Be Afraid! Be Very Afraid!

That was the message from both the lightweight Republicans in the candidate clown car bus and their enablers at CNN during last night's undercard and main "debates."  Since we have to hold on to every one of our precious brain cells, we didn't watch the spectacle, leaving it to others to describe The Horror!

The candidates spent much of Tuesday's debates talking about ISIS and Islamic terrorism. Other threats, including gun violence, climate change and domestic terror carried out by white extremists -- all of which kill more Americans at home than jihadists -- were ignored. If the point of Islamic extremist terrorism is to make people terrified, Tuesday's debate was proof that it's working.

The debate hosts didn't help. CNN opened the prime-time contest with a Michael Bay-esque graphics package that featured a movie-trailer-style announcer proclaiming that the presidential race was taking a "critical turn, with terror fears front and center" and clips of Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and angry clown Donald Trump talking about terrorism -- all over action-movie music.

That these armchair Pattons would be continuing to rile the dimwits in their base with tuff talk about Mooslims is no surprise at all.  They've been in that business, with one boogeyman or another, for over 40 years.  And now it should no longer be a surprise that CNN is actively pumping up that shameful Republican narrative.  As no less an observer than (Sir) Charles Barkley has observed, CNN has "sold its soul" in pursuit of ratings and profits.

Who else profits from this narrative?  Who will claim that there's a war on Islam being waged by America?  Who will use this over- heated rhetoric as a recruiting tool?

This counterproductive stupidity is dangerous to all of us, and the fact that a major news organization (other than Fox "News") is fanning the flames of stupidity for its ratings is downright disgusting.

BONUS: Simon Maloy expands on the "fear cauldron" that was the Republican debate, from an unhinged opening statement by desperate Gov. Chris "Krispykreme" Christie, to the dust up between the Cubano Gusanos, smarmy Sen. "Tailgunner" Ted Cruz and slippery Sen. Marco "Glug Glug" Rubio over metadata collection and immigration.

BONUS II:  Here's just one list of some of the lies and distortions (unchallenged by CNN) in last night's debate.

BONUS III:   A wingnut civil war broke out on Twitter during the "debate," including some tweets from that Iowa twit Steve "Douchebag" Deace.  Hahahaha.

BONUS IV:  Andy Borowitz nails it.