Washington Free Beacon

It wasn’t the Fantastic Four on stage but the squabbling verged on the epic as the quartet of Republican presidential candidates sans Mr. Big faced off in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The stakes were higher for the fourth and final GOP debate that Donald Trump ducked and didn’t want to take place in the first place. But his baleful spirit hovered over it.  Both Florida governor Ron DeSantis and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy looked like Trump Mini-Mes, dressed in the full Trumpian regalia — blue suit, white shirt and iridescent red tie. DeSantis talked about using the military to end the drug menace while Ramaswamy fantasized about wiping out the “administrative state” overnight.

The children, Cockburn has always believed, are the future. That’s why he was so enthused to head down to Mission Navy Yard on Thursday night to prop up the bar at a happy hour fundraiser for Matthew Foldi, who is running for the House in Maryland’s 6th district. Casting an eye around the infamous watering hole, Cockburn concluded that he might be the only attendee over thirty. Hill staffers, GOP strategists and right-of-center reporters milled around the venue, sipping on High Noon and stingy pours of draft lager. Foldi is a unique proposition of a candidate.