Posted on 05/03/2007 3:19:11 PM PDT by CounterCounterCulture
Republican Presidential Candidate Debate #1 – Reagan Library 05/03/07 - Official Discussion Thread
The debate will take place at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, and will air live on MSNBC from 8:00 to 9:30 pm (ET) and stream live on MSNBC.com and politico.com and will include audience questions gathered on politico.com.
Sorry, but my tagline has nothing to do with anything. Perhaps intellectual honesty goes out the window when YOU support a candidate, but that doesn’t mean it does with me.
I find it ironic that the GOP will have their "debate" on PMSNBC and the democrats pulled theirs from Foxnews. GOP appealing to the libs and possibly moving left? Were there enough liberals on the stage last night to appeal to the left?
Romney did me proud.
http://franciscanconservative.blogspot.com/2007/04/mitt-romney-anti-roe-but-not-pro-life.html
As the AP reports, Mitt Romney refuses to back pro-life ultrasound legislation in South Carolina.
His reasoning?
“I would like to see each state be able to make its own law with regard to abortion. I think the Roe v. Wade one-size-fits-all approach is wrong.”
As a reader has pointed out in an earlier post, while Mitt Romney is anti-Roe, he certainly is not pro-life. By refusing to support a Human Life Amendment to the Constitution, Romney is rejecting one of the key planks in the platform of the Republican Party that has been there since 1980. Furthermore, he finds himself to the left on life issues of even Sen. John McCain, who supports such an amendment.
Here is the actual text of Mitt Romney’s published Q&A in the Feb. 10th issue of National Journal:
NJ: You would favor a constitutional amendment banning abortion with exceptions for the life of the mother, rape and incest. Is that correct?
What I’ve indicated is that I am pro-life, and that my hope is that the Supreme Court will give to the states over time or give to the states soon or give to the states their own ability to make their own decisions with regard to their own abortion law.
NJ: If a state wanted unlimited abortion?
The state would fall into restrictions that had been imposed at the federal level, so they couldn’t be more expansive in abortion than currently exists under the law, but they could become more restrictive in abortion provisions. So states like Massachusetts could stay like they are if they so desire, and states that have a different view could take that course. And it would be up to the citizens of the individual states. My view is not to impose a single federal rule on the entire nation — a one-size-fits-all approach — but instead allow states to make their own decisions in this regard.
“All this Morman crap that the MSM puts up is uninformed. All those years ago, if the neighboring father died, his wife and family would get support from other neighbors if they could provide it. That’s all it ever was about.”
Preach it.
Hi, kiddo. I’m up early. Gotta finish my paper that’s due tomorrow - for school. Writing about Mitt Romney and all the crap dumped on him by religious bigots on the right. TTFN. For victory & freedom!!!
I think you have it exactly right. He's just the kind of person we want influencing the debate, but probably not the kind of guy you'd want making the final decision.
Speaking purely from the point of image..which is about all one can accomplish in 30 & 60 second sound bites...Duncan Hunter and Jim Gilmore were the clear winners last night, in that as supposed 2nd tier candidates, they showed that they belonged on the stage. Romney was very impressive, very polished. Rudy was, IMHO, the big loser. He looked smaller in stature, not as much at ease as the others, probably because he had to work much harder at his replies. Thompson looked rumpled, and grumpy...like he’d just gotten off an airplane after a 12 hour flight. Tancredo came across as very sincere, caring..less abrasive than he does in some of his TV appearances. It was a plus for him. And Brownback, a wonderful speaker, had the most sincerity of the group.
Did it still sound a little unhinged?
I enjoyed your commentary. I wish one of the candidates would have smacked Chrissie down for his inane question about Bill Clinton back in the White House.
I would have to agree. The second tier didn’t get as many opportunities for face time and had to make it on their own. I was quite pleased with the amount of information Hunter was able to force into the miniscule amount of air time he had. He made good use of it.
I was surprised by how poorly Rudy did. Maybe we won’t be hearing so much about him at FR now.
After the debate last night, one has to believe that Rudy has a serious problem with positioning. Forget about who you want to win the primary, and just compare Giuliani to Romney. If you were the type who is willing to vote for Rudy, what would recommend him over Mitt?
"Inevitability / can beat the Dem candidate" - after last night I have more confidence in Romney's ability to win the general than I do in Rudy's. Mitt would completely embarrass Hillary or Obama in a debate.Personally, I don't see how Rudy overcomes Romney. That's not to say that Romney will win, but by my reckoning Rudy could very well be boxed out of this race unless he somehow repositions his campaign.Fiscal Responsibility - Giuliani's promoters point to his spending restraint while mayor (regardless of whether the facts bear it out); yet, Romney's success in private and public enterprise is clearly superior.
Foreign Policy - neither candidate has any experience in this arena, so it's a push.
Social issues - one can argue with whether Romney's position on abortion has really changed, but Rudy has blatantly stuck with his. I think Romney wins on gun control as well.
I was pondering where Bush would have ranked in that debate, and I have to say that I think he would rank in the bottom half. Now don't get me wrong, I like the President and think he has many good ideas. But it is nice to see a slate of candidates who can clearly and quickly articulate their views.
I don’t think ther were any libs on the stage last night- thank goodness.
Excellent summary!
Thanks...
Rudy acted like a goof. I can’t believe his handlers didn’t get him better prepared.
That was so dry and so boring and he took forever to even begin to answer the question.
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