Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Republicans are radicals, not conservatives.

If a good thing happens for a bad reason, it’s still a good thing.

Proof that we need a blogger ethics panel.

When your entire life is steeped in white supremacy, equality feels like discrimination.

Our job is not to persuade republicans but to defeat them.

Wake up. Grow up. Get in the fight.

The current Supreme Court is a dangerous, rogue court.

Why is it so hard for them to condemn hate?

Damn right I heard that as a threat.

This must be what justice looks like, not vengeful, just peaceful exuberance.

It’s always darkest before the other shoe drops.

American history and black history cannot be separated.

Their shamelessness is their super power.

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

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

There are times when telling just part of the truth is effectively a lie.

Tick tock motherfuckers!

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

The worst democrat is better than the best republican.

Donald Trump found guilty as fuck – May 30, 2024!

Every one of the “Roberts Six” lied to get on the court.

Authoritarian republicans are opposed to freedom for the rest of us.

Fear or fury? The choice is ours.

Tide comes in. Tide goes out. You can’t explain that.

You are here: Home / Politics / Domestic Politics / Belated GOP Presidential Town Hall Open Thread: Updated with a Live Feed

Reader Interactions

219Comments

  4. 4.

    BR

    I am at the point where I am going to put both a Hillary and a Bernie sticker on my car, side by side. Does anyone have suggestions on where the best places are to get stickers of both? (Should I just donate to both campaigns?) I’m tired of the primaries (and don’t care who wins at this point) and want to unify the party to face the GOP.

  5. 5.

    TheBuhJaysus

    Cruz now distancing himself from his pledge to support the R nominee if it’s Trump.

  7. 7.

    MomSense

    I’m too tired to watch tonight. I’m fighting off a cold or something and think my evening is going to be hot tea and rest.

  8. 8.

    TheBuhJaysus

    @BR:

    That’s a great idea. I think Hillary will be the nominee, but I find Bernie a worthy candidate and would vote for him Without hesitation if he were the D nominee.

    Whatever is going to pull as many seats towards the left in November.

  11. 11.

    Adam L Silverman

    Neither the Paris’ nor Brussel’s attacks were the result of being blind sided. In both cases they knew something was coming, they were unable to actually stop the attacks.

    As for Senator Cruz’s answer: 1) Ft. Hood is in Texas, 2) his home state is Texas, not Florida, and 3) our efforts in Syria just resulted in the death of the #2 guy in Islamic State’s hierarchy. Finally, Nidal Hassan was in contact with Anwar al Awlawki in 2008, which just happened to be when George W. Bush was President and Senator Ted Cruz worked for his administration. And it was the Intel personnel in Bush’s Administration that determined that the communication had nothing to do with terrorism:
    nytimes.com/2009/11/10/us/10inquire.html

  16. 16.

    SiubhanDuinne

    CNN pisses me off. Most of the time, the only way you can watch a debate or town hall on line is if you already have a cable subscription and account number.

    I do not have a television, and therefore I do not have a cable subscription nor an account number.

    Thus, I am precluded from watching more than 10 minutes’ worth of CNN coverage of any potentially significant political event (minus approximately 2-1/2 to 3 minutes of commercials).

    This strikes me as an extremely stupid business model. If I were CNN, I would want to try to persuade people like me to buy a TV and subscribe to cable, and I would do this by offering free online access to public service programs such as town halls and debates.

  17. 17.

    Adam L Silverman

    @SiubhanDuinne: I went looking for a proper live stream, but couldn’t find one and didn’t want to link to the “you get ten minutes free” thing they’ve got rigged up.

  18. 18.

    Mnemosyne

    The Republican debates are like “American Idol” to me — wait, that show is still on? Who knew?

    They jumped the shark when the literal dick-measuring started, and they haven’t found a suitable Cousin Oliver to win viewers back.

  19. 19.

    TheBuhJaysus

    @BR:

    I’ll get both Trump and Cruz bumper stickers and with a piece of added duct tape added in front, have them read FUCK Trump / FUCK Cruz.

  20. 20.

