The Clash in Cleveland
Referee's Report Card for 1st Republican Debate
|
|
August 7, 2015 - Round 1 is over! And the Clash in Cleveland was a feisty one. Standing in the middle of the stage, Donald Trump found himself in the middle of the action, as well, and was the frequent focus point of the debate.
Ballotball.com was also busy refereeing—54 total penalties were called: 40 Delay of Games, 13 Illegal Substitutions, and 1 Illegal Formation. (By the way, a candidate’s penalties don’t necessarily hurt them in the game—anyone who remembers the Bad Boy Pistons in Detroit knows what I’m talking about.)
Ballotball.com was also busy refereeing—54 total penalties were called: 40 Delay of Games, 13 Illegal Substitutions, and 1 Illegal Formation. (By the way, a candidate’s penalties don’t necessarily hurt them in the game—anyone who remembers the Bad Boy Pistons in Detroit knows what I’m talking about.)
The Main Event
|
0 Penalties!
|
|
|
|
|
10 Yards
|
.jpg)
|
|
|
|
20 Yards
|
|
|
30 Yards
|
|
40 Yards
|
The Undercard
|
|
|
|
|
10 Yards
|
|
|
|
|
20 Yards
|
*After you’ve looked at the penalty numbers, please take a look at Factcheck.org. The website is a nonpartisan media watchdog from the Annenberg Public Policy Center. It does a great job of fact checking the debates, which was something we were unable to do in real time.
Main Event Penalties Explained
The Illegal Substitution penalty was used if the candidate did not answer the question asked; the Illegal Formation penalty was used if the candidate said they would do something that is flat-out impossible. The Delay of Game penalties are not detailed here because it is a fairly straightforward rule--every time the bell rang, and the candidate kept talking, they received a penalty. We used the transcript of the debate to quote the candidates accurately.
Donald Trump
He was the only candidate to have a penalty overturned after review!
Question: “What evidence do you have, specific evidence that the Mexican government is sending criminals across the border?”
This was a follow-up question after Trump failed to answer the question the first time. We picked up the flag for Illegal Substitution after he answered with this: “Border Patrol, I was at the border last week. Border Patrol, people that I deal with, that I talk to, they say this is what’s happening. Because our leaders are stupid. Our politicians are stupid.”
Dr. Ben Carson
Illegal Substitution Penalty – 5 yards
Q: “As president, would you bring back water boarding?”
A: He referenced the War on Terror, but never water boarding specifically. He ended his answer with “If we don’t tie [our military’s] hands behind their back, they will do it…”
Illegal Substitution Penalty – 5 yards
Q: There’s a typo in the transcript—the question is absent, but Carson’s answer is included. He was asked what he would do if he was president
when Syria crossed the red line and used chemical weapons.
A: He responded with a long answer about military preparedness but never mentioned Syria. “I would shore up our military first, because if you don’t get the military right, nothing else is going to work.”
Governor Mike Huckabee
Illegal Formation – 10 yards
Q: He was asked whether or not he favored a constitutional amendment banning abortion, with an exception if the life of the mother was at stake. Then, he was asked to describe how he would overcome public opinion polls that are pro-choice to get elected in 2016.
A: He started off by saying “I disagree with the idea that the real issue is a constitutional amendment. That’s a long and difficult process. I’ve actually taken the position that’s bolder than that.” But his position then remained unclear. “I think the next president ought to invoke the 5th, and 14th Amendments to the constitution now that we clearly know that that baby inside the mother’s womb is a person at the moment of conception.”
Does “invoking” mean writing a law or issuing an executive order? His answer implied that he would be invoking the constitution in order to prove “that the Supreme Court is not the supreme being.” Whatever you think of the abortion debate, it seems flat-out impossible for a President to “invoke the 5th and 14th amendments” to prevent abortion. (We are open to removing this penalty if there are constitutional scholars out there that disagree). He also didn’t answer the electability question. So, maybe he deserved 2 Illegal Substitution penalties, or a Tripping penalty for losing his train of thought, but our decision was 10 penalty yards for Governor Huckabee.
Senator Ted Cruz
Illegal Substitution – 5 yards
Q: “What would it take to destroy ISIS in 90 days?”
A: “I introduced the Expatriate Terrorist Act in the Senate that said if any American travels to the Middle East and joining ISIS, that he or she forfeits their citizenship so they don’t use a passport to come back and wage jihad on Americans.”
It seems harsh to ding someone for not having a good answer on this one, since it is a pretty complicated question. However, the moderator was asking Senator Cruz a question he had himself posed to General Dempsey, the chairman of the joint chiefs. So, by not addressing the 90-day deadline on winning the war on ISIS, Cruz is penalized for not answering his own question.
Governor John Kasich
Illegal Substitution – 5 yards
Q: “Why should Republican voters, who generally want to shrink government, believe that you won’t use your Saint Peter rationale to expand every government program?”
