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November 2007 Archives
HRC, on The End To The Crisis
“I am very grateful that this difficult day has ended so well. All of my campaign staff and volunteers are safe. I want to thank them for their extraordinary courage and coolness under some very difficult pressures and dangerous situations. I also want to thank all of law enforcement. We were in touch from the moment this began with local, county, state, federal law enforcement. I am so grateful to them for their response which brought this hostage situation to such a good ending.
“I also want to thank Governor Lynch who was extremely helpful in marshalling the resources of the state and working with the local law enforcement officials to make sure that all resources were available. The FBI and the Secret Service lent their expertise and help as well. I was in touch during the day with the families of those who were held hostage and I really commend their extraordinary courage under, again, very difficult circumstances. This has been a very hard day for all of us in our campaign.
“But even beyond that, every four years extraordinary young people come to places like New Hampshire because they want to change our country. They believe in our future. They work around the clock. They are so committed to their cause and I just want to commend every one of them from every campaign who really makes what is a sacrifice and a commitment. A lot of them postpone school, leave their families, move across the country and I’m so grateful for them every single day and I’m especially just relieved to have this situation end so peacefully without anyone being injured.
“We don’t have very many facts beyond, what we garnered during the day. I am on my way to New Hampshire now to thank the law enforcement officials, to see my staff – particularly those who not only were physically held hostage, but all those who supported this effort during the day to make sure we got information, that we kept families apprised, that we closely coordinated with law enforcement. And I could just not be prouder at the people who are in my campaign. And I want to thank them and I am so grateful that this day has ended well.”
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Campaigns Shut Down In New Hampshire
Several Democratic campaigns shut down their New Hampshire field offices and sent staffers home early.
And junior and mid-level members Hillary Clinton's national campaign staff have also been sent home.
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Clinton Campaign Statement
"There is an ongoing situation in our Rochester, NH office. We are in close contact with state and local authorities and are acting at their direction. We will release additional details as appropriate."
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Clinton Cancels Speech
VIENNA, VA -- Sen. Hillary Clinton has canceled her speech to the Democratic National Committee this afternoon.
The reason, according to Democratic officials, was not security: it was that Clinton did not want to give a rah-rah speech to Democratic National Committee activists amid s hostage crisis at her Rochester, NH campaign headquarters.
Clinton's aides are mum -- partly because they don't know what's happening and partly because they don't want to exacerbate the situation any further.
Outside the grand ballroom, young party activists traded phone calls with friends in New Hampshire looking for any word. Reporters crowded around a hotel bar and watched live television coverage.
Clinton's national headquarters in Arlington, VA has a very elaborate security system. The Secret Service has advised both Clinton and Obama on headquarters security.
But the major campaigns have roughly 50 field offices each -- there's no real way to protect them, and indeed, no incentive to: they are supposed be highly visible and highly accessible.
Clinton is scheduled to campaign in Iowa this weekend.
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How Much Money Has Mike Huckabee Spent In Iowa?
For his troubles?
$327,000, approximately, according to his campaign.
How much has Mitt Romney spent?
$7 million.
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Clinton Rachets Up Contrast With Obama On Health Care
For a few months, a Barack Obama television ad in New Hampshire has touted his health care plan's promise to cover everyone.
Today, Hillary Clinton's campaign manager, Patti Solis Doyle, in remarks aimed at Obama's campaign manager, David Plouffe, called the claim "completely false" and "should be taken off the air."
Neera Tandem, Clinton's policy adviser, said: "Choosing to forgo a mandate [means] it is not universal."
But reporters on this conference call had questions for Tanden. Ron Brownstein wanted to know, in absence of any information about how much money lower income families would have to spend on health care before having spent enough to qualify for subsidies, how could the campaign know that everyone would be covered?
A Los Angeles Times reporter wanted to know how Clinton's mandate would be enforced. "She would enforce her mandate through default enrollment," Tanden said.
Those who, for example, go to the emergency room and are found to lack insurance would be automatically enroll.(John Edwards's plan has a similar mechanism).
