Republican Debate 060507

[Back]

Debate is on right now. Here is a poll on who you thought did the best job.

There is no option for “other”*so we can have a real poll.

Explaining your point is not mandatory to voting but it might help other people understand more.

[Sean of the Thread]

Strom Thurmond

[Ilvane]

So far, I'm finding myself agreeing on illegal immigration with Mitt Romney, and I liked what Tommy Thompson had to say, so far.

Who the heck is this Ron Paul guy??

Angela

[Back]

Who the heck is this Ron Paul guy??


The guy I agree with the most on our foreign policy.

As for immigration I’m more in-line with McCain.

[Ilvane]

Yeah, he doesn't seem to belong with these guys, though.

I was upset I was agreeing with Romney on anything..LOL

Angela

[Sean of the Thread]

I was upset I was agreeing with Romney on anything..LOL

Angela

Lol. Speaks volumes.

[Ilvane]

So in the end, I think McCain did pretty well.

I think Guiliani if he wants to get anywhere needs to talk about more than just 9/11. I think he needs to get to more issues and talk about what he wants to do. His experience on 9/11 is great, but what about the other issues in the country?

All in all I think they mentioned 9/11 20 times and God about equally.

Angela

[Warriorbird]

Here's hoping Rudy only talks about it and loses the nomination...so the Democrats can have some vague chance to win.

[Back]

All in all I think they mentioned 9/11 20 times and God about equally.


That and Ronald Reagan. What a joke.

I actually like Huckabee and Paul and McCain on various issues but if I had to choose one I guess it would be Paul. I’d even go for Paul as VP with a Dem pres.

But the overall general tenor of the debate was: Iran! Nukes! Terrorists! Immigrants! English! Economy! Doom! Gloom! Vote for me and that will all disappear overnight!

[Back]

One thing I have to say is positive about this debate, to be fair... there are probably more in that group who agree that this administration has screwed up and that global warming is a serious issue that needs to be addressed.

“How would you use George W Bush?”

“I’d tell Rove what he told me. Not to darken the steps of the White House ever again.”

[Blazing247]

Most important issues to me: Immigration, Middle East, and our economy. I think my ideals coincide with Ron Paul the closest, and I think it's refreshing that while he's running on the Republican platform, he considers himself a strong libertarian.

He said it best, why the hell are we diverting so many resources to the Middle East when it's so goddamn easy for illegal aliens (and potential terrorists) to get INTO our country?

His voting also matches his stance- no bandwagon jumping that I've seen so far. He denied his pension, and voted against all personal salary raises? Stand-up, IMO.

[Parkbandit]

One thing I have to say is positive about this debate, to be fair... there are probably more in that group who agree that this administration has screwed up and that global warming is a serious issue that needs to be addressed.



Yea.. it's called pandering to votes. Bush's opinion survey is down.. they would be stupid to say "Yea, Bush is a great President.. " and most people have bought into the whole global warming hysteria (thank you btw) so no shit sherlock.

[Gan]

Saw no TV tonight, as I was playing softball with the company team. I'll catch the recording on youtube or something. In the meantime...

Here's the Politico's scorecard:

MANCHESTER, N.H. -- Here are the winners and losers of Tuesday night’s Republican presidential debate, accurate to three decimal places.

FIRST PLACE: Mitt Romney
Analysis: Strong, clear, gives good soundbite and has shoulders you could land a 737 on. Not only knows how to answer a question, but how to duck one. Asked why he was so late in deciding to oppose abortion, Romney smoothly replied: “I'm not going to apologize for the fact that I became pro-life.”
His strongest line came about his being a Mormon: “I also believe that there are some pundits out there that are hoping that I’ll distance myself from my church so that that’ll help me politically. And that's not going to happen.”
Romney does well in these debates but he is still languishing in the national polls. In the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll conducted May 29-June 1, Romney was still in single digits, tied for fourth place with Newt Gingrich, who may not even run. Romney can’t debate his way to the White House. He needs something more and he better find it before Fred Thompson gets in the race for real and starts using up all the oxygen.
Score: 82.346 (out of 100.)

