GOP Debate: When Is The Republican Party Debate? How Do I Watch?

NOTE: For the October 18 debate information, click here.

 

Here’s all you need to know to watch the GOP Republican Party debate!

WHEN is the debate? Tonight, Wednesday, September 7. The debate begins at 8:00 PM ET/5:00 PM PT.

HOW DO I WATCH? You can watch it right here at The New Civil Rights Movement (below) starting at 8 PM! Or, at Politico, or at MSNBC, or on MSNBC on cable TV. It will re-air on both CNBC and Telemundo.

WHERE is the debate being held? The GOP debate is being held at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California.

WHO is debating? Rick Perry, Ron Paul, Michele Bachmann, Mitt Romney, Herman Cain, Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich, and John Huntsman.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32545640

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

 

MSNBC today writes,

Officially, tonight’s NBC-Politico debate here at the Reagan Presidential Library is the fourth of the GOP presidential race. But it also represents several firsts: It’s the first debate after Labor Day; it’s the first featuring Rick Perry; it’s also the first where Perry is the GOP front-runner — and it’s the first where Mitt Romney is not. While the physical backdrop is Reagan Library, the political backdrop is a 9.1% unemployment rate, an incumbent president whose approval rating is at an all-time low, a Congress whose disapproval rating is at an all-time high, and a nation that overwhelmingly believes the country is on the wrong track.

Maggie Haberman at Politico adds,

“All eyes will be on Rick Perry, as he has become ‘Mr. August,’” said veteran GOP strategist Scott Reed, who was on Haley Barbour’s team earlier this year before the Mississippi governor opted against running.

Perry has debated before, albeit not frequently and, according to Texas-based politicos, with mixed levels of success. But an enduring question for Republican elites who are looking for a winner and are disenchanted with Romney has remained: “Can Rick Perry take a punch in a boxing ring he’s unaccustomed to?”

The potential for a gaffe is ripe. Perry could get a range of questions, from his whiff-of-violence comment about Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke to his “Ponzi scheme” rhetoric about Social Security, to his states-rights manifesto “Fed Up!” which was published just last year.

Working in Perry’s favor? It’s a multicandidate debate, and the bar for Perry has been set pretty low, given the conventional wisdom that he’s not the Great Debator and questions about his basic smarts. He may be able to stick to his playbook from past debates — memorize a message and repeat it, repeat it, repeat it.

Working against him? The rest of the candidates have met onstage at least once before to learn each other’s rhythms.

We’ll be here, watching, and tweeting!