Another GOP Debate... Again

Feb 23rd, 2012

I didn't have the stomach to liveblog last night's angry-white-man-distortion-fest. Sullivan, whether to his credit or as a sign that he really is a masochist, did so HERE. His takeaway:

"Maybe I've lost my mind after all these debates, or maybe I secretly want him to win (because he would finally expose all the insanity that has been building in this party and needs venting). But I thought Santorum was on form tonight. My sense is that he will not lose his current momentum after tonight. I didn't feel Newt tonight. Romney doesn't wear well. Paul was great and funny and human.

But there was a winner, it seems to me. He's in the White House."

Yup.

GOP Debate Live Blog

Jan 23rd, 2012

10:00pm CST For all of Newt's chatter about being the "anti-establishment" candidate, his performance tonight was clearly geared to diffuse establishment concerns over his temperament. It's a big risk for him. The Newt as throat-slitter persona was what propelled him to such a huge victory in South Carolina and was girding his rising numbers in Florida. It will be interesting to see where those numbers go over the next few days.

Who knows what his SuperPACs and proxy fighters have planned. After all, tomorrow comes the tepid Romney tax return release which is bound to provide some fodder.

Santorum had a very good night. His composure was impeccable. Unfortunately, he is still insane. Particularly on issues of foreign policy, the man is simply dangerous.

Ron Paul proved, again, that it's unusual for a GOP contender not to beat the drums for perma-war.

As for Romney's performance, it was, above all else, just not very likable. He seems wildly unaware of how his own fortune, detachment from the ordinary citizen and, yes, Bain are going to be serious liabilities. He also forgets that while many Americans are opposed to Obama's policies, a huge majority basically does like the guy. His attacks were clumsy, ham-fisted and they drifted to the personal too often.

If he does get the eventual nomination, there's nearly no way he can win.

And that, as they say, is that.

This Morning's GOP Debate

Jan 8th, 2012

In its entirety

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

More GOP Debates... Seriously.

Jan 8th, 2012

What the heck happened last night? Where were the attacks on Romney everyone, myself included, expected? Newt Gingrich may be holding back somewhat until the rematch later this morning. However, the "not-Romneys" fought among themselves (and with Ron Paul) far more than they did with the presumptive front-runner.

I recommend Sullivan's live-blog of the event HERE and his reaction round up HERE. ABC News has a fact check worth reading HERE.

Newt was asked about his recent broadside against Romney's tenure at Bain. Romney's response is repulsive. This is going to be one of the central issues in the general election, assuming there is not a Santorum upset.

GOP Debate Live Blog

Dec 15th, 2011

10:00pm CST - The takeaway - It seems clear that, should the GOP win the White House next year, we will be going to war in Iran. There was no substantial discussion (or even any apparent understanding) of the Russia/China implications in either that equation or the deteriorating civil war in Syria. Egypt was not mentioned once. Israel is still treated by the candidates as more worthy of reverence than our own country. And, Pakistan is not even on their minds.

As I noted throughout, there was one statement only from any of the candidates that suggested they have a grasp of what it actually feels like to be an average American in this economy (Romney.) This seems not merely detached, but inhumane. I learned that Bachmann is crazier than Santorum. Huntsman is done, Paul is going to take a brand new smear any second from the AIPAC crowd and Perry may be the stupidest human being on the face of the Earth.

Grand plans? Destroy the judiciary. Economy? "Free market, blah, blah, blah." Foreign policy? "Israel first." 

Regardless of the Iowa vote, the GOP is now faced with two choices;

1. Newt Gingrich, a man who believes in one great, shining ideal... the Newt Gingrich myth of Newt Gingrich.
2. Mitt Romney, a man who really doesn't seem to believe in anything at all.

Trump's Humiliation

Dec 13th, 2011

Via the Telegraph:

"In a humiliating climb-down for a man used to getting his way, the billionaire today announced he would not moderate the debate in Iowa at the end of the month.

"It is very important to me that the right Republican candidate be chosen to defeat the failed and very destructive Obama Administration, but if that Republican, in my opinion, is not the right candidate, I am not willing to give up my right to run as an Independent candidate," he said."

Am I the only one waiting for the other shoe to drop?

Quote Of The Day - GOP Debates Edition

Nov 26th, 2011

"It is an ‘Animal House.’ It’s a food fight... Honestly, the Republican debates have become a reality show. 

People have to be perceived as being capable of governing this country, of being the leader of the free world."

-- Kenneth Duberstein, a chief of staff for President Ronald Reagan, reflecting on the GOP contenders' dumbfounding debate performances and their apparent embrace of a new anti-intellectualism.

Why I Won't Be Watching...

