Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn.

Within six months Twitter will be fully self-driving.

Those who are easily outraged are easily manipulated.

New McCarthy, same old McCarthyism.

Today in our ongoing national embarrassment…

Innocent people do not delay justice.

Come on, media. you have one job. start doing it.

The republican caucus is covering themselves with something, and it is not glory.

The poor and middle-class pay taxes, the rich pay accountants, the wealthy pay politicians.

I like political parties that aren’t owned by foreign adversaries.

And now I have baud making fun of me. this day can’t get worse.

Peak wingnut was a lie.

Thanks to your bullshit, we are now under siege.

We need to vote them all out and restore sane Democratic government.

Stamping your little feets and demanding that they see how important you are? Not working anymore.

We’ve had enough carrots to last a lifetime. break out the sticks.

I see no possible difficulties whatsoever with this fool-proof plan.

Roe is not about choice. It is about freedom.

When someone says they “love freedom”, rest assured they don’t mean yours.

“The defense has a certain level of trust in defendant that the government does not.”

Damn right I heard that as a threat.

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires Republicans to act in good faith.

Imperialist aggressors must be defeated, or the whole world loses.

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

You are here: Home / Elections / Election 2016 / Open Thread: Another GOP Debate Tonight

Open Thread: Another GOP Debate Tonight

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Starting at 9pm, Eastern Standard Time. Kiddie table for the no-hopers (Christie and Huckabee, joining Jindal and Santorum) for an hour at 7pm, allowing the media plenty of time to file before the main event. Per Noah Weiland at Politico:

… The fourth Republican presidential debate will be Tuesday, Nov. 10, live from the Milwaukee Theatre in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The venue has a loaded history: On Oct. 14, 1912, candidate Teddy Roosevelt was shot in the chest by an assassin outside a Milwaukee hotel. Instead of heading to the hospital, he continued to the Milwaukee Auditorium (now the Milwaukee Theatre) to deliver a 90-minute campaign speech. In front of a horrified audience and with the bullet lodged in his rib, he pulled a bloodied 50-page speech with bullet holes in it from his coat pocket and declared, “It takes more than that to kill a bull moose.”…

It will air on Fox Business Network and be streamed for free on foxbusiness.com. No cable subscription is necessary. To capitalize on the ratings surges from earlier debates, FBN is also widening access to the channel for its pay-TV partners such as DirecTV. This will allow viewers who normally can’t access the network a chance to tune into the debate…

The Guardian notes that Lindsey Graham has been given the hook for underperforming, but will do his own livestream commentary.

Politico also provides full coverage of campaign dropout Scott Walker, seeking his natural level as a coat holder:

WAUKESHA, Wis. – Before Jeb Bush and Scott Walker took the stage here, clapping for one another while seated so close their knees nearly knocked, they shared a few private moments in a room just off the kitchen at La Casa de Esperanza.

Not long after, Walker met another of his former 2016 foes, Marco Rubio, at a closed-door fundraiser for the Wisconsin Assembly speaker.

It wasn’t the first time these candidates have spoken with their old rival since he exited the race in September, and it likely won’t be the last.

“It isn’t the easiest thing in the world to take on really powerful, entrenched interests,” Bush gushed of Walker at the event celebrating school choice. “This guy did it, not just in education but across the board.” Bush praised him as a “great governor” and told the families at the charter school, “I admire you, just as much as I admire Scott Walker.”

Welcome to the Scott Walker primary, where the governor’s competitors have gone from tossing barbs to bouquets….

Anybody here actually interested in watching this thing?

Reader Interactions

144Comments

  1. 1.

    Cermet

    Might be fun to watch the clown car hit its self – repeatably! Go Bushie and attack, attack, and put your own foot in your mouth for a two for one win by Hilary!

  2. 2.

    piratedan7

    any word on what the danegeld prices were to have the debate in Walker’s back yard? He’s got to pay that entourage somehow dontchaknow….

  4. 4.

    danielx

    I’m still thinking about which one is going to bite the head off a live bat on stage, a la Ozzie.

    Are we ever going to have a blogroll again?

  5. 5.

    The Golux

    I wouldn’t anyway, but my wife and I will instead be watching Rhiannon Giddens perform, which has the definite advantage of not leaving you stupider than you were going in.

  6. 6.

    JCJ

    I started my work day in Waukesha this morning. I hope the stupid didn’t permeate the air I was breathing.

