Talk about it here. Watch it live on Fox or
online.
5:59 PM PT: Yup. This is really happening. Another freaking GOP debate. It will never end. And these clowns still haven't figured out how to beat the father of Obamacare.
6:00 PM PT: Tonight's debate is in South Carolina, which will presumably provide the latest example of the spectacular incompetence of The Not Romneys.
6:01 PM PT: No Herman Cain. No Michele Bachmann. And no Jon Huntsman. So, two reasons for it to be more boring. And one reason for it to be less. You can figure out which is which.
6:02 PM PT: My beer of choice for this debate: Blue Moon Winter Abbey Ale. I think I'm going to need it. So far, no national anthem. There's still time for them to break it out.
6:03 PM PT: Brett Baier is telling us about how Martin Luther King was really talking about the GOP 2012 primary debate, specifically the criticism of Mitt Romney's Bain record.
6:04 PM PT: Brett Baier says first thing he wants to do is "clear the air" about Romney's experience. And his first question is to ask Newt Gingrich why he attacked Romney. So far, I guess Romney has the cavalry arriving. By the way, Newt Gingrich got a haircut. Looking snazzy! (Sic.)
6:05 PM PT: Unless I missed it somewhere, there was no national anthem, unlike in earlier debates. Now that Cain and Bachmann are out, I guess we're finally seeing how much these guys hate America.
6:07 PM PT: Newt Gingrich is framing his Bain criticism as having raised questions about Romney's record. He went beyond simply raising questions, but it's true that Romney has failed to respond to the criticism or answering the questions. Now it's Romney's turn.
6:09 PM PT: Romney is super confident—he actually gives Newt credit for the work he did under Reagan and Clinton. More credit than he deserves. But his answer to the Bain criticism is basically "some companies do well, others don't." That completely avoids the scenario he's being asked to explain: when companies he invested in failed despite returning massive profits to him.
6:09 PM PT: Basically Romney just won't answer the question. Now it's Perry's turn to attack.
6:10 PM PT: Perry calls on Romney to release his income tax forms. Crowd applauds.
6:12 PM PT: Romney starts to address the steel mills he invested in, citing two that failed, and one that succeeded. But he doesn't explain why he profited on all three—and why he took $37 million in subsidies for the one that succeeded.
6:14 PM PT: Every time Romney is asked to explain how why he profited while destroying jobs he falls back on platitudes about free enterprise.
6:17 PM PT (Kaili Joy Gray): The liveblogging continues in the next thread.