17 November 2015

Republican National Debate 11-10-2015 // I watched so you don’t have to


The fourth republican national debate was held last night at in Wisconsin hosted by Fox Business channel.

First some house cleaning. I think I will not write about the democratic debates because for all intense and purposes the democratic primary is over. I’ll still watch but really what’s the point? So unless something huge happens I’ll report it but if not consider it over.

Now to last night.
There were 3 moderators and 8 candidates with questions for over 2 hours. This debate was presented as the serious economic debate compared to the fiasco that was the CNBC debate.  It did not fail to deliver in one of the best debates so far in either party.
The moderators did not ask softball question and kept things mostly on track as best they can with 8 people with huge egos running for the highest office in the land.  The candidates were in general more relaxed across the board.

Carrying on….
Put this music on in the background when you read this….

Trump: Weak, rambling, flat.  One would think this would be Trumps strong suit last night.  After all this is an economic debate that is should be a slam dunk for Trump. But last night I feel his performance was Trumps at his worst.  Lots of people like me because I’m a winner is not policy. This guy said my tax plan is great is not policy. Trust me is not a policy.  This only thing I liked is when Trump said he would not agree to a TPP trade agreement but he would make trade deals with the individual counties instead made sense.  It would take forever to pull off but it’s not a bad idea.  On one hand Trump said we need the greatest military in the world but we need to not spend so much on the military and “invest” in infrastructure.  Which is it?  Not sure there.  Trump basically handed the middle east to Putin last night.  Which in my eyes is the continuation of the Obama foreign policy of lead from behind or don’t lead at all.  I really didn’t get a sense that Trump knew what he was saying last night?  Maybe he was tired? Trump proved that he cannot handle this job and all the platitudes in the world and repeating how great we’re going to be over and over is not going to help.  Even his shots at Kasich were dull and ineffective.  His I’ll build a wall even got snickers from the audience.  Look for Carson to start beating him in the polls going forward.  The Trump decline is starting   

Bush: Better but still dorky. One could tell that this was Bush’s redemption debate.  He didn’t hit it out of the park but he didn’t strike out either. It felt like Bush has changed his plan of attack. He completely lost when he tried to go after Rubio in the last debate, so now he’s going to leave that to his super Pac going forward. Bush was successful by shifting his attack to Hillary and Obama.  Smart move on Bush’s part.  Focus on Hillary, act like the front runner and hope Rubio implodes.  It’s worth a try, but it may be too little too late. Where he just doesn’t get it is when he tries to portray himself as anti-establishment.  Really? You’re a legacy long shot at best.  Bush is better than the other establishment candidate Kasich because at least Bush doesn’t say it out loud that his for big government and pathway to citizenship.  Bush was at his best when he stuck to policy and worst when he went off script to take a jab to someone.  It felt rehearsed and plastic.  Here’s something the chew on.  Hillary comes across as more likable and human than Bush.  Hillary would win if Bush is the nominee. Because she’s more likable then Bush.  Yes I said it.   He did ask a very important question last night that I would love to see all the candidates answer in depth.  “What does American leadership look like”  Trump is not what American leadership looks like.  Keep asking yourself that question as this going on. It’s hugely important going on.   I know I will.

Carson: Solid. Carson made no mistakes last night and had the more to gain by a strong showing.  Carson way out shined Trump as the outsider candidate. He put to bed any doubt about what has been said about his past by redirecting any question of trustworthiness to Hillary.  I still don’t see him as my president though .  Yes he explained his tax policy in a way that shut Trump up.  Needs more details but it’s a start and way better than some guy told me it would be great.  He’s right that our money belongs to us first and we are better spenders of our money than the government would ever be. Carson feels that people will give more to charity if we are allowed to keep more of our money?   Hillary and Burnie does not think your money belongs to you but to the government first.  Don’t believe me?  Then why does Hillary want to tax you even after your dead with the estate tax?  So with the democrats it’s the only certain thing in life is death and taxes and more taxes after death? When Carson is in charge of health and human services I expect great things from him.  

