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    The GOP Debates: That's Entertainment

    By Ramona on Fri, 08/07/2015 - 2:38pm | Politics

    Yesterday, some 16 months before the next presidential election, the Republicans launched the first in a l-o-o-n-g series of candidate debates.  Four hours later, the second one took place.

     
    ​Because there are 17--count 'em--17 candidates already, Fox "News",the organizers of the event, decided to split the contenders into two debates.  The first one, at 5 PM EST, is being politely called "the Happy Hour" debate.  Others outside the media are calling it "the Children's Table" debate or "the Losers" debate, since the seven who polled last were relegated to a single hour in the middle of the day on a stage facing an auditorium filled with empty seats.  (They couldn't afford to hire audience members?  They couldn't use canned applause?  They couldn't at least keep the cameras from recording the sorry spectacle of a huge room devoid of real people?)

    But the seven underlings gamely assembled on stage to make their case for being accepted as likely prospects for the highest office in the land: Rick Perry, Bobby Jindal, George Pataki, Lindsey Graham, Carly Fiorina, Rick Santorum, and some guy named Gilmore, who apparently was or is a governor of some state.  They were the warm-up act for the Big Boys Show but you wouldn't know it by watching them.  Each of the seven, bless their hearts, answered the questions as if this were a serious audition for a real part.

    They all agreed that Planned Parenthood was evil and those videos, to the rest of us so clearly doctored to put PP in a bad light, proved it.  Continued government funding of that odious organization is reason enough to, yes, shut down the government!  (Jindal, Fiorina, everyone else.)

    The consensus seems to be that Carly Fiorina won the first but least debate and it must be so:  She was the first to diss Hillary and say the magic word, "Benghazi". 

    Lindsey Graham attacked the attacks on the unborn and then went on to suggest that, if he becomes president, the already born should be prepared to serve his cause in a war of his making, even to the point of losing their, um, lives.

    George Pataki says the PP tapes show "a hideous disrespect for life" but he's okay with Roe v. Wade.

    (Staying with the sex theme, in the second debate Kasich drew gasps when he said some of his best friends are gay, and if his daughter said "she was one", he'd be okay with that.)

    Rick Santorum wants to cut welfare and social programs and stick with the proven:  Trickle down.

    If the Gilmore guy said anything, I missed it.  Sorry.

    So 9 PM rolled around and the main event began.  All I can say is:  Donald Trump.  He stole the show.  First thing, he was the only one on stage who wouldn't pledge not to run as an Independent if he didn't win.  If he should win the primary, he said warmly, he would definitely run as a Republican, but if he doesn't win, he said coldly, all bets are off.  (The audience booed, but never mind--later on, when Megyn Kelly went after him over his piggish comments about women (see below), he had them at "Rosie O'Donnell".

    I so wanted to hear his answer to "If God speaks to you, what does he say?",  but before it got to him, that line of questioning morphed, oddly, into the Democrats and the VA and their terrible treatment of patients.   (No mention of the terrible treatment of the military when Republicans push for more boots on the ground while under-funding necessary , life-enhancing veterans programs.)

    Marco Rubio used his last few moments to sincerely say God has blessed the Republicans with candidates while the Dems can't even find one. 

    The night was big and there were a lot of words. Trump and Paul nearly got into a hair-pulling fight a couple of times' Huckabee and Cruz, as comics go, were second bananas to Trump. Jeb Bush was there.  They all agreed that their goal was to do in the Democrats and eliminate every single program or policy put in place during Obama's eight years. (Which should have sounded scary but didn't for some reason.) 

    But clear winners?  You're asking the wrong person.  I'm a Democrat; they're Republicans.  I don't care.  I only came for the laughs.

    More on the show:

    From Vanity Fair,  The 14 Wildest Moments.

    Trump says of course he won the debate!

    National Memo calls it The Debate The Republicans Deserved.

    What Megyn Kelly said to Trump.  What Trump said to Megyn Kelly.  Priceless. 
    Topics: 
    Politics

    Comments

    I am trying to stop laughing at the "Hell is empty and all the devils are here,"  quotes.  

    You are right is was entertainment.  

