Free Republic

Until now, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney was the only Republican presidential candidate, with the exception of former Utah governor Jon Huntsman, to show virtually no interest in the tea party since its inception. While Tim Pawlenty craned and gyrated to fit under the movement's ideological limbo stick, adding flares of indignation and fiscal conservatism to his stump speeches, Romney generally shrugged, in the same way he shrugged off a question about whether his No Apology book tour could match the fervent crowds drawn by Sarah Palin for Going Rogue signing events. (The answer was no.) Romney made no attempts...

Rick Perry's campaign just responded to the attack ad that a pro-Michele Bachmann super PAC unveiled last night, which it is airing in South Carolina, and which hits him on his spending record as Texas governor: “Gov. Perry is a proven fiscal conservative, having cut taxes, signed six balanced budgets, and led Texas to become America’s top job-creating state,” said Ray Sullivan, RickPerry.org’s communications director. “Congresswoman Bachmann’s front-group ad is patently and provably false. Unlike Washington, the Texas budget is balanced, does not run deficits and limits spending, even as Texas added jobs and population in big numbers.”