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Since 2008 – Progress Through Politics

Oh Yippee! Another GOP Debate (Open Thread)

This time they’ve decided to let Gary Johnson participate.

I think conventional wisdom has this as Perry versus Romney with a bit of “let’s see who can get the most Tea Party cheers” from Bachmann, Cain, and Santorum while Huntsman tries to look moderate and 2016ish.

Given that this is a FoxNews/Google (to be streamed live on Youtube) debate the questions might be more interesting than the answers although I find this social media questioning too gimmicky.

Myself, I’m wondering if Ron Paul will be pressed on his former campaign manager’s debt-ridden death (he was asked about it earlier this week so it isn’t outside the realm of possibility) or Rick Perry on either Social Security and/or Troy Davis (as in would you lose any sleep over the possibility of executing an innocent man).

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The show circus starts at 9:00pm Florida time.  In the meantime feel free to talk among yourselves.


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170 comments

  3. Progressive Witness

    🙂

    Only, I’m not kidding.  I just must not be up on my Who Wants To Be America’s Next Top Republican.

    I’m a bad politics dork.

  4. Shaun Appleby

    This shaping up as a Romney-Perry cage match.  After losing a lot of steam Bachmann has spent her time attacking Perry which has probably been good news for Romeny; will she change tack and go after Mitt?

    With the recent national, New Hampshire and Florida polls it looks like Romney has benefited from Michele’s loss, as counterintuitive as that seems.  The general consensus has been that Perry’s debate performances have not been particularly impressive and of all the candidates he has probably the most to lose here.

    Look for Perry’s “Obama-lite” accusation of Romney to get some play.  I wonder if the recent remarks of his supporting Israel on biblical grounds will get an airing.

    Ron Paul will probably steal a bit of the limelight as he is always good for some controversial entertainment value.  Hard to see Cain, Huntsman or any others breaking the mould though.

  6. dirkster42

    swimming, when the debate starts.  

    It’s been a while since I’ve gone, so I’m going to have to remember to swim sorta light.

    In any case, I doubt I’ll miss much.

  7. Shaun Appleby

    If I should be hoping Perry crumbles or wins the nomination at this point:


    WASHINGTON – Rick Perry leads national polls in the Republican presidential primary, but he has been battered so much this month that if his third debate on Thursday night goes as roughly as his first two, he could be in some trouble.

    Perry’s advantage over former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has been cut roughly in half over the last two weeks. Attacks on him from Romney and other candidates have taken their toll, raising questions about whether Perry is as good as first advertised, and more importantly, whether he can beat President Obama in the general election.

    “[The 2012 election] will be less about our nominee, as long as our nominee is not scary,” said a prominent Ohio Republican, who asked that he not be identified in order to speak more frankly about Perry’s weaknesses.

    Jon Ward and Jason Cherkis – Rick Perry Florida Debate Performance Could Be Key Moment For Campaign Huffington Post 22 Sep 11

    Having him as the nominee makes a path to victory seem easier but on the other hand he seems to have that dangerous blend of confidence and craziness that unravels history.

  9. HappyinVT

    According to a handy-dandy chart national security is only 5% of the questions.  “Other” is the largest percentage of questions.  That’s scary.

  18. Shaun Appleby

    Inverted “mark of the beast” tax proposal reminds me that this party of conservatives are more radical than any we’ve seen in modern times.  They are all, barring Huntsman and Romney, proposing turning the economy inside-out to save it.

  24. Shaun Appleby

    Now we’re eliminating the EPA, thanks Cain.  And the Chilean model; we’re on that here in Oz, saw half my retirement wiped out in 2008.  Just a target to be plundered by Wall Street.

  26. Shaun Appleby

    The “massive overreach of big government into the classroom.”  Wonder how the US would have fared over the last century without public education?  We might live to find out.  It’s the parents responsibility?  Good Lord.  We are designing an oligarchy of wealth.

  29. Shaun Appleby

    Bachmann and her kids again.  “Mother of all repeal bills” to give federal money to evangelical parents as nutty as she is.  Doesn’t science count for anything?

  31. Shaun Appleby

    Is looking very fragile and all of his attacks on Romney have misfired or missed.  Now he’s getting hammered on the Texas tuition issue for undocumented students.

  32. HappyinVT

    Georgia because the illegals  couldn’t work the fields.

    Paul makes the point about a national ID card.  Then says we should punish the illegals not the companies who hire them.

  34. Shaun Appleby

    Or does the apparent determination of a party of ignoramuses to eliminate the Department of Education strike one as highly ironic?  

  36. Shaun Appleby

    This ought to be rich.  Romney managed to make his case without getting tangled up in scripture.  Cain seems to have seen a world map since the first debate.

  37. Strummerson

    I can take them butchering Hebrew names, but Mitt just butchered the English word “bus.”

