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With South Carolina governor Mark Sanford still wondering how to solve a problem called Maria, and GOP biggies falling by the wayside, a Californian may be poised to now take the reins as the leader of the GOP 2012 possible presidential pack. Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, now claims the Golden State as his full-time home since he bought a lovely beachfront estate in La Jolla where and wife Ann now reside. [...] Sanford's Maria meltdown has meant that the stash of GOP possible presidential hopefuls and leadeers is shrinking fast -- with some GOPers say Romney now looks...

Here are the major news stories from the past two days you've just GOT to read and Digg! http://diggsandburies.blogspot.com/

Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney has seen his favorability ratings improve and now enjoys a positive balance of opinion among the general public: 40% rate him favorably, 28% unfavorably. This marks a reversal of opinion from February 2008, during the latter stages of the GOP primary campaign, when just 30% viewed him favorably and 44% expressed an unfavorable opinion. The latest national survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, conducted June 10-14 among 1,502 adults reached on landlines and cell phones, finds that impressions of Sarah Palin have not changed much since the presidential campaign....

When Harry Smith interviewed Pres. Obama earlier this week, I noted that his idea of "speaking truth to power" was to suggest Bo the dog was out of control. But when Smith had a Republican in his sights this morning, the mild-mannered Early Show host suddenly went Rambo. Smith, raising his finger, scolded Mitt Romney for pointing out that Pres. Obama's response to the Iranian situation was far weaker than Ronald Reagan's vis a vis the Soviets. View video here.

BOSTON (AP) — A woman on a trans-Atlantic flight diverted to Boston for security concerns passed several notes to crew members, urinated on the cabin floor and made comments the crew believed were references to al-Qaida and the Sept. 11 attacks, according to an affidavit filed Thursday. Catherine C. Mayo, 59, of Braintree, Vt., was to appear in federal court later Thursday on a charge of interfering with a flight crew after disrupting United 923 as it flew from London to Washington, D.C., on Wednesday. The flight, with 182 passengers and 12 crew members, landed safely with the escort of...

While the 44th al-POTUS has traveled to Saudi — “the place where Islam began … to seek seek his majesty’s counsel,” as Obama put it (insert air sickness bag here) — and has “Holy Koranned” his way through his Cairo dawa, it is my regrettable task to report that Beau Romney appears to have been been drinking out of same oasis. Lawrence Auster has the bad news: Asked by Dan Gilgoff of U.S. News & World Report if his repeated references to “jihad” in a speech at the Heritage Foundation this week characterized Islam in sinister terms, Mitt Romney surprised...

Where has the political opposition gone? Ever since its early division between Federalists and anti-Federalists, the United States has prided itself on possessing a two-party system. Lately, however, this model has begun to seem outdated—while the Democrats enjoy their new place in office, a serious challenge from the GOP is nowhere to be found. A piece in The Economist captured the current vacuum best, reporting that the Republican party is “about as popular as celibacy among 18-30-year-olds.” Perhaps we should take a minute to pull out our magnifying glasses and try to find the party that governed not so long...

Will former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney run for President again in 2012? Romney’s stepped-up schedule does seem to suggest a second bid for President Obama’s job in three years. However, considering what happened the last time he ran for President, the chances of Romney actually landing the nomination are Slim and None–and word on the street is that Slim just skipped town. Romney came into the ‘08 Presidential game with two strikes against him: the perception that his ideological shift to the right was more fiction than fact, and the preference among many Republican primary voters for a candidate who...

PHOENIX – Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney joined Bush administration officials, including former Vice President Dick Cheney, in arguing today that President Obama’s approach to combating terrorism had left the country less safe. "It's the very kind of thinking that left America vulnerable to the attacks of September 11th," Romney told the National Rifle Association's annual gathering. “And the approval of left-wing law professors and editorial boards won’t be worth much if this country lets down its guard and suffers an attack." Even while declaring an end to past interrogation practices he calls “torture,” Obama has alienated many in his...

