Just when you thought things could not get any sillier…….Tonight is the big night…..the 5th in the series of GOP debates….So if you have nothing better to do than waste a couple of hours of your life stop by and join the fun……… I expect that since the front runner Trump made his Muslim statement that this debate will be more about that and terrorism than anything else….after all this subject has sucked all the oxygen out of every other issue…..
But the biggest question is…..who or how many go for the cajones of Trump?
Tuesday night brings the last debate of the year for Republicans, and one common theme in previews is that in a year of relatively lively debates, this one might be the liveliest yet. Some things to watch:
- Will anyone hit Trump?: “Easily the biggest question” of the night is who, if anyone, will go after Donald Trump in “a long-awaited have-you-no-decency-sir moment,” says Politico. Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio will likely pass, but keep an eye on Chris Christie or perhaps Jeb Bush or Carly Fiorina.
- But which Trump?CNN notes that Trump has been content in some debates to “fade into the background,” but he also knows that millions will be tuning in to watch him defend his plan to keep Muslims out of the country. Does he “play it safe and lock in his front-runner status?”
- Cruz vs. Rubio: Now that he’s near the top of the polls, Cruz is “likely to come under sharp attack,” says the New York Times. Look for Rubio in particular to go after him on immigration and national security, particularly over Cruz’s support of guest-worker visas and and curbing domestic surveillance. Rubio himself, though, is vulnerable over his 2013 work on providing immigrants a path to citizenship, a topic that has yet to surface in the debates.
- Christie emerging: One of Slate’s key questions is “What Will Chris Christie Do?” He’s rising in the polls, especially in New Hampshire, and given Bush’s lackluster debate performances, the New Jersey governor is the “establishment man best suited to try to shake things up.”
- Scary times: A big topic is expected to be foreign policy and the fight against ISIS because of the attacks on Paris and San Bernardino, notes Time. “The more serious tone will likely reward candidates who adapt their messages to fit the new dynamic of the race, and may pose a problem for those who struggle on the substance.”
- Details: The main debate airs at 8:30 Eastern on CNN. The undercard (Mike Huckabee, Lindsey Graham, George Pataki, and Rick Santorum) begins at 6.
This will be the last debate……of 2015….but never fear there will be more…..
May your evening be as joyous as you like…..see ya!
The ONLY way the GOP has any chance, is for at least ONE of the group to take a moderate, reconciliatory, rational approach to the issue(s). It is their last best hope of even having a rat’s ass’s chance of defeating almost ANY Democrat available
Since all of them are invested in keeping the fear alive in the public, NONE of them will do so….
Any bets?
Besides, according to the Princeton study done last year, no national election in more than 75 years has elected anyone who wasn’t wanted there by the 1%…. Why should this one be any different?
Good entertainment, if one can get through it without becoming nauseated….
gigoid….
ISIS will keep the fear alive and the GOP will play on it.
No doubt on that; I just wish the voting public would realize the GOP is much more of a danger to them, and more to be feared, than ISIS ever will be….
After all, it is US policies, and arms, which created the political scenario which compelled the creation of the entire issue re: ISIS. Most of this country either isn’t aware of that simple fact, or, if they are, are not willing to believe it.
After all, an illusion is how they’ve all based their lives; how can they give it up, without admitting their own part in it, to wit: the ignorance Thomas Jefferson warned us about so clearly….
gigoid
Dear gigoid — The voting public that you refer to is too involved in their comfort zones to pay attention to anything that actually matters.
Aye, truth, indeed…. Damn near all 200 million eligibles have become the proverbial “Pommes du Davenport”, or, in ‘Murrican, couch potatoes….
and I don’t give a crap if there is an “e” in potatos, or note….
😆
Tom Jefferson wouldn’t name them Americans, either….
gigoid
There is the reason…entertainment….LOL
One year of 2016 down and about one more to go!!! (Somebody better tell 2020 to start warming up.)
No 2016 until 2016!
The candidates have already started thinking about 2020…..
They’re free to think about it (ie using this campaign as a “test run”). But nobody else should be giving it a millisecond’s thought. (Media, public, etc)
No 2020 until 2020!!!