Cruz: Strong, steady, confidant trusting.  Cruz was challenged on his flat tax plan and how he was going to pay for it?  Which Cruz side stepped quite well but did answer in detail when pushed. I really hate when moderators ask how are you going to pay for a tax cut?  It’s our money! By not feeding the government were keeping our money!  Cruz got into it with Kasich about bailing out the big to huge to fail banks.  Cruz would not bail them out but Kasich would.  Cruz wants smaller community banks to grow there by helping small business grow because they’re the ones who need the loans that the big banks won’t supply.  Cruz has the chops to stay in it for the long term and he is steady on his feet in a way that Rubio was not last night. He’s good but if he was the nominee Cruz would be labeled as extremist because he believes in God and the power of the Constitution. Strange that believing in the Constitution and separated and limited powers is considered extreme by the democrats?

Rubio: Serious, solid, trusting but not a stand out.  Rubio was challenged by Paul in a way that he’s never been challenged before in a debate.  How can you be conservative and spend like crazy in defense?  Paul believes you can’t be both and called Rubio out on it.  Rubio went Trump and shut him down with the no economic security without a strong military.  Nice but Paul did have a point and it was a great exchange between two very different views on conservativism.  Which brings me to the point of you would never see a substantive economic debate between the democrats like what transpired last night.  What would they going to argue about?  Who’s going to spend and tax more. Or who’s going to grow the government more?  Never would happen.  I still like Rubio very much but he needs to stay focused.  He could be the last one standing to be the republican nominee and the one to win over Hillary in the general.  I would fully support a Rubio Presidency.

Paul: Way better.  Paul has the nothing to lose comfort of a candidate who has no chance of winning.  He can say what he wants and make his stand where he wants and yesterday he took his shot at Rubio.  Did it move the needle in his favor, most likely not. However, he does represent the libertarian wing of the party and the rest would be fools to discount him and the power of his supporters. Whoever the nominee is will need Paul’s supporters to win.   Paul was great when he said if you want to see income inequality at it greatest look towards democratically run cities and states.  Bam!   Can’t really argue with that.  Also he is a strong opponent of the FED.  He feels the fed is at most of the economic problems of the country.  At this point he’s running for reelection to the senate.   Maybe he’ll drop to the undercard soon.

Kasich: Grumpy…still.  Kasich is either running to be Hillary’s VP or he fishing for the token republican appointment in Hillary’s administration.  All he’s doing is complaining that the other candidates don’t understand how things work in Washington and he does.  Kasich is someone the democrats can work with and that’s all I need to know.  He could be the establishment replacement to Bush but no one cares enough to drop big money on him.  He revealed that he equates success with greed. Nice in a republican primary.  I have no use for him and he should either drop to the undercard or drop altogether. He most likely will after New Hampshire.


Fiorina: Strong. Direct. Specific and detailed. Carley had a strong performance last night but like Rubio was not really a stand out either.  She know her stuff and had a change in strategy by calling herself as “President Fiorina” I would do this or that.  As President I would say this.  This is a change for her to try to make her stand out in a field of very strong candidates.  Great move because if everyone tried this after her they would look bad.  She need to reveal her plan to take the tax code to 3 pages. Great but need details.  Wouldn’t mind a national security advisor Fiorina to president Rubio.  But as we go further the outsider candidates will fade.  She’ll be in until super Tuesday next year.  

Big Winners:  Carson, Rubio & Cruz
Winner: Bush, Paul
Push:  Fiorina
Loser: Kasich
Big loser: Trump


We’re less than a year away so things are going to start picking up.  Look for more attacks on Rubio, Carson & Cruz as the establishment tries to take them out.  Look for Carson to overpass Trump and for Rubio to gain in the polls while picking up endorsements as Bush slowly fades.


Until the next time…..

29 October 2015

Republican National Debate 10-28-2015 // I watched so you don’t have to


The third republican national debate was held last night at University of Colorado in Boulder hosted by CNBC

There were 3 moderators and 11 candidates with questions for 2.5 hours. This debate was supposed to focus on economic policy titled “Your Money Your Vote” but it really turned out to be “Our bias is ready for Hillary and that’s going to be your problem”
This debate was competing with the world series so I guess the ratings will be a little lower than the previous 2 debates.  But as I watched I kept saying to myself the same thing over and over.  There is no way these questions would be asked in democratic debate. For 2 reasons. First; why bother asking the current democratic field substantive economic questions?  When the answer would be we need to grow the government, spend more and tax more. No thought needed. Second: The media would never think about asking got cha questions to Hillary.  It’s just a fact that republicans have to deal with andtonight I think they did very well.

And away we go….
Put this music on in the background when you read this….

