Free Republic

When conservative candidates lose their bid for elected office, they tend to fade away from public life and are never heard from again. But for Rockefeller Republicans, losing an election is evidently a resume enhancer for them to continue advising and interfering with Republican politics and policy. Mitt Romney ran as a “severely” conservative Republican in the primary. He pulverized his opponents with an expensive negative ad campaign and won the nomination. Then, as is the case with most moderate Republicans, his truculent attitude in the primary transformed into one of ineptitude and submissiveness in the face of an aggressive...

It is "appropriate" for Republicans to use investigations, such as those into Benghazi and the IRS, for election campaigns, two-time presidential candidate Mitt Romney said Friday. Romney stressed that the investigations would not be taking place if Republicans did not have a majority in the House. "There would not be an investigation into Benghazi, there would not be an investigation into the IRS, were there not a Republican House. And, so to say, 'Look, elect Republicans so that we can have these kinds of investigations' is appropriate," the former Massachusetts governor told MSNBC's "Morning Joe." The issue of using the...

Gone is the sunny, compassionate candidate of 2008. In the run-up to 2016, the former Arkansas governor is downright angry. He’s learned his lesson from his last campaign, ex-aides say. In 2007, Mike Huckabee stood impassively on a Republican presidential debate stage while Mitt Romney tried to embarrass him. A program that Huckabee had instituted in Arkansas gave undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children the right to in-state tuition at Arkansas’s public universities. Huckabee sounded, Romney said, like a Massachusetts liberal. “Are we going to give taxpayer-funded benefits to kids that are here illegally and put them...

RomneyCare’s pioneering health insurance exchange is headed for the scrap heap. Bay State officials are taking steps this week to junk central parts of their dysfunctional health insurance exchange—the model for President Barack Obama’s health care law—and merge with the federal enrollment site HealthCare.gov. The decision is part of an expensive plan that would occur alongside a parallel, last-ditch attempt to still build a working state system. The state on Monday announced the hiring of hCentive, a Virginia-based contractor that helped construct the Kentucky and Colorado exchanges. The company would rush to build a viable state exchange in time for...

Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty said Wednesday he believes former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush can win the Republican presidential nomination in 2016, dismissing the notion that conservatives wouldn’t elect an “establishment” candidate by pointing to the party’s standard bearer the past two presidential cycles. “See John McCain; see Mitt Romney,” Mr. Pawlenty, who ended his 2012 presidential campaign in the summer of 2011, said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” “In McCain’s case, a very compelling personal story and a gritty performance; in Mitt Romney’s case, obviously a man of great talent but also someone with a tremendous amount of campaign resources...

Sen. Marco Rubio jumped into Iowa’s contested Senate primary on Monday, throwing his support behind conservative candidate Joni Ernst. After indicating in recent weeks that he would stay away from GOP primary season, the Florida senator decided to wade into one of the most consequential Senate races in the country by backing Ernst. Not only does Iowa hold the first-in-the-nation presidential caucus in 2016, but the state also will be central to the battle for the Senate this fall — unlike contested primaries in red states such as Oklahoma and Nebraska. Rubio made the announcement through his Reclaim America PAC...

Joni Ernst – wife, mother, soldier and politician – is perfect for Iowa, right for Washington. Iowa has an opportunity to matter this time. Iowa Republicans supported the likes of Huckabee, Paul and Bachmann, who were all good conservatives, but not presidential. After Iowa played a part in putting the worst president in U.S. history in the White House, a new, qualified, and exciting Republican candidate has emerged in Red Oak, Iowa. Her campaign advertisement is sheer genius, touted as the best in the history of American politics. She has been endorsed by Sarah Palin and Mitt Romney, as well...

I see the WaPo let the cat out of the bag, which was picked up by  WeaselZippers and now everybody’s buzzing about Lady M and the Wee Wons private weekend at the luxurious Salamander spa.I don’t know why people begrudge Lady M a little R&R; after all, she did just complete a tour of duty overseas. Doesn’t everyone deserve a good cleanse and refreshing massage after such a grueling trip:Plus, shortly after her return she attended Easter church services; who wouldn’t be exhausted?And, as MO herself explained to Michael Strahan at the Spring-Sphere Roll: “You know, if we’re not going...

BOSTON (AP) — Fighting to move beyond his father’s shadow, Sen. Rand Paul is crafting new alliances with the Republican Party establishment during a Northeast tour that began Friday in Boston.The 51-year-old Kentucky Republican, son of libertarian hero and former Texas Rep. Ron Paul, headlined an afternoon luncheon hosted by top lieutenants of former presidential nominee Mitt Romney — a private meeting that comes as Paul weighs a 2016 presidential bid of his own. To succeed in a national campaign, however, those close to Paul acknowledge that he must broaden his appeal beyond the Tea Party and libertarian-minded activists who...