    Mnemosyne

    In other news, it turns out that sometimes It’s Good To Be The King (or at least be covered by the King’s health insurance). My little referral problem shriveled up and faded away as soon as the center pulled the “preferred provider” card on my stubborn medical group. I has a relieved.

  21. 21.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @redshirt:

    Is Trump at this town hall?

    Supposedly, yes. I saw something earlier that he might cancel, but nothing recently, and if he were going to bail I think it would be a pretty big story.

    This is going to go three solid hours. Don’t know if I have the stamina to follow the Guardian‘s live blog. Hell, I don’t even know if Anderson Cooper has the stamina.

  23. 23.

    dr. bloor

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    Thus, I am precluded from watching more than 10 minutes’ worth of CNN coverage of any potentially significant political event (minus approximately 2-1/2 to 3 minutes of commercials).

    You might be the only person in North America complaining about not getting enough CNN. If your provider was really smart, they’d be threatening to give it to you 24/7 unless you agreed to a rate increase.

  24. 24.

    Davebo

    @Adam L Silverman:

    I think you’ll forgive me if I’m a bit skeptical about “the #2 guy” in any group being killed and therefore we’re safer.

    How many #2 guys have we killed so far? 20?

  29. 29.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Davebo: Usually its the #3 guy that gets killed. Over the past 15 years we’ve killed dozens of #3 guys. So this was a welcome diversion. Except for the #2 guy. But the #3 guy that we didn’t get this time is relieved he gets a promotion and doesn’t have to worry about being on the long list of #3 guys we’ve taken out.

  30. 30.

    Thoughtful David

    @Adam L Silverman:
    Nope, sorry, no can do. It’s not good for my sanity, for my blood pressure, or the monitor screen and floor coverings around the set, and the neighbors would probably call the cops on me from the raged yelling.
    It’s really just better if I abstain.

  34. 34.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Adam L Silverman:

    Thanks, that’s precisely what I’m dealing with.

    I can listen to CNN audio on SiriusXM in my car, so may catch a piece of the town hall on my way home a bit later.

  36. 36.

    Villago Delenda Est

    Cruz is, yet again, being an ignorant regurgitate the talking points ass.

    Ho hum.

  38. 38.

    Betty Cracker

    There is so much to hate about Cruz, but here’s something petty that annoys the shit outta me: the way he whips out some lame-ass circa-1980 fucking turn of phrase like “welfare should be a trampoline, not a hammock” in his goddamn annoying adenoidal voice and pauses, smirking, as if for applause or at least acknowledgement of his cleverness. What. A. Dick.

  41. 41.

    Mnemosyne

    @Iowa Old Lady:

    What’s really funny is that it was never an insurance company problem at all — the problem was with the medical group my doctor now belongs to. When I called Cigna, they were all, Don’t worry, it’s fine, because they knew that my company has that preferred provider regardless of what the medical group wanted, and Cigna’s going to do what my company wants since my company pays the bills.

    (One of the reasons this provider is preferred is that one of my company’s bigwigs made a giant donation to it and has his name on the cancer center.)

  43. 43.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @dr. bloor:

    I hate CNN, but I do want to stay as informed as possible about the candidates, and that means following as many debates and town halls as are available to me. Unfortunately, CNN seems to have snagged a huge number of these events this cycle.

  45. 45.

    Steve in the ATL

    @Adam L Silverman: If you’re going to fact check Ted Cruz, you are in for a loooooooooooooooong night

    And you need to save your energy for tonight’s sovcitpa thread

  47. 47.

    Adam L Silverman

    Anyone notice how large the font is on the paper Trump is reading from? Its got to be over 20 point.

  49. 49.

    TheBuhJaysus

    I’m thinking the question and answer portion with the audience and Trump is going to be interesting…

  50. 50.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Adam L Silverman:

    Right now Senator Cruz is talking about cheese and cookies.

    No no, he was talking about Jeesus Rookies. You newcomers.

    And I’m now strangely hungry.

    Body and blood comin’ right up. (Too soon? It’s only been two millennia.)

  58. 58.

