Seven candidates eligible for this one: Burgum, Christie, DeSantis, Haley, Pence, Ramaswamy, and Scott.

Although he has a commanding lead, I am disappointed Trump is not participating. Instead of landing a knockout blow to the field, might he possibly leave the door open for some of the others? (I am thinking DeSantis or Haley). One thing for sure,- Trump can no longer make fun of Biden for campaigning out of his basement.

If the candidates spend all their time attacking each other, it is all but over. They need to focus on the Clown Show that is the Biden Administration. Everything China Joe touches either dies or turns to feces. They need to avoid making the debate about No Show Trump. They need to tell us their plan to fix our broken country.

RD2WINAGNBEAR86 said:

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Seven candidates eligible for this one: Burgum, Christie, DeSantis, Haley, Pence, Ramaswamy, and Scott.

Although he has a commanding lead, I am disappointed Trump is not participating. Instead of landing a knockout blow to the field, might he possibly leave the door open for some of the others? (I am thinking DeSantis or Haley). One thing for sure,- Trump can no longer make fun of Biden for campaigning out of his basement.

If the candidates spend all their time attacking each other, it is all but over. They need to focus on the Clown Show that is the Biden Administration. Everything China Joe touches either dies or turns to feces. They need to avoid making the debate about No Show Trump. They need to tell us their plan to fix our broken country.

---

Trump is a chicken**** for not participating.

He is a huge noise talker, but isn't backing it up.

R's need to move past this guy and just vote for someone else in the primaries.

Yep, Trump is not participating. He is acting like he is the incumbent and has the nomination sewed up.

If he participated then a lot of his baggage would be brought up.

Go Nikki Haley!! I perceive her to be the best candidate.

Guy Noir said:

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Yep, Trump is not participating. He is acting like he is the incumbent and has the nomination sewed up.

If he participated then a lot of his baggage would be brought up.

Go Nikki Haley!! I perceive her to be the best candidate.

---

My current preferences are as follows:

1. Ron DeSantis
2. Nikki Haley
3. Tim Scott


4. Joe Manchin (Void if he keeps the D next to his name)






5. Donald Trump

We'll see if tonight changes the order.

Forest Bueller_bf said:

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RD2WINAGNBEAR86 said:

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Seven candidates eligible for this one: Burgum, Christie, DeSantis, Haley, Pence, Ramaswamy, and Scott.

Although he has a commanding lead, I am disappointed Trump is not participating. Instead of landing a knockout blow to the field, might he possibly leave the door open for some of the others? (I am thinking DeSantis or Haley). One thing for sure,- Trump can no longer make fun of Biden for campaigning out of his basement.

If the candidates spend all their time attacking each other, it is all but over. They need to focus on the Clown Show that is the Biden Administration. Everything China Joe touches either dies or turns to feces. They need to avoid making the debate about No Show Trump. They need to tell us their plan to fix our broken country.

---

Trump is a chicken**** for not participating.

He is a huge noise talker, but isn't backing it up.

R's need to move past this guy and just vote for someone else in the primaries.

---

Agree on all counts.

But the Republicans don't have the guts to take Trump on, and he knows it.

RD2WINAGNBEAR86 said:

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Guy Noir said:

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Yep, Trump is not participating. He is acting like he is the incumbent and has the nomination sewed up.

If he participated then a lot of his baggage would be brought up.

Go Nikki Haley!! I perceive her to be the best candidate.

---

My current preferences are as follows:

1. Ron DeSantis
2. Nikki Haley
3. Tim Scott


4. Joe Manchin (Void if he keeps the D next to his name)






5. Donald Trump

We'll see if tonight changes the order.

---

I'd have thought I'd make your top 5.

You always say "we need a pimp in the White House", so I started getting in shape. Then you didn't put me in your top 5. Damn!

Quote:

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Seven candidates eligible for this one: Burgum, Christie, DeSantis, Haley, Pence, Ramaswamy, and Scott.

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Of that list, you can automatically eliminate Christie, Haley, Pence, and Scott as their ideas helped destroy the country. Two former governors, a former VP, and a current senator. We all know why a backbench senator from South Carolina is there. Haley is running for a board of director's position, Christie for an administrative role after being denied one by Trump. Pence is just running on inertia at this point. He's played his role and collected his 30 pieces of silver.

That leaves Desantis and Ramaswamy with any level of appeal to actual voters.

I have no idea what Burgum's angle is.

