Republican Schisms Sharpen Amid Escalating Offensive Against Romney

At Los Angeles Times, "As Mitt Romney surges, Republican divisions sharpen":

A fusillade of attacks on front-runner Mitt Romney presages what is likely to be at least a month of internal warfare among Republicans as the presidential candidates head for the South, the heart of the GOP's restive base.

The campaign's longtime dynamic shifted forcefully Sunday, as several trailing candidates tried to take down Romney before he more firmly grasps the Republican presidential nomination. He's a heavy favorite in Tuesday's New Hampshire primary, but immediately ahead is South Carolina, where his foes are already on the ground and beaming new, more corrosive charges over the airwaves.

Some of what is powering the increasing acrimony among the candidates is personal disdain. But it also reflects profound differences between sectors of the Republican Party.

"This is a more doctrinaire Republican base than we had seen in the last 25 years," said Andrew Kohut, president of the independent Pew Research Center. "It is much more hard-core than in the past."

In particular, he said, highly energized elements on the GOP right "are looking for a rebellious kind of candidate," as reflected in polls and initial voting results that show a majority of Republicans unwilling to fall in line behind button-down Romney.

The problem, of course, is that the sharpening attacks on Romney simply set the table for the extreme left's impending jihad against the Mormon "predatory capitalist" nominee --- that is, if and when Romney clinches the nomination.

See: "Attacks on Romney Will Provide Ammo for Left's Character Assassination Machine in the Fall."

Also at the New York Times, "Romney Is Focus as Battle in G.O.P. Takes Sharp Edge."