Republican hopefuls go head to head in Boulder for business debate
Candidates discuss immigration, equal pay, dark money, taxes ... and probably marijuana
Trump the ‘perfectionist’ facing poll challenge from Ben Carson
Jeb Bush aiming to revive struggling campaign
2.48am GMT
Dominic Rushe and Jana Kasperkevic of the Guardian’s business desk were here to cast their keen eyes over the economic aspects of the debate. Here’s what they thought:
Dominic Rushe:
So ... lovely as it is to spend the evening with you Jana, that was a bit crap wasn’t it? The main event was better than the kiddie table warm-up and - for such a busy debate - there was some fairly substantive stuff on taxes, on H1-B visas and a few digs at the Fed (stay with me) ... but minimum wage? No. Women’s wages? “I love my mom, government’s bad, OK?”
Where was the debate on free trade? I miss Trump saying “China”. Pretty lame really for a debate labelled: “Your Money, Your Vote.”
I, too, missed Lindsey Graham. You know what else I missed? Serious questions about people’s money. There was too much talk about tax plans. All people want to hear is: “I will tax the rich. I will not tax you. In fact, I will cut your taxes.” Anything other than that and people’s eyes glaze over. I know mine did.
Here are the questions CNBC should have asked:
2.36am GMT
The chairman of the Republican National Committee is not happy with the proceedings this evening.
The candidates blasted the moderators for asking questions they said were irrelevant or petty or antagonistic.
CNBC should be ashamed of how this debate was handled. #GOPDebate
2.28am GMT
It was the Republicans’ big night, but it was Hillary Clinton’s name we kept hearing, reports Lauren Gambino, who is on the campaign trail with the Democratic frontrunner in Bartlett, New Hampshire.
While the top 10 polling Republicans take center stage in Boulder, the Democratic frontrunner is watching the debate – and live texting her reactions – from somewhere* in New Hampshire.
*She was asked several times by journalists at two events where she was watching the debate and did not answer. It’s possible too that she couldn’t hear the question amid the adoring throngs, but not likely, leaving us to wonder … where in the Granite State is Hillary Clinton tweeting from?
#GOPdebate pic.twitter.com/rBT90JvCmM
2.22am GMT
Jeb Bush’s campaign is angry at CNBC, according to a Politico report, which witnesses a backstage spat.
Jeb Bush campaign manager Danny Diaz got into a heated confrontation with a CNBC producer outside the debate as it was happening, according to two sources familiar with the incident.
2.21am GMT
Closing statements.
Paul: I want small government. The budget deal this week is terrible. I’m going to filibuster it tomorrow. Enough’s enough.
2.11am GMT
Roger Stone is the longtime Republican political operative and former adviser, this cycle, to Donald Trump. He accuses Kasich of dealing pot in the 1970s.
The story feels pretty iffy – not that Kasich sold pot, but that Stone fired him for it in 1976
Hypocrisy ? I fired John Kasich from the 1976 Reagan Campaign ... For selling pot to other field men
2.06am GMT
It’s Royals 4, Mets 1, in the bottom of the 6th. You can catch up over on our World Series live blog here. Oh wait the debate is back.
The #WorldSeries and the #GOPDebate battling it out in search tonight pic.twitter.com/z02yHKzwSo
2.03am GMT
Chris Christie = Allen Iverson. “I’m supposed to be a franchised player, and we in here talking about practice. Not a game!”
2.01am GMT
Commercial break with closing statements coming up – so who’s winning?
It’s dawning on us that some of you out there have lost the feeling of jaunty adventure normally associated with national presidential debates. Let’s talk about that?
Is there any product I can buy in Colorado that would take my mind off this garbage fire of a debate?
1.58am GMT
Bush is asked about betting on fantasy sports. Isn’t that gambling?
“Well first of all, I’m 7-0 in my fantasy football league,” he says. But he says it has to be looked at it. “There has to be some regulation, if they can’t regulate it themselves, the NFL has to look at it.”
We are 19tn in debt, we have Isis and al-Qaeda attacking us, and we’re talking about fantasy football?!
Ok. I'm tough on Christie. But his fantasy football answer was his best moment tonight
1.56am GMT
From Guardian US columnist Jeb Lund, live in the “stand your ground” state of Florida:
You know that your campaign is really reaching for anything at the point at which you pledge that, as president, you’ll make sure that America’s cops will no longer feel unsafe when they get out of their cars. Chris Christie is going to #8 with a bullet.
(I actually don’t know where Christie is currently ranked. I can’t think that helped.)
1.54am GMT
Kasich is asked about student debt. He says that in Ohio, universities will not get paid under a new plan until students complete courses. He says there are other revenue streams for universities. He uses the word “disintermediate.”
