Free Republic

Republican leaders and high-powered donors in Utah are waging a quiet but concerted campaign to convince 83-year-old incumbent Senator Orrin Hatch not to seek reelection next year—and now, they may have found a successor. Mitt Romney, the one-time presidential nominee and leading Trump critic, is exploring a run for Hatch’s Senate seat. According to six sources familiar with the situation, Romney has spent recent weeks actively discussing a potential 2018 Senate bid with a range of high-level Republicans in both Utah and Washington, and has privately signaled a growing interest in the idea. Romney, though, has made clear he would...

Massachusetts considering a single-payer healthcare system for the state, dubbed "Mass-Care." Lawmakers are currently debating a bill that would move private insurance to a single-payer system for all Massachusetts residents. BOSTON – State lawmakers heard arguments Tuesday in favor of a single-payer health insurance system for Massachusetts, with proponents testifying that more needs to be done despite the advances brought on by state and federal law. “I acknowledge that in Massachusetts we have a great health care system, but it is not a system that works for everyone,” Sen. Jamie Eldridge, D-Acton, said at a Joint Committee on Health Care...

More and more it seems a real possibility that Mittens might get into the race. Rubio is a little shaky and The Establishment is getting a little desperate. How would you react? If you encountered a neighbor you really liked, what would you say about this? Would you vote for another Republican again..?

Kevin Madden, a GOP strategist who worked on Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign last year, said the retreat gives lawmakers a chance to start laying the groundwork necessary to re-establish the GOP brand. “Right now, we are caught in a vicious cycle of just reacting to events that happen in two-week increments. Instead, we have to look at our challenge of rebuilding in a much more comprehensive fashion,” Mr. Madden said. “What is the positive impression that we want voters to have two years from now, and then four years from now, when we have another presidential election?” SNIP Ford O’Connell,...

In the aftermath of establishment Republican Mitt Romney’s defeat in the 2012 presidential election, Governor Romney said he lost because he couldn’t overcome the effect of Obama’s “gifts” to key demographics; student loan modifications for young voters and amnesty for young and predominantly Hispanic illegal aliens. We think Romney missed the mark with that analysis because conservative ideas have successfully countered the Democrats’ attempts to bribe voters in the past. However, the comment is a good place for conservatives to start analyzing the failures of the Romney campaign – and learning from the successes of the Obama campaign. Here are...

Boston, MA - On Tuesday, Mary Maloney, whose son was killed last August by an illegal alien charged with driving under the influence, tearfully addressed the state legislature’s Senate Judiciary Committee in support of legislation which would make it tougher for illegal aliens to remain in Massachusetts. Maloney said: “My son paid the ultimate price with his life because Massachusetts is a safe haven for illegal immigrants. The real question I ask is…Why would illegal immigrants not come to Massachusetts when we are so willing to provide them with jobs and free services they could not get in their native...

After Rick Perry’s wobbly performance shifted some momentum back to Mitt Romney, conservatives began another round of speculation about his appeal in the early-primary states. It seems that his religious affiliation remains a serious problem for him. USA Today reported on latest Gallup poll question: Although three of four Americans say they would support a presidential candidate who is an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, the Gallup Poll finds that 22% say they would not. That figure has not changed much since Gallup started measuring opinion on this subject in 1967. One difference comes...

You might expect that former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, one of the top likely candidates for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, would cozy up to tea party followers anytime he can. But he’s actually steering clear of the movement, The Boston Globe reports. “Romney for the most part is inaccessible,’’ says Andrew Hemingway, chairman of New Hampshire’s Republican Liberty Caucus. “[Minnesota Gov. Tom] Pawlenty, I could call him right now and say, ‘Let’s have coffee.’” Romney has kept his distance from tea party activists in key primary states, including the state viewed as a must win for him – New...

Sarah Palin is turning down a Tea Party request to seek the chairmanship of the Republican National Committee. "I respect the desire to have someone in charge of the RNC who understands the wishes of the conservative grassroots and understands that power resides with the people and not the vested interests in D.C.," Palin said in a statement provided to CNN. "However, the primary role of the RNC chair seems be that of fundraiser-in-chief, and there are others who would probably be much more comfortable asking people for money than I would be, and they would definitely enjoy it more."...

As most know, the current unconstitutional mess all Americans are about to face, known as ObamaCare, got it’s inspiration from the disastrous health care plan promoted and signed into law by then Massachusetts Governor, Mitt Romney. Indeed, RomneyCare was the blue print for the onerous legislation. By any and every measure RomneyCare has been an epic failure. Not only has RomneyCare failed to meet one single goal intended, it has only increased and amplified every problem, and has the Bay State on the verge of insolvency RomneyCare has caused healthcare costs to skyrocket, insurance premiums to skyrocket, and is pushing...

Natural experiments are rare in politics, but few are as instructive as the prototype for ObamaCare that Massachusetts set in motion in 2006. The bills for "universal coverage" are now coming due, and it appears the state political class is prepared to do lasting damage to one of America's top-flight health-care systems. Last month, Democratic Governor Deval Patrick landed a neutron bomb, proposing hard price controls across almost all Massachusetts health care. State regulators already have the power to cap insurance premiums, which Mr. Patrick is activating. He also filed a bill that would give state regulators the power to...

As a conservative, I have pretty much given up on the Republican Party after the big-spending, big-government Bush years. I am firmly in the corner of the one man who called the entire era correctly, and that is Ron Paul.   However, of all the mainstream GOP hopefuls for the 2012 presidential nomination, I would say Mitt Romney is the most capable.  But Mitt's got a problem. A big problem. And that's his health-care policy.When Romney was governor of Massachusetts. he endorsed a health-insurance plan that is little different from the one now being pitched by the Democrats. That alone may...