    But you have to grant that they are correct to critique all Obama has done to assist Iran in developing nuclear weapons.

    This whole thing is basically an extended infomercial.  I think that Dem debates should be on FOX and Rep debates should be on MSNBC.  Any credible Dem candidate can handle Megyn Kelly.  I want to see these jerks questioned by Rachel Maddow.

  42. Shaun Appleby

    These foreign policy responses, with the possible exception of Romney, are no better than those from a high-school cafeteria.

    And Bachmann pipes up with the notion that Cuba is a major state sponsor of terrorism?  Huh?

  47. Shaun Appleby

    Has lost the magic.  Someone mentioned he is suffering from acute back pain and that might explain some of this; sympathy with him for that but he’s really off his game tonight.

  49. Shaun Appleby

    Michele gets a spanking over HPV, denies what she said and then has another go at Perry over it.  She really is as self-aware as a dachshund.

  52. Shaun Appleby

    Very little time for Perry to recover.  He’s had it; what a dismal performance.  Romney really is the only one that looks like a presidential candidate and he managed to dodge most of the craziest crazy; hard to see how this plays out any other way than him as the nominee at this point.

  54. alyssa chaos

    These candidates are dangerous. Im truly afraid for this country if any one of these people become president.

    Basic logic fails them. Basic humanity fails them.

    Seriously.

    Also Reagan Rulz!

  55. Strummerson

    These people want to defeat Obama and they love Ronald Reagan and America.

    Last debate I wanted to shout at my TV loud enough that they would hear my arguments against them.

    Tonight I have wanted to crawl into my TV and slap each one of them across the face.

    Maybe slap Santorum twice for calling the repeal of DADT the granting of special rights for those ever-privileged and pampered gay Americans.  I mean, look at what a cushy life Matthew Sheppard had…  Freaking Santorum hasn’t a shred of decency in his hateful, chauvanist, demagoging, disingenuous being.  OK, I want to slap him three times…while wearing a leather face-mask and thong and using a leather paddle.

  58. HappyinVT

    If Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry ever campaigns in Eastern North Carolina, he may have some explaining to do.

    According to “Holy Smoke: The Big Book of North Carolina Barbecue,” in 1992 when Perry was a promising Texas politician but not yet governor, he tried some Eastern North Carolina barbecue from King’s of Kinston, which was served at the Republican National Convention in Houston.

    “I’ve had road kill that tasted better than that,” Perry was quoted as saying.

    Read more: http://www.charlotteobserver.c…

    Of course, Perry denies stuff that is in the book that came out recently so I’m sure he’ll deny saying this in 1992.  Not to mention, tastes change.

  60. HappyinVT

    TPM’s Evan McMorris-Santoro is at the GOP Debate. He tweets this conversation with Jon Huntsman:

    Jon Huntsman tells TPM booing of gay soldier at debate was “unfortunate.” Says DADT is “done…we all salute the same flag.”

    http://livewire.talkingpointsm…

  61. sricki

    before becoming distracted by more interesting things. My dad called me to tell me about Johnson’s one-liner about the dogs creating jobs or whatever. That’ll probably be a bumper sticker soon.

    Let’s preempt it… take it for ourselves: a bumper sticker with a picture of a big steaming pile of shit that says “GOP Plan For Job Creation.”

  62. Shaun Appleby

    The angst is deep and wide at Red State and Free Republic tonight.  Seriously, it is very entertaining, but the Perry juggernaut looks like it broke an axle; even his supporters are gnashing teeth and rending hair.  The “don’t have a heart” comment seems to have been a deal-breaker.

    It’s worth considering that a lot of this Tea Party support proliferates word-of-mouth; I think Perry just peed on a third rail as far as some of these conservative activists are concerned.  They are howling; some selected examples:


    Perry sucked tonight. Okay, we move on.

    Race to the bottom with Perry.

    He was an embarrassment, I watched the debate to hear him for the first time amidst the others. He was far worse than I even thought he would be.

    I thought Perry might be the guy. Not so after his weak, stammering performance tonight. I’m getting a sick, sinking feeling in my stomach that Romney is going to be the nominee.

    Perry got his arse handed to him tonight deep fried.

    Perry damaged himself greatly tonight. Made enough Romney ads to last a lifetime.

    By all rights 2012 should be a cake walk for the Republicans. But the poor communicators we have are going to let it become a horse race – and one that could be lost.

    I am a native Texan and long time republican activist who, prior to tonight, was a strong Rick Perry supporter. No more and I’ll tell you why!

    Romney’s path to the White House just got easier. This was a big win for him and a huge bumble for Perry.

    Perry has been a professional politician for 35 years. If he can’t debate by this time, it’s hopeless.

    Perry isn’t all that sure who he is. He’s like one of those walking Darwin fish on the stupid anti-creationism bumper stickers.

    And so forth; on and on into the wee hours of despair…  Good news for John McCain?

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