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Debate open thread — 54 Comments

  1. The lead in graphics and facebook numbers makes one feel that one is in a corny B movie that is showing the future of society… where serious subjects are presented in a game show visual format, but without buzzers. i wonder if they will dance with the stars, etc… (and now cavuto says its like a game show, but not)

    veddy interesting…

  2. Fiorina really shines tonight. Her communication skills are superb. Neo, I can see why you like her.

  3. The Other Chuck:

    She speaks without frills, but with exceptional clarity, precision, and care. She is also very concise and measured.

  4. Funny. immigration, will you deport 5 million, then the man from ohio uses 11 million, it goes to jeb bush and its 12 million.

  5. I agree, too. He comes off like a pushy bully (oxymoron?) makes himself heard ultimately by shouting until he drowns the rest out, and when he is finished, there seems to be just a second (a nano- second before next person wants time) when you want to say, “Huh?” Or, “Wrong!”. Maybe you have to live in Ohio to understand/love him?

  6. Kasich – aaargh, and we live in Ohio so we aren’t surprised.
    Bush – snoozefest and pro-amnesty
    Cruz – impressive
    Paul – surprisingly cogent
    Rubio – slick and pro-amnesty
    Fiorina – didn’t cut it
    Carson – excellent
    Trump – held his own

  7. Go Carly! So smart, so articulate, and she has passion… Isn’t passion the thing that really allows the candidate to reach voters? Her words are well-thought out, concise, and there’s there are flashes of steely determination which is vital for a President. (Unlike the off-the-charts arrogance of Obama’s which I think was mistaken by so many for confidence and smarts) That’s what is missing in Jeb, Rand, Jindal, Santorum. And I’m afraid this is where Carson is going to be left behind — he’s brilliant, and I really like the idea of an honest non-professional politician with integrity which I believe he is. But he has sort of disappeared fom stage because he’s polite and respectful of the others. He just doesn’t deliver passion qnd determination even though I don’t think he’d even be doing this if he didn’t possess these qualities).
    Ironically, Trump, has for most part, faded into background, too — but not for same reasons!

    Rubio is so articulate, and repeatedly surprises me… that little boy face, and he speaks so fast, but the words are smart and meaningful and very dliberate…
    He just looks so

  8. Carly won.

    When a bank fails, depositors are protected.FDIC.
    common shareholders and bond holders lose.

    Kasich and Bush were DEAD wrong.

  9. David Foster: “Re the banking discussion: are none of these people aware of the FDIC?”

    Cornhead: “When a bank fails, depositors are protected. FDIC. common shareholders and bond holders lose.

    Kasich and Bush were DEAD wrong.

    Just so. My wife and I were scratching our heads over that. Then in the post debate spin area, Cavuto asked Carson the same question and Ben was not clear on it either.

    Repeal Dodd-Frank, bring back the Glass-Steagall Act. Make banks separate their investment activities from their commercial/retail business. Then the risk of failure to the commercial/retail banking where the deposits are is decreased. Worked well for 66 years. Not rocket science.

  10. Because of Carly Fiorina’s panegyric after 911 about how Islamic civilization was the greatest civilization in the World for almost a thousand years, I am paying special attention to her statements to see if she gets it yet. I’m still waiting. So far I have heard nothing from Carly Fiorina that indicates she understands the existential danger militant Islam poses to everything we hold dear. Nothing, nothing she said tonight gives me any assurance. Its not that she is unable to articulate her position about who she perceives as a thread. She has no problem naming Putin as a problem. Militant Islam – not so much.

    When Carly rattled off a list of our allies in the Middle East she included Saudi Arabia without any indication that she realizes that Saudi Arabia is a much greater enemy to our way of life than are the Russians. Saudi Arabia is led by radical Sunni Muslims who are aggressively exporting radical Sunni Islam to other countries around the world including the United States. They are funding hundreds of mosques in the United States and in Europe and are providing radical Imams who preach hatred and anti-American sermons weekly in those mosques. I’ve even had Muslims from Pakistan complain about how Saudi Arabia is the source of much of the money that funds the hundreds of Madrassas in Pakistan which have been the source of much of their terrorism.

