The number one word my focus group used to describe tonight's debate: “Embarrassing.”#GOPDebate
— Frank Luntz (@FrankLuntz) March 4, 2016
My old shop POLITICO going subtle with tonight's debate coverage. pic.twitter.com/3Yp0tTIOZ4
— Reid J. Epstein (@reidepstein) March 4, 2016
And, as we all know, The Internet was made for dick jokes!
ANALYSIS: Trump was very bad. Cruz was very good. This has happened before and Trump has won anyway. All is madness.
— daveweigel (@daveweigel) March 4, 2016
So it turns out that Idiocracy was far too optimistic
— Daniel Larison (@DanielLarison) March 4, 2016
Basically, Marco Rubio and Donald Trump underscored a failure of our educational system: Men are bad at math.
— AlGiordano (@AlGiordano) March 4, 2016
Fox News is fact checking? Is this real life? #GOPDebate
— Wyeth Ruthven (@wyethwire) March 4, 2016
What a circus inside the Fox Theatre. Hecklers yelling at 3 of the 4 — Rubio, Cruz and Trump — and ejections piling up. #GOPDebate
— Tim Alberta (@TimAlberta) March 4, 2016
Shorter #FOXDebate: Rubio: "Penis size." Trump: "Penis size." Kasich: "Size doesn't matter." Cruz: "I AM A PENIS, SHUT UP YOU GUYS."
— AlGiordano (@AlGiordano) March 4, 2016
good gop debate game: not watching and guessing what's happening based only on your timeline's horrified tweets pic.twitter.com/tU0yCQyQxW
— laura olin (@lauraolin) March 4, 2016
News flash that is not a news flash: Trump has no idea what he is talking about. Why? Because he watches TV and reads polls all day.
— Jon Ralston (@RalstonReports) March 4, 2016
Ted Cruz answers whether it's possible to turn insincerity into a tangible material and construct a person from it. https://t.co/DmL4SMce3k
— Big Sexy Jeb! Lund (@Mobute) March 4, 2016
Jeb was far too subtle with his gun tweet. pic.twitter.com/QH4Tzu0ykP
— Bob Schooley (@Rschooley) March 4, 2016
Trump is such a good demagogue that he can turn his own dishonesty, disingenuousness, and capricious flip-flops into towering strengths.
— Franklin Foer (@FranklinFoer) March 4, 2016
"Whoa whoa whoa whoa, don't say that I want to raise worker wages!" – John Kasich
— Jamelle Bouie (@jbouie) March 4, 2016
“I will abolish the IRS … and start a new tax collection agency in the Treasury Department called something else” —Cruz, basically
— Matt O'Brien (@ObsoleteDogma) March 4, 2016
Ted Cruz reminds everyone that he's an irresponsible demagogue too.
— Jonathan Bernstein (@jbview) March 4, 2016
So, all it took to get two archconservative Senate torture apologists to condemn US war crimes was put them 20 points behind Trump in a poll
— Adam Weinstein (@AdamWeinstein) March 4, 2016
"The African-American Democrat mayor…." — Kasich
— Jon Ralston (@RalstonReports) March 4, 2016
Rubio is more angry at Democrats for talking about the poisoned water than at the people that actually poisoned the water
— Dan Pfeiffer (@danpfeiffer) March 4, 2016
In just a few minutes, Kasich endorsed ground wars in Libya and Syria, arming Ukraine, and defending non-NATO countries from Russia
— Daniel Larison (@DanielLarison) March 4, 2016
The GOP should run Megyn Kelly against Trump, she is way better than Rubio or Cruz at taking Trump on
— Dan Pfeiffer (@danpfeiffer) March 4, 2016
How can we properly measure Trump’s dick with so many people in the media sucking it?
— Ana Marie Cox (@anamariecox) March 4, 2016
Memo to Hillary: Bring a ruler to every debate and wave it at Trump every time you speak.
— AlGiordano (@AlGiordano) March 4, 2016
I don't know, maybe we DO deserve it. pic.twitter.com/dwIbRWS3EK
— David Roth (@david_j_roth) March 3, 2016
"So then Romney attacked Trump and Palin attacked Romney" pic.twitter.com/hkTMsme3mr
— Political Line (@PoliticalLine) March 3, 2016
In case you're wondering, it's never too late to join @TheDemocrats. #gopdebate
— Charlie Crist (@CharlieCrist) March 4, 2016
Peale
Was that really a quote from Kaisch. He called out the race of the mayor on Flint water?
rikyrah
Good Morning ?, Everyone ?
lollipopguild
So the FCC is going to fine Trump,Rubio and Cruz for talking about their dicks on live TV? Nipplegate at the Super Bowl caused the collapse of Western Civilization.
Zinsky
Does anyone doubt, after last night’s shitshow, that Donald J. Trump is going to get slaughtered in the general election? The Republican Party – restoring honor and dignity to the White House.
Isobel
Hillary or Bernie is going to have to carry a micrometer into the first debate to get an accurate measurement. Guys bragging this much clearly have nothing to work with.
Fair Economist
That was a pretty witty tweet from Crist. Cover for anybody who wants to switch parties.
Gvg
I liked Crist’s response.
Funkula
I think he’s going to get slaughtered. But I’m utterly fucking terrified of the possibility that he might not.
