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

Debate Open Thread

by John Cole|  December 19, 20158:33 pm| 310 Comments

This post is in: Election 2016

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We’re live. I thought it started at 9.

ETA: Guardian liveblog here.

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Previous Post: « Shooting Simulations: What Do They Tell Us
Next Post: More Debate Open Thread »

Reader Interactions

310Comments

  1. 1.

    Omnes Omnibus

    December 19, 2015 at 8:35 pm

    Burlap?

  2. 2.

    NotMax

    December 19, 2015 at 8:35 pm

    Ho hum.

  3. 3.

    Baud

    December 19, 2015 at 8:36 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: It’s cold in New Hampshire.

  4. 4.

    I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet

    December 19, 2015 at 8:36 pm

    MOM had a good opening statement, but he also said “the first job of the president is to keep us safe” nonsense.

    Grr…

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  5. 5.

    Thoughtful Today

    December 19, 2015 at 8:36 pm

    There are sharp difference between the Democratic candidates _on_stage_.

    Hopefully they’ll be articulated.

  6. 6.

    amk

    December 19, 2015 at 8:37 pm

    “We’re live. I thought it started at 9.”

    doing heckuva job, dnc.

  7. 7.

    Baud

    December 19, 2015 at 8:38 pm

    @amk: The DNC probably stole Cole’s mustard too.

  8. 8.

    RaflW

    December 19, 2015 at 8:38 pm

    So of course the lead-off is the data breach.

  9. 9.

    Baud

    December 19, 2015 at 8:39 pm

    @RaflW: Of course.

  10. 10.

    Thoughtful Today

    December 19, 2015 at 8:39 pm

    Opening statements:

    A+ for both Hillary and Bernie.

    As a Bernie supporter I appreciated Bernie’s specifics.

    Hillary’s style tonight is exceptional.

    B- for Martin, great speech, awkwardly given.

  11. 11.

    Omnes Omnibus

    December 19, 2015 at 8:40 pm

    @RaflW: FFS.

  12. 12.

    Thoughtful Today

    December 19, 2015 at 8:41 pm

    Yes, I’ve been thinking exactly this:

    Lets have a full investigation.

  13. 13.

    Adam L Silverman

    December 19, 2015 at 8:41 pm

    Senator Sanders has just very graciously apologized. And Secretary Clinton is accepting. The media is going to be pissed.

  14. 14.

    Adam L Silverman

    December 19, 2015 at 8:42 pm

    @efgoldman: Did you get on the wrong bus in Miami Beach again?

  15. 15.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    December 19, 2015 at 8:42 pm

    Martin’s pissing his pants.

  16. 16.

    Frankensteinbeck

    December 19, 2015 at 8:42 pm

    @efgoldman:
    No, that’s it, up on stage! Personally, I would have hired a clown, but I don’t blame the boy’s parents. Trump is demanding part of the take just to show up, these days.

  17. 17.

    Amir Khalid

    December 19, 2015 at 8:42 pm

    Why do they bother with opening statements from the candidates? How does a recital of campaign boilerplate tell the voter anything useful? Harrumph.

  18. 18.

    Baud

    December 19, 2015 at 8:43 pm

    O’Malley has a script and by gum he’s going to give it.

  19. 19.

    dmsilev

    December 19, 2015 at 8:43 pm

    Martin O’Malley seems to have not actually listened to what Sanders and Clinton just said.

  20. 20.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    December 19, 2015 at 8:43 pm

    @Adam L Silverman: Agreed, both handled it well.

  21. 21.

    Thoughtful Today

    December 19, 2015 at 8:44 pm

    lol,

    ‘bickering’?

    Not on stage. Yet.

    Someone opened a canned speech too early.

  22. 22.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    December 19, 2015 at 8:44 pm

    @Baud: They may need the custodial staff on call by O’Malley’s podium.

  23. 23.

    jl

    December 19, 2015 at 8:44 pm

    @Adam L Silverman:

    ” Senator Sanders has just very graciously apologized. And Secretary Clinton is accepting. The media is going to be pissed. ”

    And the media don’t forgive, they get even.
    Though, these moderators seem to be moving on, thank goodness. Might be an OK debate.

  24. 24.

    dmsilev

    December 19, 2015 at 8:44 pm

    Q: “Should we shit our pants in fear, or is pissing our pants sufficient?”

  25. 25.

    Amir Khalid

    December 19, 2015 at 8:45 pm

    @Adam L Silverman:
    Bernie’s a far better person than some of his campaign staff and supporters. So I have a scenario to put before the latter: Hillary wins the nom. Bernie endorses Hillary. What do you do?

  26. 26.

    I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet

    December 19, 2015 at 8:45 pm

    Hillary won’t be denied the universal sound bite that the President must keep the US and American families safe!

    (grumble)

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  27. 27.

    Omnes Omnibus

    December 19, 2015 at 8:45 pm

    Homeland? Fucking stop saying that.

  28. 28.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    December 19, 2015 at 8:46 pm

    @dmsilev: My sewer isn’t working, I don’t have a choice.

  29. 29.

    jl

    December 19, 2015 at 8:46 pm

    @dmsilev:

    “Should we shit our pants in fear, or is pissing our pants sufficient?”

    Not both? What kind of half-ass national security policy are you advocating? You are weak.

  30. 30.

    Bill E Pilgrim

    December 19, 2015 at 8:46 pm

    Martin O’Malley is getting awfully worked up and self-righteous for someone who’s decided that OMG we’re all going to die a la Lindsey Graham is his main message.

    Also this ABC stream is barely functional, stuttering and stopping for minutes at a time. Since it’s the only way i can watch, I probably won’t last long.

  31. 31.

    RaflW

    December 19, 2015 at 8:46 pm

    @Adam L Silverman: And the panel has moved on. Hurrah!

  32. 32.

    dmsilev

    December 19, 2015 at 8:47 pm

    “Very first Post-9/11 Mayor”?

  33. 33.

    Thoughtful Today

    December 19, 2015 at 8:47 pm

    Did Hillary just say the equivalent of, ‘no encryption for you!’?

  34. 34.

    Baud

    December 19, 2015 at 8:48 pm

    It’s early, but it’s O’Malley’s worst debate so far.

  35. 35.

    Baud

    December 19, 2015 at 8:48 pm

    @Thoughtful Today: No.

  36. 36.

    Adam L Silverman

    December 19, 2015 at 8:48 pm

    @Amir Khalid: You asking me specifically? I do either do work on civilian mobilization orders for the US government via the US military or as a contractor. I do not discuss my political affiliations or who I will or will not vote. I will, when I receive my ballot, vote accordingly and secretly.

    If you’re asking what I would recommend to either’s supporters? If they think that electing either Secretary Clinton or Senator Sanders is important to prevent electing one of the GOP candidates, then they should vote for whoever the nominee is.

  37. 37.

    raven

    December 19, 2015 at 8:50 pm

    @Adam L Silverman: Sounds like you did a little time as a diplomat!

  38. 38.

    dmsilev

    December 19, 2015 at 8:51 pm

    @Baud: He’s obviously decided to go one-note scare scare scare. Not sure why, though I suppose it can’t really lose him support.

  39. 39.

    Baud

    December 19, 2015 at 8:51 pm

    Hillary sticks to her guns on guns!

  40. 40.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    December 19, 2015 at 8:52 pm

    @dmsilev: It’d play better across the aisle.

  41. 41.

    jl

    December 19, 2015 at 8:53 pm

    Sanders didn’t really answer the question about homeland attacks. A little over-rehearsed like O’Malley. Or under rehearsed. Let’s see if HRC will be (as I expect) quicker on her feet than the others.

    I really don’t like the way these debates are moderated. No follow-up when candidates don’t answer question. And my man Bernie (well, I threw the old coot 50 bucks) didn’t answer a question I would like have heard his thoughts about.

    OK, I think Sanders did get a kind of follow-up, but now he is pumping out his stump speech bit on gun control.
    Bernie, WTF are your thoughts on how to stop homegrown terrorist attack? Yeesh.

    Edit: I prefer a real debate where all the candidates get a shot at the same question and they each get pointed follow-ups if they don’t respond, and they can respond to each other’s answers to the same questions. Do the media people understand what a debate is? FFS.

  42. 42.

    Adam L Silverman

    December 19, 2015 at 8:54 pm

    @raven: Not formally. I’m not trained to do so, nor have I ever worked for the State Department. However, I have had to lead engagements on behalf of my commander in Iraq, as well as deal with VIPs.

    As to how I deal with my own voting/political stuff: I always vote, but I have to do the work I do regardless of who is President or running Congress or the DOD or DOS. I don’t ever agree with any of them on everything.

  43. 43.

    dmsilev

    December 19, 2015 at 8:54 pm

    @BillinGlendaleCA: He’s not nearly frothing enough for the GOP.

  44. 44.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    December 19, 2015 at 8:54 pm

    Way to go, O’Malley, piss off the moderators.

  45. 45.

    RaflW

    December 19, 2015 at 8:54 pm

    How many Red Bulls has O’Malley had?

  46. 46.

    max

    December 19, 2015 at 8:54 pm

    I can’t tell what the fuck is going on because DWS has embargoed my ABC feed.

    max
    [‘Actually, I think she stole Cole’s mustard and then lost it.’]

  47. 47.

    Amir Khalid

    December 19, 2015 at 8:55 pm

    @Adam L Silverman:
    Well, not you specifically, but to the die-hard Bernistas who seem at least as horrified by the idea of President Hillary as by the idea of President Republican-from-2016-Klown-Kar.

