Smaller cast of Republican candidates to face off in debate

[webfact]

Smaller cast of Republican candidates to face off in debate
By JULIE PACE and JULIE BYKOWICZ

MILWAUKEE (AP) — A smaller cast of candidates faces off Tuesday night in the Republicans' fourth presidential debate, with mild-mannered Ben Carson pledging to push back aggressively if challenged on the veracity of his celebrated personal story. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio is expecting more confrontation, too, from rivals trying to block his momentum.

The debate, the last for the GOP until mid-December, could help shape the course of the campaign into the winter as voters begin to pay more attention to the White House race.

Billionaire Donald Trump has led the field for months, defying standard political logic, while experienced governors and senators have struggled to break through. Another outsider, Carson, the quiet retired neurosurgeon, began challenging Trump's grip in recent weeks. As he's risen in preference polls, however, Carson has faced a flurry of questions about his biography, which has been central to his connection with voters.

His campaign manager, Barry Bennett, said Carson is prepared to be far more aggressive in the prime-time debate and is "a lot more fired up" after facing days of questions about his past.

"He's not going to attack anybody," Bennett said. "But if somebody goes after him, they're going to see a lot more 'back at 'em' than they ever saw before."

While pieces of Carson's background had been challenged earlier in the campaign, the questions ballooned last week after CNN reported it could not find friends or confidants to corroborate the story, told in his widely read autobiography, of his unsuccessfully trying to stab a close friend when he was a teenager.

Later in the week, Politico examined Carson's claim of having been offered a scholarship to attend the U.S. Military Academy, and The Wall Street Journal said it could not confirm anecdotes told by Carson about his high school and college years.

In a GOP primary where bashing the media is in vogue, Carson could come out ahead if the moderators of Tuesday's debate on Fox Business Network are seen as unfairly piling on. Carson's campaign was active in the effort to change how the party's debates are run after several candidates expressed unhappiness with moderators from CNBC at an event two weeks ago.

Yet some Republicans say Carson must walk a fine line.

"Will viewers and voters see the unflappable surgeon they have been inclined to support or will a more combative Carson emerge?" said Matt Strawn, the former chairman of the Iowa Republican Party. "If the latter, his standing may well suffer if he appears to be yet another politician trying to out-outrage the others on stage."

Trump previewed a potential line of attack at a rally in Springfield, Illinois, on the eve of the debate.

"With what's going on with this election, I've never seen anything like it. People are getting away with murder," Trump said. "If you try and hit your mother over the head with a hammer, your poll numbers go up. I never saw anything like it!"

Rubio will walk onto the stage with some momentum following a strong performance in the most recent debate. The senator is widely seen as among the most talented politicians in the GOP field, and his rise appears to have worried some of his rivals.

That's especially true of Jeb Bush, the former Florida governor who is a friend and political mentor for Rubio. Bush struggled in his attempts to challenge Rubio in the last debate, though he's continued to needle him in campaign appearances, and his well-funded super PAC has signaled plans to aggressively go after the senator in the coming weeks.

Trump has also stepped up his criticism of Rubio, calling him a "total lightweight" and a "highly overrated politician" in tweets sent late Monday night.

Rubio's campaign tried to get ahead of some expected challenges in the debate by releasing two more years of charge card statements from his time as a state lawmaker. He has faced questions about his use of an American Express card issued by the Republican Party of Florida for some personal spending.

Also in the main debate Tuesday night is Ted Cruz, who is enjoying new momentum following a strong performance in the last contest, and businesswoman Carly Fiorina and Ohio Gov. John Kasich.

Missing from the lineup are New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. Both were dropped from the top-tier debate with low poll numbers in national surveys, sparking criticism for the way networks hosting the debates have determined participation.

Christie and Huckabee will instead appear in an undercard debate, along with Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum.

"We're not whiners and moaners and complainers in the Christie campaign," Christie said on Fox News. "Give me a podium, give me a stage, put the camera on, we'll be just fine."
___

Pace reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Brian Bakst in Minnesota, Jill Colvin in New Jersey and Steve Peoples in Milwaukee contributed to this report.


-- (c) Associated Press 2015-11-11

[Jai Dee]

One troll post and subsequent replies have been removed from this thread.

[Pinot]

They're all against raising the minimum wage, popular with Republicans and Democrats but an impossible position for a candidates begging for the wingnut vote.

I can't actually waste a second of precious life watching these clowns but I read the comedy highlights.

