MOUNT DORA, Fla. (AP) - Newt Gingrich on Thursday dramatically ramped up his attacks on Mitt Romney, saying the former Massachusetts governor is guilty of lies, desperation and hypocrisy that should make "every American angry."
Gingrich, the former House speaker, said he was infuriated by a barrage of attack ads that are blistering him on Florida TV stations ahead of Tuesday's GOP presidential primary. Most are funded by an outside organization backing Romney, but some are from Romney's own campaign. Unable to match Romney's money machine, Gingrich implored Florida Republicans to punish his chief rival for what Gingrich called callously dishonest ads.
"This is the desperate last stand of the old order," Gingrich told an outdoor crowd of more than 1,000 northwest of Orlando. "This is the kind of gall they have to think we're so stupid and we're so timid."
The nature and volume of the attack ads are similar to those that badly damaged Gingrich in Iowa a month ago.
"I think all the weight of his negative advertising and all the weight of his dishonesty has hurt us some," Gingrich said. But "I am not going to allow the moneyed interests that are buying those ads to come in here and to come into other states to misinform people and then to think we are too dumb to fight back."
Romney steered clear of his rival during a subsequent campaign appearance.
Gingrich later told reporters he decided to sharpen his criticisms after Romney's tax returns showed investments held in Cayman Island accounts, the government-backed mortgage company Freddie Mac and other entities.
Romney, meanwhile, toured a Jacksonville factory that is closing because of the economy before he addressed several hundred people gathered outside. He acknowledged the live audience at Thursday's debate may be fairly raucous, a dynamic that seems to favor Gingrich and his populist, us-against-the-media and us-against-the-establishment style.
"There may be some give and take," Romney said. "That's always fun and entertaining, I know. If you all could get there, we'd love to see you all there cheering."
In his remarks, Romney criticized President Barack Obama and steered clear of Gingrich. He called Obama's administration a "Groundhog Day" presidency in which nothing gets better.
Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and Texas Rep. Ron Paul also were participating in Thursday's debate, the final one before the GOP presidential primary in Florida on Tuesday. But both candidates have set their sights elsewhere and have largely stayed away from the Romney-Gingrich drama.
Whoever wins Florida will score something no one has yet claimed in a tumultuous primary season: a second victory. The first three contests have been won by three different candidates. Only Paul has yet to score a win.