WASHINGTON (CNN) – In an unusual move for the person tasked with being his party's top cheerleader, Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele is shining a light on the political vulnerabilities of one of the GOP's top figures and a likely frontrunner for the 2012 Republican nomination — former presidential candidate Mitt Romney. Now Romney's team is hitting back. Steele, guest-hosting on Bill Bennett's radio show Friday, cast doubt on Romney's conservative bona fides and blamed the Republican base for rejecting Romney last year because "it had issues with Mormonism" and was unsure of Romney's commitment to opposing to abortion...

RNC Chairman Michael Steele argued this week that former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney didn’t win the presidential primary of his party because the GOP base had, among other things, issues with his Mormonism, according to a report in Think Progress. Steele, who made the remark while guest-hosting Bill Bennett’s radio show, was rebutting a caller’s claim that The New York Time’s endorsement of Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., contributed to Romney’s defeat -- in spite of his money, fresh ideas, ability to articulate, and deep knowledge of financial matters. “But remember,” said Steele, “it was the base that rejected Mitt because...

Former – and perhaps future – Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney wants to make one thing clear, he’s not sniping at Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, another likely presidential candidate. Earlier this month when Romney and Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va., were interviewed on CNN, they were asked about radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh and Palin’s inclusion in Time magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people. Romney quipped, “Was that the issue on the most beautiful people or the most influential people? I'm not sure. If it's the most beautiful, I understand. We're not real cute.” Some pundits took that...

Could it be the latest sign that Mitt Romney is preparing to run for president again? Hotline is reporting that Romney is making moves to establish his legal residency in New Hampshire -- site of the first-in-the-nation primary. The former Massachusetts governor is selling homes in Belmont, Mass., and in Utah, and plans to spend time at his summer home on the shores of Lake Winnipesaukee in the Granite State, notes Hotline, the political blog of the National Journal.

It's On: Palin Backers Shoot Back at Romney With "Bear" Web Ad Mitt Romney grabbed headlines at the inaugural town-hall event of the National Council for a New America this Saturday by taking what many perceived as a whack at Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. For what it's worth, I thought it sounded more like the slightly clumsy joke typical of Romney (humor is not his strong suit), rather than a put-down, but it can easily be seen as a swipe. You be the judge: "I think there are a lot more influential Republicans than that [Time list] would suggest," Romney...

Conservative radio entertainer Rush Limbaugh has surveyed the Republican party's field of prospective candidates to retake the White House in 2012, and has, apparently, decided on a favorite with a familiar-sounding name: Sarah Palin.On his show, yesterday, Limbaugh tipped his hat to the Alaska governor, and probably left his former golden boy, Bobby Jindal, feeling a bit left out: Limbaugh defended Palin and heralded her as the "most prominent and articulate voice" for conservatism. Indeed, who can argue that Palin is prominent within GOP circles? But articulate? Did Rush miss Palin's recent performance before an Indiana pro-life group? But Rush...

I'm going to try one more time to explain what FR is all about. Free Republic is a conservative site. That does not necessarily mean it is a Republican site. In fact there may be many Republicans we don't support and some Republican issues we cannot agree with. I'll throw in Arlen Specter as a prime example of a Republican we cannot support. Should be obvious to all why not. Should also be just as obvious to all that we cannot support Olympia Snowe, Susan Collins, John McCain and his lap dog Lindsay Graham, Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney, et al....

Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney joked about Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s place on Time’s list of influential people, saying, “But was that the issue on the most beautiful people or the most influential people?” In an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union” broadcast Sunday, Romney was responding to a question from the moderator as to whether Time’s inclusion of Palin and talk show host Rush Limbaugh on their list of “The World’s Most Influential People” was a positive or negative thing for the Republican Party. Romney added, “I think there are a lot more influential Republicans than that would...

