Miami Heat: The Republican Debate

This is the weekend before the Tuesday that will determine if there will be a “brokered” convention. Let’s be simple:

If Trump wins Ohio and Florida, he will be the nominee. I will not vote for him and the Party will split.
If Trump wins Ohio or Florida, he might be the nominee, but he will not reach half the delegates. He will not win on the first ballot.
If Trump loses both Ohio and Florida, he will not be the nominee.

Trump has stated he will do things. He will not be able to do things he says he will do. How do we know? The President is not the dictator. He has alienated Congress . . .proudly.

We learned today that Fiorina has endorsed Cruz and Carson will endorse Trump. I am sorrowed about Dr. Carson. I personally heard him mocked in Christian leadership circles (that work with him and his campaign). His “autobiography” was ghost written by this establishment and they told howling lies about his (otherwise great) life. They served him badly. I have heard him mocked by his “handlers” as a “bore” and his campaign as a “book tour.” The goal? Keep the celebrity on the front page and keep his ability to turn a profit going.

It is this establishment Trump pretends to shake, but is part of. If he were not so unstable, they would have backed him long ago, but they know him too well. He is . . . unseemly. He cannot stand criticism and is easy to manipulate. He takes no advice.

I admire Dr. Carson’s early life, but as I wrote when his lies were revealed, I worried that he had become a tool of the Christian media establishment. This group of grifters does not care about theology, ideas, or ethics. They care about money and power. They are in bed with academics, pastors, and Christian celebrities grinding out crap for the public they despise. They laugh about the crap they produce, but don’t think the “sheeple” need anything else.

I had hoped Dr. Carson would escape. He has not. Here is the founder of his church on what he has done:

Christ called for him to choose between heavenly treasure and worldly greatness. Self must yield; he must give his will into Christ’s control. The young ruler had the privilege of becoming a co-heir with Christ to the heavenly treasure. But he must take up the cross and follow the Savior in the path of self-denial.

The choice was left with him. Jesus had shown him the fatal spot in his character. If he decided to follow Christ, he must obey His words in everything. He must turn from his ambitious projects. With earnest, anxious longing, the Savior looked at the young man, hoping he would yield to the invitation of the Spirit of God.

Christ’s words were words of wisdom, though they appeared severe. The ruler’s only hope of salvation was in accepting and obeying them. His position and possessions were exerting a subtle influence for evil on his character. If he cherished them, they would replace God in his affections.

Mainstream media created Trump and they will tear him down. We all know this outside of his fans . . . and they are closer to fanatics than fans (at least the ones on social media). Today the Trump campaign manager was involved in roughing up a friendly reporter who was a woman and then smearing her with a misogynistic attack. The ugliness of the Trump campaign is intentional and yet we are told not to worry. Old Don is just kidding! Old Don (he is after all 69) doesn’t mean it! We can manage him.

Trump is a man who got rich on graft and corruption. Trump is into Trump and anyone who gets in his way is destroyed. The Breitbart sort-of-news site was overly friendly to him, but his campaign manager did not recognize her. He thought she was “mainstream” and roughed her up. Now the campaign is lying about the event and attacking the woman as a misogynist.

TV is now admiring Trump as the greatest “self-promoter” ever. TV loves the narcissistic person and so Trump is them. He throws out red meat he doesn’t mean (“Mexico will pay!) to his followers and then jokes around with the leftist media in the green room. We don’t know our celebrities. We don’t see the private racism, the disdain for anything other than money and power, but the media does. They protect their celebrity pals. There is nothing Donald J. Trump could do or say in “public” when playing “Donald Trump” that would alienate them. They recognize the postulating proto-fascist as a character: “Donald J. Trump.” He is Stephen Colbert when Colbert was a character.

The worst chairman of GOP is now saying we will unify. The audience is not supportive. One-third of the Party will never quit trying to stop a tin plated dictator with delusions of godhood (see Trouble with Tribbles) from seizing Lincoln’s party. Donald J. Trump is the most unpopular man with the general public ever to run for President, He is Secretary Clinton’s only hope.

And so now we are “live” in Miami to see if the Party of Lincoln, Grant, Garfield, McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt, Coolidge, and Ronald Reagan is picking our heir.

Trump is showing his 69 years. His hair is ragged, his face sagging. Given his light schedule, one wonders if he is up to the job. His health is fine, but he seems unable to handle pressure. He explodes. I have seen that in older leaders. . . an inability to handle criticism.

This National Anthem is well done. A refreshing change.

Go Hugh! (Disclaimer: I think Hugh Hewitt is great. He is real. He is smart. He is generous and he means what he says. Thank God.)

Kasich: looks at our faces. He can restore . . . and I am now asleep. John Kasich is too young to look so tired.

Rubio: Our identity is at stake. Make the right choice.

Cruz: My father came to Key West 58 years ago. Freedom. Let’s make sure freedom is here for the future.

Trump: Enthusiasm. Love. He is talking about himself. We are going to beat the Democrats.

It appears we are getting jowly Presidential Trump.

Kasich: trade deals. Are you catering to Board Rooms? 1/5 work in jobs connected to trade. We need “fair trade.” We need an expedited process. Kasich is now in favor of “locking the doors.”

