Well it was a fine and steamy evening under the wings of the 747 in Simi Valley, and I managed to take 12 pages of notes. Granted, I do write REALLY BIG, but I have compiled a list of things I liked and did not like from the evening.
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LIKES! ;~)
Best ad lib of the evening goes to Newt Gingrich. When asked if his foreward in Rick Perry's FED UP! in which he wrote that the Texas governor was "uniquely qualified" meant that Perry had Newt's proxy, Newt said it means "if he wants to write another book, I'll write another foreward."
Best passive/agressive statement goes to Mitt Romney. When commenting on Perry's "job creation" in Texas--and citing that state's many oil reserves, the fact that it's a "right-to-work" state, and that they have zero income tax--Romney said Perry's taking credit for that "is like Al Gore saying he invented the internet". Nice way to work in a jab on Gore without seeming to be overt.
Best use of children goes to Michele Bachmann. She's raised 28 kids so, as she said, "I know kids need a job". Not sure where she stands on child labor laws, however.
Best ambush of the evening goes to Rick Perry. When Ron Paul tried to skewer Perry on the Hillarycare letter, Perry threw it back in Paul's face with, "I'm more interested in your letter to President Reagan saying you were gonna quit the party because of his policies."
Best truth of the evening goes to Ron Paul and was a direct response to the "best ambush". Paul asked us to remember the 1980s and stated that that era wasn't so great. "Reagan ran up huge deficits." Damn straight you odd, little man!
Best use of irony for the evening is a tie between Rick Perry and the audience. Perry, who earlier in the debate, while defending his reasoning for the executive order on HPV vaccines, said: "I'll err on the side of saving lives" got huge applause later for being the governor with 234 more executions than any other modern-day governor.
Best use of double-entendre goes to...of course, Rick Perry. When asked to defend big cuts in education while claiming education as a top priority of his administration, he said it best: "(we) made thoughtful reductions". I'll just bet they did reduce thought. Why do we let these people make the textbook selection for the rest of the country?!
Best use of advertising goes to Newt. He managed to work in three plugs when he said we should let "American Express, MasterCard, and Visa run a legal guest worker program." (This information was just brought to you by Apple.)
Best idea if you don't think about it too long goes to Mitt Romney. He wants people with incomes up to and under $200,000/year to pay no taxes on savings: tax-free interest, tax-free dividends, and no tax on capital gains. I would benefit from that and so would most people I know. But aren't we supposed to be looking for revenue? So where is the pain gonna come from? You know there has to be pain.
DISLIKES! ;+{
The worst impact on my family award goes to Ron Paul, who would privatize ATC. No thank you, after 20 years of service--and millions of lives protected--let's not change the rules, please.
Worst instance of paranoia goes to Ron Paul as well. He worries that a border fence "might be used to keep us in." Oh lord, where to start...
Worst source of a bad nightmare tonight goes to Michele Bachmann. She said she is privvy to classified stuff. And no, I don't think that's a euphemism.
Worst timing for a policy position goes to Newt Gingrich who wants to raise the unemployment rate by firing Fed Chair Bernanke "tomorrow". Then who would not tell us what not to do?
Worst prioritizing also goes to Newt who wants a Department of Homeland Security which makes us capable of handling 3 nuclear attacks in one day. But what about levees for New Orleans, dams for Vermont, and eventually re-seeding for Texas. Score: Forest=1, Trees=0.
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But let's end on a high note. I believe the most important thing is not what I liked or did not like but rather what I learned. Here's a tally of the things I heard that were...
NEWS TO ME! <:o
8. Michele Bachmann, I cannot believe it but you taught me nothing tonight!
7. Herman Cain only taught me that 10 percent is "good enough for God" so 9 percent should be good enough for the government.
6. Rick Santorum taught me two things during the debate. In the 12 years he was serving on the Hill he "did the most work for the poor." And, the United Nations told President Obama to go in to Libya.
4/5. We have a tie! Jon Huntsman taught me three things: Teleprompters are bad for gas prices, America is a bad apple with a "weak, broken core", and in his biggest lesson he said, "I can get elected." Newt Gingrich also taught me three things: You cannot examine Rick Perry's book because when he wrote it he wasn't running for President, President Obama is committed to class warfare because he doesn't consult the candidates in the GOP race, and the media is trying to get the Republicans to argue so that they can prop up President Obama.
2/3. Another tie! Mitt Romney taught me four lessons tonight. Independent mandates only work in Massachusetts, green jobs are not real jobs, the heart of the Republican Party has always been to care for those in need, and we have so many illegal immigrants because nobody has bothered to turn off the big magnet that draws them all here! Not to be outdone by the competition, Rick Perry also rattled off four teachings. Apparently, when it comes to job creation 3 months of Perry = 4 years of Romney, the reason there are so many uninsured people in Texas is because the feds won't let them run their own program, you do not have to explain a statement you made if it is "philosophical", and science is "unsettled".
AND NOW FOR OUR WINNER>>>
<<<They say wisdom comes with age...
1. And it's true! Ron Paul, you have taken me to school to the tune of seven big lessons. And here they are: The marketplace regulates itself, the minimum wage hurts the poor, a dime is worth $3.50, big government kept the pilots from carrying guns which facilitated events such as 9/11, FEMA conditions people to build where they shouldn't, the way to end the war in Afghanistan is to take the A/C out of the troops' tents, and--did you know this--Rep. Paul has THE RULE BOOK so he's the only one who knows what the government can do, legally. I guess that means we don't have another choice: If he has the thing I suppose we've gotta vote him in, right? Nope, but that's what he's counting on.
(FYI: If you want to read my moment-by-moment account, check out my twitter feed on the left side of this page.)
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