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney headlined congressional Republicans' big new policy conclave over the weekend, stressing the need to listen to real Americans, but also appearing to slap a potential rival for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination. At the National Council for a New America's first "conversation" in Arlington, Va., Romney, who ran for the Republican nomination last year and has kept his name in the conversation for 2012, joined House Republican Whip Eric Cantor and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush in presiding over the panel. "I’ve learned that when you sit in a position of responsibility as you do...

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush said Saturday that it's time for the Republican Party to give up its "nostalgia" for the heyday of the Reagan era and look forward, even if it means stealing the winning strategy deployed by Democrats in the 2008 election. "You can't beat something with nothing, and the other side has something. I don't like it, but they have it, and we have to be respectful and mindful of that," Mr. Bush said. The former president's brother, often mentioned as a potential candidate in 2012, said President Obama's message of hope and change during the 2008...

(NECN: Washington, D.C.) - Former governors Mitt Romney and Jeb Bush joined Congressman Eric Cantor to talk health care, the economy and national security at the first town hall meeting for the National Council for a New America on Saturday. But the group steered clear of abortion and same-sex marriage -- wedge issues that have led to the defection of moderates and independents. "Listening to people can make a difference. We've got ideas on how we can help people get health insurance, how we can improve our schools, how we can make our economy strong today as well as down...

Yeah, I know. Said some similar things about Bush in 2000. But at least he was pro-life, pro-family, etc, and thank God we supported him over the idiot All Green Gore. Said similar things about McCain in 2008. But when asked the question "when does human life begin?," and he unabashedly stated, "At conception, of course," I had to take notice. Then when he announced Sarah Palin as his running mate, I decided to support her. I voted for Sarah (and the white haired old geezer that came along with the package). But Romney is a NO go. And I...

MILWAUKEE - Outdoorsman, gun enthusiast and NRA member Ben Auer believes Wisconsin Attorney General JB Van Hollen just made it easier to carry a gun in public. “He looked at our right and he confirmed it,” Auer told TODAY’S TMJ4 reporter Tom Murray. Van Hollen told prosecutors in a memo that simply carrying a firearm should not result in a disorderly conduct charge. “A number of different district attorneys from around the state requested our opinion on this issue,” Van Hollen said. “When you have people who openly believed that carrying a firearm in and of itself was disorderly conduct,...

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Chief of Police Ed Flynn is hopefully going to be out of a job soon. This is a good thing. Take a deep breath and read this excerpt from a recent Associated Press release. MADISON (AP) — Milwaukee’s police chief said today he’ll go on telling his officers to take down anyone with a firearm despite Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen’s finding that people can carry guns openly if they do it peacefully. Please take the time to read the entire piece (JPFO copy) This is very important information for any gun owner. Chief Flynn then goes on...

People, please. Get a grip here. Palin, in her testimony yesterday, was clearing stating that it is essential for the United States to develop domestic sources of energy. She never says that global warming is man-made. She recognizes that changes are occurring in the environment, but she never says that man is to blame. She also pushed for more oil exploration. Palin is the governor of Alaska, Alaska depends on energy exports for their economic growth. Therefore, Palin is looking out for the needs of Alaskans... which is what she has always done and will continue to do. This is...

Who's poised to lead the Republican party out of the woods? John McCain seems convinced that one GOP notable is not the person for the job, someone he's quite familiar with - his former running mate. On Monday's "Tonight Show," Jay Leno asked the Arizona Senator to name the new guiding lights of the Republican party, and McCain was quick to rattle off a list of "young, dynamic" governors around the country. Palin wasn't one of them. McCain singled out Lousisana Gov. Bobby Jindal, Florida Gov. Charlie Christ, Minnesota's Tim Pawlenty, and Mitt Romney, McCain's chief rival for the Republican...

