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WOLFEBORO, N.H. — Mitt Romney is planning to fortify his communications and messaging team by adding seasoned operatives, advisers close to the campaign said Thursday, after withering criticism from prominent conservative voices that his insular team has fumbled recent opportunities. Romney’s advisers insisted that he would keep his inner circle intact amid growing concerns about the Republican presidential candidate and his campaign. The tempest began with a weekend tweet from media tycoon Rupert Murdoch and burst Thursday onto the pages of his newspaper the Wall Street Journal, as its conservative editorial board opined that Romney’s advisers were “slowly squandering an...

Romney seems to have a "tin ear" when it comes to listening to conservative views. Since it is nearly impossible to mount a successful campaign against him now and come up with another viable candidate who can win in the November election, we need to be sure that our voices are heard and heeded by the Romney campaign. Question: Do conservatives have someone in Romney's inner circle who can influence him and make sure he sticks up for our values? Is there anyone from FreeRepublic who can represent us and our concerns on his team? How can we get a...

Rep. Allen West suggested late Monday that Mitt Romney re-evaluate his campaign advisers, hours after top Romney aide Eric Fehrnstrom said on TV that the individual mandate of President Barack Obama’s health care law is not a tax. “It’s a tax,” the Florida Republican told Greta Van Susteren of Fox News. “I think that the governor probably needs to look at who he has within his circle of advisers, and probably get … them to provide the right type of counsel and advice.”

It's becoming clear that Romney has decided to focus on the economy at the expense of everything else, even issues that could play to his political benefit. He's avoided criticizing the administration's handling of the botched Fast and Furious operation, even as it threatens to become a serious vulnerability for the president. He's been silent in responding to Obama's immigration executive order, not wanting to offend receptive Hispanics or appear like a flip-flopper. He appears more likely to tap a safe, bland running mate like Ohio Sen. Rob Portman or former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty who won't do him any...

Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign on Monday rejected a Republican attack on the Affordable Care Act, repudiating a contention made in last week’s Supreme Court decision that the law’s requirement that individuals carry medical coverage amounts to a tax. The Romney team’s refusal to invoke the word “tax” with regard to the individual mandate puts the candidate at odds with others in his party at a moment when Republicans are attempting to capi­tal­ize on the Supreme Court’s decision, which deemed President Obama’s health-care law constitutional. Some Republican-led states are trying to thwart the legislation’s effort to cover the poor. In an...

While Congressional Republicans have seized on the Supreme Court’s ruling that President Obama’s health care overhaul is constitutional as a tax, presumptive GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney’s top campaign strategist undercut that line of argument Monday, saying that the governor agrees with Mr. Obama that the law is not a tax. “The governor has consistently described the mandate in Massachusetts as a penalty,” Eric Fehrnstrom, Mr. Romney’s strategist, said on MSNBC. “The governor disagreed with the ruling of the court; he agreed with the dissent that was written by Justice Scalia, which clearly states the mandate was not a tax.”

Pundit says: Romney will fail if he doesn't change course.

RUSH: Ladies and gentlemen, yesterday Mitt Romney blew it with the response to all the immigration rulings at the Supreme Court. And the Obama administration reaction to it. And the regime basically telling Arizona, "We don't care. We're gonna have spies tattling on you if you start stopping people," and so forth. Yesterday was a warning, I think. Yesterday was a red flag for the Romney team. Yesterday... And it's the first time in a long time. It's the first time I have thought this in a long time. The Romney team was not ready for primetime on this illegal...

In Arizona v. United States, the Supreme Court unanimously agreed that the federal government has no basis to nullify the "show me your papers" provision of Arizona's immigration law. Conservatives Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas, moderate Anthony Kennedy, liberals Stephen Breyer and Ruth Bader Ginsburg -- even Obama appointee Sonia Sotomayor -- all shot down the administration's effort to stop that part of the law. (Obama appointee Elena Kagan stayed out of it because she had taken part in the action as a member of the administration.) Yet even with that unanimity -- a position supported, if the polls are...

Remember when Romney turned away Stimulus funds because they were wasteful and infringed on the Tenth Amendment? Remember when Romney led the fight against Obamacare with his bold op-eds, inviting scorn and being called a liar for daring to mention the unavoidable rationing of services ("Death Panels") ? Remember when Romney led the GOP to an astonishing victory in the 2010 mid-terms? Remember when Romney inspired thousands across the nation to sleep outside book stores in hopes of meeting him? Remember when Romney Flew to Arizona to stand by the embattled Governor Brewer as she was targeted by the Administration...