    TheBuhJaysus

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    “Body and blood comin’ right up. (Too soon? It’s only been two millennia.)”

    Cheddar flavored bodies of Christ were my favorite snack back in Catholic grade school.

  64. 64.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @TheBuhJaysus:

    Cheddar flavored bodies of Christ were my favorite snack back in Catholic grade school.

    Like Pepperidge Farm Goldfish only crucified?

  80. 80.

    Iowa Old Lady

    I heard some guy on the radio who’d written a book about Trump, and he said the phrase that sums up Trump for him is “Believe me.” Trump believes that he will do awesome things because he’s the one doing them. All you have to do is look and see that he’s there and then believe.

  87. 87.

    Adam L Silverman

    @schrodinger’s cat: It was horrid. Had this not been on tonight, I intended to write about portions of it. Specifically the stuff he started the town hall with about charging for defense support and drawing back and dominating etc. I’ll probably do it tomorrow depending on what’s going on.

  88. 88.

    TheBuhJaysus

    Trump is flopping around like a fish outta water when asked what the top three functions of government should be. He’s said security, security, security, then education, healthcare, housing.

    So called conservatives will be foaming at the mouth.

  90. 90.

    RaflW

    @Davebo:

    I think you’ll forgive me if I’m a bit skeptical about “the #2 guy” in any group being killed and therefore we’re safer. How many #2 guys have we killed so far? 20?

    Can’t prove a counterfactual, but we can look at the number of successful ISIS led attacks on Americans at home in the last 7+ years as an indication that you are, except for our homegrown gun nut culture, pretty safe over here. Now, if you don’t feel safe, that may not matter.

  94. 94.

    Adam L Silverman

    That journalism student does not appear impressed by the response to the NATO question.

  99. 99.

    Adam L Silverman

    Putin and Xi must be thrilled with Donald Trump’s town hall answers on NATO.

  103. 103.

    TheBuhJaysus

    Trump is exposed when he doesn’t have a foil(low-energy Jeb?! Or Lil’ Marco) to put down or roll his eyes at.

    Hillary or Bernie would savage him in a debate.

  108. 108.

    Mnemosyne

    @Miss Bianca:

    Not good yet, but at least it’s one less thing to worry about. I still remember the five-year fight I had with Aetna over an admission to the hospital from the ER (my appendix was inflamed, but fortunately it went down and I didn’t need surgery). They wanted to bill it as out of network because my doctor was out of town that day and it was another doctor in the same OFFICE who advised me to go to the ER.

  109. 109.

    PhoenixRising

    My 16yo: Maybe Donald Trump should ask Siri to explain what ‘nuclear proliferation’ means because I just looked and there are maps and charts and everything!

    She’s moved us off CNN to a recorded Dr Oakley episode, because a Canadian vet treating an alpaca for an abscess on his junk is way more qualified to manage the launch codes than Donald Trump.

  110. 110.

    dmsilev

    Has there ever been a major-party candidate for President who has been as insecure as Trump?

  112. 112.

    Adam L Silverman

    @dmsilev: Nixon. And the only difference is Nixon’s grievances were against those he believed were better than him and looking down at him. Donald Trump is simply a thin skinned bully with a lot of resources.

  115. 115.

    Miss Bianca

    @SiubhanDuinne: @Adam L Silverman:

    CNN only gives you 10 minutes if you’re not subscribed? Is *that* why the last time I tried to watch the Sanders-Clinton debate on this very site that the feed suddenly stopped and would not start again? Here I thought it was my Internet connection.

  119. 119.

    TheBuhJaysus

    @RaflW:

    Ol’ Rick got him sum fancy glasses and that whole counting thing became easy.

    “One, two, three, …four………..five! ” :: bespectacled Rick left grinning like he just went potty for the first time ::

  125. 125.

    sigaba

    @Adam L Silverman: I thought we always used to kill the #3 guy because we always used to kill someone, but that someone was neither Osama bin Laden nor Al Zawahiri, and the latter was always identified as “Al Quaeda number 2.”

  128. 128.

