Debate. Florida. Tonight. 6:00 pm local time.
This one could be an earth scorcher.
Consider this. The past couple of weeks of polls have had Romney leading Gingrich by double digits in Florida. Today, there were two new polls released, and Gingrich leads Romney by +8 and +9.
Romney needs to do something different—that could be quite interesting.
Gingrich needs to not screw up, yet remain on the attack. He needs to show is fangs, but probably not bite anyone but the media.
Santorum and Paul are there for the shits and giggles.
I’ll live blog when I can, but I may have a couple of interruptions.
Live stream is at NBC here.
6:08: Mitt comes out attacking Gingrich…but he is using too much, too soon. Clearly, when it come to attacking, Mitt is a novice.
6:10: Newt says Mitt is “a lousy historian.” Yeah…I’ll bet Mitt never earned a monthly “retainer” of $25000 to $30000 to serve as an “historian.”
6:12: I think Rick Santorum is saying something.
6:14: Ron Paul, “The delegates is what counts.”
6:16: Will Ron Paul run as a 3rd party candidate. “No plans to do that.”
6:18: Mitt on what is controversial in his tax returns: “No surprises.” “But the real question is the American people…”taxes too intrusive”, “lower tax rates”, “pro-growth tax policy”, blah, blah, blah.
6:21: Priceless: Newt gets Romney to volunteer that under his (Newt’s) tax plan, Mitt would have paid zippo, zilch, zero tax (’cause his income is all capital gains).
6:24: I think Santorum just burbled something.
6:25: Seriously…Santorum is almost incomprehensible tonight. He’s pullin’ a Perry.
6:26: Newt defends his $25,000 to $30,000 PER MONTH “historical consulting” retainer: We had a consultant come in and tell us the fine line between lobbying and citizen activism.
6:30: The debate briefly spirals out of control with Newt and Mitt arguing back and forth. Perhaps the moderators have fallen asleep?
6:32: Mitt thinks influence peddling is “not right.” I am sure he will shut down K-street should he become preznit.
6:37: Rick Santorum’s “Free Market”: let the banks fail, but help people get out from being underwater. Ron Paul’s “Free Market”: let the banks fail, and let people fail.
6:41: Newt: “Repeal Dodd–Frank and the economy will recover overnight.” Ummm….didn’t the economy tank—and remain tanked—before Dodd–Frank was passed?!?
6:44: Mitt, “The President has taken a VERY DANGEROUS PATH with regard to Cuba.” WTF?!?
6:44: Newt: Fidel Castro is going to hell.
6:45: Paul: “The Cold War is over!” “I don’t know why all the Cubans are so intimidating.”
6:47: Santorum: “Sanctions in Cuba should continue until the Castros are dead.” WTF?!?
6:48: Santorum seems to be claiming that Cuba has become a platform for Jihad. Perhaps he believes “Jihad” is waged by all people with darkish skin.
6:49: Mitt, again, claims that the “Navy is smaller than any time since 1917.” Politifact: Pants on Fire.
7:00: Santorum gets all scaremongery over Iran. Still…no evidence that they are developing a nuclear weapon.
7:02: Santorum: Pipelines and off-shore rigs are the safest way to transport oil. I guess that works…if we live in the Middle East.
7:03: Newt tries to justify is lunatic rantings about the need for English as an Official Language. Sure…that will solve the problem.
7:04: Mitt agrees. Paul…let the States decide what is best for them.
7:06: Newt and Mitt: Dream Act for foreign mercenaries Only!
7:08: Mitt relies on people “self-deport[ing]” when they are dying of hunger.
7:09: Newt on sugar, “In an ideal world you would have an open market”…but I couldn’t do anything about it. I tried.
7:11: Mitt: Just get rid of sugar subsidies.
7:11: Mitt: “Everything Obama has done has made it worse for Florida.”
7:19: Did Historian Newt just mis-remember the Terry Schaivo case? I think Newt said her husband wanted her to live.
7:21: Mitt wants NASA to be a collaboration between government, private business, and our educational institutions. Wait…isn’t that what’s going on right now?
8:03: I was in there up to 7:25—the final break. I was “on” for dinner, so during the breaks I was running out to the kitchen to prepare enchiladas.
Wrap-up:
Newt wins. He made no gaffes. He weaseled his way out of questions about his past ethics violations and failed House leadership.
Mitt isn’t very good on the attack—to me, his attempts fell flat.
What we have here, folks, is a two way race that is nearly tied: Mitt, the rich boy who desperately wants to be President and Newt, the self-confessed smartest man in the world, who knows the position needs him.
I dub this the
Farcical Florida Fratricide Fracas
The 4F Division of the Republican Party
1
Nice. “Brothers, please keep your barrels pointed at each other.”
@ 1
Philandering foozlers fling feces, find friendship, few fooled.
Gnoot quotes Alan Greenspan to support Gnoot’s approach on taxes.