I agree….chuq
chuq
Just got an email from Rolling Stone, with the Drinking Rules For GOP Debate #5:
DRINK AFTER EVERY VIOLATION OF:
1. The doctor’s note rule: Self-explanatory. Drink after any riffing on Trump’s latest stunt.
2. The nuke ’em till they glow rule: Drink after any promise to “carpet bomb” the Middle East, or after any attempt to one-up Ted Cruz’s recent comments about how, “I don’t know if sand can glow in the dark, but we’re going to find out.”
3. The Obama won’t say “terrorism” rule: Candidate complains that the president is afraid to use the words “radical Islam” or “Islamic terrorism.”
4. The climate change denial rule: Complaint about the Paris climate change agreement. Shotgun a beer if it comes with a mention of how the nice local weather renders climate change talk meaningless.
5. The War on Christmas rule: Mention of “red cups,” nativity controversies, etc.
6. The Reince Priebus rule: Mention of a brokered convention or use of the phrase “Let the people decide” in a discussion of RNC/Reince Priebus controversy. Double shot if the latter’s name pronounced incorrectly.
7. The George Lucas rule: Gratuitous mention of Star Wars. Double shot if it comes with an impersonation or a sound effect (e.g., Cruz does a Yoda voice while threatening ISIS).
8. The I’m just a simple caveman rule: A candidate mentions that he/she is not a scientist, or generally derides higher education before proceeding to make a “common sense” point.
9. The wet blanket rule: Attempt by Kasich to implore his fellow candidates to be more realistic, followed by boos/catcalls from the audience.
10. The Hitler had some really good ideas rule: Salutary mention of Japanese internment, religious registries or other similar policies.
11. The I don’t just believe in the American dream, I’m a product of it rule: Anyone talks about how they are the son/daughter/husband/wife of a humble bartender/maid/tow truck driver/whatever because dreams and opportunity.
12. The good guy with a gun rule: Self-explanatory.
13. The empty God platitudes rule: An anti gun-control candidate extends “thoughts and prayers” to the victims of Paris, San Bernardino or whatever other mass shooting we’ll have in the next ten minutes.
14. The we’re not racist rule: A candidate complains that people with “traditional values” are being accused of being bigots. Double shot if it’s Rubio.
15. The Carly, interrupted rule: Carly Fiorina interrupts someone and/or uses a bogus statistic. Double shot if it’s that “73,000-page tax code” line she continues to send out there at every opportunity.
THE EVERGREEN RULES
ALWAYS drink, in every debate, when:
16. Trump brags about how much money he makes.
17. Anyone says, “I’m the only one on this stage who…”
18. Someone says, “Any one of us onstage is better than Hillary Clinton…”
19. The crowd breaks into uncomfortable applause at a racist/sexist statement.
20. Any candidate evokes Nazis, the Gestapo, Neville Chamberlain, concentration camps, etc.
21. Anyone force-feeds an Israel reference into a question where it doesn’t belong. Also known as the Ann Coulter rule.
22. Anyone pledges to “take our country back.”
23. The Jim Webb rule: Candidate complains about not getting enough time.
24. Any candidate illustrates the virtue of one of his/her positions by pointing out how not PC it is.
25. Someone invokes St. Reagan. Beware, people, this is an every time rule again.
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Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-official-gop-debate-drinking-game-rules-pt-5-20151215#ixzz3uQcjH39U
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Love it……thanx for the link….chuq
I just watched about 20 minutes of it and I now want to go to bed. Same old stuff.
Even governor John Kasich said that they should have been talking about ISIS in Paris instead of climate change. But our allies WANT to talk about climate change and he doesn’t get it.
That’s what the summit was about. I can’t go to someone else’s birthday party and tell them I’d rather celebrate my birthday instead…
It is the best theater this side of Broadway……chuq
That’s the best way to look at it. Grab some popcorn, enjoy the show, and hope the Democrats win.
Even the odds makers cannot see a GOP win….that should tell us all what will happen….chuq