    RaflW

    @TheBuhJaysus: I would imagine bespectacled Rick is wondering how the f*@k a man less qualified than alpaca junk is the frontrunner while he’s nowheresville. I hated Perry, but he seems almost reasonable now. Which is quite a stunt the Donald is pulling off.

  129. 129.

    Miss Bianca

    @Mnemosyne:

    Ah. Good-ish news? Not-as-sucky-as-it-might-be news?

    Medical insurance horror stories…good times! Got plenty of them from my bike accident. Good news is that I *had* insurance, bad news is that I had to fight them like hell every step of the way to get them to pay for treatments my doctors had recommended. Made the stress of recovery just ever so much easier to take, don’t you know…

    I can understand *why* people want to go to a single-payer system, if they thought it might make access to treatment less complicated and frustrating.

  131. 131.

    Aleta

    “My mind is aglow with whirling, transient nodes of thought careening through a cosmic vapor of invention.”

  134. 134.

    Steve in the ATL

    @dmsilev:

    Brussels is a hell-hole? ???

    Well, I can tell you this from the summer I spent there studying EEC law: the cool place to be on Friday evening? On the train to Paris.

  137. 137.

    Miss Bianca

    @RaflW:

    God, who’d ever have thought we’d be nostalgic for *Rick Perry*, for all love?

    And Pres. GWB is starting to look positively Presidential next to these – to borrow dr. bloor’s newly-immortal phrase – umbilical stumps.

    (which is truly the only epithet worthy of being compared to “alpaca junk” right now).

  140. 140.

    Mnemosyne

    @Miss Bianca:

    Since I get to take the whole day off work for the biopsy, I’m debating what treats to buy myself. Do I just want Kindle books, or do I want to go to the used bookstore this weekend and pick out a stack? Cupcakes or ice cream? Or both?

  141. 141.

    Adam L Silverman

    @divF: Funny leg crossing story. UF has a building, right next to the O Dome that previously housed the basketball court. It was retrofitted into classrooms and offices and conference rooms. The two big seminar rooms, which used to be the basketball court and have been subdivided at what was mid court, have stepped stadium style seating for the desks. This is because the court had fixed stadium seating, not the collapsable bleachers. The first time I had to teach in one of these rooms I walked in, plopped my bag down on the desk, put my outline on the podium, fired up the computer stuff, and turned around to face the students waiting for class to start. Every woman in that room, including the ones wearing jeans or other types of pants, immediately crossed their legs and put their bags on their laps. The top of my head was just at foot level for the lowest row of seats. Every class the same thing happened. It was reflex and I understand it. I’m still not sure anyone who authorized the retrofit does.

  144. 144.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Miss Bianca: Trump wasn’t wrong about infrastructure degradation though. Of course he didn’t explain that our infrastructure is falling apart because one party demands constant tax cuts and refuses to fund public works. At any level of government.

  145. 145.

    divF

    @Adam L Silverman: The male true story for that was in a class Madame divF took during medical school, with nine men and three women. As soon as the instructor said the words “testicular cancer”, all the men crossed their legs.

  150. 150.

    Miss Bianca

    @Adam L Silverman:

    That’s the weird thing about Trump: he closes one eye, squints at the target, looses a shaft seemingly at random and amazingly enough comes close enough to the bullseye that he gets a roar from the crowd. Problem is, he thinks he can just do that shit all the time – he doesn’t have to, you know, PRACTICE or KNOW anything – he’s just going to wing an arrow, any old arrow, at any old target and think he’s fucking AMAZING.

  152. 152.

    redshirt

    @Mnemosyne: Iced cream goes well with cupcakes, I’ve found. But there’s nothing like the smell of an old book. Probably mold spores entering your brain, but still, nostalgic.

  155. 155.

    Adam L Silverman

    @redshirt: When you put ice cream on an old book do you use sprinkles? Or is this a hot fudge or hot caramel topping sort of thing?

  156. 156.

    RaflW

    Based on the way twitter has slowed to a trickle, one assumes Kasich is boring the pants off the (few remaining) viewers now?

  161. 161.

