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HOT SPRINGS, Va. – Two Republican comebacks are on parallel trajectories, and the Republicans at the center of both are using each other in what is quickly becoming a symbiotic relationship. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney gathered with the House Republican Conference twice in January to share his economic expertise as it relates to the stimulus legislation making its way through Congress. And in both cases, Romney has been complimentary of the House GOP for sticking to its guns, in fact thanking them today at their retreat at the Homestead resort here for voting in full force against the House...

Today’s Washington Times has a bit of an eye-opening comment, high in its story of the reaction to the National Right to Life Committee’s endorsement of Fred Thompson. Paul M. Weyrich, president of the Free Congress Foundation, said the endorsement "makes no sense," and speculated that it had been motivated by money. "I think in all probability the Thompson people were engaged with the National Right to Life people in financial dealing," said Mr. Weyrich, who has endorsed former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney for the Republican nomination. "In the past, the Republican Party has funded National Right to Life, and...

With the end of the year fast approaching, uninsured Massachusetts residents are scrambling to sign up for health care plans and avoid being among the first to face tax penalties for failing to get insurance before Dec. 31. It's a deadline with practical and political implications. For the still-uninsured, failure to meet the deadline could translate into a loss of their personal exemption when they file their 2007 state income tax returns in April -- a $219 hit. For Mitt Romney the political hit could be far bigger. The specter of residents in his home state being penalized for not...

Yesterday I heard Laura Ingraham interview Mitt Romney, and Romney said that we need a partnership with China. This is the 2nd time I heard Romney say that on Ingraham's show, so he is quite adamant about it. We already have an approximately $275 BILLION trade deficit with Red China each year, so what more does Romney want? He just doesn’t get it.

August 27, 2007, 9:00 a.m. Dr. Romney Goes NationalA Republican health-care plan. An NRO Symposium Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney laid out his health-care plan on Friday in Florida. The former Massachusetts governor has earned both contentious criticism and accolades for working with Democrats to reform health-care there while governor. National Review Online asked a group of health-care experts to take a look at what he had to offer Friday. Here are their reactions. Michael F. CannonMitt Romney just discarded two of the most counterproductive components of his Massachusetts health-care reforms. Romney’s law is known for (1) its requirement...

An AP article just came across the wire detailing another gaffe by presidential hopeful Mitt Romney (R-Mass.). Apparently, while in New Hampshire, Romney was confronted by an openly gay women who was disturbed by the former governor’s position on gay marriage. And in challenging him, she may have unwittingly changed or re-changed or re-re-changed his position on “gay rights.” “There are other ways to raise kids that’s fine: single moms, grandparents raising kids, gay couples raising kids. That’s the American way, to have people have their freedom of choice,” he said. Umm… what? We’ve lost track now, but we thought...

When he picked up Ann Davies for their first date, Mitt Romney left nothing to chance. He arrived in a red Marlin, a new fastback model made by his father's American Motors Co. Mitt had cleaned and polished the car until it gleamed. He brought along a bottle of sparkling Catawba grape juice and two chilled glasses. ---snip--- Mitt's Most Trusted Adviser "Ann is Mitt's life partner and is probably his closest and most trusted adviser," Myers says. "They talk about everything all the time, and her counsel is the counsel that he values most." Whether the issue is running...

Add immigration to the long list of hesitations conservatives ought to have about Mitt Romney. What he thinks ought to be done about the millions of illegal immigrants already in the country depends on whether you asked him POC (pre-official candidacy) or AOC (after-official candidacy). Back in 1994, when the U.S. Senate, not the Oval Office, was in Romney’s sights, he said in those now infamous (on YouTube anyway) debates with Sen. Edward Kennedy: “I do not believe that we should deny all services to people who come here from across the border.” And more recently, but still POC, Romney...

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...

