Free Republic

She is the Tea Party diva who lit up the 2008 Presidential campaign. But four years later Mitt Romney is facing one of the most vexing questions of his campaign: what to do with Sarah Palin? In an increasingly uncomfortable stand-off, he has not invited her to next month’s Republican national convention whilst she has failed to give him her full backing. --snip-- The result is that the Republican presidential candidate is left without the endorsement of a woman who can energise his base in a way he can only dream of. The former Massachusetts governor - who is so...

Rahm Emanuel to Mitt Romney: ‘Stop Whining’Jul 15, 2012 12:41pm Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said this morning on “This Week” that presumptive GOP nominee for president Mitt Romney should “stop whining” about attacks on his Bain record and just defend himself. “What are you going to do when the Chinese leader says something to you or Putin says something to you?” said Emanuel. ”I give him his own advice. ’Stop whining.’ Defend — if you want to claim Bain Capital as your calling card to the White House, then defend what happened to Bain Capital.”

Host Bob Schieffer says he has just found out that Romney is running an ad during the commercial breaks “using me….It is something we didn’t know about when this broadcast started" . Schieffer says, “obviously, I have no connection with the Romney campaign. It was done without our permission. It comes as a total surprise to me”...(2 videos)

Democrats believe they’ve drawn blood with their latest round of distorted and discredited attacks on Bain Capital, the equity firm co-founded by Gov. Mitt Romney. However, the cost of the Bain smears to the Obama brand might actually be the more important storyline emerging from this charade. This blow to the very core of who Obama was supposed to be is highlighted in the Romney campaign’s newest ad:

How does Romney handle dirty campaign attack adds and whispered lies about who he is? (the purpose of which is to cause doubt in the minds of those willing to vote for Romney but not wanting to). I was working with my son-in-law and a few of his friends a few weeks back. I know those guys to be conservative to some degree or another... I wanted to razz them a little so I asked them, "so, are you guys voting for Obama again?" They, all at once, denounced that they had voted for him the first time and would...

VAN SUSTEREN: What do you make of the food fight that's going on as - the recent - today, the deputy campaign manager of President Obama's campaign, Stephanie Cutter, accused Governor Romney of either being a liar or a felon. I don't know - I guess it's better to be a liar than a felon. Nonetheless, both are terrible. He's calling for an apology tonight. PALIN: I'm glad that he is forcefully calling for an apology. But Mitt Romney and his campaign people perhaps don't even know what's coming, what will be hitting him. This is just the tip of...

Jay Severin -- one of Romney's biggest supporters and a professional campaign manager -- spoke about the state of the presidential campaign. After first acknowledging that Independents do not like negative ads, he stated that unless Romney starts fighting as hard against Obama as Obama is against him, Romney loses. It's that clear to so many people on the right. Why Romney is being Mr. Rogers is open to debate. Romney is of the 50s and 60s generation, when the idea of an Obama in public office would have been regarded as either a stupid joke or alternate universe science...

"...the presumptive Republican nominee for president, Mitt Romney, appears incapable of putting or unwilling to put on the mantle of confidence-inspiring leadership. He does not convey a genuine sense of understanding of the people's angst and is unwilling to display an immutable set of core convictions. The campaign, thus far, seems to be relying on the assumption that the election in November will be solely a referendum on Barack Obama, as enough people will be so intent on change of any sort that they will vote for Romney as the only alternative."

President Obama goes after Mitt Romney’s stance on abortion and Planned Parenthood in a TV ad that starts airing Saturday in Virginia and seven other swing states. “Every woman who believes decisions about our bodies and our health-care should be our own is troubled Mitt Romney supports overturning Roe versus Wade,” the female voiceover begins. “Romney backed a law that outlaws all abortions, even in cases of rape and incest.”

WOLFEBORO, N.H. — Mitt Romney is planning to fortify his communications and messaging team by adding seasoned operatives, advisers close to the campaign said Thursday, after withering criticism from prominent conservative voices that his insular team has fumbled recent opportunities. Romney’s advisers insisted that he would keep his inner circle intact amid growing concerns about the Republican presidential candidate and his campaign. The tempest began with a weekend tweet from media tycoon Rupert Murdoch and burst Thursday onto the pages of his newspaper the Wall Street Journal, as its conservative editorial board opined that Romney’s advisers were “slowly squandering an...