By way of rebuttal, Obama's advisers circulated comments by MIT's Jonathan Gruber, a Clinton adviser, who acknowledged that any plan short of "single payer" would allow about a percent and a half of the U.S. population -- around 2 million people -- to go without coverage.
Though the ad has been around for months, Clinton's team may have been prompted to act in the wake of a withering column by New York Times's Paul Krugman. His lede is:
"From the beginning, advocates of universal health care were troubled by the incompleteness of Barack Obama’s plan, which unlike those of his Democratic rivals wouldn’t cover everyone. But they were willing to cut Mr. Obama slack on the issue, assuming that in the end he would do the right thing."
For the Clinton campaign, the debate encapsulates their core argument against Obama: that Clinton's experience gives her a font of knowledge and judgment on critical issues that Obama simply lacks.
Bill Burton, Obama's spokesman, says: "The Clinton campaign didn't say a word when this ad was released a month ago, and the only thing that's changed since then is the poll numbers. The truth is, Barack Obama's universal plan will provide coverage to every single American who can't afford it and do more to cut the cost of health care than any other plan in this race. Rather than spending their time attacking Barack Obama, the Clinton campaign should explain how exactly they plan to force every American to buy health insurance even if they can't afford it."
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Where We Are
The political world seems to be traveling on three tracks, a metaphor that probably occurred to me because I was carried home by the Acela last night Immigration, Giuliani's ethics and Mike Huckabee's fabulousness. All three stories are losing their freshness.
All are, yes, about Republicans and Republican-things.
The Democrats, for once, have had a fairly quiet week, as Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton clashed mainly over the substance of their health care proposals. This weekend, with two Democratic debates, including Saturday night's first ever forum broadcast in high def, perhaps the attention will shift.
Can the press cover two campaigns at once? That is -- can it give due weight and attention to two campaigns at once? For most of the summer and fall, whenever both Democrats and Republicans had weeks, the Democratic contest always seemed to get higher billing on the network news rundowns.
This was really the first week in memory where Republicans won the battle for attention spans.
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Obama Gets His Morning Coffee With Bloomberg
(Don't wait for Drudge to develop his story -- read it here, first!)
At 7:45 this morning, Sen. Barack Obama will set vice presidential speculation on fire with a brief stop to say hello to New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, himself an occasional presidential flirt. The meeting appeared on Bloomberg's schedule, which was distributed to reporters last night.
An Obama aide said the meeting was scheduled because of "mutual interest" and did not know whether the two had met before.
More coffee than ticket talk, though -- and Obama had better be brief. He's due to speak at the Democratic National Committee's winter meeting in Vienna, Virginia around noon.
Obama was in New York Thursday for a day of fundraisers, including a young professionals event at Harlem's historic Apollo theater. He also grabbed a burger or three at a local White Castle.
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The Daily Five
1. Tomorrow, the Democratic presidential candidates attend the winter meeting of the Democratic National Committee in Tyson's Corner, Virginia....DNC delegates will also attend a private session with all campaign managers....Obama to return to Iowa over the weekend....
2. Mitt Romney files requisite number of signatures to qualify for Virginia ballot....Giuliani campaign will soon follow suit; ballot deadline is Dec. 10....Republican candidates issue statements mourning death of Ex-Rep. Henry Hyde...Democratic candidates are silent.
3. Former President Clinton, on Trent Lott, per C-SPAN: "You know, I like old Trent, I had good relationships with him, and I hope he's not sick."...... could "uncommitted" defeat Hillary Clinton on the Democratic ballot in Michigan?....
4. Seems like the Clinton campaign polled the value of the Barbra Streisand's endorsement.
5. Alliance for Marriage, with opposes gay marriage, claims evidence that Tim Gill, the wealthy Colorado gay financier, bankrolled campaigns that defeated four anti-gay Republicans in Virginia, helping to flip control of the state legislature there. For background, click here.
