With two weeks to go until the first contest of the 2016 presidential race, Republicans who fear their party has been hijacked by the likes of Donald Trump and Ted Cruz found little to comfort them in the latest debate.
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Cruz was the man on camera most often through the evening. Rubio claimed that Christie “endorsed numerous ideas” that the president supports. It had Christie and Rubio, both of whom hope to win New Hampshire, repeatedly locking horns.
With Trump and Cruz surging in many polls, the candidates seeking the support of more traditional Republican Party voters desperately hoped to break out. And in a nod to Trump’s home in midtown Manhattan, Cruz said: “I can frame it another way: Not a lot of conservatives come out of Manhattan”.
Rubio broke up the back and forth between the two hilariously by declaring that it wasn’t an episode of “Court TV”, and he had other big moments bringing down Cruz and Christie.
Cruz said in the debate: “everyone understands that the values in New York City are socially liberal or pro-abortion or pro- gay-marriage, focus around money and the media”.
Fox moderator Maria Bartiromo instigated contention during the debate, asking Cruz to explain what that even means: “Senator Cruz, you suggested Mr. Trump, quote, ’embodies NY values.’ Could you explain what you mean by that?”
Cruz brushed off the question as relying on a New York Times “hit piece”, dinging Bartiromo for even broaching the issue. But as Cruz has moved up, and moved ahead in Iowa, Trump has countered with the questions about Cruz’s birthright eligibility.
As the Tribune’s Patrick Svitek reported, the fireworks began early with an extended exchange over Trump’s decision to begin raising the issue of Cruz’s Canadian birth. And Christie mixed it up with Cruz and Rubio.
Rubio likened Christie’s policies to President Barack Obama’s, particularly on guns, Planned Parenthood and education reform – an attack Christie declared false. “When I’m president if we can get our hands on him, Snowden will be prosecuted as a traitor”. In March, 23 percent of GOP primary voters said they could see supporting him.
But in 2009, the New Jersey Republican wrote in a statement: “After watching and listening to Judge Sotomayor’s performance at the confirmation hearings this week, I am confident that she is qualified for the position of Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court”.
The mayor called Cruz’s remarks hypocritical Friday. He was himself pummeled by other candidates who want to replace him as Trump’s main nemesis.
The former Florida governor has made taking on Trump the cornerstone of his struggling campaign, and he slammed the proposal as one that would make it impossible for the U.S.to build the necessary bridges with Arab nations to defeat the Islamic State.
Cruz was also on the defensive about his failure to disclose on federal election forms some $1 million in loans from Wall Street banks during his 2012 Senate campaign. Who was standing and fighting to defend the 2nd Amendment? The super PAC for Jeb Bush, who knows a bit about watching his support go over a cliff, has taken the lead.
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Rubio, Christie, and Bush have all seemingly made the decision that the only way they can win is by knocking out the other two and then presenting themselves as the sane alternative to the front-runners. Rick Santorum, has done so poorly that he was relegated to the three-candidate opening debate, which was held before the seven finalists took the stage.