Fair Economist
So what was Fox trying to do in the debate? They were attacking Trump, obviously, but they were pretty tough on Rubio and Cruz as well. Are they pushing for an outside nominee in a deadlocked convention? Does Ailes just not know what he wants?
Oatler.
I heard angry bellows from audience no matter who was talking. When Trump called for torture and got cheers I thought it was going to turn into a putsch.
Peale
@Funkula: yeah. Although in the end, I’d rather the GOP take a risk with an erratic failed business fraud who may or may not be too liberal for conservatives than with the true believers. I mean, if we’re unfortunate enough to have another republican foisted upon us, I’d rather it not be the one of the unqualified simps.
Anne Laurie
@Peale:
Technically, Kasich gravely conserva-splained how current Gov Snyder had no choice but to cut Flint loose, because ’50 years of misrule’ by Those People (“African-American Democrat mayor”). The Repubs only allowed little children to be poisoned for their own good, they didn’t explicitly act to poison them — totally a get-out-of-jail-free argument! Which we Dems & poor people of color would understand, if only we didn’t insist on being so not rich or white or male or Republican…
sm*t cl*de
Accountability is “politicizing”. MUST NOT POLITICISE.
Baud
Too subtle. She needs to wear a strap on and make obscene gestures with it every time a Trump interrups her.
MattF
@Baud: And a scissors. Two scissors, one in each hand. And pass out bumper stickers saying ‘Snip, Snip, Snip’. And get an endorsement from Lorena Bobbitt.
dedc79
Well, America, 240 years is nothing to sneeze at. We had a good run.
Baud
@dedc79:
I don’t know who’s worse. The people in this country who are going to vote Republican or the people in this country who are still undecided.
EZSmirkzz
And to think, some people have the temerity to say we live in the stupidest fucking country on Earth.
Whom the gods would destroy, they first drive mad
dedc79
@Baud: wait, just wait, until all the #nevertrump republicans start explaining why they are now #okjustthisonetimetrump republicans.
OzarkHillbilly
@Baud: To take a page from the Malhuer Refuge playbook, I think each of us need to go out and buy a dildo and send it to Trump as a campaign donation.
moderateindy
Jeet Heer referenced the Joker becoming the mayor of Gotham, flashed me right to one of the weirdest episodes in the 60’s Batman series in which the Penguin runs for mayor. Not only is the entertainment at the rally Paul Revere and the Raiders, but they are playing something while a girl belly dances to the music. But it is actually prescient. Listen to Penguins platform, and the old ladies reaction to it, and tell me, it’s any different than Trump, and his supporters.
https://youtu.be/QA5X12RuoEY
Citizen Alan
@Fair Economist: At this point, I suspect they may actually want Hillary to win since she’d be better for Fox’s ratings than pretending for the next 4 years that the Republican president wasn’t an absolute cretin.
Zinsky
@EZSmirkzz: Amen – love the quote.
msdc
@moderateindy: Yeah, I know this is focusing on the wrong details, but c’mon Jeet, we all know it’s the Penguin who runs for mayor of Gotham.
Also too, before I could see the clip, YouTube showed me a lovely 1:42 ad hitting Trump over and over again for his overt racism. This fall is going to be fun.
Gindy51
@Citizen Alan: And you can take it to the bank they have already done their research about this… all of them have from Limbaugh to Fox to NBC.
Thoroughly Pizzled
Hey, I signed up to be part of that Luntz focus group! They didn’t pick me, though.
Chris
@sm*t cl*de:
Just like talking about Wall Street crashing the world economy is worse than Wall Street crashing the world economy, and talking about Abu Ghraib is worse than Abu Ghraib, and talking about police violence is worse than police violence, and talking about the child abuse in the Catholic Church is worse than child abuse.
Nina
Crist wins.
I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet
That first picture certainly does make it look like Donnie has short fingers, doesn’t it?
Cheers,
Scott.
sigaba
@dedc79: For a presidential republic in the Western Hemisphere, 240 years is unheard-of.
low-tech cyclist
@Chris:
That sums it up all too well.
Yeah, the Dems have ‘politicized’ the poisoned water in Flint.
This is because politics is the means by which a democracy resolves its differences.
It would be great if there was no need of that here – if we ALL agreed that poisoning a city’s drinking water, and refusing to do anything about it for a year or two despite knowing it was happening, is bad, and that the people responsible should be wearing orange for a goodly number of years.
Unfortunately, as that wretched little twerp Marco Rubio demonstrates, there IS no such consensus, so the Dems are doing what’s called for in a democracy: they are making it a political issue.
It shouldn’t be necessary, but since it is, the Dems are stepping up to the plate.
The solution, dear Republicans, is: stop being villains. Stop doing awful things. Seriously, try it sometime.
Chip Daniels
@OzarkHillbilly:
5 bucks says that’s what the Red State Strike Force is plotting.
Shana
@OzarkHillbilly: No, do a real service and send it to Melania. She’s the one who youd really use it.
Dave Pickering
If penis size is now the most important thing to the GOP and if they have a brokered convention, maybe they should nominate Ron Jeremy. Just sayin’…
sm*t cl*de
@low-tech cyclist:
“Let’s not politicize Benghazi”, said surprisingly few Republican politicians.
tones
@Citizen Alan: yeah but they have done that before…
tones
@Chip Daniels: Trike Force I believe it is.
cokane
can the GOP just measure the candidates’ dicks from now on and then nominate based on that? seems as sensible as the current system.