UPDATE 10:39 PM ET
OH GOD NOT NOT JOHN KASICH. He says he’s seen our hugs and our tears and stuff.
Christie says he’s proud to be on stage, mentions that he’s spent 70 days there. That’s a crappy movie: “70 Days of Winter” starring Chris Christie.
Jeb says he wants to celebrate Reagan’s birthday.
Carson says everybody has tried to bury him. He says he’s still here, and not going anyplace.
Rubio talks about the campaign trail with his kids.
Cruz said he’s stood up to Washington — and he says he won in Iowa despite trying to end ethanol, and knocks Trump and Rubio.
Trump says Cruz cheated. He then does his “everyone’s killing us on trade” routine.
UPDATE 10:30 PM ET
OH SWEET GOD NO NOT JOHN KASICH. Kasich says crap. Kasich says that veterans are “golden employees.” I don’t want to know what he calls their showers.
Rubio talks about his relative who lost his two front teeth jumping from an airplane. Or something.
Cruz says legal regimes that encourage ransom create bounties on other Americans. This is correct. He says that the Bergdahl deal was a disaster and so was the Iran deal. You can’t make deals with terrorists.
Trump says he knows the Foley family. He says you can’t make deals with terrorists or you’ll have plenty of James Foleys. Trump says nobody gets along with veterans better than he does.
Mary Katherine Ham asks Rubio about abortion and same-sex marriage. Rubio says that being for traditional marriage doesn’t make you a hater. He says marriage is between one man and one woman. He says that he errs on the side of life. He says the media has not asked the Democrats a single question on abortion. Why don’t they ask Hillary about her position on partial-birth abortion? They are the extremists.
Jeb says he’s the most pro-life person on the stage. Jeb says he has exceptions for rape, incest, and life of the mother. He says he doesn’t back off his criticism.
Rubio says he’ll sign a bill that has exceptions, but all human life is worthy of protection. Rubio says he would rather lose an election than be wrong on the issue of life.
Christie says he’s been pro-life. He then rips Hillary for her extremism. Christie says if a woman has been raped or a victim of incest, that’s not a woman’s choice. He says we have self-defense against babies, or something.
UPDATE 10:15 PM ET
Trump is asked about law enforcement. Trump says police are mistreated and misunderstood. He says if there is a bad incident, it’s on your newscasts, and it never ends. The police in this country have done an unbelievable job of keeping law and order. And they’re afraid for their jobs and of mistreatment. Trump says minorities respect the police — and they need more respect.
Trump says people who see excessive force sue. He says we have tons of litigation. He says we don’t want excessive force — but you’re either going to have a police force that can do its job, or not.
OH SWEET GOD NO NOT JOHN KASICH. Kasich says there was a panel in Ohio and they did stuff.
Rubio is asked about visiting a mosque as president. Rubio says he would, but that Obama puts out a myth that Muslims are being persecuted. He says Muslims have served this country. He says we face a threat of homegrown extremism. He says Christians face discrimination.
Christie is asked about Zika virus. He says he did what he had to do. Then he talks about being a prosecutor. He says that Muslims in New Jersey are good and law-abiding and they need cooperation and understanding.
Carson is asked about Zika. He says quarantining a bunch of people because they’ve been to Brazil won’t work. He says we have to think about getting the disease under control. He says “rapid response” a bunch of times.
Rubio is asked about women signing up for selective service for the draft. He says women are already serving in combat-like roles. He says minimum requirements cannot be compromised. He says selective service should be opened up for men and women.
Jeb says we should use selective service for women, too.
Christie: anything they aspire to do, women should be able to do. Like register for the draft. What?
Jeb talks about the VA and its failures.
UPDATE 10:00 PM ET
Cruz talks about how his older sister, half-sister, struggled with drug and alcohol addiction. He said she was angry her whole life and married a guy in and out of jail, she became a single mom, went to jail several times. He said she spent time in a crackhouse, and how they tried to convince her to leave to be a mom. Cruz said she wasn’t willing to listen. He says his sister died of an overdose. He says we need leadership to solve it with state and local programs, but it has to occur securing the borders because Mexican cartels are smuggling drugs into the country. We need will to do it.