He arrives at a policy proposal. Public service to pay off student debt. “This is a big moral issue for America, living a life bigger than yourself.”
1.52am GMT
Fiorina says “the more the government gets engaged in the economy, the slower the economy becomes.” She mentions minimum wage laws.
1.52am GMT
From Guardian US columnist Cindy Casares:
Marco Rubio just said: “Our immigration system, from now on, needs to be merit-based unlike how it was when my parents got in.”
Ok, maybe I’m paraphrasing, but that’s practically what he just said with a straight face. That can’t have been easy.
1.51am GMT
Christie says crime is going up because the president does not support police.
The number one job of the president... is to protect the safety and security of the American people. This president has failed.
1.50am GMT
Much more substance in the “grown-up” debate, writes Dominic Rushe.
There was almost a serious debate about visas and in particular the H-1B visas, given to skilled tech workers from abroad, that Silicon Valley is lobbying so hard to have increased.
There is some compelling evidence that H-1B visas, loved by Mark Zuckerberg et al, are a scam. This study from the Economic Policy Institute found the top 10 users of H-1B’s were all offshore outsourcing firms.
1.49am GMT
Huckabee is asked whether Trump has the moral authority to unite the country.
Huckabee says he loves Donald Trump, “he’s a good man.”
1.48am GMT
Trump is asked about his concealed carry permit and whether he would be more comfortable if his employees could carry at work.
“Yes I might feel more comfortable. I have a permit, which is very unusual in New York, to carry. And sometimes I carry. Not a lot. But I like to be unpredictable.”
1.46am GMT
They’re back. CNBC hits Trump with a fact check for his denying he called Rubio Zuckerberg’s senator.
It’s on your web site! Quick of CNBC points out.
1.41am GMT
Commercial break. How much time is left? 20 minutes?
Who’s winning? Tell us who’s winning!
This is the first time I think @JebBush has talked in almost an hour. Not a good sign for a guy who needs a big night.
Pretty sure I've heard Bittersweet Symphony more than I've heard Trump tonight
1.41am GMT
Pot question for Kasich. Legalize it?
“Sending mixed signals to kids about drugs is a disaster,” he says.
1.38am GMT
We’re on to Rubio’s tax plan. The Tax Foundation has scored Rubio’s plan as saying that incomes for top earners would go up 29% while middle incomes would rise 15%, Harwood says.
Rubio starts talking really fast and brings up his dry cleaner. He basically accuses Harwood of making up the Tax Foundation scoring.
1.34am GMT
The stand-out moment from tonight’s debate so far, asks Adam Gabbatt?Jeb Bush’s promise to give a “warm kiss” to a Democrat capable of cutting spending.
The image of Bush’s soft, puckered lips slowly moving towards a political rival, the light of an open fire dancing upon their entwined bodies, has captured the mood of the nation. Or at least it has disgusted some people on Twitter.
The Warmest Kisser on Planet Earth, Jeb Bush #WarmKiss pic.twitter.com/Gu6dedggfR
By the way, do not google warm kiss. That is not the kind of warm kiss Bush was referring to.
1.34am GMT
If you were following the runaway blimp story of earlier today -- that just came up. It was pretty good.
Huckabee: “If you saw that blimp that got cut loose in Maryland today, it’s the perfect example of government.” https://t.co/3yuG8mvNrQ
Huckabee wins the debate for making the runaway blimp a metaphor for government.
I just reserved the Twitter handle @BlimpMetaphor #CNBCGOPDebate #GOPDebate
1.32am GMT
From Guardian US columnist Jeb Lund:
“The Democrats have the ultimate Super Pac, it’s called the mainstream media.”
Marco Rubio was doing some kindergarten-level trolling, especially after Ted Cruz already demonized the moderators as biased attack dogs in the middle of a debate ... where Tea Party inspiration Rick Santelli is asking questions.
1.32am GMT
Paul takes a question about the Fed. “We shouldn’t have price controls on the price of money,” he says.
Carson takes a question about support he had voiced for oil subsides.
Did Ben Carson just say "A bunch of crap?" I didn't know he worked blue.
1.32am GMT
From Guardian US columnist Cindy Casares:
Ted Cruz opened up to let us know that his father Rafael – an outspoken, staunchly conservative fundamental Christian who often passes judgment on everyone else – was once a deadbeat dad. Turns out he was also a drunk.
Thank God Rafael found Jesus so he could lead Ted to Washington and now we get two Senators for the price of one.
1.29am GMT
Becky Quick, the moderator, asks Trump about calling Rubio “Mark Zuckerberg’s personal senator.”
