Quote:What bothers me about much of these "debates" is how all the candidates make no reference to Congress. I'm not surprised about Trump, as I'm not sure he knows we have a Congress, but the rest of these people act as if they would be working in a vacuum - and their supporters tend to buy into it.

 

TJ - you support R. Paul, which is fine, because he'll dismantle the security state. Really? How did he propose to do that, when his party in Congress is the prime builder of that system? 

 

How is Fiorina a war hawk if she can't get Congress to go along with her plan? Don't you think as a woman she has to come across as tough and strong, and is playing to the base?

 

Rubio seems to be one of the few somewhat grounded in political reality - and would make whomever the Dems nominate look old and weak.

 

And how many Ambiens does Ben Carson take before going on stage?

 

And Paul and Carson blew a real chance to make Trump look like an idiot  - they could/should have called him out re vaccines and autism. Were they so intimidated - or did they believe most Republicans buy into the vaccine/autism hoax?

1. Clearly, you have never heard Rand Paul talk. He's been anti-DHS for years. He was even kicked out of an airport in Kentucky because he refused to allow a TSA drone to touch him. He lines up with the Republican Party in many ways, but diverges strongly from them in some key areas. If Paul wins, Congresspeople on both sides who have expressed reservations about the NSA in particular will line up behind him, and others will go with the flow, as it would undoubtedly be a popular stance and reason for Paul's victory. Go research a candidate before making a patently incorrect and uninformed statement like that.

 

2. One does not have to gain Congressional approval before starting a war. I'd expect an educated, articulate person like yourself to have learned that in your lessons on Vietnam from middle school history. The President has the authority to send in troops and order attacks without Congressional approval. Congress only has to approve engagements of longer than a certain amount of time, and can de-fund military efforts. Good luck getting Congress to defund Fiorina's WW3 if she's elected on a platform of "nuke teh worldz!".

 

3. Rubio is grounded in reality on some topics, but I'd have expected you to lay into his stances on gay rights and abortion.

 

4. He seemed much more awake after cleaning up in the first debate and getting a little more attention this time around.

 

5. Probably a little of both. Engaging Trump has proven to be a risky proposition, as he has the numbers and stats to own you. It's also still widely expected that he'll implode at some point. It's also pretty well-documented that of the anti-vax crowd, the vast majority consider themselves to be conservative. For fringe candidates like Paul and guys who need all the support they can get like Carson, alienating a decent chunk of the Republican base by coming out strongly pro-vax is a riskier move than it's worth at this point.

 

Quote:After watching two debates, who the hell is getting the nomination? Trump leads every poll and nobody thinks he will win. Guys like Cruz, Rubio, Paul, Walker were considered the future and they barely register a blip on the radar. Carson seems to be popular but looks to  me like this stage is too big for him and he has no real credentials. Fiorina runs on a business background that is not good.

Who knows? Christie, Cruz, Huckabee, Paul and Walker are probably done. Rubio is a likely VP candidate, but his Presidential campaign is waning. Kasich is also facing long odds at this point, but his moderate roots could earn him some votes from centrist-leaning Republicans and be a draw for centrist Democrats in the general election--particularly if the Democrats run an extremist like Sanders. That leaves, by my count, Trump, Carson, Fiorina and Bush as the likely frontrunners going into primary season. Of those, I expect to see Fiorina fade out once the primaries start, with Trump, Bush and Carson all likely going to the convention as possible nominees. Who of those three wins? My best guess remains that Bush is the strongest draw from the supporters of other candidates who drop out, but I wouldn't rule out Carson if the "outsider" theme continues on. Wouldn't even rule out Trump, for that matter, but I think he has a long way to go to prove himself a viable candidate and not just a sideshow attraction.

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