Christie says he’d cross the border to stop drug trade. He says in NJ they signed a law that would stop prison time for people caught using drugs — they go to mandatory drug treatment. He says they’ve closed a state prison and turned it into a drug rehab facility. He says this isn’t a moral failing, it’s a disease. He says he’s pro-life from before birth until after.
Trump says he can galvanize and create a movement. Trump says that Hillary should be in jail — he says he’ll win.
Rubio says we’ve had historic turnout in Iowa, and we’ll have that in New Hampshire. People understand that this election will be a turning point.
Carson says contrast between him and Hillary would be easy. He says Hillary’s deceitful — he says he’ll never let Benghazi go.
They cut to Stephanopoulos, who once said “I love you” to Hillary Clinton. He’s the anchor. The freaking anchor.
UPDATE 9:50 PM ET
Rubio says waterboarding isn’t torture. Anti-terrorism is about finding information to stop a future attack. We’re not talking about gathering evidence for court, but stopping future attack. Rubio says we shouldn’t be emptying Gitmo.
Cruz says that he can use executive power to undo everything Obama has done with executive power. He says he’ll stop Obama’s executive amnesty, his attempts to quash the Second Amendment, etc. He says foreign policy can change quickly. He says legislation can be done with public support.
Mary Katherine Ham asks about whether Trump will make good deals or bad deals. Trump says he’ll do it the way our founders did. They get together. Well, then. He then says something about hugging and kissing, too, which is weird.
OH GOD NOT JOHN KASICH
Kasich says he’ll plead with people and get deals done in Washington. Whatever.
So we’ve got a pleading guy and a kissing guy. Awesome.
Jeb says we should shift resources back to the states — he trusts Christie and Kasich more than DC. This is a good answer.
OH GOD NO PLEASE GOD NOT JOHN KASICH PLEASE NO
Kasich says we’ll move America forward and you’ll need a seatbelt! Yes, a seatbelt!
Kasich and Jeb then start making out. It’s weird.
UPDATE 9:40 PM ET
Ben Carson describes a map. Nobody knows what he’s talking about.
Cruz is asked about torture. Cruz says under the definition of torture, no it isn’t — it’s excruciating pain in which you lose organs and systems. He says it’s enhanced interrogation, not torture. Cruz says he wouldn’t bring it back into widespread use. He says he joined with McCain in prohibiting line officers from using it, because bad things happen when enhanced interrogation is employed at lower levels.
Trump smacks down Cruz and says you have to do whatever it take.
Jeb says he wouldn’t bring waterboarding back. He says where we stand is now appropriate.
UPDATE 9:35 PM ET
Cruz says he would bomb in heavy targeted fashion — that’s what he means by carpet bombing. He then says we need to broaden the rules of engagement. He says our RoE are immoral, even though Raddatz tries to say that our RoE are wonderful.
Raddatz asks Rubio about what he means by overwhelming force. He says we will need increased airstrikes and we will need to use US Special Ops. He describes how ISIS radicalized, but we have to start by taking away their safe operating space with a US-led coalition. Raddatz keeps pushing Rubio regarding ISIS being more dangerous than al Qaeda and insurgents in Iraq. She asks why we wouldn’t use hundreds of thousands of troops. Rubio says that’s not what’s necessary.
Trump says we should have bombed the oil and taken it from ISIS. He says we should have dried up their oil and banking. Trump says we will weaken them if we cut off their money — he says they’ll last for a year if we cut off their banking channels and take their oil. This is not a detailed plan.
Jeb says that if you bomb something and don’t do anything afterward, you end up with Libya. Leading from behind is ineffective. He says dealing with the caliphate is important — 70+ attacks in 17 countries. He says we have to deal with the caliphate by dealing a Sunni army and we have to build up Libya. Jeb says Obama sees all of this incrementally, which doesn’t work.
UPDATE 9:23 PM ET
This is Ben Shapiro taking over. Thanks, Robert!
Christie is asked Kasich’s criticism of him. He backtracks and says that Kasich did a good job creating jobs in Ohio. Christie defends his record regarding cutting cash and not growing government like Kasich. Christie then swivels and smacks Rubio on the Gang of Eight bill – he says it didn’t come from nowhere, that Rubio created it. Solid hit.
Kasich talks about his solid record in defense.
