Posted on 02/06/2016 10:46:36 PM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
What a glum, drab debate. ABC clearly tried to make all the candidates look bad, and the bad blood between the candidates left over from Iowa meant that they just did not care about showing any level of solidarity against the media, as they often do. Christie successfully tore down Marco Rubio for the first hour of the debate, but made himself look like a royal, braying jerk in the process. Normally in these posts, I have three winners and three losers, but I don't think there even were three winners - but there were a whole bunch of losers. Let's go to the scorecard.
WINNERS
1. Ted Cruz - Cruz was nicked by Carson's strong opening on the Carsongate controversy, but I think Cruz's apology on that point came off as sincere and genuine. After that point, Cruz clearly had the strongest night of any of the candidates on stage. Cruz was the first recipient of Martha Raddatz' pointless and dishonest badgering, and handled it well. Cruz did well with the guns trained away from him once again, as everyone focused on Rubio. Cruz's answer on his family member who succumbed to heroin addiction was the most poignant moment of the night and really humanized Cruz in a way that no one has yet seen in this campaign. Cruz was one of the two likeable people on stage tonight.
2. Jeb Bush - Surprisingly strong performance from Bush tonight. He absolutely kneecapped Trump in the exchange on eminent domain. He avoided any meaningful verbal flubs. He appeared wonky but likeable. He was in command of the facts. His story about the guy who died (according to the VA) was charming and humorous. I don't know if it's because the rest of the candidates don't consider him a threat, but Jeb was able to really rise above the fray and be one of the only two positive presences on stage tonight.
LOSERS
1. Marco Rubio - Here's what I don't know: I don't know how much people watch beyond the first 45 minutes of these debates, especially on a Saturday night. If they do, they they saw Rubio really regain his feet after his own Martha Raddatz dishonest badgering session. But the initial exchange with Christie was very bad for him, visually. He was accused by Christie of repeating a pat line, and in response he repeated a pat line, twice. Then after every answer he gave, he was followed by a hounding Chris Christie, who he never brushed back off the plate. Again, Rubio recovered very well for the last two hours of the debate, but the concern for camp Rubio is that people turned off the debate when the clock hit 9pm. Rubio's answer on the life issue was an absolute home run - but who was still watching at 10:15pm?
2. Chris Christie - Christie clearly came to the debate with one goal, which was to trash Marco Rubio. He succeeded to some degree, but made himself look like an especially angry chihuahua in the process. Then, after trashing Rubio for repeating himself, he spent the rest of the night repeating himself over and over and over. I think his victory over Rubio, if it was one, will have to be seen as a pyrrhic one in the end.
3. The RNC, again - It's an absolutely incredible fact that the RNC allowed Martha Raddatz to moderate another debate in which Republicans were on television after her horrible and clearly biased performance in the 2012 Vice Presidential debate. Raddatz is not only a known and vocal critic of Cruz, but she spent the entire night arguing with the candidates about answers they did not give. She repeatedly accused the candidates of not answering questions when the problem actually was that she was not listening. On the other hand, when she asked Trump to answer a question with specifics, and he refused, she never once followed up and pressed the issue.
The entire production of this debate was awful. The lighting was bleak, the pre-debate commentary was geriatric and low energy, former Clinton employee George Stephanopolous was running the show. Bill Kristol had about 15 seconds on air and he was the only thing within sniffing distance of a conservative voice.
This was a worse debate than the CNBC debacle and it had the effect of lowering all the candidates on stage. There were numerous red flags about the entire ABC production that the RNC should have seen coming from a mile away, but did not. What tonight's experience showed was that, in spite of their largely symbolic move to cut NBC out of the debate process, the RNC has actually learned very little about using their negotiating power with the media to ensure a level playing field for Republican candidates. And that's disappointing to all the campaigns.
Also present -
John Kasich - John Kasich pretending to be a happy person is one of the most awkward things you've ever seen. ABC forgot he was there for the first 45 minutes and I remember literally nothing about him being there other than his weird gooberish attempt at being funny when he said "AWWW THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR PATIENCE SO MUCH." Kind of surprised that he was left alone by both Christie and Bush, but I don't think he made any sort of impression in spite of the opportunity.
Donald Trump - Surprisingly low energy performance from Trump. Got stomped by Bush in the only direct confrontation he had in the night. Mostly faded into the background and spewed nonsense. But he wasn't really a loser because of the likelihood that Rubio took a step back. Call it a draw for Trump.
Ben Carson - Ben Carson had a great opening moment of the debate and may have earned himself some sympathy on the Carsongate issue. But then, every question he answered afterwards, he began with a complaint about how long it had been since the last time he got a question. Very off putting. At least he looked awake during this debate, so it was a marked improvement from previous debates.
Sorry, I’m just the messenger. Cruz will not break 10% Tuesday.
January 31, 2016 at 9:46:38 PM CST · 56 of 172
freedomjusticeruleoflaw to napscoordinator
Trump wins by 15 in Iowa, 25 in New Hampshire, 40 in South Carolina.
LOL!!!!!!
If you think a state that struggles to give GOP POTUS nominees 40% of the vote would go Trump, I don’t know what to tell you. Maybe Mitt will carry MA too, lol. ZERO % chance, zero. (not that we’re gonna find out cause he’s not gonna be the nominee)
I completely reject the “Trump is super electable” meme.
