NASHUA, N.H. – Mitt Romney has survived 2011’s Republican debates relatively unscathed, a key factor in his solidifying his place at the GOP presidential frontrunner. But tonight, Romney’s likely to come under fire more than ever before, and he’ll have to get through the debate without the help of Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn.
Though Bachmann wasn’t allied with Romney in any formal way, she assumed the position of his attack dog. As she aimed to consolidate support and emerge as the alternative to Romney, she attacked – from the right – any candidate that sought to claim that mantle. At first it was Tim Pawlenty, then Texas Gov. Rick Perry, then Herman Cain and finally Newt Gingrich. Through all of it, Bachmann went relatively easy on Romney and spared him the dirty work of attacking his rivals. Given his liberal record as governor of Massachusetts, he has less credibility that she does in criticizing anybody from the right, so Bachmann served an important role.
Now that she’s out of the race, tonight’s debate at St. Anselm College in Manchester is the first one Romney will have to endure without Bachmann. Newt Gingrich, an strong debater, has made it clear that he intends to go after Romney’s past liberal positions. Last night, he held a “Don’t ‘Mass Up’ New Hampshire” town hall meeting in Salem aimed at portraying himself as a Reagan conservative and skewering Romney as a “Massachusetts moderate.” Republican primary voters in New Hampshire hate the high taxes and big spending ways of their neighboring state, but have given Romney overwhelming support in polls. Rick Santorum, fresh off his victory in Iowa, is eager to peel off conservative support by demonstrating that Romney isn’t a true believer. Perry and Rep. Ron Paul, R-Tex., have gone after Santorum recently, but in the past, they haven’t been effective at landing attacks.
Put all this together, and we could be in for a debate with lots of fireworks tonight.