SECOND PLACE: Rudy Giuliani
Analysis: Kept attacking Democrats, which was a smart move. Republican primary voters want these guys to beat up the other party, not each other.
Too smart to be tricked into saying he would nuke Iran. American’s don’t want presidents with itchy trigger fingers. Good laugh line when he was asked about attacks on him by a Catholic bishop, and there was a flash of lightning from the storm outside: “Look, for someone who went to parochial schools all his life, this is a very frightening thing that's happening right now.”
He then stuck to his guns on his pro-choice stance in a way that appeals to some conservatives, who don’t like intrusive government: “My view on abortion is that it's wrong, but that ultimately government should not be enforcing that decision on a woman.” He also bashed the media for being too negative about Iraq. You can never go wrong bashing the media.
Score: 79.664

THIRD PLACE: Mike Huckabee
Analysis: Veep Alert! Veep Alert! Smooth. Not too strident. Not too tall. Won’t overshadow top of ticket. Totally playing for the vice presidential slot.
Knows how to set up a straw man and then knock him down: Asked about why he believes in Creationism, he said: “If they want a president who doesn't believe in God, there's probably plenty of choices.” There are? Name one.
Still, he managed to come across as conservative, but not scary. But we are forced to subtract points because he said: “Today's the birthday of Ronald Reagan.” Totally wrong. Ronald Reagan was born on February 6, 1911. Huckabee actually meant it was the anniversary of Reagan’s death on June 5, 2004. But, hey, veeps don’t have to know everything.
Score: 68.000

FOURTH PLACE: John McCain
Analysis: He is not closing the deal. We might have put him in fifth, but he finally caught fire an hour and forty-five minutes into a two-hour debate. But he kept saying “my friends” so much, you began to wonder if he had any. (By the way, if you were wondering why there were no “show of hands” questions Tuesday night, it is because McCain has difficulty raising his arms due to his Vietnam War injuries.)
I interviewed McCain in February about the problem his immigration stance poses for him and he said: “One of the biggest problems with immigration reform is that it takes so long to explain it. If I had a half hour with every Republican, they’d all say, ‘Oh, yeah, now I get it.’” Well, he doesn’t have a half hour. He needs a better soundbite, which is what debates are all about.
Score: 56.777

FIFTH PLACE: Fred Thompson
Analysis: Didn’t show up; didn’t lose any ground. He is still the candidate of Republicans who looked at the 10 men on the stage Tuesday night and asked: “Is this all we got?” But at some point, in order to get the nomination he may actually have to campaign. We think.
Score: 51.991

SIXTH PLACE: Tommy Thompson
Analysis: At least he won’t have to blame any of his answers on needing to go to the bathroom, as he did in a past debate. But he needs to hold more debates in thunderstorms where the chance of a lightning strike might significantly reduce the field.
Score: 43.002

SEVENTH PLACE: Sam Brownback
Analysis: What was with the green tie?
Score: 31.776

EIGHTH PLACE: James Gilmore
Analysis: What was with the crooked tie?
Score: 26.876

NINTH PLACE: Ron Paul
Analysis: The best Texas candidate in the race
Score: 13.112

TENTH PLACE: Tom Tancredo.
Analysis: Mr. Mean. Doesn’t want any more foreigners here until we “assimilate” the ones we already have. He asks: “We can talk about all the immigration reform we want and what it's got to get down to is this: Are we ready for a time-out?” The real question may be whether Tom Tancredo is ready for a time-out.
Score: 10.321

ELEVENTH PLACE: Duncan Hunter
Analysis: Mr. Meaner. Launches sneak attack on Romney, Giuliani and McCain in the last three minutes of debate so they can’t defend themselves. Nobody likes a sneak. Attack earlier next time.
Score: 5.000

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0607/4356.html

[Blazing247]

I generally dislike these types of debates, as the majority of the questions and television time are eaten up by the so-called "tier 1" candidates, who step over eachother to get that one special soundbyte to rally their campaign around. What really scares me is that at least 8 of these people don't know what "brief introductions" and "yes and no answers" consist of.