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On Tonight's CBS Evening News
In an exclusive interview with Katie Couric, Rudy Giuliani responds to the Politico's report.
Joe Lhota, an ex-mayoral aide, previews Giuliani's defense in a statement his campaign just released to reporters:
“To ensure the safety of the Mayor of the City of New York and his family, the NYPD assigned security to them on a 24/7/365 basis. The cost of this security was paid by the NYPD budget. Dating back as far as the Mayor’s first term in office, the practice was that when security-related expenses were incurred, they were paid for with an Office of the Mayor credit card. The practice was put into place to ensure timely payment and the monthly credit card bill was paid promptly from the Mayor’s Office budget. Such costs were allocated throughout the various divisions within Mayor’s office. Sometime there after, but before the end of each fiscal year, the NYPD would reimburse the Office of the Mayor for such expenditures and therefore these divisions were never deprived of any monies.”
(** I'm now a CBS consultant, so I guess you could say I'm paid to plug CBS...)
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Log Cabins Bash Romney On Taxes, In New Hampshire
The gay Republican group is tweaking former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney for a "Mitt-Flop" on taxes. The ad airs on New Hampshire radio.
Craig Stevens, a Romney spokesman, said that the group was just sore that Romney opposed same-sex marriage.
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Clinton On His Records
A long, and not unpersuasive explanation from President Clinton about the Little Rock library and his records, from an interview Mr. Clinton gave to C-SPAN.
CLINTON: First of all, since this law that we’re operating under now has been in effect – that is, from President Reagan forward – I have worked to release more records more quickly than anybody else.
I want this stuff out there.
Some of it may be misused, and some people may want it for reasons that are not entirely academic, but that’s OK. I want the records out there.
I wanted to give all of my records to the 9/11 Commission. I wanted all the support necessary. And we kept meticulous records, and I wanted to give it to them.
The public has to know, they’re not my records. They belong to, and under the jurisdiction of the Archives. But I have the power to keep all of them closed for 12 years. I didn’t do that. We’ve released about a million pages already.
I want to push the release of more, including the request for documents about Hillary’s time in the White House. They’ll show how hard she worked on a wide variety of issues, and what she did in her travels around the world to advance America’s cause. So, I’d like it if the records got out there.
But there are certain rules the Archives has about reviewing them. Then they have to go to the – then we review them. And then the White House has requested the right to review some of them. Now, they’re being pretty good now, the White House is, about letting them out.
The Archives has some rules. They have a strict first-come, first-served policy. And they also, when they send us documents, they won’t release them until we review them all.
So, for example, the other day – as soon as this controversy arose, Bruce Lindsey, who has other things to do, had 26,000 pages of documents to review. He had already reviewed 20,000.
So, he said, “Let’s give the people 20,000 documents.”
And the Archives said, “No. We don’t release one page until you get all 26,000.”
I don’t know why that’s their policy.
But we have asked them – I have asked them already on two occasions if they would speed up a particular release, and they declined to do so. That’s OK. But the American public just needs to know, we’re getting this stuff out as soon as we can.
There was a request, I think, for all of Hillary’s schedules. And I think that’ll be out sometime in January.
But someone literally has to review all that. I don’t think people understand how time consuming it is.
For example, on her schedule, if there is an advance person – as there was, you know – let’s say she represents America in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan, in my first term, each one of those places where she stopped, there was an advance person.
If there was a private cell phone number there, the archivist has to go through and mark that out for privacy reasons, just on the off chance that they still have the same cell phone number.
If there were the names of Secret Service agents or a list in questionable places of how many agents were there, they mark that out so they won’t be giving deployment information.
Those are their rules, not mine. And I get why they do it.
But we’re not trying to hold up anything. I am pushing this faster than any of my predecessors since the new law has been enacted.
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A Response From FairTax.org
Ken Hoagland, Fairtax.org's communications director, writes, in response to this post:
For the most part your report was accurate except to say that we have shut down our Iowa operations. That's not so although one of our former field staff apparently thinks so. The FairTax bus will be in Iowa on Monday, we still have an Iowa Field Coordinator employed and we are still doing talk shows, op-eds, letters and a lot of work on the Internet.
