This article is from the source 'independent' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-republican-party-these-nutty-candidates-have-turned-the-grand-old-party-into-the-give-over-party-a6724916.html

The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
US Republican Party: Donald Trump and Ben Carson have turned the Grand Old Party into the Give Over Party US Republican Party: Donald Trump and Ben Carson have turned the Grand Old Party into the Give Over Party
(about 20 hours later)
Herewith an obscure British colloquialism to replace an obscure American one. The Republicans are no longer the Grand Old Party, they are the Give Over Party. Give over with a presidential candidate who says Joseph built the pyramids to store wheat. Give over with another who wants to build a Great Wall along the Mexico border. Wonders of the world are a theme too, inexplicably.Herewith an obscure British colloquialism to replace an obscure American one. The Republicans are no longer the Grand Old Party, they are the Give Over Party. Give over with a presidential candidate who says Joseph built the pyramids to store wheat. Give over with another who wants to build a Great Wall along the Mexico border. Wonders of the world are a theme too, inexplicably.
To be fair, the people who purport to run the GOP are not so nutty themselves. But they have lost control to Ben Carson and Donald Trump. Standing at 26 and 23 per cent respectively atop a brand new CNN poll, they lead the race. And both believe themselves to be exceedingly smart.To be fair, the people who purport to run the GOP are not so nutty themselves. But they have lost control to Ben Carson and Donald Trump. Standing at 26 and 23 per cent respectively atop a brand new CNN poll, they lead the race. And both believe themselves to be exceedingly smart.
It was almost amusing at first. Mr Trump lent some carnival fun to the race in the summer, when actual voting was so far away it didn’t matter. But Iowa holds its caucuses just three months from now and it’s time for Republican voters to stop their frivolity. But there isn’t much sign of that yet. Aside from his “hermetically sealed” grain-silos-in-the-desert theory, Mr Carson recently opined that the Holocaust might have been avoided if the Jews had been better armed to shoot the Nazis. And today his campaign admitted his claim to have been given a “full scholarship” to West Point military academy was untrue.It was almost amusing at first. Mr Trump lent some carnival fun to the race in the summer, when actual voting was so far away it didn’t matter. But Iowa holds its caucuses just three months from now and it’s time for Republican voters to stop their frivolity. But there isn’t much sign of that yet. Aside from his “hermetically sealed” grain-silos-in-the-desert theory, Mr Carson recently opined that the Holocaust might have been avoided if the Jews had been better armed to shoot the Nazis. And today his campaign admitted his claim to have been given a “full scholarship” to West Point military academy was untrue.
The craziness extends into the debates, in case you haven’t noticed. The last one, in Colorado, dissolved into a fairground shooting range with each candidate throwing coconuts at the CNBC moderators. The candidates thought that whining about the media and its purported pro-Democrat bias would enlighten viewers more than a discussion of policy. The silly spectacle had some of us yelling at the TV screen. The craziness extends into the debates, in case you haven’t noticed. The last one, in Colorado, dissolved into a fairground shooting range with each candidate throwing coconuts at the CNBC moderators. The candidates thought that whining about the media and its purported pro-Democrat bias would enlighten viewers more than a discussion of policy. The silly spectacle had some of us yelling at the TV screen. 
"Some of the candidates, they went in and didn’t know the air conditioner didn’t work and sweated like dogs, and they didn’t know the room was too big because they didn’t have anybody there. How are they going to beat ISIS?"
Getty
"I will build a great wall — and nobody builds walls better than me, believe me —and I’ll build them very inexpensively. I will build a great, great wall on our southern border, and I will make Mexico pay for that wall. Mark my words."
Reuters
"Free trade is terrible. Free trade can be wonderful if you have smart people. But we have stupid people."
PAUL J. RICHARDS | AFP | Getty Images
"When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re sending people that have lots of problems. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists."
Getty
"I just sold an apartment for $15 million to somebody from China. Am I supposed to dislike them?... I love China. The biggest bank in the world is from China. You know where their United States headquarters is located? In this building, in Trump Tower."