  11. My score card: (YMMV)
    Tie- Rubio and Fiorina
    Cruz
    Carson
    Paul
    tie – Kasich and Bush
    Trump – I want to hear more informed opinions/ideas from him. He sounds like the neighborhood braggart who has made a lot of money and thinks that makes him smart. I’ll grant he knows real estate and show biz. What does he really know about foreign policy? Paul really pricked his bubble when he brought out that China wasn’t involved in the TPP.

    I thought it was a spirited, informative debate. Money and business can be pretty boring. This debate wasn’t.

  12. Carly is Wonder Woman. She would kill all those ISIS bastards.

    Churchill was right. Islam is the most retrograde force in the world.

    She backs Israel 100%. But she can handle the moderates like Jordan.

    And she is tough enough to build our own energy industry and not be dependent upon the Sauds. We still import 7m bbls per day.

  13. Dennis:

    There was no question about Islam, and no real opening to talk about it. I don’t recall any of the candidates talking about it. Why don’t you wait till Fiorina has been asked a question about it and see what she says? And by the way, I doubt that any of the candidates—and that includes Trump—would be saying something like “Islam is our enemy.”

    I, for one, could not care less what any of the candidates think about Muslim civilization in medieval times.

  14. Kasich is also finished.

    Trump never gives any substance or details. We have little idea what he would do in DC.

  15. Neo said:
    “There was no question about Islam”

    I had to listen to the debates on Sirius radio, but I was certain that at least two of the male candidates talked about the imminent danger radical Islam poses. Judging from the voice, I believe it was Jeb Bush who was most emphatic about the dangers of radical Islam. One or two of the other male candidates backed him up on that issue. I’m quite sure that Carly Fiorina was not one of the candidates who voiced their agreement about the issue.

  16. Speaking about Carly Fiorina and Islam, I found an interview on the issue with her by Larry Kelley in which he practically begged her to condemn militant Islam. After he pointed out that generally Islam demands the death of anyone who leaves Islam, and after he stated that Islam needs a reformation, Carly finally conceded that Islam needs a reformation and hastened to add that some practicing Muslims would agree with him.

    http://townhall.com/columnists/larrykelley/2015/11/04/an-interview-with-carly-fiorina-on-national-defense-and-islam-n2075513

  17. Dennis:

    Check the transcript. Jeb Bush was asked what was the biggest threat facing America today. He answered “Islamic terrorism” and then talked about Iraq and Syria. Then later, in response to a question about Hillary, Cruz mentioned that radical Islamic terrorism has increased on her watch. While talking about Putin, Rubio mentioned ISIS. Carly did the same (that’s when she mentioned the Saudis, in terms of being potential allies against ISIS).

    There’s also this, which certainly doesn’t evidence a lack of toughness on terrorism.

    I see no evidence of any lack of hardness on the topic of Islamic terrorism. As I said, I really don’t care what she thinks of medieval Islam.

  18. At least it was a more substantive debate.

    Final thoughts:

    Loathed Kasich.

    Didn’t like Ms. “repeated talking points” Fiorina.

    Bush chose poorly in his responses.

    Trump did well to bring up “operation wetback”, where Eisenhower returned a million illegals to Mexico. They have a trade surplus with the US, so why are they pushing illegals across our border?

    Rubio was smart but too slick. Once Gang of Eight, always Gang of Eight.

    Ben Carson did very well. He gave great answers and showed coverage of the issues, including foreign affairs. Plus, plus, as they say in C++.

    Rand Paul made more sense than usual. He was very good on the idea of “no-fly zones over Syria”.

    Cruz didn’t get enough time, but he was good.

    Who gains the most from this charade? Carson followed by Trump. Bur that is just my humble opinion.

  19. Before the debate, I convinced myself that the pending loss of competitive states through (Leftist) immigration makes Rubio’s American Exceptionalist story and appeal, absurd!

    The first defeats the latter all too soon, considering the Electoral College calculus: Colorado and Nevado have gone (purple) Dem today. Virginia next year or the next cycle. – Florida and NC soon after. And therafter a Capitalist Right-winger will never be elected President again (unless he or she lies).

    Thus, I can’t support or vote Rubio.

