I missed the last two debates due to a very crazy work schedule, but I’m finally able to watch again so… much rejoicing?
This particular debate is important for two reasons;
- It’s the last debate before Florida’s Winner-Takes-All primary. With 99 delegates up for grabs, if Donald Trump wins Florida he is almost guaranteed to win the Republican nomination.
- If Cruz can make the case that he is the ONLY candidate with any chance to actually take on Trump then the anti-Trump Republican movement will be forced to hold their noses and side with Cruz. No matter how much they dislike Cruz, he may very well be their last, best, hope.
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And this debate begins on a somber note with a moment of silence for First Lady Nancy Reagan, who passed a couple of days ago.
Also, uncharacteristically, Trump is wearing a red tie. I believe this is the first debate where he’s wearing his party’s color. And yes, it does make his face look even more orange.
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Each candidate has had a question and so far not a single insult or jab. This might actually be the first substantive, policy-focused Republican debate of the entire campaign. Will it remain this civil? I’ll need to wait and see.
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Wow, every Republican candidate other than Kasich wants to abolish common core, and wax poetic about how bad it is and how Obama has made it so bad, yet none of them seem to recall that it was GW Bush who sowed the seeds for common core by instituting No Child Left Behind.
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Now on to Social Security. Rubio answered the question of how to address Social Security with a detailed explanation of his plan. Trump, on the other hand, addressed the question by saying he wouldn’t touch Social Security and he’d solve the problem by making America great again so we’d all be rich enough to not care about Social Security and then getting rid of fraud and abuse. When Cruz is asked the same question he pivots to accusing Trump of being just like Hillary Clinton and how he (Cruz) is the only one who is an actual Washington outsider willing to take on special interest lobbyists, and failing to mention that he has absolutely no friends.
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Trump just confirmed that he believes Islam hates us. When asked if he truly believed 1.3 billion practitioners of Islam hated Americans he replied, “A lot of them do.”
I can’t help but see parallels between the way Trump is vilifying ALL practitioners of Islam and calling for Americans to do “something” about them, and the way certain other historic leaders demonized other sects in order to gain power and lead their people down the path of atrocity.
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Rubio, Cruz and Kasich all agree that there cannot be peace between Israel and Palestine. They each give their reasons, in well spoken, thought provoking ways. Trump on the other hand wants to try to broker a deal between the two because he’s the “best negotiator” and he’d “make the best deal”.
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A thought; since this has been the most civil Republican debate of the entire race so far, with each candidate actually answering questions and explaining their plans for running the country, will Trump’s more sedate performance help or hurt him?
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Okay, so far in this debate, Cruz, Rubio and Kasich have all laid out their ideas, ideals and plans in detail while Trump has, as far as I can tell, has only spoken in broad strokes without detail or depth. Not sure which method will ultimately prevail, but it is interesting to note that in a more civil debate like this one it appears to be FAR more noticeable when a candidate never actually answers a question.
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When asked point blank if they would acknowledge climate change and pass laws to help curb its effects, Marco Rubio claimed no laws will help solve the problem and refused to acknowledge that man is contributing to global climate change. Kasich agrees humans contribute, but argues about how much, and then throws every renewable energy buzzword he can at the moderator until his time is up. No one bothers to ask Cruz or Trump what they think.
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The moderator, Jake Tapper, has just confronted Trump by quoting his own words at him about the violence occurring at his rallies. Trump, in a typical move, rambles on without answering the actual question and winds up praising policemen and women which get a bit of confused applause.
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Okay, time for closing remarks.
Trump: People like me. People love me. Many, many people. Fabulous people, who all love me. Because I’m just that important. So embrace these people who love me and unify with them and vote for me or I’ll swallow your soul.
Rubio: You know I have no chance, [sob] they know I have no chance, [whimper] and I know I have no chance [keening noise]. But please, for the love of all that’s holy, let me win my home state of Florida so I can at least go out with my head held high. Oh lord, why hast thou forsaken me?!
Cruz: I’m crazy but I can keep it together long enough to be president if the voices let me. Vote for me, my medication is wearing off.
Kasich: I’ve been an adult this entire campaign so please vote for me or you’ll wind up with one of these schmucks. Hey! Look at me, I’ve got big-boy pants!
