Republican Presidential Debate Open Thread
By Logan Murphy Tuesday Jan 29, 2008 7:02pm
The field has narrowed, Rudy is gone, Ron Paul remains and St. McCain has the Big Mo over Mittens.
You can stream the debate live at CNN.
Update: John Amato: Huckabee loves his highways. How does building them stimulate the economy?
Romney called McCain a liar over his allegations about the ABC/time table interview.
McCain says "of course he wanted the time table." I wish Cooper would let them duke it out...McCain is distorting his remarks. Doesn't he have the old Bush team that smeared him in SC working for him now?
Is Ron Paul in this debate?
Romney says al-Qaeda is as big as China. OMG...
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Who's next to go????
I hope Ron stays as their well-deserved gadfly.
[Deleted. Don't spoof the site monitors. The next time might be your last time. Site Monitor]
Oh boy........here we go!!! "yer a liberal" "no yer a liberal" "oh ya, yer a bigger liberal" "am not" "am too"
Ron Paul's support: a mile deep and 3 inches wide.
Mitt looks a lot like Sammy Malone, but greasier.
mccain just babbles. the thought of him as president is depressing.
hell, any of these assholes. MINUS ron paul, OF COURSE!
By wingnut standards McCain is liberal. By liberal standards he IS Atilla the Hun.
Gawd, McCain was responsible for the 9/11 Whitewash Commission? What did you say Condi? Purjory anyone?
McCain is a jerk. As though we need another uber-macho war-monger.
You give Ron Paul, a better picture than them turkeys! At least Ron Paul does have a home with Crooks & Liars. I hope Ron Paul continues to give pressure to the Republicans.
Haven't heard Paul say anything untrue yet. My hope is that intractible Gopers can be forced to listen to the sensible positions he holds. It's weird to hear one of those people tell the truth about how the republicans lied about how they would have a humble foreign policy in 2000, and now they've bogged the country down in multiple wars that are bleeding the treasury and wiping out the middle class.
Mythbusters is much more entertaining, so I'm done with the Raygun love fest.
how many times did they say Regan yet??
flamethrower @ 6:
Conversely Romney is a conservative by their standards, but by record he is a moderate/borderline liberal really. Up is down and black is white.
Who did McCain just signal to?
What world does Romney live in? Who can go to the hospital and get free care?
(Whisper in Romney's ear)...."Mention Reagan again."
flamethrower @ 15:
An Illegal alien
More nuclear power? Maybe that's where McCain got the goiter - living next to Homer's power plant.
I'd like to think that either Clinton or Obama could defeat the ruddy-faced, volcano-tempered warmonger from Arizona. But then, I never thought that a Manchurian-like buffoon such as Bunnypants could be installed as pResident twice.
I'm waiting for Ron Paul to go postal over being ignored. In 30 minutes he's spoken twice in a four person debate. Anderson just cut him off mid-response.
I'm so glad Huckabee has faded. He is scary.
ConcernedCanuck @ 3:
Apparently they're all born again environmentalists now.
Which of course can only mean they're all in the pocket of the nuclear industry.
Ben L. @ 20:
Postal? Bah. The post office is run by the federal government. Ron Paul goes DHL.
Rusty Shackleford @ 22:
touche
main stream media is horrible. cnn sucks. it would be nice, if they let the only true conservative up there speak. anderson cooper sucks. if i was ron paul i would be mega pissed. it also looks like ron paul is taller than the rest.
jason @ 24:
Such thought-provoking commentary.
McCain's trying to re-write history by saying the 2006 elections were about Congressional spending...guess he forgot about the failing war, the scandals within his own party, etc...
How many "voters" are currently watching American Idol right now??
Not one of them said that if u punish the employers then the illegals will stop comming
but that would be anti business (which is where they get their dough)
Here we go, blame the immigrants. But if Romney deports them, who's going to cut his lawn for next to nothing.
"I come from a border state where we know something about building walls..." ~John McCain
Man Republicans sure do love Reagan.
