Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

The Supreme Court cannot be allowed to become the ultimate, unaccountable arbiter of everything.

Nikki Haley, who can’t acknowledge ‘slavery’, is a pathetic shill.

The line between political reporting and fan fiction continues to blur.

Do not shrug your shoulders and accept the normalization of untruths.

Marge, god is saying you’re stupid.

Biden: Oh no. We’ve upset Big Pharma again.

Anyone who bans teaching American history has no right to shape America’s future.

Following reporting rules is only for the little people, apparently.

Only Democrats have agency, apparently.

“Can i answer the question? No you can not!”

I also would like a pony to improve my balloon juice experience.

It’s a good piece. click on over. but then come back!!

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

ha ha ha! Nice try weird people.

Well, whatever it is, it’s better than being a Republican.

Let me eat cake. The rest of you could stand to lose some weight, frankly.

Let us savor the impending downfall of lawless scoundrels who richly deserve the trouble barreling their way.

Republicans seem to think life begins at the candlelight dinner the night before.

I have other things to bitch about but those will have to wait.

with the Kraken taking a plea, the Cheese stands alone.

We won’t go back.

This country desperately needs a functioning Fourth Estate.

It’s pointless to bring up problems that can only be solved with a time machine.

Balloon Juice has never been a refuge for the linguistically delicate.

You are here: Home / Politics / Domestic Politics / GOP Primary Debate Open Thread

Reader Interactions

214Comments

  1. 1.

    Wyliecoat

    Thank you, thank you, thank you for the new look on the mobile. So much easier to read.

  3. 3.

    PsiFighter37

    Just finished a quick workout in time for this. I am counting on this to be even wilder than the last one.

  4. 4.

    Corner Stone

    Megyn Kelly looks like a Golden Goddess. Are they lighting her in some special way?

  5. 5.

    lamh36

    the young man who introduced POTUS today, Brent wrote the following letter to President Obama about being a Republican and the ACA saving his life.

    This is what scares the GOP…the legacy that PBO have for being the President who brought Healthcare to millions of Americans, not a perfect system, but one that can and has literally saved lives of ordinary Americans!

    The letter here: “You Saved My Life”

    Here is the young man introducing the Pres today…
    @WhiteHouse
    “The Affordable Care Act saved my life” —Brent, a Republican who just introduced @POTUS in Milwaukee

  7. 7.

    Keith P.

    The last two have been building to this one. Should be a good one, especially with Carson out and Megan Kelly in.

  13. 13.

    Adam L Silverman

    First question to Trump on Governor Romney’s remarks. And we’re underwayyyyyyy!!!!!!

  14. 14.

    lamh36

    Ugh…I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again, I hate that Bernie and supporters make me feel the need to come to defense of HRC.

    I’m not enthusiatic bout either, but ugh…

    Fuq Faux news, and I’ll respect HRC more if she continues to say hell naw to Faux News. Faux news gives two shits about Dems…ugh

    @postpolitics
    Sanders agrees to participate in Fox News presidential town hall without Clinton http://wapo.st/1QPCEEg

  16. 16.

    PsiFighter37

    The crowd booing at the mention of the KKK and David Duke. These guys are idiots for bringing this up – just will solidify Trump’s support.

  17. 17.

    lamh36

    @matt_blackwell 2m2 minutes ago
    Only the Republicans could have a debate in a Detroit, which is 82% black, and have an almost entirely white audience.

  20. 20.

    Adam L Silverman

    Senator Rubio is dripping with sweat – already. This is not going to be pleasant to look at.

  21. 21.

    PsiFighter37

    What kind of programming does Marco come out with tonight?

    He also sounds like he is about to faint. He is really nervous.

  22. 22.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @lamh36: I saw that letter, I don’t know that guy had introduced him. What happened in Milwaukee should be a bigger story than what happened in Salt Lake City.

    “In particular, in addition to surprisingly and historically low rates of health-care cost inflation, today the Department of Health & Human Services announces that a net 20 million people have now gained access to health insurance.”

    (Not gonna watch the debate. I’ll read the snark here on the Twiiter)

  24. 24.

    Keith P.

    OMG Rubio and Trump are comparing hands. Donald Trump is Uncle Jack from Always Sunny in Philadelphia now.
    Ugh, now Trump is bragging about the size of his schlong. Camera must have missed Megan Kelly’s eye roll.

  27. 27.

    Starfish

    @lamh36: I really wish they would give some more context for this. Who is this dude? What did he have? How did ACA help him? The whitehouse.gov site is the only place that I am reading this. Should he have written in to his local papers if he felt this strongly about the matter?

