Official January 7th Debate Thread

[TheGlobalizer]

What the hell did Huntsman just do?

Appealed to a whole bunch of voters not voting in the GOP primaries.

[Torie]

Bain capital will be the death of Romney.

I tend to agree.  When you investigate what actually happened there, it's a goldmine.  Certainly enough to turn any independent conservative like myself from ever thinking about voting for him.

What was improper with what Bain did again?  I mean taking over sick companies, and trying to resuscitate them, and if they can't be profitably reanimated, killing them off, seems to be benign creative resurrection and destruction to me. It is what drives productive capitalism Sam. Surely you know this.

[Sam Spade]

What the hell did Huntsman just do?

Appealed to a whole bunch of voters not voting in the GOP primaries.

I don't think those people even vote in US elections, at least not legally.

[hawkeye59]

Can someone translate what Hunstman just said?

[Pyro]

Best debate question ever.
"Basketball game...I mean football!" LOL Gingrich

[hawkeye59]

Best debate question ever.
"Basketball game...I mean football!" LOL Gingrich

It's not even until the 9th!

[Simfan34]

U Kai ni au ga ching ching.

Take that, bitch!

[tmthforu94]

Should have said the Wild Card game. Would have sounded better.

[Bacon King]

Bain capital will be the death of Romney.

I tend to agree.  When you investigate what actually happened there, it's a goldmine.  Certainly enough to turn any independent conservative like myself from ever thinking about voting for him.

What was improper with what Bain did again?  I mean taking over sick companies, and trying to resuscitate them, and if they can't be profitably reanimated, killing them off, seems to be benign creative resurrection and destruction to me. It is what drives productive capitalism Sam. Surely you know this.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/romneys-bain-capital-record-shows-mixed-record-on-bankruptcies/2011/12/13/gIQANksluO_story.html

[Thomas D]

The only way that could have made Newt look worse would be if he said soccer.

[Politico]

Bain capital will be the death of Romney.

I tend to agree.  When you investigate what actually happened there, it's a goldmine.  Certainly enough to turn any independent conservative like myself from ever thinking about voting for him.

What was improper with what Bain did again?  I mean taking over sick companies, and trying to resuscitate them, and if they can't be profitably reanimated, killing them off, seems to be benign creative resurrection and destruction to me. It is what drives productive capitalism Sam. Surely you know this.

Yep. And what is the alternative to American free enterprise as exemplified by Bain Capital, for example? More and more government intrusion into people's most essential decisions (i.e., what to produce and what to consume)? No thank you.

[Likely Voter]

So where was Gingrich's blistering attacks on Romney?

[The Ex-Factor]

Can someone translate what Hunstman just said?

Just like he said after it was "he doesn't understand the situation." However when I initially heard it I thought he butchered the last word (said something like "qingsheng" instead of qingkuang 情况） so someone gimme a link so I can hear it again.

[Thomas D]

So where was Gingrich's blistering attacks on Romney?

Maybe in 12 hours on NBC. They'll all be tired and cranky.

[Politico]

So where was Gingrich's blistering attacks on Romney?

He tried a time or two, but nobody cares anymore. Everybody just wants Newt to go away for good. Hopefully he will lose spectacularly in New Hampshire and South Carolina.

[Reginald]

They really force the audience to stay in their seats to listen to the post-debate analysis?

[Lief 🗽]

I'm sure the Obama campaign has been doing nothing but oppo research on the kind of shady business Romney was up to at Bain Capital. Keep in mind that no Republican candidate has been spending any money on opposition research. There's probably a goldmine of stuff there.

[Likely Voter]

Im glad i kept the Saints/Lions game on during the debate.  Much more exciting

[Thomas D]

Truman Capote refrence? Did not see that coming.

[tmthforu94]

I'm so surprised how cordial it has remained between Romney and Paul - they never really go after each other. A great mystery.

[TheGlobalizer]

I'm so surprised how cordial it has remained between Romney and Paul - they never really go after each other. A great mystery.

I think it's fairly clear that Paul sees Romney as the best of the bad candidates (other than himself).  Plus, malleability makes him more open to the libertarian wing's influence than the socons would be.

[Sam Spade]

Bain capital will be the death of Romney.

I tend to agree.  When you investigate what actually happened there, it's a goldmine.  Certainly enough to turn any independent conservative like myself from ever thinking about voting for him.

What was improper with what Bain did again?  I mean taking over sick companies, and trying to resuscitate them, and if they can't be profitably reanimated, killing them off, seems to be benign creative resurrection and destruction to me. It is what drives productive capitalism Sam. Surely you know this.

What Mitt did is precisely the same thing that is bringing this country to its knees - crony capitalism.

Basically, when you study the history of Romney and Bain Capital, you come up with this - his “brilliance” at business is mostly a result of his connections.  Much like those who've gone to the various high-end business schools, he thinks he's the smartest person in the room by following this rule: "Why worry? I got mine, you got yours, I’ll be gone and you’ll be gone when this crap blows up."  That attitude, so common among the private equity crowd, is what is destroying us.

Romney and Bain Capital have a history of sacking people and then have an even longer history of installing stupid management into companies - people who had no clue what they were managing.  In other words, they put their idiot buddies into startups and turn-around situations, and didn't care about the actual result so long as they made a return on their investment through levered debt and equity positions in a company. 

Obama is simply waiting to paint Romney as Gordon Gekko, and it'll be quite easy based on what I've looked at.

[Politico]

I'm so surprised how cordial it has remained between Romney and Paul - they never really go after each other. A great mystery.

I think it's fairly clear that Paul sees Romney as the best of the bad candidates (other than himself).  Plus, malleability makes him more open to the libertarian wing's influence than the socons would be.

This. And would anybody be truly shocked if Romney chose Rand Paul, the only Tea Party candidate of 2010 to win a US Senate seat, as his running mate?

[Torie]

Bain capital will be the death of Romney.

I tend to agree.  When you investigate what actually happened there, it's a goldmine.  Certainly enough to turn any independent conservative like myself from ever thinking about voting for him.

What was improper with what Bain did again?  I mean taking over sick companies, and trying to resuscitate them, and if they can't be profitably reanimated, killing them off, seems to be benign creative resurrection and destruction to me. It is what drives productive capitalism Sam. Surely you know this.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/romneys-bain-capital-record-shows-mixed-record-on-bankruptcies/2011/12/13/gIQANksluO_story.html

As I said, after making one's best efforts, sometimes things just don't work out, and you cut your loses, because the companies cannot be made profitable, and you BK them. Clearly Mitt had a good batting average overall. If you "win" every time, you are probably a Bernie Madoff type. Taking on highly risky companies means that sometimes, the wrong tail of the bell curve will rear its ugly head.

Is anyone confused by this concept? Heck, I have lost money sometimes on real estate, and trust me, I am very careful man on this sort of thing, unlike on some other matters.

If the voters cannot understand this, they deserve "Obamanomics," from here to eternity.

[TheGlobalizer]

I'm so surprised how cordial it has remained between Romney and Paul - they never really go after each other. A great mystery.

I think it's fairly clear that Paul sees Romney as the best of the bad candidates (other than himself).  Plus, malleability makes him more open to the libertarian wing's influence than the socons would be.

This. And would anybody be truly shocked if Romney chose Rand Paul, the only Tea Party candidate of 2010 to win a US Senate seat, as his running mate?

That actually makes a fair amount of sense.