I'm not sure I'd vote for him, but it's really refreshing hearing Ron Paul's opinions compared to the others'.
huckabee going into mega-christ-lord mode!!!!
Mittens pic looks like he's about to do some fudge packin.
The Repubs won't like that.
this is sickening.
Oh, god, Reagan's diary!? "Too nervous to touch it" They asked a question written by the hand of god...wow, look at that leather binding and gold embossing. I'd be afraid to open it too. I've seen Raiders of the Lost Ark...
Ron Paul just got cut off again...
btgeorge @ 35:
it's really sad. i won't vote for any of them, but at least let Paul get a sentence out when you're letting McCain ramble on about building walls for minutes on end.
These guys are pathetic! Compared to the Democrats, they have no clue! I don't give a shit about who is more conservative.What group of self-deluded morons!
Ugh. Latest Rasmussen poll shows:
McCain, 48%, Clinton 40%
McCain 47%, Obama 41%
http://rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/election_20082/2008_...
Ugh.
McCain: "My friends, we'll be in Iraq for the next 100 years. My friends, the jobs aren't coming back."
Voters: "48% of us think you're better than Hillary Clinton! 47% of us agree you're better than Barack Obama!"
What a country.
Even if you don't agree with him you should at least let him finish speaking. McCain dissembling was great though - he supported a bill that he now wouldn't vote for.
Reminds me a bit of the "I voted for the bill before I voted against it" line the Repubs pulled out on Kerry in 2004.
Actually, John, a good highway project can do wonders for the local economy; of course to be effective for the whole country you have to have a large project that employs many people in many states.
I can not believe in a 4 man debate they have basically narrowed it to 2!!!! Ron Paul is visibly pissed...Cooper is an ass
LMFAO! That picture of Mittens is priceless! Thanks for posting that one, C & L
jackpine savage @ 29:
I had no idea McCain was from Berlin. Doesn't that disqualify him from running?
Thanks for the open thread.
I have a strong sudden urge to testify: fuck politics, I'm stoned to the bejeesus and listening to Todd Snider.
Heal your soul and play or listen to music.
That is all.
Kyle @ 43:
Actually McCain was born in Panama......... he really shouldnt be allowed to run
False choices? Win or get out? Dumbing down 101 from a dummy.
Romney:
There should be no time tables
we should stay there for the next 100 years just like my buddy McCain said
Unequibacally? Is Mitt's earpiece tuned into Fat Albert?
Watching these people try to out-conservative one another is depressing as hell.
heliograph @ 38:
It's the Democratic Party Establishment's fault. They could have had John Edwards, somebody whose message most certainly would have resonated with working Americans if they would have been allowed to hear it. But no, the Beltway Democratic Party chieftains had long since declared that we peons will vote for the Golden Girl of Triangulation and we'll like it. I knew since the beginning that if they went with Hillary as the Democratic Party nominee, somebody like McCain would eat her alive. Looks like we're condemned to have the GOP running things again in '08
'No rule' debate?
Too true....
not everyone gets equal time for answers, discussions.
not equal amount of questions.
not the same (non-/important) questions.
Guess (controlled) anarchy isn't that great either...
Btw, Logan Murphy, why no funny picture of Ron Paul :P
romney has answered the iraq timetable question a million times in 2 minutes. okay, you're against withdrawal. shut up. shut up!!
"april was an important year in 2007"
-john mccain
boy was it!
The Democrats in Congress had a mandate, have a mandate, WTF is a mandate?
Yup, we had a strange year in April. McCain was on the weeds for too long. Must be some of that Thai stick.
McCain: "April was a very interesting year in 2007."
Oh wow, now Mitt is getting all agitated. Go Mitt!
Uh oh...it looks like Romney and McCain are ready to throw down with each other....
