USA TODAY International Edition
Republicans move on from brutal S. Carolina debate
Candidates agree Obama should not nominate new justice
Republicans began a final week of fighting Sunday for the South Carolina primary, the day after a brawlfilled debate that exposed stark disputes over style and substance.
“All the yelling and screaming, and all the back- and- forth," Ohio Gov. John Kasich lamented on NBC's Meet The Press, denounc- ing the negative tone of the debate and a Republican race in which candidates accuse each other of lying and dirty tricks.
Jeb Bush, who argued with GOP front- runner Donald Trump on items ranging from Trump's profanity to the legacy of President George W. Bush, told Fox News Sunday that he has been the only Republican candidate willing to challenge the billionaire businessman. “Someone has to take him on," Bush said. “I do not want my party hijacked by someone who's not a conservative."
The debate provided “an amazing evening," Trump said, and “the interesting thing is I was be- ing hit from all sides and I was bullied here bullied there. I think it was probably my best performance. Who knows?"
The South Carolina primary, the first southern contest in the Republican race, is Saturday.
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz also questioned Trump's conservative credentials, telling NBC's Meet The Press that “he has supported liberals liberals for four decades: Jimmy Carter, John Kerry, Hillary Clinton, Chuck Schumer, Harry Reid." Cruz himself also engaged in arguments during Saturday's debate, as the Texas senator and Marco Rubio accused each other of lying about their records on the immigration issue.
The GOP candidates agree on at least one thing: President Obama should not seek to replace Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, but instead leave the appointment to his successor next year. Scalia's death Saturday has cast yet another shadow on the 2016 presidential election.