The Flauntin' in Wisconsin
Referee's Report Card for the 4th Republican Debate

November 11, 2015 - The 3rd Republican debate went down tonight in Boulder, Colorado. Go here to check out our preview to find out who was in the first debate, and who made the final cut and went to the main debate in prime time. As always, we called penalties throughout the debate. Read below for an explanation of who spent time in the penalty box and what foul put them there.

The Main Debate

Dr. Ben Carson

Puck out of bounds - On a question about breaking up the biggest banks on Wall Street in order to prevent them from becoming "too big to fail," Dr. Carson appeared to have it both ways. He said that he would "have policies that don't allow them to just enlarge themselves at the expense of smaller entities." But when the moderator asked a follow-up question, Carson seemed to no longer favor those policies, saying "I don't want to go in and tear anybody down. That doesn't help us." 
Senator Ted Cruz

​Icing - Ted Cruz veered off topic on a question about Medicare. He answered the question on his position that the retirement age should rise for younger workers, but then he spoke about immigration and how he found illegal immigration offensive.
Marco Rubio

​Puck out of bounds – The toughest question for Marco Rubio came from another candidate rather than a moderator. Rand Paul asked Rubio how his plans to increase military spending and increase the child tax deduction jived with conservative principles. Rubio, and several other candidates, took the opportunity to talk about the need for the strongest military in the world. However, this seemed like a dodge because Paul was clearly talking about the conservative principle of limited government.
Governor John Kasich

​​Icing – John Kasich was asked about China's increasing economic investment in US companies and the threat of cyber attacks. In his response, Kasich took us on "a little trip around the world." He talked about Russian aggression in Eastern Europe, a no-fly zone in Syria, a desire for Saudi Arabia to cut ties to radical Islam, how he wants to leave the world a better place for his two daughters, and his past service on the Budget Committee before finally mentioning his position on the TPP and how it affects trade with China. Since this last part was closest to the original question, he wasn't penalized for not answering the question, just for answering too many questions.
Senator Rand Paul

​​Puck out of bounds – When asked whether he thought Iran should be involved in diplomatic talks regarding the crisis in Syria, Paul returned to a former question about whether the US should negotiate with Vladimir Putin. This answer caused Carly Fiorina and Marco Rubio to interrupt, and Paul never got around to discussing Iran.
Donald Trump

Penalty Free!

In a shocking development, Trump went from being the most penalized candidate in each of the first three debates to a penalty-free performance last night.
Governor Jeb Bush

Penalty Free!
Carly Fiorina

Penalty Free!