And that, ladies and gentlemen, is it. The final Republican presidential debate prior to the South Carolina primary has concluded. If it sounds like we’re placing a little emphasis, you’re right; with a South Carolina win, Mitt Romney will become the effective nominee. That much seems very clear. But this debate, as the candidate’s final pitch before the primary, wasn’t much of a score for Romney. Rather, Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum stole a large portion of the show, with Gingrich’s scathing opening remarks directed at moderator John King, and Santorum’s extended takedown of Gingrich’s tenure as Speaker. To say nothing of Ron Paul, whose supporters are so vital and passionate that their shouts effectively overruled John King, forcing him to let Paul in on a question during which he’d been snubbed. We may have a very clear idea of how a Romney win in South Carolina shapes the race, but this much is certain: if anybody else can nab the crown, the state of this race will become volatile, exciting, and most significantly, will stay credibly undecided.
Thanks very much, as well, to the great crew over at DC Decoder. It was, as always, a joy to collaborate with them for this liveblog. Have a nice night, everybody!
More debate coverage: ShortFormBlog | DC Decoder
New drinking game: Take a shot every time Newt says “dramatically.” Warning: You might die. #GOPdebate #SCdebate #CNNdebate #teabate
— Meg Lanker-Simons (@meglanker) January 20, 2012
Late to the #scdebate party. Has Newt suggested swinging with anyone in the audience yet?
— Ali Davis (@Ali_Davis) January 20, 2012
Newt yells at John King, calls him “close to despicable.”True.King is standing very close to Gingrich. #cnndebate
— Paul Begala (@PaulBegala) January 20, 2012
Mitt: “I agreed, I think, with what you just said.” This could be his campaign slogan. #scdebate
— Ana Marie Cox (@anamariecox) January 20, 2012
I miss Rick Perry.This is like watching an episode of Friends with no Phoebe. #cnndebate
— Andy Borowitz (@BorowitzReport) January 20, 2012
We’re with Andy. We still miss Herman Cain for some reason.
As John King is in the middle of a question about Gingrich’s ex wife, the former House Speaker’s rage slowly builds, until suddenly, a crazed look strikes his face. He leaps into action, barreling forward through podium and charging across the stage. The former Representative from Georgia leaps off the podium, pulls a switchblade from his sock in whilst mid-air, and plunges the knife into John King’s chest. As the audience sits in stunned silence, he picks up the fallen moderator’s mic, wipes the sweat off his brow, and says, “The King is dead.” The crowd goes wild, and Gingrich goes on to win South Carolina by 30 points.
Back in the real world… wait, what?
“Mr. Vice President, what will you do to win back the Kelly Clarkson vote?”
This is not the time to be doubting people’s word, or questioning people’s integrity. I am pro-life.
Mitt Romney, declaring his pro-life position, and denouncing what he views as a challenging of his integrity. This begs the question, though; if a crucial presidential debate isn’t the time to doubt a politician’s words or their integrity, when is?
More debate coverage: ShortFormBlog | DC Decoder
Mitt Romney continues to try to get to the far right side of the other candidates on immigration: “You build a fence, you have enough border patrol agents to secure the fence.” He also said that while he doesn’t want to round people up and deport them, he also doesn’t want to give people a “preferential” pathway to citizenship. This would seem slightly contradictory, and what reality occupies the space between those ideas is of utmost interest.
More debate coverage: ShortFormBlog | DC Decoder
I think if I spoke a little slower, with more conviction, I could do a better job.
Ron Paul, on what he’d do differently if he could run his campaign over again.
More debate coverage: ShortFormBlog | DC Decoder
I’d take all the time I spent talking about these guys on this stage, and I’d use it to talk about Barack Obama.
Mitt Romney, answering what, if possible, he would change about his campaign to date.
More debate coverage: ShortFormBlog | DC Decoder
In response to a question about SOPA, Paul mentions that he was the first Republican to side with a group of Democrats in opposing the bill, thus bringing up a pragmatic argument about the wisdom of nominating a candidate who can build coalitions.
More debate coverage: ShortFormBlog | DC Decoder
The truth of the matter is, the law [SOPA] is far too intrusive, far too expansive… it would have a potentially depressing impact on one of the fastest growing industries in America. …I’m standing with freedom.
Mitt Romney, coming out against SOPA. He was in good company; all four candidates spoke against SOPA, with Rick Santorum being the only to qualify his opposition with a call for more work to protect intellectual property online.
More debate coverage: ShortFormBlog | DC Decoder
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I favor freedom…The idea that we’re going to preemptively have the government start censoring the internet on behalf of giant corporations and economic interests strikes me as exactly the wrong thing to do.
Newt Gingrich on SOPA.
More debate coverage: ShortFormBlog | DC Decoder
Apple, you have all those employees over there [China], you wanna bring them back, you’ll pay a 35% tax. Under our plan, you bring them back and open a factory in Charleston, you pay nothing.
Rick Santorum, answering a question about how he would bring manufacturing back into the U.S. with power companies like Apple already based in lower-cost places like China.
More debate coverage: ShortFormBlog | DC Decoder
Mitt Romney has been given a second chance to address his failure to release his tax returns, and he’s done a bit better than last time, though the core of his argument is still an uncomfortable admission. He insisted he’d release them in April, and explained when pressed that he was reluctant to release the information for fear the Democrats would try to produce campaign issues around it. Which isn’t exactly what one would consider a slick political evasion; he all but admitted this is a purely political calculation, purely to protect his own interests.
More debate coverage: ShortFormBlog | DC Decoder
All I can say is, it was very painful writing the check last April.
Rick Santorum, in response to a question about how much he paid in taxes.
More debate coverage: ShortFormBlog | DC Decoder
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