Free Republic

DES MOINES -- On Saturday afternoon at a megachurch in Des Moines, the Republican presidential candidates will gather -- with a notable exception. ....To add insult to injury, he [Mitt Romney] will be spending the day in New Hampshire. [SNIP] "Governor Branstad has enormous respect for Governor Romney, but he has decided it's time to hold his feet to the fire," Albrecht said. Steve Scheffler, head of another Iowa social conservative group, the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition, also hosted six candidates -- but no Romney -- at a forum last month. "I think he's arrogant," Scheffler said bluntly in...

Don’t expect Mitt Romney to backtrack on his Massachusetts health-care plan at any point this election cycle. “I am sure there are many people who have calculated, and perhaps correctly, that the healthcare plan I put in place in Massachusetts is not good for me politically, and if I want to encourage my political future, I should say it was a mistake and walk away from it,” Romney told Fox Business Network host Neil Cavuto in an interview set to air later tonight. “You have seen a lot of candidates look at their biggest vulnerability, call it a mistake, and...

At a fundraiser yesterday, Former Massachusetts Governor and current contender for the GOP presidential nomination Mitt Romney said his short list for the Vice President is "[Virginia Governor Bob] McDonnell, Governor [Chris] Christie of New Jersey and [Senator] Marco Rubio of Florida." Obviously Mr. Romney is trying to boost the appeal of his candidacy with the many conservatives who find his record lacking, but this premature discussion of a running mate might have the opposite effect.