then you have dade county and miami-dade and broward county. a tremendous number of voters in a primary and a general election. that is where the bulk of the hispanic voters are. that was carried 3-1 by john mccain over romney in 2008. you have seen the romney campaign invest the resources in going after the hispanic vote and the vote in dade and broward county. four critical regions in the republican primary. 16 counties make up about 70% of the vote here. you see resources targeted towards the areas. >> sally bradshaw is a gop political strategist. we have been looking at a graphic weighing out the geography of florida. let's go to pennsylvania where marie is on the democrats line. >> i would like to make two comments and ask a question. the first comment is social security is not a ponzi scheme. i'm so sick of republicans saying that. i was a lifelong republican until the second term of bush and i switched. second of all, my question for her would be does she think that the republican field right now will be alienating the hispanic vote in t

. ♪ ♪ >> welcome to broward county. i want to thank the mayor for learning as the room. ts. are brouwer chairman -- our broward chairman, commissioner -- [applause] our co-chair. most importantly, i want to thank the republican national committee co-chair for being here. i stand before you as a republican and i want to reflect on something that is very important. a lot of you are my constituents. let the governor, i am from massachusetts, and i m also a republican. they state it is tough to be a broward republican. the other romney has a proven record. he is our only chance at the beating barack obama in the white house. [applause] we all know how important the state of florida is going to be. tell everybody that is a registered republican to go out and vote on tuesday. make sure their vote is for mitt romney. [applause] it gives me the honor and pleasure to introduce you to our 37 attorney general, the first female attorney general. [applause] >> it is great to be here with you. i recognize so many of you out here you helped me so much. thank you. i love you, broward cou

. >> and in broward county, florida, when a boy republican becomes a man republican he goes to the republicanexecutive committee to apply for membership. >> well, i applied to join. i met all the application requirements. but when i got there, there was a very well orchestrated campaign against me. >> how so. >> there were hand outs that an individual had printed against me calling me a terrorist, saying, you know, islam is evil. >> the campaign worked. and the executive committee voted against his membership 158 to 11. >> after all that, you still want to be a republican. >> yeah. >> that is so nonsensical, that it actually makes me think that you are a republican. >> he needed to overcome this vitriolic islam o phobia. fortunately there are local organizations dedicated to fighting intolerance such as americans against hate. i sat down with its founder joe kaufman. >> americans against hate fights against bigot ree. >> so when you and your group americans against hate heard that mr. hamvi was not allowed into the republican party, what did you do? >> well, i-- i personally praised the leade

it was jail that actually saved my life, because that is where i met broward county drug court judge marcia beach, who loved me, and so i could love myself. she placed me in the sheriff's 90-day in-custody treatment program. the time there helped save my life. the last 30 days of the 90 days i did something i had never done before in my entire life. i made a plan. today, i'm an intern for intherooms.com. we are the world's largest recovery web site with over 260,000 people worldwide, sharing their experience, strength, and hope with each other, and it's powerful. today, i'd like to tell you that i'm an asset, not a liability. today, i'm a face and voice in and of recovery, and thank you for having me. (applause) on behalf of the president of the united states, the national alcohol and drug addiction recovery month, there is a proclamation. i will not trouble you to read the four or five paragraphs that are in here, but i think that-that when you do get to see it and you see it up on the white house web site, it is particularly impressive that-the way he and this administration want t

i love you, broward county.and real change to america? [applause] [crowd yells "yes!"] we have a positive leader who is example. [applause] [cheers and applause] this is a man who has the executive experience to lead our country in the real world practical experience of building in jobs and creating jobs. that is exactly what we need now in our country. [applause] [cheers and applause] >> mitt! mitt! [crowd chanting "mitt, mitt!"] >> mitt romney is the right man for america. he is an exemplary man of character who has been married to his wonderful wife for 42 years. [applause] [cheers and applause] all of you in this room know my strong pro-life stand. i have a niece with down syndrome and i have been very active in my pro-life stand, and i want to thank governor romney for becoming a champion for pro-life issues. he vetoed every bill that came across his desk as governor that would hurt our pro-life stand. we know how difficult that was to do in the state where he's from. thank you, governor romney, for having

