Mitt Romney for president in 2016? [Double-BARF alert]

Far from being excommunicated by Republicans after his loss to President Obama, 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney is enjoying a brand resurgence of late, drawing several potential 2016 candidates to his "ideas summit" this weekend in Utah and even earning some 2016 speculation himself.

Meanwhile, some other potential candidates are in Iowa for the state Republican Party's convention there Saturday. And not to be left out, Gov. Chris Christie, R-N.J., was in California Friday to raise money for the Republican gubernatorial candidate there and participate in a Facebook chat.

It all adds up to a busy weekend for the early 2016 Republican presidential sweepstakes.

In Utah, Romney has billed his summit as an opportunity for a new generation of conservative thinkers and political leaders to strategize about the best path forward for the party and the country. No fewer than six potential 2016 GOP candidates made the trek to the Park City, including Christie, Sens. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Rob Portman, R-Ohio, Gov. Susana Martinez, R-Ohio, former Gov. Mike Huckabee, R-Ark., and Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., who was Romney's running mate in 2012.

Romney once worried he'd be branded a "loser for life" by his party if he failed to unseat the president, but it hasn't quite worked out that way. Despite the crowd of up-and-comers at his summit, many people there were more abuzz about the possibility that Romney himself could jump into the race in 2016.

Rommey "is the only person that can fill the stage," said MSNBC host and former Republican congressman Joe Scarborough at a private dinner on the summit's opening night, according to The Washington Post.

"He would be a giant in a field of midgets," added Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer, a Democrat who's weighing a 2016 bid himself.

Romney has not entertained speculation that he could mount another bid, saying he's only interested in putting his stamp on the party going forward and positioning Republicans to win national elections. "The unavailable is always the most attractive, right?" he said, according to The Associated Press. "That goes in dating as well."

He dinged potential Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton during a campaign-style speech at the summit, pointing to mounting violence in Iraq to argue that the foreign policy Clinton helped engineer as secretary of state has been a "monumental bust."

"Tragically, all we've fought for in Iraq, all that 4,500 American lives were shed to gain, is on the cusp, potentially, of vanishing," Romney said.

The speculation swirling around Romney, who was the establishment choice in 2012, could reflect broader dissatisfaction with the party's slate of potential 2016 candidates.

One establishment favorite, Christie, has been handicapped in recent months by the traffic scandal surrounding the George Washington Bridge. And GOP officials believe former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush would be a formidable candidate, but they worry he has not demonstrated the constitution required for a brutal presidential race.

Paul, an insurgent Republican viewed skeptically by the party brass, sharpened his pitch ahead of his speech in Utah, telling Republicans they must expand their support without watering down their message.

"Our base is not big enough to win national elections and we have to reach out to new people, and that means African-Americans, Hispanics, young people, single women," Paul told The Washington Post. "We have to have a message that we don't dilute or make no longer consistent with who we are, but that we take elements that really do appeal to people."

After his appearance at the summit, Paul left Utah for Iowa to speak at the Iowa Republican Party's biennial convention in Des Moines.

Also scheduled to speak to Iowa Republicans Saturday are Gov. Bobby Jindal, R-La., and former Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., who won the state's first-in-the-nation caucus during the his own 2012 presidential bid.

As they consider their future, Jindal, Paul and Santorum have all burnished their appeal among social conservatives - a voting bloc with particularly strong influence among Iowa Republicans.

Jindal and Santorum will return to Iowa in August along with Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Gov. Rick Perry, R-Texas, to participate in the Family Leadership Summit, the organizers of that event announced Saturday, according to the Des Moines Register. Other potential but unconfirmed attendees at that gathering of Christian conservatives include Paul, Bush, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., Govs. Scott Walker, R-Wis., Mike Pence, R-Ind., and Christie.

Like Paul, Christie has counseled his party to reach out to Democrats and independents.

"If you want a candidate you agree with 100 percent of the time, look in the mirror," he said Friday during a fundraising trip to California to support Neel Kashkari, the Republican gubernatorial candidate there.

"I'm out here to support Neel, to let him know it can happen, but that you have to reach out to everybody," Christie said, according to the San Jose Mercury News.

During his trip, Christie also visited with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who raised money for his re-election bid, and participated in a live chat with Facebook users. In response to a question about congressional gridlock, Christie advised lawmakers to seek common ground to solve problems, the Los Angeles Times reports.

"Romney would have been a much better president than BO, but there are those here who are hung up on his religion, and will make all sorts of excuses as to why they didn’t support his candidacy, resulting in the current mess we have."

Well, although I believe Mormonism is a false religion, it wasn't that which made me sure I shouldn't vote for Romney.

I know there are those, even on this site, who scoff at involving God in voting decisions. They say we aren't voting for religious leaders, this isn't a theocracy, etc. But I don't believe it's possible to put God in a box and take Him out when you think it's appropriate.

I had never prayed about voting before, but then I had never faced the choice of Obama, or a liberal with an R behind his name who was an open champion of abortion and queers. So I spent quite a bit of time asking God to show me what to do. As a result, I had a strong, definite feeling in my soul that I should not cast a vote for Romney. I kept praying---was I wrong? Wss I getting the right message? And that conviction only grew.

So then Benghazi happened, and I got scared. I voted for Romney, in spite of everything. For months I had asked God for guidance: He gave it to me, and I pretty much spit on it. Deliberately.

The next DAY, I tried to pray and God wasn't there (so it felt). It was as though I was talking to an empty void. Of course He WAS there, but due to my actions, a separation had opened between Him and me. It's only now that I am BEGINNING to feel His presence again.

" ... there are those here who are hung up on his religion, and will make all sorts of excuses as to why they didn’t support [Romney's] candidacy, resulting in the current mess we have."

Actually, "hung up on his religion" is the excuse wrong-headed "Republicans" use to blame right-headed Americans for REJECTING Romney for being an amoral collectivist leftist in the same fundamental mold as his Democrat "alternative." Right-headed Americans recognized the futility and farce of "choosing" between Coke and Pepsi. Wrong-headed Americans blame Romney's Mormonism for it.

You are courageous to share that. Amen, Sister FReeper. America did a Godly thing when it rejected Romney (well, at least was indifferent enough that vote fraud easily tipped the balance toward Obama) even at the price of facing Obama for a second term. Like you, I found myself for the first time asking: Who do I fear more, Obama or God?

I certainly know which one I love more, and that is also the one I fear more!

So, I found out the temporal consequences of going against God and throwing my support behind a liberal who champions an anti-God agenda. I learned a very tough lesson. I won't endanger my relationship with God again by voting for a liberal or a moderate Republican. NOTHING is worth that to me.

Thank you for that wonderful testimony Catherine, and may God bless you for choosing the right path.

May we all, as conservatives and Christian heed the example and truth you just posted.

“good” is a relative and subjective term. Romney would have been a much better president than BO, but there are those here who are hung up on his religion, and will make all sorts of excuses as to why they didn’t support his candidacy, resulting in the current mess we have. well you got your wish and Romney didn’t win, and now America must suffer the consequences.

That's no more intellectually honest than liberals claiming opposition to Obama is based on race. There is ample evidence on this site of Romney's progressive beliefs but instead you hide behind religion.

However, i must agree that Romney would be a huge mistake if we hope to defeat Hillary in 2016.

Which, given the tenor of your other posts, wouldn't stop you from perpetuating the Republican Party's problem should it nominate Romney or another liberal "Republican" in 2016. To be relevant in the future, the Republican Party must move to the right, and if it doesn't, my prediction is that it will die a deserved death.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.