Fox Republican debate thread 6 pm Pacific

[usanevada]

"Edited to add: Ron Paul did mention China briefly. He's consistent that way"

So is Rudi as far as being mayor of NY

[GeorgiaPeach]

Hi Rockfish. The voter fraud issue is a serious problem which can truly influence the Presidential Election and elections in general. I found a fascinating article when doing some illegal immigration information searching that explained that it was only so many thousands of votes that separated Candidate votes in the State Governor's race. This group had registered just shy of the thousands of votes needed to turn the election. They were registering immigrants through drivers licenses since the state gave drivers licenses to illegals and you can register to vote by mail.

Matthew 5:44

[GeorgiaPeach]

Continue to read and or post on Townhall at:

Mike Huckabee has some unfavorable comments in regards to illegal immigration. Add your own.

http://www.townhall.com/blog/default.as ... ebb33074d0

Matthew 5:44

[Populist]

Did anyone catch the interview after the debate with McCain and Hannity? He said he changed his mind about securing the border first, because he heard the people. Then he said, but the people still want some kind of pathway for the illegals here. He just never gives up, does he.

McCain is probably basing this on the flawed NYT, LAT polls we saw this summer which list a bunch of supposedly tough conditions, e.g., learn English, pay fines etc. that have to be met first, then Americans will accept a pathway.

But what these bogus polls don't do is offer the alternative of attrition through enforcement of laws, which win overwhelmingly against amnesty when asked in polls. Mark Krikorian from the CIS discussed thiss recently. His research director called one of the polling firms who didn't even know about the attrition method.

The polls and pols usually set up the false choice between mass amnesty & mass deportation.

[Bren4824]

MCCAIN IS A LYING SACK

WE ARE NOT WILLING TO LOOK AT A GUESTWORKER OR
AMNESTY PROGRAM

That was the most galling comment. It was "Americans want comprehensive immigration reform" all over again. He's committed his spiel to memory, so I guess there's no need for cue cards:"seal the borders.....''we'll deal with the 12 million here in a humane and compassionate fashion.." If McCain gets the nomination it will add fuel to our opponents' argument that Americans are less invested in the illegal immigration issue than previously; we'll have to redouble our efforts with the House and Senate.

Huckster just stunk tonight. He looked nervous and on the defensive. I thought his weaknesses on some issues were very evident, particularly foreign policy. I guess that's a topic that doesn't lend itself too well to the inclusion of homespun Mayberry observations.
Romney was very impressive on immigration and the Middle East, but I give him an F on that crack at Paul. I hope he apologized later.
McCain was just bizarre at times. I'm starting to find him very unsettling, particularly when I think of the prospect of him winning the nomination.
Rudy was just Rudy.
Fred Thompson was great on immigration and foreign policy, and I loved the trouncing of Huckster.
Ron Paul: I just want to give him a hug. I'm really sick of people beating up on him. I agree with him on many issues, and I found myself thinking if he looked like Mitt Romney he'd probably be leading the pack. When I listen to him I sometimes think he's simulataneously behind and ahead of his time. What I admire most about him is that he has the courage of his convictions. I liked his response to the question about the 911ers, or whatever they were called.

Overall, I thought this was the weakest debate of the last three. I did get a kick out of the Star Spangled Banner intro. It looked like prom night! Only in the South!

I agree with some of your comments.

Romney wasn't picking on Ron Paul-----his response would have been the same to any of them that said what Ron did. All he said was......."Ron you need to stop reading the Ahmendinijad playbook"-----which is true. He was saying that because Ron was talking about the BS report/video that Iran released today----trying to blame the US for what happened with the ships the other day. He was polite to him later in the debate---when he was answering something about illegals.

You are right about McCain........I caught part of the debate again----a part that I missed when it was on the first time. Did you see McCain's face when Ron Paul was talking??? Also, when they were getting ready to cut to a commercial.........I heard McCain say---in his usual snide manner......."We missed you the other night"-----talking about Paul not being in the debate the other night.

[Populist]

Alan Combes just brought up a survey that said 47% of America wants a pathway to citizenship for illegals

See my comment above.