Trump says, I never have called him any such thing, this is another lie by the lying media liars.
Donald Trump calls Marco Rubio Mark Zuckerberg's personal senator on his website https://t.co/WFF2pUuoQL pic.twitter.com/gM5oSCM3rD
1.28am GMT
Trump gets in his much-anticipated hit on Super Pacs.
“I’m the only person in either campaign that’s self-funding,” Trump says.
1.25am GMT
From Guardian US columnist Jessica Valenti:
It was disappointing to see Ted Cruz and Carly Fiorina pivot from giving real answers to questions about their views on equal pay. Cruz’s answer was basically just listing a bunch of women in his life – we get it, some of your best friends are women.
Fiorina went after Clinton, claiming that “ever single policy she espouses has been demonstrably bad for women.” Come on. (Also, let’s talk about how bad being anti-choice is for women and their family’s economics.)
1.24am GMT
Rubio is asked about his support for expanded H1-B visas for skilled immigrants. Rubio says American workers should have the first shot at jobs and America should train more high-skilled workers “so we don’t have to rely on people abroad.”
1.21am GMT
Jeb Bush finally threw down the gauntlet at his former protege Marco Rubio tonight, but his efforts to attack the Florida senator may have backfired, reports Sabrina Siddiqui, who has followed Rubio’s campaign closely.
Bush interjected as Rubio tried to explain away his low attendance record in the Senate, on the same day one of the largest newspapers in their home state of Florida called on Rubio to resign his seat.
Rubio recalled how several presidential candidates before him had missed a large percentage of their votes - including Barack Obama and John Kerry - and yet the same paper, the Florida Sun Sentinel, endorsed them for president.
1.21am GMT
Carson is asked about his affiliation with Mannatech, a medical supplement maker accused of false advertising.
He says he never had anything to do with the company and he can’t help it if they used his image on their web site.
BEN CARSON APPEARED IN A VIDEO FOR THAT COMPANY https://t.co/jnxdHZjchO
Ben Carson saying nonsense about his relationship with Mannatech. @jimgeraghty's write-up on this is important https://t.co/pt40mmjI7g
Watch out @cnbc - the GOP knows you hate America. #GOPDebate pic.twitter.com/oZFQaSZiMM
1.18am GMT
Carson is asked about his role on the corporate board of Costco, which is gay-friendly, in some rankings. Given his views on homosexuality.
Carson says ‘you must not understand my views on homosexuality.’
1.16am GMT
From Guardian US columnist and Marco Rubio constituent Jeb Lund, live in Tampa, Florida:
CNBC reporter Becky Quick going in on Rubio’s using Florida Republican party credit cards and defaulting on a mortgage is the first time I’ve heard this brought up in a debate and a mainstream forum like this.
Naturally, he dismissed the issues as “discredited” – which is a good reply if today is Opposite Day.
1.15am GMT
Cruz says “we’ve got to turn the economy around for people who are struggling.”
Then he delivers a somewhat surprising lecture on the struggles of single moms.
1.14am GMT
Jeb Bush Inching Podium Closer To Center Of Stage During Commercial Breaks https://t.co/7qFl1d8aln #GOPDebate pic.twitter.com/Q7mdCmRHTb
1.13am GMT
Kasich strikes out at this week’s budget deal.
“This is the same old stuff since I left. You spend the money today, hoping you’ll save it tomorrow.
1.11am GMT
Rubio is asked about having liquidated a $68,000 retirement fund and taking out a second mortgage on his house. How can he be trusted with the national budget?
He says that’s a list of discredited attacks from his Democratic opponents. Then he talks about growing up without money. “But I’m not worried about my finances, I’m worried about the country’s finances.”
1.08am GMT
Fiorina is asked about ... something she ignores, to talk about creeping socialism.
“You see folks, this is how socialism starts. Government causes a problem, and then government steps in to solve the problem. This is why, folks, we have to take our government back.
1.08am GMT
From Guardian US columnist Cindy Casares in Austin, Texas:
CNBC anchor Carl Quintanilla confronted Florida senator Marco Rubio about the cognitive dissonance between his Cuban immigrant heritage and his party’s anti-Latino immigrant stance. Rubio has gone from co-sponsoring a bill to create sweeping immigration reform two years ago to co-sponsoring a bill to crack down on so-called sanctuary cities this month. Now nobody trusts him.
Oh, Marco. His first response – to reform immigration policy – was the genuine one. Now he’s only doing what he thinks that he has to do to get his old school Cuban Republican community to like him. But he shouldn’t worry about what a bunch of old hypocrites think.
