GOP Presidential Debate

[HouseOfDialysis]

This thread may serve as a discussion down the road, but the first GOP debate of the 2012 cycle starts in my state of South Carolina on Thursday night in Greenville. Only problem is the attendees!

Only two are somewhat confirmed the and the state party isn't saying anything of who will be there until tomorrow, well after the deadline for registering. Also, to get on the GOP ballot, a candidate has to pay $25,000 to the party. Democrats only charge $2,500, I think.  But wow...

So it looks like the only people showing up are Rep. Ron Paul of Texas and former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty.

Plus, given the death of Osama bin Laden, I'm sure that will skew the questioning for the debate. It's really a moot point to even ask any GOP member about it and if they say anything beyond, "Job done, Mr. President" it'll get dicey for whoever tries a backhanded compliment.

Also, Rep. Michele Bachmann has made no plans to show up, though it is thought she will run in the primary. No word from Newt Gingrich's camp or former Gov. Mitt Romney. Also not committing as of today is former CEO Herman Cain, former Senator Rick Santorum, and quite a few more.

I don't think President Obama's re-election is guaranteed by any means, but I don't exactly see principled leadership in opposition to him from anyone save for Rep. Ron Paul. Say what you will about him, but he's consistent and has never contradicted himself in office.

[paul.karen]

Still a long way to go.

Ron Paul like you said has had the same story for years.  Who cant get behind smaller govt. and personal responsibility.

I think some big players will come out later in the year.  They probably just want some of the lesser GOP candidates to get out of the way.

Wonder if Chris Christi will jump in the ring?

We need someone who has experience in running at least a business or corporation or maybe someone that has run a state or knows  how to balance a budget.

If we are ever going to get real we need to reign in entitlements.  Im no math major but it is easy to see if you spend more then you make you will end up in BIG TROUBLE.
and just printing more money or borrowing more money from China isnt going to fix anything.

States need to step up and take responsibility.  If you want Cowboy poetry make room in the state budget dont pander to the rest of the US so you can have cowboy poetry.

[HouseOfDialysis]

Wow, Santorum and Pawlenty were predictable and disappointing.

Cain needs more specificity.

Paul and Johnson are my favorites thus far.

[HouseOfDialysis]

2012 could be one of the most anticlimactic election cycles on record.

[WishIKnew]

No mention of good ol Sarah?

[HouseOfDialysis]

Sarah Palin was good for eye candy on the campaign trail, especially during the VP debate when NBC had A LOT OF back shots showcasing her legs. Yes, I did notice. But I put her in the same vein as Trump and his ilk. Just a celebrity for sake of celebrity by trade. Sure, she was Governor of Alaska and took more an earmarks than any other state in the Union...

Ugh.

[MooseMom]

Did anyone happen to catch the latest round of GOP debates from Iowa last night?  Any thoughts?  How about Rick Perry entering the race...anyone have thoughts about that?

[Hober Mallow]

Did anyone happen to catch the latest round of GOP debates from Iowa last night?  Any thoughts?  How about Rick Perry entering the race...anyone have thoughts about that?

Rick Perry is the GOP flavor of the month, but he doesn't stand a chance at the nomination. When the tea party crowd finds out he once pushed for a bi-national healthcare plan between the U. S. and Mexico, I imagine they'll be a little disillusioned.

[MooseMom]

I will not be supporting Gov Perry due to the way he handled the execution of Cameron Todd Willingham.  His attitude toward such matters of life and death are far to cavalier for my taste.  I also don't understand why he would want to be the leader of a nation from which he suggested secession. 

I've said before that I fervently believe in a loyal opposition, but this crop of GOP nominees do not strike me as loyal to any degree.  I will not claim that they hate America, but I can't help but feel that they have a great disdain for a large proportion of Americans.

I understand that the priority for Americans is jobs, but I don't believe that the United States of America should be run solely as a business.  What would Rick Perry do if Iran develops nuclear capability or Syria implodes?

I am very much looking forward to the GOP debate on Wednesday.  I want to hear what these people have to say.  I am not a follower of Fox News, but I was happy that their questions in the previous debates were actually quite insightful and tough.

[Hober Mallow]

I will not be supporting Gov Perry due to the way he handled the execution of Cameron Todd Willingham.  His attitude toward such matters of life and death are far to cavalier for my taste.