Beyond that, we have hundreds of thousands of ardent supporters who carry the message forward and who are working every day to see the FairTax not only embraced by candidates but enacted by Congress. Do we have a way to go? Certainly. Wresting their favorite power and profit game away from Congress is no small task but with 68 co-sponsors now--more than ever before and more than any other reform tax proposal--we are not mourning but celebrating our progress.
We made a judgment early this year to go full speed toward the Iowa Straw Poll, to hold a 10,000 person rally in South Carolina and to increase our organizing work in South Carolina, Florida and New Hampshire. We achieved all of our goals and in so doing, exhausted much of bank account--but not all. While we have now regrouped and cut HQ overhead, we are poised to rise phoenix-like again, this time from the ashes of our successes and continue building on the growth that we have achieved.
Our direct mail program is on track to begin in January, our contract with the Internet marketing firm Convio (the folks who helped Mr. Dean a while back) is in place and our membership continues to grow.
All this is to say--don't count us out yet Marc. If it was easy we would already have a better tax system.
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Does Huckabee Have The Guts To Criticize The Clintons?
Remember:
In 1996, Huckabee skipped the Republican National Convention in San Diego that he did not want to be forced to criticize Bill Clinton. Huckabee was the party's pride and joy at the time -- its newest governor. Aide Rex Nelson told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette at the time at Huckabee was concerned about "the possibility of Arkansas-bashing at the convention." He did not want to be put in a position to have to defend his state.
Huckabee has become friendly will Bill Clinton since then, collaborating with him on an anti-obesity initiative.
If Huckabee is chosen as the vice presidential nominee, he'll be in the critic's cat-bird seat.
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Some morning headlines to spur discussion...
"Giuliani, Clinton slip in SC polls"... (The State)
"Obama helped ex-boss get $1 million from charity." (Chicago Sun-Times)
And check out this quote from Mitt Romney on this a.m's "Morning Joe":
SCARBOROUGH: Governor huckabee has been -- some of the media believe governor huckabee has gotten a free ride from us and others, because he's been the smiling, happy warrior out there, but tim russert talked this morning of people looking into mike huckabee's finances. Is there a reason for governor huckabee to be concerned about money that he took while he was governor of arkansas?
GOV. ROMNEY: You know, that's something that the investigators will have to take a look at. I know there were a number of ethical charges and fines and that's reminiscent of the clinton years. I think the bigger problem relates to the fact that he was soft on illegal immigration and that he raised spending in the state from 6 to $16 billion and he raised sales taxes, taxes on groceries and on nursery homes, i don't think america is going to choose somebody who is soft on immigration and hard on taxpayers.
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That NYC Tab Wood...
The New York Daily News:
TWISTS FOR HIS TRYSTS
(Here's the online version).
The more Rudy friendly Post has an inside article...
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Atlantic Umpire: Does Romney Want South Carolina Republicans To Think He Favors An Immediate Constitutional Ban On Abortion?
But wants a broader audience to think he'd go a little slower?
It's unclear.
Romney, in a direct mail piece he's distributed to South Carolina Republicans, brags he's the: "The only major presidential candidate who supports the Republican Party's pro-life platform: A constitutional amendment banning abortion nationwide."
(The piece was evidently written before Mike Huckabee's rise...)
Last night, Romney said:
"We should overturn Roe v. Wade and return these issues to the states. I would welcome a circumstance where there was such a consensus in this country that said we don't want to have abortion in this country at all period? That would be wonderful. I would be delighted … to sign that bill. but that's not where we are. That's not where America is today. Where America is ready to overturn Roe v. Wade and return to the states that authority."
(And, of course, there's this oldie, but goodie, from Romney's seminal 2005 op-ed on his abortion transformation: "The nation remains so divided over abortion, I believe that the states, through the democratic process, should determine their own abortion laws and not have them dictated by judicial mandate." )
Terry Sullivan, Romney's South Carolina state director, said the mailing accurately described Romney's view.