1.06am GMT
Bush takes a question about the budget deal. He reverts to his laundry list about US economic performance. “I actually have a record” in Florida, he says. A triple-A debt rating. Economic growth and job creation.
He ends on a strangely vivid note:
1.04am GMT
Christie takes a question about no one at General Motors going to jail for faulty ignition switches that caused fatalities.
Christie says he would have prosecuted. The problem with the Obama administration, he says, is “it’s a political justice department.”
1.03am GMT
From Guardian US opinion editor Megan Carpentier:
Texas Senator Ted Cruz learned the hard way that playing to the audience in the house might not play well with the debate moderators, when he used his time on a substantive question about his economic policies – particularly on the debt limit – to insult the CNBC reporters asking some hard-hitting questions of all the candidates.
Cruz – who eventually got 30 seconds to answer the question – decided to use his initial time to earn kudos from the audience for noting that “none” of the members of the media moderating the debate would be voting in the Republican primary and so, he alleged, they should be nicer to the candidates.
1.02am GMT
Carson is asked about pharmaceutical companies profiteering from charging too much for drugs.
Carson says some companies have abused their positions. “We have to think about... what can we do for the average Americans? .. The average small manufacturer, if they have less than 50 employees, the average cost in terms of regulations is $34,000 per employee.
1.01am GMT
Trump is asked about the bankruptcies of his Atlantic City casinos. He says he used it to his advantage but never personally filed for bankruptcy.
“Came out great... that’s what I could do for the country. ... Boy am I good at solving debt problems. Nobody could solve it like me.”
1.00am GMT
There’s a Democrat out there watching -- and liking what he sees:
Never thought I'd agree with @GovMikeHuckabee: we need to stop demonizing seniors. Let's keep our promise to them & expand social security.
12.59am GMT
Big moments so far we’d say from Cruz and Rubio. Carson and Bush kind of wavering. Trump amazingly silent-ish.
12.56am GMT
Commercial break. Bracing policy conversation breaking out tonight in Boulder! Who’s winning do you think?
12.56am GMT
Cruz offers to buy Quintanilla, the moderator, “some famous Colorado brownies.”
Then Cruz says the budget deal is symptomatic of what’s wrong with Washington. Then he calls for raising the retirement age for social security and privatizing a portion of it for younger workers.
12.52am GMT
Christie finally gets to speak. He gets a question about his pitch to raise the retirement age for social security and cutting benefits for some well-off seniors.
Christie turns to the camera. “The government has lied to you and they have stolen from you.” He says social security faces insolvency in 7-8 years. He says too much federal spending -- 70%-- is on entitlements and debt servicing.
12.52am GMT
Jana Kasperkevic examines Fiorina’s corporate record:
Hmmm, was Fiorina good for HP? #Gopdebate "stock market was not kind to you" https://t.co/KMiYDhiEo8
More on Fiorina #gopdebate https://t.co/ODTDxeJCU0 pic.twitter.com/LzEuNGRIfZ
12.50am GMT
Earlier, Carly Fiorina was questioned about her boast that billionaire venture capitalist Tom Perkins was a supporter. He has some interesting views on democracy, notes Dominic Rushe.
“The Tom Perkins system is: You don’t get to vote unless you pay a dollar of taxes,” Perkins said last year.
“But what I really think is, it should be like a corporation. You pay a million dollars in taxes, you get a million votes. How’s that?”
12.49am GMT
Paul is asked why he opposes the budget deal. Paul says it’s taking money from entitlements to spend on the military and domestic spending.
He says that the debt limit “should be leveraged to try to reform government.”
12.47am GMT
Cruz is asked about his opposition to the budget deal.
Cruz says, your questions stink, and they indicate why the American people do not trust the media.
Why does CNBC hate America? https://t.co/YoJngYVUk8
12.46am GMT
Jeb Bush has on his debating boots, it seems:
Got my debating boots on! #GOPDebate pic.twitter.com/NdMyEmkT42
12.43am GMT
Fiorina takes a question about how terribly Hewlett-Packard stock did during her tenure as CEO. Why should she be hired now?
Fiorina rolls out her usual defense, about how badly the NASDAQ did while she was running HP. Something tells us that old argument is not going to perform well, this tenth or twelfth time she’s tried it.
12.41am GMT
Bush is asked about troubles with his campaign. He kind of rolls into a boring laundry list of statistics about the country’s economic challenges.
He tries to hit applause lines but the crowd does not seem to be with him.
Sort of? https://t.co/aGVkQtvqra
12.41am GMT
First blood to John Kasich in what was a fairly substantial exchange on taxes, adds US business editor Dominic Rushe.