  48. 48.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    December 19, 2015 at 8:55 pm

    @dmsilev: He’s got the wet pants.

  49. 49.

    Thoughtful Today

    December 19, 2015 at 8:55 pm

    O’Malley’s out the gate!

  50. 50.

    raven

    December 19, 2015 at 8:55 pm

    @Adam L Silverman: When I came home from Vietnam I was 2 months shy of my 20th birthday and the voting age was 21. I haven’t missed an election since I became eligible.

  51. 51.

    Baud

    December 19, 2015 at 8:56 pm

    @RaflW:

    All of them, Katie.

  52. 52.

    dmsilev

    December 19, 2015 at 8:56 pm

    No gold star for O’Malley in today’s class.

  53. 53.

    raven

    December 19, 2015 at 8:56 pm

    @max: Cowboys 3 Jets O 8:42 in the first.

  54. 54.

    jl

    December 19, 2015 at 8:56 pm

    There is kind of real debate now, but all of it is AGAINST THE STUPID RULES.

    Sorry for CAPS, but our media sucks so bad.

  55. 55.

    Poopyman

    December 19, 2015 at 8:57 pm

    @dmsilev:

    though I suppose it can’t really lose him support.

    Yes it can. And will.

  56. 56.

    Thoughtful Today

    December 19, 2015 at 8:57 pm

    Now, now, Amir, Hillary’s obviously the best Republican in the country.

    Hands down.

  57. 57.

    Baud

    December 19, 2015 at 8:57 pm

    @raven: The Jets are doing better than O’Malley.

  58. 58.

    Another Holocene Human

    December 19, 2015 at 8:59 pm

    @efgoldman: I was friends with a Rabinowitz in high school. She kicked my ass academically. Would that name mean, by interpretation, “son of the rabbi”?

  59. 59.

    Frankensteinbeck

    December 19, 2015 at 8:59 pm

    @efgoldman:
    You know what they say, ‘Da mihi, sis, plus salmonis fumosi.’

  60. 60.

    max

    December 19, 2015 at 9:00 pm

    You can go to iheartradio and listen to a radio feed from a station in Cleveland if the ABC TV feed sucks.

    max
    [‘Are these moderators really terrible or what?’]

  61. 61.

    Another Holocene Human

    December 19, 2015 at 9:00 pm

    @Frankensteinbeck: Heyyyyy, that’s not Ladino.

  62. 62.

    raven

    December 19, 2015 at 9:00 pm

    @Adam L Silverman: Actually my comment was a compliment on your answer!

  63. 63.

    dmsilev

    December 19, 2015 at 9:01 pm

    Countdown to foaming-at-the-mouth Trump tweet in 10…9…8…

  64. 64.

    Amir Khalid

    December 19, 2015 at 9:01 pm

    @Poopyman:
    O’Malley has to have support in order to lose it.

    @Thoughtful Today:
    Bernie knows Hillary to be better than that, and he thinks more highly of her than you do.

  65. 65.

    max

    December 19, 2015 at 9:02 pm

    So basically this is a Hillary for America thing but they let O’Malley and Sanders show up?

    max
    [‘OK.’]

  66. 66.

    Another Holocene Human

    December 19, 2015 at 9:02 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    Homeland? Fucking stop saying that.

    I loathe that term as well. Good god, quit that shit.

  67. 67.

    Yutsano

    December 19, 2015 at 9:02 pm

    OH FFS BERNIE!!! You just totally IGNORED a foreign policy question!

  68. 68.

    Baud

    December 19, 2015 at 9:02 pm

    Raise the minimum wage to fight terrorism.

  69. 69.

    Baud

    December 19, 2015 at 9:03 pm

    @Another Holocene Human: Thirded.

  70. 70.

    Thoughtful Today

    December 19, 2015 at 9:03 pm

    Yup, Pres Bush gets credit for taking his shoes off in the Mosque.

    Noteworthy.

    …

    Seems like a pretty low bar.

  71. 71.

    Baud

    December 19, 2015 at 9:03 pm

    Ok. Now an encryption question.

  72. 72.

    Another Holocene Human

    December 19, 2015 at 9:04 pm

    @Bill E Pilgrim: I found out this other mayor, Antanas Mockus, makes Martin O’Malley look like a sad runner up in the game of mayors.

  73. 73.

    RaflW

    December 19, 2015 at 9:04 pm

    Martha Raddatz just humiliated O’Malley. But in fairness to Raddatz, he begged for it. This “I gotta speak, here” schtick makes some sense in the GOP debate with almost two fistfuls of candidates. But there are 3 on this stage.

  74. 74.

    Adam L Silverman

    December 19, 2015 at 9:04 pm

    @RaflW: A six pack and a case of Monster energy drinks too!

  75. 75.

    Omnes Omnibus

    December 19, 2015 at 9:05 pm

    “Maybe the back door is the wrong door?” My inner 13 y/o just giggled his ass off.

  76. 76.

    Adam L Silverman

    December 19, 2015 at 9:05 pm

    @Amir Khalid: I think that if they think that electing either Secretary Clinton or Senator Sanders is important or necessary to prevent electing one of the GOP candidates from being elected, then they should vote for whoever the nominee is.

  77. 77.

    CaseyL

    December 19, 2015 at 9:06 pm

    @Baud: I thought Bernie made a good point, but too obliquely. People are under tremendous economic stress, which mean they’re more likely to strike out at easy targets, and more responsive to demagogues. That is a truth of human psychology.

    People are “scared of terrorism” – more than they should be – because it’s an external, easily defined threat.

  78. 78.

    Baud

    December 19, 2015 at 9:06 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: :-)

  79. 79.

    Baud

    December 19, 2015 at 9:07 pm

    @CaseyL:

    I agree with his point, but it was too oblique an answer.

  80. 80.

    Adam L Silverman

    December 19, 2015 at 9:07 pm

    @raven: Ahhh, okay. I’m tracking now.

  81. 81.

    Amir Khalid

    December 19, 2015 at 9:08 pm

    @Adam L Silverman:
    @Thoughtful Today:
    Thoughtful Today is here, let’s ask him what he’ll do.

  82. 82.

    jl

    December 19, 2015 at 9:08 pm

    @RaflW: Not for O’Malley, but I sympathize with him, I hate this kind of format. They all should get a shot to answer the same questions.

    Gosh, if only a competent independent disinterested non-profit civic group existed that had expertise in elections and democratic process and that could put on these debates…. Naw, that is crazy talk.

    Edit: Huh, audo cut out for a minute. Did MOM get a crack at the Trump question? I hope so.

  83. 83.

    Baud

    December 19, 2015 at 9:09 pm

    @jl:

    They all should get a shot to answer the same questions.

    Agree. I don’t like it either.

  84. 84.

    Mike J

    December 19, 2015 at 9:10 pm

    The Comcast on screen guide refers to the “Democrat” debate. To be fair, the extended info talks about the Democratic debate, but it still makes them look illiterate.

  85. 85.

    Adam L Silverman

    December 19, 2015 at 9:10 pm

    I got to say that the ABC feed on my cable TV is glitchy as well.

  86. 86.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    December 19, 2015 at 9:11 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: Sometimes, the back door can be fun.

    ETA: At least from what I’ve heard.

  87. 87.

    Omnes Omnibus

    December 19, 2015 at 9:12 pm

    @Mike J: Charter is the same.

  88. 88.

    max

    December 19, 2015 at 9:12 pm

    What the fsck kind of rules are these? (Keeping in mind about 3 minutes of the first 30 minutes of the debate.)

    max
    [‘Weird.’]

  89. 89.

    Anoniminous

    December 19, 2015 at 9:12 pm

    @efgoldman:

    That’s interesting. Does the name Freie Arbeiter Stimme ring any bells?

  90. 90.

    jl

    December 19, 2015 at 9:12 pm

    Audo feed is better. Go to the radio

    http://www.kfiam640.com/photos/photos-that-rock/the-many-faces-of-donald-trump-441095/

  91. 91.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    December 19, 2015 at 9:14 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: DirecTV seems OK.

  92. 92.

    Mike J

    December 19, 2015 at 9:14 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    Charter is the same.

    Probably came from ABC then.

  93. 93.

    Thoughtful Today

    December 19, 2015 at 9:15 pm

    Martha, Martha, Martha!

    I’m shaking my head disapprovingly.

  94. 94.

    gwangung

    December 19, 2015 at 9:15 pm

    @BillinGlendaleCA: But only if it mutually agreed upon….

  95. 95.

    beltane

    December 19, 2015 at 9:16 pm

    I really can’t watch this. Instead, I’ll sit here drinking my cheap wine from Trader Joe’s and let you guys watch.

  96. 96.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    December 19, 2015 at 9:16 pm

    @gwangung: Of course.

  97. 97.

    Baud

    December 19, 2015 at 9:17 pm

    @beltane: You’re not missing much. No clowns make for more boring TV.

  98. 98.

    jl

    December 19, 2015 at 9:17 pm

    I think Raddatz is pestering Sanders on a issue that has already been discussed.

    Now Raddatz is asking HRC a question with a doubtful premise, and a premise which contradicts the premise of her previous question to Sanders. Which I suppose is OK in a debate, but in the middle of the answers she has been interjecting the premise as a matter of obvious fact.

    I don’t know much about Raddatz. Right now she is tendentiously gotcha-ing. Good on HRC for calling her on it.

  99. 99.