Rubio wants to respond to Christie. He says anybody who believes Obama isn’t going what he’s doing on purpose doesn’t understand Obama. Obamacare wasn’t an accident. Gutting of the military isn’t an accident. He says Obama is trying to redefine the country, and Sanders and Hillary want to do that too.
Rubio’s asked about taxes. He says our business tax rate is too high, and none of our problems will be fixed by taxing the rich more. This is true, obviously. It’s also a massive softball. That Christie critique of Gang of Eight is still resonating in Rubio’s ears.
Jeb says we’re not undertaxed – he says a conservative believes in limited government, and we need reform as well. He says he wants more millionaires – a traditional and good line.
Christie says we tried this millionaire tax and it drove $70 billion out of the state. Great line by Christie, who — and I joined late — looks good tonight.
ORIGINAL:
The top seven candidates – Donald Trump, Sen. Ted Cruz, Sen. Marco Rubio, Ben Carson, Jeb Bush, Gov. Chris Christie, and Gov. John Kasich – are in Manchester, NH tonight for the 8th Republican debate of the 2016 presidential election season.
New Hampshire’s primary elections are scheduled for Tuesday, February 9.
RealClearPolitics’s poll average for the granite state places Trump at 30.7%, Rubio at 16.4%, Cruz at 12%, Kasich at 12%, Bush at 9.1%, Christie at 4.9%, and Carson at 3.3%.
Watch the debate live online via ABC, starting at 8 PM ET.
Check here for live updates of the good the bad, and the ugly.
Timestamps will be in Eastern Time.
9:11 – “BUSH DREW BLOOD” – Democrat hack Stephanopoulos – who poses as an objective journalist – says Bush “drew blood” when challenging Trump on the issue of eminent domain.
Jonathan Karl agrees, describing “low-energy” Bush as “energized.” Karl presents himself as an objective journalist.
9:03 – “EMINENT DOMAIN IS AN ABSOLUTE NECESSITY” – Trump says eminent domain is a “good thing” that is necessary for any well-functioning country, needed for the construction of roads, bridges hospitals, and other essential infrastructure projects.
Bush implies that Trump is a Mr. Scrooge who attempted to use eminent domain to seize property from an elderly woman to build a parking lot for a casino.
“I don’t want their money, I don’t need their money,” Trump dismisses boos from the audience, saying they are mostly RNC and Bush loyalists, donors, and representatives of special interests.
8:59 – CRUZ ON “SOCIALIZED MEDICINE” – Cruz promises to repeal Obamacare, calling “socialized medicine” a disaster than necessitates cruel rationing systems, and also calls for greater freedom for markets to operate absent of stultifying governmental controls.
Cruz did not say he wished to “replace” Obamcare with anything, a common nebulous caveat from many Republicans.
8:56 – TRUMP ON HEALTH CARE – Asked about previous statements he made expressing sympathy for governmentally-administered health care, Trump calls for changes in cross-state restrictions for health insurance sales, suggesting greater competition within the industry is one tool he intends to use to lower costs and increase access.
“We are gonna take care of people dying on the street!” exclaims Trump.
8:54 – RUBIO ON AMNESTY – Asked about his previous support for the Gang of Eight amnesty bill disguised as “comprehensive immigration reform,” Rubio says he believes that Americans would be largely sympathetic towards widespread legalization (and perhaps citizenship) for illegal aliens if they were confident that America’s borders were secured.
8:50 – Cruz is asked about dealing with 12 million “undocumented immigrants,” and calls for increased border security, termination of funding for “sanctuary cities,” and ending welfare benefits to illegal aliens.
Muir presses for details on the nature of deportations, seeking to frame Cruz as heartless. Cruz recalls that former presidents Clinton and Bush deported 12 and 10 million illegal immigrants, respectively.
8:49 – Kasich is asked by Muir if he is out of step with Republican voters given his support for widespread amnesty for illegal aliens. Kasich waxes emotional, saying that deportation of illegal alien parents is against American “values.” He calls for a “path to legalization” for illegal aliens who have not committed a crime since illegally entering and remaining in the country.
8:47 – NEVER PAY RANSOM TO CRIMINALS – Christie says that giving in to demands from enemies incentivizes further kidnapping and hostage crises, calling out Obama for negotiating under such circumstances, saying that Hillary Clinton “would be even weaker.”
