Free Republic

Mitt Romney’s transformation into a cheesy grits- and catfish-loving, ya’ll-uttering good ol’ boy in the face of tight contests in Mississippi and Alabama today is being panned by critics — skeptical Southern party officials and pundits. “If you’re going to pander, at least pander well, and this isn’t pandering well,” said Stephen Gordon, a Republican consultant based in Birmingham, Ala. The former Bay State governor is a Yankee, Gordon said, and will always face skepticism no matter how many catfish filets he raves about. “People in the Deep South have a bit of a natural distrust for Northerners, especially folks...

What is Mitt Romney doing in the Republican Party? (Although a better question might by why has the Republican Party strayed so far to the left that a guy like Mitt Romney could be its standard bearer…) Everyone knows the story of Mitt Romney. He ran Bain Capital and financed a number of new businesses and helped rescue others. True, he and Bain failed a few times, but Bain Capital did what it was supposed to do, which is make money for its shareholders. At the end of the day Bain Capital was a net plus in that it actually...

Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin challenged GOP presidential front-runner Mitt Romney to furnish his tax return and supporting documents that would prove he created the 100,000 jobs he claimed he did while CEO of Bain Capital. "Governor Romney has claimed to have created 100,000 jobs at Bain and people are wanting to know is there proof of that claim and was it U.S. jobs created for United States citizens?" Palin told Fox News Sean Hannity. Palin said that transparency was needed as Romney would likely be targeted by Democrats on this issue if he were to become the Republican nominee....

Marion, Iowa -- Laura Ross walked out of a roaring, 500-person Mitt Romney rally at an asphalt plant Monday evening and into the 26-degree chill with an idea of whom she will support in today's Iowa caucuses. "I really love Rick Perry," said Ross, who lives just outside nearby Cedar Falls. "But I will probably go with Romney. I think. He's got the best chance of beating Obama." Even on the final day of campaigning before the caucuses, Iowa Republicans still have a conflicted relationship with Romney, the Republican they've known longer in an up-close-and-personal way than any candidate other...