Tim Pawlenty was in Iowa on Monday, where he told a group of religious conservatives that he shares their views but doesn't "become judgmental" with those who don't.
"I share what I believe is applicable Scripture for the moment or the occasion. But I do it in a way that hopefully expresses a tone and an outreach that says I'm being respectful, civil, hopefully thoughtful," he said at a forum in Pella sponsored by Family Leader, a conservative advocacy group.
The former Minnesota governor has been steadily shifting his attention to the conservative wing of the GOP as he edges toward a run for the 2012 presidential nomination. Pawlenty would almost certainly have competition for the caucus votes of Iowa's religious conservatives, but he has sought to make it clear that he's no lightweight on the issues.
"The goal here isn't to dilute what we believe in an effort to try to get support from the other side," he said,according to the Des Moines Register. "The goal is to make sure that we stay true to what we believe, our core values and our core principles, and [with] love and hope and optimism and enthusiasm go into the marketplace and convince others to join us."
He added, "This notion that if you're pro-life you can't get elected, it's not true, even in Minnesota."
The conservative American Principles Project, which is already boycotting this week's Conservative Political Action Conference over the inclusion of a gay GOP group, is now demanding "clarity" from former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.
The organization wants to know exactly where Palin stands on the inclusion of GOProud as one of CPACs sponsors and wants clarity on her stance on gay marriage after Palin suggested over the weekend that she supports the group.
Asked about the controversy over GOProud's presence at CPAC, which has led to a boycott of the event by several leading conservative groups and Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), Palin told the Christian Broadcasting Network that she desires a "healthy debate."
"Should conservatives not reach out to others, not participate in events or forums that perhaps arising within those forums are issues that maybe we don't personally agree with?" Palin asked. "And I say 'no.'"
Palin's comments to CBN were highlighted by Andrew Breitbart, who is a member of GOProud's board and will take part in one of the group's events during CPAC later this week.
But the interview raised the ire of APP's President Frank Cannon, who demanded answers from Palin on Monday.
Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) is headed back to Iowa next month to speak to a group of social conservatives as he weighs another run for the GOP presidential nomination in 2012.
Paul is the latest rumored Republican hopeful to confirm he will take part in a series hosted by the Family Leader, a group led by former Iowa gubernatorial candidate Bob Vander Plaats.
Paul will be in the state for the event on March 7.
Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) is in Iowa on Monday to kick off the series that will also include appearances in the coming weeks from former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.), former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) and Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.).
Vander Plaats chaired former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee's successful Iowa caucus campaign in 2008 and has indicated that his group will make an endorsement ahead of the 2012 Iowa caucuses.
New Hampshire conservative Ovide Lamontagne wants to expand his influence over the presidential nomination process.
He recently had a former top aide installed as the state party's executive director, and has hosted house parties with some 2012 White House contenders. On Monday, he pleaded for donations to help further his cause.
"With your help, [Granite State PAC] will also give grassroots activists like you the opportunity to weigh in on the most important race of all: the Republican nominee for President as viewed through the prism of New Hampshire's First in the Nation presidential primary," he wrote in an e-mail to supporters.
"... [T]here is absolutely no room for error in selecting the right person to defeat Barack Obama, so the next few months before primary season kicks off are critical," he continued. "Your early support is crucial in making sure we nominate a leader who recognizes the American people are the true sovereign in our Constitutional Republic."
Lamontagne's PAC certainly needs the cash. It reported entering 2011 with just $1,769 in the bank.
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney hinted Wednesday that he would contest the early state of Iowa should he jump into the 2012 presidential race.
In an interview with conservative talk host Hugh Hewitt, Romney said a 2012 campaign would "take me to Iowa, as well as other early states."
It's hardly a declaration that Romney will focus as intently on the state as he did during his 2008 run for the GOP nomination, but the comments are an indication he's inclined to play in Iowa as his advisers reportedly mull the possibility of skipping the caucuses completely.
"If I get in this, I'm not going to be doing so much of a political calculus as I am a calculus of what message needs to be heard by the American people and how I can deliver it best," Romney said, according to The Des Moines Register. "And that surely will take me to Iowa as well as the other early states."
Bypassing Iowa entirely could be a risky strategy, and Romney might be more inclined to focus his energy on New Hampshire and simply downplay the significance of the caucus outcome.
During his 2008 bid, Romney spent millions to wage an extensive Iowa caucus campaign, only to come up short to former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. Given the high expectations, Romney's disappointing second-place finish was a severe blow to his chances of capturing the nomination.
Should Huckabee opt for another run next year, he would be the early favorite in Iowa, with much of his '08 organization in the state still intact.
Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) is set to make her second trip to an early presidential primary state later this month when she heads to South Carolina.