Enough to make Donald Trump go for his throat, so it must have worked. Kasich has been very strong on the - cough - somewhat odd tax plans of the candidates, especially Trump and Ben Carson.
Carson’s plan seems to be something to do with a 10% tithe, although tonight that has swollen to 15%. As moderator Betty Quick said such a scheme would require a 40% cut in government spending: “I’ve done the math.”
12.41am GMT
Rubio says a Florida Sun-Sentinel editorial hitting out at him for missing Senate votes was unfair. He lists other candidates - Kerry, Obama - who missed as many votes but got the paper’s endorsement, and attacks the “mainstream media” for bias.
Applause for Rubio.
12.40am GMT
From Guardian US columnist Jeb Lund:
John Kasich’s appeal in this debate – “Folks, we gotta wake up!” – seems geared to both independents and to the Republican establishment. His direct message here might as well be, “Let’s cut the BS”: defending Medicare and social security; slamming Ben Carson’s fantasy tithing tax; slamming Trump’s vague calls for greatness.
Kasich is taking the role of the pragmatic conservative that Jeb Bush can’t avoid being, but he’s doing it with an edge and energy that Bush constitutionally lacks and has been skittering away from as he tries to portray himself as a radical conservative during the primary.
12.38am GMT
Mike Huckabee couldn’t think of any weaknesses he had right now, Adam Gabbatt notes.
a) When he threw his support behind Kim Davis, the Kentucky county clerk who refused to marry gay couples.
b) The time he said: “I trust @BernieSanders with my tax dollars like I trust a North Korean chef with my labrador! #DemDebate”.
12.37am GMT
Rubio takes a question about all the votes he’s skipping. “Why don’t you slow down?”
“That’s an interesting question,” he says. “That’s exactly what the Republican establishment says too. Why don’t you wait in line.
12.36am GMT
Fiorina is up now. She says Washington has been talking about tax reform forever but never pulls it off. She says the 70,000 page tax code could be reduced to three pages.
She makes a persuasive argument about the ability of the rich to hire an “army of lawyers” to decipher a more complex code. So a complex code equates with cheating, in her view.
12.35am GMT
Carson jumps in. He rejoins the debate with Quick about whether a flat tax of 15% would fund the government. He presents some sketchy back-of the envelope math based on the ability to multiply 18 by .15.
Cruz is not going for a 0% flat tax – it’s 10%. It adds up, he says. He claims the CBO has scored “every one of our plans.”
12.32am GMT
Trump smashes Kasich. He says that he got lucky in Ohio because of fracking, that he was on the board of Lehman Brothers, and that his poll numbers have tanked “and that’s why he’s on the end.”
Kasich says that yes, Ohio has an energy industry, and that he’s “proud” of his time as a banker.
12.31am GMT
Kasich pipes up. He says he’s actually balanced the federal budget. True, as the former chair of the budget committee.
He accuses his opponents of “fantasy tax schemes.”
This stuff is fantasy, just like getting rid of Medicare and Medicaid. Come on, you don’t scare senior citizens like that.
You have a 10% tithe and that’s how you fix government? Or that we’re just going to be great? Or that we are going to move 10m people out of the country?!
Folks, we’ve got to wake up! We got to elect someone who knows how to do the job!
12.28am GMT
Carson takes a question about his flat tax, of 10-15% (he hasn’t said how much).
How did he come up with that number?
12.27am GMT
Q for Trump. You’ve made many big promises. Let’s be honest. Is this a comic book version of a presidential campaign?
Trump: No, and that’s not a nice way to ask that question. He says his plan brings tax rates down to 15%, which is true for most middle-income households, though his top tax bracket is 35%.
12.24am GMT
From Guardian US columnist Jeb Lund, deep in the American heartland/swing state of Florida:
This CNBC intro rephrased: “Which one of these Republicans must we elect to rescue the United States?”
12.24am GMT
First question: What’s your biggest weakness?
Kasich goes first. He ignores the question and says he fears the party will nominate someone not up for the job. He mentions Carson’s proposal to end Medicare and Trump’s to deport undocumented migrants. Not realistic, he says.
12.19am GMT
12.17am GMT
It’s started.
12.13am GMT
The candidates are taking the stage. Carson has just emerged. He joines Fiorina, Cruz and Christie. And there’s the Donald.
Who’s going to make the wildest promise on cutting taxes?
So excited to hear about Ted Cruz’s 0% top rate plan.
12.11am GMT
Before we move on to the main event, Ben Jacobs in Boulder has been talking to Bobby Jindal. The Louisiana governor won’t commit to supporting the Republican nominee to succeed him in his state’s gubernatorial runoff on 21 November.
