This week, the focus is on the Tea Party Debate. This is but a taste of what I will be publishin' each week. For the sake of balance and fairness, I will list the candidates in alphabetical order. For the sake of clarity, I will not be includin' the cut-off apostrophe for words that end in -ing.
I want to point out that the best lines and worst lines are judged based on their effectiveness in terms of explanation of the issue (5 points), audience reaction (5 points), and logic of the issue (10 points).
Michelle Bachmann
Best Line (5+4+7=16 points): "What I'm saying is that it's wrong for a drug company, because the governor's former chief of staff was the chief lobbyist for this drug company. The drug company gave thousands of dollars in political donations to the governor, and this is just flat-out wrong. The question is, is it about life, or was it about millions of dollars and potentially billions for a drug company?"
Reasoning: Bachmann caused massive damage to Governor Perry's reputation by associating him with a conflict of interest. The voters will view it as corruption.
Worst Line (3+3+2=8 points): "I was the leading voice in the wilderness of Washington all summer. I was one of the only people in Washington that said do not raise the debt ceiling."
Reasoning: Bachmann was relatively strong this debate, however, by not raising the debt ceiling, America would have gone into default. The voters will probably not like the idea of sending America into default for a political point.
Herman Cain
Best Line (5+5+7=17 points): "The Galveston County model worked, and it also worked in the small country of Chile. Instead of giving it to the states, let's give it back to the workers. That's what personal retirement accounts will do."
Reasoning: Cain got 3 rounds of applause while detailing this plan. His final lines sum it all up.
Worst Line(2+2+6=10 points): "Secondly, pass market-driven, patient-centered reforms such as, under the current code, deductibility of health insurance premiums regardless of who pays for it. But as you know, I want to throw that out and put in my 999 plan."
Reasoning: Although his 999 plan sounds like a good pizza deal, it's actually his view of 9% flat tax on business, individuals, and the national sales tax. The problem here is that he never explained it.
Newt Gingrich
Best Line (5+4+7=16 points): "And anybody who knows anything about the federal government knows that there's such an enormous volume of waste, that if you simply had a serious all-all effort to modernize the federal government, you would have hundreds of billions of dollars of savings falling off. Let me say, I helped balance the budget for four straight years. This is not a theory."
Reasoning: Waste is a big issue, and since Gingrich has experience balancing the budget, it's a strong suit for him.
Worst Line(1+3+3=7 points): (In response to the idea that removing green energy loopholes or exemptions would be a tax increase) "Yes, a lot of people argue that. They're -- they're technically right, which is why I'm -- look, I'm cheerfully opposed to raising taxes."
Reasoning: He has previously attacked General Electric for not paying taxes due to these loopholes, and now he had just reneged.
Jon Huntsman Jr.
Best Line(5+3+9=17 points): "We were the best managed state (Utah) in America. We were the best place in America for business. I'm the only person on this stage, Wolf, who can actually lay claim to all of that. And you know why it's important? It's because it's exactly what this country needs at this point in his history."
Reasoning: Huntsman did well in this debate, even though the reception by the Tea Party was cold. He made the connection that as an executive office holder, he created more jobs than anyone. The president is an executive office...so most people can fill in the blanks.
Worst Line(3+2+5=10 points): "Well, first of all, let me say for Rick to say that you can't secure the border I think is pretty much a treasonous comment."
Reasoning: Huntsman, last in the polls, had to be bold. He was, but the sudden chilling silence from the audience told him that he may have gone too far. His recovery was the only bright point of that moment.
Ron Paul
Best Line(4+4+8= 16 points): "I'm a taxpayer there (Texas). My taxes have gone up. Our taxes have doubled since he's (Perry) been in office. Our spending has gone up double. Our debt has gone up nearly triple. So, no. And 170,000 of the jobs were government jobs. So I would put a little damper on this, but I don't want to offend the governor, because he might raise my taxes or something."
