Revisions/extensions (07:36 5/16/2007) – Just so you’re not confused about the “DING”s, that’s the bell that Fox News used to let everybody know one of these jokers passed their time limit, not me agreeing with any particular thing that one of these jokers said.
After proving that they’re braver than the Dems by debating on The Main Enemy’s Network (in the Pubbies’ case, MSNBC), Fox News proudly presents Round 2 among the 10 announced Pubbie candidates from South Carolina tonight at 8 Central. Burning questions:
– Will Rudy Giuliani further alienate himself among conservatives?
– How will John McCain mark the passing of Jerry Falwell?
– How many times will Tommy Thompson have a “hearing aid failure”?
– Do ANY of these jokers have a chance against Fred Thompson when he finally announces?
Joining in the live-blogging – Sister Toldjah, who deserves the break after suffering through MSNBC, and Free Republic, and Hot Air (added at 19:37), and Ace of Spades, who’s hosting the drinking games (added 19:58)
19:27 (I don’t feel like typing “p.m.”; deal with it) – Sean Hackbarth has a few more questions. My favorite, especially since I don’t recall any South Carolina sports heroes – “What local sports hero will Sen. Sam Brownback slight?”
19:32 – Somebody slap some sense into Ted Olson. Ted, you’re a great guy, but Rudy is a liberal.
19:48 – Katon Dawson (SC GOP Chair) advocates pandering. Also, it seems the Fox clock is a bit fast.
19:51 – The candidates are up on the stage for pre-debate photo ops, and Alan Colmes is wondering who will run the furthest away from President Bush (my money’s on Ron Paul).
20:00 – We go live to Brit Hume.
20:01 – Ground rules – 1 minute to answer, 30 seconds to rebut at the discretion of Hume, and we’ve got the bell instead of the buzzer. No react on Falwell because there’s been enough.
20:05 – Chris Wallace – McCain, why should Americans continue to die if Iraqis aren’t stepping up? If we fail in Iraq, we will see Iraq become a haven for Al Qaeda and they will follow us home. The surge is a good strategy. Says war has been mishandled, Maliki government needs to step up.
20:06 – Wallace – Tommy, explain your plan to force the Iraqi government to vote on our presence and split the oil revenues. If the 18 provinces elected their government like we elected governors, blah, blah, blah.
20:07 – Wallace – Romney, would you pull out without victory? No, brings up the Caliphate.
20:08 – Wallace – Brownback, should we as a country pull together? Yes, blasts the DhimmiRATs for pushing for defeat. Pushes a weak federal/strong 3-state solution. DING DING DING!
20:10 – Wallace – Rudi, is your commitment to win open-ended unlike the Senate “Pubbies” who want us out in September if there’s no progress? Brings up the Fort Dix 6
20:12 – Wallace – Tancredo, are you giving the Islamokazis a timetable? Trying to retreat from a retreat-and-defeat. DING DING! Wallace – Paul, “Are you running for the nomination of the wrong party?” – Quagmire! Brings up Reagan’s retreat from Beirut. DING DING!
20:14 – Hunter – As we get the Iraqi Army up, we’re going to get the heavy troops out.
20:15 – Huckabee – You better get the best advice you can.
20:16 – Question from Harry in Boston – “Would you do a pre-emptive strike against Iran?” Gilmore – Continue the EU3 approach.
20:18 – Golner taking over – Whacks “Flip Flop Mitt” on the tax issue. Romney claims he didn’t raise taxes (must’ve went to the Craps School of Tax Issues). Add Michelle Malkin to the liveblogging brigade.
20:20 – McShame defending his opposition to the Bush tax cuts by saying nobody cut spending.
20:21 – Line of the night from Huckabee – Congress “has spent money like John Edwards in a beauty shop”, as he pushes the “Fair”Tax.
20:22 – Golner whacking Rudi on his free-spending ways in NYC.