Getty Images
"If you're interested in 'balancing' work and pleasure, stop trying to balance them. Instead make your work more pleasurable."
AP
"What separates the winners from the losers is how a person reacts to each new twist of fate."
"Everything in life is luck."
AFP
"You have to think anyway, so why not think big?"
Getty Images
"Bush is totally in favour of Common Core. I don't see how he can possibly get the nomination. He's weak on immigration. He's in favour of Common Core. How the hell can you vote for this guy? You just can't do it."
Reuters
"You have to be hit by a tractor, literally, a tractor, to use it, because the deductibles are so high. It's virtually useless. And remember the $5 billion web site?... I have so many web sites, I have them all over the place. I hire people, they do a web site. It costs me $3."
Getty Images
"Obama is going to be out playing golf. He might be on one of my courses. I would invite him. I have the best courses in the world. I have one right next to the White House."
PA
"Love him or hate him, Trump is a man who is certain about what he wants and sets out to get it, no holds barred. Women find his power almost as much of a turn-on as his money."
Getty Images
"The American Dream is dead. But if I get elected president I will bring it back bigger and better and stronger than ever before and we will make America great again."
GETTY
Hadn’t they watched Anderson Cooper decapitate Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island in the CNN debate in Las Vegas a week before? Mr Chafee, who has since dropped out, is a Democrat. But Republicans prefer to play the victim. Hadn’t they watched Anderson Cooper decapitate Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island in the CNN debate in Las Vegas a week before? Mr Chafee, who has since dropped out, is a Democrat. But Republicans prefer to play the victim. 
We have another GOP debate on Tuesday, this one to be hosted by a Rupert Murdoch combo of the Wall Street Journal and Fox Business News. To say America can hardly wait would be a misstatement. Ratings for the Republican debates have been slipping fast. Fewer people watched the CNBC train wreck than watched the Democratic debate in Las Vegas. Even Trump gets old. Fancy that.We have another GOP debate on Tuesday, this one to be hosted by a Rupert Murdoch combo of the Wall Street Journal and Fox Business News. To say America can hardly wait would be a misstatement. Ratings for the Republican debates have been slipping fast. Fewer people watched the CNBC train wreck than watched the Democratic debate in Las Vegas. Even Trump gets old. Fancy that.
Part of the problem is that the party hierarchy has lost control of the debates, too. Not to the candidates. In fact, 10 of them held a “summit” last weekend to agree a set of demands they intended to put to the networks before they would consent to any further debates. It was a silly notion. They need the networks and the networks know it. It is the networks themselves that are thumbing their nose at the party. It was in September that Fox News caused uproar by creating a two-tier system where only those candidates performing best in national polls would be invited to take part in a main debate in prime time, and the weaker among them would be relegated to an “undercard” debate to be aired when no-one would be watching. Part of the problem is that the party hierarchy has lost control of the debates, too. Not to the candidates. In fact, 10 of them held a “summit” last weekend to agree a set of demands they intended to put to the networks before they would consent to any further debates. It was a silly notion. They need the networks and the networks know it. It is the networks themselves that are thumbing their nose at the party. It was in September that Fox News caused uproar by creating a two-tier system where only those candidates performing best in national polls would be invited to take part in a main debate in prime time, and the weaker among them would be relegated to an “undercard” debate to be aired when no-one would be watching. 
Since then every other network has followed suit. Recently, one of the Republican field has shown unexpected common sense. Chris Christie, the New Jersey Governor, caught massive attention arguing that treatment is better than imprisonment for Americans who succumb to drugs.Yet for the first time, Mr Christie – clearly a serious candidate – will not feature in the Fox/Journal prime-time debate next week because of an ebb in  his national poll numbers. Give over.Since then every other network has followed suit. Recently, one of the Republican field has shown unexpected common sense. Chris Christie, the New Jersey Governor, caught massive attention arguing that treatment is better than imprisonment for Americans who succumb to drugs.Yet for the first time, Mr Christie – clearly a serious candidate – will not feature in the Fox/Journal prime-time debate next week because of an ebb in  his national poll numbers. Give over.