[mrwebb8825]

Go Donald Go! He ought to slaughter these guys.

[Ulysses G.]

They're all against raising the minimum wage

Wrong as usual. Why do you even bother...

[elgordo38]

They're all against raising the minimum wage, popular with Republicans and Democrats but an impossible position for a candidates begging for the wingnut vote.

I can't actually waste a second of precious life watching these clowns but I read the comedy highlights.

Fewer contestants more BS. I think when election time comes people should tick off "none of the above" on their ballot. One wingnut I cannot remember his name wants to increase spending on an already bloated military. "Just call me Jeb" oops sorry he has rebranded himself into "Jeb can fix it" say the Americans do not want to be the worlds policeman but want to be leader of the world dah hey Jeb how can you as the famous song says "Have one without the other" I just cannot believe Americans can watch this claptrap without being high on medication or booze. I thought Charlie Chaplin and the Keystone Kops were funny but these nut jobs take the cake.

[elgordo38]

Go Donald Go! He ought to slaughter these guys.

A true wolf among the sheep. He is leaving his mark on the debates as a businessman. Most of these jerks on the stage never did a days work in their lives just sucked on the breast of politics. Silver spoon politicians kissing the ring of the Koch's and Singers of the world begging for money selling future favors its disgusting. My Super Pac is bigger than your super pac what a joke. They are bought and paid for before the first ballot is cast.

Edited November 11, 2015 by elgordo38

[Chicog]

Just so you know, the bookies have Rubio as hot favourite to win the nomination.

And they don't often get it wrong.

[RidgeRunner]

The talented republicans won't run this year. They are sitting this one out and letting the second string play and get some experience.

The country has still not recovered from the republicans last go and the real republican talent knows it's futile to run against a Clinton.

[wwest5829]

Go Donald Go! He ought to slaughter these guys.

ft

Yes, pleeeze....Trump/Carson or Trump/Cruz or Trump/Palin. OK, OK, I confess, I want a Democrat returned to the White House to hold the line against the wingnuts.

[stevenl]

Go Donald Go! He ought to slaughter these guys.

The fire seems to have left Trump. Again an average performance at best.

[StevieH]

Just so you know, the bookies have Rubio as hot favourite to win the nomination.

And they don't often get it wrong.

wish i'd had a bet on that a while back. it was clear a couple of months ago that trump and carson will never get the nomination in a million years because they're both literally insane. bush steadily shot himself in the foot and revealed himself to be a pretty clueless lightweight and ted cruz is just batsh*t crazy. fiorina's pretty horrible and there's no way the GOP is ready to elect a woman president yet anyway so that leaves relatively inoffensive class try-hard rubio to walk the nomination by simply being the least insane, the least offensive, the least corrupt and the least female.

[Chicog]

Poor old Ted had his very own Rick Perry moment.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hkea6-j90nU

[Pinot]

The talented republicans won't run this year. They are sitting this one out and letting the second string play and get some experience.

The country has still not recovered from the republicans last go and the real republican talent knows it's futile to run against a Clinton.

Wait, what? Which talented Republicans? Really? I'm serious. Who's not out there? They got everybody out there who's got a pulse.

They got Carly Fiorino out there. They got Bobby Jindal out there. Rick Santorum! <deleted> Rick Santorum!!!

[RidgeRunner]

There is plenty of talent in the GOP.

They don't want to put their families thru that crap or they have a few skeletons in their closet or they don't want to pretend to be a Christian or they like women's choice or the environment.

Take a guy like Peter Uberoth. The guy would be a fantastic Prez.

Look at John Huntsman. Great candidate but he believes in global warming and evolution.

Lots of talent that just won't run.

Edited November 11, 2015 by RidgeRunner

[StevieH]

There is plenty of talent in the GOP.

They don't want to put their families thru that crap or they have a few skeletons in their closet or they don't want to pretend to be a Christian or they like women's choice or the environment.

Take a guy like Peter Uberoth. The guy would be a fantastic Prez.

Look at John Huntsman. Great candidate but he believes in global warming and evolution.

Lots of talent that just won't run.

you're right, there are normal politicians in the republican party. people who aren't lunatics, who care about their constituents and who accept, not believe in, facts like climate change and evolution. it's a shame for them that they are totally unelectable because so, so many republican voters are totally and utterly insane. hopefully it stays this way and the GOP never wins another election ever again.