Free Republic

Mitt Romney will not take part in March 1 debate in Georgia, the final debate before Super Tuesday on March 6, his campaign said Thursday. And Rick Santorum looks like he will sit it out as well. [snip] By not attending the debate, Romney’s campaign appears to be trying to de-emphasize its importance and instead relying on his overwhelming financial advantage on the airwaves. Romney’s campaign and a super PAC supporting him have all but drowned out their opponents with ads. The debate is in the state Gingrich represented in the U.S. House, but both Romney and Santorum have signaled...

MOUNT DORA, Fla. -- Newt Gingrich trained his full arsenal of weaponry on Mitt Romney at a rally here Thursday morning, charging that his opponent wouldn't stand up to President Obama in a general election and questioning his commitment to the GOP. It was the harshest critique Gingrich has leveled to date and may be a reflection of his slackened showing in the polls. It also underscored Gingrich's strategy of capitalizing on the free media and momentum he tends to capture in debates; tonight CNN is hosting the final debate before Florida voters render their judgment on Tuesday, and the...

Just as I said. According to O4P insiders , Palin lured Perry into the race to pop Romney's bubble and are relying on Romney to go negative on Perry and pop Perry's bubble and thus the reason for Palin's late entry. Read the article , Team Romney is getting ready to pull the trigger.

...But Republicans in Iowa and South Carolina — which hold contests bookending New Hampshire's primary — question whether Romney is doing enough to stay competitive in those states. "He's obviously has the national appeal, the fundraising apparatus. He certainly would be a formidable candidate if he makes it through the primary. But I'm not sure he thinks he can win South Carolina," said Rep. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), who is hosting a series of town hall meetings for Republican presidential contenders. Romney hasn't appeared at one of the town halls, but is working toward setting up a date with Scott. "I...

GOP presidential contender Mitt Romney may already be cutting his losses in advance of the 2012 primary season. The Washington Post reported Thursday that the former Massachusetts governor won't be attending a South Carolina campaign event hosted by Sen. Jim DeMint, a top figure in the Tea Party movement and one of the most conservative members of Congress. According to the Post: "An aide to Romney, who has been dethroned as the GOP presidential nomination front-runner in recent polls by Texas Gov. Rick Perry, said the former Massachusetts governor will spend time in New Hampshire instead but is not ignoring...

As some like to say, the 2012 presidential campaign began the day after the 2010 midterm elections. And with the bulk of the action on the Republican side as contenders start lining up to challenger President Obama, it's not too soon to start speculating about who's most likely going to be at the top of the GOP ticket. Republican strategist Mike Murphy has worked on the campaigns of Sen. John McCain, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and others. He tells Morning Edition guest host Linda Wertheimer that Romney and current Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels now...

Former presidential candidate Mitt Romney, sticking his neck out a bit, waited until today to endorse Mike Lee, a move that undoubtedly was a tough choice now that Lee is the GOP nominee for Senate in Utah and faces no other GOP candidates.

The Massachusetts treasurer said Tuesday that Congress will "threaten to wipe out the American economy within four years" if it adopts a health care overhaul modeled after the Bay State's. Treasurer Timothy Cahill - a former Democrat running as an independent for governor - said the 2006 law has succeeded only because of huge subsidies and favorable regulatory changes from the federal government.