Free Republic

Mitt Romney’s top political adviser says he has talked about the possibility of a brokered convention with the 2012 presidential contender — but not in the way one might think. Stuart Stevens explained the context of his brokered convention conversation with Romney during an interview on Hugh Hewitt show Wednesday, guest-hosted by this writer. “We have talked about that, but not about some scenario where he would pop out of a hat,” Stevens said when asked whether he has heard the words “brokered convention” cross Romney’s lips. Some on the right have speculated about the possibility of Romney re-emerging as...

Mitt Romney announced Friday he will not run for president in 2016, after briefly flirting with a third White House run -- a decision that only slightly narrows the crowded field of potential Republican candidates. "After putting considerable thought into making another run for president, I've decided it's best to give other leaders in the party the opportunity to become our next nominee," Romney told donors on a conference call Friday morning. The announcement comes after the 2012 GOP nominee, who repeatedly denied interest in another campaign, surprised donors earlier this month by telling them he was considering it. Since...

Jeb Bush and Mitt Romney did not reach an agreement during a Salt Lake City lunch meeting on Thursday on how to reconcile their competing plans to run for the White House next year, advisers to both men indicated after the talk. “Governor Bush enjoyed visiting with Governor Romney today in Salt Lake,” Kristy Campbell, Mr. Bush’s spokeswoman, said, declining to elaborate. Republicans close to both Mr. Romney and Mr. Bush were notably tight-lipped about the long-planned meeting, which the two would-be candidates and their advisers were unhappy had been revealed publicly.

Mitt Romney: Climate Change Is Real, Human-Induced, And We Must Tackle It

Hillary Rodham Clinton holds double-digit leads over potential Republican challengers Jeb Bush and Mitt Romney as the likely Democratic presidential candidate moves closer to entering the 2016 race, a new Washington Post-ABC News poll finds. Although Clinton, Bush and Romney are all longtime politicians and members of political dynasties, registered voters are less likely to count that familiarity against Clinton. That is a good sign for Clinton, a failed 2008 presidential candidate and the focus of Republican criticism that her time has come and gone. Clinton’s potential to make history as the first female U.S. president makes little difference to...

… Using This One Weird Trick! It seems as if everybody’s down on the idea of Mitt Romney running for president again. Even establishment Republicans who aren’t part of the vast Bush claque seem to be hostile. President Obama’s aides mocked Romney’s interest in income inequality, per Politico: (SNIP) “It’s simply never going to be believable to go from car elevators, off-shore accounts and his famous 47 percent comment to the populist income equality warrior.”… (SNIP) After all, there’s one obvious, simple move Romney could make to turn the mockery around, jujutsu style, in a way that would give him...

Mitt Romney's election plan is a little bizarre; he plans to run as a Democrat. Well, not really. He will still have an "R" after his name. But read this report from the Washington Post about Romney's agenda and you'd be excused if you did a double take about just what party Mitt wants to win the nomination. Mitt Romney laid down a marker for a prospective presidential campaign in 2016, telling a Republican audience here Friday night that the party can win the White House with a conservative message that stresses security and safety for the American people, opportunity...

I told you last night, there was only one way for this year to end on Hot Air. May one word ring in your ears as the ball drops, my friends: Romneymentum.Hopefully you’re all already liquored up sufficiently to dull the pain. “I know exactly what Mitt’s going to do,” [Ken] Gardner, a real estate developer who helped bring Romney to Utah to lead the 2002 Winter Olympics, told the Deseret News. “I think over the next few months, a lot of things will happen.”…“If it’s Ted Cruz that’s the candidate, he’s in. If it’s Jeb Bush, he’s probably not,”...