Thread: Struggling GOP contenders relish moment to ignore Trump

Struggling GOP contenders relish moment to ignore Trump

For five hours at a South Carolina forum, substance was more important than style in the Republican primary race.

By Anna Palmer

01/09/16 06:05 PM EST

COLUMBIA, S.C. — A hooting Donald Trump and hollering Ted Cruz overflow crowd this was not.

As Trump packs stadiums across the country, and Cruz treks through Iowa expanding his lead, the rest of the Republican field – desperate for traction – debated the finer points of the earned-income tax credit, charter-school education and how the Republican Party can help alleviate poverty at the sedate — and serious — Kemp Forum on Expanding Opportunity.

It was a welcome change for many of those running for the Republican Party's nomination: No talk of banning Muslims from the country or arming elementary schools. And no request from the moderators to respond to any of Trump's latest insults.

The downside? Nobody was paying attention.

And that's why the forum neatly explained the 2016 race. It lasted more than five hours, the crowd was tame and the candidates — many of whom have struggled to break through — spent the entirety of the session in a collegial back-and-forth discussion of vital, if mundane policy proposals that polls suggest most voters don't care a lick about.

“I’m a wonk. I believe in policy. I believe in ideas,” said Jeb Bush, who shared the stage with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and neurosurgeon Ben Carson.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich also bragged about his background in legislating, telling the audience that he was “involved in writing the first set of welfare” reform.

Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) who moderated the conversations with South Carolina Republican Sen. Tim Scott, agreed that the event was a breath of fresh air from the 2016 campaign trail.

“Most of the candidates said that to me, 'This is great, this is better. We have more than 30 seconds so we can actually talk about an issue and get out there and discuss these things,’” Ryan said in an interview after the event. “I gotta think some of these reporters that just track these guys every day. It was probably a break for the press, too.”

Trump and Cruz didn't show up to the event. And the conversations that took place were a stunning contrast to the heated rhetoric that those two poll leaders are employing to draw crowds and build support in the early voting states.

The night before the GOP poverty event, 60-some miles from here in Rock Hill, South Carolina, Trump held court in front of a boisterous packed-to-the-rafters crowd. In a wide-ranging speech, he praised the capture of Mexican drug lord “El Chapo,” who had threatened to kill the real estate magnate, had a Muslim women who silently protested during the event kicked out and rallied the crowd with exclamations about how he was going to “knock the **** out of ISIS.”

Meanwhile, Cruz made headlines in Iowa when he likened spanking his daughter to the spanking Hillary Clinton could get from voters.

Participants including Kasich and Sen. Lindsay Graham of South Carolina praised Ryan and Scott's effort to engage in a substantive conversation that was more in line with a wonky Washington think tank discussion than the rough-and-tumble presidential campaign.

Graham, who sparred with Trump before dropping out of the race last month, didn’t mince words when asked about the difference in tone of the event compared to Trump’s rallies.

“If you are real loud here you are a jerk,” Graham joked, noting that Trump has 81 percent disapproval rating with Hispanics with “growth potential.”

“The fact that we are talking about this issue is a welcome break from the primary chatter,” he said, noting that he had tried to inject a similar policy conversation focused on national security before dropping out of the race.

After leaving the main stage, Kasich said he has long wanted a more substantive conversation to be integral to the presidential campaign process.

“In the debate you get six minutes in two hours,” Kasich said. “People can’t see your personality. They can’t see what you are made of. They can’t see your heart. It’s extremely difficult.”

GOP presidential candidates, such as Bush, who has struggled to break through, appeared to revel in spending time discussing his policy positions in a non-confrontational environment.

The former Florida governor walked the audience through his policy positions on block grants, the need to focus on marriage and creating a work-based competency system.

Christie also spent several minutes talking about the details of the earned income tax credit and how increasing the refundable tax credit incentivized poor people to seek employment.

While the candidates largely were in sync, the afternoon session with Kasich and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) was interrupted multiple times by young immigration protestors.

The protesters, who were quickly escorted out by police, introduced the only bit of drama at the event. The protesters were targeting the Florida Republican’s position on the country’s immigration laws.

But even that didn’t cause a break in the comity.

“We’re going to enforce our immigration laws, guys,” Rubio responded to raucous applause.

Kasich quickly added some backup to diffuse the situation. “We heard it. Thank you very much.”

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/0...p-forum-217539

Christie also spent several minutes talking about the details of the earned income tax credit and how increasing the refundable tax credit incentivized poor people to seek employment.

Where was the discussion on ending the earned income tax credit for illegal aliens?

“We’re going to enforce our immigration laws, guys,” Rubio responded to raucous applause.

Darn, there goes that fox trying to shove more chickens in his hen house!