I think we should be in Iraq forever. I win!
wheeewwwwww...McCain is going down in flames!
anderson cooper is losing what little control there was over this mess.
flamethrower @ 57:
Forever and a day! I win!
a.c. completly skipped Huckleberry and Paul and just let those two idiots (mittons and insane mccain)ramble on
Whoa...i thought Mitt was going to punch John for a second there. How much better could be if the Republican debate came to actual blows? If CNN's little reaction graph is to be believed, the viewers don't like McCain on Iraq vs. Romney. hehe...they hate each other soooo much. I wish that slick mittens wasn't from my state, which happens to look like a mitten. I wouldn't buy a used car from the guy much less let him run my country.
Between 8.31pm and 9:07pm Ron Paul has spoken for a total of...
...12 seconds.. after being cut off.
This is bull.
ya get the feeling Mittens is trying to get Mclame to show off that vaunted volcanic temper of his?
Any minute now one of them is going to say "I know you are but what am I?"
It is shameful how CNN is treating Ron Paul. They dont let him answer any question. He keeps being cut off, even mid sentence by Cooper. Not that I support any of them, but this is a debate right? America deserves better than this.
I think CNN doesnt want him there, but they are afraid of banning him. So, by not allowing him to talk, it is good for them because he looks bad by being silent. Just shameful of them...
I WANT TO SLAP MCCAIN, AHHH!
Does McCain really have a friend that is a human being? He's got Lieberman and Giuliani. Case closed.
Holy Shit!!
McCain called RichieRich out.
Guns & Butter!!!!
it's like i'm in econ class all over again.
ahhhhh ron paul is talking. seriously a breath of fresh air.
flamethrower @ 18:
Obama is 100% for Nuke power.
RWNAGE!
paul strikes again!
Gary @ 63:
Big deal...... Lets talk about Ron Paul
End all government.....stop paying taxes..... wont vote on an earmark but will ask for earmarks.... he is a hypocrite if he things government should be smaller, why does he try all he can to make government bigger?
kick him to the curb like the rest of them, we dont need another racist running our country
Once Again... Ron Paul is Winning the debate, and the same thing is happening, the Media acts like he is not even talking.
The System of Democracy in America has been taken over completely by the pundit, the media and TV personalities. Polling that is done during and immediately after the debates are ignored as if the opinion of the American public is unimportant.
Ron Paul steps in to the fray ya know for a minute there I thought a republican was making sense.
McCain just has no idea does he.
gene214 @ 50:
Both those polls have 12% undecideds. That's huge.
What's worse than victory with honor? Victory with dishonor.
Eisenhower was elected on the platform that he'd end the Korean war. McCain is not a student of history.
He was the only one who wanted Rumsfeld fired? He's got to be kidding, right?
Huckabee wants to make sure the US leaves Iraq "with honor".
A new British study now confirms that over 1 million Iraqi civilians have died in the latest war of "honor".
huckabee doesn't even know who Putin is.
Roger from Ohio @ 73:
ugh, do people research past headlines anymore?
he is NOT a racist, and your stupid for buying into such an absurd argument. also, an idiotic comment on the earmarks.
he votes against them, yes. but once the money passes the money WILL be appropriated. why the fuck not give some of it back to the projects people that pay the damn taxes want? are you that foolish to not understand what he is doing?
buzz off. he needs a better tax policy obviously, but we need a man with some common fucking sense and honesty in the white house and that man is ron paul.
Roger from Ohio @ 73:
Yeah, you disagree with Ron therefore he deserves no airtime. Lets just silence everyone we disagree with, that'll make for a better country.
If you don't want a racist in the white house then don't worry about Paul, worry about the Clintons :).
Amit Paley: "A strong majority of Iraqis want U.S.-led military forces to immediately withdraw from the country, saying their swift departure would make Iraq more secure and decrease sectarian violence, according to new polls by the State Department and independent researchers.
In Baghdad, for example, nearly three-quarters of residents polled said they would feel safer if U.S. and other foreign forces left Iraq, with 65 percent of those asked favoring an immediate pullout . . ."
Ben L. @ 79:
And Mccain thinks he's the president of germany.