    Michelle Malkin on Hew Hewitt says Rubio has the same open borders Chief of Staff, the same open borders contributors (like Singer), and he makes qualifications (from immigrant to Citizen sooner than others, etc). Judge him by his actions, Not his words, she advises.

    If Rubio is president, then American liberty is lost! Make you moving plans to protect it.

    That’s end game, stuff. (Rubio as VP? That I can accept.)

    America can accept immigrants, of course. However, we face the largest tidal wave in history.

    We the need them to spend time here, so that their offspring can learn American political and cultural values.

    While it worked in the past, can it work with Marxist, American-hating teachers and profs today? Of course not.

    About 10 years ago, those under 30 embraced American Exceptionalism by a healthy 70%. Today, that figure is around 50%.

    American liberty will only survive via ‘time out’ on immigration and new citizenship. Followed by a revolution to undermine the corrupt educrat establishment.

    A buddy of mine argues that the enemy of liberty is Catholic immigration. Look at California, Maryland, Massachusettes – all states with the highest percentage of Catholics…. And places most welcoming to socialism.

    The reason? Probably the doctrine of Original Sin, which leads them to distrust other people, thus requiring FORCE of STATE to succor altruistic performance. People cannot be trusted to choose on their own, for them.

    By contrast, Gordon Wood’s short history of the American Revolution points out that the Founders famous Deism and wide Renaissance reading were impossible for the common man to replicate. So, how were they moved to join the Revolution?

    Because their pastors were imbued with the value of radical Protestantism – self-ownership, direct relationship with God, covenantal obligation and self-responsibility – all values missing from immigrants whose Latin culture produced the first Commie Pope in Francis.

    Official statistics offer this exception to the rule – Nebraska!
    It is also very high in percentage of Catholics, and yet is a loyalist to Republican right. Why? I’ve long puzzled over this genuine outlier.

    Until I realized that this was a classic proof of early versus later immigration: Nebraska Catholics are dominated by German arrivals from late 19th and early 20th Centuries. Thier second and third generations became American by acculturation, and thus more conservative, unlike later arriving Catholics, eg, most obviously California.

    What about Texas? Well, I’ve not got an answer for that, yet. Except that Mexican Catholics there both came earlier and long ago (pre-statehood), as well as more recently. And the answer probably lies somewhere in this division among migrants there.

    So – to revisit Neo’s query from last month on Rubio, what if he said…? Words are not enough for my trust – only actions. Just like RINOs and Democrat Socialists.

    If we have Rubio’s weak action, we shall only have the choice of Democratic Socialist Party, and DS-lite for president, for subsequent election cycles.

  20. Neo said:

    “Check the transcript. Jeb Bush was asked what was the biggest threat facing America today. He answered “Islamic terrorism” and then talked about Iraq and Syria.”

    Thanks for the link. I was quite certain it was Jeb Bush who first uttered the magic words “Islamic terrorism” the greatest threat facing America today. Unlike his brother who prattled on about Islam the religion of peace Jeb apparently gets it. I have no concern about Cruz, I know Cruz gets it. It is just as impossible to separate aggressive jihad – which always includes terrorism – from Sunni and Shia Islam as to separate antisemitism from Nazism. Because the Koran itself commands Muslims to strike terror in the hearts of the unbelievers it is almost impossible for anyone who believes that the Koran was dictated by Allah to condemn terrorism. Anyone who is looking for the reformation in Islam has to look no further than Wahhabi Islam in Saudi Arabia which is the Islamic reformation everyone is looking for.

    Can Islam be reformed into the “religion of peace” George Bush claimed. The Ahmadiyya can be peaceful because they have their own modern holy man Mirzā Ghulām Ahmad who had divine authority to reinterpret the Koran. There are also a few Muslims who reject all of the Hadiths which gives them leeway to reinterpret the Koran in a more peaceful way. The other reform group I’ve studied refuses to engage in exegesis of the Koran at all.

    I’m not sure how El-Sisi intends to square the circle but my guess is that he realizes that his country is in deep trouble so he is willing to set aside the violent portions of his religion on pragmatic grounds. He has asked the scholars at Al-Azhar University to come up with a more peaceful interpretation of Islam but so far I’ve not heard of anything fruitful to have come of it.