    To be honest, I am embarrassed with the spectacle.  It was like hanging out all our dirty laundry for the whole world to look at. It was just plain shameful and sad. The world gets to slowly drive by an ugly, nasty train wreck that our politics has become. 


    by trkingmomoe on Fri, 08/07/2015 - 3:16pm

    I might be embarrassed if we all were on the same side.  As it is, I'm thrilled that they're out there talking.  These pre-primary events are a never-ending source of hilarity.  I almost wish they would never stop.


    by Ramona on Fri, 08/07/2015 - 3:26pm

    And apparently Trump got shit-faced afterwards and spent the night tweeting and retweeting slams against Megyn Kelly. So classy. If that ass wins, I may have to stop traveling abroad for awhile. I'll be too embarrassed to leave the country.

    I'm wanting to believe that the repubs know they can't win, so are trying to figure out who will be the sacrificial lamb, but seriously, I think this is the best they've got. Is that not a completely frightening thought? This is the best that one of the two major parties has to offer. WTF?


    by stillidealistic on Fri, 08/07/2015 - 7:51pm

    Perhaps what Driftglass calls the bigots, racists, snake handlers and Uncle Libertys at the rotten core of the GOP Base know Republicans will never win in 2016.

    Trump will provide loads of no holds barred politically incorrect in-your-face campaign entertainment as long as he lasts. Looking forward to that 'reality' show, they love his candidacy.

    Idealism shouldn't forestall facing the reality that for far too many, that is what elections, government and democracy itself has become.


    by NCD on Sat, 08/08/2015 - 9:44am

    I have a few friends outside the country that I met on line way back when google had groups. I received a few emails this morning, wanting to know if this country was having a nervous break down. They were able to watch the Fox videos  and clips of the mess. People in other countries do pay attention to us. It is embarrassing.  

    One lives Australia and she was here in the fall of 2008 for a quilt show. She fell in love with Obama and bought USA 4th of July party favors and supplies to take home.  She had an election breakfast party and watched the returns at home with friends.  She did it again in in 2012. Her reaction to the debate was "OMG!!!!"  I had to tell that most of them would be gone after the first primary.  Also the good guys would be debating starting in Oct. 

    Obama and Hillary are both very well liked internationally. 


    by trkingmomoe on Sat, 08/08/2015 - 12:29am

    Kasich may be the only Republican in the bunch who is not a loon or a corrupt huckster, which means he has no chance, NYT Krugman:

    Until now, however, leading Republicans have generally tried to preserve a facade of respectability, helping the news media to maintain the pretense that it was dealing with a normal political party. What distinguishes Mr. Trump is not so much his positions as it is his lack of interest in maintaining appearances. And it turns out that the party’s base, which demands extremist positions, also prefers those positions delivered straight. Why is anyone surprised?


    by NCD on Sat, 08/08/2015 - 9:51am

    We have had 20+ years of this thinly veiled mean nastiness that started in earnests with Newt G. How much of this is now pushing away voters from the GOP?  Yes there is a segment of the population that loves this kind of stuff.

    There is a criticism that has taken hold about Democratic Party holding debates after some states voter registration is closed.  They are ignoring the opportunity to pick up voters that are frustrated with the GOP and the way congress is filled with loons. 

    Portland is expecting 15,000 to turn out for Sanders this weekend. He is not drawing only from the Democratic voter base to his rallies. He is looking for ways to connect with voters but the DNC only looking for money.  Maybe I am wrong that debates really don't matter that much. 


    by trkingmomoe on Sat, 08/08/2015 - 2:13pm

    Loved the way crazy Cruz said he would undo absolutely everything Obama has done in 8 years.

    No manager of any kind of business, clinic, organization or military unit, would venture to try to 'undo' every executive policy in effect at the time of accession to replace the management.

    I don't think Cruz could effectively run a lemonade stand, nonetheless the country.


    by NCD on Fri, 08/07/2015 - 8:21pm

    Thank you for the links Ramona, I read all of them.

    A lot more repetition on the web of course.

    This Erik Erikson banning Trump from his Conservative Forum is fun, fun fun....

    Trump is one pissed off guy, and I love it.