I found the reaction of the debates' crowds even more unsettling. Cheering executions? I'm for capital punishment in extreme cases, but applauding the number of executions as if it's a badge of honor? And cheering on death of an uninsured man?

I really want to see a healthy non-corporatist conservative party pushing for individual freedom and limited government. Right now, unforunately, the Republicans are a fringe group. And as much as they complain about debt, deficits, and government expansion, when they get into office they become the worst offenders of all.

[MooseMom]

Yes, I know.  The crowd reactions were unnerving.

[Hober Mallow]

Reagan would be eaten alive at these debates. "Mr. Reagan, you raised taxes seven times." (Crowd gasps.) "Mr. Reagan, I understand you granted amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants." (Crowd screams.) "Mr. Reagan, it seems you gave the United States the largest budget deficits in its history and tripled the nation debt." (Crowd collectively faints.)

The nomination will go to Romney. His numbers still haven't gone up, even as Perry's have come down, but I'm sure once Republican voters go through their conservative flavors of the month (the current flavor being Herman Cain), they'll get behind who they think is the most electable, whether they like him or not. That's how John McCain won the nomination last time. Then, I think, Romney will think he needs a tea party-type for his running mate. It'll be Romney/Perry or Romney/Rubio.

Okay, I have to put my crystal ball away now...

[Jean]

Totally agree with you that it will be Romney, but I would love to see a Romney/Gingrich ticket.Dream on!!!

[MooseMom]

Anyone think Chris Christie will decide to run after all?

[Hober Mallow]

Anyone think Chris Christie will decide to run after all?

No, I don't think he'll run.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Meg Whitman held a fundraiser for Chrisitie on the condition that he not run against Mitt Romney, whom Whitman supports. Interesting. Could she be trying to secure a VP spot in the Romney compaign?

[Whamo]

I'm voting for Ron Paul.  It will probably be Obama vs. Romney.  Nobody wins an election like that.

[Jean]

Newt is gonna get the nomination and beat Obama like there is no tomorrow.

[MooseMom]

Newt is gonna get the nomination and beat Obama like there is no tomorrow.

I have to admit that the love that's being given to Newt right now really baffles me.  The most vocal wing of the GOP is quite adamant about removing the "professional politicians" that have ruled Washington in the past, and this is exactly what Newt Gingrich is.  He is the ultimate Washington insider, and I always had the impression that this is not what this faction of the GOP is looking for.

Newt Gingrich has never been "a common man", and again, I don't understand why the people who say they want someone "like them" to be President give Gingrich a second look.  He is a supreme lobbyist and has the money to prove it.  He has been around Washington for decades, and he most certainly is not "like me".

I also don't get the impression that his is the "businessman" that the rest of the Republicans seem to want as President.

Newt Gingrich has the personality of a Congressional leader, and that served him well for a time, but his own party eventually kicked him out.  Mr. Gingrich is famous for being arrogant, snide and petulant, but I am aware that he has converted to Catholicism and claims that this has tempered him, so over the course of the next year, we will have plenty of opportunity to see if this is true. 

So, if someone can give me a coherent explanation of why suddenly we are seeing Newt Gingrich up there with Mr. Romney, I'd be really grateful because I am sorely confused.

[Gerald Lively]

I am a "bleeding heart" Liberal who believes that the purpose of government is to serve the people.  I think Lincoln said it best, "A government of the people, by the people and for the people," or something like that.  I have seen too many people who were dropped by the wayside and forgotten, and need the help of government - as in dialysis and Medicare.  As for the GOP candidates, my eyes always search out Huntsman.

[Bill Peckham]

Newt is gonna get the nomination and beat Obama like there is no tomorrow.

I have to admit that the love that's being given to Newt right now really baffles me.  The most vocal wing of the GOP is quite adamant about removing the "professional politicians" that have ruled Washington in the past, and this is exactly what Newt Gingrich is.  He is the ultimate Washington insider, and I always had the impression that this is not what this faction of the GOP is looking for.

Newt Gingrich has never been "a common man", and again, I don't understand why the people who say they want someone "like them" to be President give Gingrich a second look.  He is a supreme lobbyist and has the money to prove it.  He has been around Washington for decades, and he most certainly is not "like me".

I also don't get the impression that his is the "businessman" that the rest of the Republicans seem to want as President.