Bachmann will speak at a lunch hosted by the South Carolina Federation of Republican Women on Feb. 19,according to CNN. She will also headline a fundraiser for the Spartanburg County GOP that same night.
The South Carolina trip will come just two days after Bachmann hosts the year's first meeting of the House Tea Party Caucus, which is likely to gain a slew of new recruits thanks to big Republican gains in the House this past election cycle.
Last month, Bachmann spoke at an Iowans for Tax Relief event and met with Republican officials and activists in the state. She has a second Iowa trip planned for March to speak at an event sponsored by a leading evangelical group.
Bachmann told reporters last month in Iowa that she was encouraged by the response she received during her time in the state.
"I'm here to be part of that conversation for 2012," Bachmann said. "There's been no decision about my candidacy, but I want to be a part of the conversation, most definitely."
During a trip to Tampa on Wednesday, Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Reince Priebus insisted Florida lawmakers remove their 2012 primary from the early voting window.
Florida moved its 2008 primary up to January in order to enhance its importance in the presidential nomination contest. The state's Republicans were charged half their delegation's voting rights at the Minneapolis-St.Paul convention. Democrats were threatened with a similar penalty but were ultimately allowed full voting rights at the Denver convention.
Washington Republicans have been putting pressure on Florida to move its 2012 primary back out of the January window.
"As far as Florida is concerned, I would encourage the Legislature to do everything they can to abide by the rules passed by both the Democratic National Committee and the Republican National Committee together to make sure we can bring some order into the presidential election process," Priebus said Wednesday after meeting with members of the GOP 2012 convention host committee in Tampa.
"We're doing everything we can at the Republican National Committee to fulfill our promise to try and get presidential primaries on track with some semblance of order," he added, according to the St. Petersburg Times.
"One of the things that we did is that we've put together a primary schedule for the presidentials which protects four early state primaries in February, but then moves all the other states out of the February window to a date on or after March 1."
Priebus has already discussed moving the primary with Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R), but wouldn't tell reporters about the details of their conversation.
Colorado Republican Tom Tancredo may keep illegal immigration at the center of the GOP's presidential primary debate.
The former congressman sent his supporters an e-mail Wednesday saying he's "fully back in the fray" after his third-party bid for governor of Colorado failed last year.
"Now we’re getting ready to fight Barack Obama's 'backdoor amnesty' scheme, and are working with State Senator Russell Pearce to get Arizona-like laws passed in the other states and to stop the practice of giving citizenship to the babies of illegal aliens," Tancredo wrote.
Conservatives consider the Democrats' DREAM Act an amnesty program because it grants the children of illegal immigrants legal U.S. residency if they enroll in college or join the military.
Tancredo's hardline stance against allowing illegal immigrants to gain legal residency puts him at odds with at least one potential GOP White House contender.
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has said he supports a path to legal status for some illegal immigrants similar to the DREAM Act.
"We've got to have some sort of system of human discrimination in this country that says, for example, there's a young man in this country in Dallas who came to this country when he was three," Gingrich said Tuesday during a debate with Howard Dean at The George Washington University. "He doesn't speak Spanish. Now to say to him, gosh, you need to go back to Mexico strikes me as something that no common sense group of American neighbors would do."
Meanwhile, Tancredo said he plans to remain active in the GOP with his PAC, Team America, which he founded with conservative activist Bay Buchanan. In 2010, the PAC supported Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal (R), Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Rep. Lou Barletta (R-Pa.).
Mitt Romney delivered the Top 10 on CBS's "Late Show" Tuesday night. The theme: things you may not know about the former Massachusetts governor.
Among the memorable lines: "I have absolutely no idea where my birth certificate is" and "I'm the guy in the photo that comes in your picture frame.''
Host David Letterman plugged Romney's book, No Apology, during the brief appearance.
The potential White House contender has often used his appearances on late-night TV to poke fun at his no-nonsense image. During an appearance on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" in December, Romney joked that it's a sure sign he's running in 2012 "if you ever see me sign up for a gig on Fox News."
Former President George W. Bush's daughter called for gay marriage to be legalized — the latest sign that centrist and socially conservative Republicans might be divided over the issue.
Barbara Bush appeared in a short Human Rights Campaign video calling for "marriage equality."
"New York is about fairness and equality, and everyone should have the right to marry the person that they love," Bush says in the video, released by the gay-rights group on Tuesday.
New Hampshire and Iowa allow same-sex marriage, and in both states there is a drive by conservative groups such as the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) to restrict marriage to the union of one man and one woman.
NOM President Brian Brown recently told The Ballot Box that his group will pressure Republican presidential candidates on the issue.
"It won't just be, 'Do you agree with us?' " said Brown. "We don't want candidates who will just do lip service to marriage. We will have very specific policy positions that we hope the candidates will take."
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