GOP Debate II: too long, but fun

Carly Fiorina is unmoved as Trump invents excuse for his disparaging remarks

Most Entertaining

The Donald, of course. He has two generic responses to every question: “I’m the richest / the smartest / the most successful” or a gratuitous snipe. He doesn’t seem to want or know how not to be offensive. And the contortions of his face as he listens to someone else speak never fail to amuse.

Best Prepared

Carly Fiorina, by a long shot. She’s clearly clocked many hours studying and writing responses. Far more than any of her rivals, she demonstrated detailed knowledge of military deployment, foreign policy and domestic issues. She was dignified throughout and even eloquent in her comments about the Ladies Liberty and Justice.

Most uncomfortable

Jeb Bush often looked ill at ease, especially standing next to Trump. He answered most questions by repeating his talking points, touting his tax-cutting and vetoes when he was governor of Florida. What has he done since then?

His most quotable remark: “You know what? As it relates to my brother, there’s one thing I know for sure. He kept us safe.” And no one challenged him! They can’t all have amnesia. Not even Jake Tapper remembered that W was president on 9/11!

Most thoughtful

Rand Paul provided a sensible foil to the saber-rattling of Marco Rubio. He was one of the three (with Trump and Carson) who opposed the Iraq War. On legalized pot, he sounded like a liberal, recognizing that two-thirds of the incarcerated population are in jail for drug-related offenses, and that most of them are Black and poor. “Rich kids don’t get arrested.”

Most fiercely conservative

Ted Cruz was playing to the most radical Right on every issue important to them — guns, immigration, right-to-life.

Most evangelical

Mike Huckabee insisted that Kim Davis, the county clerk in Kentucky who refused a marriage license to a gay couple, was completely within her rights. Personal beliefs trump the law, and the case against Davis is “an example of the criminalization of Christianity” and “judicial tyranny.” If Davis had been a Muslim who refused to obey the law because of her religious beliefs … ?

Most belligerent

Chris Christie: New Jersey, New Jersey, New Jersey: vetoes and tax cuts, but mum on bridge lane-closing scandal, natch. He’s quick on his feet, though, ad-libbing wisecracks and one-liners.

All in all, Carly Fiorina gained the most. Trump slid under the communal onslaught and Jeb Bush, despite a better performance than in the first debate, didn’t quite rise above his lackluster image.

CNN offered comic relief at the end, asking what nickname each would like the Secret Service to give them. Bush and Trump were the best.

Trump likes Bush’s choice of “Eveready”

Countering Trump’s assessment of him as low-energy, Bush responded, “Eveready, because it’s very high energy, Donald.” Trump’s choice was almost as good. He’d like to be called “Humble.”

GOP Debate: Fox News Shines

Fox News Panel, from left: Chris Wallace, Megyn Kelly, Bret Baier. GOP Debate, August, 2015

The real winner last night at the GOP debate was the Fox News team of moderators. They grilled the candidates with questions that were well researched and carefully thought out. In addition to those barbed and provocative questions, their willingness to allow heated exchanges between the debaters produced great television.

They confronted the candidates with their flaws, flip-flops and failures, rather than pander to them with softballs as Fox usually does. We learned more about the debaters and their characters than we ever do from politicians’ usual canned recitals of their talking points.

By putting the candidates on the defensive, Fox informed the public about the candidates’ records and positions that many might not have known. The men revealed much more about themselves than a printed record could show.

NJ Gov Chris Christie and KY Sen Rand Paul go head to head

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie was combative and quick on his feet, counter-attacking Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul’s ill-fated attempt to embarrass him. You gave Obama “a big hug,” said Paul, “give him a big hug again.”

Without losing a beat, Christie parried, “You know, Sen. Paul, the hugs that I remember are the ones I gave to the families who lost their people on Sept. 11.” Paul was no match for Christie. He was too polite or too timid to interrupt the onslaught. Rand Paul did not fare well.

Sometimes it was the candidate who bested the questioner. When Kelly asked Ohio Gov. John Kasich about his opposition to same-sex marriage, he said that despite his belief in traditional marriage, he accepts the Supreme Court’s ruling. You can love people without agreeing with them, he said. But if your child were gay … Kelly persisted.

OH Gov. John Kasich

Kasich stepped up to the plate, saying that he would love his daughters no matter what. “God gives me unconditional love,” he said, “and I’m going to give it to my family and my friends and the people around me.”

Kasich was the moderate in the group. None of the other Republican governors on the stage with him accepted federal funds to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. He passionately defended his decision to treat the mentally ill, the drug-addicted and the working poor.

FL Sen. Marco Rubio

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio appeared to have helped himself. When confronted with his lack of executive experience, Rubio replied, “This election cannot be a résumé competition. It has to be about the future. It’s important to be qualified, but if this election is a résumé competition, then Hillary Clinton is going to be the next president….  This election better be about the future, not the past.”

Fmr FL Gov Jeb Bush

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who has forfeited his front-runner status in the polls to Donald Trump, touted his résumé and made little noise. He did not stand out and still had difficulty explaining his gaffe of earlier in the week to Kelly. She asked him why he had said that, knowing what we know now, his brother’s invasion of Iraq was “a mistake.” Bush tried to make up to veterans and their families for implying that those who died and sacrificed in Iraq did so in vain. You can’t please everybody, but Bush is trying.