"While we're on the subject of abortion, let me talk for a minute on the drawbacks of this proposed Immigration bill..." How about you answer the fucking question you were asked?

The only candidates that don't give me the tryingtoactperfecteventhoughthey'reaclosethomosexu al vibe are Ron Paul and Giuliani. I hate how the top runners are force fed down our throats on a daily basis by the news, and then they get the lions share of the debate time. Talk about stacking the deck, people are stupid and will vote for someone they see on TV more often just because they know who he is compared to another person.

[Drew]

I'm for Romney and have been for a couple months now, he's the Republican Bill Clinton (and placed about exactly where slick willy was at this time during the 1991 Dem debates).

[TheEschaton]

I think Ron Paul is awesome. Which means Republicans will never vote for him.

[Back]

FOURTH PLACE: John McCain
Analysis: But he kept saying “my friends” so much, you began to wonder if he had any.

rofl. How true, my friends. He was trying to hard too be a kinder leader, my friends. My friends, he said “my friends” probably more times than all of them invoked 9/11 or Ronald Reagan combined, my friends. How many of you, my friends, were cringing every time he did?

[DeV]

I think Ron Paul ran as an Independent years ago. He knew that he that it'd be an uphill battle for him to run in this election as an Independent or be invited to debates as one so he's running under the Republican ticket.

[Ilvane]

Mitt Romney is an idiot. We had to suffer with him in MA for enough time..ugh.

He actually had the gall to take credit for the Health Care bill that was passed in MA, like he actually had anything to do with it.

Ron Paul was interesting, I agree.

Angela

[Sean of the Thread]

As opposed to say Kennedy... HAHAHAHAH. Mass should be excluded from all elections.

[Ilvane]

When all else fails, bring up Kennedy..:snores:

Angela

[Parkbandit]

When all else fails, bring up Kennedy..:snores:

Angela

What failed?

[TheEschaton]

Mitt Romney loves to take credit for programs that he vigorously opposed, threatened to veto, and then backed down when the overwhelmingly Democratic state legislature not only passed said legislation, but promised to override his veto.

-TheE-

[Parkbandit]

Mitt Romney loves to take credit for programs that he vigorously opposed, threatened to veto, and then backed down when the overwhelmingly Democratic state legislature not only passed said legislation, but promised to override his veto.

-TheE-


Bill Clinton loved to take credit for programs that he vigorously opposed, threatened to veto, and then backed down when the overwhelmingly Republican legislature not only passed said legislation, but promised to override his veto.

Deja Fucking Vu!

[TheEschaton]

Like what?

[Drew]

Bill Clinton loved to take credit for programs that he vigorously opposed, threatened to veto, and then backed down when the overwhelmingly Republican legislature not only passed said legislation, but promised to override his veto.

Deja Fucking Vu!



It's probably true about Romney, I have no idea for sure, but like I said, he's the Repub. Clinton. Clinton is an excellent speaker, ladies loved him, and he was very good at saying nothing and rolling with the political tide. He's definitely the most electable Republican. The truth is, if Jeb Bush had any other last name he'd be the shoe-in nominee this cycle, but that one detail will probably keep him out of the highest office.

[Parkbandit]

Like what?

Welfare reform
Balanced budget with surplus
Child tax credit
Lowering taxes on Social Security


Those are just off the top of my head.. I'm sure there are many more Republican initiated programs that Clinton still takes credit for.

[Warriorbird]

I hope the Republicans are stupid enough to run Romney or McCain. They should view Rudy as a gift from God, y'know, given the amount of time most of them spend "talking to God."

[Gan]

It all hinges on Freddy throwing in his hat or not. If he does, the best Romney or McCain can hope for is VP and the ticket will be narrowed down to either picking Rudy or Freddy to represent the GOP.

[Parkbandit]

It all hinges on Freddy throwing in his hat or not. If he does, the best Romney or McCain can hope for is VP and the ticket will be narrowed down to either picking Rudy or Freddy to represent the GOP.


He'll run, but not until he double locks all the closets of his past to ensure no skeletons pop out.

[TheEschaton]

I'm sure he's killing all those people right now.