Today's Cartoon - Waaaaah!

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(Nick Anderson, Houston Chronicle)

BONUS:  The Onion gives us a peek at the Republican debate demands. (h/t Silver Spring Bureau Chief)

Shockingly, Another Brilliant Republican Gambit Self-Destructs

The evolving debacle of the Republicans' "Debategate" has now entered a new phase with some candidates refusing to go along with a letter of demands whines to the networks concerning future "debate" formatting and ground rules.  Hot air balloon Donald "Rump" Trump, Master Negotiator that he is, intends to negotiate directly with the networks over their terms of surrender  debate structuring ("First, I want to build a beautiful yooge wall between me and the moderators, which the network will pay for.").  As might be expected when you're dealing with anything related to the Republican/ New Confederate/ Stupid Party, crackpot schemes well- laid plans have gone awry.  And the floundering has been noticed.

Eugene Robinson

In past cycles, the RNC was the final arbiter. But the party is in chaos and the candidates, led by Trump and Carson, are driving the bus. We’ll face down Vladimir Putin and the leaders of Iran, the contenders all say, but somebody save us from reporters asking rude questions.

Catherine Rampell

For one, all their whining about mean-spirited media bullying suggests the GOP candidates may not be equipped to handle the rough-and-tumble of a general election campaign, let alone the far more demanding presidency itself, despite tough talk about staring down dictators. A reasonable voter response to such bellyaching might be: If you can’t take the heat, get out of the kitchen. Maybe to someplace below 67 degrees. 

(Yes, even) Dana Milbank (in an amusing "application letter" to moderate the next debate)

I hope this application meets with your approval. I believe the format outlined above will, after the CNBC debate debacle, truly Make Republicans Look Great Again and return journalists to their proper role as palace courtiers. I am hopeful that I can convince my colleagues at washingtonpost.com to live-stream the debate. Though I cannot promise you that any network will broadcast the debate, I believe this should not be a major impediment. Under the requirements you proposed, very few people will be watching anyway.

The President, too, has chimed in:

“Have you noticed that every one of these candidates says, ‘Obama’s weak. Putin’s kicking sand in his face. When I talk to Putin, he’s going to straighten out’?” Mr. Obama asked a crowd of Democratic donors in New York, referring to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia.

“And then it turns out they can’t handle a bunch of CNBC moderators at a debate,” he added to huge applause from his partisan audience. “I mean, let me tell you,” he added with gleeful scorn, “if you can’t handle those guys, you know, then I don’t think the Chinese and the Russians are going to be too worried about you.”

A party in total chaos you say?  That should make for good television!

BONUS:  Let's not forget Michael Tomasky.

Today's Cartoon - A Debate Moderator Acceptable To Republicans

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(Clay Jones, www.claytoonz.com)

A propos of the post below.  But only if Sean Hannity, Mark Levin or Rush Limbaugh aren't available.

Sunday Cartoon Twofer - Leave The GOP Alone!

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(Darrin Bell, via gocomics.com)

(Mike Luckovich, Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

It remains to be seen whether Republicans will get away with their "don't ask us tough questions, it hurts our fee-fees" strategy following their "debate" whine fest this past Wednesday.  That will depend on whether the media feels it has to play along or not.  (We're not sold on the idea of a corporate media that's going to stand up to the crybabies.)  In the meantime, here's a meme we can't resist adding to the pile:

(KnowYourMeme.com)

Republicans Getting Away With Their "Dishonesty And Buffoonery"

If nothing else, the Republican clown car bus "debates" have demonstrated anew that, when their crackpot lies are challenged by the media, the most successful course of action is to lie some more and blame the media (and, as Catherine Rampell explains below, the media is to blame -- for abetting this behavior).   It's a guaranteed winner with their low- information base, and it puts the media on the defensive in future encounters (example:  following their "suspension" from a February "debate," NBC News is already trying to make nice with Republican National Committee Chairstain Reince "Prepuce" Priebus, saying they want to "work in good faith to resolve this matter," i.e., make sure there are no hardball questions or followups the next time, and that the moderators' lips are firmly attached to the candidates' arses).  Please read both pieces in their entirety to see how the rules work for Republicans.

Brian Beutler on the "GOP's Grotesque Festival of Lies":

In the long run, conservatives suffer more the deeper they burrow themselves into an ecosystem of convenient misinformation. But in the short run, they've figured out that denying documented reality and attacking the messenger can completely snow over the truth. That creates a big problem for journalists, who should view the attacks against Harwood and the others as an affront to the profession.

Catherine Rampell on how the media rewards the liars and demagogues:

The Republican presidential candidates are right. The media do suck.

