On the CNN Reagan Library Republican debates

Unlike Trump, Rand Paul Actually Made Some Sensible Points During the Debate

"The Kentucky senator cut through the “childish, silly back-and-forth” to present reasonable alternatives on foreign policy, drug reform, and mass incarceration."

Candidates Use Second G.O.P. Debate to Taunt Donald Trump . . . "While moderators at the CNN debate tried repeatedly to pit one Republican after another against Mr. Trump, the candidates fought to break out of that dynamic, with Carly Fiorina emerging as an especially tenacious combatant who provided some of the few moments where Mr. Trump looked uncomfortable." . . .

Left Coast Rebel

Who Won the Second Republican Presidential Debate?   "The GOP rivals squared off at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, and a surprising victor emerged."

Takeaway from the Second Debates: GOP is Personality, Not Ideology Centered

'Donald Trump Met His Match in Carly Fiorina' "19 political insiders pick the debate’s winners and losers"

Is the GOP Establishment Ready to Dump Bush?

Did Rand Paul help his cause?

#GOPDebate UNBIASED Breakdown – Winners, Losers and MAJOR surprise!

National Review Online had much to say about Carly Fiorina and the debate: Below are just a few of many.


Why Debates Matter   "On Wednesday evening, a consensus formed quickly: Florida senator Marco Rubio and former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina had emerged victorious."

Carly Fiorina Dares Clinton and Obama to Watch Planned Parenthood Videos

Carly’s Night  . . . "One hopes for his sake that there is someone around [Trump] who can approach him tomorrow and say, “Sir, I regret to inform you that you actually have to know something to run for president and that I have no choice to recommend that you read a policy briefing or two.” By the end of the three hours of his usual array of insults and airy, seat-of-the-pants answers, he felt a little tired and diminished, but who knows how it will affect his standing?" 

Fiorina: I Wouldn’t Talk to Russia, I’d Rebuild Missile Defense in Poland
"Responding to Donald Trump saying “I will get along” with Vladimir Putin, Carly Fiorina said tonight, “Having met Vladimir Putin, I wouldn’t talk to him at all; we talked way too much.' ” . . .

Bernie Sanders and socialism

Can Bernie Keep Socialism Alive?
"Before Bernie Sanders was the hot challenger to Hillary Clinton, before he was even an oddball Vermont congressman from Brooklyn, the proud socialist made a documentary film—and a long-playing record—about Eugene Victor Debs.

"The 20th century’s most renowned American socialist, Debs has long been a hero to leftists and radicals of many persuasions. Numerous children were named after him; so were a radio station, a town in Minnesota and a couple of beers. In Sanders’ quaint, low-budget 1979 documentary, Eugene V. Debs—issued by the now-defunct American People’s Historical Society of 295½ Maple Street in Burlington—Debs is given the full Howard Zinn
treatment, depicted as a fighter on behalf of exploited workers, a fearless critic of ruthless corporate power and a martyr to free speech." . . .
Rest of the article here

. . . "In the end, the most radical ideas espoused by Debs and his fellow socialists—the abolition of capitalism and its replacement with a planned economy—never came to pass. But more targeted reforms they advocated proved popular and became national policy. It’s here that we find one final answer to the “Why no socialism?” question: While our two-party system has rarely made room for long-lasting third parties, it has proven flexible enough to incorporate those parties’ best ideas. Reforms such as ending child labor, making taxation progressive and funding public works were championed by socialists but quickly came to be understood as liberal ones."

Note to Bernie Sanders: The God of the Bible Is NOT a Socialist  . . . "Sobering thoughts, aren’t they? And most any sentient person would agree that the plight of the poor and indigent in this country demands action. But the difference lies in how Bernie Sanders plans to remedy this phenomenon and how the God of the Bible commands His followers to care for the less fortunate.

"Sanders outlines his plans to deal with “income and wealth inequality” on his website. The 13 points would stagger your imagination, but here are a few of the points:" . . .