Willard Mitt Romney donated $250 in 1992 to then-U.S. Rep. Dick Swett’s (D.-N. H.) successful re-election campaign. The one-term congressman served another term before losing to Republican Charles Bass in 1994. Two years later, Swett ran unsuccessfully against Republican Bob Smith for one of the Granite State’s U.S. Senate seats. In 1992, the former Massachusetts governor and current Republican presidential contender also donated $250 to Rep. John J. La Falce (D.-N.Y.) and $1,000 to Douglas Delano Anderson, an unsuccessful Democratic primary candidate for the U.S. Senate seat held by Utah Republican Jake Garn, who retired that year. The two Democratic...

Former Virginia Gov. James S. Gilmore III will become the first Republican presidential contender to say publicly that the three top-ranked party candidates are phony conservatives. Mr. Gilmore singles out former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, former New York City Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani and Sen. John McCain of Arizona in an ad that will be posted tomorrow on YouTube.com and his campaign Web site (www.gilmoreforpresident.com) as well as e-mailed to likely voters in the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses. "The three leading challengers for our party's nomination may be good men, but they simply do not share our conservative values," Mr. Gilmore...

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,...

[clip] But it was also hard to see how a man with deeply held convictions on abortion rights -- either for or against -- could take a position so calibrated and inconclusive. Listening to Romney that day was like watching a chameleon in the fleeting moment that its color changes to suit its environment. Indeed, several months later, after vetoing a bill to expand access to emergency contraception, Romney wrote in the Boston Globe about how his views on the subject had "evolved and deepened." Evolved, indeed. During his Massachusetts races, Romney paraded his conviction that "abortion should be safe...

The cornerstone of Gov. Mitt Romney's new universal health care law for Massachusetts is a program titled "Commonwealth Care", a plan for thousands of low-income people who could not afford regular health insurance, funded by the taxpayers. One of the stated benefits covered in Commonwealth Care is "abortions." And Planned Parenthood is written into the law, as part of the "payment policy advisory board." April 12, 2006. Gov. Mitt Romney signs Massachusetts Universal Health Care law, as Sen. Ted Kennedy, standing behind him, gives his approval and support.

With the 2008 presidential campaign looming just on the horizon, speculation about political fortunes abounds. On the Democrat side, Lady Hillary is waiting in the wings, and the media's profilers have found their fair-haired boy in Barack Obama. On the Republican side, the picture is murkier. Often the Vice-president would be the logical choice to carry the incumbent party's torch, but Dick Cheney won't be running and, even if he did, he wouldn't win. Of course, Arizona Senator John McCain is still around, but he arouses suspicion among conservatives. Seeming worn, tired, erratic and untrustworthy, many think the old soldier...

...Romney boasted that he would be more effective in fighting discrimination against gay men and lesbians than Sen. Edward M. Kennedy...and proudly recalled his family's record in support of abortion rights. ...One group he went out of his way to court was the gay rights community. ...He said he would push gay rights issues if elected. "I think the gay community needs more support from the Republican Party, and I would be a voice in the Republican Party to foster anti-discrimination efforts." In a...1994 letter to the Log Cabin Club of Massachusetts, a GOP gay and lesbian group, Romney...called President...

This wonderful interview Romney had with K Lo of NRO adresses many of the "hot-button" issues of our day and of Romney's past. The whole interview is worth reading, but I thougth I'd highlight the discussions of Iraq, gay rights, and abortion. He also gives an impressive reading list (aides say he's a voracious reader) and he ends with a quippy potential exposee/You-tube scandal that could end his chances. Lopez: What did you make of the Iraq Study Group report that was released last week? Gov. Romney: The members of the Iraq Study Group deserve credit for their hard work....

"Despite recent statements across the country by Governor Mitt Romney claiming he’s pro-life, pro-family and a committed conservative, a broad investigation of his actual statements, actions, and public positions over the years indicates that he has spent his entire career speaking and governing as a liberal – and that his new found conversion to conservatism very likely coincides with his candidacy for the presidency." Please refer to comment #1 to see what a shoddy piece of work this is. If they are trying to convince people of something, they should at least get SOME of the facts right and not...