the woman was outside her ex-fiance's apartment in broward county when his new girlfriend attacked. she stabbed her repeatedly on the left side of her chest. the victim's doctor says the implant had just enough saline in it to stop the knife from piercing completely through the implant and into the victim's heart. >> happened so fast. i mean, i'm like, put down the knife. i looked down, and i was covered in blood. >> the woman got the breast implant three months ago. she says it is the best investment she's ever made. >>> 4:51 our time. and tom's here to look at the forecast for us. tom? >>> we had the big solar storm yesterday. we were anticipating disruptions in communications. maybe your gps told you to turn left instead of right or told you to drive to hartford, connecticut. either way, we didn't have major disruptions. there were spectacular auroras at higher latitudes. unfortunately, we didn't have an aurora here. there was a slight chance we could have overnight. might have bedroom window faces north. i was up several times looking but never saw it locally. 39 at reagan natio

i know actually in the state of florida, tampa has rolled out their veterans court as well as broward county also the hometown where i'm at, hallandale beach in florida, they're moving forward with this program. endorseed by acts of resolution and we're here at mayors to partner, hopefully, to again build a public awareness and actually use our positions in local government to encourage local court systems in our communities to implement this type of diversionary program to help prevent the encarseration of veterans that have served our country, more importantly get their services and get the links of the services that are out there. so let's welcome mr. steiner and i'll turn it over to him. >> thank you very much, mayor cooper, and mayor mcelveen for hosting around lew pleeg to speak. like mayor cooper said, four years in the marine corps as a grunt. received the combat ribbon. after oklahoma state worked for the mayor, tulsa mayor kathy taylor, actually a part of this distinguished group and presented many times. i can tell you i definitely have firsthand experience what it's like to work

lauderdale who talked about what saved her life and it was in the broward county sheriff's office program. a 30-day program, but followed up by after care that saved her life. now she speaks across the country on the importance of rehabilitation. so not everybody outside of law enforcement sees this incredible change that can be made in people as a result of what you do. talking to that young man about methamphetamine, he said it was the way the arresting officer or deputy treated me that started me on my road to recovery. we don't tell that story often enough. we know it and we see it, but we need to tell that story much more publicly. helping formerly incarcerated individuals get back into society is an important issue. and it's important to the attorney general eric holder. there's a federal inner agency re-entry council with all of cabinet officials, and i sit on that re-entry council to talk about how we can reduce federal barriers to getting people back in to society. it's no secret to anyone in this room, especially at every level that we serve in the government about these very to

peter, you are now not actually in miami but in our bureau in plantation, florida, which is broward county but very close to miami and in south florida which is so important for both these candidates. i would imagine right now that mitt romney's feeling fairly fwood. >> right. he absolutely is feeling good, gary. they think they stabilized very quickly after that south carolina bounce for newt gingrich and after he, romney put gingrich on his heels in our debate the other night with that one-two punch over medicare and immigration really set the tone for the night the romney campaign feels like they are cruising. i want to mention one thing. joe just referenced this nbc ad or that nbc is asking the romney campaign to pull this ad. here is a dirty little secret. the romney campaign knows exactly what they're doing here. that ad which is basically calling attention to newt gingrich's ethics violations in the house started running here in florida yesterday. the romney campaign put out a statement announcing the ad this morning. the ad has been running for most of the day. then nbc says, hey,

the bienes became major donors to charities throughout broward county. in 2002, bienes accepted an award from a local business college. >> with wisdom and grace, this modern day renaissance man has left an indelible mark on our community. michael bienes. >> smith: in the '90s, madoff didn't really need avellino and bies anymore. he had moved on to bigger pools of money. >> there are two pieces to a ponzi scheme. you always have to attract new investment, and you have to make sure that all... you don have a sudden outflow. the key is stability. >> smith: by the '90s, madoff had already formed alliances with financiers like ezra merkin, president of new york's prestigious fifth avenue synagogue; stanley chais of beverly hills, who worked the hollywood crowd; and bob jaffe of boston and palm beach. >> people who had access to madoff, whether they were advisors or accountants or attorneys or... or fund-to-funds built sort of a cottage industry of just feeding money to bernie and it sort of mushroomed. >> smith: madoff was also being courted by private banker