McCain thinks that he can manage the economy because he led the largest squadron in the Navy...Somehow the two don't connect for me.
McCain is imploding before our eyes.
Looks like the flip flopping fish out of water Romney is the nominee.
Gary @ 81:
Clintons are racists?
radical islamic extremists. that's all mccain is campaigning on. he and giuliani should just get married already. what's worse than what he's saying is his stone cold boring voice. this man has no conscience.
The Transcendant issue of the 21st century is not radical Islam fundamentalism. It is remedial Republican charlatanism.
flamethrower @ 77:
He was the only one in favor of the war who did was his point I would think, proving once again that even a broken clock is right twice a day.
This is the titanic of televised debates.
McCain is flashing some skin down below. Somewhere out there Lieberman is sporting a full metal chubby.
Mitt Romney was the "Commander-in-Chief" of the Massachusetts National Guard...and note that they left Vermont with honor AND victory.
i'd say it's more like jenga.
Christopher Turkel @ 40:
yeah and right after they build thoes highways with our taxes they can sell them to the sauidies to make toll roads out of them, yeah that the ticket!
Is this the Mitt Romney show??
Gary @ 81:
It isnt that I just disagree with what he stands for, not many in the country does, He gets less votes than Mr 911 who had enough sense to drop out...... he shouldnt be on the stage because America sees through the racist bastard and has kicked him to the curb..... if u think he should be on stage then why arent u allowed on that stage too?
This isn't a debate, its candidates making speeches.
They need to be pressed with follow up questions, pick holes in their arguments!
Did Romney just start laughing when McCain mentioned people losing their jobs? Looks like a perfect commercial to me if he gets the nomination.
Oops, friend number 3 - Tom Ridge will really take him over the cliff.
Roger from Ohio @ 97:
Chris Gamble @ 85:
I see that too. Paul is winning again as always. Wouldn't vote for him but glad he's there to make these war mongers feel guilty.
senator mccain, romney mentioned you just now. your thoughts?
oh wait, governor romney, senator mccain said you're liberal. can you fill 3 minutes with nonsense?
governor huckabee, hold your horses, your shot's comin soon.
congressman paul, please stop making that face.
Maybe i should go do something else, because Mike Huckabee is making sense to me...
Anderson Cooper is lieing like hell telling Ron Paul and Huckabee that he will come back to them ... and then he totally ignores them. What a scam.
The moderator made a mistake and asked Ron Paul a question.
Meanwhile Romney and Huckleberry continue to perpetuate the absurd notion that Republicans are good managers of the economy.
Mike Huckabee can have all the time he wants on GodTube..
jackpine savage @ 104:
He's a charming fella, starting with a joke always lowers peoples guard :D
"would ronald reagan endorse you?"
WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO CAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARES?????????????????????
Damn Paul is taking them to task.
I've always said that Paul would be easy to beat in the general, but I'm wrong. I don't agree with his all his views, only his foreign policy, but boy can he debate. He is the only one who would be able to hold his own against Obama or Hillary. The funny thing is he really would be the Republicans best bet, not only does 75% of the country agree with him on the Iraq war; but he could get the religious right pro-life/anti-gay marrige voters(if they ever mentioned it); I don't know much about economics so I can't exactly call his bluffs, but he can debate the hell out of the economic tip.
I'm happy they're stupid enough not to elect him.
Anderson Cooper is Ryan Seacrest with grey hair. Go suck on Mccain's [preemptive censor].
The best question was the first of the debate: "Are we better of now than 4 years ago". They all stumbled like hell over that one because they know we're screwed. I hope the Dems keep some of those clips for future commercials.
Roger from Ohio @ 97:
Ron got more doubt the votes Rudy did in every single primary except Florida.
Ron finished 2nd in 2 primaries, nevada and Louisiana.
Oh, and there's an easy reply to your question. I'm not running for president, Paul is. I don't have any delegates, Paul does. I don't have the single largest one day fundraising record in history :), Paul does.