"There is absolutely no difference what-so-ever. Overturning Roe v. Wade is the first step. Then when there is a chance to get 2/3 or realistically ¾ of the states to ratify a Constitutional Amendment we should do exactly that… as the Governor said. “don't want to have abortion in this country at all period? That would be wonderful. I would be delighted … to sign that bill.”
Says Sullivan: "Governor Romney, If elected, would publicly support an amendment."
And it's true that neither Fred Thompson nor Rudy Giuliani would.
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Gay Questioner On HRC Committee
Keith Kerr, the retired brigadier general who asked the gays-in-the-military question at tonight's debate is, in fact, on Hillary Clinton's LGBT steering committee.
He has a right to ask a question, but CNN probably (had they known this) should have disclosed it.
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The Other Rudy Story...
Rudy's Ties to a Terror Sheikh
Giuliani's business contracts tie him to the man who let 9/11's mastermind escape the FBI
By Wayne Barrett.
An excerpt:
"....the launching of a cozy business relationship with terrorist-tolerant Qatar that is inconsistent with the core message of Giuliani's current presidential campaign, namely that his experience and toughness uniquely equip him to protect America from what he tauntingly calls "Islamic terrorists"—an enemy that he always portrays himself as ready to confront, and the Democrats as ready to accommodate.
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The Debate In Review
The leading Republican presidential candidates fought about a lot, but in the end, for many (not all) of the issues on which they disagreed, there’s really no way to figure out how a President Huckabee would differ from a President Romney on immigration policy.
Also: where was health care? It’s a huge issue in Florida, but it came up not once... So don’t be upset that I’m going to skip the substance and get to the style:
McCain’s mix of resigned sighs, sober mien and sense of humor went over well with a crowd that seemed predisposed to be wary of him. He drew out Ron Paul on the war (before Giuliani had the chance to), and it proved a very clear exchange of principles and a very good YouTube moment for McCain. There was a long period of time during the middle of the debate – probably 25 minutes – where he did not get to answer one question. But then he and Mitt Romney debated – actually debated – the question of waterboarding. McCain got the better of the exchange, but he always gets the better of exchanges on the subject. It’s not clear whether the Republican base agrees that waterboarding, even if torturous, should not be applied to enemy combatants. But the press will lap it up – and so might New Hampshire independents. McCain has as good a night as a candidate can have if you consider what the average Republican and Republican-leaning independent in the Granite State are looking for.
Giuliani had a an “eh” to “poor” night. He seemed deflated. A little defensive. Perfunctory answers on the literal truth of the bible and on abortion. Nothing out of the ordinary, but no memorable moments outside of his exchanges with Romney, where he was flustered and a little aggressive.
Thompson: He gets more comfortable with every debate. Tonight, he repeatedly matched parts of his resume to the issues at hand, a way of answering the lingering question that he’s checked out. It was a very good performance in a state he needs to pump his numbers. His answer on guns was very clear and strong.
Huckabee held his own and was not really subjected to close scrutiny. A strong answer for his Iowa audience on the bible.
Romney had a strong night, seemed raring to go, seemed to be willing to take on everybody,
anybody, all comers, seemed to want to pick every fight possible. It’s as if Alex Gage whispered to Romney as he went on stage: “Governor, remember: you want the headlines to be “Romney Fights For Conservative Principles.”
The early fireworks between Giuliani and Romney had a thin quality to it, as if they were nitpitcking and sniping, rather than debating a point or principle. Does the party want to showcase a confrontation over the finer points of immigration policy? Is there really a difference between Romney, Giuliani and Thompson on immigration. No. What is the effect of a debate that produces false distinctions? As Tom Tancredo noted: “All I’ve heard is people trying to out Tancredo Tancredo.”
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The openly gay former brigadier general asks...
Why American men and women are not professional enough to serve with gays and lesbians?
Hunter: “It would be bad for unit cohesion.”