I agree with Trump's decision not to participate. There's no upside for him, only downside. As far as odds of securing the nomination, most of these guys are anklebiters.

My general election preference is

1. Desantis <-> RFK (Still trying to see how that resolves itself)
2. Trump
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.
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3. Ramaswamy
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.
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4. Burgum (just because he's an unknown I guess and the rest suck).

But in all honesty if we drop past Trump on that list, the country is gone.

Newsome is handling his affairs as if he is going to make a run at it, sleep with one eye open on that character. A Newsome presidency would be the final nail in the coffin.

No haymakers just yet. Doug Burgum has twice interrupted and injected himself twice.

Tim Scott attacks Ramaswamy on China. Pence attempts to attack DeSantis on spending in Florida.

So far, Joe Biden and Donald Trump have not been attacked.

I wish Larry Elder was there if nothing else to provide some decorum.

Christie just ripped Trump a new one! Called him out and said he was afraid. Gonna change his name to Donald Duck! LOL!!!!!

Actually Desantis declared Trump "Missing in action"

Most of the candidates have mentioned that the economic problems have been caused by Biden spending.

The debate seems to be out of control.

RD2WINAGNBEAR86 said:

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Christie just ripped Trump a new one! Called him out and said he was afraid. Gonna change his name to Donald Duck! LOL!!!!!

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Christie's soul job is to trash Trump so the other candidates don't have to. He's a paid shill.

The debate has gotten better as far as being under control.

Haley just trashed Swashmmy.

Guy Noir said:

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The debate has gotten better as far as being under control.

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You may have spoken too soon. Nikki Haley and Ramaswamy just almost came to blows.

RD2WINAGNBEAR86 said:

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Guy Noir said:

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The debate has gotten better as far as being under control.

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You may have spoken too soon. Nikki Haley and Ramaswamy just almost came to blows.

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She nailed him pretty good.

Ramaswamy needs to get a haircutt and end his bromance with Putin

ron.reagan said:

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Ramaswamy needs to get a haircutt and end his bromance with Putin

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Haley impressed me every time.

FLBear5630 said:

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ron.reagan said:

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Ramaswamy needs to get a haircutt and end his bromance with Putin

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Haley impressed me every time.

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Me too.

I find the banner behind the candidates is distracting and sometimes seems to be moving.

Guy Noir said:

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I find the banner behind the candidates is distracting and sometimes seems to be moving.

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First thing I noticed. Horrible

I mean no disrespect, but at times the moderator from Univision is extremely difficult to understand.

I don't know much about him but I kinda like the Burchum(sp). guy from North Dakota.

I can't stand DeSantis and would never vote for him, but I think he had a much stronger debate tonight.

And after dominating the first debate, Nikki Haley was much less effective tonight IMO. It was clearly her strategy to come out swinging, but I don't think it worked for her.

1. Ron DeSantis was rock solid tonight. He needs to fine tune his position on abortion. His answer to the last divisive question was beautiful. Said he was not willing to vote any individual on the stage off the island. Doing so would be disrespectful.

2. Chris Christie made his disdain for Trump very clear tonight. But he also was great on policy questions. I think his stock went up greatly tonight. He said he would vote Donald Trump off the island! Most improved from previous debate.

3. Tim Scott was more decisive tonight. Love his answers regarding slavery and racism. He is truly inspiring. He showed a little bit of a fighting to win "mean streak" tonight.

4. Nikki Haley , in my opinion, took a few steps back tonight. Agree with bear2be2. She seemed to want to fight everybody on stage. Not a good look for her. I was disappointed.

5. Vivek Ramaswamy said all the right things but I still don't trust him. Can't quite put my finger on it. Maybe it is the Millennial thing. Perhaps I am biased.

6. Doug Burgum has great ideas and is very likeable. Just don't think he has enough of a national following to be a serious contender.

7. Mike Pence was uninspiring. As a pundit said on FoxNews a couple of weeks back, "Mike Pence has put more people to sleep than Mike Lindell".

Overall, not sure tonight moved the needle much for anyone vs. Trump. We really need at least 3 or 4 of these candidates to bow out for this to happen. We shall see.

bear2be2 said:

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I can't stand DeSantis and would never vote for him, but I think he had a much stronger debate tonight.

And after dominating the first debate, Nikki Haley was much less effective tonight IMO. It was clearly her strategy to come out swinging, but I don't think it worked for her.

