Fox News Hosted A Debate And A Hockey Fight Broke Out

Thursday’s debate in Detroit hit rock bottom for me.  Apparently, to many, the feeling is mutual.  The underlying fear is the effrontery of penis innuendos and name-calling is becoming profoundly detrimental to the image of the GOP.  For all intents and purposes the debate stage has moved to the gutter sewer.

I believe that Fox News is responsible for the hockey fight that broke out.  I remember the consensus praise the cable channel received for the manner in which the first debate in August of 2015 was handled.  This last debate devolved into an ugly exhibition of mudslinging which the Democrats have already racked for video evidence that their presumptive nominee will be a far, far better leader of the country than anyone that emerges from the GOP convention in Cleveland.

I blame Fox for not preemptively addressing protesters entering the debate hall.  There was no effort made to insist the audience remain silent during the debate.  In addition, Fox failed to adequately moderate the debate.  This was evident when Marco Rubio persisted in deploying the now very tiresome mockery of Trump’s “tan”, the size of his fingers and all the other schoolboy childishness.  Rubio’s boyish appearance coupled with his immaturity on the debate stage is part and parcel for why he is polling so poorly.  Others have noticed that Marco, on the campaign trail and on the dais, is “Red Bull-ed up”.  I believe that Rubio regrets having embarked on these cheap attacks and now cannot stop himself.  He is desperate for attention. 

Even as Trump led polls in the months before the primaries began, his biggest rivals Cruz and Rubio, largely avoided attacking him calculating that he would implode.  To say that they gravely miscalculated would be an understatement.

The ever-harsher tones of Ted Cruz, I feel, are damaging his chances of overcoming Trump in the primaries.  The more Cruz declares he is the only candidate who can defeat Trump the more desperate he comes across to voters.  Of course, this election cycle is like no other in my lifetime.

Today we have three states—Kansas, Kentucky and Louisiana—casting their ballots. There could be states where only Trump meets a 20% requirement.  In some states, that could mean sharing delegates with the second-place finisher; in others, it could give him a “backdoor winner-take-all” victory, enabling him to win all or most delegates from a state with only a plurality.

Trump leads Cruz by 15.6 points in Louisiana.  In Kansas, his lead over Cruz is 6 points but that was before Super Tuesday and the pleading of Mitt Romney.  Kentucky, which hasn’t conducted polling since November of 2015, projects a 13 point lead over Rubio.

After March 15’s primaries have concluded, 36 states and territories will have voted on the Republican side, and close to 60% of all GOP national delegates will have been awarded.

About that Romney speech, politicos have been sharing schemes for how Marco parlays a victory out of winning only one state, or Ted roars back, or Kasich has to finish second in Ohio.

What’s more, Romney pushes the ideology of the elite in the party. They are protected from much of the roughness of the world.  More to the point, they are protected from the world they have created. 

Romney claimed to understand the anger of voters.  The unprotected (that’s you and me) watched over the last 20 years and realized the protected were not looking out for us or our beloved country.

I resent their interference in this election.  The people are speaking boldly about the direction in which they want their country to go while the party overlords try desperately to circumvent their will.

UPDATE:   In my haste I neglected to include data for the caucuses in Maine.  There are 23 proportional delegates at stake.  Lance Dutson’s Whip Count Insider’s Survey overwhelming predicted a win for Trump.  Because of the idiosyncratic nature of the Maine electorate national pundit Nate Silver isn’t sure what will happen.