QUINCY - In 2006, my last year as governor of Massachusetts, I vetoed a card-check bill that allowed public workers to organize if a majority signed union authorization cards as opposed to casting a traditional secret ballot. The veto was a gain for the rights of employees and employers to a fair election, but the victory was short-lived. After I left office, organized labor had another run at replacing the secret ballot with a card check. With the support of Democrats in the Legislature, that same bill was passed in 2007 – and my Democratic successor signed it into law....

The former Massachusetts governor is in town today for a $1,000-per person luncheon fundraiser for Bennett's re-election campaign. Romney could prove to be a powerful ally for Bennett in Utah. The former Massachusetts governor's presidential bid excited Utah Republicans unlike any before. He trounced the competition, receiving 90 percent of the GOP primary vote, and raised $5.5 million from Utah donors -- nearly six times as much as they gave to Sen. John McCain, the party's nominee. Romney was tapped to step in and salvage the 2002 Winter Olympics in Utah after a bribery scandal threatened the games. He had...

The decision today by the Iowa Supreme Court that ruled a ban on same-sex marriage in the Hawkeye State unconstitutional is certain to have an impact on the state's critical Republican presidential caucuses in 2012. . . . . . Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who ran unsuccessfully for the nomination in 2008 and is an almost-certain candidate in 2012, did offer a comment on the decision when asked by the Fix. "I believe marriage is a relationship between a man and a woman and the definition of marriage should be left to the people and not to activist courts,"...

For a while now I’ve been saying that Romney is no conservative, and anyone holding him up as the hope for the conservative movement against Obama in 2012 is fooling themselves. During his campaign for the Republican nomination in 2007/2008 Romney held himself up as a rock-ribbed conservative. The reality is that he’s a power-hungry politician. He was one of the first political leaders in America to institute what amounts to a nationalized health care system in Massachusetts, and his various positions on abortion have changed so often in timing so convenient for his political career as to leave one...

Maryland now has two universal health care plans to cover more than 800,000 uninsured residents. Two high-ranking state lawmakers and the CEO of CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield unveiled Wednesday morning a roughly $1.6 billion plan for extending health care benefits to all Marylanders who cannot afford to buy it, choose not to buy it or have lost coverage through their employer. If adopted, the plan would create a health insurance pool that includes members of the state’s high-risk health plan, individuals who are covered by commercial insurers and the rest of the state’s uninsured who are not eligible for Medicaid and...

Former presidential candidate Mitt Romney gave a pretty philosophical keynote at the GOP fundraiser tonight. At times the 30-minute address sounded like a history lesson or a college lecture. As the crowd welcomed him with a standing ovation, Romney warned that he'd be speaking seriously. This would be no pep rally full of political zingers. "These are critical times," Romney said. "Defining times for the world and the nation." Romney talked about what he saw as competing world philosophies, including that of jihadists, and critical times in history, like the Civil War and the American Revolution. "Republicans are the revolutionaries...

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) said Wednesday that his party needs to take a fresh approach to government regulations in the wake of the economic crisis that has rattled the U.S. and world economies. In an interview with The Hill, Romney said, “We as Republicans misspeak when we say we don’t like regulation. We like modern, up-to-date dynamic regulation that is regularly reviewed, streamlined, modernized and effective.” . . . . . Romney believes that one way to attract more minorities to the GOP is to pass immigration reform before the next election, saying the issue becomes demagogued by...

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) said Wednesday that Republicans shouldn’t oppose President Obama as a reflex and should praise him when he succeeds. Speaking at the National Republican Senatorial Committee’s (NRSC) spring dinner, Romney was thick on criticism of Obama, but also said Republicans shouldn’t root against the man Romney might well face in the 2012 presidential election. After offering a few choice words for Obama’s early conduct in office, Romney suggested it’s OK to hope things go well under the new president. “I also think its important for us to nod to the president when he’s right,” Romney...

