Free Republic

With the Republican presidential primary appearing to have narrowed into a two-man contest, Human Events and Red State moved quickly to lock down a date for a Lincoln-Douglas-style debate between Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich. The two organizations went so far this past Monday as to firm up the Annenberg Theater at the Newseum in Washington as the venue on Dec. 19 after another debate originally scheduled that day was canceled. For its part, the Newseum was excited to host the pre-primary forum. There was just one problem. While Gingrich was ready to take his place on the stage, the...

Did conservatives learn the wrong lesson from losing to Obama the first time? Recently Politico ran a piece by Alexander Burns titled “Mitt Romney’s Warning Signs.” Burns outlined three major reasons why Romney is a weak frontrunner and “remains extremely beatable.” The three reasons are: His fundraising quarter wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t a tour de force either. (Romney “only” raised $18.25 million)His polling is solid, but stalled. (20% to 30% range)His personal shortcomings haven’t disappeared. Now I agree with all of the above but would like to add one more extremely important reason that explains both the lackluster fundraising...

Mr. Romney's campaign said he would still compete in Iowa's caucuses, now slated February, 2012. But the former Massachusetts governor's absence from the Aug. 13 straw poll will likely diminish his chances, some Iowa officials say, while raising the odds that whoever wins the poll will be best positioned to claim the status as Mr. Romney's top rival for the nomination. According to 2008 election-day surveys, 60% of Iowa caucus-goers called themsevles evangelical or born-again Christians. In the New Hampshire primary, the figure was 23%. In the general election that year, about a quarter of voters in both parties were...

Romney to Skip Key Poll in Iowa By PATRICK O'CONNOR Mitt Romney will skip a key early test for Republican presidential candidates by forgoing the Iowa straw poll in mid-August, a decision that could recast the contest in the nation's first presidential nominating state. The Iowa straw poll, held in Ames, is one of the landmark events of the nominating contest. Mr. Romney's decision sends the clearest signal yet that he doesn't want to wade deeply into the social issues that carry particular weight with Iowa Republicans and instead intends to present himself to voters nationally as a successful businessman...

Sh'yeah....riiiight....

Missing: Republicans. Must be willing to declare candidacy for president of the United States. Missed terribly. Last seen dancing with the Tea Party movement. What's going on? Usually, by now in the "campaign cycle" (shortly after the midterm elections), at least a handful of candidates have declared their intention to run for president to much fanfare. But for the Republicans this time around, nobody is ready to announce. They're not even close. Yes, of course, there are names being floated around: Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney, Haley Barbour and – needless to say – Sarah "the Barracuda" Palin. But nobody seems...

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is letting donors know it’ll be a while before he looks to 2012 — and that any presidential campaign he builds will have a much smaller staff than in 2008. “People are exhausted from the 2010 election, and they’re not anxious to begin right away with the next campaign,” Romney told 245 of his top financial supporters on a conference call Thursday, a Romney aide told POLITICO. His team organized the call to connect with top supporters following a busy 2010 season and discuss Romney’s political future. Romney also told supporters that his organization will...

Despite its considerable gains in the midterm elections, the GOP has a problem looming in the margins named Sarah Palin. She who can rouse the base like none other is now She to Whom Respect Must Be Paid. Like it or not. Many within the so-called party establishment don't quite know what to do about Palin. She's adored by Tea Partyers, to whom she conveniently attached herself as soon as she sensed a shift in the air. A rogue like Palin isn't going to let a rogue movement fill a stadium - or a desert - without her. She also...

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) said Monday it would be "great" for former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) to run for president in 2012. "She would be a great thing for the Republican primary process," said Romney, a 2008 presidential candidate and a potential candidate again in 2012. "It'd be a good thing for her to get in." Romney, Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Michael Steele and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R) have all rallied around Palin, who on Sunday night condemned suggestions that GOP operatives in Washington were looking to stall any potential presidential aspirations...

Former Gov. Mitt Romney is down-sizing his stake in Massachusetts. He sold his Belmont mansion and bought a townhouse in a condo development. And now he more often resides in his $12 million mansion in La Jolla, Calif., or his $10 million house on Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire. Ever since Romney won just 51 percent in the Massachusetts GOP presidential primary, he has seemed less enamored with this state. And as a GOP presidential candidate for 2012, he apparently wants to distance himself from so-called RomneyCare, the Massachusetts health insurance program that became a model for so-called ObamaCare, the...

Normally I wouldn’t ask, but since Huck and Sarahcuda have both anted up — he for DeVore, she for Fiorina — I think it’s about time everyone shows their cards, no? This has been a constant source of irritation with Romney, exercising prudence to a fault in not endorsing Doug Hoffman or Marco Rubio until it became politically “safe” to do so. Grassroots conservatives want to see some nerve; a principled candidate who’s out for more than his own political self-interest should find someone to like between Campbell, Fiorina, and DeVore. Assuming that Romney’s only out for his self-interest, though,...

If Sarah Palin, with her mega-wattage superstar status sucking up all the available oxygen in the room, is it worth sharing a stage and competing for some attention? Between now and the first GOP nomination season debate a year from now, that will be the question asked over and over again by the smart political operatives plotting Tim Pawlenty's, Mitt Romney's, and other nonreality show starring Republicans' paths to the White House. The cattle call season for the 2012 Republican presidential hopefuls is upon us, but the media obsession with all things Palin and her knack for dominating a news...

Here is one thing I am certain about: A President Mitt Romney would never have bowed to anyone -- not to Saudi King Abdullah, not to Japanese Emperor Akihito. Here's another thing: A President Romney would not have traveled around the world badmouthing his country and making apologies for it. Here's a third: A President Romney would never have ordered the closing of the prison at Guantanamo Bay or lowered the American flag in Haiti.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney suggested Sunday that his decision on whether to run again for president may hinge on the outcome of the November midterm elections. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney suggested Sunday that his decision on whether to run again for president may hinge on the outcome of the November midterm elections. Romney, who was beat out for the GOP presidential nomination by Sen. John McCain in 2008, told "Fox News Sunday" that he's not making any calls quite yet. He said that he will wait at least until the end of the year, after the voters have...