8:45 – Asked about a college student held hostage by North Korea, Bush attributes it to the projection of weakness from Obama.
8:44 – Trump disagrees with Rubio assertion that Obama is knowingly changing America, saying Obama is incompetent and out of this depth.
8:42 – KASICH THINKS M.A.D. STANDS FOR “MUTUALLY ASSURED DEFENSE.”
Dowd told us to watch out for Kasich’s breakout performance during the predebate show.
8:41 – KASICH IS TALKING
8:37 – Asked about North Korea’s tests with long-range missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads, Cruz contextualizes by attributing the slave state’s acquisition of nuclear weapons to Bill Clinton’s administration.
Cruz also reminds the audience that Wendy Sherman played a key role in the negotiations that facilitated North Korea’s acquisition of nuclear weapons, and that she was subsequently “recruited” by Obama to play a lead role in the so-called “Iran Deal.”
8:36 – Bush likens Rubio to Obama, suggesting the Florida senator is superficially appealing but substantively unqualified.
8:36 – CHRISTIE HITS RUBIO – “He gets very unruly when he gets off his talking points,” says Christie of Rubio, following Rubio’s awkward repetitions of Obama “knowing exactly what he’s doing.”
8:35 – RUBIO COLLAPSING – Rubio continually repeats that “Obama knows exactly what he’s doing,” rattled by – and ironically proving – Christie’s criticism of him that he “memorizes 30-second speeches.”
8:32 – Rubio challenges assertion that Obama’s failures are a function of his previous role as a senator, saying Obama knows “exactly what he’s doing” in his efforts to America.
8:28 – SHIFT TO RUBIO – Muir implies that Rubio is not ready to be President since he is only a Senator without legislative “accomplishments,” as if passing laws expanding governmental power credentials a person for the responsibilities of the presidency.
Rubio attacks the premise, stating that the implied standard suggests that political dinosaurs like Vice President Joe Biden are ideal candidates for the Oval Office.
8:25 – ATTACKS ON CRUZ CONTINUE – Cruz turns to Carson and say, “Ben, I’m sorry.” He then contextualizes what happened, recalling that some of his campaign staff were simply forwarding CNN reports and making reasonable inferences of Carson’s suspension of his campaign.
No evidence has bee provided that these events had meaningful impact on the outcome of the Iowa Republican caucuses.
8:24 – MORE BAIT TO ATTACK CRUZ – Muir invites Carson to criticize Cruz over the largely manufactured controversy pertaining to what happened in Iowa with the Cruz campaign allegedly advising Carson supporters to shift their votes to Cruz under the pretense that Carson was dropping out of the race.
8:23 – TRUMP THROW DOWN WITH CRUZ – Trump calls out Cruz’s evasion of the previous question, saying he will and America doesn’t “win anymore.”
8:21 – MORE FAILED INSTIGATION – Muir pivots to Cruz, attempting to get the Texas senator to elaborate on previous criticisms of Trump’s temperament. Cruz deflects and says it is a question for Americans to address.
8:20 – DRAMA – Muir asks Trump to respond to Cruz’s joke about the NYC billionaire “nuk[ing] Denmark,” attempting to instigate conflict. Trump responds by touting what he says has been his impact on the national debate. He promises a strong military that will strike fear into the hearts of America’s enemies.
8:17 – STRANGER THAN FICTION – Carson seemingly refused to walk onto the stage for a moment as scheduled. He eventually made his way to the podium. Apparently he did not hear his name called.
8:05 – Matthew Dowd hypes Kasich, saying that he’s “the one to watch.” Most conservatives, right-wingers, and patriots use Kasich’s talk-time to mute the TV and take a break.
8:00 – George Stephanopoulos, Matthew Dowd, Jonathan Karl, Bill Kristol, and Cokie Roberts are setting the stage for the audience. After the debate, they will provide completely objective and not-at-all-leftist analysis.
7:54 PRIMER – Martha Raddatz, one of tonight’s two ABC moderators, had President Barack Obama at her wedding as a guest in 1991. Conflict of interest or acceptable incestuousness of the Washington, D.C. political-media machine?
Follow Robert Kraychik on Twitter.
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