    RaflW

    December 19, 2015 at 9:18 pm

    @jl: OK, now that I’m tracking more, this is a stupid format. Each of the three should get a chance to engage each question. Even if just a 30 second rebuttal.

  100. 100.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    December 19, 2015 at 9:18 pm

    @jl: HRC called her on it.

  101. 101.

    Thoughtful Today

    December 19, 2015 at 9:19 pm

    …

    Disney Channel sure sounds like it wants a war.

    I fear for Agrabah.

  102. 102.

    Another Holocene Human

    December 19, 2015 at 9:20 pm

    @Adam L Silverman: Four Loko, my friends.

  103. 103.

    Thoughtful Today

    December 19, 2015 at 9:20 pm

    “I’ll sit here drinking my cheap wine from Trader Joe’s and let you guys watch.”

    Damn’t! I knew I missed something on the shopping list!

  104. 104.

    jl

    December 19, 2015 at 9:20 pm

    @Thoughtful Today: Yeah, I’m waiting for the Agrabah gotcha national security question.

  105. 105.

    Mike J

    December 19, 2015 at 9:21 pm

    @Thoughtful Today: You should have feared for them yesterday when there was a front page post about it.

  106. 106.

    Another Holocene Human

    December 19, 2015 at 9:21 pm

    @efgoldman: That’s kind of rough.

  107. 107.

    Adam L Silverman

    December 19, 2015 at 9:21 pm

    Yeesh, now its so glitchy I’m getting about every other word

  108. 108.

    Baud

    December 19, 2015 at 9:22 pm

    Bernie’s forcing his stump speech note.

  109. 109.

    beltane

    December 19, 2015 at 9:22 pm

    @Baud: The ABC team was giving me horrible flashbacks to that awful debate in 2008.

  110. 110.

    CaseyL

    December 19, 2015 at 9:22 pm

    @Adam L Silverman: Is everyone watching on-line? Y’know, watching on TV works pretty well. I’m watching on the network channel. No skips, drops, or pixilations.

  111. 111.

    Adam L Silverman

    December 19, 2015 at 9:22 pm

    @Another Holocene Human: As long as its not that bath salts stuff. Though if it is, I’m okay if he eats the news media people in the room.

  112. 112.

    Adam L Silverman

    December 19, 2015 at 9:23 pm

    @CaseyL: I’m watching on the network channel too.

  113. 113.

    Doug R

    December 19, 2015 at 9:23 pm

    Took the family to star wars; the force mehwakens

  114. 114.

    Baud

    December 19, 2015 at 9:23 pm

    @CaseyL: I’m watching TV. It’s fine.

  115. 115.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    December 19, 2015 at 9:23 pm

    @Adam L Silverman: Mine does too, but it was just Bernie’s cadence.

  116. 116.

    Baud

    December 19, 2015 at 9:24 pm

    The moderators are overly focused on Clinton. Need to share the time better.

  117. 117.

    Botsplainer

    December 19, 2015 at 9:24 pm

    So what is longtime independent socialist, not Democrat Bernie doing with his contributions besides designing memes with surly snarls and organizing crusades to oust the entirety of the leadership and activist base of the DNC?

    Is any of that money being used productively?

  118. 118.

    Mike J

    December 19, 2015 at 9:25 pm

    @CaseyL: I’m on my second Manhattan. Pixilation problems are just starting to occur.

  119. 119.

    jl

    December 19, 2015 at 9:25 pm

    OK, Sanders wading in with real debate with HRC on foreign policy, with reasons, and overall long run strategic implications that are important. Kind of an important issue to discuss in an election.

    He is doing this against the rules I think, so he is naughty.

    Well, looks like the candidates want to have a real debate. What would happen if the candidates told the moderators STFU so they could have a real debate?

    Edit: OK, Pretty Boy Muir noticed there is some daylight between Sanders and HRC. Gawd he is a brilliant journalist. Glad he is here to explain the debate to me and then jump in and interfere with it.

    Edit2: OK, I admit Muir clarified the debate a little I will try to put my spleen aside for a moment.

  120. 120.

    Baud

    December 19, 2015 at 9:26 pm

    @Botsplainer: He’s investing in good ground game.

  121. 121.

    Anoniminous

    December 19, 2015 at 9:26 pm

    @efgoldman:

    Could have been. The FAS was the Yiddish language Anarchist paper of the period. I knew one of the editors back in the Day and if he was living in or around NYC and active I could have met your grandfather.

  122. 122.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    December 19, 2015 at 9:26 pm

    @Mike J: So you’re watching Japanese, eh, videos?

  123. 123.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    December 19, 2015 at 9:27 pm

    O’Malley’s “different generation” quip wasn’t well received.

  124. 124.

    RaflW

    December 19, 2015 at 9:27 pm

    O’Malley would be a useful member of a Dem cabinet. That’s about it. Zzzzzzzzzzzzz.

  125. 125.

    Oatler.

    December 19, 2015 at 9:28 pm

    @Thoughtful Today: Adding to Cupcake Wars, Cake Wars, Parking Lot Wars, Drug Wars, Treehouse Wars…

  126. 126.

    Adam L Silverman

    December 19, 2015 at 9:28 pm

    I would pay good money for the League of Women Voters to be back in charge of the debates!

  127. 127.

    Omnes Omnibus

    December 19, 2015 at 9:28 pm

    Gleeful?

  128. 128.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    December 19, 2015 at 9:29 pm

    @Adam L Silverman: I agree.

  129. 129.

    CaseyL

    December 19, 2015 at 9:29 pm

    @Mike J: Those are some serious Manhattans :)

    A couple more, and the tall invisible talking rabbit will come visiting.

  130. 130.

    dmsilev

    December 19, 2015 at 9:29 pm

    @BillinGlendaleCA: He’s flailing. I sort of assumed he was running as a sort of job interview for a Cabinet post or possibly VP, but this seems like a strange way to go about it.

  131. 131.

    Baud

    December 19, 2015 at 9:29 pm

    @Adam L Silverman: I’d settle for the Justice League.

  132. 132.

    jl

    December 19, 2015 at 9:30 pm

    @Adam L Silverman: A fairly informative debate is breaking out despite the moderators and the stupid rules.

    If the media would think about some fair and sensible debate rules ahead of time, it would be even better.

  133. 133.

    Adam L Silverman

    December 19, 2015 at 9:31 pm

    @jl: I cannot argue with any of this.

  134. 134.

    CaseyL

    December 19, 2015 at 9:31 pm

    I’m losing track of who does and does not support fighting Daesh *and* getting rid of Assad at the same time. I could swear I heard everyone on stage say in one breath it’s a bad idea to do both at once, and then in the next say it’s vital to do both at once.

  135. 135.

    dmsilev

    December 19, 2015 at 9:31 pm

    “The Democratic debate, brought to you by Blackberry”.

    Really? Seriously?

  136. 136.

    Mike J

    December 19, 2015 at 9:31 pm

    @BillinGlendaleCA: I was thinking more of the Mr Deeds Goes to Town version of pixilated.

  137. 137.

    Adam L Silverman

    December 19, 2015 at 9:32 pm

    @dmsilev: I have a cobbler recipe!

  138. 138.

    Baud

    December 19, 2015 at 9:32 pm

    @CaseyL: It’s a pattern that’s developed. Claim that there are fundamental differences and then repeat what the other candidate said.

  139. 139.

    gwangung

    December 19, 2015 at 9:33 pm

    @Baud: Even the ones in current DC continuity.

  140. 140.

    dmsilev

    December 19, 2015 at 9:33 pm

    And what do the ABC “analysts” highlight? The damn data breach.

  141. 141.

    CaseyL

    December 19, 2015 at 9:34 pm

    @dmsilev: I turned off the sound when they came on. If there’s anything more useless than teats on a bull, it’s American political pundits.

    …and kept the sound off for the commercials. What do the candidates do during commercials, one wonders.

  142. 142.

    MomSense

    December 19, 2015 at 9:34 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    I agree. Enough already.

  143. 143.

    PaulW

    December 19, 2015 at 9:34 pm

    For those complaining there aren’t enough Dem debates, I don’t see the problem. The Republicans may be getting more attention but it’s because their major candidates are batsh-t insane, not because they’re on teevee more often.

  144. 144.

    p.a.

    December 19, 2015 at 9:35 pm

    How did Linc and Webb do in the early debate?

  145. 145.

    Baud

    December 19, 2015 at 9:35 pm

    @p.a.: Linc was like granite.

  146. 146.

    Thoughtful Today

    December 19, 2015 at 9:36 pm

    …

    The failure to recognize that Syria’s fracturing is part of the dominoes kicked over by Hillary’s vote for Iraq offends me. Too big to gloss that over. It’s an irresponsible misunderstanding of the underlying factors. She fails to understand the history of the region.

    Worse, Hillary misunderstands that Iran, as a Shia superpower, is, much as I hate it, potentially a serious ally against the Sunni extremists birthed by Saudi Arabian ideologues and now calling themselves Daesh/Isil.

    Saudi Arabia really does need someone confronting their extremism and demanding they step up.

    Good on ya, Bernie.

  147. 147.

    Anne Laurie

    December 19, 2015 at 9:36 pm

    @Adam L Silverman:

    I would pay good money for the League of Women Voters to be back in charge of the debates!

    IIRC, they gave it up because they said it had become purely impossible to run a fair, thoughtful debate without getting attacked by every two-bit lobbyist/grifter looking to snag free air time with a sockpuppet candidate. (Although they probly used more diplomatic phrasing.)