    I want to have a stack of these for when people are talking about how ACA helps no one.

  29. 29.

    jl

    Is an actual dick measuring contest going to break out?
    I turned off the pic, just in case it does.

  31. 31.

    Corner Stone

    Working 2 or 3 jobs? Isn’t that what GWB called “Uniquely American”? And celebrated it?

  33. 33.

    Keith P.

    Cruz finally kicking off the debate portion of the debate. Trump responds to his attempt at getting back to policy/substance with bragging about his poll numbers.
    EDIT: Love the precanned Rubio joke “Trump is someone who things the Nuclear Triad is a rock band from the 80s”

  34. 34.

    lamh36

    @Keith P.: I’m not watching, but I see on twitter we are at the dick-measuring stage…

    What is with dude and dick size…smh…ladies don’t go around comparing “size” of our junk.

  35. 35.

    PsiFighter37

    Marco is going to nervous-puke before this debate is over. I wonder how wet his pants are right now…

  36. 36.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    @jl:

    I turned off the pic, just in case it does.

    Afraid you’ll feel like John Holmes in comparison?

  38. 38.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    No idea why Ted Cruz didn’t take the opportunity to brag that his face looks like a penis.

  39. 39.

    NickM

    My money says Trump calls Rubio gay tonight. It’s one of the only places he hasn’t explicitly gone and his base will love it.

  43. 43.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Starfish: Just looked at the NYT on line politics page. No mention of Obama’s time in Milwaukee except the utterly (to me) unsurprising and not terribly (to me) interesting news that the Obamas plan to stay in the DC area until their younger daughter finishes high school. No mention in that article of why he was in Milwaukee. Rachel Maddow also led with the “breaking news” about where the Obamas will live next year, no mention of ACA

  44. 44.

    jl

    Figure out a way to work Trump into any list of statistics and he can memorize them instantly.

  45. 45.

    Corner Stone

    Romney has essentially sealed Trump’s surge to victory with that garbage time speech today. The GOP is going to have to absolutely steal the nomination at the convention or Trump is it.

  49. 49.

    PsiFighter37

    I don’t know why people think Kasich would be any good. He has always been one of the worst speakers on the debate stage.

  55. 55.

    lamh36

    @Starfish: that is part of his letter attached. no details on his condition or anything HIPAA violation worthy I’d think.

    It’s his right to keep that to himself I think. Anyone who needs to hear every minute detail of the guys story is only looking to discount it in some way…IMHO.

    Much as our esteemed blog creator did, the dude had an experience, he had a change of heart because of it, doesn’t really bother me that I don’t know every bit of his backstory

  57. 57.

    PsiFighter37

    Wow Chris Wallace just spit out Trump’s attack line right at Rubio.

    Roger Ailes must really not love Marcobot anymore.

  59. 59.

    Felonius Monk

    @MomSense:

    Anyone believe Cruz gives a damn about working, single mothers?

    I don’t believe he’s ever met one, so the answer is No.

  62. 62.

    beltane

    @Calouste: Berlusconi once said he had p-ssy power. I wouldn’t be surprised if Trump says something similar before it’s all over.

  63. 63.

    Mike J

    @lamh36: It’s impossible for the patient to violate HIPAA, and quoting a letter from a patient isn’t a violation either. But it is polite to minimize personal details when quoting a constituent letter.

  75. 75.

    Mnemosyne

    Any Authors Among Us among us tonight? I need reassurance that it’s okay to write the midpoint of my genre novel first and then work backwards. The whole sequence sprang into my mind fully-formed yesterday, so I don’t want to lose it by not writing it down.

  76. 76.

    David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch

    Fucker stole my “Lil Marco” line without attribution

  77. 77.

    Corner Stone

    Why does Fox think putting “facts” on the screen is going to hurt Trump?

  78. 78.

    dr. bloor

    Rubio is ultimately nothing but a pretentious weenie with no game, and Trump has made a career out of pantsing guys like him.

  79. 79.

    lamh36

    @Mike J: I work in a hospital, so I am aware of HIPPA laws, my thoughts were more that the WH didn’t want to give out that type of info about the guy.

    So yeah, I misspoke in regards to HIPAA.

  80. 80.

    PsiFighter37

    It’s almost like Fox News did oppo research against Trump’s website. Wonder how this flies with the nimwits in the base take his answer…

  83. 83.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    Can you imagine if Democrats had a shit show like this? We wouldn’t be allowed to show ourselves in public. Amazing the double standard Republicans get.

  85. 85.

    Really?