    I mean I have despised donald for decades. hhahahah

    THIS IS GOING TO BE FUN.


    by Richard Day on Sat, 08/08/2015 - 2:38pm

    He displays the purest form of narcissism.  Everything he's done since he announced disqualifies him as a "servant of the people".  But more than that, it opens doors to who he really is.  What's inside ain't pretty.  It won't be long before everybody agrees that he stunk up the place long enough.  Lol.


    by Ramona on Sat, 08/08/2015 - 6:49pm

    Man, that's some ugly stuff. It makes the Kardashians look reassuringly sensible.

    I'm partly amused and partly appalled. The post-debate circular firing squad is like the old joke about the Democrats.

    I've wondered for years now if the frictions within the Republican coalition were eventually going to lead to a Chicago-1968-style event for them. I'd gradually given up expecting that, but now it's starting to look like a real, and maybe even an imminent, possibility.

    But I don't actually want to see that happen in my town.


    by Doctor Cleveland on Sat, 08/08/2015 - 10:05pm

    The nice thing about the Kardashians is that so far none of them have given a thought to running for public office.  I can completely ignore them with no ill effects.  These other bozos, on the other hand, want to make life more difficult for most of us than it already is.  So if a circular firing squad is imminent I want to be on the sidelines not rooting for any of them.


    by Ramona on Sun, 08/09/2015 - 2:07pm

    I too have wondered if we would see a 1968 event with in the GOP.  They do seem to be falling a part in places. All that money has kept them in office long after the country has moved on. 


    by trkingmomoe on Sun, 08/09/2015 - 9:44pm

    Jeb Bush praised Erik Erikson for banning Donald Trump from the RedState Conference as being on the side of women. here is commentary from feminist male Erikson.

    • Erickson: “When You Look At Biology, Look At The Natural World … The Male Is Typically The Dominant Role.”
    • Erickson: “Kids Most Likely Will Do Best In Households Where They Have A Mom At Home Nurturing Them While Dad Is Out Bringing Home The Bacon.”
    • Erickson: “I Understand That Some Women Believe They Can Have It All, And That’s The Crux Of The Problem.”
    • Erickson Called Michelle Obama A “Marxist Harpy Wife.”
    • Erickson: “There Is No Reason” For Anyone To Study Women Or Gender In College “Unless They Want To Be A Professional Victim.”
    • Erickson Described First Night Of Democratic National Convention As “The Vagina Monologues.”

     http://oliverwillis.com/2015/08/08/jeb-bush-praises-woman-bashing-pundit/

    Erikson is as much of a misogynist as Donald Trump. Erikson is simply a political opportunist.


    by rmrd0000 on Sun, 08/09/2015 - 2:26pm

    The word 'hypocrisy' means so little these days, although you can read Plato or Plutarch and come to the same conclusion. hahahah

    Erick is a prick.

    Donald, of course is a prick. hahahah

    Evidently Erick received some call from Ailes. hahaha

    See it is hard not to laugh.

    Erick has said such rotten things about Women, about America, about the poor....

    I just wonder how these peeps who listen to this crap figure it out.

    Well, of course, the audience can never figure it out. hahahah


    by Richard Day on Mon, 08/10/2015 - 11:33pm

    I took a peek the other day at Red State right after the son of Erick told Trump not to come to his event.  He had some very unhappy readers.  After all, he had helped plant the crazy seeds in the GOP garden that grew the crazy Turnip.   I have to admit the comments were entertaining but sad. 


    by trkingmomoe on Tue, 08/11/2015 - 6:27pm

    I did the same thing, and was surprised by all the comments in support of disinviting Trump. Many felt he had crossed the line of decency, which coming from Red State readers was rather amusing.


    by barefooted on Tue, 08/11/2015 - 6:42pm

    A fun little nugget about the guy who asked the Facebook question about God. Fox apparently poured through "thousands" of submitted questions before choosing just the right one - did anyone bother to check out the FB users profile?


    by barefooted on Tue, 08/11/2015 - 4:49pm

    hahahahahahahhah

    Oh gooooooooood. They chose a NAZI. hahahahahahah

    Is not propaganda great? hahahahah

    Pick and choose.

    A great link by the way. I never saw it


    by Richard Day on Tue, 08/11/2015 - 5:03pm

    He admitted he has been treated for mental illness, twice.  No you don't get to join the military with mental issues even with out a tattoo. 


    by trkingmomoe on Tue, 08/11/2015 - 6:32pm