  7. 7.

    Poopyman

    @danielx:

    Are we ever going to have a blogroll again?

    It’s right there on the right side above the Amazon ad. It’s now a dropdown menu.

    (Edited to correct the location)

  8. 8.

    mellowjohn

    Anybody here actually interested in watching this thing?

    think i need to schedule a root canal for tonight.

  11. 11.

    Amir Khalid

    Welcome to the Scott Walker primary, where the governor’s competitors have gone from tossing barbs to bouquets….

    Now that he’s out of the race, his erstwhile rivals can afford to be nice to the little twerp.

  13. 13.

    jl

    “Friends, I shall ask you to be as quiet as possible. I don’t know whether you fully understand that I have just been shot; but it takes more than that to kill a Bull Moose. But fortunately I had my manuscript, so you see I was going to make a long speech, and there is a bullet – there is where the bullet went through – and it probably saved me from it going into my heart. The bullet is in me now, so that I cannot make a very long speech, but I will try my best.”

  17. 17.

    ruemara

    In a word, no. But thank you for the offer and the requisite gallon of bourbon it would also require to subject myself to this.

  18. 18.

    Poopyman

    @jl: More …

    And now, friends, this incident that has just occurred – this effort to assassinate me- emphasizes to a peculiar degree the need of the Progressive movement. Friends, every good citizen ought to do everything in his or her power to prevent the coming of the day when we shall see in this country two recognized creeds fighting one another, when we shall see the creed of the “Havenots” arraigned against the creed of the “Haves.” When that day comes then such incidents as this to-night will be commonplace in our history. When you make poor men – when you permit the conditions to grow such that the poor man as such will be swayed by his sense of injury against the men who try to hold what they improperly have won, when that day comes, the most awful passions will be let loose and it will be an ill day for our country.

    And people can’t even be bothered to vote today.

  19. 19.

    jl

    ….I have altogether too important things to think of to feel any concern over my own death; and now I cannot speak to you insincerely within five minutes of being shot…
    ….Now, friends, I am not speaking for myself at all, I give you my word, I do not care a rap about being shot; not a rap…
    ….Don’t you make any mistake. Don’t you pity me. I am all right. I am all right and you cannot escape listening to the speech either.

    ….when you permit the conditions to grow such that the poor man as such will be swayed by his sense of injury against the men who try to hold what they improperly have won, when that day comes, the most awful passions will be let loose and it will be an ill day for our country.

    ….we ask all just men of generous hearts to join with the men who feel in their souls that lift upward which bids them refuse to be satisfied themselves while their countrymen and countrywomen suffer from avoidable misery. Now, friends, what we Progressives are trying to do is to enroll rich or poor, whatever their social or industrial position, to stand together for the most elementary rights of good citizenship, those elementary rights which are the foundation of good citizenship in this great Republic of ours.

    not sure intertube links are OK yet, so,
    businessinsider dot com / heres-the-famous-populist-speech-teddy-roosevelt-gave-right-after-getting-shot-2011-10

  20. 20.

    benw

    @Iowa Old Lady: the BJ comment section reaction is as close as I can get, honestly. And, yeah, much much funnier.

    @Mnemosyne (iPhone): C’mon, now. If someone offered you a stone-cold million $ to watch, you’d sit through it in a heartbeat. Everyone has a price. :)

  22. 22.

    jl

    @Poopyman: thanks for posting a key passage.

    Wonder whether we will hear anything to compare to some of the old school Republicans.
    Used to be quite a few Republican progressives. Earl Warren was one of them. Good times, eh?

  24. 24.

    elmo

    Open Thread?
    So Saturday night my German Shepherd got into a tiff with my Anatolian, who is a juvenile but beginning to feel his oats. They’ve had spats before, nothing serious. This one didn’t seem serious either, with the combatants breaking up after a minute of snarl and spit. The German Shepherd came away limping, but not much, and that’s not unusual for this kind of argument.

    A few minutes later my wife told me, calm but quick and firm, Get the dogs into the basement we are going to the vet.

    Is it bad? I asked, surprised and expecting No, not really. What I got was a quick Yes.

    Apparently his right front paw had been torn by an errant tooth, and the paw pad was avulsed almost completely off. This is not a terribly uncommon injury, because pads are soft, but it is a very very bad one, because the blood supply is poor. Emergency surgery and $2K later, we brought him home Sunday morning for strict bed rest and observation.

