So Many Good Republicans

The first top-tier GOP candidates' debate last night demonstrated that Republicans have a bumper crop of impressive candidates ready to give the Democrats a tough fight for the White House in the 2016 election.

They all seemed to agree that President Obama's effort to fundamentally transform America is a hideous, colossal flop and that the Constitution, so long ignored by Democrats and Republicans alike, needs to be restored to the central place it used to occupy in our nation's body politic. The candidates were united in promising to repeal Obamacare because they recognize it is a colossally expensive policy mistake that is both destroying the U.S. healthcare system and impinging on America's historically vibrant civil society while denying patients the freedom to choose. Immigration was a central issue in the 10-way debate. The candidates didn't agree on every aspect of what to do about the country's immigration policies, but they agreed that at a minimum strengthening America's borders is key to resolving the illegal aliens crisis. The contenders selected for the Fox News Channel and Facebook-sponsored debate were those who polled highest according to an average of five national polls. They were: Donald Trump, who is the current frontrunner in the polls; former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush; Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker; retired brain surgeon Ben Carson; former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee; Texas Sen. Ted Cruz; Florida Sen. Marco Rubio; Kentucky Gov. Rand Paul; New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie; and Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who just barely made the cutoff. (Time made a transcript of the debate available here.)

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Although there was some acrimony, it was an amazingly civil affair considering the outsized personalities involved. Debate participants were shown a video from what some are calling the "kiddie table" candidates' debate that began four hours before the main debate. That debate was for GOP candidates who failed to poll high enough to make it into the top 10 slots. In the video clip, Carly Fiorina took deadly aim at President Obama's crazy nuclear nonproliferation framework with the Islamofascists of Iran. She said:

When America does not lead, the world is a dangerous and a tragic place. This is a bad deal. Obama broke every rule of negotiation. Yes, our allies are not perfect, but Iran is at the heart of most of the evil that is going on in the Middle East through their proxy.

People have responded enthusiastically to Fiorina's statement. According to Breitbart News, people using social media such as Facebook and Twitter thought the former Hewlett-Packard CEO won the debate. Just 33 minutes into that debate, stats whiz Nate Silver tweeted, "Carly Fiorina's crushing it so far, based on Google search traffic." The 10 top-tier candidates enthusiastically embraced, or at least did not oppose, Fiorina's message. They made it clear that the nation's foreign policy has to recognize the importance of our relationship with Israel, the sole outpost of Western civilization in the troubled Middle East. American foreign policy also has to align with the nation's best interests, they said, and it is long past time for the United States to stop sending money to countries that are hell-bent on America's destruction. Back in the main debate, Mike Huckabee voiced approval for Fiorina's sentiments:

Ronald Reagan said “trust, but verify.” President Obama is “trust, but vilify.” He trusts our enemies and vilifies everyone who disagrees with him. And the reason we disagree with him has nothing to do with party.

The Obama administration's Iran deal "didn’t even get four hostages out. We got nothing, and Iran gets everything they want."

What the Iranians have said is, “we will wipe Israel off the face of the map, and we will bring death to America.” When someone points a gun at your head and loads it, by God, you ought to take them seriously, and we need to take that seriously.

Chris Christie burnished his credentials as a defense and foreign policy hawk. "The first thing we need to do to make America stronger is to strengthen our military," he said. He continued:

As we move towards dealing with foreign aid, I don't disagree with Senator [Rand] Paul's position that we shouldn't be funding our enemies. But I absolutely believe that Israel is a priority to be able to fund and keep them strong and safe after eight years of this administration.

Ted Cruz took aim at President Obama's weak, worse-than-useless response to ISIS. He explained he would "introduce the Expatriate Terrorist Act in the Senate that said if any American travels to the Middle East and joining ISIS, that he or she forfeits their citizenship so they don’t use a passport to come back and wage jihad on Americans." He added, "We need a president that shows the courage that Egypt’s President al-Sisi, a Muslim, when he called out the radical Islamic terrorists who are threatening the world." Some sparks flew whenever immigration-related issues were raised, as candidates criticized their own party for not doing the right thing for years. Americans are angry in part because for decades politicians have been paying lip service to fixing what's wrong with the immigration system while failing to follow through and actually rectify the various problems. Accused of flip-flopping, Scott Walker explained that he dropped his support for amnestying illegal aliens and so-called comprehensive immigration reform because that's what the voters want. "I actually listened to the American people," Walker said. "And I think people across America want a leader who’s actually going to listen to them." Cruz said he wants to outlaw so-called sanctuary cities which harbor and protect illegal aliens from deportation. He sponsored legislation that Senate GOP leadership blocked. The senator took the opportunity to gently criticize Trump.

You know, there was reference made to our leaders being stupid. It’s not a question of stupidity. It’s that they don’t want to enforce the immigration laws. That there are far too many in the Washington cartel that support amnesty.

Ben Carson said having Hillary Clinton as the Democrat's presidential nominee "would be a dream come true." He continued:

But you know, the fact of the matter is, she is the epitome of the progressive — the secular progressive movement. And she counts on the fact that people are uninformed, the Alinsky model, taking advantage of useful idiots. Well, I just happen to believe that people are not stupid. And the way I will come at it is to educate people, help people to actually understand that it is that progressive movement that is causing them the problems.

The candidates also came down in support of slashing bureaucratic red tape, reforming business-related regulations, and reducing tax burdens. Such action, they said, would spur economic growth and ensure America's future remains bright. Marco Rubio urged tax reform. He said:

The first thing we need to do is we need to even out the tax code for small businesses so that we lower their tax rate to 25 percent, just as we need to lower it for all businesses. We need to have a regulatory budget in America that limits the amount of regulations on our economy. We need to repeal and replace Obamacare and we need to improve higher education so that people can have access to the skills they need for 21st century jobs. And last but not least, we need to repeal Dodd-Frank. It is eviscerating small businesses and small banks.

Throughout the two-hour debate, high-flying real estate tycoon Donald Trump exposed some of his flaws as he effortlessly dominated the screen.