Something about that Old Guard and that establishment. There’s a schedule to keep and a list of rules to follow. Apparently, Sarah Palin shredded her copy and it’s starting to rub the media the wrong way. Despite saying dozens of times over the last year that she would eventually back the GOP nominee in her #1 mission to replace Barack Obama, apparently the media expects more. An article written by The Hill yesterday notices: “Palin Doesn’t Mention Romney In Address To Conservative Bloggers”. The Daily Caller reiterates: “Sarah Palin Hasn’t Formally Endorsed Romney Yet” while they also concede that she...

On Monday, Rep. Allen West (R-FL) said that he was “dejected” after Mitt Romney’s avoided taking a strong stand on President Barack Obama’s directive enacting portions of the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act. “It goes back to what my mother taught me, ‘a man must stand for something, or else he’ll fall for anything,’” said West. Romney appeared on CBS’ Face the Nation on Sunday where he was asked repeatedly if he would repeal President Obama’s directive. Romney avoided taking a firm position on the matter during the interview, but indicated that he supports the underlying...

BRUNSWICK, Ohio (AP) — Mitt Romney is refusing to say that he would overturn President Barack Obama's new policy allowing some young illegal immigrants to stay in the United States. The Republican presidential candidate tells CBS” ”Face the Nation” that if he’s president, Obama’s executive order “would be overtaken by events … by virtue of my putting in place a long-term solution.” Romney was asked three times in the interview if he would overturn Obama’s order, but he didn’t directly answer the question. Instead, he said would work to pass a law to help those young people who were “brought...

On the surface, the title of this article seems paradoxical. How can any conservative in the USA even contemplate the concept of the government creating a single-payer health insurance system covering all Americans and, in effect, ending private major medical health insurance? In this post I hope to make the conservative case for a single payer incontrovertible for those occupying the centre-right politically. Conservatives are supposed to be the defenders of business. Yet our current health care system works as an albatross around the neck of American business. Likewise, the piecemeal reforms of ObamaCare seem only to make some problems...

Okay, maybe that wasn’t the best metaphor, but he fumbled an important opportunity. The problem with the president’s amnesty decree is not that it “makes it more difficult to reach that long-term solution because an executive order is, of course, just a short-term matter — it can be reversed by subsequent presidents.” The problem is that it’s u-n-c-o-n-s-t-i-t-u-t-i-o-n-a-l. You would expect Allen West and Steve King to be forceful in denouncing this usurpation, but even Amnesty John McCain and Rick “you don’t have a heart” Perry were strong. Heck, Lindsey Graham — Lindsey Graham — denounced the move as “possibly...

Why is Barack Obama’s road to re-election so steep and uncertain at this stage? There are five important reasons. 1. An indefensible record. Every election which features an incumbent is, at least in good measure, a referendum on the record of the incumbent. The problem facing Obama is that he can’t offer a convincing case that his policies have succeeded. Recall that at the outset of his presidency, Obama told NBC’s Matt Lauer, “I will be held accountable. I’ve got four years… If I don’t have this done in three years, then there’s going to be a one-term proposition.” Yet...

A chronological assembly of footage dealing with Romney and Romneycare and how he endorsed federal mandate through Wyden Bennett Bill (called it bipartisan). RomneyCare - Mitt Romney on the record

Now that Mitt Romney has officially clinched the Republican nomination, most of the political Right has rallied around him, out of antipathy for President Obama if for no other reason. Recent polls show that if the election were held today Romney would receive 90 percent of the Republican vote, and three-quarters of the vote from self-described conservatives. One can expect even more conservatives and Republicans to “come home,” as the bitterness of the primary season fades, and the contrast with Obama becomes clearer. Yet, for anyone concerned with the size, cost, and intrusiveness of government, dark clouds continue to hang...

Over the weekend, Politico broke the news that Mitt Romney had tapped Mike Leavitt, the former Utah Governor and HHS Secretary under George W. Bush, to lead the transition effort should Romney win the presidency. This is a very worrisome signal to conservatives holding out hope that Romney will live up to his promises to fight for limited government if elected. As Ben Domenech details, Leavitt is one of the few Republicans who has been actively campaigning for governors to implement Obamacare’s health care exchanges at the state level. [....] Leavitt has shown time and again that he is to...

Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney has now secured at least 88 of the 155 delegates at stake in the Texas Primary, bringing his secured delegate total to 1174, 30 more than necessary to win the majority of the delegated needed for the GOP nomination. With 4% of Texas precincts now reporting, Romney has consistently maintained or increased a 60 point lead over his nearest competitor, Congressman Ron Paul. In the contested race for the GOP nomination for U.S. Senate, David Dewhurst is holding a 48% to 31% lead over his nearest rival Ted Cruz in a nine person contest.