Cheap Seat Report: Republican Picks As of Today

1) Ted Cruz. Most of the  more important part of the debate this week was between Cruz and Marco Rubio.
Not sure about the "carpet bombing" strategy. I mean, what if it turns out they just have linoleum? 
Dana Bash purposely asked a question that is really irrelevant to national issues when she hit Cruz with the one about something that was recorded in private that he said about Trump.  Pretty low for Bash and CNN to be purposely picking fights. There were not many attacks against Hillary during the debate, but were quite a few against  Trump and Cruz.
Cruz: "All horse thieves are Democrats, but not all Democrats are horse thieves."

2) Mike Huckabee. Granted, he was at the small first debate, but he stayed to message and offered great insight. I think he is terribly underrated. He may not stand a chance to win, but I suspect he will stick around for awhile longer.  And I hope he does.
Huckabee: "If Islam is as wonderful and peaceful as its adherents say, shouldn't they be begging us" to surveil their mosques?"

3) Rick Santorum. Still at the smaller debate, but he and Huckabee have my interest for their appeals to religious liberties. I think Santorum did a great job in defending those issues but got a little flustered by Lindsey Graham. "The fact of the matter is, Islam is different ... the idea that that is protected under the First Amendment is wrong." said Santorum. I agree. Why do we keep extending Constitutional rights to non-Americans???
Santorum: "We have to stop worrying about offending some people and start defending all Americans."
 Santorum: "Not all Muslims are jihadist but "all jihadists are Muslim"

4) Donald Trump. My interest in Trump is falling somewhat. I would certainly still vote for him if he is nominated but there is a difference between conservatism and populism. Trump appeals to populism and to conservatives who find populism appealing .  Trump is strong on National security and I am not sure who interjected it, but the talk of "innocent civilians" being killed is the reason wars become politically correct and then people lose. Trump did not clarify very well (or at all) what he meant by "shutting down parts of the internet."
 I might be OK with shutting down part of the internet if that means cat pictures. Except for the fact that that would only leave 25% of the internet left. :-) 
The Mosques that were shut down in France weren't shut down for their message but because they were stockpiling weapons. I'm not so sure just listening to the message will cut it.Vladimir Putin pretty much unofficially/officially endorsed Donald Trump calling him "bright and talented" and the "absolute leader" in the 2016 race. Trump did say just after the debate that  he will NOT run as third party no matter what

 5) Ben Carson. Carson is about to drop off the radar. I hate to say it but I think he may have already peaked. I believe his support will likely shift to Cruz. Ben Carson just told the press that he would likely be a "one term president." I like the guy but I think making that kind of an announcement will more likely make him a no term president.
 Between naps, Ben Carson had some good responses.

6) Marco Rubio. If he would get his stuff together on amnesty and immigration reform he might be a candidate of interest.
This would have been a good night for Rubio to take a drink of water. Better Press.
Marco Rubio said this week that  we need a "top-down review" of our Immigration system. Yeah right, just what we need: another government committee to investigate the government.

7) Chris Christie.  He did perform strong on national defense. I will give him that. He referenced a couple times that because he was from Jerssey, he would be tough.
"A no fly zone is a no fly zone" --Old New Jersey Proverb
Christie will close down every bridge to the United States to keep out terrorists
Christie: "Terror threats "is the new normal" under Obama and Clinton."

8) Rand Paul. His libertarian ideas are some of the good things about him and his libertarian idea are some of the bad things about him. Rand Paul is terrible on foreign policy. Much like his dad. Paul also started out with an attack on Trump (again). He has tried it at every debate and it NEVER helps him. He is slow to learn.

9) Carly Fiorina: I am tired of this "because I am a woman" stuff from her. The review of her work history with HP is mixed....but mostly not good. And she claims to know all the world leaders.
 Carly Fiorina made a critical mistake when she mentioned Kim Jong Un and then didn't throw in that she knew him, too.

10) Jeb Bush. Not even a consideration any more.
 "________" - Jeb Bush's most memorable response tonight. 
They should have a moment of silence for Jeb Bush since this will likely be his last debate.
Shorter Jeb Bush: Refugees aren't a problem. Let them all in!

11) George Pataki. He talked strong on national defense, I was surprised. But he was governor of New York during 911.  

12)Lindsey Graham. 
Lindsey Graham needs to start using decaf stuff as he was over wound.
 If you took a drink whenever Lindsay Graham eye rolled at Rick Santorum. You wouldn't be awake for the 2nd debate.
Of ISIS, Graham said he  will "knock them off the internet" --What does that mean??
His most memorable line: "Princess Buttercup would not like this!" 
He would rate higher if the issue was entertainment value.


13)CNN  The biggest loser as they clearly showed their disdain for the Republican party. You won't see a performance like that when CNN moderates the Democrat debate. But perhaps Wolf Blitzer clarified it best when he said "CNN is America." They truly think they are. CNN also interpreted the Bible their own way as they asked about refugees. But I have never been able to find the Bible verse that says we should let terrorists in the country because you're supposed to love them. Neither did CNN.

Wolf kept saying"we're only just beginning" before each commercial break.
And in the first debate they were purposely  making Trump the subject when he was not there to defend himself.

All The Presidents Men Work at CNN (and MSNBC)

Dana Bash, Don Lemon and Gloria Borger, among others at CNN, showed how much both CNN and their anchors are big fans of Barack Obama, as they offered criticism of CBS News White House Correspondent Major Garrett for bothering Obama by asking him an important question. 

Dana Bash:

• There’s a fine line between asking a tough question and maybe crossing that line a little bit and being disrespectful, and I think that happened here.”

 Don Lemon:

•  “OK, so, let me tell you, basically, what he was saying was, ‘Man, look here, are you out of your damn mind?’ That’s exactly what the tone — that’s exactly where I thought he was going, like ‘Are you crazy?’ To — because, to put the question in that form. I was at home watching it going ‘Wait a minute,’ you know, it was a little out of school, but I was — I thought that was the next thing was coming, like, ‘What is wrong with you?’ That’s what I thought he was going to say.”

 Gloria Borger:

•  “look, the question about the fate of four Americans is a completely legitimate question. When you look at the language and the way it was loaded in this question, ‘capitulation,’ ‘are you content?’ [paraphrasing] ‘Did you hang the Joint Chiefs of Staff out to dry?’ There are different ways to ask questions, and I think, again, when you look at the president, and I think Don’s absolutely right, I don’t think he really wanted to say that’s nonsense. I think he wanted to say something a little bit stronger, but you could see that he was visibly angry and upset and irritated.”CNN Chief Political Analyst Gloria Borger