    Last night around 1 am, my wife went to take him out for a pee and saw that he had bled through the bandage. The smell when she went to replace it was horrific. Back to the emergency vet clinic, and evidence of rampant infection and necrosis. We put him to sleep at 3 o’clock this morning.

    It’ll sink in later, i’m sure. Right now I’m so stunned and in such a stupor from lack of sleep that I don’t feel much of anything but overwhelming sadness. He was only three and a half, and the injury was such a freak accident.

  27. 27.

    Betty Cracker

    I might watch it. If nothing else, it provides interesting insights into group dynamics to see the event live and then watch the post-event narrative take root, filtered through various ideologies and agendas. I hope very much that Rubio steps on rake after rake after rake and is then consumed with an unquenchable thirst that leads him to down his own pitcher of water, then his opponents’ and then flee the hall to plunge head-first into a city fountain. I’d hate to miss it live if something like that happened!

  29. 29.

    Poopyman

    @jl: The more things change …

    When the Republican party – not the Republican party – when the bosses in control of the Republican party, the Barneses and Penroses, last June stole the nomination and wrecked the Republican party for good and all – I want to point out to you that nominally they stole that nomination from me, but it was really from you. They did not like me, and the longer they live the less cause they will have to like me. But while they don’t like me, they dread you. You are the people that they dread. They dread the people themselves, and those bosses and the big special interests behind them made up their mind that they would rather see the Republican party wrecked than see it come under the control of the people themselves. So I am not dealing with the Republican party. There are only two ways you can vote this year. You can be progressive or reactionary. Whether you vote Republican or Democratic it does not make a difference, you are voting reactionary.

  34. 34.

    shell

    Cant believe theres another GOP debate so damn soon….when the pathetic whining over the last one still hasnt completely dissipated.
    ********
    Love that comment praising Gov. Walker going against all those ‘invested interests.’ Yeeeeesss, all those nefarious interests that are concerned with decent education, regulations to protect people, unions to provide a living wage…the man deserves a statue!

  35. 35.

    Tommy

    @Betty Cracker: I’ve not watched one of the debates. Life is too short. But the videos I see pulled from them makes me want to watch this one. It might in fact be the most interesting thing on TV. I almost want to tune in more for the undercard. These are powerful men, governors, and they are relegated to the JV card. The “kids table.” Thinking things are going to get somewhat interesting there.

  37. 37.

    beltane

    I will not watch tonight’s clown show, but I will follow every word of the liveblog here. Republican debates suck, the commentary on the Republican debates is awesome.

  38. 38.

    Elizabelle

    @elmo: I’m so sorry. He had a great life with you, although too short.

    Glad your younger Anatolian won’t know he was a factor in the older dog’s absence. Suspect he’ll miss him.

  44. 44.

    NotMax

    Couldn’t make this crap up.

    “I used to hate Darth Vader. Now I kind of feel a little bit sorry for him because I know what he went through to get to that point,” Rubio said of the iconic “Star Wars” villain during a campaign stop at St. Anselm College in New Hampshire…. Source

  45. 45.

    geg6

    @NotMax:

    Did you see the idiocy he spouted about his toy Death Star? He knows nothing about Star Wars. Nothing. He should just shut up about it.

  47. 47.

    Tommy

    @NotMax: I thought you were lying so I had to click through and found you are not. First off Darth Vadar isn’t real. Star Wars is a set of comic books and movies. But lets take it more seriously. He committed mass genocide. He blew up planets. Has Rubio even watched any of these movies?

  51. 51.

    EriktheRed

    Anybody here actually interested in watching this thing?

    Not just “No”, but “Fuck no!”

  52. 52.

    Peale

    @Betty Cracker: I don’t know. I think the narrative last time was “Rubio Wins” followed by weeks of “Rubio Surges” to produce a 2.5% gain for the great establishment hope.

    I don’t think anything different will happen this time. All media clues point to more weeks of RubioSurge reporting. Usually the media has tipped its hand by now if it has decided to change sides.

  53. 53.

    WaterGirl

    @elmo: oh my god, elmo, i am so sorry. perfectly healthy one minute, then just gone for no good reason, with no time to wrap your head around it. I have been through that and it was a nightmare. big hugs, elmo. again, i am so sorry.

  54. 54.

    Tommy

    @elmo: I am so sorry to hear that. So sorry. Putting down a pet is hard. I had a kitten get really, really sick. The vet was like all you can really do she put her out of her pain. I didn’t think it would be easy. But it was a lot harder, much harder than I ever would have guessed. Happy thought in your general direction.