Reasoning: Ron Paul was very vocal this debate. This line, I think, is simple and effective. He has successfully painted Perry as a tax-raiser during this debate, the impact, however, has yet to be seen.
Worst Line (5+0+6=11 points): (After booing by the audience when Ron Paul was describing what the terrorists were feeling) "I didn't say that. I'm trying to get you to understand what the motive was behind the bombing, at the same time we had been bombing and killing hundreds of thousands of Iraqis for 10 years."
Reasoning: True, Ron Paul is overestimating the death toll. The problem here is that he comes off as lecturing. The audience reacted coldly to this statement.
Rick Perry
Best Line(5+2+8=15 points): (In response to the HPV vaccine being called a mandate) "No, sir it wasn't. It was very clear. It had an opt- out. And at the end of the day, this was about trying to stop a cancer and giving the parental option to opt out of that. And at the end of the day, you may criticize me about the way that I went about it, but at the end of the day, I am always going to err on the side of life."
Reasoning: Sure, he's redundant, but he essentially blunted Bachmann's attack about the HPV vaccine being forced on girls. It is hard to tell if this statement sunk into the audience, though.
Worst Line(2+0+6=8 points): (In response to giving illegal immigrants in-state tuition) "In the state of Texas, if you've been in the state of Texas for three years, if you're working towards your college degree, and if you are working and pursuing citizenship in the state of Texas, you pay in-state tuition there."
Reasoning: Interesting statement, but the normally friendly Tea Party audience booed Perry's explanation. He could have expanded more on how they were pursuing citizenship.
Mitt Romney
Best Line(5+3+10=18 points): "Well, look, I think Governor Perry would agree with me that if you're dealt four aces that doesn't make you necessarily a great poker player."
Reasoning: Easily the best line of the whole debate. It is memorable, accurate, and an effective jab.
Worst Line(3+4+3=10 points): "What's happened over the last 20, 30 years is we've gone from a pay phone world to a smartphone world and President Obama keeps jamming quarters into the pay phone thinking things are going to get better. It's not connected, Mr. President."
Reasoning: Romney is a very strong debater, as it took me a long time to find anything even remotely weak. This statement isn't super-clear. I mean, it's obvious that Obama is doing something wrong and putting money into it, but the comparison is a little unclear.
Rick Santorum
Best Line (4+4+6=14 points): "On your (Paul) Web site, yesterday, you said that it was our actions that brought about the actions of 9/11. Now, Congressman Paul, that is irresponsible. The president of the United States -- someone who is running for the president of the United States in the Republican Party should not be parroting what Osama bin Laden said on 9/11."
Reasoning: Santorum struck a mean blow to Ron Paul. Comparing candidates to Osama bin Laden is about as vicious as you can get...and this attack will stick with some voters.
Worst Line (1+3+1=5 points): "We were attacked, as Newt talked about, because we have a civilization that is antithetical to the civilization of the jihadists. And they want to kill us because of who we are and what we stand for. And we stand for American exceptionalism, we stand for freedom and opportunity for everybody around the world, and I am not ashamed to do that."
Reasoning: Right after his best line is his worst. Santorum, although being warmly received while stating this line, literally says that being free and giving others opportunity is why the jihadists want to kill us. A serious mistake that makes him look like a fool (and Ron Paul pounced on this as well).
Best Line of the Night: Mitt Romney
Worst Line of the Night: Rick Santorum
Fun starts at 1:10 in.
***All quotes are from the CNN transcript of the Tea Party Debate, although I can attest that these are accurate, as I did watch the debate.
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There you have it, mateys, a list that I thought would be much quicker to throw together.
I'll be mixin' things up here and there just so you scurvy curs don't get bored to death.
Oh, don't look at me like that. You can contribute too, you know! Post a comment about who you think won or lost on this list, as well as any other lines worth mentionin' (there were a lot of them!). Check back next week for your newest list.
It's late. Time to hit me grog.
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