GOP debate winners & losers

Losers:

  • Chris Christie
  • Vivek Ramaswamy
  • Tim Scott
  • Donald Trump
Chris Christie: the most descriptive phrase for Gov. Christie is 'almost lifelike.' During tonight's debate, Gov. Christie looked cautious, almost statesmanlike. That isn't who he's been during his political life. The thing that debate watchers reward is authenticity. Tonight, Gov. Christie wasn't authentic.

Tim Scott: When this contest first began, I kinda hoped that he'd be part of the short list for VP. At this point, I hope he returns to the Senate to be Sen. Kennedy's whip. It's clear that we need a new Senate GOP leadership team that doesn't include Mitch McConnell. Sen. Scott is a great ambassador for the GOP and a great campaign surrogate. Slot him into that type of spot. Either that or make him the chair of the NRSC.

Vivek Ramaswamy: Tonight's biggest loser -- by far. Personality wise, he's off-putting. His 'everyone's been bought off' schtick is tiring. His fights with Nikki Haley are tiring. I wouldn't walk across my living room to watch one of them. That's saying a lot because my living room is kinda tiny. Policywise, he's the personification of the wet-behind-the-ears kid who know he isn't the expert he thinks he is. Worst of all, the only thing he adds is negativity.

Donald Trump: By not showing up, he took some shots, especially from Gov. DeSantis:

Winners:

  • Nikki Haley
  • NBC moderators
  • Ron DeSantis

Nikki Haley: She should pay Vivek Ramaswamy for being on stage. Without him, she'd turn to dust and blow away. With him, she looks reasonable. If there wasn't an establishment lane, she'd be hurting. She got hurt during the debate on China, too. The @DeSantisWarRoom lit her up on China on Twitter during the debate. Check out this thread for more.

NBC moderators: Lester Holt did a nice job of preventing the candidates from talking over each other. Hugh Hewitt asked some thoughtful foreign policy questions (to nobody's surprise). Kristen Welker was the lefty on the panel but her questions were reasonable enough.

Ron DeSantis: Tonight was the night that Gov. DeSantis put it all together. He hit Trump with effective jabs. Gov. DeSantis said Trump "should explain why he racked up so much debt. He should explain why he didn't drain the Swamp and he said Republicans would get tired of winning. Well, we saw last night. Well, I'm sick of losing." Check this out:

After the debate, Chip Roy explained why he's supporting Gov. DeSantis: If you're looking for a celebrity with a big personality who gets some positive things done but then shoves his foot in his mouth up to his knee, then Donald Trump is your guy. If you want a guy who won't hesitate to lie if it helps him win, then Donald Trump is your candidate. If you want a no-drama guy who gets important things accomplished with little fanfare but who also can be relied upon to keep his promises while growing the GOP, then the only guy left standing is Gov. DeSantis.

Comments

  1. jerrye92002November 9, 2023 at 7:48 AM

    To me the overwhelming question is how to reconcile the "never Trump" wing of the Party with the "ONLY Trump" wing. Sure, Trump fell short on performance, but still accomplished a great deal, especially in driving Democrats and the MSM into full-blown TDS. LOTS of people just love that, and with it still evident, want more of it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. R-FiveNovember 9, 2023 at 3:29 PM

      That move has to be Trump’s, draping the robe of state over DeSantis’s shoulders. Like Moses and Joshua.

      Delete
    2. Gary GrossNovember 10, 2023 at 2:25 AM

      That won't come easy for a magnanimous person like Trump. Oh wait. He isn't that magnanimous. LOL

      Delete
    3. jerrye92002November 11, 2023 at 9:35 AM

      It does appear that Trump (or his minions) have diminished their attacks on DeSantis and started pushing real policy proposals. Wouldn't it be great if we finally had an election in which policy was the deciding factor?

      Delete
    4. Gary GrossNovember 13, 2023 at 4:06 PM

      With Trump in the race, that won't happen. He loves the limelight too much. PS- In case nobody's noticed, this year's Trump is less issues-oriented & a) more into attacking Gov. DeSantis & b) citing junk polls. Let's see what happens as activists get serious in Iowa & NH.

      Delete
  2. jerrye92002November 15, 2023 at 9:58 AM

    It still bothers me greatly that the arguments against Trump tend towards his personality, rather than policy. Yes, he has an ego a mile wide and is a "showman" with a gift of gab. The biggest complaint seems to be his pugnacious nature- the "mean tweets"-- but that is what so many of us like about him! He simply annoys the dickens out of all the "best people."

    My big concern about the polls isn't that they show Trump handily beating Biden, or any other Dem, but that the easy poll answers may not translate to real votes, or that /real/ ballots will not decide the election. And of course, the long-standing problem of voting negatively based on personality rather than positively based on policy.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Is Joe Biden our Grifter-in-Chief?

Image
Apparently, Joe Biden doesn't care about the law or Supreme Court rulings. When asked about the ruling on his student loan bailout, Biden said that the Supreme Court misinterpreted the Constitution. He knows they didn't. That's just what he said to preserve the opportunity to introduce his next unconstitutional plan that will get rejected by the Supreme Court. This isn't about whether it's constitutional. It's about whether he can con enough young people into voting for him in 2024. Biden must've anticipated this ruling. Within an hour of the ruling, the Administration was out with this detailed fact sheet to replace the plan that he knew would fail. It opens with the same partisan attack as Democrats have mouthed. The fact sheet opens by saying "No President has fought harder for student debt relief than President Biden, and he’s not done yet. President Biden and Vice President Harris will not let Republican elected officials succeed in denying hard
Read more

Tim Walz's Confederate Flag Fiasco

Image
After Minnesota's Democrats shoved the most controversial progressive legislation down Minnesotans' throats, gossip started popping up about Gov. Walz being interested in running for president . That's died off but Gov. Walz is still making headlines, this time for all the wrong reasons. First, Gov. Walz isn't the brightest bulb in the chandelier. Still, Gov. Walz is fighting against Minnesota's history. This Alpha News article quotes David Hann, the chairman of Minnesota's Republican Party, as saying " The flag the DFL has eliminated was a version of the historic flag our regiments fought under during the Civil War. Minnesota was the first state to offer troops to the Union cause in 1861 , beginning a long tradition of leading the nation in confronting injustice. The DFL quest to erase our history is repugnant and should be rejected." Gov. Walz, though, sees things differently. He's quoted as saying "Minnesota is a diverse state, it continue
Read more

Maria Bartiromo's interrogation of Gov. Ron DeSantis

Image
Yesterday, Maria Bartiromo interrogated Gov. Ron DeSantis on Sunday Morning Futures. The first half of the interview, Bartiromo asked policy questions. Gov. DeSantis showed his understanding of the issues and presented his solutions on everything from China, inflation and growing the economy. The first reply he had was to cut spending. His next reply was to open energy production. Third, he talked about the importance of increasing productivity, which he correctly said is the best way to eliminate inflation. A little over half the way through the interview, though, it turned into an attack. Bartiromo asked "I'm wondering what's going on with your campaign. There was a lot of optimism about you running for president earlier in the year but here's this weekend's headline from the Politico Playbook: Failure to launch. Gov. Ron DeSantis's campaign to topple Donald Trump has stalled. We are way behind says a top DeSantis PAC official. What happened? Despite that bad
Read more