Newt Gingrich has the personality of a Congressional leader, and that served him well for a time, but his own party eventually kicked him out.  Mr. Gingrich is famous for being arrogant, snide and petulant, but I am aware that he has converted to Catholicism and claims that this has tempered him, so over the course of the next year, we will have plenty of opportunity to see if this is true. 

So, if someone can give me a coherent explanation of why suddenly we are seeing Newt Gingrich up there with Mr. Romney, I'd be really grateful because I am sorely confused.

This is a fascinating time if you're an observer of politics. My understanding of Gingrich's popularity, and Jean please tell me if this is ringing true to you, is that within Republican circles the President is seen as an empty suit, someone who needs a TelePrompter to know what to say.

I think this is the context when you hear clamoring for his education transcripts or that no one has ever said they knew Obama as student or as a teacher. Gingrich's popularity on the right flows from the idea that Obama is an affirmative action poster boy, having coasted his way through life, living easy off the system. First through school and then whisked into a series of no show union jobs - organizer, lawyer, politician. Now look at Gingrich, given this judgement on Obama.

Gingrich is touted as the Joe DiMaggio of debating. I think Gingrich supporters have decided that they want Gingrich to debate the President and if he does he'll make the President look like Mendoza by comparison. I think this is why you'll hear more and more talk about "doing Lincoln/Douglas style debates all across the country". I think the idea Gingrich supporters have is that the debates will reveal Obama to be a fraud and thus reveal his ideas and policies to be fraudulent and importantly his critique of modern republicans and the record of the last republican President and Congress to be fraudulent. It was not their fault and Gingrich will prove it on live TV.

I was an Obama delegate in 2008, I made it as far as the state convention. The only decision I have to make come January is whether to just volunteer for the President's reelection or to volunteer and try to earn my way to N Carolina. I will say that the President has had remarkable fortune in selecting his opponents over the years; that streak does look to be continuing.

[MooseMom]

When Paul Krugman commented that Newt Gingrich "is a stupid man's idea of what a smart person sounds like," something about that rang true to me.  He speaks like he knows he is the smartest guy in the room and that no one else could possibly be brighter than him.  Speaker Gingrich also is a very divisive character, and that's is not what this country needs right now, in my opinion.  He is described as an "ideas man", and if he has some good ideas, I would like to hear him, but I do not sense that he has the personality to unite neither the nation nor Congress to put these ideas into play.

When I think about candidates becoming President, I imagine them in Brussels or Durban or the Far East at summit meetings involving the world's leaders, and I just do not see Newt Gingrich in this context.

I do, however, see Governor Huntsman in this role, and I like his idea of breaking up the big banks.  The banks have been allowed to become "too big to fail", and I think this is a mistake.  But it does seem that all of the major players in Washington from both sides of the aisle have Wall Street in their pockets, and it is easy to say, "I'll break up the banks" but not so easy to make it happen, especially when they have given so much to your campaign.

I am bothered by the fact that "colorful characters" are getting the most attention in this GOP race, and now the attention is focussed on someone who is old-time Washington.  Why not look closer at Huntsman?

[Bill Peckham]

I think Huntsman too often is embarrassed by today's GOP and the republican primary electorate is not interested in anyone who thinks any of their positions is unreasonable. If Huntsman wanted the nomination he would have had to campaign as an Obama administration whistle blower, which would have given him a lot of opportunities to feed the base red meat. To his credit he didn't take that route and now he is maybe setting himself up for future runs.

[cariad]

I will say that the President has had remarkable fortune in selecting his opponents over the years; that streak does look to be continuing.

Yeah, I'm still pining for the Trump/Palin ticket of any Democrat's dreams, but Newt, or really most of the current Republican contenders, would be almost as easy for Obama.

Anyone who underestimates how intelligent Obama is does so at their peril. George Will recently said of Newt: Gingrich’s is an amazingly efficient candidacy, in that it embodies almost everything disagreeable about modern Washington. He’s the classic rental politician. This is what other conservatives think of him. And he is too much of a pompous blowhard to understand that he is so deeply unlikeable and so obviously corrupt that he can and will lose, spectacularly in fact, either to Obama or to Romney.

I will say that Newt is every bit the candidate that the current Republican party deserves.

[Bill Peckham]

Yeah, I'm still pining for the Trump/Palin ticket

The season has just begun. Many plot twists ahead.

[Gerald Lively]

Cain wasn't able.