What is this GOP Race About? S.C. Debate Shows Trump’s Outsize Role Weeks Before Opening Contest

http://democracynow.org - Republicans held their first debate in the key state of South Carolina last night. Voters head to the polls in South Carolina on February 20 in the third caucus or primary after Iowa and New Hampshire. The latest polls show front-runner Donald Trump continues to hold a commanding national lead at 33 percent—13 points ahead of his closest challenger, Texas Senator Ted Cruz. Cruz, however, has recently surged in the opening contest of Iowa, where he and Trump are now tied. With Cruz in second place, Trump has confronted his top challenger by raising questions about his eligibility to become president, because Cruz was born in Canada to a Cuban father and an American mother. We discuss Thursday’s Republican debate with two guests: Katrina vanden Heuvel, editor and publisher of The Nation magazine, and Tom Turnipseed, a self-described "reformed racist" who served as national director of segregationist Alabama Governor George Wallace’s 1968 presidential campaign, but has since become a civil rights attorney and social justice activist. Democracy Now! is an independent global news hour that airs weekdays on 1,300+ TV and radio stations Monday through Friday. Watch our livestream 8-9am ET: http://democracynow.org Please consider supporting independent media by making a donation to Democracy Now! today: http://democracynow.org/donate FOLLOW DEMOCRACY NOW! ONLINE: Facebook:   / democracynow   Twitter:   / democracynow   YouTube:    / democracynow   SoundCloud:   / democracynow   Daily Email: http://democracynow.org/subscribe Google+: https://plus.google.com/+DemocracyNow Instagram:   / democracynow   Tumblr: http://democracynow.tumblr Pinterest:   / democracynow   iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/podcast/demo... TuneIn: http://tunein.com/radio/Democracy-Now... Stitcher Radio: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/democ...