    CaseyL

    @redshirt:

    Probably mold spores entering your brain, but still, nostalgic.

    Nostalgia = mold spores in the brain. I like it!

    Trying to get my mind around the people who support Trump when he sounds dumber and dumberer every time he opens his mouth. At this point, I’m willing to go with “He hates who we hate” as the single and only reason for supporting him.

  168. 168.

    Adam L Silverman

    @CaseyL: Never underestimate the power of hate.

    With blood and rage of crimson red,
    Ripped from a corpse so freshly dead,
    Together with our hellish hate,
    We’ll burn you all–That is your fate!

    — Atrocitus, Green Lantern (vol. 4) #32 (June 2008)

  170. 170.

    Gin & Tonic

    @Miss Bianca: No, you should have said “the hell with you, you whippersnapper, in our day those were ‘rotating tag lines’ and to me that’s how they’ll remain.”

    I miss having them at the top. I miss the balloon guy, too.

  171. 171.

    Amir Khalid

    @CaseyL:
    We all know what Trump talk is like: ignorance, bigotry, bluster. I’ve heard of some people (like Scott Baio) who said they were endorsing Trump because he talked like they did. It seems like an awful lack of self-awareness on their part.

  173. 173.

    Miss Bianca

    @Gin & Tonic:

    Goddammit, everybody’s cracking me up tonight. You’re right, of course. Can I order Redshirt off my lawn, too? Or should I just beam him down to the planet with the Main Cast?

  177. 177.

    Adam L Silverman

    @redshirt: Probably this would be nerdier:

    “Tor lorek san, bor nakka mur,
    Natromo faan tornek wot ur.
    Ter Lantern ker lo Abin Sur,
    Taan lek lek nok–Formorrow Sur!

    –Indigo Tribe (Lantern) Oath

    Or Rot Lop Fan’s (the Blind Green Lantern):

    “In loudest din or hush profound,
    My ears catch evil’s slightest sound.
    Let those who toll out evil’s knell
    Beware my power, the F-Sharp Bell!”

  180. 180.

    Adam L Silverman

    You can really tell the difference in the candidates with Governor Kasich. Regardless of whether you agree with his positions, he’s an experienced politician with legislative and executive branch experience. And you can see the difference in how he approaches the town hall, Anderson Cooper’s, and the audience’s questions.

  182. 182.

    Adam L Silverman

    The hipster student needs to buy a shirt with a collar that fits his neck. Not my neck! For the record I have an 18 inch neck and can lift several hundred pounds with it, which is why my head basically tapers into my shoulders…

  189. 189.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Miss Bianca: from memory, as chanted by Gildor Inglorien, from “A Long Walk to Mushrooms”:

    A Elbereth Gilthoniel
    Siliveren penna miriel
    O menal aglar elanath!
    Gilthoniel a Elbereth

    We still remember,
    We who dwell,
    In this far land beneath the trees,
    The Starlight on the Western Seas

  194. 194.

    Adam L Silverman

    @FlyingToaster: Casualties can be kept to 80%!

    I would definitely watch a Vastra, Jenny, and Strax show.

    No, I’m not a Sontaran. I wrestled in high school and our coach, correctly, emphasized developing neck strength to prevent injury. I’ve always stuck with that over the years. As a result I have an 18 inch neck. I do not have a head that looks like it came from a 1:1 scale Mr. Potato Head and I’m not the result of a mass cloning process. Though my Dad did once say I was an immaculate deception.

  195. 195.

    Miss Bianca

    @Adam L Silverman:

    “From memory”, she mutters. From fucking memory. Of course. But why should I be surprised? That’s it – I’ve officially given up being surprised at *anything* that comes out of your mouth. Virtually speaking, of course.

  196. 196.

    Adam L Silverman

    @The Lodger: My understanding, though I can’t prove it, was that This is Spinal Tap is an important part of our grand strategic vision.

  197. 197.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Miss Bianca: I did go to double check the spelling online at one of the Tolkien Wikis. Around here if I had gotten something wrong, someone would notice and point it out!

