Republican Debate Analysis 12-15-2015

Ronnie R: Every opening statement is scripted and is meant to set the tone for the debate. The point is to elicit a certain feeling by the audience, so below is how I “heard” what they said as a conservative primary voter:

Paul: We cannot lose our freedoms while defending the country Kasich: blah blah, my family worked hard, blah blah, America, blah blah Christie: Barack Obama is terrible and I'm better Fiorina: I'm a strong and powerful woman and you should vote for me because of that Bush: I still can't put a coherent sentence together, I make W sound articulate. Rubio: My foreign policy is better than Barack Obama's Cruz: Border security is national security Carson: The moment of silence (while I believe was genuine) seemed very gimmicky. Trump: People are screwing us! I'll screw them! Jimmy D: Opening statements are always so painful and scripted. Rubio: “This President has destroyed our military.” Cruz: “We will hunt down and kill the terrorists. We will stop the attacks BEFORE they even occur.” Dr Carson: “Our very existence is dependent on destroying ISIS.” Trump: I'm center stage so look at me. Christie: Barack Obama and Hillary are destroying everything. Everyone stuck to their campaign slogans...except for one. There was one candidate on this stage who I felt spoke from the heart and actually cares about my rights. That was Rand Paul. If the object of the opening statements is to differentiate yourself from the pack, Rand Paul did that. Ronnie R: As we got into the meat of the debate a couple of skirmishes broke out between candidates. I give kudos to CNN for allowing several of them to play out. Right from the get go, Bush went after Trump and for the first time I actually saw some fight from Jeb. I think Trump ultimately won the battle but Jeb made him sweat a little. Cruz and Rubio got into it several times and it was a great exchange between the two of them. Ultimately I would call their scuffles a stalemate and I don't see either gaining or losing from them. Christie and Paul also got into it several times and Rand cleaned the floor with Chris. Rand also got into it with Rubio and Kasich, it was interesting to see Paul get a LOT of air time, despite barely making the stage. Jimmy D: There were some things that actually scared me. Mainly, every candidate on stage is planning to govern from a place of fear except for Rand Paul. Each candidate is allowing emotions to dictate how they will govern. Do we want a President who will govern from fear? Each candidate wants to fund the military (more) and strategize to defeat ISIS. They don't say what they really mean...and that is boots on the ground. Most importantly, John Kasich wants to decrypt the internet. That's insanity. I like my privacy. I keep coming back to Ben Franklin's “Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” Ronnie R: This debate will be instrumental in eliminating some of the back-benchers to your point Jimmy. Kasich, Fiorina and Christie went on and on about Obama failures while providing ZERO vision for how they would be different. I see them losing what little support they have to Rand Paul. Rand specifically countered their “fear tactics” with a hopeful, conservative alternative. I think Rand had a very specific tactic this debate, take out the amateurs that are fracturing his support. If he can capture the market share left by these three that will put him around 10-15% and right in the thick of it going into Iowa. Jimmy D: Ultimately, I want a President who is cool, calm, and collected. There were 9 candidates on the stage tonight and the only 2 who seemed cool, calm, and collected were Marco Rubio and Rand Paul. I don't necessarily agree with everything Marco Rubio and Rand Paul say. Hell, I agree with almost nothing that Marco Rubio says. But I would agree that they appear ready for a big stage. I would agree that those two men look Presidential. I would agree that those two men should be the front runners. They should have their own stage. Hopefully, we get to that point. Bottom line: If I'm a moderate Republican voter, Marco Rubio and Rand Paul won. But moderates don't win primaries. Ronnie R: It was interesting to see Trump get a little frazzled on the details at several points. The other candidates have learned how to deal with him and we have seen it the past 3 weeks. Specific, direct attacks affect Trump, he is very good at broad platitudes but loses on the details. I think Ted Cruz had one of the most critical lines during the debate where he very articulately described the difference between Muslims and radical Muslims. It was lost a little in the scuffle with Rubio but that definition should be played out in the argument against ISIS. Ben Carson was the biggest loser tonight, he again showed how unprepared he is to discuss foreign policy. Christie, Fiorina, Bush and Kasich should drop out tomorrow... Bottom Line: As a conservative primary voter, Ted Cruz and Rand Paul resonated most with me and I see them continuing to gain traction.

#discussion