  55. 55.

    Kay

    Soviet-themed anti-Elizabeth Warren ad will air during the Republican debate

    The dictator on the wall there to the left of Warren is the former Ohio attorney general, Richard Cordray.

    They should be scared of him. He’s smart and talented and it’s assumed he’ll run for governor after Kasich and win.

  56. 56.

    Peale

    @Tommy: Rubio’s mother was a slave who was inexplicably left behind as a slave while he went off to fall in love with princesses? Rubio feels tempted by a dark power to murder school children? He’s lost his legs and suffers from COPD?

  57. 57.

    Roger Moore

    @NotMax:
    I’ve been told that general viewpoint is fairly common among people who grew up with the prequels. The prequels set Vader up to be more of a tragic character who was led astray by love rather than hate, which makes his final, redemptive decision to protect Luke from the Emperor more comprehensible.

  62. 62.

    Patrick

    @elmo:

    I’m so sorry for your loss. I kind of know the feeling as we a few years ago lost a German Shepherd too. However, ours was due to illness and not as sudden as yours, which must make it harder.

  63. 63.

    Mnemosyne (iPhone)

    @elmo:

    I’m so sorry. It’s hard enough to lose them to illness, but an accident is even harder in some ways because it comes out of the blue. Don’t beat yourself up — it sounds like you guys did everything you could for him.

  65. 65.

    NotMax

    Shall be off on the monthly grocery and bill paying run during the debate circus, but looking forward to perusing the thread(s) about it afterwards.

  66. 66.

    Kay

    @Peale:

    They better narrate the ad. Ask the next hundred people you meet what the “cfpb” is- see how many know. I think you might have to go thru a couple hundred before you got to “1 person”.

    I love baffling political ads. They are my absolute favorite, because that’s an occupational hazard in that industry, right? You have to have people who aren’t absolutely marinated in this stuff who can say “excuse me, but no one will know what you’re talking about”.

  67. 67.

    Schlemazel

    @jl:
    TR set the standard, all the current candidates for the GOP nod should folow suit – take a bullet before giving another speech!

  68. 68.

    Roger Moore

    @Tommy:

    But lets take it more seriously. He committed mass genocide. He blew up planets. Has Rubio even watched any of these movies?

    Perhaps more carefully than you have. It wasn’t Vader who gave the command to blow up Alderaan; that was Tarkin. Vader actually scoffed at the idea of blowing up planets, saying it was nothing compared to the power of the force. Vader’s still a villain- the murder of the younglings in the Jedi Temple is proof enough of that- but his evil deeds tended to be done hands-on, in person rather than by giving evil orders for somebody else to carry out.

  69. 69.

    Tommy

    @Peale: Well there is a new Star Wars movie coming out and he wanted to sound hip. Like he was in the “know.” He came off sounding shit all stupid. I don’t need the person I vote for to know about Star Wars. I might geek out on it but not a thing I vote for. But he acts like he knows something when he doesn’t know what he is talking about.

  72. 72.

    Mnemosyne (iPhone)

    @lamh36:

    Because, what, wealthy people shouldn’t fight for social justice?

    I would ask that jackass if he thinks the Koch brothers and other billionaires should stay out of politics, or if it’s only wealthy liberals who aren’t allowed into the debate.

  74. 74.

    randy khan

    As mentioned in an earlier thread, the “StopHillary” password is less a brilliant troll than something a ten year old boy would do. The reporters (probably even the ones from places like the WSJ and CNBC) will just shake their heads at the stupidity of it, and only people who are political junkies will even know it happened.

  76. 76.

    NotMax

    @Roger Moore

    I’ve been told that general viewpoint is fairly common among people who grew up with the prequels.

    Rubio was 28 when The Phantom Menace was first released.

  79. 79.

    The Other Chuck

    @geg6:

    “I think I had the Death Star, but it kept breaking just like it did in part two — in ‘Empire Strikes Back’ when it blew up cause that guy got that rocket to go into that hole,” Rubio said. “Remember that?”

    The fuck, is this guy five years old?

  80. 80.

    Roger Moore

    @Mnemosyne (iPhone):

    Because, what, wealthy people shouldn’t fight for social justice?

