Live Blog/Open Thread: GOP Debate #10

Posted: February 25, 2016 | Author: | Filed under: U.S. Politics | Tags: , | 125 Comments

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Yes, another Republican debate. How many more are there going to be? As I wrote this morning, I don’t know how long I’ll last, but I’ll try to watch at least some of it.  Here’s a fresh thread to document the atrocities. You can also free free to post about anything else you desire. This is an open thread.

The debate will be on CNN, beginning at 8:30 ET. A preview from the Washington Post:

Front-runner Trump is the focus of tonight’s Republican debate in Houston.

The four Republican candidates trailing Donald Trump will face him in a debate in Houston on Thursday evening in what may be their last best chance to stop the billionaire businessman before he runs away with the GOP presidential nomination — and disrupts their party…

It is the last debate before the Super Tuesday primaries next week, when 11 states and 595 Republican delegates will be at stake. Trump has already won three of the first four GOP contests. If he can win most or all of those 11, he will have a commanding advantage in the Republican race.

The other candidates onstage will include two men who have the best shot at defeating Trump — but who for months have been more concerned with fighting each other in Trump’s shadow. On Thursday, Sens. Marco Rubio (Fla.) and Ted Cruz (Tex.) will have a chance to suspend their fight for second place and attack Trump directly.

In the days leading to the debate, Rubio already signaled that he may take on Trump more forcefully than he has in the past. In remarks at rallies and fundraisers, Rubio has criticized Trump’s calls for higher tariffs on China — saying it would lead to a trade war that would make everything more expensive — and for saying he would be “sort of a neutral guy” in mediations between Israel and Palestinians.

Rubio also reportedly told donors said that Trump was effectively fooling Republican voters. He reportedly called “Trump University,” a failed for-profit venture that had resulted in at least two fraud lawsuits against the mogul, a “scam.” One attendee said Rubio described a President Trump as the proverbial dog who caught the car, with no idea of what to do next.

 

The big news for Republicans today is that David Duke has endorsed Donald Trump.

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Politico: David Duke: Voting against Trump is ‘treason to your heritage.’

David Duke, a white nationalist and former Klu Klux Klan grand wizard, told his audience Wednesday that voting for anyone besides Donald Trump “is really treason to your heritage.”
“Voting for these people, voting against Donald Trump at this point, is really treason to your heritage,” Duke said on the David Duke Radio Program. BuzzFeed News first reported the comments.

“I’m not saying I endorse everything about Trump. In fact, I haven’t formally endorsed him. But I do support his candidacy, and I support voting for him as a strategic action. I hope he does everything we hope he will do.”

The former Louisiana representative told listeners to start volunteering for Trump.

“And I am telling you that it is your job now to get active. Get off your duff. Get off your rear end that’s getting fatter and fatter for many of you everyday on your chairs. When this show’s over, go out, call the Republican Party, but call Donald Trump’s headquarters, volunteer,” he said. “They’re screaming for volunteers. Go in there, you’re gonna meet people who are going to have the same kind of mind-set that you have.”

Wow. Will they wear their white hoods when they go out to canvass?

 

Will the moderators ask about this story tonight?

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CNN: Multiple deaths reported in Kansas workplace shooting.

Authorities are working reports of at least four different crime scenes in connection with a workplace shooting Thursday afternoon at Excel Industries in Hesston, Kansas, said Harvey County Sheriff T. Walton.

“There could be as many as three or four others (dead), and possibly up to 20 people that have been injured,” Walton said.

The suspected shooter, an employee at Excel, was killed.

The sheriff told reporters that authorities first received a report of a man having been shot while driving. Second, a person was reported shot in the leg. Third, a report came in about a shooting in the parking lot of Excel. Finally, an active shooter was reported inside the workplace, Walton said.

 

A couple more links:

CNN: Rubio prepares for contested convention.

NPR: Here Are 5 Texas-Sized Things To Watch When Republicans Debate Tonight.

See you in the comment thread!