far off, the question is already on conservatives’ minds.The last few months haven’t been kind to Republican operatives who assumed President Bush’s slide in popularity would be temporary. Instead, his approval ratings have settled below 40 percent, averaging 38 percent over the last four Gallup...

Comedian-turned-liberal radio yakker Al Franken says Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is smarter than President Bush - but he still wouldn’t want him in the Oval Office. In an interview with the Herald, the die-hard Democrat admitted that Romney “did himself a lot of good” by overhauling health care in the Bay State. “I think he’s smarter than Bush,” Franken said of the conservative governor, who is contemplating a run for office. “I don’t think Bush is dumb but I think he has some real shortcomings in terms of being able to concentrate,” Franken said with a laugh. As for Lawrence...

Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey stood by her patron’s record on prison issues yesterday, endorsing Gov. Mitt Romney’s trip to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to “share” his ideas on penitentiary reform despite the fact that Romney’s state correction experience amounts to a photo op in a prison parking lot. “I think the governor, by appointing Kathy Dennehy, has taken great strides in reforming the prison system,” Healey said. “Dennehy has taken it on herself to implement wide-ranging changes” in the problem-plagued department. Department of Correction Commissioner Kathleen Dennehy is joining Romney on the trip. Dennehy was named commissioner in 2004 and oversees...

BOSTON -- During last year's St. Patrick's Day breakfast in South Boston, Democratic Speaker of the House Salvatore DiMasi abandoned the good-natured roasting typical of the event to acidly kid about the airline tickets he saw sticking out of Governor Willard Mitt Romney's pocket. "I don't want to keep you too long. You can leave any time you want," he said, to which the ever-unflappable Romney shot back, "I'll be here until you get funny." It was enough cool to make DiMasi lose his for a moment. "You being President of the United StatesO That's a joke," he sneered. A...

Hillary beats Allen; Rudy beats Hillary; McCain falls; Romney rises By: DaveGOP · Section: Diaries Just a notch to the right of the nation in the last two election cycles, Florida voters are once again making their preferences known regarding the next presidential contest, with mixed news for the Big Four.  The poll was taken by Quinnipiac University, with the full results posted here: http://www.quinnipiac.edu/x12942.xml?ReleaseID=906 Rudy Giuliani beats Hillary by 12 points among Florida voters, garnering 90 percent of Republicans and increasing his margin over the senator by 2 points from February. As in the recent Cook poll, John McCain...

Recently when Fox TV anchor Chris Wallace attempted to plumb the depths of Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's Mormon beliefs, the prospective candidate grew restless, as he often does when pressed about religion. Then he parried with a line worthy of Jack Kennedy:     "America has a political religion . . . people who are elected . . . [take] an oath to abide by a nation of laws and the Constitution, above all others." Amen.     Romney should sharpen that sound bite and stay on message. Like it or not, questions about Mormonisms will hound him wherever he goes,...

Looking toward 2008.The non-McCain primary has begun. There are two major slots in the battle for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination — one for Arizona maverick John McCain, the other for some other candidate. So the battle is on to be, as insiders put it, "the non-McCain," the conservative who will try to stand athwart the sometimes unorthodox, party-defying McCain for the nomination.McCain is assured top billing in the nomination race, and his challenge has little to do with other candidates — his imperative is to re-assure GOP regulars that they can trust him. But there will be clawing to...

Going into last weekend's Southern Republican Leadership Conference, Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and his staff said they were expending no energy on and had only fleeting interest in a straw poll assessing the potential 2008 presidential candidates. Even after he finished a surprising second in Memphis, behind Tennessee native son Sen. Bill Frist, Romney was modest, declaring: "I really don't read into a straw poll very much, certainly not at this point. This is, what, three years away from the '08 race?" It turns out not all his supporters had a similarly distanced view. Roughly 200 Romney backers camped out...