GOP Rankings Report - Jan 15

Here is the Ushanka GOP Rankings Report for January 15:

No new promises that meet the high standards of our criteria for this report, so little change to the candidates' scores in this report.

There will be one more report before the Iowa Caucus (Feb 1).  I suspect we'll witness two exciting things after that: 1) mass drop outs, and 2) a rush to conservative principles by desperate candidates who finally appreciate the anger and focus of the electorate.

Just think.  It'll take EIGHT GOP candidates to drop out to be equal to the current Democrat Party lineup.  And NONE of our candidates will drop out because of felony charges.

Attack Scores:

It appears the candidates are done with their policy proposals.  At least the ones who have a shot.  So, it is my assumption that the focus of their attacks will be key variable in this and future reports.  That was clearly the case in this report.

I asked Comrade Googie to watch the debate and give me the attack scores for this report.  I was just looking for a number from 0-3, but instead received this detailed dispatch from the front:

Trump -- 1  I really, really wanted to give him a 3.  Let's put it this way, I really wanted him to score high.  But when he went after Cruz on his status as an American citizen, that cut it. As for Trumps remark that the Democrats will sue Cruz in court, should he become President or V/P, the Dems will go after every single one of them up there, Trump included, for just breathing!  They did the same thing to Sarah Palin to the point she had to leave her position as Gov of Alaska.  And also the NY comment to me, is not that big of a deal -- I know what Cruz meant, that NYC is full of liberals.  When Trump is good, he is very, very good -- as in being Pro-American.  It hurts to give him a 1, but I stand by my grade.

Cruz -- 3  I felt any negative comments from Cruz came from defending himself.  Yes, I like Cruz and he is my first choice, but I feel he earned a score of 3.

Bush -- 1  He worked himself down from 3 to 2 to 1.  My personal thoughts on Bush is that he looks very uncomfortable up on stage.  To me he looks nervous and does not speak with the authority a President needs to lead our country.

Rubio -- 1  He also worked his way down from a 3 to a 1.  At times he spoke to boldly, but in the back of my mind I know he wants illegal Amnesty.  I do not trust him.  And when he went after Cruz with a whole laundry list of what he calls flip-flops, he lost all credibility with me.  He also went after Trump -- I have that in my notes, but not exactly what is was about.

Kasich -- 3  But I find him boring.  He loses me in his talk of family and minute details.  I tend to start tuning him out.

Carson -- 3  Nice guy, sense of humor, but to me, a little light on substance.

Krispy Kreme -- 3  I thought he sounded fine on what he talked about but I kept picturing him on the beach in New Jersey arm in arm with Hussein Obama.  That cut it right there for me.  Can't be trusted.

I picked this up on three candidates -- Bush, Rubio and Carsen -- that repeated that in their opinions, Obama underestimates our enemies.  No he does not, he IS one of the enemies and is on our enemies side.  Obama knows EXACTLY what he is doing to this country.  It is on purpose.

I probably made this much more than what you wanted Karl, but I thought maybe I needed to explain my grades.  Thanks for the assignment.  It was very interesting and it gave me a reason to leave work early in order to watch the debates. 

I am always happy to give anyone a reason to leave work early.

Candidate Website Reviews:

I only found three changes to candidate websites since the last review:

Ted Cruz finally has an Issues page!  It is written in third person, and most of the content is what he has done rather than promises of what he will do.  It is one of the weakest Issues pages of the GOP lineup.

Jeb's attacks on Trump are no longer limited to the debates and commercials.  He posted an attack on Trump, titled "Enough," on his site yesterday.  He calls Trump "unserious," and is appalled that Trump mocked a reporter.  Let's see what that does for his numbers. . .

And Rand Paul's site now says "Fight Back Against the Media Blackout!"  He's upset he didn't make the cut for yesterday's debate.  

Re: Paul - Frankly, I think the stage should have five or less at this stage.  Like Rand's father, he had all the opportunities the others had, and he didn't close the sale.  He is an awesome speaker and has a great grasp of the issues, but he doesn't excite.  Like Rand, I too hate that spark wins the day over substance.  But if he didn't know that going in, or if he thought he could overcome it with his knowledge of the Constitution, the error rests with him.

Here are the scores from the website reviews.  Highest score is 3.  Cruz's score is the only change.