RomneyCare, Gov. Mitt Romney's "revolutionary" healthcare initiative, was introduced earlier this year to applause from the mainstream media, Senators Hillary Clinton and Teddy Kennedy, and Families USA—all wild at the idea of universal healthcare in Massachusetts. Such endorsements were not the best of signs for conservatives, but they were certainly eye-catching, especially with the hunt for future presidential talent on. And many Republicans were wondering whether RomneyCare was the conservative solution to the problem of uninsured Americans that the party was looking for. Almost immediately after the bill creating it was signed into law, the Wall Street Journal ran an...

Massachusetts state troopers may soon be allowed to arrest immigrants who are in the state illegally. Currently, troopers have no power to detain people for violations of their immigration status. Troopers currently can call federal authorities for a check of their immigration status, and detain them if federal officials request it. But Gov. Mitt Romney's office reportedly says the governor has worked out a deal with federal officials under which troopers will have the power to arrest. About three dozen troopers will be given the authority after they complete a month-long training program. The agreement, which is expected to be...

BOSTON -- Gov. Mitt Romney, moving closer to a presidential run, has hired Tom DeLay's former spokesman, according to a top Romney adviser who spoke on the condition of anonymity pending a formal announcement. Kevin Madden, a New York state native who most recently served as press secretary for House Majority Leader John Boehner, will serve as primary spokesman for the presidential committee that Romney is expected to create within the next three weeks, the adviser said. The governor is expected to file paperwork establishing some sort of presidential campaign committee by mid-December. Romney is planning to base his campaign...

He may be Santa to GOP politicians in the rest of the country, but when it comes to giving to Bay State Republicans, Gov. Mitt Romney is one big Grinch. Using cash generated by his federal political action committee, Romney donated almost $190,000 to 70 Republicans in 31 states running for office in 2006, but gave Massachusetts GOP hopefuls nothing. Bay State Republicans left out in the cold during their campaigns for U.S. Congress were Rick Barton, Jack E. Robinson and Jeff Beatty. Ditto Ken Chase, who challenged Ted Kennedy for his U.S. Senate seat. “I am saddened and disappointed,”...

Mitt Romney: Put 'Gay Marriage' Amendment on Ballot Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney said Sunday he would ask the state's highest court to order an anti-gay marriage amendment question onto the ballot if legislators fail to vote on the matter when they reconvene in January. Romney said he would file a legal action this week asking a justice of the Supreme Judicial Court to direct the secretary of state to place the question on the ballot if lawmakers don't vote directly on the question Jan. 2, the final day of the session. Romney, an opponent of gay marriage who decided not...

Suppose the GOP candidate in ‘08 were a conservative who communicates better than George W., has excellent executive experience, knows how to appeal to a wide range of voters, and runs on constructive conservative ideas? Of all the current candidates, only Governor Mitt Romney fits that bill. With Hillary heading the Dem pack, a strong GOP candidate is essential. We live in dangerous times, and the Dems are still hiding their heads in the sand—so a strong GOP president in 2008 may turn out to be crucial for national security. Romney is a personally attractive candidate, but he’s more than...

"Before his particularly impressive entry into the US Senate last fall - with a big victory that brought many independents and even Republicans to his side - Obama had been a community organizer, civil rights attorney, and leader in the Illinois senate. He hasn't yet had time to make much of a mark in the US Senate, but he's already gaining the respect of his colleagues on the Veterans Affairs and Foreign Relations committees." "Political observers are saying he's a strong future presidential possibility. It's unrealistic, but I'll ask: Why not now? He's already proved he can attract the votes...

Romney pal takes blame for dust-up LDS Church denies claim it backs Mitt A longtime friend and major campaign contributor of Mitt Romney took the blame Sunday for a politically damaging controversy about the Massachusetts governor reportedly seeking LDS Church help setting up a nationwide network of Mormons to advance his expected 2008 presidential bid. "I'm to blame for this whole mess," Romney confidant Kem Gardner told The Salt Lake Tribune, saying characterizations of what were "innocent" discussions between the governor, who is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and church officials were "unfortunate." The...