Huckabee: “Uniform code of military justice is probably the best conduct… when their conduct could put at risk the moral or even the cohesion that Duncan Hunter spoke of.”
Romney: “My view is that at this stage this is not the time to make that kind of change.”
Romney dodges the question about whether he looks forward to the day when gays could serve openly in the military.
The general: “With all due respect, I did not get an answer from the candidates. American men and women are professional enough to serve with gays and lesbians. For 42 years, I wore the Army uniform … I revealed I was a gay man after I retired. Today, don’t ask, don’t tell is destructive to our military policy…”
Huckabee says he'd welcome the support of the Log Cabin Republicans.
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All The Republican Candidates Seem to Be Distancing Themselves From Cheney...
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Romney And McCain Clash On Torture
Romney says he's seek McCain's counsel -- he doesn't think it's appropriate for presidential candidates to say what interrogation techniques are going to be used.
"I oppose torture. I would not be in favor of torture in any way shape or form."
McCain: "Governor, I'm astonished that you haven't found out what waterboarding is. I'm astonished that you think such a torture could be inflicted on anyone in our capture.... If we're going to get the high ground in this world, we're not going to do what Pol Pot did, what is being done to Burmese monks..."
Romney: "I did not say and I do not say that I'm in favor of torture. I'm not going to specify the specific means.... I get that advice from Cofer Black (ex CIA counterintell ops), I get that advice from talking to former generals in our military..."
McCain: "Then you would have to advocate that we withdraw from the Geneva convention. It's clear.. that it's torture. I would hope that we would understand that life is not 24 and Jack Bauer. Life is that we use humane techniques that are effective... my friends., this is what America is all about... this is a defining issue."
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The Longest Time Elapsed Without A Mention Of Hillary Clinton In A GOP Debate?
It took eighty seven minutes.
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Do You Believe Every Word Of This Book?
(The Holy Bible).
Rudy Giuliani: "The reality is that I relieve it, that i don't believe it literally true in every single respect. I think there are parts that are interpreted, ... allegorical... meant to be interpreted in a modern context..."
Romney: "I believe that the bible is the word of God, absolutely. ... I might interpret the word differently than you interpret the word..."
Huckabee: "It's the word of revelation between God and all of us. The only person here with a theology degree, there are parts of it I don't fully understand, but I am not supposed to, because the bible is the revelation of an infinite god...."
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What Would Jesus Do Re: The Death Penalty
Huckabee: "It was the toughest decision I've ever made as a human being... The one decision that came to my desk that, once I made it, was irrevocable."
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A Woman Who Gets An Abortion -- Should She Be CHarged With A Crime?
Paul: "I don't personally think so..."
Thompson: the penalty ought to be reserved for the doctor performing the abortion, not the woman.
Giuliani says he would probably not sign a bill banning all abortions. "If Roe v. Wade were overturned, it would then go back to the states. ... I don't believe that it should be criminalized. I think we should have parental consent. I think we should have access to adoption, instead of abortion."
Romney: agrees with Thompson.
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Black and Black Crime
Asked about black on black crime, the Republicans focus mostly on crime enforcement:
Romney: "The best thing you can do for a kid is have a mom and a dad." Says that 68 percent of African American children are born out of wedlock, which I don't believe is true.
Giuliani: Romney has a "mixed record" on crime. Giuliani mentions how the greatest rate of crimes reduction occurred in places like Harlem... credits Compstat program and good leadership.
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Should Anyone Who Owns A Gun Be Required To Pass An Exam?
Giuliani, who once said yes, was asked.
He answers:
"What I believe is that we have to be very aggressive about endorsing the gun laws that already existed...."
"What I believe is that the second amendment.. government can impose reasonable regulations.. (boos) ... about criminal background... background of mental instability.... and if those regulations go beyond that, then they are unconstitutional...states can have a little bit of leeway..."
Giuliani: "People will be allowed to have guns. I will not interfere with that."
Thompson: "The mayor has supported a wide array of gun control laws. I'm not sure there was ever one that came up that he didn't support. The second amendment isn't a choice thing..."