Trump: Better, firm, vague, on point, funny all the same time.  Trump needs to get past the platitudes and this was his chance. Instead of telling us who thinks his tax plan is so great why not tell us more about the plan and let us decide.  It’s time Trump, we’re less than 100 day to Iowa, we’re past the it’s going to be great just trust me part of the campaign.  Trump destroyed Kasich when he told him there’s a reason you’re at the far side of the stage.  Going into the remaining debates Trump just needs to not make any major mistakes and he’ll still most likely stay the front runner. Question is will people actually vote for him or just use him to be the sounding board of the pissed off republican base until someone like Rubio or Cruz takes over?  Interesting that Trump went after super PAC’s? That seemed out of place, but it is a swipe at Bush who has the largest super pac of the bunch. Trump will continue to be hit hard on his filing for bankruptcy 4 times.  It’s really one of the few things he can get hit on.  But his answer of hey everybody rich files at one point or another so what’s the big deal is a cop out, but it’s also hard to argue with.

Bush: Weak, unsteady, confused, time to go but he won’t.  Bush it turning into what he truly is a has been ex-governor with no chance of getting elected.  Bush tried to portray himself as the establishment outsider????  Oh I’m an outsider who’s going to Washington to shake things up.  Does anyone really think that Bush would go to Washington to shake things up??  NOT.  Watching Bush I don’t get the feeling that he believes in what he is saying. I think his heart is just not in this.   He tried to take a swipe at Rubio but it just felt rehearsed and stiff.  Like I was given this line by my handlers and I’m just waiting to use it.  He has nothing to offer the base and my guess is he’s has the money to stay in it with the hopes of waiting out the competition. However, I kept asking myself why is he still running?  Bush gave me nothing to answer that.  Need to drop but won’t because he is establishments last hope.

Huckabee: Calm, direct, googly eye.  Yes he has a googly eye and that’s all I could focus on when he was talking. No chance of winning so I’ll stop right there.  Let’s face it he’s one of 6 that should drop out because after last night there are only 4 people with a chance on the nomination and he’s not one of them.

Carson: Humble, on point, direct.  Carson is getting to be a better candidate with each debate, he had to look strong last night and he did.  One can understand why he is growing and leading in some polls.  By his nature he is a problem solver who would make a great secretary of health and human services. However, if he was president I don’t think Putin would know how to deal with him.   Carson has the confidence of a leader without the arrogance of Trump.  The left would not know how to deal with him as president as well and that would be fun to watch.  An African American who’s not a democrat and a conservative no less???  WWWWHHHAATTT?   Carson best line is when he said he believes that the constitution protects all people but he believes marriage should be between a man and a woman and there’s no reason you can’t be fair to the gay community.  OH MY GOD!!!   The question from the moderator was basically how can you be on a gay friendly companies board and still be a republican?  Look for him to be called a homophobe all day today. 

Cruz: Strong, steady, confidant.  Cruz is a flat taxer which I like a lot.  He is a fighter who has gone toe to toe with his own party in ways that no other candidate has done. Last night he took the media to the woodshed by calling out the moderators for the blatant bias they showed during the debate.   I would like to see a president Cruz go after the democrats and make the establishment squirm at the same time.   If you want someone to truly shake up Washington elect Cruz. I haven’t endorsed anyone yet but Cruz could be my guy.  Cruz did address so called income inequality which is a touch point for the left. He knows the constitution better than anyone on stage and if elected there is no way he would be pulling the stuff Obama did or as Hillary defiantly will.  Last night proved he’s in the top 4 and here to stay. He’s the dark horse in this race. Cruz scares both parties because he would actually try to reduce the size of the government and both parties know it. 

Rubio: Serious. On point, confident, dare I say Presidential.  Last night Rubio took it from all sides and came out ahead. He stamped down questions about pulling out retirement money to pay off loans as being immature. Fail. Lots’ of normal Americans face those same decisions every day and it only makes them look bad for asking.  The Bush tried and failed to call out Rubio as an absentee senator and asked him to resign. Rubio schooled Bush, making Bush look foolish and that’s about the 3rd time I asked myself why is Bush still running?  Rubio is the tortoise in this race and is onl getting better in each debate. I really don’t think Rubio get any lower in the polls then he is now. If/when Carson & Trump fall in the polls and Bush looks like he’s done Rubio stands to win the most. Rubio is my other choice as winning my endorsement. 

