Sure, if they are over 18, a citizen, not a felon, and mentally competent.
The last isn’t even a requirement to be a leading Presidential contender. Why should it be one to vote?
“not a felon”? That rule varies by state. In Texas, felons who’ve completed their sentences (including parole & probation) regain the right to vote.
Also, who judges the “mental competence” thing? What’s the law where you live?
So, no ID needed, then?
No one is surprised.
He already knows they won’t need his vote, and it’s better for him - and his valuable fundraising abilities - to avoid having to explain a vote that would be unpopular with his constituency.
I think the A group did well, the B group did so-so, and the C group was weak. Nobody killed their campaign tonight.
In no particular order within each group:
A
Jeb Bush, FL Governor
Marco Rubio, FL Senator
Scott Walker, WI Governor
B
Chris Christie, NJ Governor
John Kasich, OH Governor
Donald Trump, Real estate magnate
C
Ben Carson, retired neurosurgeon
Ted Cruz, TX Senator
Mike Huckabee, AR Governor
Rand Paul, KY Senator
It’s a terrible deal for the US.
Judges judge the mental competence thing. If you are declared mentally incompetent by a court, and require a guardian, you cannot vote in many states.
This is only sensible. If such people can vote, what is the rationale for not allowing children to vote?
Looks like. It would appear to exclude Republicans, though.
Okay, Tea Partiers.
Trump is already tweeting insults about Megyn Kelly and Frank Luntz:
The liberal media is picking on him?
Here in the UK, the Telegraph and the Guardian both say Rubio did well. The Telegraph called Walker boring, but the Guardian says he did well.
I grant that I’m not the target audience for any of this at all, but is that all Ben Carson usually has to offer? Is there some magic that I missed by prejudging the whole affair as a freak show?
It’s his first debate, in his first campaign, less than a year after the first time he declared himself for any party… who the fuck knows?!?
I chose to follow the debate via Twitter using an assortment of news sources, pundits and assorted snarkers, and 538 since watching it live wasn’t an option, plus it was more entertaining. The consensus of the selected Twitterati was indeed that Fiorina was the clear winner of the first debate, much to my surprise.
Second debate seems to have gone to Kasich, although a few thought Rubio stood out as well.
Controversy of the night was Trump being an asshole to Megyn Kelly, a move that will hearten those who already support him and continue to alienate everyone else.
The conventional wisdom seems to be that Carly Fiorina easily won the first debate. I agree. Everyone in that debate EXCEPT Carly should bow out and stop wasting money.
Of course, hardly anybody but political junkies watched that debate, so it may not help her much.
Marco Rubio looked to me like the winner of the main debate. He and John Kasich (??) were definitely the men who helped themselves most.
It’s always tough to judge Trump’s performance because things that strike ME (or most reasonable people) as jerky may actually be APPEALING to people already inclined to like him. I give him this: he was admirably pugnacious, occasionally funny, and was absolutely right about one big thing. Without him, nobody would be talking about immigration.
On substance? Trump was awful, and showed more clearly than ever that he’s a blowhard who has no real policies and no idea what he’d do as President. But I’m not sure if the public at large sees him as I do.
Early reports are that Trump was not hurt by his performance. In fact, voter reaction appears to be that he was “railroaded” by Fox news.
If you take out “I’ll unwind everything Barack Obama did” and “more military!” as policy positions, everyone was short on detail.
I only saw bits and pieces last night. I had to figure out Fox’s channel number and now can sprinkle the remote with holy water and not have to find Fox again till 2019. I was watching Chris Matthews et al with the in-game analysis, which I found more interesting.
Who are we talking about today? Trump. Now he gets to play media victim. Plus for him. Kasich’s comments on gays may have won some cheers in his home crowd, but it ain’t gonna fly with the primary voters. It’s safe to say Walker and Christie had weak nights and Carson was a disaster.
My winner was Megyn Kelly. She had the guts to ask some tough questions and even pointed out to Trump that he had hateful things to say about women other than Rosie. Will other debate moderators be as tough on the Democrats? I suppose, but I don’t think there’s a need to ask any of them if they’re misogynistic. Nor will they ask them the silly “what’s your relationship with God like?” question.
I’m unwilling to cut slack to anyone who advocates for more American deaths and a weaker America overall by advocating for more involvement and more troops in the region. I’m saying no to more dead Americans and a weaker America.