    I think that’s the general point. They’ve been saying the same general thing- sneering about “limousine liberals” for instance- for a long time. The basic idea is that it’s somehow hypocritical for a rich person to want to help the less well off. I guess they’re supposed to spend all their money on the cause first before demanding that society at large do anything.

  81. 81.

    benw

    @WereBear: “at least a snarky friend or two.” Why stop at two when you’ve got the entire BJ comment section!

    Okay, but seriously, it’s a deal. Just send me your bank routing number, account numbers, any passwords/PINs and uh I’ll forward the $1M to your account.

  82. 82.

    redshirt

    Grand Moff Tarkin kept us safe.

    Anyone watching Marvel’s Agents of Shields? It’s so much better now then it was when it started.

    Way better then a Republican debate.

  83. 83.

    Bobby Thomson

    I would have voted for Teddy. Hell, if the alternative was Wilson I probably would have voted for Taft.

  85. 85.

    Kay

    @WaterGirl:

    It’s been fascinating to watch, because Cordray is really wonky and mild-sounding and he’s never on tv but he’s actually been really aggressive in that role and it’s like it slowly dawned on them. They were so afraid of Warren but Cordray has expanded the reach of the agency by defining terms and then applying those definitions to various financial services, and even outside “services”, like to for-profit colleges. They underestimated him. I didn’t, because consumer protection was his thing when he was an AG.

  86. 86.

    FlyingToaster

    @Iowa Old Lady: I’m with you on that.

    I’ll probably have this and the Guardian open, and flip back-n-forth.

    I won’t be able to watch the kiddie table because that’s when homework is done at Chez Toaster. And since HerrDoktor isn’t here to supervise, it looks like that will be my job. Sigh.

  87. 87.

    Chat Noir

    @elmo: I am so sorry for your loss. I know how hard it is — I lost my two cats (they were litter mates) three months apart last year.

  88. 88.

    Tommy

    @Roger Moore: Oh Roger don’t get me started on this topic. There will be a time in my life when my parents pass away, which I hope is way off in the future, and I will have more money than I can spend in a lifetime. To think I can’t stand up for a social causes because my parents might have had my back financially is just stupid. In fact I’d go as far to say people like me ought to stand up more, at some level it might be easier.

  89. 89.

    The Other Chuck

    @Roger Moore: Actually, a “limousine liberal” is one who espouses various progressive causes but shows hypocrisy the moment their comfort might be challenged. For example, someone who bemoans the plight of the homeless but fights against a supportive housing unit being built in their neighborhood. Marin county is an example of a place populated by limo libs. It’s typically a term thrown around by the left, ranging from self-deprecating snark to outright disdain.

    Mind you, it’s still better than being an active psychopath, aka a model conservative.

  90. 90.

    WaterGirl

    @Kay: I had no idea he was doing all that, either, and I’m glad to know. But I didn’t underestimate him because you told us when Cordray was first appointed that we should keep an eye on him because he is going places. I surely hope he does.

  91. 91.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @Peale:
    It absolutely baffles any GOPer 40 years or older (which is the entire decision making caste) that Communist isn’t a synonym for ‘evil’ to anybody but their own base anymore. By their world view, pointing out that a liberal icon’s positions vaguely resemble communist dogma should be a political coup. It should utterly discredit all of Warren’s ideas, turn the whole nation against Hillary, and send every other national Democratic candidate scurrying for cover.

  97. 97.

    jl

    @The Other Chuck:

    ” that guy got that rocket to go into that hole ”

    Remember, Rubio is much younger than he looks.
    Edit: or do I mean even younger than his youthful good looks.
    Anyway, he is the hep-cat kid who will appeal to the youngins and the youths.

  100. 100.

    NonyNony

    @redshirt:

    Anyone watching Marvel’s Agents of Shields? It’s so much better now then it was when it started.

    I will in fact be watching Agents of SHIELD and The Flash tonight instead of the debate. I assume that if anything newsworthy happens in the debate I will be kept informed by the Internets, but I can’t possibly watch another one of these clown shows.

    I’ll tune into the next Dem debate, but the GOP debates are finished as far as I’m concerned.

  103. 103.

    CONGRATULATIONS!

    @elmo: Paw injuries are very serious. Sounds like everything was done right, but, y’know, it’s really hard to keep dogs (and cats) from getting wounds infected. I frankly don’t know how you could avoid it with a paw injury on a German Shepherd, which is not a low-key dog by anyone’s standards.

