"Republicans Gone Mild," But Still Awful

The lack of personal insults, small penis hands references, and general boorishness in last night's Republican "debate" in Miami led some in the "mainstream" media to offer their relieved praise (akin to a potty- training parent saying to a toddler, "Yay!  You finally used the toilet!").  The participants had clearly been put on notice that behavior akin to the sh*tshow of the last debate in Detroit would not be tolerated.  But as anyone paying attention to the substance of the patter would tell you, it was still an awful display.

Ezra Klein

So was this debate substantive? Sure, in the sense that it focused on weighty policy topics like Social Security and trade and the assembled candidates mostly used their inside voices. But the things the candidates actually said were, by turns, wrong, misleading, misinformed, confused, or ridiculous. This substantive debate mostly showed how weak a grasp on the issues the candidates actually have.

Robert Schlesinger

But tranquilizing Trump doesn’t cover up his manifest and polarizing flaws as a person and candidate. He still displayed an amazing lack of grasp of policy or interest in filling in those blank spots. Here’s an easy way to tell that Trump is out of his depth: He falls back on the hoary chestnut that eliminating “waste, fraud and abuse” will cover revenue gaps, or he dismisses questions about the details or real-world feasibility of his policies with a promise to make a great deal. [snip]

Then there was Trump’s response to questions about the violence that is becoming a hallmark of his rallies. Trump condemned violence while trotting out the classic abuser’s excuse on behalf of his brawling supporters: They just love this country so much they can’t help but get worked up. “There is some anger,” he said. “There’s also great love for the country. It's a beautiful thing in many respects.” And while he proclaimed himself innocent of inciting violence, CNN moderator Jake Tapper read a series of Trump quotes from rallies doing just that: “I’d like to punch him in the face” and so on. “We have some protestors who are bad dudes, they have done things,” Trump said, claiming that the protesters are the violent ones, endangering Trump supporters.

Like so much of what comes out of Donald Trump’s mouth, this claim is without basis in reality.

Steve Benen

It’s honestly difficult to think of any area of public policy the Republicans candidates described accurately. They were wrong about basic, factual details regarding the economy, the environment, foreign policy, the budget, Social Security, education, and defense spending, among other things.

When presidential candidates say wrong things in a calm demeanor, it’s hardly a triumph. Our collective expectations for the GOP field have fallen to such a low level that watching them make bogus claims about reality for two hours seems impressive – because no one held up their hands to show how big they are.

We'll see how long they're on their best "civil" behavior, but regardless, this collection of neo- fascists, nativists, crackpots and know- nothings are still spouting the usual lies, distortions and hate in their new "inside voices," hoping no one, especially the media, will notice.