    I’m waiting for Trump to go for the “Retool for the F-22, the F-35 is corporate welfare.” Could you imagine?!

  86. 86.

    rk

    When Trump says “I haven’t started on her yet”, as a woman it makes me think of the kind of thing a villain in a cheap movie would say before he attempts to rape some female character. Wondering if it has the same implications for men listening to it?

  87. 87.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Mnemosyne: I’m not that kind of author/writer, but write it down. You can either copy and paste it in later, and then blend it into what ultimately precedes it or work backwards from it. I’ve written my professional reports, some of which are quite lengthy, out of order. It’ll be fine.

  90. 90.

    lamh36

    @srjones66 now
    Chris Wallace wants to know who is going to collect the taxes when the IRS is killed. Cruz natters on about a postcard. #FOXdebate

  92. 92.

    Mary G

    Chris Wallace has a PowerPoint! That’ll show the Donald.

    Finally they ask Ted Cruz how abolishing the IRS would work. Honor system?

  94. 94.

    pamelabrown53

    @beltane:
    Funny that Rubio called Trump a liberal. I got a third mailer in as many days today with a picture of Hillary and Trump with a heart drawn around them: “Trump Loves Hillary”. The conservative super pacs are on overdrive.

  95. 95.

    gogol's wife

    @Just Some Fuckhead:

    They’re the Very Serious Party.

    I loved the letter to the editor in the NYTimes today from some “moderate” Republican, who was advising Democrats that they could pick up a lot of moderate Republicans if they would just correct their mistaken policies on high taxes.

  96. 96.

    Corner Stone

    Crus uses his hands while speaking in the most obnoxious possible ways. What the fuck is that two handed wedge move to the side when he’s talking?

  97. 97.

    PsiFighter37

    Tailgunner Ted seems to forget that this is not a college debate. Turdball has never grown out of his assholish teenage self.

  100. 100.

    Princess

    I think the GOP are talking so much about d1 ck size because they are all, including Trump, freaking out about having to run against a woman.

  102. 102.

    lamh36

    So FoxNews have their walking orders huh…destroy Trump. I don’t even like dude, but I see it, so will his supporters I’d bet.
    #GOPDebate

  103. 103.

    PsiFighter37

    Trump says we all need to get along and gets decent applause. I sweat that his supporters have drunk way too much Kool-Aid.

  105. 105.

    Iowa Old Lady

    Wallace, the moderator, doesn’t buy it, and continues to press, saying Trumps’ claim to save $300bn on Medicare is belied by the annual Medicare budget being only $80bn.

    Trump insists “if we properly negotiate” the money will be saved. “We don’t do that, we don’t negotiate.

    From the Guardian live blog. I really don’t know what to say.

  106. 106.

    Felonius Monk

    Listening to this debate is like listening to 5 people vomiting simultaneously. I can’t do it much longer.

  109. 109.

    Renie

    I don’t think Little Marco realizes that when he insults Trump, he is imitating Trump. Can’t this guy come up with an original idea of his own?

  111. 111.

    jl

    Kasich lying about his role in Bill Clinton balanced budget again. He seemed like such a nice boy.

  114. 114.

    David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch

    Megyn Kelly’s false eyelashes are too big and look like windshield wipers.

  115. 115.

    PsiFighter37

    Poor little Ted gets asked why his good friend Jeff Sessions endorsed Trump.

  117. 117.

    danielx

    Kind of like watching monkeys flinging shit at the wall – doesn’t mean much, occasionally makes some interesting patterns.

  118. 118.

    The Dangerman

    Ya know, I think if one of Cruz or Rubio would walk over and square off on The Donald, Trump might piss his pants.

  119. 119.

    Mike in NC

    How many more of these debates are planned, and will any of them feature jello wrestling?

  120. 120.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    I doubt very much that John McCain can be beat in today’s AZ (I will, of course, defer to locals) but Ann Kirkpatrick has an ad up that is gonna have McCain calling Cindy some horrible names and hurling expensive objets d’art at the servants. I’m sure it will be up at Maddow blog soon, if it isn’t already

  122. 122.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    @lamh36: FWIW, the government (other than a governmental medical practice/hospital) isn’t a HIPAA covered entity, and the patient can release all the PHI details of his own that he wants to. But his point is made without the medical specifics. /pedant

    ETA: I agree that most who want details will seek to minimize his story.

  123. 123.

    Steve in the ATL

    @Mike in NC:

    Dubya said having 2 or 3 jobs was living the American Dream, and he was completely serious about that.

    Which he did himself. Over the course of his career.

  125. 125.