    I have lost three dogs since 2013, one from old age, one elderly “hospice” dog I didn’t expect to take on who had been neglected just a bit too much, for far too long, to survive more than a few months, and one very young from a fracture across a growth plate, and I’d like to tell you “it gets better” but it actually doesn’t. Leaves a scar that just doesn’t go away. You go on, but you never get over missing your canine friends.

  104. 104.

    Tommy

    @lamh36: Wow. Here is the second comment in the Tweet you linked to:

    Hands up don’t shoot was crap too! Mizzou will be forever disgraced. Again, pull the funding for all that can’t pay their way!

    I have said this before and I will keep saying it as somebody that feels they know MO well. It is a racist state. The students at the University of Missouri knew this simple fact and they called the admin on it. Now all the push back.

  105. 105.

    MazeDancer

    @elmo:

    So very sorry. How horrible. Have been to the vet ER and dropped the frantic, gigantic bucks myself, so now how terrible that is. And how insane bill the least of it.

    But losing your pup after all that. Too terrible.

    Much light to you, your wife, and other doggies. Dogs will be dogs. They wouldn’t want it any other way.

    You did right by your pup. Know that.

  106. 106.

    Satby

    @elmo: oh my god, Elmo! I’m so sorry you all went through that. He knew how much you loved him and were trying to help him. It was a freak accident, but I know that doesn’t make it easier. He’s not suffering now and you have him a loving home and good life.

  107. 107.

    bemused

    I just watched Rachel Maddow’s clip of “Pastor” Kevin Swanson at his religious conference. I feel quite ill. Creepiest religious lunatic ever. He’s married with five children, home schooled of course. Those poor kids don’t have much chance of growing up normal.

    I’d watch all of both debates tonight if just one moderator asked Cruz, Huckabee and Jindal if they agree with Swanson that gays should be executed.

  109. 109.

    Tommy

    @MazeDancer:

    You did right by your pup. Know that.

    What you said. When I lost my young cat I was torn up. My friend that has 12 greyhounds told me something I will never forget. You gave her a great home. You loved her when that was lacking in her life. There is something to be said for that. Mourn, but don’t forget you did a good thing.

  113. 113.

    Calouste

    @randy khan: And Carson is fitting right in by posting “humorous” fake news stories about himself, with the logos of major news outlets:

    Ben Carson Is Posting Fake News Reports Ahead Of The GOP Debate

    Among them such comedic genius as:

    Latest: In college Ben Carson threw away a glass bottle in the “paper products only” receptacle.

    Of course, considering that the only books that Carson has ever read are the bible, medical textbooks and about half of his “auto”biography, he has never heard the advice not to pick a fight with people who buy ink by the barrel.

  114. 114.

    NotMax

    Would be a moment of passing interest (and possible RWNJ head ‘sploding) if the first question was “By show of hands only, have you ever voted for a Democrat?”

  115. 115.

    Tommy

    @FlyingToaster: LOL. I think this is just a feature of all politicians. I gave some money to Alan Grayson and I can’t for the life of me get him to stop calling and emailing me. When I used the unsubscribe link on his email he actually sent me an email saying by unsubscribing, which I didn’t seem to do since he still emails me, that I was supporting his competition.

  116. 116.

    Pogonip

    @elmo: That’s a shame they couldn’t amputate your dog’s leg. I’m sorry to hear about him. You loved him and did all you could for him.

  119. 119.

    Kay

    @Roger Moore:

    So did the liberals who insisted that CFPB would be a failure with anyone but Warren at the helm.

    I don’t think it was “chess” or whatever but it was fun to watch. Put in the quiet person who looks like an accountant and beat that Leftist Elizabeth Warren. Then Warren goes on to fame and fortune and Cordray quietly does exactly what Republicans feared, which is vastly expand the reach of that agency. Now he just has to be governor and then President! Or her. Whichever. :)

  120. 120.

    FlyingToaster

    @Tommy: She’s my senator (she was my candidate back then) and I support her, but I have an 8 year old who needs to finish her effing violin practice and not listen to me cursing out a Warren volunteer. Again.

  121. 121.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    @elmo: I am so very sorry. I can’t imagine how hard to lose one so young to a freak injury.

    They leave such big paw prints on our hearts, and mine hurts for both of yours.

  122. 122.

    WaterGirl

    @FlyingToaster: Maybe you need to borrow my phone solicitation mantra:
    “I will never make a contribution over the phone. Please take me off the list.”