had to focus time and energy into the panhandle and you have dade county, miami-dade county and broward county, tremendous amount of voters in the primary and general election. and the bulk of the hispanic votes. that area was carried 3-1 by mccain over romney and you have seen the romney mccain invest resources and going after the vote in dade and broward counties. four critical regions of the state in the republican primary. 16 counties make up about 70% of the vote here. and you really see resources targeted towards those areas. host: we have been looking at a graphic by the "washington post" laying out the political geography of florida. marie is on the democrats' line. caller: i would like to make two comments to your guest. my first comment is social security is not a ponzi scheme. i'm so sick of republicans saying that. i was a lifelong republican until the second term of bush and then i switched. second of all, my question for her would be does she think that the republican field right now will be alienating the hispanic vote in the general election with their nonsupport of the dream a

broward county, miami-dade and palm beach county.blanketed with proromney super pak ads. romney went on tv in florida on ads on his behalf between the iowa and new hampshire contest. romney is the only candidate aggressively on the air with major buys in florida. he's the only candidate with the money and organization to have already begun building his infrastructure there, and he is recognizing and has already begun the process of trying to coalesce conservative support around him. romney campaign is fully a which are that there are conservatives who still have deep misgivings about them. many of them support rick santorum, many newt gingrich, some support rick perry. huntsman is out of race. romney is calling here with robo calls in south carolina and building his fire wall in florida he's trying to build the image of inevitability, a ju a jugarknot that is not stoppable. the ads have been on the air so many weeks unanswered by most of his rivals. gregg: as lindsey graham says, romney wins there, it should be over. carl cameron. th

. >> debbie wasserman shultz, the dreaded broward county -- i have to say that.ving the rain. apologies for the weather and outdoor live shot. >> how does romney regroup after what's been a rough week? david gregory, moderator of "meet the press" will be here to help me break it down. a second hour question, little bonus, who was the last republican presidential kand date to lose in south carolina and end up the nominee i believe is what this question is supposed to be? tweet me the answer. the first correct answer will get a special super south carolina follow saturday from us. [ male announcer ] vicks nyquil cold and flu. the nighttime sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, fever, best sleep you ever got with a cold...medicine. ♪ when did you start that project? every new year comes with a few stories waiting to be built. it's when our brand-new to-do lists become "you did that yourself?" so when we can save more on the projects that let us fix, make, and do more, that just makes the stories even better. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home dep

no, miami dade matters separately from broward county and different from palm county. in the big picture, they say despite all the technology and all the money that a candidate may or may not have, you have to appear especially in the 10 media markets you have to go there, get your face out there and prove yourself. >> that would fall under the same theory that you have to do it the old school way which is to have a big organization down there for a long period of time and what's the key word to all of that? moola, you got to have a lot of money and organization to able to have been successful this getting out to all these different people in all these different kinds of areas. at the same time, there's big changes down in florida compared to south carolina, then. especially for newt gingrich. as you recall, when he won south carolina, one of the big reasons why is because he was able to capture the female vote there an overwhelming way. now, it looks as if the females may be leaving him in the state of florida. >> yeah, new maris poll shows with women, mitt romney is

. -- brown word county -- broward county. you see resources targeted to those areas. been looking at a graphic laying out geographic -- political and geographical florida. democratic line -- political geography of florida. democratic line, go ahead. caller: social security is not a ponzi scheme. i am so sick of republicans saying that. i was a lifelong republican until bush's second term. my question is -- does she think that the republican field will be alienating the hispanic vote in the general election with the nine -- non-support of the dream act? guest: a good question. to your comments on a ponzi scheme, that is an issue that rick perry raised -- that was my point. to the previous caller about the money taken out of social security for priorities in the budget, that is the point about -- the ponzi scheme. that social security money should be used for social security. to the point about hispanic voters, it is certainly an issue of concern. the governor gave an interview recently where this issue was raised. hispanics are the swing vote in a general law election.