A chorus of prominent conservative voices is worrying aloud that Republican candidate Mitt Romney's play-it-safe strategy is jeopardizing his chance to win the presidency. As President Barack Obama's campaign intensifies criticism of Romney's background, influential Republicans — right-leaning leaders in business and the media — charge that Romney's message on the economy and other issues is short on detail and muddled at best. In an editorial Thursday, The Wall Street Journal said the Romney campaign is "slowly squandering an historic opportunity." "The Romney campaign thinks it can play it safe and coast to the White House by saying the economy...

Remember Michael Dukakis (1988) and John Kerry (2004)? It's possible to lose a winnable presidential election to a vulnerable incumbent in the White House (or in the case of 1988, a sitting vice president). So, speaking of losing candidates from Massachusetts: Is it too much to ask Mitt Romney to get off autopilot and actually think about the race he's running? Adopting a prevent defense when it's only the second quarter and you're not even ahead is dubious enough as a strategy. But his campaign's monomaniacal belief that it's about the economy and only the economy, and that they need to...

Goode said that "amnesty in any form only encourages more illegal entry." Before Mitt Romney's visit to Salem on Tuesday, former congressman and Constitution Party presidential candidate Virgil Goode held a morning news conference in Roanoke calling on Romney to take a stronger position on illegal immigration. Goode said Romney "essentially gave no response" when it comes to the issue. Goode also criticized President Barack Obama's stance on immigration, including a new policy that would allow some younger illegal immigrants to stay in the country. "Unlike Romney, if I was elected president, I would immediately rescind the direction of President...

I don’t see it happening, though, and here’s why: 1. History: Until the trend is broken, Wisconsin is still a blue state when it comes to presidential politics. Our state has not gone to a Republican since 1984, when Ronald Reagan rolled to an easy victory over Walter Mondale, who consistently came off as a slightly less ebullient Droopy Dog. Despite winning the presidency twice, George W. Bush never took Wisconsin, and even Michael Dukakis eked out a win in ’88 while getting thumped nationally by George H.W. Bush. In fact, in the 1988 election, Wisconsin accounted for nearly 10%...

Romney "agrees" with Rubio. Wants "long term" solution. Full statement in Comments.

Okay, maybe that wasn’t the best metaphor, but he fumbled an important opportunity. The problem with the president’s amnesty decree is not that it “makes it more difficult to reach that long-term solution because an executive order is, of course, just a short-term matter — it can be reversed by subsequent presidents.” The problem is that it’s u-n-c-o-n-s-t-i-t-u-t-i-o-n-a-l. You would expect Allen West and Steve King to be forceful in denouncing this usurpation, but even Amnesty John McCain and Rick “you don’t have a heart” Perry were strong. Heck, Lindsey Graham — Lindsey Graham — denounced the move as “possibly...

According to the Times, the Romney team has decided not to assail Obama's "likability," for fear personal attacks will backfire with independents. Message to the Republican establishment:  do not muzzle those of us who want to focus on Obama's troubling history with angry Marxists, black and white, including Reverend Wright and Bill Ayers.   This is not about race.  It is about knowing who Obama is, understanding what he has already done to our country, and what he is capable of doing.  The issue of Rev erend Wright is not peripheral, it is central.  It gets to the heart of the...

Yesterday it was reported by Guy Benson at Townhall.com that former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, the Republican Party’s presumptive nominee, did something he was reluctant to do during his primary fight: He “repudiated” the efforts of a political action committee to attack one of his opponents. On his Thursday radio show, Levin suggested highlighting Rev. Wright was being “repudiated” because it would be interpreted as racist. “In the next six months, this campaign, or however long it goes — listen to me, but don’t listen to me,” Levin said. “Don’t bring up Rev. Wright, because the Obama campaign says if...

Herman Cain is denouncing Democrats for suggesting that attacking President Barack Obama’s connections to Rev. Jeremiah Wright is racist, saying that using the reverend to go after the president is “fair game.” “It is fair if someone wants to highlight the Rev. Jeremiah Wright and his relationship with Barack Obama because, quite frankly, it wasn’t highlighted enough in 2008 when he was running for president the first time,” Cain told Greta Van Susteren of Fox News on Thursday. “This administration, which has been shown to go after people who donate to Mitt Romney and try and slander their reputation, then,...

Almost four years ago, I was watching Sarah Palin rile up a Clearwater, Fla., crowd with anti-Obama broadsides when a spectator let loose a bloodcurdling cry of "kill him!" To his credit, John McCain realized the Obama hatred was getting out of hand, and a few days later, when a woman at one of his events called Obama an "Arab," McCain did one of the most honorable things in his political career. "No, ma'am," he said, taking the microphone from the woman and enduring some boos from supporters. "He's a decent, family-man citizen that I just happen to have disagreements...