Republicans
1,347 pieces tagged “Republicans”, newest first.
A Good Republican Slugfest
A funny thing happened at the Republican primary debate in Milwaukee Tuesday night. A debate broke out. Episode 3 of the GOP's presidential debates was the best yet — if you're more interested in what the candidates think about the issues than what they think about each other. Unlike the fiasco put on by CNBC last month, the moderators on the Fox Business Network didn't try to get the candidates to fight among themselves or ask stupid liberal gotcha questions.
The Most Revealing Debate Yet
The Republican debate on CNBC was riveting, the way a train wreck is riveting — you can't take your eyes off it. The Fox Business Network debate was merely satisfying. A serious political discussion requires a bit more work, but it repays the effort. The CNBC affair was a contrived food fight during which substance occasionally broke out (such as the brief exchange between Chris Christie and Mike Huckabee on entitlement reform). FBN, on the other hand, conducted a meaty debate during which a tomato or two was occasionally tossed.
Assessing the GOP Field
I get the feeling that the Republican presidential field is gradually beginning to narrow and that we will see interesting dynamics among the principal survivors. I would be shocked if John Kasich moved up, because he has demonized conservatism itself and tried to shame conservatives, hinting that he's a more compassionate practitioner. He exudes an impatience that voters don't recognize his superior goodness and competence.
Honoring Our Vets, GOP Debate
[Wednesday was] Veterans Day — a day set aside to recognize the courage and sacrifice of the men and women who have served our country in uniform. The day originally began as Armistice Day to mark the 11 AM ceasefire on November 11, 1918 that ended World War I. Congress voted to change the name to Veterans Day in 1954 to commemorate veterans of all wars.
Oh, So That's What a Real Debate Looks Like
From open to close, this debate was different from the last debacle.
Surge of Democratic Turnout Has Yet to Appear
You don't have to wander long in the liberal commentariat to find projections that the Republican Party is in a death spiral, doomed by demographics, discredited by the dissension among House Republicans, disenchanted with its experienced presidential candidates and despised by the great mass of voters. There is something to be said for each of these propositions — and yet Republican candidates keep winning elections, as in recent contests in Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi and Virginia.
Take the Winnings and Run
Where do Republicans get that special talent for turning gold to dross? They score an electoral "massacre" (The Economist) in 2014 and, a year later, what do they have to show for it other than another threat to shut down the government? Hillary Clinton is caught in email flagrante and Benghazi mendacity and yet, with one Kevin McCarthy gaffe and a singularly ineffective 11-hour Benghazi hearing, Republicans render her sanitized.
Once More With 'The Vision Thing'
It was George H.W. Bush who reportedly dismissed an idea from a friend that he should spend time at Camp David thinking about what he might do should he become president. According to a January 26, 1987 article in Time magazine, Bush is said to have dismissed the suggestion with this line: "Oh, the vision thing." Now comes the new speaker of the House, Rep. Paul Ryan, who is not only embracing the "vision thing," but is accusing his fellow Republicans of not having any vision at all.
Republicans vs. The Media
For years, I have been begging Republicans to stand up to the mainstream media. The left has dominated the media for as long as I've been alive. Yet Republicans have consistently granted leftists in media the patina of legitimacy: they've appeared on their programs, answered their questions without quibble, and allowed the audience to believe that the questions themselves spring from a place of objectivity rather than a desire to harm Republicans.
Long-Overdue Vigilance on Moderators
The competing Republicans presidential campaigns had a meeting on Nov. 1 to discuss their concerns with how the Republican National Committee had planned debates with the media. That's a healthy development, considering the CNBC debate, in which liberal journalists asked one too many deliberately snide and hostile "gotcha" questions attacking the GOP candidates, and the candidates exploded in anger.
What Happens When an Irresistible Force Meets an Immoveable Object?
What happens when an irresistible force meets an immoveable object? That's one question raised by the 2016 presidential campaign. The immoveable object is the close and bitter partisan division that has prevailed in general elections for the last two decades. The irresistible force is the corrosive discontent of American voters, their sense that the nation is headed off on the wrong track and that experienced leaders are more the problem than the solution.
Primary Losers
Donald Trump did not dominate the debate stage in his usual way. Ben Carson may have put a few people to sleep. Former GOP heavyweight hopeful Jeb Bush was badly bloodied by the counter punches of Kid Rubio. Mike Huckabee and Carly Fiorina were lost in the crowd and held scoreless all night. John Kasich yelled too much and Rand Paul continued his slow disappearing act.
Hurray for CNBC
Jeb Bush's campaign may be mortally wounded. Limping in the polls despite his massive war chest, he stooped (almost literally if you check the body language) to attacking Marco Rubio in an attempt to revive his fortunes. Rubio's response, suggesting that Bush had been "told" to attack him, seemed like a bull's-eye. Jeb Bush is an honorable man, a man raised to behave like a gentleman; but he was feeling desperate at Wednesday's debate, and tried to play against type.
Being a Minority and a Conservative Is Not a Contradiction
Here's something you may not know: Dr. Ben Carson is black. Of course, I'm being a little cute here. The only way you wouldn't know he's black is if you were blind and only listened to the news. For instance, Tuesday on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" — a program that often serves as a kind of artisanal boutique of inside-the-Beltway conventional wisdom — host Joe Scarborough expressed his consternation over Carson's popularity. "I just don't get it," Scarborough said more than once.
Thank You, CNBC, for a Wonderful Evening
I dedicate the lead of this column to thanking CNBC for displaying its rank liberal bias in last night's GOP presidential debate for all the world to see. In relative terms, "all the world" is not that far off if you consider last night's audience size compared with the network's usually paltry ratings. The more people who saw this charade from the network's alleged moderators the better for America.
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