[Bren4824]

Here is where you will find the answer you seek.

It is hard to believe that those things are still around!!

[Bren4824]

I don't recall them discussing the issue of trade with China? Did I miss it somehow?

It was brought up during the last debate!!

China could be a debate all on its own!!

[GeorgiaPeach]

(quote)


Thursday, January 10, 2008
Tonight's Debate
Posted by: Hugh Hewitt at 10:11 PM
UPDATE: John McCain with Sean Hannity immediately after the debate compounds his error on immigration by giving the impression that the only change needed in McCain-Kennedy is border-security first. Wow. He just doesn't get it.

Romney followed McCain and by contrast shined, and spent time talking about the Reagn example and inspiration and the Reagan-Bush legacy. Romney also got the opportunity to talk to Michigan voters. "I continue to feel that you cannot write off jobs," he replied to Sean's question about McCain's "straight-talk" about Michigan's economic woes, and spoke specifically to the auto industry's renewal in Michigan. Assuming that conservatives watching the debate stuck around for 20 minutes, Romney did himself a great deal of good in the after-game.

ORIGINAL POST

Fred had a great night, Mitt a good one and Rudy did fine as well.

Senator McCain struggled, especially on the question of what to do if recession arrives, when he channeled Herbert Hoover and spoke only about cutting spending. His talk of global warming was a bright red flag to conservatives, and his repeating of his "change" answer from Sunday night --that he helped change the policy in Iraq-- underscored the impression that he was running through some talking points he understands to be safe. "Not for profit, but for patriotism" was another example of a recycled rhetoric from Sunday. His answer on deferring to captains-at-sea was a strong point, but that was the only one. His halting and often rambling answers and occasional grimaces and winks just don't work on television, and his immigration answers just don't fly. He has had three sub-par debate performances in a row.

The huge loser tonight was Mike Huckabee, thanks largely to Fred and Chris Wallace who peeled the bark off of Huck's ideology. Huck bristled at Wallace at one point, and when pushed on why he raised taxes and spending, barked back, "I raised expectations." That might work with Democrats --though it probably doesn't in this day and age-- but it sure doesn't work with Republican voters. Huck's whining about the religion question was also off-putting coming from a candidate who has so often injected religion into this campaign.

Romney had less screen time tonight, but each time he answered he was poised and eloquent. The opening response on the economy, aimed specifically at Michigan voters was very strong, and his "Nope" answer to Wallace's question about whether the voters in New Hampshire might be saying that they do not want change in D.C. was perfect pitch, and his grasp of the foreign affairs questions impressive. The fact that the debate ended on immigration helped him as well as it again underscores that John McCain still doesn't grasp or won't admit that the McCain-Kennedy bill was the problem throughout 2005 and 2006, not the fact that "Americans need to restore their trust in the government." The specifics of the McCain bill is what soured the debate, and McCain's absolute refusal to concede this renders his conversion on border security completely suspect.

Mitt, Fred and Rudy have generally done well in these settings since they began at the Reagan Library last year, McCain wasn't a factor until recently and he has struggled to get through them, and while Huckabee used the early debates to charm folks, his performance has plummeted as focus on his record has increased. There's a huge message in the last three debates about the issue differences between the candidates on taxes and immigration, with Giuliani, Romney and Thompson on one side and Huckabee and McCain on the other side. And there's a message about who can win these contests in the fall, and it isn't Senator McCain or Governor Huckabee.

(quote)

http://hughhewitt.townhall.com/blog

Matthew 5:44

[GeorgiaPeach]

Here is why Mitt Romney keeps mentioning the one gold and two silver. Check out the primary vote totals at the top of page.

http://hughhewitt.townhall.com/blog

http://www.redstate.com/blogs/thunder/2 ... nomination

Race At A Glance
Total Primary Votes: Romney McCain Huckabee Giuliani Thompson
Iowa 29,494 15,559 40,841 4,097 15,904
New Hampshire 75,202 88,447 26,760 20,387 2,884

Total 104,696 104,006 67,601 24,484 18,788
Total Delegates: 30 10 21 1 6

Matthew 5:44