Paul: Who cares.  Sorry but you need to drop and focus on the senate where you can do the most good

Christie: Likeable, personable.  Christie’s comment about why are we talking about fantasy football when were 19 trillion dollars in debt and ISIS is trying to kill us was a great line.  Christie always looks directly at the camera, trying to talk over the moderators and talk directly to the American people is endearing but not very effective.  Reagan was the only politician to pull that off and Christie is no Reagan.  But he should drop soon.  Most likely after Iowa or after super Tuesday.

Kasich: Grumpy.  Kasich is trying to be the most reasonable guy in the room.  Look all you people I’m the only one who knows how Washington works so you better elect me. Everything else is just a fantasy.  Trump pretty much shut him up when he said Kasich was a boss at Lehman brothers that almost took the whole country down.  In other words sit down and shut you because no one cares what you say. What Kasich is really saying is I’m a go along republican to “get stuff done”  the democrats like him which is all I really need to know about him.  Although he may be the middle of the road candidate some people may like because they just can’t support Bush so he may be in longer than I would like.  Plus I hate his mannerisms. The arms flaying about is weird and distracting.

Fiorina: Strong. Direct. Specific. As usual Carly did not disappoint however, she did nothing to stand out either.  Her best line was when she said bigger government leads to bigger crony capitalism which leads to hurting of rest of the country. So true.  She has a lot to offer and it would be fun to see her debate Hillary but as president?  I just can’t see it.  She’ll get hit hard on her tenure at HP if she’s the nominee like the left hit Romney as a rich out of touch job killer. We’ve lost before with someone like this and the base will not let it happen again.  She’ll be in past Iowa into super Tuesday but not long after that.

Big Winners and my final four: Trump, Carson, Rubio & Cruz
Push:  Fiorina, Christie
Losers: Kasich, Paul, Huck
Big loser: Bush

The next debate needs to take a hard look at who really needs to be on the stage and who doesn’t .
My guess is about 5-6 of these need to drop and the second tier needs to altogether drop now.

Until the next time…..

Next Republican debate: 11/10
Next Democratic  debate: 11/14

14 October 2015

Democratic National Debate 10-13-2015 // I watched so you don’t have too


The first Democratic national debate took place last night in Las Vegas hosted by CNN.
Anderson Cooper moderated with 3 sidebar questionnaires which were in all respects useless and added nothing to the debate.
The opening credits leading up to the debate were something out of a WWF fight night. Completely un-needed and to showy in my opinion.

Without further adieu let’s begin…  


Hillary: Experienced with a side of smug, loud talker, victim.  Without a doubt this is hers to lose and she know it. After last night’s performance by her competitors I agree. Apparently Hillary is a woman and for that fact alone she’s an outsider. Really?? 3 key point about her performance last night where she failed to take a firm position. 1. She did not take a position on legalizing  Marijuana. 2. Hillary did not specifically state what the greatest threat to the United States is. 3. Hillary did not state how she would be different that a 3rd Obama term. Other that being a woman. All the other candidates did give specific  answers.  She played it safe there when she didn’t have to.  Not a big deal but it speaks to leadership. Question is how would Hillary’s performance been different if Biden was on the stage? She didn’t have a believable reply when it came to her countless flip flopping. Bernie should have jumped all over this but he didn’t.   She’ll win the nomination for sure unless the FBI finds something so bad that even the justice department can’t cover it up.  She did good but given the company she’ll have to do a lot better to defeat the republicans. Hillary called for a new “New Deal” for minorities last night. Would love to hear what’s all that about. Too bad no one in the press will follow up on her statement. She said she’s not running on her name and she’s not going to rely on her name to get elected…just her being a “Woman” should be enough. But I’m a victim because the republicans are out to get me.

Burnie: Loud talker, believable, Socialist, populist. Sander is the number two guy for a reason.  He’s the socialist version of Ron Paul.  He has a strong appeal to the youth that Hillary just can’t replicate. My guess is Bernie has been giving the same speech and had the same positions for the last 30 years. Hillary could never say that.  Maybe Cruz could on the republican side but that’s about it.  Bernie all but endorsed Hillary when he gave her cover on the email scandal. The media is cheering this today when Bernie said enough already about the damn emails.  However this could turn out to be a bad thing for Hillary.
On the one hand it gave the democrats red meat which played very well to the in house audience. However, on the other hand for the viewer who just turned and doesn’t follow this stuff like I do, they may say to themselves “What email scandal”? Then in turn start looking into this and find things they don’t like about her such as all the lies, double talk and the ever changes stories of Hillary.  He’ll never win but he is pulling Hillary way left. So watch Hillary flip flop yet again in the general election.  Yes it’s all about Hillary.

