Romney warns seniors about “Perry scheme”: MyFoxORLANDO.com

Here is a video report on Gov. Mitt Romney’s appearance in Florida yesterday at “The Villages,” where he spoke to a crowd of around 400 people. Romney went after both Rick Perry and Barack Obama on Social Security.

When asked about the possibility of Florida Sen. Marco Rubio being his Vice-Presidential running mate, Romney said:

“It would be a little presumptuous of me to try and decide who a VP nominee might be, but he would certainly be someone that anybody would be proud to be associated with.”

Via HotAirPundit

Here is video of a new Mitt Romney ad that continues to hammer Texas Gov. Rick Perry in Florida on the issue of Social Security. The ad takes Perry’s idea of placing management of Social Security under the states, and uses Florida as an example – imagining dire consequences.

Wow.

This is going to speed things up, and make it much tougher for any candidate still thinking of getting in the race – like Sarah Palin, Chris Christie, Rudy Giuliani, etc. If Florida chooses January 31 as their primary date, it could mean voting in Iowa around Christmas – just three months away. Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina will undoubtedly move their contests up to remain the first four, meaning Iowa and New Hampshire would come around the first of January at the latest.

CNN: Florida is now expected to hold its presidential primary on the last day in January 2012, a move likely to throw the carefully arranged Republican nominating calendar into disarray and jumpstart the nominating process a month earlier than party leaders had hoped.

Florida House Speaker Dean Cannon told CNN on Tuesday that a state commission exploring potential primary dates is likely to choose January 31 to hold the nominating contest.

If that happens, it would almost certainly force the traditional early states of Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada to leapfrog Florida and move their primaries and caucuses into early- to mid-January.

“We are expecting to meet on Friday from 11 to 12, and I expect that they will pick January 31 as Florida’s primary date,” said Cannon, who helped select members of the nine-member commission.

States are required to submit the dates of their primary and caucuses to the Republican National Committee no later than Saturday, but most states are expected to choose their dates by the close of business Friday.

Florida’s move would directly violate RNC rules that forbid any state other than the first four “carve-out” states — Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina — from holding a primary before March 6. . . . Read More

H/T Carlos

Here is video of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich telling the Republicans at the “Presidency 5″ Straw Poll in Florida that if he is nominated, he will “immediately challenge Barack Obama to seven, Lincoln-Douglas style (no moderator) 3-hour Debates” during the 2012 Fall Presidential Campaign to debate the great issues facing the nation!

That’s a great idea, and Newt Gingrich would blow Obama away.

NOTE: We’ve made this post “sticky” at the top throughout the day. Scroll down for newer posts.

Here is livestream video for today’s “Presidency 5″ Republican Presidential Straw Poll Event being held today in Orlando, Florida. The event will feature speeches by several of the Presidential Candidates (see schedule below), and other major conservative voices, particularly in Florida. It will culminate in announcement of the Presidential Straw Poll results at 5:45 PM ET. Here’s the current schedule for today’s major speakers (all times ET):

UPDATED: The schedule below is out the window. Perry is in Michigan, and some candidates are speaking who are not even scheduled (Newt Gingrich).

UPDATED 3:43 PM ET: Voting has just started, about half-an-hour ahead of schedule. Don’t know if that means the announcement will still come at 5:45 PM, or if it will come sooner.

9:30 AM – Andrew Breibart

2:00 PM – Ron Paul

2:20 PM – Herman Cain

2:40 PM – Rick Santorum

3:00 PM – Jon Huntsman

3:20 PM – Rick Perry

4:05 PM – Straw Poll Balloting Commences

5:45 PM – Announcement of Straw Poll Results

Here is video of Gov. Mitt Romney speaking to the Florida CPAC Conference today. Romney made the case that he is the candidate who can turn the U.S. Economy around, hammering President Obama for his failed leadership. He also went after Texas Gov. Rick Perry for his support for in-state tuition for the children of illegals in Texas, telling the crowd that opposing “illegal immigration” does not mean you “don’t have a heart” – it means you “have a heart and a brain.”

Gov. Rick Perry is trying to move on after his poor debate performance last night, and he did so today during a speech to the Florida CPAC Conference. Perry made the case that it’s not the best debater or the “slickest candidate” that the GOP should nominate:

“As conservatives, we know that values and vision matter. It’s not who is the slickest candidate or the smoothest debater that we need to elect. We need to elect the candidate with the best record and the best vision for this country.”

Perry also went after President Obama on a number of fronts, including Obama’s plan to increase medical costs for older veterans. Perry said America’s veterans have “already sacrificed enough for their country.”