Republican presidential contenders prepare to face off in Florida debate
Republican presidential candidates former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, left, gestures as Texas Gov. Rick Perry watches during a Republican debate Monday, Sept. 12, 2011, in Tampa, Fla.
/ Mike CarlsonThe debate comes on the heels of a new Quinnipiac Poll showing Perry maintaining his edge over Romney 28 to 22 percent support - a lead that widened slightly, with Perry's 46 percent over Romney's 38, when measured as a two-man race. Among Tea Party respondents, Perry led Romney by 20 points, with 55 percent support to Romney's 35.
Tonight, Perry, Romney and the seven other contenders - including Gary Johnson as a last minute addition - will meet in Orlando for a debate sponsored by Fox News and Google. Tomorrow, the candidates will all address CPAC Florida, a conference sponsored by the American Conservative Union. And then on Saturday, the Florida Republican Party will hold its presidential straw poll.
It's no coincidence that the candidates are lavishing attention on Florida. Yesterday, Mitt Romney held a town hall in Miami and Rick Perry attended two fundraisers in the state. Their calculation? Florida will not only be a battleground in the general election, but it could be decisive in the nomination fight as well.
In 2008, John McCain dealt Romney a crippling blow in the Florida primary by taking 36 percent of the vote to Romney's 31 percent. Rudy Giuliani was a distant third and dropped out the next day. With Florida officials lobbying to move their primary date up to after South Carolina's, the Sunshine State could again be a Republican king - or queen - maker.
But the Florida political landscape has changed since 2008. At the time of the '08 primary, the country was still months away from the financial crisis. Today, Florida's 10.7 percent unemployment rate is well above the national average of 9.1 percent. And according to RealtyTrac, which tracks foreclosures nationwide, last month Florida was second only to California in the number of foreclosure filings.
At left, Caroline Horn previews what to expect during the debate."The economy is the big story," says University of South Florida Professor Susan McManus. "Florida is so used to rebounding very quickly after a recession and it just hasn't bounced back."
In addition, with leaders in Washington debating how to shrink the nation's deficit, the future of entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare has the potential to be a major flashpoint in a state with a high number of retirees. In fact, in the 2008 Republican primary, 44 percent of voters were 60 or older.
On Wednesday, Perry and Romney continued to trade barbs over Social Security.
At a Miami town hall, Romney took aim at Perry's assertion in his 2010 book "Fed Up!" that Social Security would be better managed by the states.
"In my opinion, this does not work in any way, shape or form," Romney said.
Outside of a Ft. Lauderdale fundraiser, Perry said Social Security for retirees and those about to retire wasn't going anywhere. And he fired back at Romney, saying that for "someone standing on the Republican stage who wants to be the nominee for the presidency to imply that the age-old Democrat trick that we're going to go scare our seniors -- that's pretty irresponsible."
The attacks could resonate not only with current retirees, but with baby boomers that are just nearing retirement.
"They were counting on that," University of South Florida's McManus says of the entitlement program. "Most of them didn't save enough. And now there's a lot of nervousness, particularly when you add to that the Medicare funding issues."
Social Security will almost certainly come up in tonight's debate, as well as other issues important to key Florida constituencies. Florida's large Hispanic community - the 2010 Census puts the figure at 22.5 percent - will likely want to hear what the candidates have to say about immigration. And with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict so much in the news this week, expect the moderators to ask the Republican rivals for their views on that subject. Florida has one of the largest American Jewish populations in the country, with many living in key swing districts.
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wrong. GOP's comment is personal. mine is institutional.
Rick P does not have the TeaParty Support. The Tea Party is not what it has been characterized by in the main stream media. The tea party is not 1 group but a group of ALL types of americans, young and black, old and white, and vice versa ad awesomena.
sure it may be generally conservative but I would argue in the classic sense of fiscal responsibility, foreign affairs, etc. All the stuff that George Washington spoke of in his famous farewell speech. a must read for all. I'm 100% sure they must be teaching that in school. or maybe i'm 1% sure they are. and people pay $3 - $10 thousand dollars a year for property taxes? double crazy.
AS RON PAUL SO TRUTHFULLY PUT IT: (yes truthful and yes a presidential candidate) paraphrased: "you know, before medicaid and government programs, we NEVER turned anyone away."
He has delivered thousands of babies, has a perfect constitutional voting record, has given thousands of hours of his time and blood sweat and tears for his patients and his country...
and the media simply ignores him.
Simple is as simple does. (or is told to do)
Lets vote for someone we can trust, though may not have the same viewpoints in all areas, but RON PAUL has PROVEN to be a man of integrity and consistency. He does not talk out of both sides of his mouth. esp like RPer does.
Remember we have 3 parts of our government. Checks and Balances. Sure you can argue that they are not currently functioning as such as I would agree, but we have to start with 1 branch! why not the Executive branch?
Lets vote for a change we can have hope in! RON PAUL 2012
A lot of retirees live in Florida and I doubt your are going to win any friends there.
Instead of debating espousing your agenda in a "run" for the Presidential nomination; my advice to you is just "RUN" before all the members of the AARP and the Gray Panthers fill the auditorium.!