BTRTN: Republican Debate... Nikki Haley Wins the "Scum Scrum"

[tgards79]

"Maybe not quite scaling that Mount Rushmore of debate moments, we nonetheless heard a zinger for the ages last night. Nikki Haley has made her contempt for Vivek Ramaswamy clear for some time now, having opined in the last debate that “every time I hear you, I feel a little bit dumber for what you say." But when Ramaswamy attempted to brand Haley a hypocrite by telling the audience that Haley’s daughter was a Tik-Tok user, the full outrage from the former U.N. ambassador boiled over, and she squashed the smarmy, glib Ramaswamy like a bug. “Leave my daughter out of your voice!” Haley hissed. Then, sotto voce, but clearly audible on the mic: 'Just scum.' "

"Once again – shockingly – the Republicans generally avoided mentioning the guy who is actually way, way, way out ahead in every poll in every primary state. Why DeSantis and Haley refuse to pummel Trump on his isolationist tendencies in the face of Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan is an utter mystery. But once again, only Chris Christie made any effort to remind the audience exactly who all these candidates were losing to."

"In Wednesday’s Republican debate, she once again won the room, this time by simply by not being just another irksome, annoying male. She is not a wax museum automaton, not a preening poser eagerly showing his MAGA plumage like a horny bird-of-paradise in mating season, not an avuncular lecturer trying to force the party to swallow the medicine of truth, and not a Bible-toting dullard who can’t explain why he is running...But she did far more than simply not be an annoying male. Nikki Haley’s superpower is exuding an authentic, level-headed, practical humanity in a party that has become the Chernobyl of angry victimhood, a sinkhole of anti-Washington loathing, and a dystopia of deceit."

http://www.borntorunthenumbers.com/2023/11/btrtn-haleys-comet-meteoric-rise-or.html

[TxGuitar]

1. We watched about a half hour of it

It was like a grade school debate for class president or something. The 3 guys on the end were useless freaks, and we thought Haley sounded shrill and only slightly less crazy. Perhaps not surprisingly, Christie came off the best to us, sounding like a grown up and actually answering questions, not just bashing Biden. Now, I wouldn't trust him to watch our cats while we were away but he would be a pretty formidable opponent in the general. He was clearly trying to appeal to independents.

[tgards79]

2. Yes...

The problem with Christie is he has no real constituency. The MAGAs hate him and the non-MAGA's blame him for being an enabler, the first respectable GOP to endorse Trump.

[Army Brat]

3. She's working hard to appear more MAGA-ish in the primary

But if by some miracle she gets the nomination her moderate costume would come out.