Calling Paul a racist is easy, proving it is another matter. From what i've seen there's only been one candidate thats used race in a negative manner in this campaign, and they're not a republican, nor male.
Seth C. @ 109:
THIS JUST IN !!!!
Ronald Regan is DEAD
anyone else noticing audio issues from CNN? it's slightly out of sync. nice work, guys.
Roger from Ohio @ 73:
Do you have anything to back up this fiction? No... of course not. He isn't for ending all government. He is for a federal government that actually follows the constitution.
More fiction that is completely wrong. Ron Paul is for ending the federal income tax. The federal income tax is not the same as all taxes.
Yes, he wouldn't be doing his job as a congressmen if he didn't try and get some of the federal tax money back to his district that his constituents paid out to the federal government.
You are waaaaaaay out in left field. More BS backed up by nothing. It doesn't even agree with your first BS statement of Ron Paul is for ending all government. LOL!
The racist accusations have already been debunked.
Ronald Reagan was an insufferable prick.
Romney cut his throat near the start when he tossed away voters 20 to 40 years of age by saying he'd hammer that demographic. Who in that demographic is going to vote for a guy who just said he intends to screw them and pad the pockets of corporations more than they already are. None of these clowns will ever see the White house lawn let alone the oval office if you folks down there have a lick of sense.
Did you see the look on Arnold's face? What is a Renault Ray Gun?
Agent Provocateur @ 110:
...apparently he already go the real Regan's endorsement, quite literally. Don't know how smart it is of him to go national with his gold standard view though.
Dull as dishwater. Never again.
Someday, in the not too distant future, Ron Paul is going to end up looking like a prophet...unless whoever is president can blame it on the Mexicans.
What would RAY_GUN do? Like what would JC do! That's the last I need to hear from these clowns, think I'll go watch some Bullwinkle cartoons.
McCain is awesome, sit back for a year, wait for the others to spend lots of money and know that you have already been picked. Seriously, watch him (if you can stand it) in everything that he does totally an asshole! He knows that he is the one and everyone else can go suck an egg. I really think it is sad.
Who cares? The media corporations have now picked the four candidates they can stand to cover or in the case of the Democrats, who they can stand to attack. It's all the same. Won't ever change until the people can decide and we have public financing.
look at all the rich, old, white people milling about. god bless america!!!
An All-points-Bulletin has been issued for McCain for his return to the Biltmore Fashion Park Convalescent Home - please see that he is returned ASAP.
♥♂ @ 86:
jesus !i just thought they were corporate balls pollishers!
The Ronald Reagan Library:the world's biggest collection of Readers Digest and TV Guide.
Gary @ 112:
Tally all of Paul's votes in the primaries that have already occurred. Then do the same for Giuliani. I don't think you'll crow about those totals.
And I'm not calling- and have never called- Paul a racist. But look at whose support Paul has readily accepted for not just years, but for decades, then tell me why it is that so many overt racists support Paul. Is it that, like so many Paulists claim, the racists want what's the best for all Americans?
it is a race between Romney and McCain
Huckleberry Hound and Ron "racist" Paul are just here to try and be important
The people have spoken........ these 2 should start to listen
Edwards did
Ron Paul is the only one that actually said anything... mcnuggets and mit spent all thier time talking about thier hair and huck likes to talk but doesn't say much.
Jesus, I cocked up that edit. Sorry for the confusion!
[FIFY-Sitemonitor]
where do we go to vote a ron paul win?
This (debate) was so Lame it didn't even get me mad. I didn't use one expletive, all I could do was shake my head in disbelief that these guys ever got to where they are in Government.
Oh wait ... Bush proved that didn't he ... and damn fool can be President. (and is)
Andy K @ 133:
blasphemy! how dare you use the lords name in vain.
i sentence you to 1 hour on "godtube" watching churchy-friendly programming.
...starring mike huckabee
i thought wolf blitzer was a prick during earlier debates but arse cooper takes lightweight to a new level.