Federal officials are probing scathing allegations that the Romney administration falsely claimed to conduct safety inspections in the Big Dig tunnel that collapsed and killed a woman in July. The Securities and Exchange Commission is zeroing in on state financial documents from 2005 - cited in a new report by state Inspector General Gregory Sullivan - indicating that Gov. Mitt Romney was reviewing the safety of the Big Dig, when in fact the administration was only checking leaks in the Interstate 93 tunnel. “Despite repeated assurances to bondholders, (MassHighway and Romney’s Executive Office of Transportation) . . . did not...

WASHINGTON--Right now John McCain is the front-runner for the 2008 GOP presidential nomination. But everyone expects that a single major competitor will emerge to challenge him from the right. The question hung in the air of this past weekend's Family Research Council summit in Washington: Who will that candidate be for the GOP's powerful social conservative base? FRC officials says they invited Mr. McCain to speak, but he declined. But another potential candidate benefited greatly from showing up. Surprisingly, it was Massachusetts' Gov. Mitt Romney, a Mormon with a Harvard M.B.A who governs the nation's most liberal state. The 1,800...

The quarterly meeting of the S.C. Republican executive committee Sept. 16 ended on a sour note when one of its more prominent members cornered Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and grilled him about his Mormon faith. It was not a pretty sight, according to witnesses. Romney, a possible Republican candidate for president in 2008, was in town to address the state executive committee. Cyndi Mosteller, chairwoman of the Charleston County Republican Party, one of the largest GOP organizations in the state, came armed with a bunch of material — and questions — about the Mormon church. The incident only underlines what...

Supporters of the emergency contraception bill lined steps outside Governor Romney’s State House office yesterday, after news of the veto. The governor was inside, speaking to reporters. (Globe Staff Photo / Justine Hunt Three years after expressing support for ''the substance" of Roe v. Wade, Governor Mitt Romney today criticizes the landmark ruling that legalized abortion and says the states should decide separately whether to allow it. I understand that my views on laws governing abortion set me in the minority in our Commonwealth," Romney says in the op-ed article. ''I am prolife. I believe that abortion is the wrong...

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...

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. For social conservatives, he has swung pro-life on abortion and embryonic stem-cell research. To burnish his supply-side credentials, he has pressed the Democratic legislature to lower tax rates and signed into law the nation's largest sales-tax holiday....

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...

"The rap on Mitt Romney is that he's scripted,safe, skin-deep.But if you saw your dad endure what his did, you might watch what you say,too. There, you said it.There's no taking it back. Maybe the regret formed in your mind even before the last syllable of the Godforsaken comment had left your lips. Maybe you thought nothing of it until 12 hours later, when a voice woke you out of your REM rebound, demanding to know,"What in the hell were you thinking?"Either way, it was too late. We've all said something at some point in our lives that we desperately...

WASHINGTON -- The terrorist attack foiled by British authorities prompted a battle of words yesterday between a pair of presidential contenders from Massachusetts, with Governor Mitt Romney lashing out at Senator John F. Kerry for suggesting that the war in Iraq has harmed the nation's security. Kerry, the Democrats' 2004 presidential nominee, seized on news of the disrupted plot as a ``stark reminder" that Osama bin Laden remains at large and said it shows that Al Qaeda has ``grown in strength" since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. ``Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda have succeeded in isolating the United...

BOSTON --Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney on Thursday activated the National Guard to help with security at Logan International Airport for the first time since the Sept. 11 terror attacks, after a terror plot targeting U.S.-bound flights was foiled in London. The security alert was raised at Logan and airports around the nation early Thursday after officials in Great Britain disrupted a plan to blow up airplanes from England to the United States. U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said the plot appeared to be engineered by al-Qaida, the terrorist group that hijacked two planes from Logan on Sept. 11, 2001,...

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...

Mitt Romney to us, his neighbors...

BOYLSTON— The office of a cleaning and maintenance company here that has come under public scrutiny was quiet yesterday, two days after Gov. Mitt Romney, who has called for a crackdown on illegal immigrants, said he would ask federal authorities to investigate a media report that the company uses undocumented workers to clean state police barracks and other state facilities. The company, National Facility Services, operates out of a converted home at 770 Main St. (Route 70), with garages in the back. Several vans and a truck bearing the company’s name were parked outside the building, but few employees were...

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...

