Who Won the Florida NBC GOP Debate? Newt Gingrich First, Ron Paul Second, Mitt Romney Last

PolicyMic ^ | 24 Jan 12 | Chris Miles

[xzins]

Are we watching the meltdown of GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney?

Fending off pointed attacks by fellow GOP candidates Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum ... Romney looked ...flustered, stiff, and at times just babbled

In comparison, Gingrich looked like he still had all the momentum from Saturday’s South Carolina primary win. He calmly answered questions ...(snip)

The biggest surprise in the debate: Gingrich was not asked about his personal transgressions, ...

...After his 12-point South Carolina win, Gingrich has surged ahead in the Florida polls, leading 41% to the former Massachusetts governor's 32%.

Still, Romney does expected to win Florida. Almost 200,000 absentee ballots have already been cast in the state... favor Romney. ...

But as Gingrich showed ... debate very much matters.

One point Gingrich hammered Romney on was his tax rate. Gingrich forced Romney to announce that he will release his tax records on Tuesday. ...He reaps millions of dollars a year from his former work at Bain Capital, though, maintains a low tax bracket. Gingrich in comparison pays a 31% tax rate.

Romney blasted Gingrich for his work at mortgage giant Freddie Mac, but ignored his own financial links to the organization.

...snip...Romney, though, had as much as $500,000 invested in Freddie Mac. All GOP candidates have blamed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for contributing to the housing crisis that helped to drag the nation into the Great Recession.

Ahead of next week’s Florida primary, Gingrich looks like he is gaining incredible steam. Romney — shell-shocked ...— looks like he’s out of answers.

And it might be a two-man race soon. In Florida, Rick Santorum is currently polling 11% ...

Monday’s debate turned out to be the slug fest most pundits thought it would be, with Gingrich the last man standing.

[Tennessee Nana]

Last night on his show the Great One, Mark Levin explained all those 80+ false charges against Newt

he and/or his law firm were involved so he has first hand knowledge..

[xzins]

I agree. Also iirc, the ballots just started going out. If so, they are going out over the last week or so when Newt was high in the polls and Romney nosediving. And then there’s the S Carolina victory of Newt.

So, I wouldn’t bet that the absentees are lopsided in favor of Romney.

[lentulusgracchus]

My recollection is that he briefly recounted his rationale for resigning his post; and that rationale was not one that amounts to a disgraceful reason.

Loss of confidence in his ability as Speaker (he was poorly slotted there, anyway -- he needed to be throwing grenades, not doing deals). Clinton had roughed him and Dole up on the 1995 government shutdown (when they almost got him to sign their budget, until Tommy Dasschole got Beastwoman to help him break up that outburst of cooperativeness and get nasty instead), Slick had got reelected President, and then he had almost slipped the noose of impeachment by spiking up the black vote 60% in the 1998 by-election, which almost cost the GOP the House, and which the GOP leadership absolutely did not see coming.

If they'd lost the House, there'd have been no impeachment trial -- which was what Clinton was after, and barely missed. Newt, Dick Armey, and Tom Delay should have seen that attempt coming (as someone should have seen Clinton's field-testing "pre-campaign" in summer 1995 coming, which paved the way to his 1996 total win over Bob Dole), and the fact that they didn't showed that the House leadership was falling down and being consistently outmaneuvered by the Clinton machine. With the help of Chinese intelligence (and probably KGB Active Measures, whatever was left of it, when you think about it), so that the fair assessment of GOP leadership back then will have to await the book that elucidates our recent history of Soviet, Chinese, and other outside manipulation of the American political process and government.

[Yaelle]

Ron Paul got several moments of applause. Were his peeps forcibly removed?

[xzins]

Can you summarize what Levin said? Thanks, TN.

[Tennessee Nana]

I’ll tell you what is “disgraceful”

That Bain during the time Romney was there was involved in the production of porn movies...

Romney claims that he didnt invest any of his own money

but his company did

so Romney and Bain benefitted from the sale of porn

also another porn interprise that Romney endorsed

For years he has been paid by Marriott hotels to be on their board..

Marriott has in room pay-to-view porn movies..

[lentulusgracchus]

The point of this debate was to try to get Newt angry after unloading all the dirt on him. Angry Newt would just scare the folks.

Very good point, thanks.

Brian Williams has a go at throwing the election? Hmm. Wouldn't be the first time -- remembering Hatey Katie and her Palin interview.