Quick someone ask Mitt how much he made off investments in Freddie Mac.
I turned it off. I can’t take that much stupid.
You know who else other than Gnoot had white hair and was an “Historian”?
Karl Marx
@ Darryl @ 6:41,
How dare you question Gnoot? He’s an HISTORIAN!!
If Gnoot says Dodd-Frank which passed in 2010 caused the crisis which started in 2008, then he OBVIOUSLY knows something we don’t.
GNOOT is an HISTORIAN!
Does everyone in America giggle every time Santorum utters the word “bottom”?
@ 9
Hmm, fraudian slip maybe? It would go a long way in explaining that facial expression he constantly maintains. Perhaps he’s a little itchy. I wonder how many twinks the mans got locked up in his basement.
I thought it was interesting that Newts pants caught on fire with his very first answer. I suppose that is the beauty of being an historian. You get to rewrite history.
Mitt wakes up the crowd with the laugh line “self deportation”, then again calls for a National ID card.
Gawd, Willard is just stoopid.
Fred Thompson Endorses Newt Gingrich
Guess Fred is pissed at the GOP because he was not handed the nomination during his napping in 2008.
If Gnoot gets the nomination he’ll debate the president 7 times for 3 hours apiece, putting the entire nation asleep in time for the election.
Newt’s to constipated looking to be president.
@ 16
Thats what they said about Richard Nixon.
The clear take away from this debate is that Rick Perry makes Republican debates far more interesting. They all say incredibly stupid things, but Gov Goodhair was stupid with flair.
“Mitt, again, claims that the ‘Navy is smaller than any time since 1917.'”
Apart from factual accuracy issue, one of today’s Navy ships packs the firepower and mission capability of, oh, let’s say four to eight 1917-vintage fleets.
Okay, so, Gnoot wins S.C. and Fla. and that prolly makes him the nominee, ya know? Mr. Presumptive Nominee will have to go home as an also-ran (again). And the Stoopid demographic will vote for Gnoot after Obama takes him apart, piece by little piece, in the debates. I’m pretty sure we’re looking at a second Obama term, folks.
Europe’s Biggest Refiner Bankrupt
Wait a minute! How can anyone go broke by selling gasoline? Here’s how:
“The group fell foul of … a high debt load that was a result of its private equity-backed acquisition-based business model.”
http://www.cnbc.com/id/46111256
Roger Rabbit Commentary: Hey, isn’t that Mitt’s business model? You know, the guy who says he should be president because of his business experience?
(This message is brought to you by a reality-based rabbit.)
Wisconsin Update
A former top aide of Scott Walker is facing felony charges of embezzling $21,000 from a veteran’s fund and using the money for personal vacations.
http://www.todaystmj4.com/news.....76603.html
Roger Rabbit Commentary: From a veteran’s fund, for Great Mother Rabbit Spirit’s sake!!! Have you no shame, sir? Have you no shame?
Let’s review: obama’s economy is in shambles, unemployment still above 8%, Gitmo still open, a mere $535 million error in judgement with Solyndra, F & F not resolved, 52 % of the population doesn’t want obamacare, & Keystone XL Pipeline on hold. I guess you guys still believe in the Easter Bunny too….
@ 23
Your point being….?
It is’t Obamas economy, it is a economic conservatives economy. You don’t fix 30 years of systematic looting overnight, especially when the looters party holds Congress. To blame the man who took office in the middle of the collapse and largest series of bank runs in history is just a little disingenuous, don’t you think?
# 22: re: Scott Walker’s aid embezzling money from veteran’s funds.
1. This is news? It’s like “dog bites man”. We’ve come to expect nothing less from the Republicans.
2. He got caught because he wasn’t doing it right. He should have paid more attention to the Cheney/Romney strategies. First, set up private out-sourced contractor to perform services for the veteran’s fund. Second, make sure the contract allows the contractor to bill the veteran’s fund for, well, anything as an “overage”. Third, the contractor out-sources the services again to a sloppy third-party, preferably one which uses undocumented alians as labor, and pays them pennies on the dollar. Fourth, when the veteran’s fund goes broke, find another victim and do it all over again.
That’s how Republicans have been looting charities and the U.S. government charities for years, and getting away with it.
I love the link, deconstructing Romney’s claim that the President has presided over the decline of the U.S. military. A great quote from that article:
Of course, Romney is trying to gloss over the fact that Republican Pres. George W. Bush did more to damage the U.S. military than any other President in modern memory, making some incredibly stupid mistakes which defied conventional common sense:
1. He placed U.S. troops into what was essentially a civil war between religious factions in the middle east.
2. He removed a regime in a critical oil-rich area with no plan for what was to follow, and even (through his defense secty) threatened to sack any general who even asked if there was such a plan;
3. He proceeded with the planned invasion of Iraq even after Turkey denied the use of it’s bases to attack Iran from the North, and Saudi Arabia denied the use of it’s bases for an attack from the west.