A: He explained his decision to expand Medicare, but didn’t go on to talk about other government programs.
Governor Scott Walker
Illegal Substitution – 5 yards
Q: “You recently signed an abortion law in Wisconsin that does have an exception for the mother’s life, but you’re on the record as having objected to it. Would you really let a mother die rather than have an abortion.”
A: “I believe that an unborn child that’s in need of protection out there, and I’ve said many a time that that unborn child can be protected, and there are many other alternatives that can also protect the life of that mother. That’s been consistently proven.” His pro-life position isn’t in question, but his position on an exception for the mother’s life goes unanswered.
Illegal Substitution – 5 yards
Q: “In February you said that we needed to gain partners in the Arab world. Which Arab country not already in the U.S. led coalition has potential to be our greatest partner?”
A: “We need to focus on the ones we have. You look at Egypt, probably the best relationship we’ve had in Israel, at least in my lifetime, incredibly important.” He then went on to mention other current allies.
He was the only candidate to have a penalty overturned after review!
Question: “What evidence do you have, specific evidence that the Mexican government is sending criminals across the border?”
This was a follow-up question after Trump failed to answer the question the first time. We picked up the flag for Illegal Substitution after he answered with this: “Border Patrol, I was at the border last week. Border Patrol, people that I deal with, that I talk to, they say this is what’s happening. Because our leaders are stupid. Our politicians are stupid.”
Dr. Ben Carson
Illegal Substitution Penalty – 5 yards
Q: “As president, would you bring back water boarding?”
A: He referenced the War on Terror, but never water boarding specifically. He ended his answer with “If we don’t tie [our military’s] hands behind their back, they will do it…”
Illegal Substitution Penalty – 5 yards
Q: There’s a typo in the transcript—the question is absent, but Carson’s answer is included. He was asked what he would do if he was president
when Syria crossed the red line and used chemical weapons.
A: He responded with a long answer about military preparedness but never mentioned Syria. “I would shore up our military first, because if you don’t get the military right, nothing else is going to work.”
Governor Mike Huckabee
Illegal Formation – 10 yards
Q: He was asked whether or not he favored a constitutional amendment banning abortion, with an exception if the life of the mother was at stake. Then, he was asked to describe how he would overcome public opinion polls that are pro-choice to get elected in 2016.
A: He started off by saying “I disagree with the idea that the real issue is a constitutional amendment. That’s a long and difficult process. I’ve actually taken the position that’s bolder than that.” But his position then remained unclear. “I think the next president ought to invoke the 5th, and 14th Amendments to the constitution now that we clearly know that that baby inside the mother’s womb is a person at the moment of conception.”
Does “invoking” mean writing a law or issuing an executive order? His answer implied that he would be invoking the constitution in order to prove “that the Supreme Court is not the supreme being.” Whatever you think of the abortion debate, it seems flat-out impossible for a President to “invoke the 5th and 14th amendments” to prevent abortion. (We are open to removing this penalty if there are constitutional scholars out there that disagree). He also didn’t answer the electability question. So, maybe he deserved 2 Illegal Substitution penalties, or a Tripping penalty for losing his train of thought, but our decision was 10 penalty yards for Governor Huckabee.
Senator Ted Cruz
Illegal Substitution – 5 yards
Q: “What would it take to destroy ISIS in 90 days?”
A: “I introduced the Expatriate Terrorist Act in the Senate that said if any American travels to the Middle East and joining ISIS, that he or she forfeits their citizenship so they don’t use a passport to come back and wage jihad on Americans.”
It seems harsh to ding someone for not having a good answer on this one, since it is a pretty complicated question. However, the moderator was asking Senator Cruz a question he had himself posed to General Dempsey, the chairman of the joint chiefs. So, by not addressing the 90-day deadline on winning the war on ISIS, Cruz is penalized for not answering his own question.
Governor John Kasich
Illegal Substitution – 5 yards
Q: “Why should Republican voters, who generally want to shrink government, believe that you won’t use your Saint Peter rationale to expand every government program?”
A: He explained his decision to expand Medicare, but didn’t go on to talk about other government programs.
Governor Scott Walker
Illegal Substitution – 5 yards
Q: “You recently signed an abortion law in Wisconsin that does have an exception for the mother’s life, but you’re on the record as having objected to it. Would you really let a mother die rather than have an abortion.”
A: “I believe that an unborn child that’s in need of protection out there, and I’ve said many a time that that unborn child can be protected, and there are many other alternatives that can also protect the life of that mother. That’s been consistently proven.” His pro-life position isn’t in question, but his position on an exception for the mother’s life goes unanswered.
Illegal Substitution – 5 yards
Q: “In February you said that we needed to gain partners in the Arab world. Which Arab country not already in the U.S. led coalition has potential to be our greatest partner?”
A: “We need to focus on the ones we have. You look at Egypt, probably the best relationship we’ve had in Israel, at least in my lifetime, incredibly important.” He then went on to mention other current allies.