20:23 – Brownback pushing corn-a-hole, biodiesel, drilling, conservation (in that order) as the answer to high gas prices. Be “energy-secure in North America in 15 years.”
20:24 – Brian from Ft Wayne – “What would you do to control pork spending?”. Tommy not telling the whole truth about Wisconsin (he merely spent like McCain’s drunken sailor instead of the Rat Legislature’s planned passed-out sailor). Would eliminate the CDC stockpile program, couldn’t list 2 others.
20:26-20:28 – Paul would kill Energy, Education, Homeland Security. DING DING!
20:29 – Third Rail of Social Security is out there for Gilmore. Pushes caps, culture change to self-sufficiency, tax cuts. All-but-calls out Rudi and McShame.
20:30 – Hunter on trade – Enforce the trade laws with Red China, zero out the manufacturing taxes. “Arsenal of Democracy is leaving our shores.”
20:31 – Tancredo – Pubbies lost the mantle of fiscal responsibility. Takes whacks at No Child Left Behind, MediScare Part D. DING DING!
20:32 – BREAK!!!
20:36 – Wallace is back. Gilmore asked about the shots taken at the opposition. Breaks out the abortion record of Rudi, the tax-hiking of Huckabee and gubmint health care plan of Romney by name.
20:37 – Rudi, are pro-abortion/pro-gun-grab/pro-DhimmiRAT stands true conservatism? – “I don’t think Rudy McRomney would make a bad ticket.” BOOO!!!!! Starts taking shots at Hitlery’s outright Communism. Didn’t answer in 1 minute, then goes back to Club for Growth.
20:40 – McShame, are tax hikes, amnesty and speech silencing true conservatism? – It’s bipartisanship, baby. Whacking Islamofascism uber alles.
20:41 – Huckabee, are tax hikes true conservatism? – I don’t apologize for raising taxes and government spending.
20:43 – Romney, are gun-grabbing, gay rights (back in 1994, Romney was proud to be more pro-homosex than The Swimmer), and pro-abortion true conservatism? – I’m as conservative as Taxachusetts can stand.
20:44 – Brownback, is amnesty true conservatism? – Yes, just as it was in 1986. DING DING!
20:45 – Back to Wendell asking The Other Thompson about stem cells – There’s enough stem cells, embryonic and otherwise, to not destroy any more embryos.
20:47 – Rudi – slavery bad, abortion good.
20:48 – Huckabee – Life begins at conception. Amen.
20:49 – Wendell trying to goad Brownback into allowing abortion on demand for rape victims. No dice, as it IS a child.
20:50 – Wendell trying to goad Romney into going back to his pro-abort state. Romney’s “Road to Damascus” moment was looking at rows of embryos destined to be destroyed for research.
20:52 – Finally back to Wallace asking Tancredo about immigration. Line of the night part two – “I believe those conversions when they happen on the Road to Damascus and not the Road to De Moines”.
20:53 – McShame proud of the pending Amnesty Lite.
20:56 – Romney wants those here illegally to first go home then apply legally. McShame-Swimmer will do to immigration what McShame-Slimeroad did to campaign finance.
20:57 – Rebuttal from McShame – I’m proud of the McShame-Slimeroad Lieberal Protetion Act.
20:58 – Rudi pressed on his old line of wanting illegals in NYC. Pushes biometrics and a national ID. DING DING!
20:59 – Scott from Colorado Springs – “How would you prevent illegals from using social services?”. Hunter – I built the San Diego border fence. Rips Bush for a “case of the slows” on the border fence. Removal of the revolving door would help.
21:00 – Wendell back – Paul, since you’re an isolationist, are you running for the wrong nomination? – Paul ignores recent history to spew ancient history. DING DING! Wendell whacks back by asking whether 9/11 changed anything – Paul still wants to go back to Fortress America.
21:03 – Rudi whacks Paul for saying that Iraq was the reason for 9/11. Make that WHACK.