O’Malley: Rehearsed, soft-spoken & neck twerking: First the neck twerking was driving me crazy. His head poked around like a bird looking for food. He had the most to gain but he failed to impress. Yes he ticks all the democratic boxes. Hates the rich, only black lives matter, climate change is real and it’s our fault, who loves high taxes??? I do, I do, no war democrat.  But who cares? I don’t, I don’t.   He looked like he was reading talking points not speaking from a position of confidence. Maybe a VP or cabinet position  but that would be a stretch  Added nothing to the debate. Should drop soon. If Biden gets in he’ll drop sooner.

Webb: Reagan democrat, only vet in the race, stiff, no chance.  Webb is the only democrat on stage to directly kill someone, a plus in my book. Webb is an old school dem.  Strong on defense & pro labor.  But he completely blew any chance when he made the fatal  mistake or the cardinal sin in a democratic debate of saying that ALL LIVES MATTER.  So he’s done.  Plus he looked like he was trying to hold in the biggest fart of his life. He should and will drop soon.

Chafee: WOW, why and good bye.  Chafee major policy is bringing the metric system to America.  The poor guy basically said he didn’t know why he voted for something while he was in the senate. The best he came up with is that he didn’t know what he was doing because his father passed away right before he went into office.  Cooper pushed him on this but I think even Cooper backed off because it was so bad.  Just do yourself a favor and drop while you can.

Winners: Hillary & Bernie
Losers: The other three. who cares what their names are no one else does
Push/Loser: Biden. 

Closing thoughts: It did look like a senior citizen tour just left the free buffet from Circus Circus when the candidates took the stage.  Democrats are the old white person party this time around.  Hillary said it the best when she said we all want the same things it’s just how we get there that is the difference.  By we all want the same things are, all 5 want to tax the rich… a lot, free collage paid for by taxing the rich (except Hillary who at least want collage kids to work no more than 10 hours a week & tax the rich), fix climate change by taxing the rich, fix the infrastructure by taxing the rich, fix income inequality by taxing the rich, Fix the tax code by taxing the rich,   completely eliminate illegal aliens by making everyone citizens as soon as the cross the border plus the 11-15 million that are already here, (except Webb who actually said a county need borders so again he’s done). No talk about the economy. Oh and all were calling for health care for everybody but forget to mention Obama care which guarantees health care for everybody. Interesting data point on that. So then it means that universal health care cannot be far behind if a dem get elected.  My question for the next debate would be would you keep Obama care or what proposal would you put forth as a plan that would be better?

Biden needs to get in or endorse Hillary and be done this it.  I would love to see him get in.  Hillary is weak on so many issue that Biden could really get a shot at winning the nomination if he pressed her on the issues.

Closing thought II: If the democrats do not win the White House who do they have in the bull pen for 2020?  I really can’t think of anyone except Warren?  Another big problem for the democrats

Until the next time…

18 September 2015

Republican National Debate 9-16-2015 // I watched so you don’t have too


The second republican national debate was held last night at Reagan Library in California hosted by CNN news.
There were 3 moderators and 11 candidates with questions for 3 hours. I did not like the attention getting ploy from CNN for try to generate fights between the candidates. This is the last debate before the Democratic debate in October so I wanted to see policy not personality.
We need to start seeing what are the policy differences NOT who can take a jab at Trump for better ratings.  This is serious, the country needs a leader who can govern, fix the absolute mess Obama is leaving the country & honor the constitution. Not play games.
The republicans still have the advantage because there are choices but we need to get down to 6-8 strong candidates pretty soon. However, I have no doubt that the next president was on that stage last night.

Okay let’s get to it….

