The final whammy in Miami
previewing the 12th republican debate

March 10, 2016 – All eyes are on Miami as the Republican race enters a new stage. Starting next week, states can award their delegates in a winner-take-all manner which means Donald Trump can either run away from the field with big wins, or his competitors can catch up very quickly.

As always, Ballotball.com is going to play referee at tonight's debate. We don't pick a winner—you, the voter, should decide that for yourself. But we do try to keep the bout civil by throwing flags and calling penalties in real time. There are essentially only 3 rules: answer the question, don't stray off topic, and don't compare any of your opponents to the Nazis.

The candidates

Donald Trump - Delegate Total: 458 (1,237 needed to win nomination)
37%
Game plan: It seems pretty clear that his strategy is to make sure all of the post debate press coverage is about himself. His anatomical reference worked for him last time, who knows what he's got up his sleeve this time.
Ted Cruz - ​Delegate Total: 359
29%
Game plan: Cruz wants to be the choice of the most conservative voters. Expect him to talk a lot about Trump hiring illegal immigrants and Rubio working with Democrats on immigration reform.
Marco Rubio - Delegate Total: 151
12%
Game plan: Florida might be Rubio's last stand. His support has been disappearing around the country, so it desperation time for Rubio.
John Kasich - Current Delegates: 54
4%
Game plan: Count the number of times he brings up Ohio. Set the over/under at 1.5 times per response.

The Penalties

With the NBA season heating up, we've instituted some new basketball rules for the debate.

Candidates can receive a foul for the following infractions:

  • Failing to answer a question
This one is pretty self explanatory. Candidates might have a good reason to avoid the question, but this is a debate and if you're not here to answer the questions, then it's just a televised press conference. 

  • Failing to stay on topic
For instance, in an earlier debate, Lindsey Graham was asked about his opinion on the right of bakers to refuse to cater a gay wedding. He responded: "Whether you're the wedding cake baker or the gay couple or the Baptist preacher, radical Islam would kill you all if they could."

  • Candidates can receive a technical foul by comparing their opponents to the Nazis.
​​This rule might be controversial due to the innumerable times Donald Trump's opponents have compared his xenophobic policies to Nazism. However, going back to the first debate, we, at Ballotball, have held a zero-tolerance policy towards Nazi comparisons. We flagged Lindsey Graham for comparing ISIL to the Nazis, and we were watching Governor Mike Huckabee closely after he compared President Obama to the Nazis after he agreed to the Iran nuclear deal (this didn't happen during a debate, so no penalty was issued). The reason for this rule is threefold:
  1. Nazi comparisons are lazy. If you'd like to compare Donald Trump's ban on Muslims entering the country to a historical precedent, why not try McCarthyism, or the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II, or the Jim Crow south? Instead, people always grab the low-hanging fruit of the Nazis to make their point.
  2. Nazi comparisons ignore the fact that there are still Nazi parties alive and well in many countries. They have not receded to the dustbin of history and currently have at least one member sitting on the European Parliament. 
  3. This is a debate. And nothing shuts down a debate faster than a Nazi comparison. It is our strong opinion that such comparisons send all parties to the barricades and prevent anyone from actually communicating. Disagree strongly, and make your case the best you can, but leave the Nazi metaphors at home, please.