It was the last major opportunity to shape the Republican presidential race before the new year. Cruz’ hardening stance on immigration figures to be an advantage in Iowa.
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The next GOP debate is set for January 14th in North Charleston, South Carolina. But some allies fear those could be a long seven weeks for Cruz, with some wishing that the Texan would instead have only peaked in early January.
Everyone came out swinging in Tuesday night’s GOP presidential debate. He derides those Republican rivals who talked tough without adequately supporting the military, a clear reference to Cruz, who his campaign has repeatedly attacked for voting against the Defense Authorization Act.
Senate Intelligence Committee leaders said Wednesday they aren’t investigating whether Texas Sen. “So, please try to pay attention to that”, Carson told the moderators during the debate, largely defined by the parallel battles between Rubio and Cruz, as well as Trump and Bush. “Would you rule it out?”
Trump once again defended his proposal to keep Muslims from entering the U.S.
The debate marked the first time the White House hopefuls shared a stage since terror attacks in Paris and San Bernardino. More Americans are killed by falling televisions than terrorists. But the Floridians was able to at times mock Cruz’s position as idealistic and too isolationist for the terrorism age.
“The problem, though, is that at the time you were telling people … this was not a poison pill”, Baier said in response. Aware that his opposition to gay marriage is unpopular with the host – and apparently with the audience, based on audible reactions – Cruz quickly flipped the discussion into one about states’ rights to make their own marriage laws.
It only happened last weekend and it’s a huge issue of worldwide security – no matter whether you think the agreement is good or bad.
However, the GOP rematch did not top the ratings for the first two debates of the season. Almost immediately afterwards, Rubio’s campaign was quick to reporters’ inbox with graphics juxtaposing Cruz with Democrats Harry Reid and Chuck Schumer.
“Leadership is not about attacking people and disparaging people, leadership is about creating a serious strategy to deal with the threat of our time”. Rubio’s goal was to undermine Cruz’s effort to consolidate conservatives of all stripes – tea party, evangelical and libertarian – by questioning whether he is as conservative as he claims. Lindsey Graham took four separate shots at Cruz, all by name, calling him an “isolationist”.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who has been on the rise in New Hampshire, sought to assert himself in the national security discussions.
But Kasich, a budget and administration expert both in Congress and in the administration of President George W. Bush, has had more difficulty selling the experience he earned on foreign policy while serving on Capitol Hill.
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Trump, as has been his style all year, swatted back by talking about his strength vs. what he said was Bush’s weakness. Unlike previous debates where he has backed off, Bush didn’t relent in the face of Trump’s return fire. Christie went a step further and said “we would shoot down the planes of Russian pilots” if they violated a no-fly zone in Syria to which Rand Paul accurately responded, “If you’re in favor of World War III, you have your candidate”. Trump said his proposal “is not about religion” but security. “He’s just fine. Don’t worry about it”.
