Free Republic

Romney-tied PAC has taste for secrecy [Millions in gifts tied to obscure or shell firms] "Among all the super PACs that have brought a deluge of big-money donations into the presidential nomination race, only the one allied with Mitt Romney has established a pattern of accepting big contributions from corporate entities that tend to obscure the actual source of the money or appear to have been created specifically as vehicles to mask the wealthy donors. Twice, the Restore Our Future super PAC has amended its reports to the Federal Election Commission after media reports indicated that contributions of $1 million...

I received this in my email just now. I've never donated to Mitt Romney so I don't know how he reached me. Republican voter rolls? Below is unredacted except for the name. "Yaelle," I wanted to take a moment to let you know about a chance to meet up for lunch. This won’t be just any lunch, though. I’ll be bringing the winner out to California to grab a bite with me at one of my favorite burger places. Donate $5 to be automatically entered for the chance to join me for lunch in California. I know there are a...

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, a key supporter of Mitt Romney, received $62,500 in campaign contributions since 2008 from state and federal political committees set up by supporters of Mitt Romney, records show. Funds came from so-called “leadership PACs” in five different states and the nation’s capital. By spreading the funds around, Romney’s supporters were able to give far more than the state limit of $3,500 per election. The contributions came from “Free & Strong America” leadership PACs, run by Romney supporters, a Center for Public Integrity analysis of campaign finance records found. Leadership PACs are separate from campaign committees...

Money may not be buying Mitt Romney much Republican love, but it’s going a long way toward helping him buy the next best thing: endorsements in the GOP primaries. Romney’s Free and Strong America PAC and its affiliates states have lavished close to $1.3 million in campaign donations to federal, state and local GOP politicians, almost all since 2010. His recipients include officials in the major upcoming primary states of New Hampshire and South Carolina, and in three southern Super Tuesday states where he was trounced four years ago. In New Hampshire, a U.S. senator, a congressman, 10 state senators...

First, he called Adelson to convince him to stop adding financial support of Gingrich via his SuperPAC. When that didn’t work, he piled on some more of his own money, and those who fund the SuperPacs advocating on his behalf or at least slamming his competitors. When that didn’t work, some shills in the press dropped the conspicuous rumor that Newt’s “…hold a press conference after the Nevada Caucus on Saturday, raising new speculation about his future in the race,” implying he would get out Saturday evening. This was solely to try to undermine the vote in Nevada in Romney’s...

NEW ORLEANS -- Mitt Romney won the straw poll at the Southern Republican Leadership conference here Saturday in a victory that will be taken as a sign of the former Massachusetts governor's strength as a 2012 presidential candidate. That's because the 2008 GOP presidential hopeful elected to skip the conference to continue his book tour. Romney triumphed by a single vote over Ron Paul, who took second place 439 votes to 438. Both men won 24 percent of the vote. Sarah Palin and Newt Gingrich essentially tied for third with 18 percent of the vote each.

Mitt Romney: 439 votes Ron Paul: 438 votes Sarah Palin: 330 votes Newt Gingrich: 321

The Southern Republican Leadership Conference Straw Poll doesn't carry a whole lot of weight, since it's skewed — like most of these things — by the makeup of the crowd, the intensity of Ron Paul's supporters and the ease of gaming the vote. That doesn't mean, however, that the various camps aren't trying to game it. One of the organizers told me that two groups, Paul's Campaign for Liberty and Evangelicals for Mitt (which denies ties to Romney) have purchased blocks of tickets to the event, typically given to supporters.

SALT LAKE CITY - Over the course of two weeks, Utah Republicans had the chance to see the two most talked-about potential presidential candidates in their party. Mitt Romney attended an event for ADX security systems and Sarah Palin visited to sign her bestselling book. The Utahpolicy.com, Fox 13 Insider Poll finds that Mitt Romney is taken far more seriously as a potential presidential candidate. 53.5 percent of Republicans say they expect Romney to be the Republican party candidate to face Barack Obama. 31.3 percent of Democrats think Romney will be the candidate. Only 4.7 percent of Republicans and 6.3...

After the New England Patriots disasterous decision Sunday night not to punt on fourth down with the ball on the Indianapolis Colts' 28-yard line, former Massachusetts Governor, Mitt Romney, had every right to be ticked off. Especially considering that the Pats had the lead with little more than 2 minutes left in the game. Is it possible that the team's supposedly brilliant coach, Bill Belichick, got confused and thought the Manning brother waiting patiently on the opposing sidelines was Eli and not Peyton? Whatever the case, the Colts went on to win the game with 13 seconds left in the...

While he remains publicly coy about the possibility of another White House bid, Mitt Romney has a calendar that tells a very different story. From returning to a key early primary state to delivering an address before a social conservative conference and reuniting with members of his campaign-in-waiting, Romney is scheduled to spend a good deal of his September in a fashion befitting a man very much interested in running for president. snip............................ On Saturday, Sept. 19, Romney will speak at the Values Voters Summit, an annual conference in the capital, put on by the Family Research Council, that frequently...

BOSTON, Aug. 30 (UPI) -- Republican former U.S. presidential hopeful Mitt Romney is quietly raising millions of dollars as he prepares for the 2012 campaign, analysts say. Observers say that since he lost the GOP presidential primaries last year, the former Massachusetts governor has shown his usual competitiveness and discipline in keeping his presidential aspirations in play, The Boston Globe reported Sunday. "He lost a tough race," New Hampshire state Sen. Jeb Bradley, a Republican former member of the U.S. House, told the newspaper. "After that, Mitt could have done anything he wanted with his life: back to the non-profit...

In recent months, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has hit the speaking circuit like a man determined to be president who knows he needs to get an early start. Last week brought news that Romney had secured a major publisher for his forthcoming book, “No Apology: The Case for America’s Greatness,” in which he stands bravely against all those who insist that the U.S. is a mediocre country that’s done more harm than good. Even before the recent Sarah Palin and Mark Sanford flameouts, Romney looked like the right’s favorite son for 2012. He’d garnered National Review’s 2008 endorsement as...

Many GOP insiders, Beltway mavens, and East Coast conservatives have held up Mitt Romney as the presumptive 2012 GOP presidential nominee and, indeed, he appears to be quietly laying the groundwork for another presidential run. However, with all of the Tea Parties, town meetings, and ObamaCare protests, he has been strangely silent. This is exceedingly odd behavior for a man who would be president. What could he be thinking? Well, I am not a mind reader, but I would guess that his silence is motivated by two concerns. First, he wants to keep his powder dry for 2012. He does...

The last few days conservatives have begun to demonize the health care system in Massachusetts. That's because, in the view of many conservatives, Massachusetts' health care system is congruent to the health care system that President Obama is attempting to construct. That's simplified. Here's how it's similar. It requires every citizen to have health insurance. It requires all employers, but the smallest, to provide health insurance to their employees. Finally, those that don't make enough money have their insurance subsidized. Here's how it's different. It has no public option.

Analysts say that if former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's health care program continues to show signs of wear, he'll have to find a way to distance himself from it to have a shot at the GOP nomination in 2012. A new Rasmussen Reports poll out Monday shows former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney tied in a hypothetical matchup against President Obama in 2012, a better showing than Romney's would-be top rival Sarah Palin. The poll, taken July 18-19, showed Romney and Obama tied at 45 percent each. It also had Obama beating Palin, the outgoing Alaska governor, 48 percent to 42...