Some excerpts from fellow Republicans about Mister R:

1. ⁠"If you have things to hide, then maybe you're doing things wrong. I think you ought to be willing to release everything to the American people."
~Alabama Governor Robert Bentley, calling for Romney to release more years of tax returns, AP, July 14, 2012

2. "Now Mitt is not a perfect candidate. He has a number of problems. It's hard for him, for blue collar families like mine to identify with him. It's hard for economic conservatives to identify with him. He needs to do more to reach out to Latinos…"
~Former Republican NY Governor George Pataki, "endorsing" Romney and then telling the world how weak he is as a candidate, MSNBC, April 2012

3. "They (voters) want to know what's the truth. They're not interested in a chameleon."
~Michele Bachmann, criticizing Mitt Romney's flip flopping, speech in Florida, December 2011

4. "Well, I think you hit a reset button for the fall campaign. Everything changes. It's almost like an Etch-A-Sketch. You can kind of shake it up and restart all over again. But I will say, if you look at the exit polling data in Illinois, you'll see that Mitt Romney is broadly acceptable to most of the factions in the party. You have to do that in order to become the nominee…"
~Romney Communications Director Eric Fehrnstrom, describing his boss as a man who can't make up his mind, CNN, March 21, 2012

5. "There are a lot of other people out there that some of us wish had run for President, but they didn't. I think Mitt Romney would be a fine President, and he'd be way better than the guy who's there right now."
~Republican Senator Marco Rubio, wishing there were another candidate to pick from, The Daily Caller, March 2012





6. "He's not a bold decision maker like Newt Gingrich is. Every time I talk to him, he says 'well let me think about it.'"
~Romney supporter Sheldon Adelson, describing his new favorite Presidential candidate as a weak man who can't make decisions, Jewish Journal, March 28, 2012

7. "I do know that all of the Michigan delegation worked very hard as related to the revival of the auto industry. There was really a choice between bankruptcy and liquidation. There was no one that was willing to come up not only with the cash to keep them afloat but also to serve the warranties of everyone, you and I that drive all these cars. There was no one that could have picked up those pieces other than the federal government. [The auto bailout was] ⁠bipartisan from the get-go. [Without it,] Michigan would have hit 40 percent unemployment rates."
~Republican Michigan Rep. Fred Upton, endorsing Romney and then disagreeing with him about the auto bailout which has been a major Romney attack point, WMUK Radio, February 2012

8. "Mitt Romney and I don't agree on every issue and certainly housing is one of them. When you look at what is going on here in Southern Nevada, you can't say you got to let the housing market hit bottom. We have been bouncing along the bottom for years. And the fact is we have to do everything possible to: 1) keep people in their homes and 2) get people who are out of their homes back into their homes."
~Republican Nevada Rep. Joe Heck, endorsing Romney, then distancing himself from Romney's call to let home foreclosures hit the bottom, Las Vegas Sun, February 2012

9. "Santorum connects with some people. Unfortunately, my guy has a hard time doing that."
~Former AZ Republican Party Chairman Randy Pullen, endorsing Romney and then tearing him down, CNN, February 2012.

10. "Gone are the days when the Republican Party used to put forward big bold visionary stuff…We're gonna have problems politically until we get some sort of third party movement or some alternate voice out there that can put forward new ideas."
~Jon Huntsman, saying that we need a third party not long after endorsing Romney. Also implying that Romney is not bold, nor a visionary leader, "Morning Joe," MSNBC, February 2012

11. "He may not be Mr. Personality, uh, you know, this is a guy who gives a fireside chat and the fire goes out."
~Former GOP Virginia Rep. Tom Davis, endorsing Romney and then announcing how bland and boring Mitt is, News Channel 8 interview, March 2012

12. "Self-deport? What the heck does that mean? I have no doubt Hispanics have been alienated during this campaign. But now there's an opportunity for Gov. Romney to have a sincere conversation about what we can do and why. I absolutely advocate for comprehensive immigration reform. Republicans want to be tough and say, 'Illegals, you're gone.' But the answer is a lot more complex than that."
~New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez, slamming Romney's stance on immigration, Newsweek, May 2012

13. "Pick any other Republican in the country. He is the worst Republican in
the country to put up against Barack Obama."
~Rick Santorum, calling Mitt Romney the worse Republican anyone can possibly pick to be the nominee, Racine, Wisconsin, March 2012

14. "He should release the tax returns tomorrow. It's crazy. You've got to release six, eight, ten years back tax returns. Take the hit for a day or two. He has to give a big speech in defense of capitalism, and that will elevate, I think, this race above this tactical back and forth, which I do think he's on the margin of losing."
~Bill Kristol, criticizing Romney's refusal to release tax returns on Fox News, July 15, 2012

15. "He glosses over and doesn't even tell the truth. … Here is a guy who is the ultimate flip-flopper running for president, and he's attacking me for not being principled? That doesn't wash."
~Rick Santorum, campaign event in Tennessee, February 2012

16. "Mitt Romney's losing at this point in a big way. If something's going to come out, get it out in a hurry. I do not know why — given that Mr. Romney knew the day that [Sen. John] McCain lost in 2008 that he was going to run for president again — that he didn't get all of this out and tidy up some of his offshore accounts and all the rest."
~George Will, criticizing Romney for not releasing more tax returns, ABC, July 15, 2012



17. "One of Governor Romney's aides today on television said that Governor Romney, after he wins the primaries, will be like an [Etch A Sketch] — you take whatever he said and you can shake it up and it will be gone, and he's going to draw a whole new picture for the general election."
~Rick Santorum, Harvey, Louisiana, March 2012

18. "I do not yet know if I will find a Romney presidency more acceptable on foreign policy. But I do know that I must oppose the most recent statements made by Mitt Romney in which he says he, as president, could take us to war unilaterally with Iran, without any approval from Congress."
~Rand Paul, National Review, June 2012

19. "We can't nominate such a weak candidate. I'd love to be able to get one-on-one with Gov. Romney and expose the record that would be the weakest record we could possibly put up against Barack Obama."
~Rick Santorum, ABC, March 2012