Trump: Same old, same old. As soon as Trump stops being Trump he’ll go down in the polls.  That being said, he really had nothing to offer last night in regards to policy.  Is the smoke clearing in regards to what he wants to do? Yes. Is he starting to get over his head? Yes. The first debate he commanded the stage. Last night he was just there playing it safe.  Even his so called zingers were not effective. Then today he’ll be out throwing mud to stay in the media’s eye to take away from his flat performance last night.  Smart move but will it be enough to stay in front to get the nomination?  
The honeymoon is starting to end for Trump now that were into the fall. Informed voters are waking up and starting to take notice. They are fed up with the establishment republicans who like Obama promised the world but delivered nothing. However, I don’t think it will be enough to bring Trump into the White House. What Trump has been good for is that he’s taken the Republican Party completely out of its comfort zone. For that I am grateful to him.

Bush: Better, but not by much. Still unsteady. Not presidential.  Bush to me looks like the little brother who finally got noticed to the dinner table. After he finished his statement he had this look on his face like “I’ve been waiting to say that for a while and I finally got my chance” Can you remember anything Bush said last night?  No?   Me either.    If he wasn’t a Bush he would be no better than Kasich, Christie, or Walker. Worse even because he was a Governor more than 10 years ago so he should be on the B stage.  Money is the only thing that’s going to keep him going well into next year. I for one would not like him debating against Hillary or Biden or Sanders for that matter.  Would you?  

Walker: Sliding (for now). I still like Walker and he has a more appealing record to conservatives than the other Governors on stage. But his appeal is slipping as of late but I still think he’ll have a strong showing in Iowa.  The format of the debate did not lend well for showcasing Walkers record.  If you didn’t have something bad to say about Trump it was tough to have any screen time last night.  He’ll need to up his game and get some traction in the polls and do better in the October debate or support will continue to slide.  


Huckabee: Better. Huck is a man of his convictions there is no doubt about that. As President he needs to hold the constitution above all else. Yes you can have your religious beliefs and the constitution protects that.  However, we do not need another President who just does sh%t because he doesn’t agree with the law. We cannot act outside the constitution just because we feel like it. I’m not confidant the Huck wouldn’t do that. Like the consumption tax idea. I also like that most candidates want to take on tax reform instead of the democratic idea of just raising taxes.

Carson: Walking softly. There is no doubt that Carson is a very smart guy. But try as I might I still don’t see him as president.

Cruz: Spoke directly to the viewer.  Not enough air time for Cruz. He along with Rubio are my top picks to get my endorsement. Cruz would come out on top in a debate with Biden probably better that Rubio would. Cruz is steady and does not get upset easily which is a good quality for a president. He has a deep respect for the constitution and is best suited to standing up to his own party for the good of the country. Want to hear more policy from him.

Rubio: Serious. He could do the job. I haven’t made my pick yet but I like Rubio.  His getting better with each debate, he knows his stuff and is optimistic about the country is a more genuine way then Trumps “Make America Great Again” BS.  I would like to see him against any Democratic candidate. He’s young, knowledgeable, and conservative while still appealing to the general public/establishment republicans.  He’s a top contender and defiantly a top 2 contender in my book

Paul: Better. Sorry but it’s time for Paul to back down. He’s just not what the country is looking for now. He does have appeal when it comes to states’ rights and he is for a smaller government but the non-intervention lite foreign policy not what we need right now. 

Christie: Trying very hard.  He had a good showing and has a plainspoken ease about him. I see him as the alternative to Bush but not good enough for the nomination.  He does add to the debate in his call for action on entitlement issues which will need to addressed by the next president for sure. If Rubio picks up that mantel he’ll be a better balanced candidate.  Too little too late for Christie.


Kasich: Who Cares? Looked easily flustered.  A moderate who is afraid to stand up to congress and shut down the government if needed.  If he was President and there was a democratic congress would he just bend over and give in because he doesn’t have the guts to stand up to them.  Yes he would.  He looked out of sort and fakes angry when talking about the Iran deal with Cruz.  A pushover who needs to go.

Fiorina: Strong. Direct. Specific. She was the only candidate to give real substantive details about what she would do as president. If she could have pulled out a map of the middle east and pointed to where she would place troops she would have.  She really was impressive last night and deserves to be a top contender.  She would easily hold her own against Hillary. She is unafraid to give specifics about any subject. Fiorina really was heartfelt when she talked about the personal toll drugs have on a family. That cannot be faked or questioned.  Want to see more of her as this goes on.  


Winners: Rubio,  Fiorina
Losers: Bush, Huck, Kasich, Christie, Paul, Walker
Push: Trump, Carson, Cruz


**********UNDERCARD DEBATE EARILER IN THE DAY***************


I’ll be brief……
I’m done with them…..
Fellas drop out. Please.

