FEBRUARY 15, 2016
Photo: AP
Pardon my language, but Jesus, what a shitshow! If you had “liar” as your drinking game word, you’re probably still passed out.
The six remaining Republican candidates met on Saturday in Greenville, SC on CBS, just hours after the death of conservative Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. A moment of silence was held for Scalia, then a few general questions to the candidates about the kind of justices that they would appoint to the Court before, finally, the mac ‘n’ cheese began to fly in the biggest pre-school food fight among the Presidential contenders so far.
This debate was so juvenile that party elders and conservative columnists voiced concern that the candidates’ behavior on the debate stage could jeopardize their hoped-for win over the Democratic nominee in November.
Where to start? Let’s try this between Donald Trump and Ted Cruz. Cruz accuses Trump of supporting government funding for Planned Parenthood. Trump (of course) ducks the accusation, asserting instead that all of the decisions of Chief Justice John Roberts, a Republican appointee who nonetheless held as Constitutional the tenets of Obamacare, are on Cruz’s hands, adding that “[Cruz] will say anything. Nasty guy. Now I know why he doesn’t have one endorsement from any of his colleagues. He’s a nasty guy.” As proof, Trump cited Cruz surrogates, who tweeted that Ben Carson had dropped out of the Iowa race as the voting was going on. Cruz responded, “It’s fairly remarkable to see Donald defending Ben [Carson] after he called him pathological and compared him to a child molester. … Donald has a weird pattern. When you point to his own record, he screams, ‘liar, liar, liar.'” Are you drunk yet?
Oh no, wait. They’re just warming up.
The next issue was, of all things, Spanish. (I know this is cuckoo, but stay with me on this.) Referring to a Spanish-language interview that Rubio had given on Univision, Cruz claimed that the FL senator said that he would not contest President Obama’s executive actions on immigration. Rubio responded that “I don’t know how he knows what I said on Univision because he doesn’t speak Spanish.” (A saucer of milk, Sen. Rubio?) Then Cruz started yelling at him in Spanish. (It was that kind of night.)
And then there was the Bush family. When Trump correctly criticized the idiocy of the grounds for waging the Iraq war, Bush defended his family, saying that his father “is the greatest man I know” and that his mother was the strongest woman he knows. “She should be running then,” countered Trump. I swear, there wasn’t enough Meow Mix to cover this debate. Here are the scores:
WINNERS:
Jeb Bush — This was easily Bush’s best debate performance so far. Trump seemed to go out of his way to attack Bush, and, unlike previous debates, he had an answer and a swipe for every Trump attack, especially about his family. From a candidate who was once just an afterthought, Bush has a good chance to do well in South Carolina.
Marco Rubio — After the catastrophe of last Saturday’s debate, Rubio came back strong, never repeating himself as he did last week. He engaged in a real dust-up with Ted Cruz, basically accusing the Texas senator of lying, an accusation that was backed up by Trump during the debate. There’s still hope for Rubio for becoming the establishment’s choice against Trump. He just can’t repeat himself.
John Kasich — He’s been making the case as the only adult in the room. It worked in New Hampshire, but his name recognition appears to be low in South Carolina, so he’s got a lot of work to do. After warning his fellow candidates that they are jeopardizing the GOP’s chances at the White House with all this inter-party bickering, it remains to be seen whether his positive message will resonate with GOP primary voters.
LOSERS:
Donald Trump — By far, his worst debate performance to date. It didn’t help that the establishment South Carolina Republican Party handed out bunches of tickets to party regulars who appeared to boo anything that came out of Donald Trump’s mouth, which really seemed to rattle the billionaire who has rarely encountered booing before. But still, he’s been a lot sharper in debate form.
Ted Cruz — Not a great performance by one of the most skilled debaters on the stage. The word “liar” (drink!) became synonymous with Cruz through the debate, at least according to his rivals. Cruz is going to have to find a way to grow his base, but it’s not going to be easy given his insult record.
Ben Carson — Zzzzzzzzzzz
The next GOP debate is on Thursday, February 25 in Houston on CNN. Be there or be square!