    I almost NEVER get phone solicitations for the candidates I support.

  124. 124.

    randy khan

    It seems that Dinesh D’Souza has posted photos of Obama as a community organizer and Carson operating on someone with the caption “Which one is smarter?” on Facebook, followed by a note saying that Carson could have been a community organizer and Obama couldn’t have been a neurosurgeon. (A Facebook friend shared the post – I did not click through, so I can’t confirm it really is D’Souza.)

    Apparently D’Souza has forgotten about that Harvard law degree. Not to mention, of course, that the comparison actually tells you nothing at all about who is smarter. It might tell you who cares more about his fellow humans, though.

  126. 126.

    Pogonip

    In my car pool, survey says (ding!) one debate watcher and 3 non-watchers (4 if you count me). My father, a loyal O’Reilly viewer, doesn’t plan to watch either.

    I registered as a Republican a while back so I could vote in their primaries, as I was becoming alarmed at the nuttiness of their candidates and wanted to vote for the least nutty, but not enough people were doing that so I stopped. Therefore, why watch a debate that’s mainly geared towards primary voters? When the parties have selected their candidates, I may watch those debates.

  127. 127.

    ? Martin

    Tough call on this one. There’s a fine line between an gawking at a car wreck and witnessing someone burn to death. I expect this debate will sit right on that line.

  129. 129.

    Princess

    If none of you watch this debate, how am I going to be able to follow it on BJ? I was counting on you all because I’m sure not going to watch it.

  130. 130.

    Elie

    @elmo:

    My deepest, deepest, deepest condolences — not only on the loss of your baby — but the trauma of it all — the speed at which this took place and the horror of watching a being you love be too far gone to save. My heart just hurts for you… If I could hug you, you would have a huge soft warm hug plus a shoulder to lay your head and sob… I rock you in my arms figuratively tonite and hum to you a song that celebrates your good friend and the love you had… that you will always have…

  131. 131.

    TaMara (BHF)

    @elmo: Late to the thread, so I don’t know if you’ll see this, but I’m so very sorry. It seems extra hard when you’ve done everything right – vet, surgery, etc, etc, and then life happens. Hugs to you and everyone who is feeling the loss.

  132. 132.

    Elie

    @Calouste:

    Alls he is doing is disrespecting the process that exists to select the most powerful person in the world. By mocking the inquiries and those who are asking the questions — the public – US — he is mocking what we are asking him to provide to convey his preparation and character for that role. Can you imagine him in a situation with a foreign power who challenges our view of a crisis? Would he just then escalate to all out war and contempt for the opponent because they challenge him?

    This guy is a complete asshole and unworthy of even being considered to be a candidate. Someone should pose these hypotheticals to him and his ignorant supporters. They are not serious — meaning, they do not understand the nature of the role that he thinks he is being considered for and therefore must be treated with contempt .

    Carson is a pathological confabulist and narcissist. I truly hope that not only is his candidacy shattered but that his income target is blasted to hell (which I truly believe is his real goal)

  136. 136.

    Commenting at Balloon Juice since 1937

    @The Golux: I was going to ask ‘in Ithaca ‘but I see she’s playing in Hartford tonight. We would be seeing her this week but are in DC to visit the Smithsonian this week. Lucky you.

  138. 138.

    mclaren

    @redshirt:

    Anyone watching Marvel’s Agents of Shields? It’s so much better now then it was when it started.

    Season 1, except for the pilot, blew chunks. The start of Season 2 was good until they made the mistake of killing off the immortal Nazi hydra agent. But Season 3 has been excellent right out of the gate. Looks like they’ve finally figured out what the show is about (SHIELD vs Hydra + the Inhumans + other gov’t agencies) and they’re getting the scripts down.

    Clark Gregg is great. I’d watch him reading the phone book.

  139. 139.

    Keith G

    @lamh36:

    The power dynamics in a billion-dollar industry are changing

    I hope that is what is happening, but those are chickens that I wouldn’t be counting yet. The power dynamics are aren’t that helpful and solidarity will be difficult.

  142. 142.

    J R in WV

    @elmo:

    Hi Elmo,

    I’m sorry to hear about your emergency with your young dog.

    It’s hard enough with an elderly or ill dog, but when a youngster suddenly needs that final assistance, that is hard…

    I’m glad there are other dogs and people close to you for tomorrow night. Best of luck.

    Take care!

    JR

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