Official GOP Debate Thread- 1/28/16

CRUZ: He had a good opener took the usual ‘Pres. Candidate’ tone thru-out. He dodged some on ISIS and he’s for carpet bombing, but we‘ve had smart bombs for decades etc. He said we’d finance all this w/ a “booming economy” but this not what we have now.

He was out of line w/ C. Wallace, and Wallace put him in his place. But, just after this, he complained about the rules, etc. and threatened to leave the stage. (He made multiple mistakes here, esp. after criticizing Trump for not showing up.)
He wants to repeal ALL of Obamacare, but it’s unclear, (to me) how he’ll insure ppl, esp. the now uninsured, and also how a person who’d lost their job continue to afford “to take their Insurance w/ them.”

Rubio and Paul made it clear that he flip-flopped on Immigration, and that he worked w/ GWB on Immigration in TX yrs. ago. (He didn’t do so well here.) He gave good answers on Electability and on Ethanol, but he’s known for not working well w/ Congress, etc. He had some good moments, but not his best performance.

RUBIO: He had a good opener, and attacked BHO and HRC, and was somewhat dramatic thru-out. He gave a good answer on ISIS, and said he’d jail Terrorists in Gitmo.

He’s now taking a hard line on Illegal Immigration, but the Mods, and other Candidates pointed out that he DID flip-flop on Immigration, (at least twice). He made the same promises we’ve heard for many yrs; the 700 mi of fence was supposed to have been built during GWB’s time as Pres. Also, the accurate and efficient E-Verify Program has existed for yrs, but most Employers don’t use it, (including and esp. Federal Contractors, and NO thanks to Obama for not having the spine to make it a requirement for them.)

He evaded the question on his criticism of Christie on Sotamayor. He said he’d tear up the Iran Nuke Deal, but his statement, and this deal is irrelevant, as Iran will continue regardless, and could easily make/acquire Nuclear Weapons covertly. A good performance overall.

BUSH: Fairly good opener. He was the most glad of all Candidates that Trump wasn’t there. He gave a good answer on ISIS, but a No-Fly Zone, (in Syria) is now impossible due to Russia’s presence.

He gave a very good answer on Veteran’s Care. He’s flip-flopped, and now against Puerto Rico Statehood and gave a confusing/conflicting answer as he mentioned ‘self-determination’ but added, ‘w/ US Federal Help’.

Like some of the others, he supports a ‘path to legal status’, but not Citizenship. They’re all playing word games here, this could mean Amnesty, or not. (Illegals do have a degree of legal status here now as some states will issue them “Non-Resident Driver’s Permits” instead of actual Driver’s Licenses, and shows the mess created by our Fed Govt’s failure to enforce Immigration Laws, and the failures of our Do-Nothing Congress.) He did support Rubio’s ‘Gang of 8' Bill at one time.

He gave good answers on Dulce Candy’s question, and on Muslim tolerance. A good closer, and a fairly good performance overall.

PAUL: He gave a good opener, and gave Cruz a couple of good jabs. He said, ‘Syria is a problem’ but, of course, he failed to mention the decades of US meddling in the Region, etc. He’s introduced Legislation on Criminal Justice Reform, but didn’t elaborate.
Paul’s also for a ‘path to legal status’ for Illegals, and gave a good reply to Cruz on this. He’s Pro-Life, but gave a very elusive and confusing answer on whether the Feds, or the State would/should decide on Abortion. A good performance overall, he took advantage of his opportunity thanks to Trump not showing.

Kasich: He gave a good opener, and cited his experience a Gov. thru-out. He was blown-off by Kelly, but she finally came back to him. Praised himself for helping Reagan rebuild the Military, and said the US shouldn’t be the Police of the world, (I agree). He was asked a stupid question about ‘going to Heaven’ . He gave a good answer on Mental Illness.
He mentioned sanctions on Iran, but it’s too late for this no, (also, NO thanks to Obama). He was somewhat ignored by the Mods, but his best performance by far.

Dr. C: Good opener. He said he’s had more 2 AM calls than all others combined, (probably true, but these are calls for a Dr. NOT a Pres.) He stack mainly to comments on Islamic threats, and Islamophobia. He gave a good and Hawkish answer re Putin going into Estonia, said he’d ‘face him down, and honor NATO’s Article 5, etc. And gave good answer on Ethanol. He was somewhat ignored by the Mods, but he was more assertive than usual, his best performance.

Christie: Good opener, he was also citing his Gov. experience thru-out, as usual. He dodged on whether Cruz/Rubio were qualified to be Pres. Kelly had to correct him on Neighbors of the San Bernardino Shooters question. He only mentioned Planned Parenthood re Entitlement Reform, (Just one of many that need reforming.)

As in last Debate, he gave a good comment on Washington DC nonsense after a Cruz/Rubio exchange. He waffled and evaded on whether KY Clerk who wouldn’t sign Gay ppl’s Marriage Licenses should lose her job. He gave an evasive answer on if he’d send troops to Libya. (A side-note: He evaded and lied his ass off on FOX last week regarding Sotamayor. Also, IMO, he KNEW about ‘Bridgegate’, etc.)
A fair performance, he’s stuck in the same old box.

Mods: They did a good job overall, and kept the Candidates in line. They wasted debate time asking Paul about B. Clinton’s past behavior, and on asking Kasich the ‘going to heaven’ one. They seemed to really enjoy ‘posing’ for the cameras just before breaks, etc. This Debate reaffirms the need to ask ALL Candidates the same questions.

 

I am just relieved to know that it was a bad night for Cruz during this Debate.

 

That means it was a great night for Trump.

 

Rather pointless since Trump will get the nomination.