Mitt Romney to SKIP first GOP debate

[TNforPaul45]

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0411/52827.html

The South Carolina Republican Party on Friday released a list of expected participants for the May 5 debate it's holding with Fox News — and Romney, the party’s nominal front-runner, is conspicuously absent. Newt Gingrich, Tim Pawlenty, Rick Santorum, Ron Paul, and Buddy Roemer are all expected to debate in Greenville, S.C. Pawlenty, Roemer and Herman Cain have all formed presidential exploratory committees.

South Carolina GOP site:

http://scgop.com/first-gop-debate-ex...of-candidates/

Looks like Romney is going to sit back and see what he is up against. . .

[IDefendThePlatform]

He's trying to marginalize the candidates who participate in this debate. It's probably a good strategy on his part, since he is the frontrunner.

Also, he knows he'd get his ass handed to him by Dr. Paul.

[ItsTime]

I've said this in a few threads. Mitt "I Like Mandates" Romney has peaked (or there about), he knows it, the second he opens his mouth is when he gets a 3 or three point boost then a fall of 10 or 15 points from the point he announces to election. If I were him I would announce late and not debate for awhile.

[Aratus]

that there bad x~mas card nastily plagarizingly mailed
from columbia in 2008 now hath these 2012 echoes???

[Cowlesy]

I bet Rick Santorum will be absolutely vicious. That guy is the consummate $#@!.

[zerosdontcount]

Palin still not really running a campaign, eh?

[Gage]

That doesn't mean that he will not participate. He has simply yet to confirm their invitation, along with several other leading candidates.

There is still a chance he could participate, though I doubt he would want to.

[sailingaway]

Huckabee won't be there either. Ron was the first big candidate to announce and immediately Gingrich and Pawlenty did, but who cares? People are ready to start seeing debates. Let Ron frame the issues. Fine by me.

[sailingaway]

I bet Rick Santorum will be absolutely vicious. That guy is the consummate $#@!.

yeah, he was even a $#@! to Rand when he had never met him, just based on what he and Cheney think of Ron's foreign policy. It was a funny article in a way, his saying how great he 'was sure' Grayson was (whom he had never met) over Rand (whom he had never met...)

[Jeremy]

That doesn't mean that he will not participate. He has simply yet to confirm their invitation, along with several other leading candidates.

There is still a chance he could participate, though I doubt he would want to.

^ ^ ^ This

[acptulsa]

Time enough to get pwned. Let him waste some of his daddy's money first.

[Matt Collins]

Hmmm if Romney doesn't show up then Newt may drop out too. That's ok though, that simply means more speaking time for Ron and hopefully Gary Johnson.

[Koz]

Romney would do well to skip all the debates, seriously.

[specsaregood]

Romney would do well to skip all the debates, seriously.

Lest he open his mouth like he did October 9, 2007:

ROMNEY: It's everybody's job. It's inexcusable that Michigan is undergoing a one-state recession, that the rest of the country is growing and seeing low levels of unemployment, but Michigan is seeing ongoing, high levels of unemployment, almost twice the national rate.

Yeah, real effing fortune teller with his hands on the pulse of the nations economy.

Edit: I for one would love to see Mitt's answer contrasted with Dr. Pauls answer timestamped and put into a political ad.

PAUL: ...Today, this country is in the middle of a recession for a lot of people. Michigan knows about it. Poor people know about it. The middle class knows about it. Wall Street doesn't know about it. Washington, D.C., doesn't know about it.

[Nathan Hale]

It's good that Romney's going to sit this one out. Back in '07 the other candidates ran train on Thompson for not showing at a debate after it was clear he was running, Mitt will likely get the same treatment.

[low preference guy]

I don't think Romney will win even if the shows up. It seems to me the election will come down to a battle between Ron and Newt, provided that Newt runs.

[QueenB4Liberty]

lol wow this is going to be interesting. Ron Paul is the only person I'm familiar with.

[Matt Collins]

I don't think Romney will win even if the shows up. It seems to me the election will come down to a battle between Ron and Newt, provided that Newt runs.

Don't underestimate Huckabee.

[libertybrewcity]

Palin still not really running a campaign, eh?

Palin is like a viper waiting to jump and snap. She is lying low to make the announcement the biggest thing since diet coke. I predict Huckabee won't run because he knows he can't win important swing states. Romney has lots to lose because he is front, and when other candidates attack him on stage, he loses. Gary Johnson probably won't be invited to the debates.

Everyone needs to buy debate tickets now. If the room stands up and cheers for RP's views on foreign policy, the nation will stand up and cheer with them.

[anaconda]

Romney would do well to skip all the debates, seriously.

This might actually work in his interests.

[anaconda]

And it seems possible that all of the participants in this first debate will not have officially announced. Seems weird.

[libertybrewcity]

This might actually work in his interests.

for a while..

[IDefendThePlatform]

Everyone needs to buy debate tickets now. If the room stands up and cheers for RP's views on foreign policy, the nation will stand up and cheer with them.

+1

Perception becomes reality.

[Aratus]

is mitt romney about to party switch if
the GOP goes towards anyone else? up
here local Democrats just sent him a big
nice card! he is always a centrist all told.

[Liberty_Mike]

Any word if they will let Gary Johnson participate in this debate?

[acptulsa]

Any word if they will let Gary Johnson participate in this debate?

Up to him. Costs twenty-five grand and an 'exploratory committee'.

[devil21]

For 2008 there was something like 12 people in the first debate? Seems like we will be lucky to get 7 people running for real this time around.

[Qdog]

Good! I hope Romney skips ALL the debates. He is boring, and redundant. I cant stand to listen to the moron. The least they can do is give us fresh morons for Ron to destroy in the debates. (it keeps things interesting!)

[Kludge]

He's trying to marginalize the candidates who participate in this debate. It's probably a good strategy on his part, since he is the frontrunner.

Seems like a pretty sound plan. Let the potential "burst-out" candidates marginalize themselves by showcasing themselves as kooks in a small-player-only debate. Poisons perception by letting those candidates play by themselves in a kiddy box. I wonder if it'd be effective to further that strategy by getting a debate set up where only the "major players" (establishment candidates) debate.

Consider when corporations set up committees to create standards for parts. If the big players sit out, it doesn't matter what the little corporations talk about and decide because nobody of significance will adopt their standard. The industry leaders can design an inferior (even proprietary so the leaders earn royalty fees) standard and still "win" simply because they're the ones making the majority of sales and news.

[zerosdontcount]

Those who do well in the debate won't be marginalized though and get a lot of media attention.