I think the idea here was he would skip the debate if he won in SC. At that point he’d pretty much have this wrapped up.

Not that I really care. It’s an NBC debate after all. I can’t believe we let them sucker us into the other NBC debates.

Romney isn’t close to conceding in Florida. Quite the contrary. He knows debates help Newt, and lately they’ve hurt him. On the flip side, Mitt has a much bigger war chest for TV ads in Florida, a very expensive media market, so relying on more ads and less debates would seem to favor him.

Unfortunately, there are two problems with that strategy:

(1) The issue of the tax returns won’t go away until he actually releases them. Instead of apologizing for his wealth, he needs to stress that he didn’t inherit it- he earned it. Romney could turn the issue to his advantage, much like Newt did with the ABC expose, but he can’t do that by hiding from it.

(2) The debate problem won’t get better later. If he doesn’t do well debating Newt, why would he do better later debating Obama?

I don’t always agree with Charles Krauthammer but I believe he is right in saying that by making Romney’s tax returns an issue Republicans are moving the narrative of the campaign towards class warfare and to Obama’s advantage.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/republicans-legitimize-obamas-reelection-rhetoric/2012/01/19/gIQA5pB5BQ_story.html

As to the debates, I stopped watching them three debates ago.

And the rest of us are just dying to hear some adult conversation.

that he isn’t believable. We all know why he doesn’t want any more debates but Romney seems to think he can fool us by saying there have been too many debates. This is why he will lose because he thinks he can get away with fool the
voters.

As to his tax returns he brought this on himself. He gives the impression that he is hiding something. If he isn’t then he really has messed up hasn’t he?

If Romney skips I hope they give Newt the air time.

It just shows that Romney has a glass jaw, he has been the coddled establishment candidate.

Romney is incapable of giving a straight answer on nearly anything. Good thing this is coming out now.

This looks terrible. Just like how Obama will look TERRIBLE dodging Gingrich in the general.

Chris Christie said that Romney should release his tax returns immediately a day after the first SC debate.

Romney told the audience that he does not want to release his tax returns in a piece meal manner because he does not want Obama people to pick through his records! What a baloney of an excuse! So in essence, by not releasing his tax returns, he is not only depriving Obama the chance to examine his returns but also depriving his opponents in tne primary the opportunity to do so as well!

Another tone deaf comment…he said that he will release his returns when he becomes the nominee.

If it is true that the Republican Establishment is hell bent on shoving down Romney through our throats, then either they think we are that stupid or they are really that tone deaf or both!

He has double Gingrich’s support there. Debating Gingrich in Florida would be retarded. Come to think of it, debating Gingrich is always retarded.

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll be doing the debate on Monday,” he said Saturday morning. “Yeah, I’m in.”

Also theres a debate thursday and they went ahead and confirmed that as well.

http://www.politico.com/blogs/media/2012/01/romney-commits-to-nbc-florida-debate-111720.html

Mittens got stomped by Newt in SC
I wonder how fox will try and spin it??

“…The [cigarette] tax increase would generate $73 million in additional revenue, and be dedicated to the Commonwealth Care Trust Fund to cover half the cost of accepting legal immigrants into the state’s subsidized insurance program as mandated by a recent Supreme Judicial Court Decision. …”

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/politics/view/20120120cigarette_tax_hike_among_260m_in_revenue_proposals_sought_by_gov_deval_patrick/srvc=home&position=recent

Yes, a new fifty cent per pack tax on cigarettes that is solely targeted to help fund Romneycare. Was checking to see if it is targeted solely for LEGAL immigrants, and the Boston Herald complied.

plus, it seems that Rainy Day Fund Romney brags about has also disappeared.

I add that many of us buy our cigarettes in New Hampshire, which is not that much cheaper anymore, but, I always wonder when I am going to get stopped by the Mass State Police for buying four cartons at a time, at a border store.

yes, my sole remaining drug of choice: nicotine.
I love being part of the last legal minority with zero rights in America, sarc –

just wanted to prove that Romneycare IS top-down, and includes state-subsidized insurance.

everyone I know complains about how much their work-health insurance premiums have gone up since Romneycare.