Trump: Why would you run the country. . . “

The President does not run the country. Trump is saying: “I screwed you when I could.”

Rubio: shows he knows the details.

Cruz: We are getting killed “by jobs oversees.” We are losing out. Cruz is cranking.

Thank God this is a substantive debate.

Rubio: explains the problem. And then talks about the issues. “Disney is breaking the law.” Rubio knows the situation.

Kasich: We need controlled immigration. He is reasonable and for a path to legalization. This is what will happen, whatever anybody says.

Trump: I use a program . . . and I use it . . . and I should not have allowed to do it. “Disney workers endorsed me.”

Cruz: “too many low skilled workers.” We must take care of the workers in this country.

There are now Trump attacks here.

Rubio: we need a “merit based system.”

Thank God for this debate. It is at last substantial. Thank God.

Trump: refuses to answer the question about Common Core with specifics. It works, I guess, since nobody is pressing him.

Kasich: in favor of high standards.

Nobody is disagreeing with anyone. This is not a debate, but four people answering questions sequentially.

Cruz: Common Core is a disaster. Cruz shows he understands the details of the issues. Abolish the Department of Education. Everyone says this (including Reagan), but nobody does this. Would you?

Cruz winning the debate.

This is interesting. Trump is diminished by this substantial debate.

Trump: he has no solution. He has no specifics. “Make American Great.”

Where is the money?

Trump: We are the “policeman” of the world. We need to get paid for the work we do.

Rubio responds with details. Now Trump is talking about “bids.”

Trump says “I am self-funding. We will save a fortune.”

Cruz: We need political courage. We need to strengthen and save Social Security. “Government is the problem.”

Trump: Ted did “change his view.”

Trump just lies about Cruz’ record. Trump gives us endorsements.

Trump cannot believe how civil it has been up here. He must be sorry because he has nothing to say. When not talking about himself, he has nothing.

We now get a question about Trump to Trump. . . he loves those questions.

Trump is getting angry. Cruz is taking on Trump on tariffs.

Trump was “just” making a threat on China. This is weird.

Trump will put a tax on China and we will build a factory here. How? Will the President do that? How will we keep the factory from going to Thailand? This is utterly stupid.

Trump is saved by the break.

The debaters are no longer trying to get the Trumplings. They are looking for the 60% that dislike the Don. The impotence is making him mad. Can he control his temper?

Rubio takes on anti-Islamic bigotry and how it impacts people.

Trump: we have had consequences. I don’t want to be politically correct he says . . . and he is a boor.

Rubio just schooled him. I am not interested in being politically correct . . . but correct. We have to work together for non-radical Muslims.

Kasich: argues for the civilized world.

Trump: “take out the families of terrorists.” Trump doubles down on anti-Islam rhetoric. Trump doubles down on torture. We have to expand “our laws” or we are suckers.

Rubio and Cruz are making Trump look small. See the red faced man bluster and bully crowds, watch him shrink when facing details. I have Jewish grandchildren.

Cruz again says detailed things and Trump glowers.

Trump: I am pro-Israel and I have Jewish friends. I don’t know much.

Cruz: We need to do what it takes to defeat ISIS.

Trump: We should knock them out. And we will do that by doing it.

Rubio: gives an anecdote and a policy.

Kasich: reduce spending in the VA Bill.

Rubio: I would love Cuba and America to work together. Human rights are worse.

Trump: on Cuba. Let’s make a deal.

I think Trump is losing his hearing fairly obviously.

He will not answer a question: I will make a deal.

Rubio knows a good deal.

Trump is getting testy. We would not do the deal unless it was a very good deal. We would make a great deal.

“Let’s make a deal” can be fine in a business leader . . . but bad in a government leader. I don’t want a deal with someone who wants me dead or about my rights.

Kasich: “I do believe we contribute to climate change.” Clean energy. He is now giving us a word salad of ideas.

Cruz: We have seen this before now. We can turn this situation around. This is a good argument. “I will demonstrate strength. . .”

Trump talks about strength . . . it is neutral. He cannot get around to condemning dictators.

Kasich, dear rumpled old Kasich, just said the moral thing and condemned the butchers of Beijing.

This matters.

Let’s be clear Trumpkins. We hear again and again that Trump will make a deal with anyone on anything. He will sell you out.

People come with passion and love of the country. People have anger, because they love this country.

He does not deny his violent statement. Now he is for police.

Cruz accuses narcissistic . . . Obama. . . I mean Trump. . . of forcing people to swear allegiance to him . . . and Cruz says he will swear allegiance to the Constitution.

Rubio likes police too! He knows people are angry, but we could do better.

Trump is an unlikable man.

Trump is “self-funding.”

“I will not decide about self-funding.”

Trump: I know the system. I am a crook. As a crook, I will stop being a crook.

Trump has no idea of what a good deal is. . . he will just make deals.

What is Trump’s moral basis? I would guess it is power and Trump winning.

Kasich: I am . . . and so I think about . . . and

Rubio: We will do our part. Look to the future. We can do this.

Cruz: Who will fight for you?

Trump: Embrace millions of people.

If some contain millions, Trump wishes to be one man served by millions.