But not for the reasons the candidates complained about Wednesday night.

We in the media suck because we have rewarded their rampant dishonesty and buffoonery with nonstop news coverage. Which, of course, has encouraged more dishonesty and buffoonery.

Hence the aggravating behaviors that candidates doubled down on during the debate, based on lessons that we in the media taught them. To wit:

Lesson No. 1: Lie, but lie confidently.  [snip]

Lesson No. 2: Invent your own math.  [snip]

Lesson No. 3: If you can’t think of something better to say, just bash the media.   [snip]

Accordingly, by Wednesday, the candidates had all learned to dodge difficult questions by accusing the moderators of bias. Usually, the charge was that they were too liberal. (Yes, CNBC, the channel that launched the tea party and employs the United States’ most famous supply-sider, is apparently a commie paradise.) Or they accused the media of not asking substantive questions, right in the middle of ducking substantive questions.

In the end, the biggest applause lines were all media insults. They came from Rubio, Ted Cruz and Christie.

Guess whom CNBC then crowned the winners of the debate? Rubio, Cruz and Christie.

Well done, gents. We’ve trained you well.  (our emphasis)

This is a potential tipping point in how the media (especially corporate media) take on the challenge of confronting the Republicans' "dishonesty and buffoonery."  Judging from the initial reaction, they're going to fold like a cheap suit.

BONUS:  David Atkins at Washington Monthly has a good read about why this "attack the messenger" strategy will backfire come the general election;  color us skeptical.

BONUS II:  When you're Fox Business, the RNC never has to worry about who's asking the questions.

BONUS III:  Joan Walsh is right;  might as well let Hannity and Limbaugh moderate the next Republican "debate."

Tweets Of The Day - Break Out Your Tiny Sad Violin

Following Wednesday night's CNBC Republican debate whine fest, Republican National Committee Chairderp Reince "Prepuce" Priebus announced he was "suspending" plans to have NBC broadcast a debate in February (in conjunction with Telemundo), because of the CNBC panel's "gotcha" questions.  Those meanies!  Here are our favorite rejoinders (h/t Raw Story):

.@Reince pic.twitter.com/QGPSFbf7eo

— Jon Swaine (@jonswaine) October 30, 2015

GOP candidates clearly have to be protected from uppity moderators. Need to save their best tough guy lines for Putin & the Chinese.

— Billmonster (@billmon1) October 30, 2015

Republican Whine Fest Wrap-Up

You can take your pick of many excellent reviews of last night's Republican clown car bus debate whine fest, but since we didn't watch the "roaring trash fire," we'll arbitrarily pick Simon Maloy's (excerpted) take at Salon:

Well, that was awful. The third and, sadly, not final 2016 Republican primary debate wrapped up a short while ago and it was, from start to finish, a roaring trash fire. The big storyline going into the debate was decline of Jeb Bush and the ascendance of Marco Rubio, and that narrative got a huge boost with this evening’s cacophonous disaster.

Early on in the festivities, Rubio was asked about his Senate absenteeism, which gave Jeb the opening he needed to spring the clever trap he’d been planning and publicly telegraphing. “You can campaign, or just resign and let someone else take the job,” Jeb said. “There are a lot of people living paycheck to paycheck in Florida as well. They are looking for a senator that will fight for them each and every day.” Rubio was ready, telling Jeb that the only reason he was attacking him over this is “because we’re running for the same position, and someone has convinced you that attacking me is going to help you.” The crowd went wild.

And that was it for Jeb. He came into the evening needing a standout performance, and the attendance jab at Rubio was clearly supposed to be his big moment. Rubio handled it easily and made Jeb look ridiculous in the process. From that point on, Jeb was his same uninspired self, mechanically reciting the bullet points of the record he put together in Florida a decade ago that no one really cares about.

As for Rubio, he’s going to be crowned the winner of the debate. He got his talking points in, he got the favorable contrast with Jeb he wanted, and he was helped out by the moderators, who asked him aggressive questions about his Senate attendance record and personal finances. Rubio, with the help of Ted Cruz and Chris Christie, used the tone and content of the questions to turn the crowd against the moderators and score some cheap digs against the “bias” of the mainstream media. [snip]

As for the rest of the field, there weren’t many surprises. John Kasich kicked off the debate by reiterating his complaint that candidates like Ben Carson and Donald Trump are ridiculous clowns, and then largely disappeared for the remainder of the event. Rand Paul was a nonentity, Christie got a couple of shouty tough-guy moments in, and Huckabee popped off some folksy zingers. Carly Fiorina spent the evening sermonizing about the evils of government without ever veering into specifics. Ben Carson somnambulated through the night and made clear that his grasp of complex economic issues is tenuous at best. Trump was Trump – nothing you haven’t seen before.