The founders didn’t want Arnold Schwarzenegger to be President.
Ted Cruz is a natural born AMERICAN CITIZEN okay, he was born with US citizenship, whether you like or accept it or not that all the clause means. No one cares about your birther nonsense.
He’s just as American as your guy Trump. To imply otherwise is slanderous and doesn’t make me like Trump any better.
Your guy will struggle to get 10%. How does that bode for HIS electability?
Lawyer speak. Ted already played that too-slick-by-half hand when he offered his ‘poison pill’ amendment to the Gang of Eight bill.
His trickster plan would have made the 40 million illegals quasi legal, but would not have given them full citizenship.
What fool really believes they would have remained second class citizens under our laws? Ted knew they’d eventually be made full citizens, which is what, kids?
Amnesty.
You’re doing the work of the Cheap Labor Express when you forward the ‘touch back amnesty’ meme. It was a lie when the first low life scumbag took Trump’s words out of context in order to hurt his chances, and it’s still a heinous Lie.
Just how is enforcing our nation’s immigration laws any kind of amnesty? If an illegal is forced to return to their country of origin and apply for legal entry to the US, they have to work their way through the same system that others have, and they won’t be given some special pass to the front of the line. It’s going to take them as long as it takes, just like any other emigre.
To believe otherwise is plain foolishness.
But that's not what Trump said about it - he has said repeatedly that he would "expedite" their return. He said nothing about them going to the back of the line and going through all of the regular immigration steps.
I’ll be frank with you. I simply don’t trust Ted to do what he says he’ll do. On immigration he reminds me of McCain, who had to have his arm twisted near to breaking before he would promise to build the fence.
Ted’s been hard to pin down on his actual positions in this area. Even recently, he refused to say what he’d do with the 40 million illegals remaining in our country after the border is secured.
Ted’s reply to the question was, “We’ll have a conversation about what to do with them after...”
I’m sorry, but that is just not good enough for a presidential candidate.
You’d rather he ensured the “good ones” will be let back in legally in an expedited fashion after deportation?
Cruz has said the current illegals will never be given citizenship. Trump hasn’t clarified if the returning “good ones” will be new citizen Democrat voters yet.
Trump isn’t a polished politician, and sometimes phrases things in ways that make it easy for his detractors to alter the basic intent of his statements.
The “expedite” comment is a prime example of people reading meaning into something Trump said, that is at complete odds with what he himself meant.
I took the ‘expedite’ comment as a salve to those who are about to be impacted by the sudden re-imposition of the rule of law in this country. I heard it as him trying to communicate to one and all that this will be a compassionate process, and that there is light at the end of the tunnel for those who wish to immigrate properly.
I wish someone would describe in detail how this alleged ‘touch back’ amnesty is supposed to work. If people will be required to return to their countries of origin, and be processed back through LEGALLY, as Trump has repeatedly said, by what means are they allowed through so rapidly that it can be described as a ‘touch back’?
“Cruz has said the current illegals will never be given citizenship.”
Friend, that’s a promise that Ted can’t keep, and he knows it. We don’t have a special class of legalized second class citizenship in this country. The courts will never allow it to stand. As a Harvard trained lawyer, and a former Solicitor General of Texas, Ted is acutely aware of this.
He knows full well that if the illegals are allowed to stay, they’ll eventually be made full citizens.
We have all kinds of visas that allow people to stay here legally without being citizens.
Sure, but as far as I know, we don’t have any such thing as a lifetime visa for non citizens.
Thanks!
Beginning to wonder if CW IS Leon - it’s her go to writer.
Me, I don’t bother reading anything by this lame hack - I just love watching the wars explode over their pathetic bias.
By enforcing the law.
Thanks. I appreciate knowing that there are 20-30 million of the illegal border crossers in our country. We know the DemonRATs will do nothing because they represent DemonRAT votes. The GOPe will do nothing because they are being controlled by their cronies who was cheap labor who they can pay under the table. Cruz and Trump are our only dependable candidates for the correct fix on the flood at the border.
I could go on and on, but I am sure you know all the ramifications of the illegals. Before I end here, I’ll tell you one effect that no one has mentioned. You wonder why grocery prices are to the roof? There is an answer to it. With all the illegals getting EBT cards to buy groceries, the demand for grocery products stays high, even when the prices are up. Notice how many of them are pulling out those blue and white EBT cards at the check stand. I am paying taxes for every one of them. And, these parasites are figuring out how to get two or three of them.
EBT card fraud:
http://www.king5.com/story/news/local/investigations/2014/07/31/12964258/
Trump did get booed and the. Rightly pointed out who the crowd was for the folks at home. Trump once again pulled back tre curtain and scored big for that... This whole on the heels of correctly pointing out the Keystone Pipeline was private and would use eminent domain to exist... Slapping down Bush’s attack on that topic and making him look ill informed.
Trumps act hasn’t gotten stale because the core of his “act” is not the bluster that the media latches on to, but the fact he spouts the truth about the game that is political patronage.
“....The pipeline benefits the PUBLIC.” (emphasis mine)
That right. It’s not like some rich man taking private property away from a widow for his PRIVATE business.
.
Bush never should have been in this election.
It is real bad taste.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.