Dr. Ben Carson is now in the lead nationally. Donald Trump hits Dr. Carson on his “unusual stance” on abortion. Jeb Bush says Marco Rubio is the “GOP’s Obama” and says he has better things to do than sit around and be demonized and feel compelled to demonize others.
Boy, tonight’s third GOP Presidential Debate in Boulder, Colorado could be must-see television filled with fireworks.
Which of course, in politics, it means that the two hour showdown could also be a complete dud.
Welcome to the 2016 presidential election cycle.
Tonight’s debate, hosted by CNBC, is naturally focused on jobs and fiscal policy which may give us, hopefully, some better insight into how each candidate plans to boost our country’s economy that has been dormant for far too long.
Will tonight’s debate help low-polling candidates like Jeb Bush and his 4% growth plan? Or how about Rand Paul and his 14.5% flat tax plan that we whole-heartedly endorse? Will this be the night that revitalizes Ohio Governor John Kasich’s campaign as he touts his economic success in the Buckeye state since 2011?
As we do each morning before the GOP debate, we ask each candidate a question.
Let’s get started.
Donald Trump – Throughout this presidential campaign cycle, you have repeatedly said that you only counter-attack after your rivals draw first blood. This past weekend, you seemed to fire the first shot at Dr. Carson, saying he has low-energy and that he has an unusual stance on abortion. Are these pro-active attacks on Dr. Carson a direct result of the recent polling that has seen your once seemingly insurmountable lead in Iowa vanish?
Ben Carson – Now that you have taken over the lead from Donald Trump in the latest Des Moines Register poll in Iowa, how do you deal with the attacks from Mr. Trump and possibly others considering your unwillingness to get involved in the political mudslinging?
Marco Rubio – We predicted nearly three years ago that you would be the establishment’s choice in the 2016 election should you run. There is a quiet, but growing, sentiment that the establishment is about ready to abandon ship with Mr. Bush and set sail with you. How do you convince the conservative right flank that you are not the typical establishment candidate that continues to lose every four years in November?
Ted Cruz – Your campaign is one of the best-run and best-funded operations in this election cycle. You have slowly and steadily climbed in the polls and are now sitting in third place in Iowa. Do you feel that your campaign is on the cusp of a major breakout that catapults you to the top of the polls nationally?
Jeb Bush – Yesterday in the The Washington Post, an article ran about you titled “Jeb Bush: No more Mr. Nice Candidate”. It details how after meeting with your “mommy and daddy”, as Mr. Trump referred to your huddle with family members this past weekend in Texas, you have decided to go on the offensive in what appears to be a last ditch effort to save your candidacy. What exactly do you plan to do tonight that will calm the fears that the establishment has over your so-far failed campaign that has you polling in the single digits nationally?
Carly Fiorina – After your very strong performance during the last debate at the Reagan Library, your poll numbers began to shoot up rather quickly, but over the past couple of weeks, they have plunged considerably. What can you say tonight on this stage that will elevate you back into the conversation as one who can secure the nomination?
Mike Huckabee – Governor, it’s time to make a bold move with the one group of primary voters that you connect best with: evangelical Christians. The problem, though, is that Dr. Carson is polling very strong with them. With this debate focused on jobs and the economy and considering your very weak record as Governor of Arkansas on fiscal matters, what can you say that will reverse the current trend of Christian voters strongly supporting your rival Dr. Carson?
John Kasich – With fiscal policy the focus of this evening’s debate, why do you not regret expanding Medicaid under Obamacare that has blown massive holes in state budgets?
Chris Christie – Like Gov. Huckabee, we feel it’s getting to be that time of the presidential cycle where you need to hit a home run at one of these debates or the lights may be turned off on your campaign. Is tonight the moment you finally hit one out of the park?
Rand Paul – With high expectations for your campaign but with very low poll numbers to date, can you finally grasp the opportunity to highlight your flat tax plan and fiscal conservatism that will help reverse what has been a very disappointing course of presidential campaign history?
This evening’s debate is unlikely to sway the primary voters in any strong direction. With fiscal policy as the focus, most of the candidates on stage will talk a good game of fiscal conservatism while others will likely get hammered by their rivals for shoddy records as governor (Christie, Kasich, Huckabee) or as CEO (Fiorina who oversaw Hewlett-Packard’s 30,000 employee layoff; Trump just because he’s Trump).
Will this night in Boulder be the beginning of the end for some of the candidates partaking in the 2016 presidential cycle debates? The campaigns of Bush, Huckabee, Kasich, Christie, and Paul are all in danger of being the next Scott Walker or Rick Perry who both dropped out far too early than even their diehard supporters thought.
If Jeb Bush doesn’t knock one out of the park with the help of the rarefied air of Colorado, perhaps he can start to cross off some of those items on his list of things he would rather be doing.
