Rick Klein: “Cruz and Rubio did find moments to break through, in a debate that didn’t shake things up so much as it seemed to confirm the status quo of a volatile race… Rubio and his rivals, though, made clear that the next chapter is still being written -– and is likely to be a messy one.”
Archives for November 2015
The Fourth Republican Presidential Debate
The defining moment of the debate was a heated exchange over the practicality of Donald Trump’s proposed deportation of 11 million undocumented immigrants. John Kasich, and then Jeb Bush, denounced the plan while Trump stood his ground. Ted Cruz later joined in defense of Trump’s position. Marco Rubio wisely stayed on the sidelines.
Trump won the exchange because he appeals to so many Republican voters who have lost patience with the “practical” solutions offered by establishment politicians. Immigration highlights this political divide nicely, but it was found in many other issues during the night, such as tax policy and trade.
Overall, Trump had his best debate yet and was the clear winner. The establishment should be very worried. He’s a real contender for the nomination.
Rubio and Cruz are both very good debaters and spoke directly to their supporters. It’s not a mistake they’re slowly moving up in the polls.
Carson succeeded at downplaying questions into his personal story over the last week but was very shaky when it came to foreign policy.
Bush was forgettable, which was sadly an improvement on his last debate.
Rand Paul had perhaps his best moment of the campaign attacking Rubio’s national security plans as too expensive. The problem is that his libertarian foreign policy views are not be held by the vast majority of GOP voters and Rubio swatted him down to much applause. But it was Paul’s first real opportunity to explain why he’s different than the others on the stage.
Kasich was, as Trump might say “high energy,” and made every effort to interject himself into most questions. He’s smart and probably understands the various policy issues better than anyone on the stage. But like Paul, it’s not clear his views reflect his party.
Carly Fiorina should be demoted once again to the undercard debate as she’s done little to build on her momentum of a month ago.
There were no big mistakes tonight, though Cruz nearly fumbled in a Rick Perry-like attempt to list government agencies he wanted to eliminate.
Overall, I don’t see this debate shaking up the race significantly. Trump and Carson remain in the top tier with Cruz and Rubio inching up as they get more exposure. Unless one of those four stumbles badly — which is entirely possible — it’s hard to see the others moving up.
How to Watch Tonight’s GOP Debate
The main debate will start at 9 p.m. ET and is scheduled to last two hours.
The remaining candidates will participate in an earlier debate at 7 p.m. ET, which is scheduled to last one hour.
You can watch the debates on the Fox Business Network.
Gore Declines to Endorse Clinton
Al Gore “politely but firmly declined” when People asked him if he supports Hillary Clinton for the president in 2016.
Said Gore :”It’s still too early, in my opinion, to endorse a candidate or pick a candidate. Everybody can look at how the presidential campaign is developing and get some pretty clear ideas about how they think it’s going to turn out, but I still think it’s premature. The election is still a full year away. I think I’ll wait to wade into it.”
Extra Bonus Quote of the Day
“Any president who doesn’t begin every day on his knees isn’t fit to be commander in chief of this nation.”
— Sen. Ted Cruz, quoted by Vox.
Bush Schedules Post-Debate Call with Donors
“Top Jeb Bush donors will convene on a conference call after Tuesday’s debate, a critical moment in the former Florida governor’s campaign,” Politico reports.
“Donors from across the country have been invited to participate in the call, according to two sources familiar with the campaign’s plans. It will be hosted by senior Bush advisers Sally Bradshaw and Tim Miller.”
How Politics Became Big Business for TV
Hollywood Reporter: “News was once the loss leader of TV, and politics was the loss leader of news, the slog you waded through before crime, disaster, human interest, weather and sports. Two things changed that status.”
“Political gridlock and target-marketing techniques turned swing states into crucial battlegrounds, which meant vast advertising expenditures in local markets (and unlimited resources to spend, thanks to the U.S. Supreme Court). Every midterm election and presidential cycle ups that ante. More than $3 billion was spent on local political ads in 2012 — out of a total local television advertising take of $17 billion. By some estimates, that could rise to as much as $5 billion in 2016, making politics the single biggest local television advertising category.”