  148. 148.

    dmsilev

    December 19, 2015 at 9:36 pm

    @CaseyL:

    What do the candidates do during commercials, one wonders.

    Bathroom break, probably.

  149. 149.

    MomSense

    December 19, 2015 at 9:36 pm

    Weird, where is HRC?

  150. 150.

    Anoniminous

    December 19, 2015 at 9:36 pm

    @Adam L Silverman:

    I’d settle for Toastmasters.

  151. 151.

    Omnes Omnibus

    December 19, 2015 at 9:36 pm

    @Baud: Webb killed a guy.

  152. 152.

    Adam L Silverman

    December 19, 2015 at 9:37 pm

    @CaseyL: I think they should have Harold Lederman, HBO’s unofficial ringside scorer, provide who’s winning question by question on a ten point must system on the breaks. And we should see the candidates on stools with their trainers and cut men/women getting refreshed for the next round.

  153. 153.

    jl

    December 19, 2015 at 9:37 pm

    @CaseyL: By the end, Sanders came out on cooperate on destroying Daesh first, then work on dealing with Assad later, and probably not by trying for abrupt and complete regime change. HRC thinks we can and should work on both at the same time.

    I agree with Sanders on this. And glad he finally decided to actually debate some foreign policy issues seriously. He needs to do more of that.

    I agree with commenter above that Sanders made some good points but too obliquely. Sanders is not quick on his feet in articulating thoughts. Probably will be something clearer in his Stump speech in a few days.

  154. 154.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    December 19, 2015 at 9:37 pm

    I’m waiting for the rain(a 1/4 inch of rain so far) to walk the girls.

  155. 155.

    Felonius Monk

    December 19, 2015 at 9:38 pm

    This debate would be much more interesting if Lewis Black was the moderator.

  156. 156.

    Thoughtful Today

    December 19, 2015 at 9:39 pm

    Disney/ABC was wrong not waiting for Hillary.

    Disrespectful.

    Bad Disney! No imaginary Kingdom for you!

  157. 157.

    dmsilev

    December 19, 2015 at 9:39 pm

    @Adam L Silverman: Do we know yet which band will be headlining the half-time show for the first national debate in October?

  158. 158.

    Adam L Silverman

    December 19, 2015 at 9:39 pm

    @Anne Laurie: I know and I don’t blame them. But one can dream.

  159. 159.

    Adam L Silverman

    December 19, 2015 at 9:40 pm

    @Felonius Monk: I’d pay to see that.

  160. 160.

    dmsilev

    December 19, 2015 at 9:41 pm

    I think O’Malley used the break to slug down a few more energy drinks. Decaf, Governor, decaf.

  161. 161.

    Adam L Silverman

    December 19, 2015 at 9:41 pm

    @dmsilev: Nope, I’m hoping for KISS. Or Jethro Tull. Debates either need lots of makeup and pyrotechnics or an old guy wearing a cod piece, standing on one foot playing a flute.

  162. 162.

    Felonius Monk

    December 19, 2015 at 9:41 pm

    @Baud:

    I’d settle for the Justice League.

    I think even the Little League could do a better job.

  163. 163.

    jl

    December 19, 2015 at 9:42 pm

    Did Muir just steal a section of Sanders’ stump speech and ask him how he will increase pay ‘immediately’?

    WTF… Is asking how the president will do something immediately that cannot be done immediately an interesting question?

    Did Sanders’ campaign pay him off to lob a softball non-question full of maple syrup? He doesn’t need another campaign scandal right now.

    Well, at least they seem to be giving all the candidates a crack at the same question.

    Edit: Asking the candidates to respond to GOP clowns’ criticism of the minimum wage would be more interesting, if the moderators could do it without loading it full of buckshot. Why such a general uninteresting question. I guess it is stump speech break time.

  164. 164.

    Omnes Omnibus

    December 19, 2015 at 9:42 pm

    @Adam L Silverman: Put me down for Tull.

  165. 165.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    December 19, 2015 at 9:42 pm

    @dmsilev: Europe.

  166. 166.

    Adam L Silverman

    December 19, 2015 at 9:43 pm

    @Baud: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Axk88-nsPTE

  167. 167.

    El Caganer

    December 19, 2015 at 9:43 pm

    @CaseyL: Enough of them and he’ll be the fourth candidate on stage.

  168. 168.

    Adam L Silverman

    December 19, 2015 at 9:44 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: I’ll update the online voting.

  169. 169.

    dmsilev

    December 19, 2015 at 9:44 pm

    When asked if everyone should love her, Clinton responded:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spHEw2n9LwE

  170. 170.

    Thoughtful Today

    December 19, 2015 at 9:45 pm

    !!!

    Wealth inequality INCREASED under Clinton.

    Hillary’s Billionaire Heir employers, the Waltons, were vastly enriched from Bill Clinton’s right-wing/neoliberal economic policies, policies that gutted America’s middle class.

  171. 171.

    raven

    December 19, 2015 at 9:45 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: I watched the 1970 Isle of Wight Tull DVD yesterday. I saw them in he Aragon Ballroom with . . . Sha Nah Nah in 1970!

  172. 172.

    I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet

    December 19, 2015 at 9:46 pm

    There are several good points being brought up by the three, but they don’t seem to be able to connect the dots.

    I think Clinton is right that it’s almost impossible to just go after Daesh without also confronting Assad. I think that O’Malley is right that we don’t have the right to decide when a dictator has to go. I think Clinton is wrong when she says a NoFly Zone will somehow make it safe for Syrians to stay in the country – one that she wouldn’t commit to enforcing against Assad’s or Putin’s air forces. Her sound-bite argument for a NoFly Zone is nonsensical.

    Yes, a coalition to go after Daesh is much easier to construct than one that goes after Daesh and Assad. But, as she said, Assad has killed an order of magnitude or more than Daesh – he’s the baddest actor there.

    I think new coalitions are great, but I also recognize that the USA is still the essential actor in too many cases.

    But what is the plan for what comes after?

    They all seem to have memorized sound-bites and rebuttals, but they don’t seem to have thought about how to counter criticisms of their plans in real time.

    If one were hard headed, one could counter the argument that “Saudia Arabia is slaughtering people in Yemen – why aren’t we up in arms about that??” via something like this:

    1) Syrian refugees are fleeing the country and stressing and destabilizing her neighbors and our friends and allies in Europe.
    2) They’re fleeing Syria primarily because of the war in Syria – war with Assad and war with Daesh.
    3) The over-arching goal is to end the bloodshed in Syria so that Syrians can go home and rebuild their country, and to prevent construction of a safe-haven for Daesh.
    4) Our preferred outcome is that Assad leave office and that the government be representative, democratic, and inclusive. We will do what we can to help achieve that outcome, but we will not impose that outcome.

    NoFly Zones and Bootsonaground aren’t a panacea. People advocating such things need to explain how those things will help get to the goal we seek. Walking away won’t help reduce instability in the region (and in Europe). Trying to counter Putin or the Iranian mullahs or Erdogan without working to a sustainable end game is a waste of time.

    My $0.02.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  173. 173.

    Adam L Silverman

    December 19, 2015 at 9:47 pm

    @raven: That’s a very interesting playbill.

  174. 174.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    December 19, 2015 at 9:47 pm

    Gawd, O’Malley’s starting to sound like Chauncey Gardiner.

  175. 175.

    magurakurin

    December 19, 2015 at 9:47 pm

    Sander’s stump speech is past it’s due date. I’m over it. Let’s do this. Iowa can’t come soon enough.

  176. 176.

    Thoughtful Today

    December 19, 2015 at 9:48 pm

    9/11!

    9/11!

    9/11!

    That’s why the Banksters can’t be regulated.

    You tell ’em Hillary!

  177. 177.

    Yutsano

    December 19, 2015 at 9:50 pm

    @CaseyL: I thought he was at the last meet-up.

    Speaking of which, I have follow-up appointments soon. Couple that with an e-mail I got at work that says I’m a priority hire for my dream job with the IRS AND we actually got a budget increase means I could be back some time next month coupled with moving back soon after. The situation is fluid and I will keep y’all posted.

  178. 178.

    magurakurin

    December 19, 2015 at 9:50 pm

    Clinton just pwned Sanders by complimenting him. She’s sharp.

  179. 179.

    Thoughtful Today

    December 19, 2015 at 9:50 pm

    hehehehe

    Hillary assumes that we’re all too dumb to realize there are good and bad billionaires.

    Hillary’s got Billionaire Buffet behind her.

    heh, her employment by the Walton Billionaire Heirs is always … forgotten by her and her loudest allies.

  180. 180.

    Thoughtful Today

    December 19, 2015 at 9:51 pm

    Sure, sure, magurakurin , wait till she 9/11’s him, then she wins ALL the marbles!

  181. 181.

    magurakurin

    December 19, 2015 at 9:51 pm

    Yeah, you do have a super PAC and according to your own, pulled, shitty gif ad, you did get money from Wall Street, just way less. So, you got the Baby Bear amount I guess.

  182. 182.

    raven

    December 19, 2015 at 9:51 pm

    @Adam L Silverman: Sha Na Na played with a bunch of bands:

    From 1969 until 1971, the band played at, among other places, the Fillmore East and Fillmore West, opening for such bands as The Grateful Dead, The Mothers of Invention, and The Kinks.[7] When Sha Na Na began headlining at other venues, one of the opening acts was Bruce Springsteen.[8] In 1972, Sha Na Na was one of just four acts invited by John Lennon and Yoko Ono to perform with them at their One-to-One benefit concert at Madison Square Garden.[9

  183. 183.

