CNN and the Western Republican Leadership Conference hosted the ninth in a busy schedule of Republican debates for the 2012 Presidential Election.
Absent was Jon Huntsman, perhaps indicating that he has gained a willingness to face the reality that he will not win the nomination. Back in August, after she won the Ames Straw Poll, I heard some people say that Michelle Bachmann is locked into the nomination. John McCain got the nomination after receiving .7% in the Ames Straw Poll in 2007, so I concluded that you need to get at least .7% in Ames to win it. This means that even Newt Gingrich is still solidly in it with 2.3% in Ames. Huntsman, on the other hand, got .4%
The debate opened with a round of attacks on Herman Cain's 9-9-9 tax plan. I refer to it as his 9-9-9-0-0 plan to emphasize the fact that it proposes an elimination of both capital gains and estate taxes. The attacks were predictable considering that Rick Perry and Mitt Romney have been the focus of attacks whenever they were leading the polls. The most recent polls show Romney back in the lead, and continuing to make gains. Most of the criticism of the 9-9-9 plan (9% flat income tax, 9% flat business income tax, and 9% sales tax on new products) focused on claims that it would open up the possibility of higher sales taxes in the future. It was also criticized for being too regressive. It was pointed out that the Tax Policy Center estimates it would increase taxes for most people earning less than $100,000.
I've begun to notice a habit Bachmann has of trying to play teacher. "And the American people think that it’s the — the — it is the vendor that creates the tax, but it’s the government that creates the tax." Thank you Michelle Bachmann for explaining to us how taxes work.
Romney had trouble getting a word in edgewise more than once during the debate. After interrupting him four times, Rick Santorum tried to usurp the moderator saying, "You’re out of time. You’re out of time." The most intense part of the debate was the back-and-forth between Perry and Romney over whether Romney had employed illegal immigrants. "This has been a tough couple of debates for Rick, and I understand that, and so you’re going to get — you’re going to get testy. But let’s let — I’ll tell you what: Let me take my time, and then you can take your time," Romney said with a positive audience reaction. The audience was noticeably more pro Romney than the audiences at previous debates. Perhaps the debate sponsors screened for a more moderate audience after some embarrassing audience reactions at previous debates (audience members shouting that an injured person without health insurance should be allowed to die, applause at the number of people executed in Texas, and booing of a gay soldier in Iraq who asked a question about don't ask don't tell).
Finally, I must mention the Herman Cain electrified fence controversy. Cain is beginning to make this election seem surreal. If you're not familiar the Cobert Report summarized it pretty well. Is Cain really worried that he'll lose votes if he doesn't support building a fence that will kill people? Either way, it is worth pondering how someone making such inflammatory comments could get to the level he is at.
