Free Republic

Mitt Romney acknowledged on Wednesday that his path to the Republican presidential nomination is not going to be easy after three shock losses to newly ascendant rival Rick Santorum. A day after Santorum beat him in Colorado, Minnesota and Missouri, Romney attempted to play down the results, saying his campaign did not devote a lot of time and money to the three state nominating contests and chose to compete strongly elsewhere.

Mitt Romney's victory in Michigan was a defeat for authenticity in politics. The former Massachusetts governor pandered to voters, distorted his opponents' record and continued to show why he's the most malleable _ and least credible _ major presidential candidate. And it worked. The man who spoke hard truths to Michigan lost. Of all the reasons John McCain deserved a better result Tuesday night, his gamble on the economy stands out. The Arizona senator had the temerity to tell voters that a candidate who says traditional auto manufacturing jobs "are coming back is either naive or is not talking straight...

In recent days, at least two evangelical pastors who are personally supporting Mike Huckabee received anonymous mailings warning that their churches risk sanction by the Internal Revenue Service if they become too involved in politics. The pastors said that the letters, one of which is notable for exaggerated punctuation and a spelling mistake, appeared aimed at preventing church leaders from encouraging congregants to turn out on caucus night. "The intention is to try to get us to back down," said Kevin Hollinger, the pastor of Algona's First Baptist Church and a letter recipient. Like dozens of other evangelical leaders in...

Jonah, that Powerline blogger you link to does make an excellent case that Huckabee's 110-pound weight loss in a year, and other physical changes are more consistent with bariatric surgery than unassisted diet and exercise. I had wondered about it, but am always happy to believe it is possible to do it without the surgery. From everything we now know about obesity, however, while it is possible to overcome, it is pretty difficult for someone with the dread "fat gene" to keep it off for a long time without constant vigilance. (Indeed, recent pictures suggest that campaign life is taking...

ST. PETERSBURG -- Mitt Romney bought himself a victory in the straw poll for Republicans at a rain-shortened barbecue in Vinoy Park. Romney got 893 votes, besting second-place Ron Paul's 534 -- despite Paul's shuttling in supporters on a rented trolley and shuttle. The campaign had a plane sporting pro-Paul slogans and a boat touting him, too. In fact, Paul supporters dominated the crowd, which reached an estimated 1,000 people. Tickets for votes cost $20 each. So how did Romney do it? "I voted 20 times," Derek Gyongzois, 38, of St. Petersburg exclaimed after casting ballots. He said he works...

This morning, in the wake of the resurgence of Mormon-gate as a story, I've been doing some digging around. While I had hoped to write something on where we stand now, and what we know, including the results of my digging this morning, at an actual publication (as opposed to my own blog), with a few hours to go before everyone switches off for Thanksgiving, I'm bailing on that idea. So, here goes. 1. As I read through the latest this morning, one point sprung out at me. It was the same point that sprung out at me when I...

Now with a commanding lead in the lead off Caucus, and big lead in New Hampshire, Romney has extended his lead while Huckabee is starting to lose steam. It would appear as if voters were beginning to look at his record and not like what they see. Romney now has 29% of Likely Caucus voters followed by Huckabee trailing Romney by thirteen percentage points, who now has 16%. In a virtual tie for second is Rudy Giuliani at 15% and Fred Thompson at 14%. Further back are John McCain (6%), Ron Paul (4%), Tom Tancredo (4%), and Duncan Hunter (2%)....

I realize everything can change fast in Iowa and New Hampshire, and some are rightly skeptical about the value of polling in a caucus state. I also recognize that some pollsters' methods of figuring out who's a "likely voter" are better than others. But if I were a Romney guy, I'd be pretty pleased about the trends in those two primary states. Romney's had a lead in the Hawkeye state for a while, but that lead seems to be growing, across several pollsters. Romney is up 16 on his nearest competitor (Huckabee) in Zogby, up 8 on his nearest competitor...

Today, the Thompson campaign comes out swinging. In an email from Comms director Todd Harris, Fred's campaign knocks Romney for his Healthcare plan citing a fine for non-enrollment and the low cost abortion option. (Note, I believe this is the first official Fred offensive.) The Romney Camp, prepared for just such an occasion, lets loose an arsenal of serious rebuttals to the charges: The Thompson campaign tries to link Romney with the $295 charge for non-insurance. "Many of the law's core elements, including the requirement that all people in the state get insurance, were in Romney's original proposal in 2005....

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Tuesday shows Rudy Giuliani on top, Mitt Romney in second, and Fred Thompson sinking in the race for the Republican Presidential Nomination. Giuliani attracts 27% support from Likely Republican Primary voters nationwide while Romney has moved up a couple of points to 16%. John McCain remains in third at 13% while Thompson is now tied with Mike Huckabee at 11%. Ron Paul's support fell a point to 5% and no other Republican tops 2% (see recent daily numbers). In the race for the Democratic Presidential Nomination, Senator Hillary Clinton is the top...