Nov 12th, 2011

A number of readers have asked if will be liveblogging tonight's GOP "debate." My answer is NO. Of course... no. I just can't take it anymore. BooMan explains why it's pointless:

"Voters are not learning anything by watching these debates. They're just being misinformed and presented with an alternate reality that is quite different from anything normal people experience in their lives. Unless you are immersed in right-wing talk radio and Fox News, most of what they're saying doesn't even have a passing relationship to your understanding of the world. Their statistics are fabricated. The problems they identify don't even exist. Their solutions are not plausible on any level you might want to consider. It's really a lot more like pro wrestling than actual politics. Except it's actually less entertaining than actual politics, which proves they're doing it wrong. Even Herman Cain, who was providing some consistent comedic value for a while, is no longer funny now that he's trying to explain how many women he's never harassed. I know it's hard to write about a presidential campaign if you don't watch the debates, but I just can't do it. My capacity to imbibe The Stupid has been maxed out."

The Spineless GOP Hopefuls

Sept 24th, 2011

We've now heard Republican audiences cheer for the death of the uninsured and boo a soldier serving in Iraq because he's gay. Ryan Lizza is aghast at the unwillingness on the part of the hopeful GOP candidates during the last two debates to show leadership and condemn these outbursts on the spot:

"These debates have exposed a strain of conservatism that usually only exists in liberal caricatures. My experience covering Republican politics for years is that these sentiments don’t represent the majority of G.O.P. voters, and everyone knows that political events attract some exotic characters. But I don’t recall a field of Presidential candidates—ostensibly, the top political leaders of their party—so fearful to speak out when these eruptions do occur. It’s been shameful."

It is not merely shameful, it is also inexplicable. Do these candidates actually think a plurality in America wants a President and Commander in Chief who is afraid of confronting ugly, rabble-rousing outliers in a dark room?

Perry Watch - It Should Really Be Over

Sept 23rd, 2011

The conservative consensus is that last night was a train wreck.

Some In Tea Party Audience Cheer For Death Of Uninsured

Sept 12th, 2011

It is not often that this much is learned from a hypothetical. During an exchange tonight at the "Tea Party" sponsored GOP debate, Ron Paul beat around the bush when questioned about how society should respond to a major medical crisis involving an uninsured patient. When Blitzer actually pushed for once and asked, "are you saying that society should just let him die?" someone in the audience shouted "yeah!" This shout out was well received.

This was an audience composed entirely of self-identified Tea Party members. This is the dominant force in the current GOP base. The profound lack of fundamental compassion is, itself, un-American. The Founders never conflated concepts of "individual responsibility" with outright blood lust.

"Tea Party Debate" Live Blog

Sept 12th, 2011

Final thoughts. Wolf Blitzer's moderation may have been the most weak-kneed and off point I have ever seen at such an affair. There was almost no follow up.

The GOP Debate's "7 Best Moments"

Sept 8th, 2011

via The Daily Beast:

How Crazy Was It?

Sept 8th, 2011

Last night's GOP debate was a portrait in disconnected craziness... here's proof.

GOP Debate Reactions, cont...

Sept. 7th, 2011

"The whole damn debate should have been accompanied by music on the Theremin."
-- Deborah Hayford Weiss

GOP Debate Reactions

Sept 7th, 2011

"My take-away? Perry has proved himself an extreme, inarticulate, incurious W clone. He doubled down on the vicious attacks on social security; and his rhetoric was off-key. Huntsman emerged as an actual candidate; Romney kicked ass. Bachmann is wearing thinner and thinner. Paul is Paul. Santorum is a Vatican crank. Gingrich is an angry old man. Cain has no business being up there. Perry's poor performance gives Palin an opening. And an actual argument that people can understand about economic policy did not emerge."
-- Andrew Sullivan

GOP Debate Live Blog

Sept 7th, 2011

8:50pm cst - Well, that was something. In the totality of tonight's GOP debate, precisely 2 actual, definable proposals were endorsed by any one of the eight candidates:

The absurd, reactionary and economically incompetent Balanced Budget Amendment (Perry) and the absurd, reactionary and economically incompetent Fair Tax (Cain). Again... barring a total internal meltdown by the Democratic Party, not one of these folks stands a chance.

The Continuing Decline... GOP Debate Edition

Aug 13th, 2011

More than few readers have asked me why, after live-blogging the GOP debate, I haven't done any substantial follow up? Well, frankly, I don't really know where the hell to begin.

I guess I will start here: The candidates revealed, unanimously, that they would all oppose a tax increase that was matched by cuts at a one to ten ratio. Seriously.

Kevin D. Williamson puts it better than I over at that bastion of leftist lunacy, The National Review:

"Every candidate said he would oppose a cuts-taxes plan that contained a 10:1 ratio of cuts to taxes. Chalk one up to the crazies. If Congress wanted to get rid of tax exemptions and exclusions amounting to $100 billion in new taxes in exchange for $1 trillion in tax cuts, and Republicans turned the deal down, I would personally drive down to Washington and pelt them with rotten vegetables, and possibly with rocks. $100 billion in new taxes plus $1 trillion in cuts balances the budget in 2012."

Yup. The candidates all exposed these facts:

1. They are all certifiably insane.

2. Not one of them owns a calculator.

3. Every one of them (even Paul and Huntsaman) is more afraid of tryin' to explain that fancy-book-learnin' math to their "base" than they would be to publicly accept a deal Ronald Reagan would have had to pinch himself over to ensure he was not dreaming.

It happened. Here's proof: