The Hiatus in Las Vegas
Referee's Report Card for the 5th Republican Debate

December 16, 2015 - The 5th Republican debate went down last night in Las Vegas, Nevada. 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 went hard into the paint, and who stayed out in the perimeter.

You can view the transcript of the debate here as this is the source for when we quote the candidates.

The Main Debate

Donald Trump - 3 penalties

​Unsurprisingly, the front runner was asked the most questions and so had the most opportunity to speak (and commit fouls). Mr. Trump's first penalty came when he was asked about his comments that he wanted to "kill the families of ISIS members." Trump responded by saying that he was unhappy that members of the bin Laden family were flown out of the country after the 9/11 attacks and promised to be "much tougher" on people he said "knew what was going on." However, he failed to address the second part of the question which was "how would intentionally killing innocent civilians set us apart from ISIS."

The second penalty came from a question about Jeb Bush's comments declaring Trump to be unqualified to be president. Given a chance to respond, Trump complained about the tenor of the question and complained about media bias against him.

Finally, on a question about the deteriorating state of the nuclear triad, (the three pronged strategy of delivering nuclear weapons by air, sea, and underground silos) Trump seemed confused about the question and instead spoke about his fear of nuclear proliferation and "having some madman go out and get a nuclear weapon."
Dr. Ben Carson - 2 penalties

Responding to a question on how to limit the power of North Korea, Dr. Carson began by talking about the economic power the US could bring to bear against Kim Jong-Un. He quickly pivoted to discussing using energy policy to curb Russian interests, and then talked about a desire to upgrade the US military. The answer was meandering enough to draw a penalty.

The second penalty came when asked if he would leave the Republican party and run as an independent. After Donald Trump definitively agreed to support the eventual Republican nominee, Carson hedged his bets and did not give a firm yes or no. Thanks to @johnnyN20 for pointing out that Carson has been more definitive in past statements, but at the debate, he dodged the question. 
John Kasich - 1 penalty

On a question about whether or not the US should depose Bashir Assad in Syria, Kasich spoke mainly about how the Russians are allied with Assad and how that is a bad thing. He then turned the conversation to Russia's intervention in Eastern Europe, which was off topic enough to draw a foul.
Carly Fiorina - 1 penalty

When asked about what the Republican party should stand for, Fiorina spoke in detail about her experience in the private sector--particularly about one instance when she stopped a truckload of electronic equipment and delivered it to the NSA. Her resume is impressive, but her answer didn't seem to relate to the question.

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Rand Paul - 1 penalty

When asked about how ISIS is consolidating its power, Paul quickly answered the question before pivoting into an attack on Donald Trump. He attacked his ideas of shutting down the internet as unconstitutional and killing the families of terrorists as a violation of the Geneva Convention. Whatever you think of Paul's comments, they were unprompted by any moderator's questions, and drew a foul call.