---

Who do you support?

When is anyone just going to say it out loud? This is not a race against Biden, even if his name is on the ticket. This is a battle against an unelected Democrat apparatus plus left leaning bureaucrats who don't care what the citizens really want.

This is a party of more independent thinkers vs. a party that uses an iron fist to keep its ideology pure.
This is a party of free will vs. a party in control of what should be our laboratories of thought - major media, higher education, the majority of "news" outlets, science publications, and major professional organizations (some of which no longer truly speak for the professionals they represent.

bear2be2 said:

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I can't stand DeSantis and would never vote for him, but I think he had a much stronger debate tonight.

And after dominating the first debate, Nikki Haley was much less effective tonight IMO. It was clearly her strategy to come out swinging, but I don't think it worked for her.

---

Are you able to share some specific reasons why you "can't stand DeSantis?" What positions of his of which do you disagree? What candidate and associated position better meets the need. for said position?

Mothra said:

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bear2be2 said:

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I can't stand DeSantis and would never vote for him, but I think he had a much stronger debate tonight.

And after dominating the first debate, Nikki Haley was much less effective tonight IMO. It was clearly her strategy to come out swinging, but I don't think it worked for her.

---

Who do you support?

---

Of this field, Haley or Scott. But I was disappointed with Haley's performance tonight. I like Burgum, too, but he has no prayer.

This second debate descended into the same quagmire of the first debate:

1) The candidate who was polling anywhere from 30-40 percent ahead of the pack was not on the stage and that made it hard for the other candidates to attack their front-running rival in absentia—and almost…

— Victor Davis Hanson (@VDHanson) September 28, 2023

Quote:

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This second debate descended into the same quagmire of the first debate:


1) The candidate who was polling anywhere from 30-40 percent ahead of the pack was not on the stage and that made it hard for the other candidates to attack their front-running rival in absentiaand almost ensured a nihilistic, cannibalistic fight for second and third place and fourth and fifth place and sixth…

That fragmentation is exactly how Trump outsmarted the 2016 field that in toto outnumbered Trump's support but never united behind one or two candidates and thus all were picked off one by one. No candidate, oddly, tried to make the case that Trump is facing 91 indictments and he/she would be in a better position to help Trump and reform a corrupt justice system than a tied-down Trump himself.

2) So there are still too many candidates who are not viable contenders, (Christie, Pence, Scott, Burden) that have little or no chance. Their shouting matches are rhetorical exercises without political consequenceexcept to dilute further the top rivals to Trump. Whatever one might say about the Democratic cabal of March 2020, when the Left realized that a fragmented field might elect Bernie Sanders with a minority of the primary votes, then almost magically after the South Carolina primary the field began to thin and Biden, the only viable candidate in that pathetically weak field, eliminated Sanders. So if Trump does not join, debates will not matter much until perhaps DeSantis debates Haley on the MAGA agenda vs. doctrinaire Republicanism.

3) The shouting one-on-one psychodramas become irrelevant. Oddly Halley was the most guilty, provoking perceived rivals about trivia in their backgrounds and then engaging in a barking match.

Moderators? Why cannot Univision anchor Ilia Caldern pose one or two questions that transcend her own Latino interests, rather than playing to script with same old/same old predictable loaded questions that ignore all other issues like Ukraine, crime, the economy, inflation, etc.?

Why did Dana Perino intervene in Candy Crowley style to remind the audience that Haley's husband served aboard? And why do a "Survivor" schtick of candidates voting others off the stage? In general, the moderators could not control the cross-talk and did not ask the candidates what they thought of the front-runner's positions on the issues.

---

bear2be2 said:

---

Mothra said:

---

bear2be2 said:

---

I can't stand DeSantis and would never vote for him, but I think he had a much stronger debate tonight.

And after dominating the first debate, Nikki Haley was much less effective tonight IMO. It was clearly her strategy to come out swinging, but I don't think it worked for her.

---

Who do you support?

---

Of this field, Haley or Scott. But I was disappointed with Haley's performance tonight. I like Burgum, too, but he has no prayer.

---

What specifically do you dislike about DeSantis ?

bear2be2 said:

---

Mothra said:

---

bear2be2 said:

---

I can't stand DeSantis and would never vote for him, but I think he had a much stronger debate tonight.

And after dominating the first debate, Nikki Haley was much less effective tonight IMO. It was clearly her strategy to come out swinging, but I don't think it worked for her.