4. He proceeded with the planned invasion even after repeated warnings that he didn’t have enough “boots on the ground” to properly occupy Iraq.
5. He put American soldiers and Marines in urban combat situations where the primary vehicle was unarmoured humvees and even proper kevlar helmets and body armor were in short supply.
6. He out-sourced much of the logistics support for U.S. troops, resulting in civilian contractors getting blown up by IUDs on Iraqi highways and G.I.s showering in toxic water.
7. He insisted on maintaining two wars halfway across the war (Afganistan and Iraq) while cutting taxes, resulting in an explosion of the federal deficit which he temporarily hid by making war spending “off-budget”.
I could go on, but it just gets too depressing.
1%er Robert Redford sickens me.
The Sundance Film Festival is overrun by big Corporate Sponsors and wealthy 1%er celebrities, yet this idiot tries to pretend it’s not.
“Robert Redford may think Sundance reflects ‘the 99 percent,’ but while his heart is in the right place, I’m not sure he can even begin to fathom how hard it is for an average person to gain access to his elite world,” said Los Angeles-based pop culture and entertainment expert Jenn Hoffman. “It’s true that independent filmmakers still have a chance at securing funding through the festival, but even the so-called indie studios still are looking for ‘names’ to star in even the smallest films and are scouting for new movies they think will bring them the largest financial gain.”
President Obama has strong support from about 22% and strong dislike from about 40%.
The fight is over the remaining 38%.
Do the math.
Obama desperately needs to appeal to people’s lowest level, envy. Wanting something for nothing. It might work. It’s all he has, that and using surrogates to try and blame the R’s.
Time will tell. It’s amazing Obama has not risen in the polls considering the Republican Debate Circus. I think it means Obama has a whole lot of folks pissed off at him.
$15,2 TRILLION Debt. From the same guy who said $9 TRILLION was horrifying.
Obama desperately needs to appeal to people’s lowest level, envy. Wanting something for nothing.
Righhhht. Project much?
So you agree that rural counties shouldn’t be sucking away tax money from richer urban counties?
So you agree that corporations should not be getting corporate welfare?
So you are in favor of toll roads?
So you agree that the 1% need to pay their taxes?
So you are in favor of ending Social Security for your parents if they live too long and they take out more than they paid in?
The only thing President Obama needs to do is connect with the common sense of the American people, and allow them to reach a rational conclusion on what is best for the majority of Americans.
Republican nominees like Gingrich hope that they can avoid discussing policy on a substantive basis because they know that the facts are against them. Instead, they will try to shout the President down with name-calling and throwing out lies so fast that the Democrats don’t have time to dispell them fast enough.
Interesting that Ron Paul reverts to the “I have no plans to do that” deflection. Not a simple “yes” or “no”, just saying that he isn’t planning to do so – at least, not right now.
It leaves the door open.
Hey, I think Ron Paul should go for it! He should garner all those people who want to do away with the Federal Reserve, Social Security and Medicaid, and every other symbol of progress in America over the past hundred years.
Splitting the Republican vote would do wonders in the swing state. Heck, even Texas might be in play!
@23 Let’s re-review: Conservatives are lying sacks of shit.
http://thepoliticalcarnival.ne.....h-returns/
238, 29 – Just what this blog doesn’t need … another troll pretending to be an ex-Democrat. Of course, given how rancid the GOP has become, it’s not surprising that no one wants to admit ever being a Republican …
# 34: Well, at least it gives us someone to kick around for a while. The last few trolls haven’t been around much lately, I guess they got tired of getting pummeled by logic and facts and ran away.
It would be nice if we could get some rational intellegent, trolls. But by definition, that excludes virtually all Republicans, and certainly all of the Tea Party types.
@35 “It would be nice if we could get some rational intellegent, trolls.”
If wishes were fishes. Alas, the best we can come up with is a self-loathing black loon and a Dumbfuck Klown.
@24 Kind of strange that you only go back 30 years, when if you go back 40 years the story changes quite a bit. Disingenuous you say? No, just a different perspective when the beginning started.
@35 I am here, have at it…Please!
@37. How far back do you want to go? This far enough back for yah?
@38. Feel free to start commenting.
# 39: How come the trolls keep insisting that we discuss what they want to discuss? Can’t they do the research and analysis themselves?
A while I read an article by a fellow who was making quite a bit of money writing papers for college students. He said that the majority of his customers were rich kids who simply preferred to hire others to do the work for them. He commented that it seemed appropriate, as these kids already had their futures assured working in the family business or industry, and the skills they needed were the ability to assign tasks, communicate their needs, bargain for the lowest price possible, and then pay for the results. As for any other skills – well, they can always hire somebody else to do that for them.
The way our trolls seem to insist that we do our work for them makes me think that they were among his customers.
Dude, when these frat boys in Boston had their apartment building catch on fire rather than calling 911 they called their moms. The fire department learned of the fire from some kid’s mom.