    I an certain that Chris Christie does not get it, I doubt that Kasich gets it and so far I see no reason to think that Fiorina gets it. In her interview with Larry Kelley I linked to earlier she made several comments that leave the impression that she has no idea what we are up against.

    http://townhall.com/columnists/larrykelley/2015/11/04/an-interview-with-carly-fiorina-on-national-defense-and-islam-n2075513

  21. Dennis: Here’s a link to Carly’s actual speech, archived on the Hewlett-Packard web site. The “panegyric” you’re referring to is at the end. You might note that the allegorical purpose of those words within her speech was to point out the importance of meritocracy.

    Further, Carly said on the day she announced her candidacy, and repeatedly thereafter, that if elected, her first phone call would be to Benjamin Netanyahu. Consider the import of that statement when you’re trying to say that Carly would somehow be soft on Islam.

  22. @Orson Excellent post. I never thought much about the Catholic factor, but it makes sense. My late grandmother was soft spoken and never talked about politics. She did take me aside once and warn me about Catholics, though. She didn’t elaborate so I pretty much put it out of my mind.

  23. Dennis,

    See http://www.lettertobaghdadi.com/.

    I don’t recall that President Bush neglected to apply a strong-horse counter-terrorist response to 9/11 that singled out Islamic terrorists.

    However, your stance seems to be that the whole sweep of Islam ought to be cast in the same boat as the Qutbists. I don’t think use of the term “Islamic terrorism” implies Jeb Bush or any other Republican candidate shares that stance.

  24. over the gate at buchenwald is the socialist idea that makes everything going on now ok

    Jedem das Seine
    “everyone gets what he deserves”

  25. I don’t see that there’d be a wiggle-room’s worth of difference between what any of these candidates would want to do in office with regard to radical Islam, except for Paul and Trump. I’d trust one of the candidates with government experience to be able to succeed in policy implementation.

    I think there would be differences between what each of these candidates would want to do with regard to immigration. Congress won’t allow any of them to go too anti-immigration, though. Bush is the only one I wouldn’t trust on this issue.

    I don’t know if I’m being wishful, but at this point I’d put Cruz and Rubio with 45% chance each of getting the nomination.

  26. Didn’t find one I agreed with 100%, although Cruz and Fiorina probably come the closest. Rand was more thoughtful and nuanced than before, which helped him. Rubio, Carson & Trump are a bit too much on the “big government” side for me — not to mention Bush & Kasich.

    I think that Carson also gets too caught up in being “feel good”, and that came across in the debate. Anyway, were I ranking, Carson dropped a bit and Rand went up a bit, but no real surprises.

    Of course, any of them stand head-and-shoulders(-and-torso-and-legs-and-ankles-and-toes) above Clinton or Sanders. That should not be forgotten. When the dust settles, it will be one of the eight v. one of those two. Easy choice, despite possible hard feelings from supporters of the ones who didn’t make it.

  27. Orson, I skipped down past your comments re:Roman Catholic immigrants, so some one may have covered this, but, Mexico is only about one third Roman Catholic. There are tons of Evangelicals and Pentecostals. Also, Texas has had a Mexican Baptist tradition for about a century. OTOH, Mexico has had a very authoritarian government for nearly a century, too, and that has a definite, strong influence on how Mexican immigrants and even second generation Mexican-Americans see things. AND, of course, importing poor and unskilled people is guaranteed to make them gravitate to the candidates who offer the most goodies.

    BTW, I am most assuredly NOT a member of that denomination.

  28. Eric said:
    “However, your stance seems to be that the whole sweep of Islam ought to be cast in the same boat as the Qutbists. I don’t think use of the term “Islamic terrorism” implies Jeb Bush or any other Republican candidate shares that stance.”

    It’s not like Muslims try to keep their plans for the rest of humanity secret. In my experience if a Muslim thinks that your inquiries are sincere they are very open about what they believe. How could they do dawah if they lied about their beliefs. It appears that they are also quite open with pollsters about their beliefs.

    http://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2015/06/24/shock-poll-51-of-american-muslims-want-sharia-25-okay-with-violence-against-americans/

    I’m not sure Jeb Bush understands the teachings of Islam either but at least he is able to understand at some level that there is a connection between Islam and terrorism.