In last week’s first round of voting, Senator David Vitter, a Republican, finished second behind Democratic legislator John Bel Edwards in the state’s “jungle primary.” In Louisiana, all candidates compete in one primary and then the top two then advance to a general election. Vitter, despite being the favorite, just managed to barely edge out two other Republican candidates.
However, Jindal, who long been engaged in a feud with Vitter, refused to endorse the Republican standard bearer to succeed him. When asked by the Guardian if he would campaign on Vitter’s behalf, Jindal said: “I respect the judgment of the voters in Louisiana. I think the press makes too much of watching voters try to endorse each other and look forward to seeing which candidate will commit to policies that will continue the economic development we’ve done in Louisiana.” When pressed about whether he would even endorse Vitter, he said: “We haven’t made that decision yet; that doesn’t mean we won’t but we haven’t made that decision.”
12.10am GMT
Mitt Romney, the 2012 nominee, gives Lindsey Graham an upvote.
After hearing @LindseyGrahamSC talk foreign policy tonight, it's clear he belongs on the big stage.
12.07am GMT
It’s past 8pm ET, starting time, but the only Republican onstage is RNC chairman Reince Priebus.
We invite you, while we wait, to check in on our live blog coverage of game two of the World Series between the Kansas City Royals and the New York Mets, where someone has just sung the national anthem.
12.01am GMT
Speaking of Ben Carson, here he is testing out his lectern earlier:
On the #GOPDebate stage in Colorado -- anticipating a great night for We the People! #BC2DC16 https://t.co/nIZ5hg1Ivj
Ben Carson says of tonight's debate "My strategy will be to be me."
11.59pm GMT
Cher: not a Ben Carson fan, evidently.
WANTED,LEADER Most Dynamic Country,Most Diverse Citizenry,In Most Dangerous Time Since WW2.Qualifications, pediatrician,Xtian,soft spoken
11.58pm GMT
Further reaction to the undercard: The entire country, to hear Google tell it, was all, Who is this Lindsey Graham!?!
Except Delaware, which was all, whoa, George Pataki, hello:
The geographic winner of the early #GOPDebate https://t.co/rBOqAKfn5Z pic.twitter.com/4USDVd7tM1
11.53pm GMT
Recreational marijuana use is legal in Colorado – but will CNBC take the opportunity to grill the candidates? Jeb Bush copped (again) to pot use as a kid in the last debate, apologizing to his mother for announcing it on national TV.
It’s not just a lifestyle issue for Colorado – it’s an economic issue. Republicans must address whether the next president should continue to let states do as they please with marijuana laws, as Obama has done.
11.49pm GMT
Welcome back for our coverage of the big show, the third Republican presidential debate.
Donald Trump has been invited on national television to talk about money. Ben Carson takes the stage as a freshly minted frontrunner. Jeb Bush seems on the verge of fumbling the handoff of the White House from bro and pops. Marco Rubio was born to talk.
11.37pm GMT
11.27pm GMT
The Guardian’s Ben Jacobs is just one cowboy hat away from asking Rick Santorum the question that will settle this thing.
11.23pm GMT
Guardian US business editor Dominic Rushe branches out into hair criticism:
Oh your hair is beautiful. Tonight. Atomic. pic.twitter.com/to4Hj7iKOW
@zackwhittaker come on. It's never looked so good. We have a winner.
11.22pm GMT
From Guardian US columnist Jeb Lund, live from Tampa, Florida.
That was a really fun bit during the Kiddie Table debate, when Lindsey Graham joked about being a Fox News instead of CNBC watcher. It’s just a little reminder that CNBC is the Marxist network that aired Rick Santelli’s 1% whine about taxation and moochers that the conservative astroturf group FreedomWorks used to launch the Tea Party.
11.20pm GMT
The undercard debate in Boulder featured a solid, if unexciting, exchange between the four second tier Republican candidates participating, reports Ben Jacobs in Boulder.
South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham, Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal, former New York governor George Pataki and former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum spent an hour discussing economic issues with occasional moments of feistiness and a near constant stream of one-liners from Graham.
While there was a spirited exchange on tax policy between Jindal and Santorum over the relative importance of balancing the budget and simply cutting taxes in reducing the size of government and George Pataki echoed former Democratic candidate Jim Webb in complaining his lack of speaking time, the real star of the night was Graham.
11.19pm GMT
We’ve only got 45 minutes till the main debate.
Will the Republicans hit Hillary Clinton for this zany story about running around in a driveway with Bill and Chelsea in a frustrated attempt to crack a coconut?