WHEN POLITICAL HANDICAPPERS START LAYING ODDS on a presidential election, the conversation inevitably turns to Iowa and New Hampshire. Their status as the first caucus and primary states remains critical, but as media scrutiny has amplified their importance, both have morphed into a kind of Heisenberg fishbowl. Otherwise humble locals, constantly harassed by marauding network TV crews to name their candidate, sometimes retort, "I don't know. I haven't met him yet." It's no surprise political prognosticators are starting to look elsewhere for early clues about the race in 2008. Michigan's status as an important early primary state has been overlooked--until...

Mitt Romney wants the feds to OK his plan for Massachusetts state police officers to have the authority to arrest illegal immigrants solely on their immigration status. "It's one more thing you can do to make this a less attractive place for illegal aliens to come to work," the Massachusetts governor said. "I think that's a good thing," said Representative Marie J. Parente, a Milford Democrat whose community has enacted licensing regulations that make it more difficult for undocumented immigrants to settle there. "We need to do something," Parente told the Boston Globe. "I think that will be a message,...

Governor Mitt Romney is seeking an agreement with federal authorities that would allow Massachusetts state troopers to arrest undocumented immigrants for being in the country illegally.Currently, State Police have no authority to arrest people on the basis of their immigration status alone, said Romney spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom. If they arrest immigrants for violations of state law, troopers can call a centralized US Immigration and Customs Enforcement center in Vermont to check on their status, and can detain immigrants if federal officials request it.Under the agreement Romney is seeking, troopers would have greatly expanded powers: They could check an immigrant's legal...

June 13, 2006 Mr. Kirk Sullivan Chairman, Idaho Republican Party Dear Mr. Sullivan, I read with surprise that Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts is scheduled to be a featured speaker at this year’s Republican state convention. Research the Idaho Values Alliance has done reveals that Mr. Romney holds views which are wildly out of alignment with the party’s own platform and with public policies that are best for Idaho’s families. We think Idaho citizens need to have this information. According to his 2002 campaign website, although Romney opposes gay marriage, he believes in legal recognition of gay and lesbian relationships,...

Mitt Romney (current Mass. Governor and current top-teir 2008 pres. candidated) was on PBS this past Monday doing an interview with the Charlie Rose Show. Link here http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4362623183954478320&q=romney to watch the streaming video (The interview starts about 3.5 min in and goes for about 25+ minutes . . . commercial free!) They hit many major topics including, Iraq, religion/Mormonism, "RomneyCare", global warming, gay marriage, abortion, Ann Romney, and balancing the budget in Massachusetts. Romney was convincing and spot on with all of his answers. Especially memorable was his convincing explanation of why abortion should be a "states rights" issue while...

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...

If Hillary Clinton is such a shoe-in for her party's 2008 presidential nomination, then a new Florida poll is something for Democrats to worry about.More than 30 months before the 2008 election, Sen. Clinton can't get more than 50 percent of the vote when matched against two unknown Republican candidates?And, given Florida's key role in the Electoral College, the new survey will almost certainly provide more fodder for one of the most popular parlor games in New York and Washington, D.C. these days - "Can Hillary Win?"That's because there is almost a consensus developing among many of the Democrats who...

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...

Governor Mitt Romney proposed a new bill in accordance with his "personal responsibility principle" that would require non-custodial parents with financial means to pay for their childrens' health insurance . This "personal responsibility principle" is the idea that every person needs to take seriously the responsibilities that are theirs and not find ways to escape from them. This could be an issue on which he will campaign in 2008 seeking similar federal law if elected (current federal law only requires non-custodial parents to cover their children if they have a fitting insurance plan through their employer . . . but...

Below are two pieces I composed a couple of weeks ago about Massachussett's Governor Mitt Romney's plan requiring all state residents to obtain health insurance. I've been following some of the recent discussions about Romney here at Free Republic and there are inevitably comments made about how Romney got "socialized medicine" passed in MA. People who make these comments either don't like ROmney (maybe they really like another '08 candidate and see Mitt as a threat) or don't know what they are talking about. The plan is nothing like socialized medicine. People who keep claiming that it is are uninformed...