Romney Set to Face Challenge From Right

It's a big front-page story at the Wall Street Journal.

It's gated, but click through at Google for the text sample.

Turns out that Romney's signature claim to free-enterprise fame --- his turnaround of the the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics --- in fact relied heavily on federal subsidies. And apparently tea party activists have made the federal backing for the Olympics an issue in recent campaigns:

The Salt Lake Games got more federal cash than any previous U.S. Olympics. A review of lobbying records shows the Games hired 16 lobbyists from five firms for nearly $4 million. Mr. Romney was at the center of the effort, according to federal, local and Olympics officials. Among other things, Washington helped pay for a wider Interstate 15, a light-rail system in Salt Lake City and University of Utah housing.

Many projects were approved before Mr. Romney's arrival, but he was instrumental in securing much of the funding, say officials involved. "We were both working it pretty hard," said Deedee Corradini, Salt Lake City's then-Democratic mayor.

Federal backing for the Games tripped former Republican Utah Rep. Merrill Cook when he ran for the U.S. Senate last year. Tea-party activists blasted his Olympics work. He lost in the GOP primary, as did sitting Republican Sen. Robert Bennett, who was also involved in the lobbying. Sen. Bennett said he didn't expect the Olympics to be an issue. "It's too old. It can't be held against him," he said.

Mr. Cook wasn't so sure: "Having run a very successful Olympics, being credited with all that may not go over very well with the Tea Party crowd."

More at those links above.

I'm not so sure federal backing for the Olympics is the biggest issue with which to hammer Romney. Seems like the case could be made for the Olympics as a sort of public good, and public/private partnerships in professional and world class athletics aren't at all unusual. But we'll see how it all plays out.

RELATE: That's the new Romney web ad at top, via William Jacobson, "All In All We're Just Another Bump In The Road."

Also, at Gallup, "Romney Support Up; Widens Advantage in 2012 Preferences" (via Memeorandum).

Romney to Skip Iowa Straw Poll

At WSJ, "Romney to Skip Key Poll in Iowa":

Mitt Romney will skip a key early test for Republican presidential candidates by forgoing the Iowa straw poll in mid-August, a decision that could recast the contest in the nation's first presidential nominating state.

The Iowa straw poll, held in Ames, is one of the landmark events of the nominating contest. Mr. Romney's decision sends the clearest signal yet that he doesn't want to wade deeply into the social issues that carry particular weight with Iowa Republicans and instead intends to present himself to voters nationally as a successful businessman who can improve the economy.

Mr. Romney's campaign said he would still compete in Iowa's caucuses, now slated for February, 2012. But the former Massachusetts governor's absence from the Aug. 13 straw poll will likely diminish his chances, some Iowa officials say, while raising the odds that whoever wins the poll will be best positioned to claim the status as Mr. Romney's top rival for the nomination.

More at the link. I think it's a mistake. Romney's still going to compete in Iowa next year, so why the hesitance this early on? Better to go all in for the initial beauty contests, like this straw poll, and see how it plays. Romney invested heavily in Ames in 2007, and came out with a win. And he took second in the Iowa caucuses in 2008. Seems as if Romney thinks that social conservatives --- who dominate the GOP caucus electorate --- don't care about economic issues. But everybody cares about economic issues right now, so why miss the chance to make the case in the Hawkeye State?

On the other hand:

In the 2008 election cycle, Mr. McCain skipped the Ames poll and then placed a distant third in the caucuses before going on to win the nomination.

So who knows? Prediction is hard, especially about the future.

Mitt Romney Officially Launches 2012 Campaign

From PBS:

And at NYT, "Romney, Opening Race, Presents Himself as the Candidate to Face Obama."

I like Romney. But as I've said, I worry he's not conservative enough to generate enthusiasm, and if he's the nominee he may not differentiate himself enough from Obama, especially on the RomneyCare albatross.

For GOP Contenders, Love Always Means Having to Say You're Sorry

From Ronald Brownstein, at National Journal, "After Glasnost: Why the 2012 Republican presidential hopefuls are facing multiplying demands to renounce earlier positions":

In the 2012 Republican presidential race, love apparently means always having to say you’re sorry.

On an array of issues, the field of GOP contenders is facing enormous pressure from an ascendant conservative base to renounce earlier positions that challenged orthodoxy on the right. Their response to those demands could cast a big shadow over not only next year’s Republican primary but also the general-election contest against President Obama.

The emergence of these pressures testifies to a decisive shift in the GOP’s balance of power. The ideas now drawing the most fire from conservative activists—including support for a cap-and-trade system to limit greenhouse-gas emissions, a mandate on individuals to purchase health insurance, and a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants—all flowered in Republican circles during the middle years of George W. Bush’s presidency, especially among governors.

In different ways, each of these proposals embodied the common belief that Republicans had to broaden their message beyond a conventional conservative argument focused almost exclusively on reducing government spending, taxes, and regulation. Intellectually, these initiatives reflected an impulse to redefine conservatism in ways that accepted a role for government in empowering individuals or promoting market-based solutions. Politically, they reflected the belief that to build a lasting majority, Republicans needed to attract more minority voters, especially Hispanics, and to loosen the Democratic hold on blue states by reclaiming more suburban independents.

More at the link above.