Considering that our entire infrastructure has been falling into the shitter for the past 10 to 20 years, building highways might not be such a bad idea.
Ryan from Portland @ 136:
is that one of those stations where grown men squint their eyes real tight and pretend that some guy in the sky is paying attention to their chatter?
I love how the pundicks try so hard to avoid talking about Ron Paul, they actually stutter and trip over their word to not mention his name. It is so fucking obvious. And not just Paul, but Kucinich, Edwards, or anyone who is speaking even partially for the people.
So what happens in the news world? Are these assholes being paid off to do this, are they threatened with their jobs, so spineless they are too scared to do anything; WTF? Can the m$m be stopped at all?
Man, did they let McCain escape laying his cards on the table relative to immigration reform. Sure he now supports the fence but the interviewers, and his fellow candidates, failed to force him to explain his vision for immigration reform as spelled out in the failed McCain-Kennedy immigration reform legislation. In case you forgot here are a few gems from that failed effort on the part of McCain:
1. The immigration reform bill will make taxpayers pay the legal bills for illegal aliens seeking amnesty.
2. Under The immigration reform bill, illegal aliens will immediately be eligible for a "Z Visa" which allows them to stay here for the rest of their lives if they so choose because there is no limit on the number of times it can be renewed.
3. The immigration reform bill gives the government only one business day to conduct a background check to determine whether an applicant is a criminal or a terrorist.
4. In the bill Section 601(g)(2), illegal-alien gang members would be eligible for amnesty merely by signing a "renunciation of gang affiliation."
5. The immigration reform bill allows convicted felons and child molesters to obtain legal status and to live, work in this country indefinitely.
6. The bill increases legal migration by at least 50 percent over the next decade by granting green cards to all the remote relatives who are in the chain migration categories, a number estimated at 750,000 to 900,000 a year. (One estimate puts a potential price tag of the Senate immigration bill at $2.5 trillion.)
7. The border security part of the bill calls for a 370-mile-long fence on the U.S./Mexico border. That is a little over half as long as the 700-mile-long fence ordered by the Secure Fence Act passed overwhelmingly by Congress in 2006.
8. Fiscal costs would go up dramatically after amnesty recipients reach retirement. Each elderly low-skill immigrant imposes a net cost - that is benefits minus taxes - on U.S. taxpayers of about $17,000 per year. These costs would hit Social Security and Medicare at the very time Social Security is expected to go into crisis.
9. Illegal Aliens will receive in-state tuition. Illegal aliens would receive a taxpayer subsidy worth tens of thousands of dollars and would be treated better than U.S. citizens from out of state, who must pay three to four times as much to attend college.
10. Unlike legal immigrants, no medical exam or immunizations are needed to get a Z visa.
Ryan from Portland @ 136:
Fuck that shit! Ma Mimere(my Quebecoise-American grandmother) says novenas for me weekly- if not nightly. I am covered. : D
comment 138
yea bif...I agree
Excuse me. I need to stop and give Ron Paul another hundred bucks.
Andy K @ 130:
He's not a racist. He just wants states to have the power to enact blatantly racist policies again. Like in the good old days.
White power!State's rights!Andy K @ 133:
Thank you, Sitemonitor. I thought you people were only allowed to be pricks! Quel suprise!
Abbybwood @ 145:
It's quicker just to flush 5 $20 bills down the toilet, isn't it?
Roger from Ohio @ 131:
How many people have decided (not counting the media) these front runners in the race, democratic and republican. 6-10 million?
Wiki states you got about 303 million living there, so....a fair guess is 200 million that can (if not apathic and focusing their life on nonsense like american idol) vote.
So why...should that early minority get to decide your future for you, is the general public really that apathic?
Rusty Shackleford @ 146:
i seriously doubt all the states in the south that you so assume are clamoring to "enact blatantly racist policies" would do so. give the governorships of the south some credit. racists with websites are the fringe.
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