Ted Cruz, on the other hand, probably did do himself some favors. He got the moderator hate-fest rolling by ducking a question about the budget deal currently before Congress and instead listing off all the evil crimes of bias the CNBC personnel had committed to that point.

Whenever the focus can be shifted away from the insane, unpopular positions of the candidates to a Republican Playbook 101 attack on a (laughably absurd) "liberal mainstream media," you'll get the Republican peanut gallery to erupt as it did in the studio and in Republican messaging guru Fred "Dunce" Luntz's buzz- o- meters.  Besides any advantage to be gained by this "working the refs" strategy, it clearly stimulates endorphins in the conservative lizard brain.  A know- nothing will likely remain a know- nothing as long as they refuse to entertain thoughts that upset their predetermined views and prejudices.

As far as the "mainstream media," what Thomas Mann and Norman Ornstein advised in 2012 still applies:

Our advice to the press: Don’t seek professional safety through the even-handed, unfiltered presentation of opposing views. Which politician is telling the truth? Who is taking hostages, at what risks and to what ends?

To which we would humbly add, "Who is deflecting tough questions by attacking the messenger?"

BONUS:  The French Ambassador to the U.S. calls J.E.B.!'s jab at the 3-day French work week "bombastic nonsense."  Mr. Ambassador, you have to remember he's a Bush.

Tonight On "America's Got No Talent - Republican Candidates Edition"

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(Jack Ohman, The Sacramento Bee)

Tonight, at the Shrine of the Immaculate Deception St. Ronnie of Hollywood Lieberry,  is the second Republican poo-flinging contest "debate."  Here's your lineup card, courtesy of Charles P. Pierce:

A frontrunner whose entire platform, as reinforced by a completely whackadoo collection of random sentences that he spouted on Tuesday night, is that he's him and you're not, and neither are the Supreme Leader of Iran, the president of Mexico, or the CEO of the Ford Motor Company.

A woman who nearly destroyed a hugely respected American brand and got paid something north of $20 million just to go away.

A brilliant neurosurgeon who believes that the Medicaid expansion was the Nuremberg Laws.

A guy who was governor of Florida shortly after Ponce de Leon blew town whose brother pretty much wrecked the country.

A bass-playing Bible-banging hayseed, who's presently campaigning for the rights of faith-based goldbricks to slough off on their government jobs.

Two incredibly unpopular governors, only one of whom is under active criminal investigation at the moment.

One governor who is popular in his state, but unloved by the fans of all these other clucks.

And three senators: a rookie from Florida with a pole up his ass the size of El Capitan; a former brogressive hero who can't make up his mind on the Civil Rights movement, and a Canadian-born, Tex-Mex Joe McCarthy whose only achievement in political office is pissing off Mitch McConnell which, while admirable, is hardly a qualification to have the guy with the nuclear codes sitting outside your office.

Also, there will be an earlier debate among people deemed to have insufficient gravitas to share a stage with these giants.

Please have plenty of popcorn at the ready.

"Bad Lip Reading" The Republican Debate

Tonight's Republican Cattle Show: "Throwback Thursday"

Here's a preemptive video from the Clinton campaign on tonight's Republican seven ten dwarf "debate:"



A nice compilation of the extremists that are the "talent" and "well-qualified" candidates in the top tier of the Republican race.  (Bonus giggles:  Catch the photo of a young Jeb! Bush at around 0:55.  As one might expect, he makes a porn 'stache and long hair look quite lame.)

Sorry, no attention being paid to the seven dwarfs in the consolation "happy hour debate."  LOL.

UPDATE:  Think Progress has 11 lies you're likely to hear at tonight's "Throwback Thursday."  How else to keep the knuckle- dragger base foaming at the mouth?

UPDATE II:  Of course, Andy Borowitz nails it:

Psychologists Urge People With Low Self-Esteem to Watch G.O.P. Debate
By Andy Borowitz

People who view G.O.P. candidates for approximately three minutes report feeling better “right away” about their intelligence.

What A Strong Odor, Er, Field!

The seven ten dwarfs above have been chosen for the first Republican cattle show debate tomorrow night on Fox "News."

That's some strong, talented, well- qualified sociopaths, liars, lightweights, demagogues, indicted, science deniers candidates, right there!

BONUS:  Charles P. Pierce has an individualized question for each of the talents above.

(Image: top l. to r.:  Cruz, Walker, Jeb!, Trump, Christie;  bottom l. to r.: Kasich, Huckabee, Rubio, Carson, Paul;  not pictured:  the seven dwarfs that didn't make the cut)