    Of the various candidates, Ben Carson seems to understand Islam quite well. I believe Ted Cruz also knows what we are up against. I’m not that any of the other candidates understand Islam.

  29. Rubio, Cruz and Fiorina rocked the house. They are the rock stars of the Republican party today.

    The leaders in the polls (Trump/Carson) were non factors. I believe their appeal has maxed out.

    Ran Paul did better but he’s still so unelectable.

    Jeb Bush … who’s that? He should get out but he won’t.

    John Kasich cried about being the adult in the room but he’ll be on the kiddie debate next time if he even makes that one. He was that bad.

    Fox Business showed CNBC how to hold a debate on the issues.

  30. @Orson: It’s a bit amusing that you think Catholicism is a serious enemy to America. Have your beef with St. Francis for all I care, but either you don’t understand Original Sin or you’re just a paranoid conservative.

    Snopercod: Because wise grandma said so, right?

  31. Lots of Catholics post on this blog !
    Catholicism is hardly the *enemy*, Leftism is !
    & the old European attitude that the *Lord of The Manor* (the STATE these days) MUST provide for the serfs (us). But in the USA the serfs have *grown up * & have opportunity & will to take care of themselves !

  32. My take:

    1) I remember clapping twice in my living room over Carson’s words. Wish I could remember the moments more specifically…I think one was on taxes (and he DID talk about cutting the government in that discussion so I did not see a ‘big government’ guy there) and the other was probably his Hillary comment about lying. I thought Carson did very well and explained his tax plan clearly. BTW, I looked it up, one of his sons is a accountant/CPA type. The other two sons are also very talented – one’s an engineer and the other is an investment manager. So I think he’s got lots of smart people to draw from in his own family. Also, Carson is a READER. I think he could be given reports, books, etc. and would be able to understand what’s going on in foreign affairs very quickly. So I’m not worried about that part.

    2) I also was yelling, “What about the FDIC?” when they were discussing banks. Cruz was right on target. LET THE BANKS FAIL. That is what you do when businesses make bad financial decisions. You don’t help them out. You let them fail and let the better companies stay in business.

    3) I always love Rand Paul to be involved in these debates, because he plays the role of ‘heckler’ very well. He will never get the nomination, but he comes up with some real zingers! Loved his comment to Rubio about whether or not his tax plan was truly ‘conservative.’ LOL!

    4) Trump didn’t have a good night.

    5) Fiorina did her usual thing. She is starting to repeat herself too much for my liking, which comes across as memorized bits that she re-uses over and over (Rubio comes across the same way…very rehearsed). But I did like clarity on WHY the banks failed and who was at fault.

    6) I want Bush & Kasich gone next time. PLEASE. I don’t even want to hear from them anymore.

    7) I thought Cruz was also very strong. I liked his rip on the immigrant thing…LOL. Yes, let in the immigrant lawyers and reporters and see what happens. LOL. He also had a good grasp on every topic up there. The back and forth with Kasich over the banks was great.

  33. I am sorry that Christie got pushed off of the big stage. I did not like Christie at the start, but he has turned me around of late. I still don’t know if he would be my first choice, but I think he merits an even chance to contend.

    Commented elsewhere, that Rubio is smooth; Rubio has a great smile; Rubio’s parents immigrated from Cuba, and his father was a bar tender (do I recall accurately that his mother cleaned houses?) Come back after you have some actual leadership credential Marco. Some of the same observation apply to the very impressive Ted Cruz.

    I am still enormously impressed by Carly. Never impressed by Trump. ‘Nuff said.

    Kasich and Bush could, in my opinion, be good Presidents. Neither has a snow ball’s chance in hell at this point, IMO. But, strange things happen. Barack Hussein Obama was elected–twice.

    I still lament that the “beauty contest” format, in which he, or she, who had the most “good moments” was declared winner, doomed Perry and Walker. (Perry’s awful glasses may have actually done him in more than anything.)

    This debate was head and shoulder above previous ones; and I include the first FNC event.

  34. Oldflyer:

    I agree about Christie; I think they should have switched him into the offputting Kasich’s spot.