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) backed the plan for GM and Chrysler put forth yesterday by President Obama, the candidate Romney may face in the 2012 presidential election. "I think a lot of people expected the president just to cave, write a check, and just hope for the better," Romney said Tuesday morning on CNN. "I think he's expressing some backbone on this." Romney grew up in Michigan, where his father was governor and, at one time, chairman of a now-defunct auto company. The former 2008 presidential candidate, though, was also sure to tout his own calls for bankruptcy...

For folks increasingly leery of President Obama’s plan to radically overhaul America’s health-care system, or 17 percent of the nation’s economy, all this could hardly have come at a better time — that is, fiscal troubles aplenty within Repubican Mitt Romney’s brainchild, Massachusetts’ “grand experiment” in “universal” health care. Initiated on Mr. Romney’s gubernatorial watch in 2006, this “experiment” has fallen on hard times, and predictably so. Even though the Bay State commenced its program with a far smaller percentage of uninsured residents than exists nationwide, “RomneyCare” is threatening to bankrupt the state. Budgeted for Fiscal Year 2010 at $880...

Praise Mitt Romney. Three years ago, the former Massachusetts Governor had the inadvertent good sense to create the "universal" health-care program that the White House and Congress now want to inflict on the entire country. It is proving to be instructive, as Mr. Romney's foresight previews what President Obama, Max Baucus, Ted Kennedy and Pete Stark are cooking up for everyone else. In Massachusetts's latest crisis, Governor Deval Patrick and his Democratic colleagues are starting to move down the path that government health plans always follow when spending collides with reality -- i.e., price controls. As costs continue to rise,...

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Romney has been active on the fundraising circuit for both his PAC and as a headliner for GOP candidates. Photo: John Shinkle Mitt Romney’s political action committee has raised $571,000 this year, according to a report filed this week with the Federal Election Commission. The stated mission of the committee, Free and Strong America PAC, is to support “officeholders and candidates who are dedicated to promoting public policies that will strengthen America.” But the group also helps keep Romney – a former Massachusetts governor believed to be positioning himself for a run at the 2012 Republican presidential nomination – in...

Online columnist Sally Denton (a Nevada native and author of a book on Nevada politics): “Rumors swirl in Las Vegas that former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is in the process of establishing residency in Nevada with his eye toward unseating his fellow Mormon.” David Bernstein in the Boston Phoenix in Romney’s home state: “Mitt vs. Harry Reid? If you’re looking to sell a palatial estate in Nevada, I think I might know somebody who’ll be looking to buy soon. … Hint: Mormonism is an asset in Nevada. (Reid is Mormon, in fact.) Romney, you might recall, campaigned hard in Nevada...

In all the furor yesterday over Rush Limbaugh's tremendous speech at CPAC, I failed to post video of Gov. Mitt Romney's speech. So the video above is of Romney's speech at CPAC 2009. If you want to skip the introductions, Romney actually begins speaking at the 13:00 mark of the video. Romney turned out to be the winner of the CPAC 2012 Straw Poll, getting 20% of the vote, with Jindal running second at 14%. So, it was a very good day for Romney, who is in a strong position to run again if he chooses to. . . ....

Rush Limbaugh was 15 minutes early to the stage, but no one was complaining Saturday evening in Washington, D.C., at the Conservative Political Action Conference. Quite the contrary. On the conference's third and final day, the conservative talk radio host was the headliner, and the crowd greeted him with an immense ovation. "Ladies and gentleman, this is my first ever address to the nation," Limbaugh joked, noting that FOX News and C-SPAN were broadcasting the speech live. Limbaugh then spent his first 15 minutes giving an impassioned summary of what it means to be a conservative before turning the focus...

Romney playing role in Calif. governor race His support of Whitman could aid ambitions A victory by Meg Whitman in the race for California governor could deliver Mitt Romney a foothold in a Democratic state. (Noah Berger/Associated Press) By Sasha Issenberg February 21, 2009 WASHINGTON - From a Lexington office complex, Mitt Romney's political action committee has ensured the former presidential candidate's omnipresence on cable news shows, Republican rally stages, and antistimulus T-shirts, the last available with a $50 contribution to his Free and Strong America PAC. But for the next year and a half, the center of Romney's political...

