The absurd, reactionary and economically incompetent Balanced Budget Amendment (Perry) and the absurd, reactionary and economically incompetent Fair Tax (Cain). Again... barring a total internal meltdown by the Democratic Party, not one of these folks stands a chance.
8:50pm cst - "It isn't authorized in the Constitution to run the welfare state," says Ron Paul. Except for the clearly enumerated right of congress to regulate the economy, pass levies and taxes and do so in the interest on the general welfare.
8:47pm cst - WOW. Rick Perry has "never struggled" with the possibility that one of the men whose execution orders he signed might have been innocent. Cameron Todd Willingham
8:43pm cst - Sully just nailed it "Does the president have the right to fire the Fed chairman tomorrow? Gingrich's belligerence is truly off the charts. Why is he up there? Listening to this debate, it seems as if American conservatism is now actively contemptuous of any environmental protection. Green conservatism is dead in this country."
8:41pm cst - Bachmann actually says moving away from coal in order to create a sustainable future is not about "science" or health... it's purely political.
8:39pm cst - RED ALERT. Huntsman doubles down and backs science. Perry is not comfortable. He says climate change science is "not settled."
8:36pm cst - Huntsman finally says, bring "the troops home." He really is the only man on the stage who understands national security and the fact that it must be discussed soberly and without pamphleteering.
Romney proves he doesn't have the mettle. Perry actually walks away from one of his great moments where he described the last decade's military policy was "adventurism." Then he issues backhanded remarks about "Keynesianism" and praises the President (?) for keeping Gitmo open.
Bachmann says "we have maintained global order" for years. Really? Really? Uh oh, let's all be afraid of a "nuclear Iran." Obama has "put us more at risk than at any time." Yeah. Those Soviets were pussies. It's totally the guy with the bomb belt that embodies the existential threat.
8:27pm cst - The line of the night! Huntsman "I'd like to have everyone sign a pledge to take no pledges."
8:24pm cst - A repeat of last debates 10 to 1 cuts and tax ratio question. Perry goes for the BBA. Idiot.
8:24pm cst - The final break has arrived. Not one question or statement about the most recently identified roughly $100 billion in defense waste. Not one question or statement about a specific way for government to address the collapse in aggregate demand. Not one question or statement about how to bring the troops home from our decade long state of permawar.
8:19pm cst - Border Security. Perry actually just called the President a "liar." Romney says we need a "fence." In fact, Romney says it repeatedly. He also is calling our allegedly lax deportation mechanisms as a magnet. Gingrich says we should "make English the official language on American government." To be fair, Newt does say that we can't blanket deport and future policy must be humane. Santorum stumbles a bit over his own immigrant heritage. Bachmann brings back the FEAR. "Narco terrorism!" Ooh. She visited the the Bay of Pigs Museum. What the fuck? Wow, this is very likely the end of her campaign.
Huntsman: blah, blah, blah "I have immigrant daughters" blah, blah, blah. He does note that the "legal immigration" system is "broken."
Ron Paul brings the drug war back into it and says he is against the militarization of the border.
8:10pm cst - Gingrich actually just said he supports a "Pell grant for K through 12." Amazing. Not only would that likely be the largest expansion of federal involvement in education since the creation of the D of E, it would mean as many as 16 years of student loans crippling future Americans.
8:07pm cst - Perry describes his massive cuts to education in Texas, with its worst record of graduation in the country, as "thoughtful cuts." Far out.
Gingrich: "charter schools" - Jesus H Christ.
8:05pm cst - Apparently, Paul thinks we don't really need a TSA. Just more pilots "with guns." He also thinkls people should stop building "where they shouldn't be building." He says FEMA is "$20 billion in debt." Wow. It's a profit making venture? New Orleans, perhaps, should have relocated before all that pesky flooding nonsense bothered all the surrounding white people.
Cain, to his credit, says "fix" rather than eliminate either agency. Then, of course, he lapsed into some state's rights lunacy.
Huntsman tries to steer the discussion back to the economy.
8:00pm cst - Gingrich can't resist defending DHS. Paul accuses the TSA of "sexual" impropriety. These guys are nuts.
8:00pm cst - Perry has been forced to defend his notorious HPV vaccine requirement and actually does so. It's good to know he's "against cancer." Was anyone wondering? Bachmann jumped from condemning that program to condemning organized education in general. Santorum is asked about a previous, and very sober, argument against the largest expansion of the government in U.S. history, the creation of the Department of Homeland Security. He completely ignores it and takes another swipe at Perry's HPV vaccine program.
7:54pm cst - Yeah. It's Perry squirming over his book. Perry says if you've already got yours, your fine. C'mon, elderly voters, why fight for future generations, who apparently will be making something less than minimum wage, to have security. "PONZI SCHEME!" He said it. Awesome. Stunning. This is better than I expected.