    I was an obsessive Tolkien reader as a kid. I’ve lost count how many times I’ve read the Lord of the Rings.

  199. 199.

    Miss Bianca

    @Adam L Silverman:

    I did, too, actually. Check the spelling. Cause sure enough, I had remembered it as “ilbereth” not “elbereth”.

    Don’t tell anyone. My Tolkien card will get revoked.

  200. 200.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Miss Bianca: There’s about five or six different versions at different points in the book, as you know. This was the one that always stuck with me.

  201. 201.

    redshirt

    @Miss Bianca: In this age of Daredevil and Luke Cage TV shows and Iron Man being the star of the biggest grossing movie series ever, I’m realistically hoping I see a movie about Beren and Luthien before I die. Or a trilogy if that’s required.

    It’s got everything a modern blockbuster needs, plus it can be Lord of the Rings branded, so it’s got built in appeal.

  202. 202.

    Adam L Silverman

    @redshirt: The Silmarilion is not an easy book to follow, narrative wise. I imagine it would be very difficult to make a coherent screen play out of it.

  204. 204.

    redshirt

    @Adam L Silverman: The entire Silmarilion is impossible to do as a movie. Maybe as a TV show but who would dare?

    However, I’m talking only about the story with Beren and Luthien, which is a completely contained story of forbidden love and brave adventure. It would be an amazing movie, or series of movies probably.

  206. 206.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Mnemosyne: If they were really that concerned they would have scheduled you immediately. I know that’s both cold comfort and easy for me to say/write, but it is a hopeful sign.

  207. 207.

    PaulWartenberg2016

    So it’s official that all three remaining candidates say they will NOT support the eventual nominee?

    That means it will be war in Cleveland.

    Especially if Cruz succeeds in keeping enough delegates away from Trump.

    Again, I sound the warning to all citizens in Cleveland. EVACUATE. Pretend it’s another Browns home game that week and flee for your lives.

  209. 209.

    Adam L Silverman

    @redshirt: It could be done. The problem is whether it would sell widely. Even among Tolkien fans a lot of them never made it through The Silmarilion.

  211. 211.

    LAO

    @Mnemosyne: what a misery. Not the same, but the last time I was Crohn’s sick, I had to wait 6 weeks between the the recommendation to have a resection and the actual surgery because of the medication I was on. It was the most miserable period of my life but for the recovery.

    The waiting can kill you. Keep your spirits up.

  213. 213.

    redshirt

    @Miss Bianca: If you still have the book, Beren and Luthien is also a fun read if you generally like Tolkien. It’s completely standalone and not too long. Give it a read and see what you think. It’s one chapter in the larger section called “Quenta Silmarillion”.

  214. 214.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Miss Bianca: The entire book is a hard read. I had to force myself and it still took at least three tries of picking it up, getting a bit, wondering why I was reading this, putting it down, and then, ultimately coming back to it. @redshirt: is correct that the self contained chapter on Beren and Luthien is much more readable and easier to follow.

  216. 216.

    Miss Bianca

    @Adam L Silverman: @redshirt:

    OK, completely geeky question, but…wait a minute, there are some Tolkien geeks in the room here, aren’t there? Isn’t the story of Beren and Luthien in the appendices at the end of “Return of the King”? I know there’s some allusion to them somewhere besides The Silmarillion.

  218. 218.

    J R in WV

    @Adam L Silverman:

    I have a 19.5 inch neck just from being from a sitff-necked family, and working on building stuff and collecting rocks with a hand sledge. It is why I pretty much gave up neckties long ago. Polo shirts with agency logos were a life saver!

    And jeans that weren’t blue – for some reason top management thought that banning “blue jeans” would get them better dressed field scientists and engineers. So various tan colors of denim got high ratings – plus there were senior guys who just didn’t care.

  219. 219.

    Adam L Silverman

    @J R in WV: Testify! I’m okay with ties once the weather cools down. As your in WV, you understand what I mean when I write that summer in South Central PA can be brutal! I was very glad when USAWC went to colored polo shirts during summer unless a 3 Star or Civilian equivalent was visiting.

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