21:04 – Royce from Philly – “Should SC fly the Confederate flag from state buildings?”. McCain – It shouldn’t have been a state issue (follow-up, whose issue is it then?), and I’m glad it’s no longer on top of the state Capitol.
21:06 – Huckabee asked about some guy who got paroled while he was governor who committed a heinous crime. Started blaming the parole board and the previous governor, said he denied clemency but fessed up to not having perfect foresight when it came out he said the con met the conditions for a parole hearing.
21:07 – Wendell brings up Gorebal Warming. Tancredo – I don’t quite buy it, but I want to cut petroleum products for security reasons. Oh, and Paul, you’re an ass.
21:10 – BREAK!
21:13 – Brit large and in charge. Premise – We’ve been hit by suicide bombers 3 times at shopping centers and a 4th attack was averted when we caught them and sent them to Club Gitmo. We think they have info on more planned attacks. McCain, how far would you go? It’s on my head, and I still oppose torture.
21:15 – Rudi, should waterboarding be used? – If we knew the terrorists had the info, use every means necessary.
21:16 – Romney, same question. – The key’s prevention. I’d be glad that they’re at Club Gitmo away from the lawyers. “We should double Guantamino.” “Enanced interrogation”, not torture.
21:17 – Brit adds to this – we’ve found out they trained in West Africa in a country that is hostile to us. Tommy, what would you do? – Trust, but verify, then kick ass.
21:18 – Brownback, would you go to the UN? HELL NO! American lives matter more than international opinion. Shoot first, apologize later.
21:19 – Hunter, same questions – Let’s kick ass quickly.
21:20 – McShame, are “enhanced interrogation” techniques torture? – Yes (I hope you don’t watch “24”, McShame).
21:21 – Gilmore, what would you do to protect the economy in this attack? – I have the experience because the Pentagon is in Virginia. I would tell the UN we’re kicking ass, and if you want in, come on in, and if you don’t, stay out of our way. Pushes info sharing. DING DING!
21:22 – Huckabee, what economic policies would you change? – It was good for President Bush to urge us back onto planes and into malls, but it will never be business as usual. Sacrifice as in WWII.
21:23 – Paul, same question (pointing out tax cuts helped) – Cut taxes, cut spending. Dances around the torture issue, and adopts the DhimmiRAT line on Afghanistan.
21:25 – Tancredo – “I’m looking for Jack Bauer.” I don’t recall Brit saying these were nukes.
21:26 – Finishing with Wallace – What does it say that there’s no woman or minority in the Gang of 10? Gilmore – Brought up the church burnings. Wallace pushes for an answer. They haven’t stood up yet.
21:29 – Romney, what flip-flops did you do that made you less popular with Pubbies? – No Child Left Behind, because I supported killing Dept. of Ed. back in 1994.
21:30 – Wendell – Hunter, is the ChiComs holding boku Treasury bonds a security threat? – Yes, and their arming is also a a threat.
21:30 – OVER AND OUT!
So, who won? I think the easier answer is, “Who lost?” Let’s start with Truther Ron Paul. He’s a 19th-century Fortress America guy in a 21st-century world. John McCain definitely is a one-note pony, and he’s not even all that strong on that one note. The Other Thompson is way out of his league, and considering that this league doesn’t have any stars, that’s saying a lot. Mitt Romney once again has proven that he’s the Republican John Kerry. Rudy Giuliani, while incredibly strong on his one note of national security, is anything but conservative. The rest of the field didn’t get much face time.
Bring on Fred!
One last update (22:32) – Allow me to explain The Other Thompson’s “1,900 veto” claim. Wisconsin has the broadest partial veto in the nation, and Tommy took it to such an extreme, the state Supreme Court said he could no longer strike individual characters (funny how they went to the tall grass when Jim “Craps” Doyle rewrote entire pages via the partial-veto pen). The 1,900 number is the number of times he struck letters/numbers/words from the budget.