Romney is the first to say it works and must be saved. He just secured the retired GOP vote. period.
Perry doubles down says "get America working again!" How that benefits the retired is a mystery to me.
Ugh. Cain endorse a "Chilean model" of retirement funding. I wonder how many people we will have to disappear WTF?
7:47pm cst - Well, another reason to not have the debate at the Reagan library. A maudlin tribute to the Reagans has now interpreted the debate.
7:44pm cst - Break time. Well, we are 40 minutes in and only one fundamental has been confirmed. There hasn't been a single, specific proposal for new government policy. The entire field is playing to the belief of their base that all government is damaging or dangerous. Gingrich has been a pissy, little bully. Huntsman has snarked. Bachmann has been unusually dignified. Santorum hasn't had much of a chance to say anything. It would seem that the candidates would have us believe that a recreation of the Reagan Era is possible. Which is ridiculous. It is 2011.
7:39pm cst - Paul says getting rid of the minimum wage would "really help the poor."
7:38pm cst - Energy. Romney say "offshore drilling" and more "nuclear plants. Bachmann uses her ridiculous observation about gas prices "when Obama took office" demonstrating her continued failure to understand commodities. Where are Randolph and Mortimer Duke when we need them. Huntsman makes a teleprompter joke about POTUS.
7:35pm cst - A half hour in and the first use of the word ":poverty." Santorum highlights his support of 90s era "welfare reform." Yeah, let's put a new "work requirement" in place for aid... when there are no jobs. The profound disconnect among the candidates is palpable. Blah, blah, blah "culture of dependency."
Perry actually comes back and addresses the lack of jobs. But, he doesn't say how to create them. I suppose it's all those taxes at 60 year lows that killin' 'em. "We need to get focused on creating jobs." REALLY? Wow. If only any other American had thought of that sooner.
7:30pm cst - Gingrich attacks the moderators and the media. Obamacare is "killing jobs." Wow. Just, wow. Cain says an "individual mandate" is not Constitutional. I suppose all that Constitutional study running bad pizza joints makes him qualified. And... yes he just brought up his dubious tenure as the head of the National Restaurant Association.
7:27pm cst - Huntsman says Obamacare "will be" repealed. Ridiculous. Bachmann... actually suddenly sounds more practical than the rest of the candidates. I shit you not. She outright says that Obamacare will not be so easily repealed... but, doubles down on her commitment to repeal it.
7:25pm cst - Perry promises to mess with Medicare "on day one." Seriously. He says the "entire program should be block granted back to the states." One more time... the worst health care in America is the Texas system.
7:23pm cst - Gingrich is trying to attach himself to Reagan and is the first to call the economy "the Obama stagnation." He takes credit for Clinton's welfare reforms, Clinton's balanced budget, Clinton's tax rates... And? gets the strongest applause of the night. Facepalm. Epic tech fail in question to Romney about Mass health care program.
WOW. Perry actually has the nerve to say Romneycare proves what will not work. Yesterday's Gallup analysis of healthcare shows that Mass has the highest rate of coverage in the nation and Texas has the lowest.
7:18pm cst - Ron Paul says that the only regulation we need is the "market" and its "dictates." State regs are apparently okay, but federal regs are totally anathema. Brian Williams asks about safety. "Who writes the regulations?" asks Paul. Paul actually seems to be suggesting that manufacturers of products should be writing their own regs.
7:16pm cst - Bachmann says everything is the fault of Obamacare. I am not making this up. She "spent three weeks going to restaurants." WELL... that is some research. She has one million biological and foster kids. Wow.
7:14pm cst - Huntsman comes out swinging with the fact that he actually did have the best rate of growth as a governor.
7:12pm cst - The Romney/Perry fight is nasty. Okay, there are fireworks. I stand corrected. Romney managed to make a dig about Dukakis creating more jobs in Mass. Romney fired back by being the first to conflate Perry with Bush and suggest Bush was a better leader.
Santorum actually says bring the corporate tax rate to zero. Cain endorses the "skin in the game" and tax the poor program.
7:08pm cst - Brian Williams is to commended by firing back about Romney's business practices having relied so heavily on outsourcing. Romney looks like there's a little too much starch in that collar and sounds defensive. Perry gets a rebuttal to Romney and says Romney had a great private sector record of creating jobs "all around the world." Romney is pissed.
7:04pm cst - Starting with Perry - Perry completely doubles down on his record of creating an paper hat army of fry-droppers. Ignores the entire substance of the questions. "Lower the tax burden." Wow. Epic.
Romney is next, and makes the dig about "having worked in the private sector." No fireworks yet.
Here it comes
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