11.14pm GMT
While the kids wave their arms and squabble around one of the grown-ups, Jeb Bush, is tweeting, reports Adam Gabbatt. He’s made a video!
This is why I’m running for president. #GOPDebate https://t.co/Nhw3OFX3e7
Visually it’s beautiful. There’s a sunrise! Someone welding something. A jazzy shot in the window of a car’s rear view mirror.
Unfortunately for Jeb! the images don’t quite detract from what he is saying, which is ... strange.
11.13pm GMT
It’s a wrap! There goes the first round. Who do you think won? Tell us in the comments.
11.11pm GMT
Closing statements:
Graham: Somebody said ‘let’s make America great again’. America is great! I will win a war we can’t afford to lose. Support the troops. Make me commander-in-chief!
11.08pm GMT
Now Quick trims them to 20 seconds per answer! Lightning round. Whew.
11.05pm GMT
Google trends is tracking searches for candidates’ names.
Graham is the blue line. The blue line is often higher than the other lines. Graham is the nominee.
Looking for realtime @Google search data for the #GOPdebate? You've come to the right place https://t.co/rBOqAKfn5Z pic.twitter.com/elCdE1Wu00
11.02pm GMT
Commercial! Let’s check in on the hacks:
11.00pm GMT
Graham is now mounting a near-tearful defense of Social Security. “50% of today’s seniors would be in poverty without Social Security,” he says.
“I promise you if you make me your president, I will save social security because I know why it exists,” he says.
11.00pm GMT
What have we learned from kiddie table economics so far, asks Guardian US business editor Dominic Rushe?
Not a lot. Socialism is bad, Obama is bad (and probably a socialist), taxes are bad. Not all Republicans believe climate change is a lie (but the ones who believe it’s true probably won’t get elected). And the arid Boulder weather has done wonders for Rick Santorum’s hair.
In terms of economic policy no one has really excelled - let alone broken ahead of the (trailing) pack.
10.58pm GMT
Santorum busts out some etymology.
“The word economy comes from the Greek oikonomos which means family,” he says.
10.55pm GMT
Pataki believes climate change is real and caused by humans. He’s asked about that.
“One of the thing that troubles me about the Republican party is that too often we question science that everyone accepts,” he says. Pataki mentions the science behind vaccines and climate change.
10.52pm GMT
Beer question! Is it right to have one third of breweries in this country owned by one brewer? Is there a threat to competition in beer?
Now that’s a debate question.
10.47pm GMT
Santorum argues that a failure to protect exports pushed Boeing partly to France.
Santorum seems on tonight? He’s speaking with energy and conviction about protecting American jobs. He’s not going too long, making arguments instead of speeches. Looking to break 2% in Iowa.
10.46pm GMT
From Guardian US columnist Jeb Lund, live from Tampa:
Perhaps this doesn’t reflect that well on me, but I can think of no more fitting commentary on the Republican Kiddie Table Debate than the fact that I was washing dishes and cleaning the house on domestic autopilot and listening to my TV blaring CNN commentary about the main debate without realizing that there was an actual debate being broadcast at the time. I mean, I DVRd it, but still.
10.45pm GMT
Rick Santelli is up. He asks Pataki: “How’re you doing tonight?”
Pataki’s good.
10.42pm GMT
Soundnibbles! Indeed. It’s as if the moderators are afraid of letting the candidates speak.
Or maybe they just have an eye on the ratings, and realize that churn plays better than drone.
Is it me or has the amount of time candidates are given to answer questions in the GOP JV debate just hit a new all-time low? Soundnibbles.
10.39pm GMT
Here’s a question about paid family leave, and mandatory paid maternity leave.
“I’m not for the government mandating that,” Jindal says. “We already have too many mandates out of DC... the government can’t wave a magic wand and make that happen.”
10.38pm GMT
Santorum blames immigration for keeping wages and economic participation rates low.
“We’re bringing in people to compete against low-wage workers,” Santorum says. That of course is highly debatable.
10.32pm GMT
Graham has committed the heresies, in the context of the current Republican primary conversation, of saying climate change is real and supporting a path to citizenship for undocumented migrants. He’s asked to defend himself.
“I think I’m trying to solve problems,” Graham says.
The number one candidate [claimed to be broke] after eight years in the White House. The number two guy went to the Soviet Union on his honeymoon, and I don’t think he ever came back.
10.28pm GMT
Pataki has a chance to defend Wall Street, as a former New York governor. He does not.
“I think they have gone too far,” he says. “I think we’ve seen Wall Street blossom and do really well, while a lot of people are struggling.” He blames a corrupt relationship with Washington.
