Free Republic

PAWLENTY GETS A SECOND LOOK: Mitt Romney has already made his decision on who he’ll pick as his running mate, an announcement which could come this week, according to a New York Times report, and former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who shares a close relationship with the Romney family and has become an energetic cheerleader for the GOP nominee, sits at the top of the list four years after he was passed over for the number two spot by John McCain. “After a short-lived presidential bid of his own last year, Mr. Pawlenty is again being considered for the Republican...

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Monday shows Mitt Romney attracting 46% of the vote, while President Obama earns 44%. Five percent (5%) prefer some other candidate, and five percent (5%) more are undecided.

The "Super PAC" backing Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney saw its best fundraising month yet in June, raising some $20 million and by far outpacing its chief rival group backing President Barack Obama. The pro-Obama Super PAC, Priorities USA Action, also had its best fundraising month in June but brought in $6.1 million.

The Mitt Romney campaign has been busy this week fending off attacks about Romney's involvement with Bain Capital after he claims to have ceased dealing with the company's day-to-day operations. Weekends on All Things Considered host Guy Raz speaks with James Fallows of The Atlantic about how this episode reminds him of the "Swiftboat" attacks against Democratic candidate John Kerry in 2004. GUY RAZ, HOST: It's WEEKENDS on ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. I'm Guy Raz. MITT ROMNEY: I had no role whatsoever in the management of Bain Capital after February of 1999. PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: I think most...

ROMNEY NARROWS VP CHOICES; SURPRISE NAME EMERGES AS FRONTRUNNER

He’s politically dumb and his campaign is run by amateurs. He doesn’t have a message and doesn’t know how to deliver a message. He’s a political letdown running on autopilot who needs to grab the controls. He’s a man whom only friends, relatives and fellow Mormons will ever love. And his name is Mitt Romney, Republican candidate for President of the United States. These are stinging jabs. All were made in the past week and all share one surprising thing in common: they were delivered not from the Obama campaign’s Chicago attack machine, as you might expect, but in a...

In a sign that Mitt Romney's campaign team plans to adjust following growing criticism from fellow Republicans, CBS News has learned that Romney campaign senior adviser Kevin Madden will soon be taking on a larger and more visible role within the campaign. Sources tell CBS News that Madden will be spending more time on the road with Romney and is likely to become a more public presence as a TV spokesperson for the candidate. He will hit the road with Romney next week, following Romney's New Hampshire vacation. This move to make Madden a more public face of the campaign...

Kevin Madden, a Republican communications expert with long ties to Mitt Romney, will become a more frequent and visible spokesman for the presidential campaign, a source close to the decision said on Friday. The increased responsibilities for Mr. Madden came in the wake of criticism from nervous Republicans about Mr. Romney’s campaign team. The Wall Street Journal said in an editorial that the campaign “looks confused in addition to being politically dumb.”

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...

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

During her appearance on Fox News, Palin added that she expects presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney to make good on his promise to repeal Obamacare if he elected in November. "First on the list of priorities must be repealing and replacing Obamacare with something that makes more sense," she said. Earlier that day Romney had slammed the Supreme Court ruling, re-affirming his promise to help repeal the health care law as president. "Obamacare raises taxes on the American people by approximately $500 billion. Obamacare cuts Medicare - cuts Medicare by approximately $500 billion. And even with those cuts and...

<p>Recently, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Congress has the power to do just about anything it desires provided it's called a tax. It's hard not to notice that the Progressive march toward totalitarianism in America has a decidedly bipartisan feel. Chief Justice John Roberts, who wrote the high court's majority opinion, is an appointee of "compassionate conservative" George W. Bush.</p>

Today is the day. SCOTUSblog live at 8:45 AM.

Jim Wilson, the peripatetic, profane, pipe-smoking volunteer for Mitt Romney whose ubiquitous pickup truck was destroyed in a fire last week, has a new set of wheels, donated by the campaign to which he has devoted a year of his life. Mr. Romney himself will present Mr. Wilson, a 70-year-old Virginian, with a replacement vehicle during an event in Sterling, Va., on Wednesday, ensuring that, until Election Day, Mr. Wilson can keep popping up at campaign stops in a truck festooned with dozens of giant “Romney for President” posters and stickers. ... Mr. Wilson, an anti-Obama Republican and former life...

Mitt Romney campaign representatives will meet with The Washington Post today to seek a formal retraction of its June 21 report that Bain Capital invested in firms that specialized in outsourcing American jobs, POLITICO has learned. The representatives will meet with executive editor Marcus Brauchli and other senior Post staff at 2 p.m. today at the Post's offices in Washington. The group intends to argue that the Post's allegations against Bain Capital and the firms in question are either incomplete or inaccurate, sources familiar with the meeting say. Specifically, the group will argue that the Post misinterpreted the SEC filings...

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin on Monday revived her inflammatory accusation that President Obama's healthcare law creates "death panels." Palin used her Facebook page to capitalize on the publicity surrounding the Supreme Court's upcoming healthcare decision. She said she wanted to take the opportunity to stand by comments in a 2009 Facebook post that touched off a firestorm of controversy. "I stand by everything I wrote in that warning to my fellow Americans because what was true then is true now, and it will remain true as we hear what the Supreme Court has to say," Palin said in Monday's...

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...

MSNBC's supposedly most intelligent "news" anchor almost had a total meltdown on HBO's Real Time Friday. When repeatedly asked by host Bill Maher and guest Nick Gillespie for her opinion of Massachusetts' healthcare program, Maddow whined like a little girl, "Leave me alone about RomneyCare, all of you" (video follows with transcript and commentary): Maddow Almost Melts Down on HBO's Real Time: 'Leave Me Alone About RomneyCare, All of You' BILL MAHER, HOST: Mitt Romney said on the campaign trail last week, he said, “We're going to get rid of ObamaCare and return to personal responsibility.” This is the return...

While our presumptive nominee Mitt Romney has criticized Obama's cynical, politically-timed power grab, he has yet to say whether or not he would repeal President Obama's executive decision to no longer enforce our laws with respect to somewhere around one million Mexican illegals. Instead, first thing this morning, the Romney campaign went right back to talking about Obama's failed economy: A number of my fellow conservatives, many of whom I admire, are hitting Romney for not taking a stand on this, but what exactly is Romney supposed to do? This entire story is, quite obviously, a coordinated trap set up...

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...