    Shana

    December 19, 2015 at 9:52 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: Nah, his wind is gone. It’s just sad nowadays.

  184. 184.

    Thoughtful Today

    December 19, 2015 at 9:53 pm

    Waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting for Martha to mention how many people STILL don’t have healthcare.

    Oh, apparently Disney’s not going to mention _those_ people.

  185. 185.

    jl

    December 19, 2015 at 9:53 pm

    I’m a commie economist so want aggressive parts of Sanders and HRC combined for financial reform.

    Can we elect Berally Clinters as president of financial reform? I gotta brush up on how this presidenting thing works.

  186. 186.

    raven

    December 19, 2015 at 9:53 pm

    There seems to be room for a couple of Applejinx’s dissertations in this thread.

  187. 187.

    Baud

    December 19, 2015 at 9:53 pm

    @jl:

    We need a triumvirate.

  188. 188.

    Amir Khalid

    December 19, 2015 at 9:53 pm

    @Thoughtful Today:
    She was a member of the Wal-Mart board of directors. Not a salaried executive at the company. Do you not know the difference?

  189. 189.

    Adam L Silverman

    December 19, 2015 at 9:54 pm

    @I’mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet: I’ll bite on Yemen. Yemen should be a strategic concern because a failed or failing Yemen creates non-governable/non-governed spaces that can be exploited as transit ways, bed down points, and/or training sites by terrorists, as well as human traffickers. The same goes for what is going on across the straits in Somalia. That said, the problem for developing a coherent policy and strategy for Yemen is that its human geography is the stuff of nightmares. The tribes are not organized along kinship lines, but rather they are geo-spatially organized. So it does one no good to cultivate contacts through Engagement, as one would in Iraq or Syria or Afghanistan, because trying to leverage that contact is likely not going to get anyone anywhere. Then there’s the sectarian divide. And while its Sunni/Shi’a, its not Sunni/Shi’a like anywhere else. The Shi’a in Yemen are Zaydis/Fivers – very different version of the religion. And that’s before we get into the real human geography divides of Aden (the urban folks) versus the rural folks, some of whom are tribal, and then the tribal guys in the Hawdrawmut. Unfortunately, unlike the Brits, we can’t simply announce we no longer need a coaling station in Aden and stop caring.

  190. 190.

    p.a.

    December 19, 2015 at 9:54 pm

    @Thoughtful Today: Many of those policies were already in place in part. Plenty of blame to go around, WJC deserves some, but he’s not the only one.

  191. 191.

    jl

    December 19, 2015 at 9:54 pm

    @Baud: O’Malley can be the front man. He is smooth.

    Edit: Sorry, I meant smoooooootthhhhh. Kasich should take lessons from him on hand gestures.

  192. 192.

    Omnes Omnibus

    December 19, 2015 at 9:55 pm

    @raven: It’s Thoughtful Today’s turn.

  193. 193.

    hilts

    December 19, 2015 at 9:55 pm

    @jl:

    You don’t know what you’re talking about. Martha Radditz is one of the few truly competent broadcast journalists in the business.

  194. 194.

    Amir Khalid

    December 19, 2015 at 9:55 pm

    @raven:
    I only remember Sha Na Na from their TV show, which used to run here in Malaysia on Saturday afternoons.

  195. 195.

    RaflW

    December 19, 2015 at 9:56 pm

    @jl: If the media would think about some fair and sensible debate rules ahead of time, it would be even better.

    I have always thought it was the campaigns hashing out the ground rules that has made the result so stilted?

    That said, I think this debate is turning out more debate-y than I expected.

  196. 196.

    Baud

    December 19, 2015 at 9:56 pm

    @efgoldman: Hillary too.

    O’Malley should play up his bladder advantage.

  197. 197.

    raven

    December 19, 2015 at 9:57 pm

    @Amir Khalid: That’s because you are a babysan! The played Woodstock.

  198. 198.

    Just One More Canuck

    December 19, 2015 at 9:58 pm

    @raven: Thoughtful Today’s insights not enough for you?

    Omnes beat me to it

  199. 199.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    December 19, 2015 at 9:58 pm

    @Amir Khalid: Also most of the time she was on the Wal-Mart board, Sam Walton was still with us. He passed in 1992, the same year Hillary left the board.

  200. 200.

    magurakurin

    December 19, 2015 at 9:58 pm

    5 weeks out from Iowa and Sanders still has no specifics of his single payer plan other than his shitty 50 state idea form 2013. Single payer is a good thing, but he has no plan and no fucking idea how to get there. And the finger pointing is REALLY getting old.

  201. 201.

    Thoughtful Today

    December 19, 2015 at 9:58 pm

    “Build on it and fix it,” Hillary states.

    Which is Sanders’ plan except instead of increasing regulations on insurers, it’s to throw Single Payer into the mix. It’s both a sound moral goal and fiscally responsible.

    Corporate insurers and some Billionaires don’t care for the moral and fiscally responsible path to Single Payer. Hillary isn’t serving those _without_ healthcare. She’s serving money.

    Someone get her a copy of Matthew 25! STAT!

  202. 202.

    Baud

    December 19, 2015 at 9:58 pm

    Uh oh. Bernie is going after college football.

  203. 203.

    Davebo

    December 19, 2015 at 9:58 pm

    @BillinGlendaleCA: You noticed that too?

    All will be good in the garden if you elect me.

    I’m officially withdrawing my Baud endorsement.

  204. 204.

    p.a.

    December 19, 2015 at 9:59 pm

    @efgoldman: Nah. They sucked at the Super Bowl halftime show.

  205. 205.

    jl

    December 19, 2015 at 9:59 pm

    @RaflW: Good point. There is overall debate format, and the specific goody two shoes green light red light stop talking debate traffic rules. I confused the two in my comment. I think the candidates are only involved in hashing out and agreeing to the latter.

  206. 206.

    Baud

    December 19, 2015 at 10:00 pm

    @Davebo:

    You’re on my enemies list.

  207. 207.

    raven

    December 19, 2015 at 10:00 pm

    @Just One More Canuck: I ain’t reading that mess. I’m going for rock and roll and watching football!

  208. 208.

    Davebo

    December 19, 2015 at 10:01 pm

    O’Malley is proud of his kids and so is his wife. And he had to borrow a lot of money to send his kids to college. I’m not buying that.

  209. 209.

    Thoughtful Today

    December 19, 2015 at 10:01 pm

    Will Hillary spout her nonsense about why poor kids don’t get free State College because … Trump’s kids?

    Congrats to O’Malley for talking about all the other associated costs of education.

    Hillary has NO idea what rent in a College town costs on minimum wage, she’s completely disconnected from the economic realities of the vast majority of Americans.

  210. 210.

    JPL

    December 19, 2015 at 10:01 pm

    O’Malley’s tendency to embarrass his children because they went to college and Daddy footed the bill, is getting old.

  211. 211.

    Thoughtful Today

    December 19, 2015 at 10:03 pm

    Oh, and Hillary, you know who falls for demagogues like Trump?

    People without College educations.

  212. 212.

    Adam L Silverman

    December 19, 2015 at 10:03 pm

    This Levesque guy’s voice could put somebody jacked up on Red Bull and Four Loko (cough Governor O’Malley cough) into a coma.

  213. 213.

    Davebo

    December 19, 2015 at 10:04 pm

    @Baud: Tricky Baud just doesn’t work. I’ll have to work on an alternative.

    Bilker Baud?

    Baulderdash?

    Fraud Baud!

  214. 214.

    Just One More Canuck

    December 19, 2015 at 10:04 pm

    @raven: college or NFL?

  215. 215.

    jl

    December 19, 2015 at 10:05 pm

    @Thoughtful Today: I agree, but as a current slightly pro Sanders person, and at 50 bucks, one his mega-donors, I think Sanders needs to do a better job of explaining how we get from here to there. I wish Raddatz had asked about that.

    I think Raddatz threw up a failed attempt at a TAX HIKE gotcha question and failed. I wish Sanders would have just responded to by saying what he has said in his stump speeches: We pay more now than any other advanced economy, single payer is more efficient, and with no private premiums, people will pay less. He’s so good at offering canned bits of his stump speech, so why did he not?

    OK, Sanders is doing good at countering HRC’s cite of bogus WSJ estimate of single payer cost of Sanders proposal. OK, Sanders finally spat out the relevant part of his stump speech. Good.

  216. 216.

    Baud

    December 19, 2015 at 10:05 pm

    @Davebo:

    Baud the Body.

  217. 217.

    Thoughtful Today

    December 19, 2015 at 10:05 pm

    !!!

    Oh, Dear God, Hillary has NO idea at the economic realities facing those trying to pay for PRIVATE health insurance and College educations.

  218. 218.

    raven

    December 19, 2015 at 10:06 pm

    @Just One More Canuck: I’ve got the Cowboys and Jets on now.

  219. 219.

    I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet

    December 19, 2015 at 10:07 pm

    @Adam L Silverman: Thanks.

    Yemen has had a complicated history for a long time, as you indicate. The case can certainly be made we need to make an effort there. The question is, though, whether being part of Saudi Arabia’s (apparent) decimation of the country (coupled with the apparently brutal embargo) serves our interests.

    I don’t know…

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  220. 220.

    Davebo

    December 19, 2015 at 10:07 pm

    The moderators have lost control of this.

    I’m thinking trap doors are the only answer.