    PsiFighter37

    Ted gets in a little bit of a dig at Donald on his presidential donations to Clinton in 2008. It definitely seems like Teddy could’ve made up – any idea if it was true?

  126. 126.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    @Corner Stone: Preacher moves, from watching his dad in the pulpit for so many years. It’s also preacher tone and cadence he uses.

  127. 127.

    Felonius Monk

    @Renie:

    Can’t this guy come up with an original idea of his own?

    He’s not intelligent enough to be original.

  130. 130.

    Steve in the ATL

    @lamh36:

    So yeah, I misspoke in regards to HIPAA.

    In the spirit of tonight’s debate, don’t worry about making any misstatements

  134. 134.

    David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch

    Without ¿Jeb? to dump on, they’re not that animated.

  139. 139.

    Mary G

    Not one of these guys have answered the question he was asked. They just launch into a soundbite.

    Rubio isn’t getting the crowd behind him.

  141. 141.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Mike in NC: http://www.uspresidentialelectionnews.com/2016-debate-schedule/2016-republican-primary-debate-schedule/

    Thursday, March 10, 2016
    CNN Republican Debate
    Aired On: CNN
    Location: University of Miami in Miami, Florida
    Sponsors: CNN, The Washington Times, Salem Media Group
    Candidates: To be determined
    Monday, March 21, 2016
    Republican Debate
    Aired On: To be determined
    Location: Salt Lake City, Utah
    Sponsors: To be determined
    Candidates: To be determined

  146. 146.

    Corner Stone

    Forty minutes in and nowhere near the talk-over vitriol of the last one. This one is settling in to third place territory – AKA Rubioville.

  148. 148.

    Germy

    I have Basic Instinct flashbacks whenever I see Kelly, especially the way the fox makeup and wardrobe crew dolled her up tonight.

    Roger Ailes is like Alfred Hitchcock to Kelly’s Tippi Hedren.

  150. 150.

    PsiFighter37

    First commercial break. I gotta say that there definitely seem to be some things getting mentioned that *should* hurt Donald, but if Marco’s barrage last time didn’t do anything, I’m skeptical that the impact of these will have.

    The negative for Trump is that with less people on stage, all his negative stuff is going to be focused on more.

  151. 151.

    Kay

    Republicans can’t ever do anything on immigration because they lied so much about it they will never reassure their voters.
    It’s like voter fraud. They can never again vote for voting rights legislation.

  152. 152.

    indycat32

    @lamh36: If the letter writer is the same person who introduced Obama today he said he had an autoimmune disorder, but was not any more specific. He also said he had surgeries thanks to the ACA and was now cured but I don’t know of any autoimmune disorders that are cured by surgery.

  153. 153.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    @lamh36: I know, and I wasn’t trying to be a bitch (it comes naturally). I was letting my pedantfreak flag fly, and just gave a HIPAA lecture to docs about mobile devices this morning so I was overly sensitive. No condescension intended.

    Do you really expect a Flint question? That seems so much like actual journalism that I’m not hopeful.

    @indycat32:

    He also said he had surgeries thanks to the ACA and was now cured but I don’t know of any autoimmune disorders that are cured by surgery

    That stood out for me as well. Perhaps he’s not real well informed about his dx?

  154. 154.

    Mnemosyne

    @Iowa Old Lady:

    Okay, I’ve told G I can’t talk to him just yet (he approves, he’s been nagging me to write for months now), turned on some classical music, and closed the door to the craft room right before turning off the wi-fi. Here goes nothing.

  157. 157.

    Adam L Silverman

    Trump University scam add with testimony from the victims playing here in the Tampa/St. Pete/Clearwater area.

  158. 158.

    jl

    Trump clumsiness and lack of imagination on NYT off-the-record conversation is encouraging.
    He’s flexible on the height of the wall. 45 feet or 50 feet? Even most of his primary fan base doesn’t believe that garbage, they just like his authoritarian approach, and comfort themselves with the notion that the kindly strong man can’t spell out in detail what his real plans are. I doubt the general election voters will be so charitable.

  161. 161.

    Germy

    I’m still seeing TV commercials for Wounded Warrior. Saw two of them today.

    And then later on CBS news, a story about major donors pulling out.

  162. 162.

    sigaba

    @Mike in NC: “Dubya said having 2 or 3 jobs was living the American Dream”

    Dubs did have three jobs: Trust Fund Oil Tycoon, Trust Fund Baseball Team Owner, and Trust Fund National Chief Executive. (Do we count draft-dodging AWOL fighter pilot?)

  163. 163.