Moderator Megyn Kelly Fox News

Kelly targeted Donald Trump, battering him with sharp questions. She dared him to explain his obnoxious views and treatment of women. “You call women you don’t like fat pigs, dogs, slobs and disgusting animals,” she accused him. At first Trump denied the charge (“It was all in fun”), then had to nod in agreement. Did he apologize? No way. He justified himself by saying he had no time for political correctness.

Donald Trump

When Kelly asked him when he actually became a Republican, Trump squirmed. He had no answer. Charged with contributing to the political campaigns of Democrats, Trump rejoined, “I give to everybody. When they call, I give. When I need something from them, two years later, three years later, I call them and they are there for me.” Perhaps he realized that he was endorsing corruption. “And that’s a broken system,” he added.

Moderator Chris Wallace, Fox News

Chris Wallace challenged Trump to explain his companies’ bankruptcies. Trump responded by clarifying that the bankruptcies were corporate, not personal. He also implied that they were a smart business tactic.

The Donald resented Kelly’s biting thrusts. “The questions to me were not nice,” he pouted after the debate.

The extremists were nonplussed by her probes.

Fmr AK Gov Mike Huckabee

Former Gov. Mike Huckabee of Arkansas defended his position of not allowing openly trans people to serve in the military. “The purpose of the military is to kill people and break things. It’s not a social experiment,” he said.

Gov. Scott Walker had no qualms about his refusal to allow abortion under any circumstances when Kelly asked him, “Would you really let a mother die rather than have an abortion?”

WI Gov Scott Walker

Without answering directly, Walker asserted, “I believe that that is an unborn child that’s in need of protection out there. And I’ve said many times that that unborn child can be protected and there are many alternatives that would protect the life of the mother.” Walker did not say what those alternatives are.

And so it went. Memorable moments. Fun and a little scary.

A License To Kill: the “Stand Your Ground” Law

You know it intuitively. A “Stand Your Ground” law is simply a license to kill. When George Zimmerman fatally shot Trayvon Martin, an unarmed 17-year-old , the law protected Zimmerman. He claimed he shot in self-defense, and with no evidence to support or refute his contention, the police were prohibited by law to arrest him. Under the “Stand Your Ground” law, someone who reasonably believes (s)he is in imminent danger may protect him- or herself by any means, including deadly force.

Not surprisingly, Florida, the first state to adopt the law, saw its gun homicide rate spike above the national average and stay there. Twenty-one more states adopted the law within a year. A 2012 study showed that far from deterring crime, the laws resulted in an increase of murder and manslaughter (500-700 cases per year) in the states that adopted the laws. Moreover, another study by the Tampa Bay Times shows that defendants who took cover under the “Stand Your Ground” law were “significantly” more likely to avoid criminal liability for a homicide if the victim was black.

As Governor of Florida, Jeb Bush worked with the National Rifle Association to pass the law the NRA had written. In April, 2015, Bush attended the NRA’s annual convention and claimed he was second to none in his support of the Second Amendment. He still supports “Stand Your Ground,” describing it as “a sensible law that other states have adopted.”

Enter The Donald!

What a campaign season 2015-16 is turning out to be! I can’t wait for the Republican debates. The first will be on August 6. I know the candidates will put on a great show. The liberal Commentariat is already sharpening its knives and chomping at the bit.

Yesterday Jeb Bush announced. I guess he figured he had raised enough cash extralegally to fill his campaign coffers for now. (While he was not officially running, he raised millions without the restrictions that constrain an official candidate.)

Today we were treated to Donald Trump’s rambling and often incoherent announcement — yes, the same blowhard who was “proud” to be a birther and claims climate change is a hoax. He boasts $9.2 billion in assets and a net worth of $8.7 billion — “I’m really rich,” he told the crowd in the Trump Tower, many of whom had to be coaxed in off the street with the offer of  a t-shirt emblazoned with Trump’s name. Wealth is his best qualification, though no one knows how much he exaggerates and how much on his labyrinthine balance sheet really belongs to him.

Trump is a monster spawned by a campaign finance system that makes  free speech equivalent to money. Money talks and more money means more speech.

In 2011, when Trump was threatening to run, Seth Meyers commented, “Donald Trump has been saying he’s going to run for president as a Republican, which is surprising, because I just assumed he was running as a joke.”

Then there’s Texas Governor Rick Perry, running to lead the same Union that he claimed in 2009 Texas could dissolve by seceding.  Will he remember his talking points in a debate? Oops.

The roundup  of Republican presidential candidates as of today:

Senators Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Lindsey Graham, Rand Paul, former Senator Rick Santorum, Rick Perry

Governors and former Governors Jeb Bush, Mike Huckabee, George Pataki, Bobby Jindal (announcement pending)

Ben Carson, Carly Fiorina, Mark Everson, Jack Fellure, Donald Trump

Governors Chris Christie, John Kasich, Scott Walker are formally exploring a candidacy

Governors Bob Ehrlich, Jim Gilmore have publicly expressed interest along with Rep. Peter King.

Stay tuned. I promise you it will only get better and more entertaining.