and it's worth pulling up the full screen map, miami dade is leaning gop and orange county 27% hispanic, and broward5%. mitt romney's position on immigration, we have talked a lot about it, he had a more hard line stance in the northern states he has since taylored that message. >> yes, it's so easy to taylor a message when you are in florida. >> when you are mitt romney, a great taylor. >> in 2008, he got 14% of the latino vote and won the white vote in florida and got clobbarred in the state because of his stance on immigration. it points mad genius of newt gingrich >> mad genius. >> he was so open to the dream act many, many weeks ago and people said, wow, where did that come from? it came from yes, my last stand, my first stand will be if flori -- in florida. very smart. >> clearly there's been some, i don't know whether it's his business background but he is doing well in the state and looks like he can beat newt gingrich. >> i think that part of it is the whole state is going that way and the hispanic vote is going into the flow. nobody wants to be betting on a loser and the more newt performs

county. also the votes found in the southeast where mccain was very good four years ago. that is miami-dade, 153,000 in the primary. this is browardy at 96,000. over the next week expect to see a lot of mitt romney, and newt gingrich in these parts. all these counties, by the way, all 67 at the moment are open for early voting, which brings in our professor of everything, larry sabato director of the center of politics, university of virginia. sir, good morning to you. >> good morning, bill. bill: 40% of the vote will have been cast before election today. what is the effect of that, do you think? >> the affect is to help mitt romney, and goodness knows he needs it. he's behind 6 to 9% in every poll that's been taken in florida so far since the south carolina primary and beginning's win. why is he ahead? because he's the candidate who has had a major ballot operation for both absent tees and early voting, and he's got a clear plurality of the 200,000-plus who voted so far, and he's going to need it, bill. bill: he's going to need it because of what happened in south carolina, he needs a major bounce back. you were talking earlier t

he did it in five counties, dave, broward, palm beach and hillsboro. dged media market. half of his vote margin came out of here. he won dade county by some 50 points, and it was an unbelievable margin he got out of the south there, and tampa, that made up for -- you would think when you get close to 50%, that you would almost win every media market in the state. no, this was a very bottom heavy victory for mitt romney. a couple other things i want to point out going to the general. i don't think we learned anything tonight about the general, there's a fun fact i got from a florida democratic strategist who ran obama's florida effort in 2008. to prove why florida is america's swing state this is the total vote, presidential vote for the last five presidential elections. the margin is 56,000 votes, that's .17%. .17. less than two tenths of one percent have separated the two major parties in the state of florida the last five presidential elections. only colorado has a closer total note of the last five presidentials, it's just unbelievable. largest democ

broward. this is a real strong hold for romney. southwest will be a real strong hold. this is naples, collier county, fourth myers, lee county.s going to do well in tampa st. pete, very well with evangelicals. if you look at the evangelical vote in south carolina, it broke 45-22 newt's way. right now in the quinnipiac and maris poll, it's basically a three-way tie. all. >> has newt done something wrong or is it the more moderate electorate. >> it's a diverse and different electorate. south carolina is overwhelmingly southern baptist. this mass more main line and latino evangelicals. >> the darker the orange, the higher the population. more democratic except for cuban-americans down here. >> you'll have a very strong puerto rican contingent in central florida, orlando, osceola county and those environs. that's a big strong element. here again, half of all florida hispanics are non-cuban. that's very different than the miami i grew up in the 1970s. even though newt has tried to play that card and tried to say that romney was anti-immigrant and newt has taken a more, we might say centrist position on immigration, it hasn't reall

down in miami-dade and north here as i mentioned, broward where you see mccain did so well with many votes four years ago and up here in palm beach county that breaks it down in general terms what vote is up against right now. you see issue number one, martha. unemployment is huge. foreclosure rate is way up and the people are ticked off. we'll see how they express it. >> florida is the forth largest state in the country and micro costism in many ways for the national vote for the reasons bill was talking about. as you look at that it could be reflective what we'll see down the road. meantime two of the four gop candidates already willing to look past florida. they do not feel they will do well there. ron paul, rick santorum starting their days campaigning in colorado before heading to nevada where they host the florida primary viewing parties for that state. it is a little confusing. they're all over the place. nevada caucuses are this saturday. colorado is next tuesday. and they feel that their strength is out there and they want to stay on the board. that is how they're going about it. bill: we'll not leave the building until this th