After barely four weeks in office, President Barack Obama signs into law Tuesday a legislative achievement that eclipses entire terms of some contemporary presidents. The stimulus legislation has the real potential of creating more than 3 million jobs, most in the private sector and many rebuilding an aging public infrastructure. The new law assists those most in need of basic health care, job training, and in the near term, unemployment benefits and food. No one could blame Obama for being a bit chagrined at the GOP's disengagement from all this, notwithstanding the president's charm and offers of substantive compromise. Republican...

MA-based International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) just released this pictures of a rhino being freed from the mud in Kaziranga National Park in Northeast India. IFAW runs a rescue and rehabilitation in the park in cooperation with the Indian government. The rhino walked away, tired, but unhurt. It's not unusual for small rhinos or elephants to fall in ditches or get stuck in mud in the region. The group even had a tiger fall down a well recently.

Former GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney is slated to offer House Republicans his policy prescriptions for the ailing economy at a hearing next week to discuss the pending stimulus package. The former Massachusetts governor is scheduled to appear at a hearing next Thursday organized by party Whip Eric Cantor (Va.), where Republicans will outline their policy proposals for a massive economic stimulus bill that could exceed $800 billion. "Last week, President elect-Obama challenged the House Republicans to help him craft a stimulus bill. We are embracing this challenge and asking as many people as possible to help us create the...

To much fanfare from both right and left in 2006, Massachusetts became the first state in the nation to require all residents to buy health insurance. A new state health insurance clearinghouse was created, with taxpayers subsidizing those who couldn’t afford to buy coverage. Then Gov. Mitt Romney, a Republican, promised that “every uninsured citizen in Massachusetts will soon have affordable health insurance.” Yet just two years later, Romney’s much-heralded “solution” — touted by many as the model for a national program — has become an embarrassing flop. Just a year after the universal coverage law passed, The New York...

If 2002 was Mormonism's debutante ball, 2008 may go down as its first semester of college. The Utah-based church made new friends, endured back-stabbing from would-be friends, joined some clubs, got a taste of fame and had a few wrenching exams. From the possibility of a Mormon in the White House to a stream of Latter-day Saints on reality television, from being attacked as belonging to a cult (or mistaken for a polygamous sect in Texas) to participating in California's bitter battle for traditional marriage, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints would see their faith in...

Now that President Bush has sold-out the free market to the UAW, by giving GM and Chrysler loans without any restrictions, its time for the President to turn his attention to the people who REALLY matter...the taxpayer. It is five weeks before the New President takes office, Bush should call the congress back to work and get started on the Job now. Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney suggests that we need a "Republican" stimulus plan, starting with major tax cuts putting money back in the consumer's hands but that's only the starting point:

Ann Romney, the wife of former Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney, announced today that she was diagnosed with an early form of breast cancer and underwent a lumpectomy to remove the affected tissue. In a statement, Romney said a lump was discovered last week during her annual mammogram at Brigham and Women's Hospital. She described the discovery as "technically not cancer but rather pre-cancer, as it has not become invasive." Doctors performed the lumpectomy today as an outpatient procedure. "Mitt and I feel fortunate to have caught this so early," she wrote. "And, it reminds us how important it is...

Mitt Romney Takes on Detroit By Garance Franke-Ruta The race for 2012 is already on in the Republican Party, and today failed 2008 contender Mitt Romney appeared to take a stand sure to complicate any future presidential bid. In an op-ed bluntly titled, "Let Detroit Go Bankrupt," the former Massachusetts governor argued against the automobile salaries and pension systems that have for decades helped define the good life in industrial Michigan, where Romney won the GOP primary this winter and where his father was once governor.