[hoosiermama]

Is that information posted on the net anywhere? A transcript perhaps. Rather be able to read and copy it than listen to it.

Newt does not have to become defensive (which is what Romney is trying to set up) if others come out and fight for him....Hope it continues.....Don’t take the bait Newt....Keep Kool

[6ppc]

Fending off pointed attacks by fellow GOP candidates Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum ... Romney looked ...flustered, stiff, and at times just babbled

Before the debate I saw an interview with Romney where he appeared to be almost foaming at the mouth. Newt has him rattled and it showed in last night's debate.

[Maryhere]

You know I never even remembered that tacky thought of Romney’s until I just read it here.

[xzins]

In one of the posts above, Romney is described as C3PO, the anxious, foppish, mechanical, over-solicitous robot on Star Wars.

[Tennessee Nana]

Mark spent a while on it

In essence he said that the ethics charges should never have been bought against Newt in the first place..

he explained that all of the charges were frivolous but they had to work on each one..

Mark got to read all the documents..

As you know Mark is fair and extremely intelligent...

a practicing attorney..

so he knows what he is talking about..

I think it was during the 2nd hour 7-8PM

I was listening online and I closed out the radio page shortly after 8 because the debate was coming up..

You should go to his website and listen to that piece for yourself..

[Mountain Mary]

LOL LEEP!!!!!

[JediJones]

I didn’t mean he disengaged on every answer, but there was one where he said he didn’t want to attack Romney and another where he said to go look for answers on his web site. Those were the answers I was most worried about. He should have mentioned Romney’s tenure as governor which ranked 47th in job creation and he was too unpopular to run again, the fact that many companies went bankrupt under Romney at Bain, or that he lost the Senate to Kennedy by 17 points.

Romney has this whole package of negative soundbites on Newt he’s repeating over and over until they’re drummed in people’s heads and that’s the kind of stuff Newt has to fire back with. The “governor’s association” attack was weak since most of us don’t know what a “governor’s association” is. Plus the stuff I mentioned above just makes Romney sound worse.

[Bringbackthedraft]

and many ARE older — don’t use computers? .......................... LOL LOL!!! You obviously don’t know the seniors down here. My son is out the door to fix a mid 80’s guy’s computer. I’m a senior and we have 3 computers going here. Almost all of the seniors here have email addresses. Go to the senior centers and hear the conversations about what they saw on their computers. After all, it was the seniors that brought the computers into existence. ;^)

[PSYCHO-FREEP]

It was comical, since the first channel I watched this morning was FOX and their comments about the debate were that Newt did poorly, looked tired, etc,,, and that Romney looked good, debated well, won the debate, blah, blah, blah.

Now I see the actual results, have listened to Newt, and see for myself that Newt clearly won again, especially in the context of his best statement, that this debate was focused on “Trivial Politics”, when the nation is falling apart, the economy is failing, the Middle East is a real threat, and all the MSM can obsess over is 15 year old personal issues and these ridiculous Freddie Mac accusations.

Little does the FAUX Snooze network realize, that Newt was once again, hitting deeply on the real issues again, with all the voters listening to the debate. Newts numbers should go even more solidly into 40% as well as increase, in spite of FOX claiming that Romney would gain, as well as Snot Boy, Rick Santorum.

[hoosiermama]

The repetition of a single idea is called a meme. Alinsky methods gives instructions on how to use false memes to your benefit. Newt is well aware of the Alinsky method. He has a plan to turn in back on Mitt.

(Remember his mention of Alinsky last week, this week he openly told Mitt he knew what he was up to and it wouldn’t work.....The Kaboom is coming!)

[GraceG]

[ I liked R2D2. He was cute, fixed thins, always had the right tool on hand, and was useful in emergencies. Mitt Romney is C3P0. Talks too much, says too little of value, panics in an emergency and you applaud when he is ripped to bits. ]

Yeah, with Chewbacca in the white house, who is our Luke Skywalker and Han Solo?

I already know Darth Vader is George Soros, And Glenn Beck can do a decent Yoda Impression....

[Lady Lucky]

I’m glad to hear it, but unconvinced they’re in the majority. Maybe you could look it up if you care to. :)

[gov_bean_ counter]

The idea that the older generation hasn't been able to stay engaged is simply laughable. My mother will be 85 in February. She didn't turn on a computer until a little over five hears ago. Although she doesn't "surf the web" she is a part of what I call "an old fart network" that blast emails several internet news articles between each other each and every day.

Sorta funny because I think she believes she has a scoop every time she sends her children something...