  221. 221.

    Thoughtful Today

    December 19, 2015 at 10:07 pm

    …

    Why doesn’t Hillary support Mothers?!!!

    She probably doesn’t even prefer Apple Pie over Peach Pie!

  222. 222.

    jl

    December 19, 2015 at 10:08 pm

    @Davebo: Yes, they have. But I think the candidates by themselves could spontaneously organize a better debate than the moderators. But maybe we disagree.

  223. 223.

    Tissue Thin Pseudonym

    December 19, 2015 at 10:08 pm

    @jl:

    By the end, Sanders came out on cooperate on destroying Daesh first, then work on dealing with Assad later, and probably not by trying for abrupt and complete regime change.

    This, I think, has it completely backwards. We need to deal with the Assad question first, and then unite to fight Daesh. The latter doesn’t have any outside supporters, while Assad does (Russia and Iran). While the question of Assad and the Syrian Civil War lingers, everything we do against Daesh is going to be disjointed.

    Fortunately, it sounds as if the Obama administration and everyone else is making serious progress on the Assad front. All of the throat clearing over the last week or so makes me think that We’re approaching some sort of deal in which the Russians agree to punt Assad to some safe haven where he won’t be prosecuted (probably in Russia) while the Alawite faction gets some sort of influence in a power sharing agreement. I have no idea if that will be enough to cool off the civil war, but I think it’s definitely the way to go. If Syria can put together a united anti-Daesh front, beating them there becomes a whole lot easier.

    It will mean tolerating a less than wonderful governmental alternative for Syria, but an actual democracy that isn’t run by thugs was never in the cards. Getting Assad out of the picture both saves face for international actors that opposed him (like, say, us) and takes out an especially bad irritant locally.

  224. 224.

    magurakurin

    December 19, 2015 at 10:09 pm

    @Thoughtful Today: I say one thing, you’re getting a lot of votes for Bernie this evening here. Yep, tons. Keep up the good work. You’re a real asset.

  225. 225.

    Thoughtful Today

    December 19, 2015 at 10:09 pm

    Credit O’Malley with some very specific tax numbers.

  226. 226.

    raven

    December 19, 2015 at 10:09 pm

    @efgoldman: The Human Juke Box!

  227. 227.

    jl

    December 19, 2015 at 10:09 pm

    @Davebo:

    ” I’m thinking trap doors are the only answer. ”

    I agree. For the candidates at the GOP debates, for the moderators at the Democratic debates.

  228. 228.

    Davebo

    December 19, 2015 at 10:10 pm

    @Baud:

    Odd Baud. But what did you call your SuperPac?

  229. 229.

    schrodinger's cat

    December 19, 2015 at 10:10 pm

    OT but related: I thought it was not possible for me to dislike Ted Cruz more, I was wrong. The little shit wants to get rid of the OPT (Optional Practical Training) for international students, where by they can work for a year in the US after they graduate.

  230. 230.

    Baud

    December 19, 2015 at 10:11 pm

    @Davebo:

    Right to Baud!, of course.

  231. 231.

    jl

    December 19, 2015 at 10:11 pm

    @Tissue Thin Pseudonym: OK. But this is a debate post. Probably best to argue our own proposals and wisdom on a Dr. Silverman Syria post.

    Edit: and if AS still reading, I’d love a post on Yeman. I have some Yemeni neighbors and they have been giving me their opinion. They think Saudi Arabia attempts to subdue Houthis will fail like all the other attempts by all the other outsiders and it is a stupid waste.

    Edit: And I politely request AS solve Yemen in his post, since the Yemeni neighbors have invited me to visit their family farm in Yemen when it is safe to go.

  232. 232.

    Baud

    December 19, 2015 at 10:11 pm

    George and Karl suck so much.

  233. 233.

    Davebo

    December 19, 2015 at 10:12 pm

    And what’s with the analysis by Stephie et all in during commercial breaks.

    Wait till it’s over guys. You’re wasting time that should be given to the candidates.

    Or is it just a case of ABC not being able to sell enough ads?

  234. 234.

    raven

    December 19, 2015 at 10:13 pm

    @jl: Uh, read much? “Open Thread”

  235. 235.

    Mike J

    December 19, 2015 at 10:14 pm

    @Davebo:

    But what did you call your SuperPac?

    Whatever they independently want to call themselves, since it would be illegal to coördinate with them.

  236. 236.

    CaseyL

    December 19, 2015 at 10:14 pm

    I’m surprised by how…lively the debate is. The candidates are talking over the moderators and over each other, and the moderators are talking over the candidates.

  237. 237.

    Just One More Canuck

    December 19, 2015 at 10:14 pm

    @raven: enjoy the cowboys drive to the playoffs

  238. 238.

    Baud

    December 19, 2015 at 10:14 pm

    @raven:

    Open thread, not Yemen thread.

  239. 239.

    Baud

    December 19, 2015 at 10:14 pm

    @CaseyL: Super soakers coming out next.

  240. 240.

    Anoniminous

    December 19, 2015 at 10:14 pm

    @efgoldman:

    Don’t know that one.

    Landed in 1910 and hung around Boston so He could have known Sacco and Vanzetti.

  241. 241.

    SiubhanDuinne

    December 19, 2015 at 10:15 pm

    Break for commercials. I’ll come back later to enjoy the preceding 239 comments, but right now I’d just like to note that (a) these moderators are terrible, especially Charlie Pierce’s old pal Martha Radish, and (b) ABC’s streaming coverage sucks. Really, it’s almost 2016 and they can’t coordinate their online and broadcast coverage? And what’s with all the Hillary watch parties getting so much coverage during breaks? Are there no Sanders people to interview? And finally, could they possibly be any more dismissive of Martin O’Malley? Just awful.

    But the candidates themselves are fine.

  242. 242.

    Davebo

    December 19, 2015 at 10:15 pm

    @Baud: See, I would have gone with 300 but that’s just because I once had a modem with that speed.

  243. 243.

    CaseyL

    December 19, 2015 at 10:15 pm

    @Baud: I wish. Oh, that would be fun.

  244. 244.

    jl

    December 19, 2015 at 10:15 pm

    @Baud:

    Elect Baud, By God!

    OR

    Good, by God, Baud! OR Good bye God, Baud. Elect BAUD and find out!

  245. 245.

    p.a.

    December 19, 2015 at 10:16 pm

    @efgoldman:

    Southern U?

    Rethugs would think it’s a BLM protest and run away… so yes, SoU it is!

  246. 246.

    Baud

    December 19, 2015 at 10:16 pm

    @Davebo: There’s another commenter here by that nym. Doesn’t post often.

  247. 247.

    CaseyL

    December 19, 2015 at 10:17 pm

    How to deal with the “chill wind” of the Ferguson effect?

    Jeez. How about cops stop shooting/tasing/beating to death unarmed people?

    Honest to FSM, it’s not rocket science.

  248. 248.

    Baud

    December 19, 2015 at 10:17 pm

    @jl: Baud is God!

  249. 249.

    Thoughtful Today

    December 19, 2015 at 10:17 pm

    magurakurin,

    I want to acknowledge your participation in the earlier thread to reach out to Bernie supporters:

    Clinton supporter magurakurin: “The hardcore Sanders people are absolutely delusional, but in the end they won’t matter a whit.”

    Because listening to _another_ Clinton supporter tell Bernie supporters, who represent easily a fifth to a third of the Democratic Party, that, “in the end they won’t matter a whit”, is exactly how I think Clinton will treat that fraction of the Democratic Party’s goals and values.

    Classic Clinton Math. As in: Voters don’t matter.

    Now lets sing the “Superdelegates mean regular Democratic Party voters are only 1/10,000th of a person”!

  250. 250.

    raven

    December 19, 2015 at 10:17 pm

    @Just One More Canuck: Actually, the dvd is on and I am out!

  251. 251.

    Anne Laurie

    December 19, 2015 at 10:18 pm

    New debate post up top, for lulz & readability…

  252. 252.

    jl

    December 19, 2015 at 10:18 pm

    @raven:

    OK, fine. Sorry. I was fiddling around finding a good feed for the debate, anyway.

  253. 253.

    jl

    December 19, 2015 at 10:19 pm

    @Baud: Another gaffe.

    Worse campaigner than Jeb?.

  254. 254.

    Omnes Omnibus

    December 19, 2015 at 10:20 pm

    Bernie is doing well on the race question.

  255. 255.

    schrodinger's cat

    December 19, 2015 at 10:21 pm

    @jl: I knew a Yemeni student in grad school, he was such a gentle soul. He was devout, would say his prayers regularly and very good at physics too. He went back to Yemen, after graduating. Wonder where he is now.

  256. 256.

    Baud

    December 19, 2015 at 10:21 pm

    @jl:

    Is that physically possible?

  257. 257.

    jl

    December 19, 2015 at 10:22 pm

    @Baud: Baud explores new territory! That is presidential material. That is why I am voting for you.

  258. 258.

    Felonius Monk

    December 19, 2015 at 10:22 pm

    @Baud: More Baud, Less Gaud.

  259. 259.

    schrodinger's cat

    December 19, 2015 at 10:23 pm

    I like Bernie but he seems to attracts really weird supporters if this comment section is any guide.

  260. 260.

    Adam L Silverman

    December 19, 2015 at 10:23 pm

    @I’mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet: I don’t think so. What Saudi is doing is in Saudi’s interest. They quietly stirred up trouble there for years in pursuit of their interests, as they’ve been doing in Syria and other places, and at the same time they claim they’re partnering with us or others to resolve the problems. Eventually something has to give.

