Tonight's the third Republican presidential debate in the 2012 nominating contest, this time from Ames, Iowa. Join in the live commentary and discussion here on Daily Kos while you watch it live on
Fox News Channel GOP TV or
on the web.
6:19 PM PT: OMFG Michele Bachmann just destroyed Tim Pawlenty, ticked off a list of his heterodoxies like his support for cap-and-trade and the individual mandate, and finished him off by saying that he reminds her of Barack Obama. She's 30x better a candidate than Pawlenty.
6:21 PM PT: Pawlenty is sad: "I'm really surprised Congressman Bachmann would say those things." Then he calls her a liar and ineffective and blames her for TARP, ObamaCare, and every other conservative bogeyman. This is some great stuff. Bachmann fires back: "When others ran, I fought." TPaw is shriveling now. Done, toast, goodbye!
6:24 PM PT: Mitt Romney defends his business record by saying he invested in 100 companies and some of them failed. "I understand how the economy works." He says that only he and Herman Cain have private sector experience on the stage. I actually think he did pretty well with that question, and if GOP primary voters weren't insane, he would probably have benefited from the Pawlenty-Bachmann slugfest. Of course, they are insane. Now, a commercial break.
6:29 PM PT: Newt Gingrich is leaning on the podium like it's a crutch. After every sentence he takes a deep, wheezy breath. Basically he accused Chris Wallace of being a biased reporter. And he got the crowd on his side against Wallace, who I guess is now a liberal media icon, or something.
6:31 PM PT: Chris Wallace suggests that John Huntsman should have run in the Democratic primary instead of the GOP one. Now, Huntsman might not be rightwing enough for today's GOP, but as for running as a Democrat? No fucking thanks. He's at least as conservative as every Republican president who has ever served.