Just how low has the GOP gone? Steve Benen nails it:
If we lower the bar for propriety to a ridiculous level, and say any debate in which a presidential frontrunner refrains from talking about his penis is a success, then sure, the 12th gathering of the Republican presidential field was a vast improvement over the 11th.
So perhaps that's to be celebrated given the juvenile tenor of late. Does anyone else recall when GOP consultants were bragging about what a "deep bench" they had for 2016?
Anyway, about the policy—oh yeah, that. It was, well, pretty tragic, for anyone who's a passive observer of basic information about the economy, the environment, education, foreign policy, etc. In other words, anyone who's generally moored in reality. Take this bit of diplomatic outreach to Muslims both around the world and here at home from Donald Trump:
TAPPER: Mr. Trump, let me start with you. Last night, you told CNN quote, "Islam hates us?" Did you mean all 1.6 billion Muslims.
TRUMP: I mean a lot of them. I mean a lot of them.
DINAN: Do you want to clarify the comment at all?
Not really. He was satisfied to speak for "a lot" of that 1.6 billion, never mind that he appears to know nothing of religious principles of any kind. Trump only added that "there's tremendous hatred" and he would "stick with exactly" what he said before.
To be fair, "tremendous hatred" does seem to be a theme that follows Trump around, informing his policy proposals, infusing his rallies, and inspiring his supporters. So perhaps he's more of an expert in that arena than we think.
Kudos to Marco Rubio, though, for at least acknowledging that we'll have to "work together with people of the Muslim faith." We'll get a chance to see how that type of logic sells in his home state of Florida next week. But so far, the GOP base isn't buying it. Too bad he can't win on endorsements and donations alone.
But for the guy who has the best chance of upending Trump's bid, Trump's expertise in "tremendous hatred" really isn't enough. Ted Cruz wants more substantive bellicosity.
Frankly one concern I have with Donald is that although his language is quite incendiary, when you look at his substantive policies on Iran, he has said he would not rip up this Iranian nuclear deal. I think that's a mistake. The Ayatollah Khomeini wants nuclear weapons to murder us.
Good point, Cruz. Deescalation of Iran’s nuclear situation is a terrible idea. If the Ayatollah wants nuclear weapons, lets rip up that deal, lose all access to Iran's nuclear sites, and just bomb the heck out of ‘em. That’ll solve everything.
But really the highlight of the evening came on immigration. No, not their outlandish and repeated commitments to form a police state and turn neighbor against neighbor in service of deporting 11 million undocumented immigrants. It was Trump admitting that he threw American workers under the bus to make a dime for himself. After being asked why voters should trust him on immigration after he's purposely hired foreign workers over domestic workers, Trump responded, "Nobody knows it better than me. I'm a businessman. These are laws. These are regulations. These are rules. We're allowed to do it ... So I will take advantage of it." He elaborated, admitting that he believes visas for foreign workers harm American workers.
I know the H1B very well. And it's something that I frankly use and I shouldn't be allowed to use it. We shouldn't have it. Very, very bad for workers. And second of all, I think it's very important to say, well, I'm a businessman and I have to do what I have to do.
Donald Trump: “I have to do what I have to do.” So much better than “Make America Great Again.” Look, if moral fiber is what you want in a candidate, Trump's got none and he's proud of it. That's the guy who's animating the GOP electorate.