    But Rick Perry’s eyeglasses???? On the contrary, not only did they not hurt him, they’re great, as I wrote here and here.

  35. Notie how everyone is looking at the current surface presented to them rather than the history of the past actions that are NOT brought up almost anywhere.. when i see this i think of the felon who comes into the court wearing a suit, hair trimmed, etc… then presents himself to the judge in a way that does not reflect the choices made WHEN NO ONE WAS LOOKING…

  36. If you take what Orson said and replace “Catholic” with “culturally-Hispanic Catholic” you’d probably have a pretty good position. That explains the Germanic Catholics and French Catholics who have been part of the American system for generations. BTW, Protestants believe in original sin too. The concept underlies the whole idea of separation of powers and restricted government. It’s because people can’t be trusted that government can’t be allowed to become strong.

  37. For all those who lament Christie moving to the small debate, remember that we need to whittle this field down. If you don’t believe that Christie has an honest chance of winning, then he can’t be allowed back up.

    Almost the whole field is prepared and poised (except Kasich, who was awful). Jeb can be kinda, sorta good when he has to. I doubt many more people will be weeded out because of poor performance besides the ones we already know about: Kasich and Paul should go.

    That leaves: Trump, Carson, Rubio, Cruz, Fiorina, and Jeb (Jeb gets to stay whether you like it or not because he has loads of money).
    I foresee the camps solidifying, and nothing will move until events FORCE semi-viable candidates to drop out. After the first 3 primary states, some of the remaining 5 will drop out.

    At that point, the question will be where their supporters go.

    (Or, maybe I’m wrong and there will be a string of gaffes. Who knows?)

  38. Please remember, the Fox Business moderators used to be the CNBC anchors. Long ago, Neal Cavuto was a rising star at CNBC. Ditto Maria. The other two stars at CNBC were Mark Haynes (RIP Mark) and Rick Santelli. Only one of these, Rick, is still at CNBC. Curiously, when the tight shots of the moderators were taken during the CNBC debate, Rick was curiously absent, even though his body, at least, was present. “Yesterday, upon the stair, I met a man who wasn’t there… Antigonish, Mearns. It’s time for Rick to move to FBN.

  39. Thanks for replies, folks. Just to be clear, my family’s religious roots are in both Protestantism and Catholicism (ergo, I’m mixed in origins).

    NH Molly writes “Lots of Catholics post on this blog ! Catholicism is hardly the *enemy*, Leftism is !”

    Some solid facts will answer that, I think. Protestants skew heavily to the Right. Catholics vote more evenly Pubbie or Dem – but traditionally Dem. Ergo, to the Left.

    Recent decades of immigrants, mostly Latin America, are voting about 4 to 1 Dem.

    Hence, religion becomes an important proxy for voting patterns. And that’s the relevance of changing state populations and immigration today. (The past cannot be changed, even if I perceive a warning to us, within it.)

    Back in 1953, Bertolt Brecht wrote a poem in response to the East German uprising in March, “The Solution.”

    It closes: “Wouldn’t it / Be simpler in that case if the government / Dissolved the people and / Elected another?”
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Die_L%C3%B6sung

    Can we not agree that this is what’s being done to our nation?

    If so, what is to be done about it?

    The US closed down mass immigration for decades until 1965. Why can’t this be done again for a while?

    Why doesn’t Trump mention this next time? Se we can see Pubbie candidates debate this measure?

  40. Trump vilifies Dr. Carson on CNN as a child molester:

    Donald Trump may have just dropped his most offensive insult yet against Ben Carson.

    The real estate developer said Thursday that Carson’s self-described “pathological temper” is incurable, equating it to the sickness of a “child molester.”

    “It’s in the book that he’s got a pathological temper,” Trump told CNN’s Erin Burnett about the retired neurosurgeon’s autobiography. “That’s a big problem because you don’t cure that … as an example, child molesting. You don’t cure these people. You don’t cure a child molester. There’s no cure for it. Pathological, there’s no cure for that.”

    A gifted brain surgeon who has led an impeccable life is now trashed as a child molester by the likes of Donald Trump, the man who invites the Clintons to his wedding and as yet to utter an unkind word about Hillary. This conman is a plant, pure and simple.

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