    Anne Laurie

    @indycat32:

    He also said he had surgeries thanks to the ACA and was now cured but I don’t know of any autoimmune disorders that are cured by surgery.

    Crohn’s Disease/related bowel disorder? Proper term would be ‘in remission’ but I can see a sufferer using ‘cured’.

  165. 165.

    Aleta

    A bunch of cute miniature bull terriers working to harry an escaped bull back through the pasture gate.

  166. 166.

    PsiFighter37

    @Kay: That’s true, but he also looks like the Zodiac Killer and sounds like a smarmy asshole whenever he opens his mouth.

    I honestly think the GOP would be even more apoplectic if Tailgunner Ted was their nominee. They loathe him on such a personal level.

  167. 167.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @Mnemosyne:
    I am a successful author (god, I love being able to say that), so hear me speak with authority:

    Whatever works, works. There is no one process. If writing from the middle back to the beginning lets you get the whole book finished, you shine on, you crazy diamond.

  169. 169.

    sigaba

    @Germy: ”
    I’m still seeing TV commercials for Wounded Warrior. Saw two of them today.”

    That’s no surprise, they spend about three times as much on the commercials as they do on wounded warriors.

  172. 172.

    Germy

    @sigaba: It’s just odd to see their commercials followed by a CBS news exposé.

    Reminds me of last year, when I saw a news report about the lack of safety and oversight of herbal supplements, and it was followed by a commercial for… herbal supplements. For brain health!

  179. 179.

    Tom Levenso

    @Mnemosyne: yes. That’s a great way to work. Actually, any way that gives you a point of entry into your narrative is a great way to work, but when an actual structural element of the story presents itself to you, grab it and run.

  181. 181.

    divF

    The farther Trump goes, the more this exchange echoes in my head.

    Willard: They told me that you had gone totally insane, and that your methods were unsound.
    Kurtz: Are my methods unsound?
    Willard: I don’t see any method at all, sir.

  184. 184.

    piratedan

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Kirkpatrick is polling well and Johnny Maverick, strangely enough, is seen as the establishment GOP around here. If Kirkpatrick continue to run a savvy campaign, he really could be in trouble.

  185. 185.

    Aleta

    Cruz: “a President who won’t just pop off at the hip”
    — an evangelical ejaculation euphemism ?

  189. 189.

    Steeplejack

    @Mnemosyne:

    It is totally okay! As a sometime professional writer, I can tell you that one of the biggest illusions to let go of is the tunnel vision that a long piece of prose under construction is the same linear, start-to-finish thing that the reader will experience.

    It’s more like a snap-bead necklace: eventually you will put the individual beads into the “right” linear order, but how you create them, and in what order of composition, is totally up to you.

    ETA: It has been a long time since I read it, but you might check out Jack Bickham’s Scene and Structure. I seem to connect it in my mind with this realization, and I think it will resonate with your screenwriting background.

  191. 191.

    Steeplejack

    Okay, I just flipped over to the debate to check out Megyn Kelly’s inner glow, and with just a slight change of costume she could be Ilsa, She-Wolf of the SS, Argosy magazine circa 1959. (But in a good way.)

  193. 193.

    Captain C

    @Mnemosyne: As someone who has written some music, it’s probably fine to get down what you get when you get it. If you need to rework it later, that’s fine. Any process that leads to a good final work is OK, I should think.

  194. 194.

    frosty fka Bro Shotgun etc etc

    @Mnemosyne:

    so I don’t want to lose it by not writing it down.

    I read a quote that “… writing is shooting thoughts on the wing” Write. Write everything now. Edit later, now while you’re trying to write.

  195. 195.

    Mary G

    Finally we come to Flint – Republicans didn’t wake up this morning and decide to go poison some children. Why don’t I believe you, Little Marco?

  203. 203.

    Steeplejack

    @Omnes Omnibus, @Adam L Silverman:

    Those magazines with the lurid covers were a fascinating little subgenre that flourished briefly and then disappeared. Harking back to a transitional period when people still had to—or at least still wanted to—read porn.

    Anyway, I find the story titles hilarious. Couldn’t find one with lesbo in it for the hat trick.

  206. 206.

    JCJ

    @indycat32:

    Perhaps he had myasthenia gravis and underwent thymectomy? Only autoimmune disorder I can think of that surgery might fix.

  213. 213.

    Mnemosyne

    @Steeplejack:

    Also, yes, I have that “Scene and Structure” book — in fact, I have the whole set. I wrote fiction before I got my screenwriting MFA.

    Not sure if I should listen to Orson Scott Card about characters even if he did write it before he lost his fucking mind.

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