This still is Trumps to lose.

First Democratic debate 10/13
Next Republican debate 10/28.

That’s it for now…..

08 August 2015

Republican National Debate 8-6-2015 // I watched so you don’t have to


The first republican national debate was held last night at the Ohio Arena in Cleveland hosted by FOX news.
There were 3 moderators and 10 candidates with questions for 2 hours. I’ll comment on the under-card 7 remaining candidates who didn’t make the “top 10” event below. But there is a few that need some attention and I’ll get to them later.
First of all I do agree that there are a lot of candidates. However, with this number of candidates you get a great many choices. Something the democrats do NOT have is choice at least for now Hillary is it.  Advantage Republicans. This is no clown car that the media and the left is trying to portray them.

Okay let’s get to it….

Trump: He wanted to come off as the outsider private sector expert who has all the answers on how to fix things. He came off as an inexperienced buffoon who is pandering to stay afloat. Which brings me to my comparison to Obama.  Obama was successful because he was everything to everybody, intent is just as good as results candidate. Trump is trying to be that kind of candidate but he just can’t get outside himself and deliver. He will fade but I don’t think he’ll go gentle into that good night.   I for one am surprised of the success of Trump but I do agree with him that republican leadership has failed to deliver the results we elected them for. Trump is out for Trump like Hillary is only out for Hillary. His poll numbers will drop but he’ll be the front runner for a while.  He’ll last into the new year but he will not be the nominee. Comments as I was watching Trump: Pandering, Jokes to deflect, not politically correct, plays the victim

 Bush: Yes we all understand that you’re not your brother.  But your problem is your brother which is something the public may not get over. However, you are the establishment candidate with the biggest war chest outside of Trump.  Bush stumbled on the question of the Iraq war and would you support it knowing what you know now. He looked weak like he didn’t want to hurt his families feelings while trying to be strong.  Didn’t work.  Like it or not he’s an open boarder, common core guy. I don’t think his record in Florida which is a good record of tax cutting and job growth will be enough for true conservatives to support him.  Bush looked uneasy at times but that could be because he hasn’t debated is a long time. He’ll get stronger over time and might even be the nominee (Hope Not) Comments as I was watching Bush: Hey look at me I’m a conservative. Hey look at me I’m not my brother, empty, uneasy and bored.

Walker: I like Walker and I think he would make a good president. He was solid last night and gave good answers. He looked directly at the camera trying to make a connection with the viewers at home, something the other candidates didn’t bother to do. However, he really did nothing to make himself stand out from a crowded field. He has a strong conservative record. He defunded planned parenthood 4 years ago so he’s ahead of the curve there. He cut unemployment and gave workers choice.  He gave local school boards power to make financial decisions saving tax payers money. He’s been fully vetted because of his three elections.  He’s appealing as a collage drop out with middle class beginnings.  Hillary will have a tough time trying to exploit the drop out issue.  Walker will be a top contender for a long time and may be able to best Jeb for the nominee.  Comments on Walker: Solid, concise, America needs to be a leader again.

Huckabee: Had his chance but is hoping to capture the Christian vote and stay in it for as long as he can. Huckabee is too much of a smooth talker for my liking. Very anti-abortion to the point of using the equal protection and due process clauses of the constitution to stop abortions. Huck looked and acted angry as a way to convey leadership.  To me he looked like an angry old man who doesn’t understand what’s going on all he knows is that he doesn’t like it.  I do like the fair tax on consumption as part of his platform.  The tax code desperately needs to be reformed and I like that Huck is at least addressing it. But that’s all I like about him so far.  Comments on Huck: Old, out of touch, Angry.

Carson:  It’s hard not to like Carson. He’s smart, soft spoken and not a politician and has a great back story. However, he does not have a chance of being president. Carson would make a great head of health and human services under the next republican president. He has lack of depth on foreign affairs and I cannot see him squaring off against Putin and coming out ahead. He has a 3 level flat fax proposal that I want to hear more about. Carson finished strong but I see him dropping down to the second tier candidates by the end of the year and out shortly after Iowa. Comments on Carson: soft spoken, confidant, outsider.