Basically, RINO-Republicans are getting deep-sixed, and thank goodness for that.

RELATED: At Snooper's Report, "Obama Praises Romney for 'Assist' in Passing Obamacare." Figures.

EXTRA: At CNN, "GOP contenders: Obama has 'thrown Israel under the bus'" (via Memeorandum). Well, perhaps there's a ray of hope after all.

Priorities USA Goes After Mitt Romney

At Roll Call, "Democratic Priorities USA Runs Ad Hitting Romney," and The Caucus, "Group Unleashes Early Ad Against Romney" (via Memeorandum).

Plus, in the comments at Althouse, from LincolnF:

Bring it on, pissants.

Mitt Romney is in a whole other category of men than Obama. Let the grubby little hit pieces keep coming, they're all the Left has got. I really hope Romney gets the nod (I know, I know...) so Americans can see the contrast between he and Obama. Mitt is ten times the leader that Barry is, and that won't be easy for the Dems to hide, even from the American Idol-type voters who voted Obama in last time.

Pissants. Yep.

Cindy Crawford Mitt Romney Demonstration Video

Everybody's blogging on this, although I can't find the actual demonstration video. Mitt Romney Central has video of Romney's Q & A livestream from yesterday's National Call Day: "In Case You Missed It: Video of Mitt Romney’s Facebook Town Hall + Romney Headlines Drudge." Meanwhile, Pirate's Cove has a fabulous photo-round up of Cindy Crawford, "Cindy Crawford Abandons Obama For Romney?" (Via The Hill and Memorandum.)

And here's some alternative Cindy Crawford video:

Republicans Push to Widen the Field of Candidates for 2012

Following up my previous essay on GOP efforts to break away from Donald Trump's shadow, the New York Times has a piece along the same lines, "Republicans Are Pursuing a Wider Field for 2012 Race."

MANCHESTER, N.H. — Republican leaders, activists and donors, anxious that the party’s initial presidential field could squander a chance to capture grass-roots energy and build a strong case against President Obama at the outset of the 2012 race, are stepping up appeals for additional candidates to jump in, starting with Gov. Mitch Daniels of Indiana.

“I’m getting letters from all over the damn country, and some of them are pretty moving,” Mr. Daniels said in an interview last week at the Capitol in Indianapolis, where his friends believe he is inching closer to exploring a candidacy. He added, “It can’t help but affect you.”

The first contests of the primary are about eight months away, and most of the candidates have yet to fully open their campaigns. But some party leaders worry that Republicans are making a bad first impression by appearing tentative about their prospects against Mr. Obama and allowing Donald J. Trump to grab headlines in the news vacuum of the race’s early stages.

“The race needs more responsible adults who can actually do the job,” said Fergus Cullen, a former chairman of the New Hampshire Republican Party.

RTWT at the link above.

Things definitely feel different this pre-primary season. A good comparison would be 2004, when folks might recall that Howard Dean had campaigned for over a year for the Democratic nomination. Dean was in fact widely expected to take either Iowa or New Hampshire on the strength of his antiwar message. We know what happened of course. The people spoke in Iowa and Dean when down in a screaming fit of fury immortalized in political lore as the "Dean Scream." Howard Dean was the antithesis of tentative, and look what it got him. So for Republicans in 2012, while it seems late in terms of the "invisible primary" of money, media, and polling, in fact there's still plenty of time for other candidates to throw their hats in the ring, and the field shaping up isn't as bad as the media makes out. Mitt Romney's going to be formidable, despite talk that RomneyCare is a killer (and I've even suggested RomneyCare's an albatross). All Romney has to do is denounce his own healthcare record in Massachusetts as a colossal mistake, make reference to polling there looking for a change, and then turn around and say never again! It might be tough in the primaries against fellow Republicans, but with a GOP Congress looking to repeal ObamaCare, Romney can ride his mea culpa on top of a wave of conservative opposition to big government. He's telegenic and an experienced campaigner, and the press will take him seriously, unlike Donald Trump.

Beyond that, I don't know much about Tim Pawlenty, although he looks pretty self-assured at the clip from New Hampshire above. We'll know more after a round of GOP pre-primary debates. Robert Stacy McCain reports on Herman Cain, by the way, who topped an AFP poll coming out of yesterday's event: "Herman Cain Wins 2012 Presidential Forum in Manchester, New Hampshire" (with video). I like what I've seen of Herman Cain, and at this point it's hard to figure out which would be a better ticket, Herman Cain and Allen West or Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann, although I think this is still super long-shot territory.

But notice that discussion of Governor Mitch Daniels, who was Budget Director in the George W. Bush White House. Hmm ... Should he take the adoration seriously and enter the race, he'll likely end up an also-ran who leaves the grassroots wanting. The Times gives cursory discussion to Sarah Palin. Perhaps her moment to enter the race has passed (doesn't bother me, since I've long suggested she run in 2016). There's also mention of Chris Christie, Rick Perry, and Paul Ryan, and who knows, maybe one of them will surprise us (I like Christie)?

In any case, like I said, let's get on with the debates and see how things shake out. And keep an eye on the money. Michele Bachmann's been raising funds like the devil, and fundraising's one of the factors facilitating media coverage, so things can snowball for a candidate that way.

RELATED: Check the 2012 GOP primary calender at Frontloading HQ.