  261. 261.

    magurakurin

    December 19, 2015 at 10:23 pm

    @Thoughtful Today: dude, I’m not reaching out to anyone. Your vote is your own. The Sanders campaign officially became a shit show on Friday led by that ass clown Tad Devine. If people still want to vote for Sanders, I don’t give a shit. He isn’t going to win no matter what you or I say on some blog. The difference between me and you is that I have no illusions of who I am. Nobody. I don’t matter beyond my own vote. But you keep plugging away, slugger.

  262. 262.

    Adam L Silverman

    December 19, 2015 at 10:24 pm

    @jl: What about the moderators at the GOP debates as well?

  263. 263.

    Thoughtful Today

    December 19, 2015 at 10:24 pm

    Clinton supporter efgoldman missed the memo that the entire industrialized world has arguably better health care systems than the one Clinton’s Corporate Insurer friends will ever offer.

    Bernie’s correct, and a moral person would acknowledge this is a fight worth fighting.

    Shame on the Democratic Party for it’s still grossly regressive corporate insurance plans.

    But, hey, an old man like you has yours, so all these Bernie kids, sure, I can see why you have nothing but contempt for a modern health care system. You might have to sit next to a ‘poor’ in the waiting room.

  264. 264.

    jl

    December 19, 2015 at 10:26 pm

    @Adam L Silverman:

    ” What about the moderators at the GOP debates as well? ”

    My Yemeni neighbors showed me pix of their farm in the old country. It looks really pretty and food sounds great. Would you please solve Yemen in a post soon? I want to visit.

    Edit: Sorry, my mind wandered. Yes, that would be a great plan to trap door both. Then no more dumb GOP debates. You are so good at solving problems.

  265. 265.

    Adam L Silverman

    December 19, 2015 at 10:27 pm

    @jl: I’ll do something up over the next few days. In a nutshell the problem set has five components, the first four of which are the exact same ones that the British faced in the 1950s:
    1) An unreliable strongman ally in Aden
    2) An al Awlaki problem
    3) A tribal problem
    4) A sectarian problem
    and the one the Brits didn’t face
    5) A Saudi problem

    More to come during the week. I need to find the report I wrote on this back in 2011 and reread it first.

  266. 266.

    magurakurin

    December 19, 2015 at 10:29 pm

    @Adam L Silverman: Looking forward to it. I’ve always enjoyed your posts both here and over at Colonel Lang’s place.

  267. 267.

    Adam L Silverman

    December 19, 2015 at 10:32 pm

    @magurakurin: Most of what I know about Yemen I learned from him.

  268. 268.

    magurakurin

    December 19, 2015 at 10:34 pm

    @Adam L Silverman: He’s a sharp guy. I don’t always agree with his politics, but he knows about how things work in the world in a way I can never know. I enjoy his perspectives.

  269. 269.

    Thoughtful Today

    December 19, 2015 at 10:34 pm

    Erm…

    I think Hillary just said the equivalent of, ‘Oops. Regime change is hard.’

  270. 270.

    magurakurin

    December 19, 2015 at 10:35 pm

    @Thoughtful Today: ooo! Bern dude! psyche!

  271. 271.

    Adam L Silverman

    December 19, 2015 at 10:35 pm

    @magurakurin: I do not disagree with any of that.

  272. 272.

    Felonius Monk

    December 19, 2015 at 10:35 pm

    @efgoldman:

    All Baud is divided in three parts.

    Would that be: Baud the Father, Baud the Son, and Baud the Holey Ghost; or the Baud, the Baudier, and the Baudest? or even Baud the Good, Baud the Bad, and Baud the Ugly.

    ETA: or Three Faces of Baud

  273. 273.

    Baud

    December 19, 2015 at 10:38 pm

    @Felonius Monk:

    Larry , Curly, and Baud.

  274. 274.

    magurakurin

    December 19, 2015 at 10:38 pm

    @Felonius Monk: or maybe power trio, Bass, Drum, Guitar.

  275. 275.

    Thoughtful Today

    December 19, 2015 at 10:39 pm

    Yes, efgoldman , I assure you I take your vote very seriously. Your vote for Hillary means no free health care for the poor, no serious living wage, and no free State College or Universities.

    Yes, you’re vote I take _very_ seriously as I know a lot of Americans will be disadvantaged because of it.

    But, hey, Billionaire Walton Heir’s get cheap labor with no Unions! So I’m sure those that got paid in Walmart stock will do very well.

    Priorities, priorities, priorities.

  276. 276.

    Adam L Silverman

    December 19, 2015 at 10:39 pm

    @Thoughtful Today: No, she recognized something that I’ve not previously heard stated by any national leader in either party: That our foreign policy, in this case in the Middle East, has tried to pursue two competing objectives at the same time 1) supporting strongmen and 2) promoting our ideals of liberty and self determination, which has too often become a call for regime change. As I wrote here the other day, and as I’ve written in policy papers for senior level review, we have a problem that our too often reliance on “Our Bastards”, which really begins with the Cold War fear of the domino theory of Communist expansion, is at odds with the ideals we promote. And everyone knows it and it is constantly getting us in trouble because the two are incompatible.

  277. 277.

    jl

    December 19, 2015 at 10:40 pm

    @Adam L Silverman: Thanks. I am looking forward to your post. Most of what I know about inside Yemen politics and sectarian tribal issues, until I met the Yemeni neighbors, is from Lang’s blog too.

  278. 278.

    RaflW

    December 19, 2015 at 10:41 pm

    @BillinGlendaleCA: Gawd, O’Malley’s starting to sound like Chauncey Gardiner.

    I’ve seen flashes of Ben Carson in him. Not on substance (since Carson has none), but weird detached robotic style.
    Actually, his answer to the stupid question on first spouses has reanimated him a bit.

  279. 279.

    Thoughtful Today

    December 19, 2015 at 10:45 pm

    FACTS:

    efgoldman, as you’re a Clinton supporter, if you’re as old as you insist you are, why don’t you explain to the young Bernie supporters here why you should get the privilege of socialized health care but they don’t deserve it because …

    You got yours, fuck everyone else, amirite!?

  280. 280.

    Felonius Monk

    December 19, 2015 at 10:47 pm

    @Thoughtful Today: You’re getting a little tiresome. Maybe it’s bedtime.

  281. 281.

    Thoughtful Today

    December 19, 2015 at 10:48 pm

    “WHAT CONGRESS IS GOING TO GO ALONG WITH IT?”

    A moral one.

    I’ll start with a moral Democratic Party.

    Baby steps, efgoldman , baby steps.

    Perhaps you could start by hugging a puppy.

    We’ll work up to you thinking healthcare for the poors is moral in small increments.

  282. 282.

    RaflW

    December 19, 2015 at 10:49 pm

    Clinton is full-on running in the general election. She has just moved beyond this small stage in her closing, totally leaving Bernie and Martin in the sandbox.

    (eta: I don’t say that as a Hillbot, but just my reaction to her closing moment)

  283. 283.

    Frankensteinbeck

    December 19, 2015 at 10:53 pm

    @Felonius Monk:
    Baud est omnis divisa in partes tres.

  284. 284.

    Ruckus

    December 19, 2015 at 10:54 pm

    @Thoughtful Today:
    Hey asswipe, that socialized medicine that you talk about, Medicare, that isn’t free. First of all you pay a monthly amount to have it. And that is after putting money into it for decades. Second it does not cover everything or all the costs. It could if the country wanted to pay for it but it does not.
    You really need to understand what is going on before you start going on. You currently don’t.

  285. 285.

    RaflW

    December 19, 2015 at 10:59 pm

    @mollyesque
    Hillary won the debate again. Not news. This is pretty boring.

    To which, I say:

    @Snowman55403
    In that way that not driving the US into a ditch at 80 m.p.h. turns out to be boring. #DemDebate

  286. 286.

    chopper

    December 19, 2015 at 11:12 pm

    @efgoldman:

    note especially here that sanders doesn’t appear to give a single shit about downticket races or the party in general. he doesn’t seem to think that he’ll need a more democratic congress or any sort of party infrastructure to have even a meager chance in hell of getting any of his big promises passed.

    apparently president sanders will rule by executive fiat.

  287. 287.

    gwangung

    December 19, 2015 at 11:13 pm

    “WHAT CONGRESS IS GOING TO GO ALONG WITH IT?”

    A moral one.

    I’ll start with a moral Democratic Party.

    This is a 20 year plan, fought on multiple battlegrounds, necessitating billions and billions dollars more than we have now. In essence, a grassroots strategy, a ground upwards strategy.

    And all we hear from you are top down tactics that do not address what you want and are useless without a grassroots effort.

    Again, do better. Your paymasters need to get better bang for the buck.

  288. 288.

    I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet

    December 19, 2015 at 11:15 pm

    @chopper: You’ve missed his “political revolution” part of his stump speech?

    He’s trying to do the impossible, but there’s a method to it. If he somehow were to win the nomination, he would work hard to have coat-tails. Probably harder than Clinton.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  289. 289.

    chopper

    December 19, 2015 at 11:16 pm

    @Thoughtful Today:

    “A moral one”

    you are aware of what the U.S. Congress is, no?

    this sounds like the ron paul people. when you point out that president paul would have zero chance of getting a thing done they say “yeah but he would start a national conversation”. cause that and two bucks’ll buy you a cup of coffee.

  290. 290.

