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Marco Rubio keeps up heat on Ted Cruz after debate

And he would be a chaos president.

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Later, after Trump called for deterring attacks by censoring portions of the Internet – to prevent recruitment of radicals – and targeting the families of terrorists, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) improved his game.

He said the proposals would contravene the country’s principles by undermining the First Amendment and violating the Geneva Conventions of war.

Trump: “You can go back”.

After the government has done all that, ‘I think the American people are going to be reasonable, ‘ he proclaimed.

Trump, who is leading the Republican polls, did not wade into the issue of national surveillance.

The nine candidates scoring more than 3.5 percent in the polls debated in prime time.

LAS VEGAS Jeb Bush finally delivered a powerful debate performance.

But the retired neurosurgeon faltered on that front – offering little in the way of assuaging those concerns, which are believed to have contributed to Carson’s fall from his position near the top of the polls in Iowa and nationally.

Jeb Bush speaks during the CNN Republican presidential debate at the Venetian Hotel & Casino on Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2015.

The candidate placement, with Trump at center stage and Sen.

“I led the fight against his legalization amnesty bill”, the Texan said.

Asked broadly about regime change in Iraq and elsewhere, Trump called for more investment at home on things like infrastructure. AFP Graphic Design Whether you need a fresh business card design, rack card, ad, flyer or full magazine design, we can help with all your graphic-design needs.

The two also tangled over immigration. VIDEO: Cruz and Rubio clash in fifth Republican debateRubio, of Florida, defended his support for eventually providing a pathway to citizenship for some people in the US illegally, an unpopular position within the Republican Party.

Trump doubled down on his wall-building pledge, saying “we either have a border or we don’t”. He added that he’d get “Donald Trump to pay for it” – appropriating one of Trump’s signature proposals. “I was fighting to secure the border”. Bush’s response intimated that Trump’s foreign policy was inspired by Saturday or Sunday morning cartoons. TV viewers should know the live audience was decidedly, nearly rudely anti-Trump, but I don’t think Trump will lose any ground at all with his voters, as he countered the Bush “chaos candidate” punches effectively and made his points. Still, watch the interaction between Trump and Bush to continue into the next year.

“You’re not going to be able to insult your way to the presidency”, said Bush, which was a great line. The three others on stage – former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, Ohio Governor John Kasich and Ben Carson – were non-factors in the evening’s conversation, for the most part. “This is why the nation is fed up with the political class”, she said. The New Jersey governor’s campaign has been riddled with problems, not least the Bridge-gate corruption scandal.

Now more than ever, Cruz poses a political threat to the Republican field, and his opponents are mulling different ways to halt his momentum.

Even Trump – who rarely resists an opportunity to needle his competitors – didn’t take the bait when Paul hit him at several points in the debate.

Christie mocked the senators running against him, and the Senate in general, for “endless debate about how many angels can dance on the head of a pin”.

Trump responded, “Never said that”. “He’s just fine. Don’t worry about it”.

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The friendly exchange allows Cruz to go on presenting himself on the campaign trail as a more credible alternative to Trump for some Republicans, while his team works to build an organization that can turn out more voters than Trump can. The Tea Party-backed senator suggested he was opposed to letting in refugees from Middle East war zones who can not be properly vetted.

Donald Trump