welcome back to hardball. in two days, the republican presidential field will take the stage for their first debate of 2016. and this time the stage will feature fewer candidates. fox business is hosting thursday night s debate in north charleston, south carolina, and the network determined the lineup by selecting the top six candidates in national polls along with anyone placing in the top five in iowa or new hampshire. and among the candidates who made the cut for the prime-time debate, donald trump will take center stage, flanked by marco rubio, ted cruz, ben carson, chris christie, jeb bush, and jeff kasich. but these new criteria sent rand paul and carly fiorina down to the undercard debate, along with mike huckabee and rick santorum. rand paul has vowed to sit out the jrnd card debate and joins me now. you represent libertarianism and