Good, Bad, Ugly and the Inexperienced at the First GOP Debate

by Elizabeth Nelson

Because I was late getting home from work, I didn't have an opportunity to watch the first half of the debates, where the stage was shared by the least favorite pole sitters:  former Texas Gov. Rick Perry; former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum; Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal; former HP head Carly Fiorina; South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham; former New York Gov. George Pataki; and former Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore.

From what I heard from the recaps, I missed a Fiorina firework battle and the winner was easy to call, Carly Fiorina took it easily. There were no “knock-out punches” in the early show, but Carly Fiorina had several key responses. Perhaps her best was in reference to Donald Trump’s lead in the polls. When asked if Trump was “getting the better of her,” she responded, “Well, I don’t know. I didn’t get a phone call from Bill Clinton before I jumped in the race. Did any of you get a phone call from Bill Clinton? I didn’t. Maybe it’s because I hadn’t given money to the foundation or donated to his wife’s Senate campaign,” referring to Trump’s call from Clinton, and his support of Hillary’s senatorial campaign in 2000.

She completed the thought with what I thought was a superb recapitulation of why Trump is leading, in spite of not being a real conservative. “I think he’s tapped into an anger that people feel. They’re sick of politics as usual. You know, whatever your issue, your cause, the festering problem you hoped would be resolved, the political class has failed you. That’s just a fact, and that’s what Donald Trump taps into. I would also just say this. Since he has changed his mind on amnesty, on health care and on abortion, I would just ask, what are the principles by which he will govern?”


The logician on the early stage was clearly Fiorina, as exemplified when she answered a question about ISIS, Iran, and the instability in the Middle East. She said, “You know, Obama has presented the American people with a false choice every time. It’s what I’ve done or not done, or it’s war. It is a false choice.” Obama consistently employs the fallacious false dichotomy, or fallacy of bifurcation, argument in an attempt to justify his actions.

Charles Krauthammer concurred that Fiorina won the earlier debate. He said, “She won the debate, and she won it running away.” Her grasp of issues, succinct and persuasive solutions, and the logic of her responses were irrefutable. Krauthammer singled out her statement regarding Washington’s dysfunction, “It’s conservatism versus liberalism, and I’m a conservative.” And unlike our current president, she’s actually run something; Hewlett-Packard, one of the largest technology companies on the planet.  See more at the Conservative Daily News

I did catch the second half, the prime time debate, where no real winner was found.  This matchup between the top seeds: magnate Donald Trump, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky and Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida. which seemed to be more of an exercise in demoralizing political frivolousness.

We all know that Trump isn't going to take this to the end, and take a pay cut.  He's here to be a pot stirrer and thin the herd.  It was obvious by the sparing he did with Rand Paul and even with Megyn Kelly.

Re Megyn Kelly quote: "you could see there was blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever" (NOSE). Just got on w/thought

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 8, 2015

A perfect example is Megyn Kelley’s question of Trump. “Mr. Trump, …you’ve called women you don’t like “fat pigs, dogs, slobs, and disgusting animals. Does that sound to you like the temperament of a man we should elect as president?” To which Trump responded, “I think the big problem this country has is being politically correct.” Political correctness is a problem, but not “the big problem.” And one can be direct, frank, and politically incorrect, but still not be an ass. Something Trump clearly has not learned. See more at the Conservative Daily News

Notice that his answer has nothing to do with an admission of him calling women horrible names, which he actually did, but became a slap to the face of all Americans being "politically correct," and a further insult to women by not apologizing.  Sorry, Trump, there's a difference between being "politically correct," and a vomitous, impolite misogynist pig. 

Yet, when no one agrees with him, suddenly he cries, "everyone hates him."  Funny, that doesn't sound like a "Conservative" to me.  Suddenly, Trump is sounding more and more like a liberal in Conservative clothing.

The hatred that clown @krauthammer has for me is unbelievable – causes him to lie when many others say Trump easily won debate.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 7, 2015

Dr. Carson and Jeb Bush bothered me the most. Dr. Ben Carson’s comments on race were classic.

“I was asked by an NPR reporter once, why don’t I talk about race that often. I said it’s because I’m a neurosurgeon. And she thought that was a strange response. I said, you see, when I take someone to the operating room, I’m actually operating on the thing that makes them who they are. The skin doesn’t make them who they are. The hair doesn’t make them who they are. And it’s time for us to move beyond that.”

Hold that horse a minute, Dr. Carson. You don't talk about race? Well, some of us don't have long term memory loss like liberals do.  Nor do we re-write history and have the desire to elect yet another, on-the-job-experience President.  Dr. Carson has already proven that he has the propensity to be racially divisive when he exposed his racial divisive bone, the one Obama loves to flex, when he called white liberals racist, “they’re the most racist people there are, because they put you in a little category, a box. You have to think this way. How could you dare come off the plantation?”  When someone shows you who they are, believe them. Read more at Washington Post

Obama shows us that Carson already has the majority of the black vote, because of his skin color, and whites will vote for him out of white guilt.  No one denies that Carson is charismatic, much like Obama and a gaffer like Biden. 


I'll remind everyone of his, "ISIS fighters are much like America's Founding Fathers, willing to die for what they believe in," and who could forget Carson's, "homosexuality is a choice, prison proves that."  Read more at Newsmax

Not only that, but he's against the Second Amendment. So, if we American patriots - like our Founders - stand for our freedom, our Bible, smaller government and our right to bear arms, one day you and I will be recorded in history as terrorists too. If what this man says is accepted as "logical and right."  Not to mention, if he's accepted and voted in as President, and you live in a large city as I do, he also doesn't feel we have the right to own "semi-automatic guns" either.

Glenn Beck: "Semi-Automatic Weapons"

Dr. Ben Carson: "It depends on where you live, I'm afraid...I'd rather you not have it."

Those who displayed the greatest leadership qualities and substance were Senators Rubio and Cruz, and Governors Walker and Bush. But with all the dirty laundry aired by the Fox News crew, it’s remarkable anyone was able to rise above the fray. Read more at Conservative Daily News

So, out of those who "displayed the greatest leadership" we have Bush, who stands for Common Core and Amnesty  and Rubio who pushed for amnesty in the Gang of Eight and then flip-flopped and ran from it.  Read more at Hotair

Even Cruz pointed that fact out during the debate, that most of the candidates on the panel before him supported Amnesty with one exception. "A majority of the candidates on this stage have supported amnesty," he said. "I have never supported amnesty, and I led the fight against Chuck Schumer’s gang of eight amnesty legislation in the Senate."  Read more at Politifact

I have a bad feeling, if Hildabeast Clinton is actually elected by the DNC, that this election is going to boil down to:  "GOP please just send us a qualified candidate, due to the fact that we will have to vote for ANYONE BUT Hildabeast.  Our country can't handle 4 more years of Democratic Detroit Leadership and mentality."