---

Who do you support?

---

Of this field, Haley or Scott. But I was disappointed with Haley's performance tonight. I like Burgum, too, but he has no prayer.

---

How about the Democrat field? Which candidate(s) do you support? Not a trick question.

RD2WINAGNBEAR86 said:

---

1. Ron DeSantis was rock solid tonight. He needs to fine tune his position on abortion. His answer to the last divisive question was beautiful. Said he was not willing to vote any individual on the stage off the island. Doing so would be disrespectful.

2. Chris Christie made his disdain for Trump very clear tonight. But he also was great on policy questions. I think his stock went up greatly tonight. He said he would vote Donald Trump off the island! Most improved from previous debate. Christie is just a hired hound dog to trash Trump at every turn. He knows he can't win, so here's there for a purpose

3. Tim Scott was more decisive tonight. Love his answers regarding slavery and racism. He is truly inspiring. He showed a little bit of a fighting to win "mean streak" tonight. Tim Scott lost me in the first debate when he said it shouldn't be up to the states with regard to abortion laws - he may want to check the 10th amendment.

4. Nikki Haley , in my opinion, took a few steps back tonight. Agree with bear2be2. She seemed to want to fight everybody on stage. Not a good look for her. I was disappointed.

5. Vivek Ramaswamy said all the right things but I still don't trust him. Can't quite put my finger on it. Maybe it is the Millennial thing. Perhaps I am biased. There's a reason I don't trust him. Google Ramaswamy Riovant Axovant

6. Doug Burgum has great ideas and is very likeable. Just don't think he has enough of a national following to be a serious contender. Like Burgum, but too bad he can get any traction.

7. Mike Pence was uninspiring. As a pundit said on FoxNews a couple of weeks back, "Mike Pence has put more people to sleep than Mike Lindell". Mike Pence has no chance. The Trumpers hate him and the never Trumpers don't like for being Trump's VP

Overall, not sure tonight moved the needle much for anyone vs. Trump. We really need at least 3 or 4 of these candidates to bow out for this to happen. We shall see.

---

Cobretti said:

---

This second debate descended into the same quagmire of the first debate:

1) The candidate who was polling anywhere from 30-40 percent ahead of the pack was not on the stage and that made it hard for the other candidates to attack their front-running rival in absentia—and almost…

— Victor Davis Hanson (@VDHanson) September 28, 2023

Quote:

---

This second debate descended into the same quagmire of the first debate:


1) The candidate who was polling anywhere from 30-40 percent ahead of the pack was not on the stage and that made it hard for the other candidates to attack their front-running rival in absentiaand almost ensured a nihilistic, cannibalistic fight for second and third place and fourth and fifth place and sixth…

That fragmentation is exactly how Trump outsmarted the 2016 field that in toto outnumbered Trump's support but never united behind one or two candidates and thus all were picked off one by one. No candidate, oddly, tried to make the case that Trump is facing 91 indictments and he/she would be in a better position to help Trump and reform a corrupt justice system than a tied-down Trump himself.

2) So there are still too many candidates who are not viable contenders, (Christie, Pence, Scott, Burden) that have little or no chance. Their shouting matches are rhetorical exercises without political consequenceexcept to dilute further the top rivals to Trump. Whatever one might say about the Democratic cabal of March 2020, when the Left realized that a fragmented field might elect Bernie Sanders with a minority of the primary votes, then almost magically after the South Carolina primary the field began to thin and Biden, the only viable candidate in that pathetically weak field, eliminated Sanders. So if Trump does not join, debates will not matter much until perhaps DeSantis debates Haley on the MAGA agenda vs. doctrinaire Republicanism.

3) The shouting one-on-one psychodramas become irrelevant. Oddly Halley was the most guilty, provoking perceived rivals about trivia in their backgrounds and then engaging in a barking match.

Moderators? Why cannot Univision anchor Ilia Caldern pose one or two questions that transcend her own Latino interests, rather than playing to script with same old/same old predictable loaded questions that ignore all other issues like Ukraine, crime, the economy, inflation, etc.?

Why did Dana Perino intervene in Candy Crowley style to remind the audience that Haley's husband served aboard? And why do a "Survivor" schtick of candidates voting others off the stage? In general, the moderators could not control the cross-talk and did not ask the candidates what they thought of the front-runner's positions on the issues.

---

---

Starting to look like a smart political move to avoid the chaos that's disguised as debates