Conservatives: Swallow and Pick One

Group will search for consensus anti-Romney candidate

(NEWSER) - Apparently, certain conservatives really, really don't want to see Mitt Romney win the nomination. Politico reports that an influential group is holding an emergency meeting next weekend in Texas in order to agree on a "consensus" Republican candidate. Prominent conservatives including Focus on the Family founder James Dobson, former chairman of the American Family Association Don Wildmon, and former presidential candidate Gary Bauer are hosting. More»

Newt claims Fox News has been shilling for Romney all along

(NEWSER) - Newt Gingrich is not happy with his former employer , Fox News, which he accused yesterday of backing Mitt Romney since the beginning of the Republican nomination race. "Callista and I both believe CNN is less biased than Fox this year," he said at a private meeting of Delaware Tea Party activists attended by Real Clear Politics . "We are more likely to get neutral coverage out of CNN than we are of Fox, and we’re more likely to get distortion out of Fox. That’s just a fact. … I assume it’s because [Rupert] Murdoch at some point said, 'I want Romney,' and so 'fair and balanced' became 'Romney.'" More»

Alabama, Mississippi primaries could seal the deal for Romney

(NEWSER) - Today's primaries in Mississippi and Alabama are playing an unexpectedly pivotal role in the GOP presidential race. What to keep an eye on, per NPR and Politico :

• Will Mitt finally win in the South? He's failed to take any of the southern states so far, but he's polling well in both Alabama and Mississippi. Will today be the day he proves he can compete in the famously conservative region? Both states veer particularly sharply to the right, so both Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum really want to beat Romney here to burnish their conservative bona fides.
• Will Newt lose in the South? Gingrich has called both states must-win for him; in order to stay in the race, he'll likely have to win at least one and perform well in the other.

Mitt doesn't understand importance of lowering prices, Newt says

(NEWSER) - Mitt Romney recently panned Newt Gingrich's promise of $2.50-per-gallon gasoline if he's elected president, and Gingrich fired back today on Fox & Friends , claiming Romney just doesn't understand the importance of lowering the price. "If you’re Mitt Romney and you’re rich enough, maybe you don’t get it—$2.50-a-gallon gasoline is more than responsible. It was $1.13 when I was speaker, it was $1.89 when Barack Obama was sworn in as president." More»

Mitt Romney basically has 4 of the 10 states in the bag

(NEWSER) - Tomorrow is looking good for Mitt Romney, who will likely take more of the 422 delegates up for grabs in Super Tuesday contests than his opponents (an additional 15 super delegates aren't bound to tomorrow's wins). He may even walk away with a delegate majority, writes Nate Silver. A look at the landscape, from the New York Times , Politico , Public Policy Polling , and the Wall Street Journal :

• Georgia (76 delegates): Newt Gingrich will almost certainly win, but Romney could "win by losing," Politico notes: A Gingrich win could keep Newt in the race, where he'll continue to siphon conservative votes from Rick Santorum. (Plus, Romney could still take up to a third of the delegates due to distribution rules.)
• Ohio (66 delegates): Romney has been closing in on Santorum here, and though the race is too close to call , some think Romney's momentum will propel him to a win. Even if it does not, he will likely take the most delegates, since Santorum may be ineligible for 18 of them.
• Tennessee (58 delegates): Romney is also closing in on Santorum here, and an upset victory—which is possible—would be symbolically huge for him, showing he holds appeal even in the South.