Cruz: I really like Cruz. He would destroy Hillary in a debate. Cruz is my pick to restoring the republic. The firewalls put in place by the framers have all but been burning down by Obama and Cruz would be the best to get the country re-attached to the constitution. He is a true conservative and just for the fact that the republican leadership in the senate is afraid of him is a plus for me.  He has put the constitution and the betterment of the country in front of party and that says to me he’d make a great president.  I think he truly gets that the president is a temporary steward of the constitution and not a rock star who looks to Hollywood for affirmation when things get tough. I did notice that Cruz did not get a lot of questions to the point that I thought he was shut out of the debate for a good 30+ minutes. If Trump drops out Cruz will likely gain his supporters. So that being said I think he has a strong chance to be it to the end. Comments on Cruz: Smart, truthful, insider-outsider within his own party, fighter.

Rubio: I think Rubio can balance the establishment and conservative mantle and be a great president. He has a great back story as a son of immigrants to a run for the white house. He is optimistic and future thinking and portrays America as we have better days to come. Kind of Reagan like love of country. Rubio looked strong without looking angry like Huck did. He is a conservative but his immigration bill may haunt him going into the primaries. I think he may be a great running mate as well to a Walker or Perry (more on him later).   Rubio is young but that is not a bad thing. Republicans needs a youth make over and Rubio may be able to make that happen.  He’s in it for the long run and I see him moving up in the polls as time goes on.  Comments of Rubio:  Future looking, solid, strong, young, go the distance.

Paul:  He’s getting lost on a big field. He’s tried to brand himself and a “New Kind of Republican” . I though he was just fighting for attention. His dust up with Christie was all for show. He’s dropping in the polls and he needed to do something to grab some headlines but it’s not going to be enough to win the nomination. What I didn’t like about his performance last night is that he looked down after each his statements like he was pissed that he didn’t get more time or he knows that it’s already over for him and he just needs to say it out load and be done with it.  He’ll be in for a while but he’ll most likely be out by this time next year.  Comments on Paul: fighting for attention, loud, pissed off.

Christie: He had his chance and he hugged it away in 2012.  He was confident, invoking 9/11 several times. Said hey although my state still sucks I did the best I could in a democratically controlled state.  Sorry but if your president are you going to blame the opposing party for not being able to deliver results?  We’re still dealing with an intent president with no results blamer now. Why would we want another one? Answer is we don’t.  He did have a notice me, I’m loud so notice me thing going.  I think Christie will start to drop quickly and move to the under card by years end and out by next year.  Comments on Christie: Confident, notice me, 9/11, empty

Kasich: Is running for vice president. He has no chance of winning the nomination but he did stand out in a few of his remarks last night.  He did support gay marriage saying if my child was gay I would love them just the same.  Good for him. Kasich was ok but he had the home field advantage so he probably wasn’t as strong as he was portraying last night.  He’ll do well on the east coast in maybe one or two primaries but that’s it. He’ll drop eventually and hope he gets picked as someone’s VP. Comments on Kasich:  Okay but lack luster


Winners: Rubio,  Cruz, Walker, Carson
Losers: Bush , Trump*, Huck, Kasich, Christie, Paul
Victim* Trump


**********UNDER-CARD DEBATE EARLIER IN THE DAY***************



I’ll be brief……

The audience was pretty much nonexistent which is sad.  Like it or not one of these people on either stage will be the next republican nominee so show up and listen.
On the plus side there was no audience to play off of for the candidate had to stand or fall without support. So in that respect I liked it.

Perry: Folksy, rusty, stronger later on, should be in the main debates given his record, may be too late for him to catch up.
Fiorina: Strong, confidant,  Like Perry I wanted to hear more from her, should also be on the main stage
Santorum: Blue-collar champion, too little too late, Huck has all the Christians, should drop soon
Jindal: impressed, small government, wants to be a change agent, maybe VP material
Graham: out of his element, bored, shut up, goof ball, go away, please drop ASAP
Pataki: Why, should have never decided to run in the first place, running for a cabinet position
Gilmore: Who, why, bye bye.

Winners: Fiorina, Perry
Losers: Gilmore, Pataki, Santorum
Big Loser: Graham
Push: Jindal

I truly feel the Republicans are the best suited to win in 2016 than they have been for the last 2 cycles.  This is the strongest lineup with ex governors, sitting governors, ex senators, sitting senators, successful private citizens. There is something for everyone in this group of candidates.
Democrats have Hillary that’s it.   


Next debate 9/16.
Until the next time...