The news these days is just the same as the day before so when something now hits I need to cleanse my brain….

The candidates did what they always do….throw barbs at Trump and at times each other….

Republican debate No. 3 is underway, with a smaller of field of candidates—five—though none of them named Donald Trump. In the first question of the night, Lester Holt of NBC News asked each candidate why they should be the nominee instead of Trump. Some highlights:

• Ron DeSantis: The Florida governor brought up Trump’s famous statement that Republicans would get tired of winning under his leadership. Pointing to the election results Tuesday night, DeSantis said, “I’m sick of Republicans losing.” He cited his own landslide win in Florida last year, and again went after Trump for skipping the debate, per the New York Times.
• Nikki Haley: She praised Trump’s presidency but said, “I don’t think he’s the right president now,” per the Washington Post. She faulted him for running up the nation’s debt and accused him of becoming “weak in the knees” on Ukraine
• Vivek Ramaswamy: He also cited Tuesday night’s GOP losses but chose to attack Republican National Committee leader Ronna McDaniel instead of the former president. “We’ve become a party of losers,” he said, per Politico. The Post notes that right-wing pundit Charlie Kirk suggested this week that Ramaswamy take over the position.
• Chris Christie: The former New Jersey governor suggested Trump would have to devote too much time to his legal fights over the next year to be an effective president. He also said inflation is “choking” Americans, per the Hill.
• Tim Scott: He struck a a more optimistic tone than his rivals, per the Times. The South Carolina senator said he could unite the country on matters including religion.

The debate, sponsored by the Republican Jewish Coalition, is being held at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County. Five Republicans will be on the debate stage, the smallest field yet as polling and donor benchmarks for qualification rise, the AP reports. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie will participate in the Miami event. North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, who barely made the second debate, won’t be on stage. Neither will former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who participated in the first debate but missed the cut for the subsequent two.

Since a Jewish political group is the sponsor I guess the candidates had to weigh in on the Gaza thing.

One issue the five GOP candidates on stage Wednesday night agree upon appears to be Israel, or more specifically the need to wipe out Hamas. All were asked how they would respond to the Israel-Hamas situation:

• Ron DeSantis: He said Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu should “finish the job once and for all with these butchers, Hamas.” The Florida governor also said he was “sick of hearing other people blame Israel for defending itself,” and he called for students who criticize Israel or join protests on behalf of Palestinians to be deported, reports the Washington Post.
• Nikki Haley: She, too, called for Israel to “finish” Hamas, per the Hill. “The last thing we need to do is to tell Israel what to do,” said the former UN ambassador. “The only thing we should be doing is supporting them in eliminating Hamas.” The US, she added, should give Israel “whatever they need, whenever they need it.”
• Chris Christie: He said the US must work with Israel to go after Hamas and make sure “something like this can’t happen to kill 1,400 individuals again.” However, Christie faulted Netanyahu and Israeli’s leaders for allowing the attack to happen. “They failed here, and they failed the people of the state of Israel,” he said.
• Tim Scott: The South Carolina senator said he would send a clear message to Netanyahu: “Not only do you have the responsibility and the right to wipe Hamas off of the map, we will support you,” he said, per Politico. Scott also called for strikes and Iran, a Hamas supporter, and he supported DeSantis’s call to deport students who protest against Israel.
• Vivek Ramaswamy: He said he would tell Netanyahu “to smoke those terrorists on his southern border,” adding: “I’ll tell him as president of the United States, I’ll be smoking the terrorists on our southern border. That’s his responsibility. This is our responsibility.” He faulted the “mistakes from the neocon establishment of the past,” suggesting he thought the US has been too involved in the Mideast, per the New York Times.

And that was about as interesting as the ‘debate’ got….

All in all this one was a sleeper….be thankful you guys have me to do this lifting for you….

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”