Who is winning the Rubio vs. Trump feud?

[Averroës Nix]

Rubio really savaged Trump on his skeletal health care plans, pushing Trump into taking over his robotic role, and so that tips the fisticuffs winner to Rubio on points.

It's a difficult attack to pull off when elected Republicans have never attempted to formulate a serious replacement for the Affordable Care Act. Rubio's plan is only less skeletal in that it includes a few wonky talking points and implausible estimates for the sake of keeping up appearances, while Trump hasn't even bothered with that hollow exercise.

As with so many other issues, Trump has called the Republican Party's collective bluff. His plan is poorly fleshed out nonsense, but after they've been peddling various versions of the same tripe to voters for years, the party's mainstream conservatives simply don't have a credible response to it.

[Torie]

Rubio really savaged Trump on his skeletal health care plans, pushing Trump into taking over his robotic role, and so that tips the fisticuffs winner to Rubio on points.

It's a difficult attack to pull off when elected Republicans have never attempted to formulate a serious replacement for the Affordable Care Act. Rubio's plan is only less skeletal in that it includes a few wonky talking points and implausible estimates for the sake of keeping up appearances, while Trump hasn't even bothered with that hollow exercise.

As with so many other issues, Trump has called the Republican Party's collective bluff. His plan is poorly fleshed out nonsense, but after peddling various versions of the same tripe to voters for years, the party's mainstream conservatives simply don't have a credible response to it.

Bush had a reasonably coherent plan, and Kasich is on the right track in going the HMO route, but at least Rubio came up with the idea of tax credits for the poor so that they could pay for medical insurance, which is just another way of saying that for those to poor to pay the premiums, the government will. So putting aside how all of this pencils, some of the Pubs at least are making a reasonable attempt to cope with a hideous difficult topic. Cruz of course, just blows the poor off. He refuses to even respond to questions about that, as if the poor don't exist.

[Averroës Nix]

That's a highly charitable assessment of their plans, Torie, and I think you know that. Not one of them has a plausible answer regarding how they'll prevent a death spiral, while still controlling costs and providing some form of near-universal coverage, without an insurance mandate. (For good reason: I don't think there is one.)

[Torie]

That's a highly charitable assessment of their plans, Torie, and I think you know that. Not one of them has a plausible answer regarding how they'll prevent a death spiral, while still controlling costs and providing some form of near-universal coverage, without an insurance mandate. (For good reason: I don't think there is one.)

If the poor get the government to pay for their insurance, they will presumably, most of them, get insurance. Yes, for those who are expected to pay something, and refuse to get insurance, you do have a moral hazard problem, I agree. Those who fail to get insurance, who can afford it should pay a tax, you know, well, dare I say it - a mandate!  But the word "mandate" in Pub circles, is about as popular at the moment as "partial birth abortionist mill." Politics is not the best petri dish for fashioning intelligent public policy. Who knew?

[MK]

The one thing that puzzles me about the Trump campaign is they always seem a week behind in strategy.   Rubio is desperate right now they hasn't won a state.  So you have to know he will be on the attack.   It seems Trumps campaign manager just allows Trump to go out there without a plan.  That is a sure way to lose ever other debate. Now to trumps credit he has been able to adjust on his own from week to week.  Watch next week he will knock Rubio out but.... why not last night?     That one line to Cruz saying "I funded you to" was devistating.   Because it highlighted the irony in Cruz trying to play the im not a Washington politician card.

[Averroës Nix]

That's a highly charitable assessment of their plans, Torie, and I think you know that. Not one of them has a plausible answer regarding how they'll prevent a death spiral, while still controlling costs and providing some form of near-universal coverage, without an insurance mandate. (For good reason: I don't think there is one.)

If the poor get the government to pay for their insurance, they will presumably, most of them, get insurance. Yes, for those who are expected to pay something, and refuse to get insurance, you do have a moral hazard problem, I agree. Those who fail to get insurance, who can afford it should pay a tax, you know, well, dare I say it - a mandate!  But the word "mandate" in Pub circles, is about as popular at the moment as "partial birth abortionist mill." Politics is not the best petri dish for fashioning intelligent public policy. Who knew?

I could not disagree with you more. Your comment, along with your open skepticism about the virtues of democratic decision-making, are worth remembering when we talk about how Trump's supporters are inclined toward authoritarianism. Both attitudes are highly disturbing. Yours, however, has more currency among those who hold the most power in this country, which probably has a lot to do with the resurgence of the latter.

Political campaigns are obviously not a good vehicle for sorting through wonkish details, but they are and have always have been the best and only peaceful way to settle disagreements about our goals and values. (It is difficult not to conclude that the goals and values of the Republican electorate are simply imcompatible with the individual mandate.)

Moreover, make no mistake, it was your preferred candidate who openly objected to the idea that we shouldn't let people "die in the streets" last night because that means socialized medicine or something. No wonder Trump is the frontrunner! Republican voters have a choice between the thinly-veiled social darwinism of mainstream conservatives and a would-be strongman who flatters their sensibilities and says everything that they want to hear.

[Torie]

Yeah, yeah, blah, blah, but now we know Rubio won't let them die in the streets either, because their medical insurance premiums will be subsidized. So that is a start. Sure it would have been nice if Rubio had taken on Cruz on that back when, and Trump's line was good I admit. Did I ever tell you I found this field of candidates particularly disappointing? I stand by my comment that the level of public discourse, when it comes to intelligent policy formation, really sucks in this country. And just in case you missed it, Britain does it much better. Britain does a lot of things better when it comes to policy formation and the legal process. So the Hobson's choice between American dysfunctional democracy and authoritarianism, whether of a benign form led by well, Torie or someone (yeah, I know, how narcissistic of me), and toxic, led by someone like Trump, is a false one. There is a Goldilocks solution here. Yeah, I know, the Goldilocks course has a zero chance of being the road taken. Sad that.

[IceSpear]

Probably the best part for Rubio was:

"I watched him repeat himself 5 times 4 weeks ago, it was a meltdown"
"I watched you repeat yourself 5 times 5 seconds ago!"

It was quite witty, and there was no way it was rehearsed, which made it even better.

"I guess there's a statute of limitations on lying" was pretty good too.

[Joe Biden is your president. Deal with it.]

You know the GOP is doomed when you find yourself siding with Rubio to take down Trump.