Conservatives have taken to Twitter and blogs to sharply criticize the idea of Condoleezza Rice being named the GOP vice-presidential nominee, after the Drudge Report late Thursday had suggested she is a leading candidate.

The Drudge Report, citing unnamed sources, said Rice is  “now near the top of the list,” of candidates among whom Romney is choosing. This seems unlikely, as the former Bush administration official has repeatedly said she won’t serve as vice-president, and Romney is believed to favor  candidates who are less risky than Rice. The former secretary of state has said she supports abortion rights, making her a non-starter for many conservative and religious Republicans.

theGrio opinion: The pros and cons of Condi Rice as VP

Some Democrats suggested conservatives floated the story to shift attention from a new controversy involving Romney’s record at Bain Capital.

Nevertheless,almost immediately after the Drudge piece, conservatives listed a series of concerns with Rice as Romney’s running mate

“Rice is pro-abortion. She worked for George Bush for eight years. In those eight years at National Security and then at State, our relations with Russia deteriorated though she was an expert in that field. Central and South America went to pot as well, the ramifications of which still have not been sorted out,” wrote Erick Erickson on his influential conservative blog Red State.

“Both Rice’s views on abortion (she has said that she is “mildly pro-choice”) and her years in the Bush administration seem likely to generate controversy, while I’m not seeing any group of voters that she would automatically attract,” said Katrina Trinko of National Review.

Surprisingly, the last GOP vice-presidential pick praised Rice.

“I think that Condoleezza Rice would be a wonderful vice president, and she certainly has much more experience than our sitting president does today,” Palin said Thursday night on Fox News’ “On the Record with Greta van Susteren, as quoted by Politico.