Former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney may take another run at the White House, "Face the Nation" host Bob Schieffer said. "I have a source that told me that if Jeb Bush decides not to run, that Mitt Romney may actually try it again," Schieffer said during a panel discussion on the CBS Sunday morning news show.

Fighting to move beyond his father’s shadow, Sen. Rand Paul is crafting new alliances with the Republican Party establishment during a Northeast tour that began Friday in Boston. The 51-year-old Kentucky Republican, son of libertarian hero and former Texas Rep. Ron Paul, headlined an afternoon luncheon hosted by top lieutenants of former presidential nominee Mitt Romney—a private meeting that comes as Paul weighs a 2016 presidential bid of his own. To succeed in a national campaign, however, those close to Paul acknowledge that he must broaden his appeal beyond the tea party and libertarian-minded activists who rallied behind his father’s...

Mitt Romney threw his support behind Arizona state Speaker Andy Tobin on Monday, marking the latest candidate Romney has endorsed in the midterm elections. Other Republicans backed by Romney this cycle include Idaho Rep. Mike Simpson, who is facing a competitive GOP primary next month, state Del. Barbara Comstock in Virginia’s open 10th District, and state Sen. Joni Ernst for Iowa’s open Senate seat, among others.

The Blaze radio host Glenn Beck revealed on Monday that he deeply regrets giving Mitt Romney the gift he gave him when the former Massachusetts governor ran for president. Beck revealed that he gave Romney a rare, first-edition copy of President George Washington‘s farewell address for which he never even received a thank you. “I was trying to cement in his mind, ‘You have run an honorable race,’” Beck said said, explaining the rationale behind the gift. “‘I don’t agree with you on everything. But please understand the time that we’re in, and if you win, you have to be...

Rand Paul will do his best to charm a group Mitt Romney’s top donors next week at an event facilitated by Romney finance director Spencer Zwick. The Friday luncheon will take place in Boston at the offices of Zwick’s private-equity firm, Solamere Capital, according to a source familiar with the event. Romney’s eldest son Tagg is also a managing partner at the firm, and Romney is the executive chairman. The event is yet another signal that Paul is preparing a for a serious presidential bid in 2016. Two years before the GOP primary, Paul is attempting to branch out beyond...

Conservative columnist Ann Coulter — who used her talk show platform in the last presidential election cycle to campaign hard for former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney — has taken up the mantra once again, calling on Republicans to give the failed White House bidder another shot in 2016. She made the suggestion during a discussion on Sean Hannity’s radio show while speaking of her new book, “Never Trust a Liberal Over 3-Especially a Republican.”Ms. Coulter also addressed the question of Mr. Romney’s shortcomings by saying that his 2012 loss wasn’t entirely his fault. “I think too much blame, not only...

One rainy morning this month, the man who thought he would be president boarded a train near his beach house in San Diego. He stepped off in Burbank, Calif., and caught a ride to a sound stage, where his on-again, off-again political consigliere, Mike Murphy, was waiting to shoot a commercial on a set that bore more than a passing resemblance to the Oval Office. Looking and sounding like a president out of central casting, he nailed his lines. The crew called him “one-take Romney,” and before he departed, they swarmed, extending arms around his shoulders and angling their iPhones...

During a call-in to the nationally renowned Least Dangerous Podcast with JC King, Former Presidential Candidate and Governor Michael Dukakis cautioned Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton about her prospects of becoming the Democratic Nominee for President, “Believe me, neither she, nor anyone else can take that for granted.” Using his own experience as a barometer he continued, “I was 40 points ahead with 5 weeks to go when I ran for reelection in 1978 and I got beaten.” He did praise her saying her experience in the Obama administration has made her a primary choice for the party, “She...

"...If we don't run Chris Christie, Romney will be the nominee and we'll lose."

HOWIE CARR, HOST: Who are you for, for president right now, Ann? ANN COULTER: Well, don't tell him but I'm planning on giving Mitt Romney a little more time to rest -- flying out, kidnapping him and depriving him of sleep, food and water until he agrees to run again. CARR: You're kidding? COULTER: No. CARR: You really want him to run again? COULTER: Yeah, I think he was a fantastic candidate. As I've told you before, he would have won by a larger landslide than Ronald Reagan did in 1980 without Teddy Kennedy's immigration bill. And it's basically impossible...

Via MofoPolitics, which is responsible for the clip, and Free Republic, where the Romney 3.0 movement is, shall we say, off to a bad start in the comments. I’m 90 percent sure she’s joking but there’s no way to be sure: Any conservative willing to offer three cheers for RomneyCare qualifies, indisputably, as a true blue Mitt fan. I didn’t think they existed, but they do. Even among people who knew all along that, if nominated, he would lose. Why Romney instead of someone else, though? One big reason, she says, is immigration. He was the guy who hammered Rick...