FRIDAY, JANUARY 15
This blog post about the GOP debate comes courtesy of The Loop–CatholicVote’s daily news round-up. If you want to receive daily emails like this, sign up for The Loop at http://catholicvote.org/loop
CRUZ WINS // Ted Cruz, Donald Trump, and Marco Rubio all had strong moments in the debate — often against each other. But Ted Cruz gained the most out of the debate with his strong response to Donald Trump’s questioning of his eligibility to run for president. (Cruz was born in Canada, but his mother was a U.S. citizen.) When Trump kept pressing the issue, the crowd booed him. http://cvote.it/1RSejSs
FINAL FOUR // Previous debates had as many as 11 candidates. This debate had 7– but it really only felt like there were four: With Cruz and Trump dominating and Rubio and Christie each able to stay in the fight. Jeb, Kasich, and Carson were largely a non-factor. A good summary of that here: http://cvote.it/1RSbzEK
NEW YORK VALUES // Ted Cruz had recently said Donald Trump represented “New York values” and Trump called it an insult. Trump noted that New York also had conservatives and he cited William F. Buckley by name. Then Trump invoked the Sept. 11 attacks, which rallied the crowd to his side — even Ted Cruz applauded. Trump gets better at every debate. And it showed. Video and write-up here: http://cvote.it/1RShZDH
RUBIO // Chris Christie’s rise in New Hampshire has stalled Rubio’s support there. And so Rubio went on the attack, calling out Christie for personally donating to Planned Parenthood, for supporting Sonia Sotomayor for the Supreme Court, and for favoring gun control measures. Rather than admit he changed his mind, Christie denied his previous positions. But Christie was able to punch back. http://cvote.it/1RSjHVA
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS // 1. Trump was effective when he mentioned that he recently spoke to construction workers and how they were upset about our sailors being humiliated by “Iranian wiseguys.” 2. Rubio spoke passionately about the 2nd Amendment and he noted: “I am convinced if this president could confiscate every gun in America he would.” 3. Cruz was able to deflect a question about failing to disclose a campaign loan of $1 million he received from Goldman Sachs into a media bias story. 4. Here’s a video of the top moments in the GOP debate in two-and-a-half minutes: http://cvote.it/1RSn9Qg
ON THIS DAY // 1973 – Nixon halts military actions against North Vietnam. http://cvote.it/1RSnimM
SAINT OF THE DAY // Saint Paul the Hermit – http://cvote.it/Daily-Saint
LIFE // Are you going to the March For Life in Washington DC next week? Then stop by for the Celebration of Life at the Dubliner after the March. http://cvote.it/1RSp9b5