And for tonight's entertainment...

I just abandoned watching the Republican debate because I can't stand it anymore.  The South Carolina crowd is especially rowdy.  I wonder if they let them bring their guns?  And, if not, why not?  Republicans are supposed to be all in favor of such "liberty."

The craziest thing is that the only one making any sense at all is Tr*mp, who was (properly) dissing George W for lying about the weapons of mass destruction.  The crowd, all establishment donor class according to Tr*mp (and Cruz this time) was upset by that, and Jeb! got his panties all in a twist because Tr*mp was "attacking" his brother.  (Well, if he didn't want his brother attacked, he shouldn't have had a brother who got us into a self-destructive war.)  "Knowing what he knows now," would Jeb! still have invaded Iraq?  Tonight, for a while there, it was hard to say.

As for Antonin Scalia, you might think I'd be overjoyed by his death, but I'm not.  For one thing, I'm not overjoyed when anybody less than a decade older than me dies.  The other problem is that his death is bad news for Bernie.  Suddenly, "electability" gets a lot more prominent in the Democratic contest, so I imagine the Hillary people are dancing for joy tonight.  Crap.

Back to the Republicans: based on the hour of debate I was able to tolerate, the only one who might have had a bit of a boost was Jeb! — but then those are his donors filling the house, right?  Mostly, though, the candidates were merrily ripping each other to shreds, and I can't help but think the shredding is likely to take, and that whoever eventually survives the nominating process will not garner much enthusiasm among potential Republican voters, much less independents.

So although McConnell and the Senate won't confirm anybody Obama nominates for the Scalia seat, I still feel quite confident that a Democrat will get to nominate whoever eventually is confirmed.  I hope it's Bernie.  He could amuse me a great deal by nominating Obama.  After that, the Senate just might confirm anybody else.

Another Republican Debate (yawn)

I caught last night's Republican debate.  I meant to skip it, but somehow I didn't.

Jeb Bush overcame his intrinsic good manners and respect for rules by ignoring the moderators and continuing a spirited attack on Tr*mp that went well beyond his "time limit."  I guess he meant to demonstrate he's really not a wussy.  Did it work?  Well, it didn't hurt.  Many of the candidates participated in ganging up on Tr*mp, and to me the Donald appeared slightly shaken.

Rubio and Cruz apparently believe the contest is between the two of them, and may have done each other some damage, but probably not enough to matter even in the short run.  Both Rubio and Cruz supporters will believe their man "won."

Chris Christie tried an amusing new tactic: disparaging Congress, as represented by Rubio and Cruz.  Given the public's low regard for Congress, the new tactic may have been effective.  We'll see.

Rand Paul was sounding a lot more libertarian than in previous debates, which was refreshing.  Ben Carson did damage control, Carly Fiorina suggested privatizing national security, and John Kasich made no particular impression at all.

And, oh yeah, nobody likes Obama.

The second Republican "debate"

If you purchased ad time during CNN's Republican gabfest, one hopes it was during the first hour.  I haven't seen any figures, but I'm pretty sure viewership must have dropped off significantly by hour two, and that only the die-hards stuck around for hour three.  Speaking of ads, it was interesting to note the 501C(3)s that bought time.

Having made her way to the grown-up table, Carly Fiorina must have done herself some good.  She came over as bright and assertive, and her questionable corporate history was largely ignored.  Paul and Kasich may have done themselves some harm by suggesting that the Glorious Republic needs allies to be effective in world affairs.  Others, like Walker and Rubio, were more adept at pandering to the Republican base by asserting, in essence, that the USofA is so "exceptional" it can charge off with drawn saber and win all global conflicts on its own.

I don't think Jeb! made any noteworthy gains last night, but he probably didn't do himself any harm either; and the same probably is true of Ben Carson, who didn't have much to say.  Nevertheless, I suspect whatever gains Fiorina makes will be at the expense of Bush and Carson.

Nobody likes those bad baby butchers over at Planned Parenthood, and nobody much likes John Roberts either, who betrayed right-wing ideology by saving Obamacare.  Huckabee and Cruz wouldn't mind circumventing the Supreme Court so that Kim Davis and various bakers and florists can legitimately discriminate against gays.  (By this point, the discussion was getting really tiresome.)

Trump, the man most of America tuned in to watch, seemed more red-faced than usual.  He may have tried to exercise some self-restraint early on, but unable to defend his "policies" (because he really doesn't have any), he got back to snarkiness in short order.  Will he start to fall behind in polling data?  Maybe, but I don't think this debate was the turning point the Republican establishment hoped to see.

The "Debate"

Q: Why is Barack Obama the worst president in the history of the United States, and why would Hillary Clinton be even worse?

Okay, they didn't ask that question — but Fox being Fox, there were questions galore inviting the contenders to dump on Democrats.  ClintonObama and ObamaClinton were condensed into single words.  The audience ate it up, of course.

Every candidate got a totally predictable "gotcha" question, by and large answered by totally predictable talking points.  Jeb Bush drew some audience disapproval for his failure to heartily endorse his brother's invasion of Iraq.  (Where do they get those people?)  Ben Carson deflected criticism of his abysmal knowledge of foreign policy by saying how smart he is.  John Kasich impressed me somewhat by actually defending his decision to expand Medicaid in Ohio.

Donald Trump was asked about his contributions to Democrats, including Hillary Clinton, and his answer was Trumpily brilliant.  First, he pointed out that he'd also contributed to every candidate on the stage.  (One, possibly Ted Cruz but it was hard to tell, whined "Not me!  Not me!")  Then Trump went on to explain that he'd merely been buying influence, not too subtly implying that all politicians are for sale.  Unstated, but understood, was that Trump is so rich he can't be bought.

Unfortunately, Trump didn't get to speak often enough to turn the alleged "debate" into the laughfest I anticipated, but there was one interesting go-round between Rand Paul and Chris Christie on the subject of government spying on citizens.  Christie, supporting the police state, was better received by the yahoos in attendance.

I don't believe that anybody "broke out" of the pack in this first unpacking of the clown car, but Trump, as Trumpy as ever, certainly didn't do himself any harm — despite the clear efforts of Fox to discredit him.  I won't be at all surprised if his poll numbers are up today.