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Thompson's Video
... is the video of a rotound Mike Huckabee talking about tax cuts... and a young pro-choice Mitt Romney...
"These are their words."
Romney: "I'm not sure who that young guy was at the beginning of that film. I can tell you this: I was wrong. On abortion, I was wrong. And I changed my mind."
Huckabee: "I was governor nearly 11 years and I cut nearly 90 taxes. The sales tax is one penny higher. ... but... When they're kicking you in the rear, it's just proving you're still out front..."
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Cooper Asks Giuliani About Politico Story
"First of all. It's not true. I had 24 security for the eight years I was mayor...it was because there were threat. They took care of me. And they put in their records and they handled them the way they handled them. And they were handled, so far as I know, perfectly appropriately."
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Republican Dodge Questions About Cutting Farm Subsidies
It's about ethanol, primary, but Romney won't cut big subsidies to agribusiness. Giulaini echoes Romney.
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Grover Norquist's Question: Would You Promise To Oppose and Veto Any Effort To Raise Taxes As Long As You're President?
Tancredo: Yes.
Huckabee: Yes
Romney: Yes
Giuliani: Yes.
Thompson: "I don't do pledges to anyone except the American people."
McCain: "I'm like Fred. My pledge and my record is ... to the American people."
Paul: Yes, but "you can easily pledge not to raise taxes, but you have to promise to cut spending."
Hunter: "You could have a national emergency."
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McCain Picks A Fight With Ron Paul
"I hear Ron Paul say he wants to bring the troops home."
"That kind of isolationism caused World War II."
"The message of the brave men and women who are serving over there is: "Let us win."
The crowd booed and cheered.
Paul: "Why do I get the most money from active duty military personal? What John is saying is just totally distorted?"
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Great Huckabee Line
"More people are afraid of an audit than they are a mugging, and there's a reason why."
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Embarassing?
The Republicans can't name three specific programs they'd cut?
Except Ron Paul.
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There's Been Lots Of Arguing
But very little real disagreement so far.
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Is This The First Presidential Debate Ever Where
The Trilateralist/CFR/North American Union conspiracy theories were given airings?
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Huckabee's Applause Line
Huckabee: "We're a better country that to punish children for what their parents did."
Romney: "Are we going to say that kids that are here illegally get a special deal?"
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A Sampling Of Candidate Press Releases
Thompson: "ROMNEY AND SANCTUARY CITIES"
Romney: "Rudy's Sanctuary City"
Giuliani: "Just the Facts #1: Romney and Illegal Immigration"
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Tom Tancredo Has Won The Immigration Debate
Tom Tancredo:
“All I’ve heard is people trying to out Tancredo Tancredo.”
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McCain Gets Applause
promises no amnesty, no demagoguery....
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Thompson's Ready With Ammo
"Romney supports the Bush immigration plan…now he’s taken the other position. As far as mayor Giulani, I am a little surprised that he says that we’re responsible for the people we hire, I think we’ve all had people that we have hired that, in retrospect, probably was a bad decision."
That's a Bernie Kerik reference, and a quite artfully placed one.
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And, After Silliness, The Debate Begins ..
If you read this blog, you're familiar with the arguments -- Giuliani and Romney recited them.
Romney got applause -- the audience is friendly to him.
"The mayor said, if you happen to be in this country in an undoc. status, then we want you here.."
Giuliani: Mitt "generally criticizes people in a situation in which he has by far the worst record. There were six sanctuary cities...was even a sanctuary mansion. At his own home. illegal immigrants were being employed."
Romney: "Mayor, you know better than that..." "Are you suggesting that, if you're a homeowner, and you hire a company to provide a service at your home, if you hear someone with a funny accent, you as a homeowner is supposed to go out there and say, let me see your papers?"
Giuliani: "If you're going to take this holier than thou attitude that you were perfect on immigration. It just so happens that you have a special immigration problem that nobody here has...They were under your nose!"
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