No bending of that health care cost curve either…

“…The [cigarette] tax increase would generate $73 million in additional revenue, and be dedicated to the Commonwealth Care Trust Fund to cover half the cost of accepting legal immigrants into the state’s subsidized insurance program as mandated by a recent Supreme Judicial Court Decision. …”

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/politics/view/20120120cigarette_tax_hike_among_260m_in_revenue_proposals_sought_by_gov_deval_patrick/srvc=home&position=recent

Yes, a new fifty cent per pack tax on cigarettes that is solely targeted to help fund Romneycare. Was checking to see if it is targeted solely for LEGAL immigrants, and the Boston Herald complied.

plus, it seems that Rainy Day Fund Romney brags about has also disappeared.

I add that many of us buy our cigarettes in New Hampshire, which is not that much cheaper anymore, but, I always wonder when I am going to get stopped by the Mass State Police for buying four cartons at a time, at a border store.

yes, my sole remaining drug of choice: nicotine.
I love being part of the last legal minority with zero rights in America, sarc –

just wanted to prove that Romneycare IS top-down, and includes state-subsidized insurance.

everyone I know complains about how much their work-health insurance premiums have gone up since Romneycare.

No bending of that health care cost curve either…

You demand my tax returns I’ll get you with Freddie Mac correspondence!

Newt swears up and down he was an historian and never lobbied and tried to push this back days ago but Romney’s doubling down on it.

This campaign trail will be built on a paper trail it seems.

Would you two please just announce your VPOTUS selections and I’ll make my selection based on them. Thanks in advance.

http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/gop-presidential-primary/205547-romney-demands-gingrich-release-freddie-mac-reports

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/election-2012/post/romney-to-participate-in-florida-debates/2012/01/21/gIQAcYu8FQ_blog.html

Guess he realized it was a bad idea to skip them. Better get some new coaches, Mittens.

signed up on a liver transplant list because he may need one after the Florida debate.
Maybe someone can email his campaign the list so he can sign up.
Tee hee!

Good points in all above posts. Just wanted to address the original question posited by quill, “Is Romney conceding FL?”

With or w/o the 2 FL debates, it is entirely possible that Romney etal possess confidence that he already has it wrapped in a bow down there. Here’s why.

There is a rumor that in early 1980s, Mitt Romney was brought down to Miami to present a pitch to some Central American financiers for seed money to kick-start Bain Capital. The intercessor in this arrangement was a part-time Miami, p.t. central American coffee magnet. Supposedly, some 20% of start up cash for Bain Cap. came from this source. Some names of original investors are known and on record, some, allegedly remain unknown.

Over the past 30-35 years, Latin American business and financial influence has exploded in SoFla and along with it, Hispanic dominance in the political arena. Right at the moment, I am hard pressed to recall many politicos from the Miami-Dade county area and associated municipalities which DO NOT have an Hispanic surname.

Contrary to popular myth, Anglos have not become extinct in SoFla, nor have they all been displaced by other ethnic groups, except in politics. This is seen at local, state and federal level. Though not a monolith by any means, with Cubans, PR, So and Central Americans all in play, there is still a strong undercurrent of Hispanic tribalism, especially where money and power come together.

Early, very early and continuously through to today, Mitt Romney’s name alone has been on the lips of the major players in the SoFla political class. Among those players are career congresspersons who like to refer to themselves as “The Three Amigos” and at the time they announced their support also reminded the audience that they always pick the winners.

Though vehemently denied, pressure to push the FL primary date forward was made by one of Marco Rubio’s former associates, with the presumption that it would prove advantageous to Romney. I know there is room for some plausible deniability here. But the question still nags the minds of many voters.

Any of the scenarios I’ve read in your posts today are reasonable but I offer the above for your consideration as well. Florida does have some interesting politics.

Hooray! This jerk is still ranting anti-capitalist stupidity saying newt should give back his consulting fees.