Boston, MA – Today, Governor Mitt Romney announced the Romney for President National Veterans Coalition made up of retired service members from all 50 states and the District of Columbia. As part of this national coalition, each member will serve as a surrogate to their local veterans' communities for Governor Romney's message of change in Washington. "Every American is grateful for the very extraordinary acts our veterans have performed so that we may continue to enjoy freedom at home. I am proud that so many of these men and women have joined our effort to change Washington by organizing grassroots...

Mitt tops Fred The Washington Times Stephan Dinan 12 November 2007A new Rasmussen poll finds that voters see Mitt Romney as a conservative candidate more than Fred Thompson — the first time Thompson has not led on that measure. In the last month the number of Republicans viewing Romney as conservative has jumped 10 points, to 46 percent, while Thompson has fallen 11 points, to 40 percent. [SNIP] Here's the conservative rating for the top six Republican candidates: Romney 46 percent Thompson 40 percent Huckabee 38 percent McCain 28 percent Giuliani 21 percent Paul 16 percent — Stephen Dinan, national...

Fred Thompson's campaign for president has collapsed. Well, at least, among the bookies. I've been giving readers regular updates on the betting in the presidential election, but absolutely nothing has been more dramatic this fall than Thompson's market meltdown. According to the betting at the Iowa Electronic Markets, the TV actor's chances of winning the GOP nomination have slumped in just six weeks from nearly 30% to less than 10%. As recently as June, just after the former Senator announced he was running, he was the favorite in the betting, at nearly 40%. The numbers are similar over at Dublin-based...

Reform Group: Thompson Would Hike Taxes Thursday, November 8, 2007 3:05 PMBy: Ronald Kessler When it comes to taxes, Fred Thompson is the "worst" of the Republican presidential candidates, Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, tells Newsmax. GOP hopefuls Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani have both promised not to raise taxes - Romney even signing an ATR pledge not to raise the marginal tax rate. Thompson, on the other hand, has not signed the pledge and has said high-income Medicare beneficiaries may have to pay more for coverage. “Thompson didn’t sign the pledge as a senator, and...

...The truth is - significant evangelical voices have spoken with great conviction about the qualifications of one of the leading top tier candidates of recent - and more voices continue to come forward almost weekly. While Mayor Giuliani's faith would on the surface expect to share similar values with evangelical voters, apparently the Mayor himself does not. But Mitt Romney - who has not been ruled out of support from prominent leaders like Dr. James Dobson and Dr. Tony Perkins. Is also enjoying expressed outspoken support from additional prominent conservative evangelical voices like Paul Weyrich, Dr. Wayne Grudem, and perhaps...

Mitt Romney now leads other candidates for the Republican presidential nomination in South Carolina, a key early primary state. The political Web site RealClearPolitics compiled an average of several polls in the state and found Romney with a slight lead over his closest rival, Rudy Giuliani. Romney averaged 19.3 percent of the votes in the polls, while Giuliani’s figure was 19 percent, followed by Fred Thompson (18.3 percent), John McCain (12.3 percent) and Mike Huckabee (6 percent). One recent South Carolina poll in particular, by American Research Group, has Romney ahead of Giuliani by 6 percentage points. South Carolina could...

WASHINGTON -- Fred Thompson was well into a prolonged dialogue about abortion with interviewer Tim Russert on NBC's "Meet the Press" Sunday when he said something stunning for social conservatives: "I do not think it is a wise thing to criminalize young girls and perhaps their parents as aiders and abettors." He then went further: "You can't have a (federal) law" that "would take young, young girls ... and say, basically, we're going to put them in jail." Those comments sent e-mails flying across the country reflecting astonishment and rage by pro-life Republicans who had turned to Thompson as their...

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney ran away with 61 percent of the vote in what the Teton County Republican Party was touting as one of Wyoming’s first straw polls Saturday night. County GOP Chairman Joe Schloss called Romney’s showing remarkable considering the number of other candidates. About 100 people voted during the party’s Elephant Jam event Saturday at 43 North. The get-together and fundraiser celebrated the one-year countdown to the presidential election. A straw poll is a nonbinding vote taken before an election to gauge support for each candidate. Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani took second, with 12...

Like most good Southern yarns, the Fred Thompson story is steeped in legend. His small-town upbringing in Lawrenceburg, Tenn., is humble and distinct on a campaign trail worn by front-runners in suits that match their polished images. In his methodical drawl, the Republican mentions his early years at every opportunity -- from his announcement speech Sept. 7 in Des Moines, Iowa, to his Oct. 15 appearance on Fox News. The details sometimes differ, but the effect is the same. "My story is an American story," Thompson, 65, said in Des Moines, "one that's happened many times across this great nation...

'08 candidate Fred Thompson said he didn't know his friend and campaign adviser had twice been busted for drugs. A close ally to Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson resigned his post Monday as a top campaign bundler, FOX News has learned, a day after his drug-dealing history was revealed. Phil Martin, a businessman who has lent Thompson his Cessna to fly around the country, was one of four campaign co-chairman for the '08 Republican candidate. The Washington Post reported Sunday that Martin also posted a guilty plea in 1979 for selling 11 pounds of marijuana and a no contest plea...