“And then there was Fox News, handily beating all other cable news programming by aligning its product to a particular political market and sensibility.”
Bonus Quote of the Day
“I’m not some weirdo that’s out here just kinda running crazy, I’m the former governor of the state of Virginia. I’m the former chairman of the Republican National Committee.”
— Gov. Jim Gimore, quoted by BuzzFeed News, on being excluded from the GOP debates.
The Rubio vs. Cruz Battle Is Heating Up
The Fix: “The thinking goes like this: Rubio is already starting to consolidate the establishment behind him and Cruz will eventually emerge as the outsider choice once Carson and Trump fade. What’s interesting is that Rubio and Cruz have barely mentioned one another in the three debates leading up to tonight. But, Cruz’s decision to cancel campaign events last month to return to fight a quixotic battle against the debt and budget deal seem to be the Texas Senator laying the groundwork for a full-frontal assault against the absentee Rubio.”
“That fight might not come tonight. Regardless, watch how the two men act toward one another given their current status as the likeliest survivors of the GOP contest.”
Re-Election Doesn’t Look Good for Vitter
If Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) loses the race for Louisiana governor next week, “there is buzz among Republicans in Louisiana and Washington that he would not run for reelection to the Senate in 2016,” the Washington Post reports.
“A loss in the gubernatorial contest would open him up to a serious GOP challenger, and it would be much harder to hit up the donors who have spent this year funding his campaign. Vitter only had $26,216 in his federal campaign account at the end of September.”
Bernie Had a Cable Access Show
Mother Jones has found video clips of a cable access show hosted by Bernie Sanders when he was mayor of Burlington, Vermont.
“It was a low-budget production. The credits were written in marker by hand; the intro music was a recording of ‘We Shall Overcome’; there was no script. Now, the station has posted dozens of episodes of Sanders’ show, along with poorly lit footage of various mayoral functions and campaign events. The collection captures Sanders at his most unfiltered—and, at times, eccentric.”
Quote of the Day
“If I become president, we’re all going to be saying Merry Christmas again. That I can tell you.”
— Donald Trump, quoted by People magazine, on Starbucks removing references to Christmas on its holiday coffee cups.
Senate Slackers
Politico: “The Senate next year will take its longest summer break in two decades, a quirk of the presidential party conventions that will give lawmakers off half of July plus all of August. When they finally return, it won’t be for long. The chamber is slated to be in session a total of five weeks during the final three months of the year.”
Classified Report on CIA Secret Prisons Remains in Limbo
New York Times: “Nearly a year after the Senate released a declassified 500-page summary of the report, the fate of the entire document remains in limbo, the subject of battles in the courts and in Congress. Until those disputes are resolved, the Justice Department has prohibited officials from the government agencies that possess it from even opening the report, effectively keeping the people in charge of America’s counterterrorism future from reading about its past. There is also the possibility that the documents could remain locked in a Senate vault for good.”
FBI Isn’t Done Investigating Clinton’s Emails
Politico: “Even as Hillary Clinton tries to put questions about her private email server behind her, the FBI has stepped up inquiries into the security of the former Secretary of State’s home-made email system, and how aides communicated over email… The FBI’s recent moves suggest that its inquiry could have evolved from the preliminary fact-finding stage that the agency launches when it receives a credible referral.”
Trump May Hit Carson Hard Tonight
First Read notes Donald Trump previewed a possible line of attack against Ben Carson: “Well, I feel badly for Ben. I’ve gotten to like Ben. And it’s a tough thing. I mean, he writes a book where he went after his mother, hit her on the head, or wanted to hit her on the head with a hammer. Hitting a friend in the face with a lock, with a padlock, hard in the face, stabbing somebody, only to be broken up by a belt buckle. And when he writes that he has pathological disease in a book, now he obviously wrote this book prior to thinking about running for office, I assume. But he said he has pathological disease.”
“Our prediction: Trump senses weakness, and he’s going for it.”
Carson, Trump Remain Atop GOP Field
A new McClatchy-Marist poll finds Ben Carson leading the GOP presidential race with 24%, followed by Donald Trump at 23%, Marco Rubio at 12%, Ted Cruz at 8%, Jeb Bush at 8% and Rand Paul at 5%.
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