10.25pm GMT
Cramer invites Graham to indulge his darkest fantasies about geopolitical threats bearing down on America’s shores.
“The foreign policy of Barack Obama needs to be replaced” and you can’t do that by electing his secretary of state, Graham says.
10.23pm GMT
Cramer asks Pataki whether we need a military response to cyber-warfare.
(The debate is back on. This is not happening in some weird corner of the internet. It’s happening in a weird corner of national TV.)
10.22pm GMT
As the undercard debate began, Jeb Bush rolled out an endorsement from a former vice president, notes Ben Jacobs in Boulder.
The Bush campaign announced that George HW Bush’s vice president, Dan Quayle was backing the former Florida governor.
The endorsement drew some skepticism. Quayle, who mounted an abortive bid for the White House in 2000 against George W Bush, was never regarded as one of the best and the brightest in American politics. Perhaps his best known moment was in 1992 when he insisted to a grade school student that the word “potato” should be spelled “potatoe”.
10.21pm GMT
Well ...
LMFAOOOOO https://t.co/lur7rXwYBh
10.21pm GMT
Is Hillary Clinton watching tonight? She’s playing with the Republicans on Twitter, at least:
Which GOP candidate would you want to see Hillary take on in a debate? Cast your vote! https://t.co/IAf9qEWt7g pic.twitter.com/LdvZ4HytVS
10.20pm GMT
Commercial. Do what you have to do around the house.
10.20pm GMT
Jindal says it’s “dangerous times for America” because of the size of the debt, $18tn. (The debt limit reset in March was $18.113tn.)
10.20pm GMT
My colleague Jana Kasperkevic will be analysing the debate through a series of Vines tonight. Here she highlights the wealth of the candidates in this undercard debate.
The four candidates in this debate are worth combined $21 million. Chump change. https://t.co/Cc1OJ6EWnz
Millionaire Jeopardy! https://t.co/ZamSe7yTkm
10.16pm GMT
Pataki agrees with Graham on the current budget, saying it protects the military.
An air of comity prevails in Boulder. Jindal’s tie is pink. The backdrop to the stage is electric blue and rather aggressively branded with the CNBC logo. Big moment for the little cable channel that could.
10.15pm GMT
Santorum takes a question about his flat tax - he wants to tax every household income at an even 20%.
He says the biggest problem is the breakdown of the American family. He says his plan is pro-growth and pro-family. He doesn’t get into how throwing out the graduated tax system is more pro-family than a flat tax.
10.14pm GMT
10.13pm GMT
Quick asks about debt limits. Would you blow through the debt ceiling in order to resist passing a disagreeable budget, like the one before Congress now?
Jindal says it’s a false choice because the government could cut spending and not keep running through the ceiling.
10.12pm GMT
10.10pm GMT
Harwood has the first Q. It’s not about $$ at all. It’s about how popular outsider candidacies are this year and asks Jindal, the Louisiana governor, how he fits the bill.
Jindal says he will chop government, which is the most outsider-y thing of all. Santorum says that he was a force for reform during his two senate terms. Pataki, the thrice-elected governor, says Washington needs and outsider but “you can’t just be an outsider.”
10.07pm GMT
The event begins. Becky Quick introduces the show. Candidates get 30 seconds per question and the same for rebuttals, she explains. Quintanilla is on her right, your left. Harwood’s on the other side.
10.05pm GMT
Oh pity. They’re making them stand there behind their lecterns without, for the moment, asking them anything. It’s a silent debate. Aaand now they’ve gone to commercial.
Well, Marco Rubio made a joke on YouTube today. Did you see it?
10.02pm GMT
Time’s up for preliminary niceties. The four bonus candidates have taken the stage. Bobby, Rick, George and Lindsey. Let’s listen to what these guys have to say.
10.01pm GMT
Is Donald Trump in trouble? In advance of the debate, he was already complaining about an “unfair” fight
After a great evening and packed auditorium in Iowa, I am now in Colorado looking forward to what I am sure will be a very unfair debate!
.@CNBC continues to report fictious poll numbers. Number one, based on every statistic, is Trump (by a wide margin). They just can't say it!
.@TheEconomist Poll, one of the most highly respected, was just released. Wow, wait until the media digests these numbers - won't be happy!
9.52pm GMT
Hosting tonight’s event is the cable channel CNBC, which has wrangled three moderators and three sideline questioners for the job. They’re calling it “The Republican Presidential Debate: Your Money, Your Vote.”
The moderators are Becky Quick, John Harwood and Carl Quintanilla.
9.27pm GMT
Hello! and welcome to our coverage of the third Republican presidential debate.
Tonight, it’s all about money.
Continue reading...