    Omnes Omnibus

    December 19, 2015 at 11:17 pm

    @gwangung:

    Your paymasters need to get better bang for the buck.

    My impression as well. Gop ratfucker, right? The other Berniebot, Applejinx, is real, imo, just excitable.

  291. 291.

    chopper

    December 19, 2015 at 11:18 pm

    @I’mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet:

    no, I haven’t missed it. I think general calls for a “revolution” without any base or infrastructure work is just a bunch of talk.

  292. 292.

    Thoughtful Today

    December 19, 2015 at 11:23 pm

    Clinton supporter Ruckus: “Hey asswipe,”.

    I appreciate that you’re an honest Clinton supporter willing to express your _feelings_.

    But your math doesn’t have much empathy in it.

    You know how you get empathy into math?

    It usually starts with someone capable of enough empathy that they don’t start conversations with, “Hey asswipe”. Your preferred candidate, for instance, is capable of at least _faking_ empathy.

    Her superpower is pandering! Her quip about the Force perfectly captures a zeitgeist.

    Not a zeitgeist that will provide the least amongst us with healthcare or a realistic path toward college, but wow! What a panderer!

  293. 293.

    Omnes Omnibus

    December 19, 2015 at 11:32 pm

    @Thoughtful Today: Dude, you spent the whole thread willfully misinterpreting Clinton’s statements and lobbing rhetorical molotov cocktails at people you perceive as Clinton supporters. You got push back. Grow up and accept that if you throw elbows, people will throw them back. You are no martyr, so get off your cross.

  294. 294.

    chopper

    December 19, 2015 at 11:33 pm

    @efgoldman:

    ah but you’re talking about math he’s talking about “mathiness”. there’s a difference.

  295. 295.

    Omnes Omnibus

    December 19, 2015 at 11:33 pm

    @efgoldman: Nine is slothful as fuck.

  296. 296.

    I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet

    December 19, 2015 at 11:34 pm

    @efgoldman: Just a guess on my part.

    All I have to go on is the reporting. Bernie seems to be working hard to fill arenas while Hillary seems to be taking a more leisurely, slow-and-steady approach to campaigning this time. She’s a big fan of “listening tours”. She’s has lots of “friends” and supporters who will crawl over glass for her so she doesn’t need to work as hard for support. Bernie is a worker.

    Bernie, not being a Democrat, would have to work much harder for support of the party apparatus than her. I think that would translate into her not working as hard for every vote in down-ballot races as she probably should.

    Just a guess though.

    While I think he would work hard, I don’t think he would be as successful as HRC in having coat-tails. (Someone said recently that history shows that women elect presidents.)

    Since I don’t expect the post-NH races to be close, unless Hillary has some health scare or other disaster, all of this is academic. But it’s important that she fight for the nomination, and it’s important for O’Malley to fight to do as well as he can if he has hopes of being important in national politics going forward.

    My $0.02.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  297. 297.

    chopper

    December 19, 2015 at 11:43 pm

    @efgoldman:

    sanders has been in congress for a long-ass time, and over that time and up to the present day he’s really done little to help get democrats elected. maybe he’ll find religion upon winning the nom but he doesn’t really seem at all interested in building much in terms of democratic infrastructure and relationships.

  298. 298.

    Thoughtful Today

    December 19, 2015 at 11:44 pm

    Clinton supporter chopper, are you seriously saying that the Democratic Party doesn’t have moral members?

    Seriously?

    I don’t _completely_ disagree, but wouldn’t you say there’s _at_least_ a dozen to twenty moral Democratic Party members in Congress? 21 if you count Bernie!-)

    Are you saying there’s not even that many? I’d have hoped there were at least a hundred or more.

    Golly, Clinton supporters really _are_ jaded.

    Do you think your support for Clinton is part of your cynicism?

    On that score, I completely sympathize. After paying attention to the Clintons’ regressive right-wing policies for so many decades, I can absolutely understand why you have such a dim view of humanity.

    But, still, best Republicans in the country, amirite?!

  299. 299.

    Mike J

    December 19, 2015 at 11:46 pm

    @I’mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet:

    All I have to go on is the reporting. Bernie seems to be working hard to fill arenas while Hillary seems to be taking a more leisurely, slow-and-steady approach to campaigning this time.

    Hillz is working her ass off right now. President Dean will tell you that screaming fans don’t mean shit. Having a Louisa county, IA campaign director who recruits a captain for each of the five polling places wins elections, provided you repeat it for the other 98 counties in Iowa. And in NH too.

  300. 300.

    RaflW

    December 19, 2015 at 11:48 pm

    @efgoldman:

    +1

    Said with feeling.

  301. 301.

    Ruckus

    December 19, 2015 at 11:51 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus:
    Yep, Greasy Old Poop ratfucker. Can’t stand to be wrong, but is anyway.

  302. 302.

    chopper

    December 19, 2015 at 11:54 pm

    i don’t have a dim view of humanity as much as I have a dim view of congress. sanders getting himself elected isn’t much in the way of improving that.

    if there are a few dozen “moral” democrats on the hill, well I have to remind you that there are 535 members of congress. with those sorts of numbers sanders is destined to get absolutely fucking zero things passed.

    if sanders had a history of working to get people other than himself elected and to improve the infrastructure of the party I’d be a great deal more confident in his prospects as president. but it’s hard for me to believe that a guy who’s been publicly shitting on the Democratic Party for decades is suddenly going to help turn congress more democratic. from an electoral standpoint he’s the democrats’ Ron Paul.

  303. 303.

    Ruckus

    December 20, 2015 at 12:01 am

    @chopper:
    This is my main issue with Sanders. Most of his policies are fine, his ideas on how to get there are at best weak, but mostly non existent. I’ll give him credit that many will not, he does caucus and vote with dems better than some with a D after their name. But what has he done in the Senate or in the house towards his policies? Certainly nothing of note or we’d be hearing/heard about it.

  304. 304.

    Omnes Omnibus

    December 20, 2015 at 12:39 am

    @Ruckus: His vision of a country is a lovely one. I would like to live there. In the meantime, I want someone who can defend what we have and move us forward. I don’t see Sanders as the best person to do that. To get Sander’s world we need a FDR era Dem majority. While we work toward that, I want competent governance from people whose instincts are left of center.

  305. 305.

    Ruckus

    December 20, 2015 at 12:41 am

    @Omnes Omnibus:
    Exactly.

  306. 306.

    Thoughtful Today

    December 20, 2015 at 1:14 am

    Omnes Omnibus says: “His vision of a country is a lovely one. I would like to live there.”

    We can get your paperwork started to move to … any number of Democratic Socialist countries, Omnes Omnibus. I’m sure you’d love it! I’ll help you pack!

    You could move to the UK for the full Socialist healthcare experience! I’ve seen it in action and it’s really quite remarkable. Fast, effective, and amazingly efficient.

    Or Germany, you could finally finish that obscure college degree you really always wanted. If you lived far enough North you could visit Denmark on the weekends. But baby steps, I don’t want you to freak out at how big the world really is.

    Or how different reality is from your imagination.

    Think bigger, Omnes.

  307. 307.

    Omnes Omnibus

    December 20, 2015 at 1:18 am

    @Thoughtful Today: Read the rest of my comment about the practicalities of achieving that goal. Then read the part about what I said we should do in the meantime. Then fuck off.

  308. 308.

    Omnes Omnibus

    December 20, 2015 at 1:27 am

    @Thoughtful Today: I’ve lived in Britain and Germany. That is part of the reason that I see Sanders’ vision as one I support. His map to getting there is the thing I doubt.

  309. 309.

    Applejinx

    December 20, 2015 at 5:25 am

    @raven: Hi! I was entering data :)
    Thanks to Hillary’s intervention: clearly showing who really runs the DNC. Thank you Hillary! She didn’t have to let us have a campaign back, she could have sat on her hands. Good judgement by Hillary, and deeply deeply appreciated by all us data peons :)
    And then I was watching the debate at a Bernie debate watch party, but folks seem to be having fun in this thread just fine.

  310. 310.

    Applejinx

    December 20, 2015 at 5:43 am

    @Thoughtful Today: and TT: don’t be so scathing about ‘best Republicans’. Back in the day we had ‘best Republicans’. Ike was a Republican.

    Rather than crank up the bickering and namecalling (which our candidates are NOT doing, thanks Hil and Bernie), we gotta establish a grassroots consensus and then get the politicians to start enacting it.

    Our system is SO rigged and screwed up, so completely out of control and in the tank for the 0.01%, that there is LOTS of room for improvement. If you haven’t run the numbers you have no idea how much money is being wasted, literally channeled straight to the rich and into the Cayman Islands. Things don’t have to get all that redistribution-y to free up a hell of a lot of budget to enable all the stuff we want.

    Republicans are being pushed, by Trump, in the same ‘rich are abusing the system’ direction that we’re pushing Dems. They are just also being turned into hysterical racist mobs. But part of Trump’s message is to throw out the corrupt rich Washington pols and their special interests and rich friends and unite behind the ONE rich friend (Trump) who will beat up all the bad rich people and create jobs for all!

    The one common point is, everybody knows the system’s rigged by now. It’s just that people think it’s like 40 to 1 rigged, which is unfair, and it’s really like 400 to 1 rigged. You have no IDEA how much capital is frozen up in the assets of the insanely rich, uninvested because consumer demand is flat and small business is easily stomped by trusts and megacorporations making that investment unwise.

    The money is there, on such a massive scale. We all know it, but the truth is even more extreme than we think.

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