That was Just Awful
I have this sinking feeling that the Dems are really going to blow it. They’re going to lose to the worst president in US history because the DNC is leading the candidates over a cliff with the idiots at CNN giving an assist by running tonight’s debate like it’s some kind of lightning round for a grand prize of a Hillary 2016 T-shirt. Holy Jesus, what a shit show. It was like a pop quiz for some Bible verse memorization contest. If the DNC thinks this kind of bullshit will engage new voters – well, we’re screwed. Just screwed.
I tried finding a movie to watch after the flag waving at the beginning, but ran back across it, glued to it by becoming so appalled that, like a car accident on the freeway, I just couldn’t look away. It was worse than the freeway car accident, like that slow fire that starts under the hood that nobody can extinguish; you KNOW what’s going to happen in the end. We’re doomed; doomed. I can only hope that the adults tomorrow night do better, but with the morons moderating playing speed questions, I fear it will be Shit Show 2 of Round Two of the series of Shit Shows.
I have no words.
I admit to turning it off after managing to listen for two hours. I will wait until the idiots are out of the lineup and hear what the real potential candidates have to say in future debates. I spent part of it with the sound off for half of the people on the stage. You are welcome to figure out which five they were.
1Not until next year. Not even if they add an Interpretive Dance round. You can’t have a “debate” with more than three people, tops.
2Buttermilk Sky, spot on BINGO! There are two contenders who have not been on the stage together. Then there are the never should runs, the stay where you are Senators Klobuchar and Sanders, the go home and win a Congressional seat Beto and Pete, excellent administration choices like Inslee, and slo Joe retirement home Biden.
Hopefully the 3-way will come soon where Harris and Warren politely step up and take Joe’s car keys while determining which of them leads the ticket.
3What a surprise. El Jefe thinks the Democrats are stupid and pathetic and doing it all wrong. So what’s new? Gloom and doom.
4What Debbo said. (As usual.”
5“I have no words.” Maybe not the usual amount, but far more than none.
And despair is the easiest way for Ds to lose this.
A concern is what d candinates are being funde, supported in polls and “qualifying” for the debates because of thuglicans support.
6Delany, ryan, bullock williamson all could be, willing or unwilling, being used a stalking horses in thee d primary to help establish thuglican “framing” and talking points.
With a media more interested in conflict rather then honest debate this will be reinforced by thuglican talking heads, reporters, faux, and papers, i.e. jareds paper just declared williamson as being the “break out” winner.
Or, why these “debates” aren’t worth my time. If they had a substantive discussion of one, pre-announced topic it would bring out more actual policy. And there are too many minor, bit players in the cast.
7@Debbo & Msb – Tell me where I’m wrong. Do either of you actually think that debates over two nights with 20 participants shouting over each other (and the moderators) is informative in the slightest? Is it constructive to have candidates who are polling virtually at zero to clutter the stage with actual candidates? This is not political discourse – this is a game show that hurts everyone, especially the DNC.
8EJ, Debbo can speak for herself. I’ve said all I intend to on this post, except that despair is exactly what the bad guys, foreign and domestic, are aiming for. I’m not going to oblige them.
9Corporate see, corporate do.
Never expect honesty from ANY of the corporate media. They are owned, and every word you hear from any of it is scripted, to further an agenda, and that agenda is anything but yours.
The DNC is a wholly owned corporate subsidiary of OLIGARCHY, INC.
When are people ever going to realize that the oligarchy is the problem, and capitalism is the whip and the chair?
10We’d be better served by a format similar to the College Basketball playoffs: pair off the candidates for 1-on-1 debates, eliminate the half with the lowest poll numbers after all the debates occurred, then try again. Only televise the final 4.
This format would allow actual discussion of the ideas. Unfortunately, it probably wouldn’t be entertaining enough to sell TV ads – which is, after all, the only thing the corporate media types care about.
That said,
11We watched the Red Sox game (a different kind of horror show). I bet most people aren’t paying attention yet. It’s summer, it’s vacation, let’s wait until the few remaining candidates get serious.
12We say no one can get elected unless they have money or connections. so that’s why we have too give the low enders a chance to build a base. agree limits must apply maybe 2/ 3 more months???
13Forget the old one-liner about bringing a knife to a gunfight, the Dems are attacking with a bunch of frisbees and trying to wound the only one of their number who, in my opinion, has a chance of defeating the worst president in recent history.
14I agree. I have no objection to a diverse group of candidates getting a chance to share their visions, but the format of these debates is horrible. I’m done watching.
15There has been no reason to call these shit shows debates since the parties took debates away from the League Of Women Voters.
16Half those folks last night shouldn’t have even been there. Bullock finally made it and smirked his way through. Delany made faces and reminded us for thew umpteenth time that his Dad ‘was an Electrician’ . Ryan still looks like a deer just before impact. Williamson apparently had some coven out there doing a ‘cone of power’ for her, didn’t help.
What a fiasco. The DNC needs to retool this thing.
17Joe Hill.
Upping the anti might help. Remembering Karl Rove and company funded the Texas Greens petition drive and goodness knows what else makes me wonder how many are being kept in the running with Republican money.
18Someone on NPR mentioned all the topics not mentioned as tho’ it were a failure on the candidates’ part. They could barely get any response out for the question asked let alone venture into other territory. Disappointed in the debate format and very disappointed in NPR. Lousy as it was, it is still helping me form an opinion as to who I want to vote for.
19I’m not positive, but I think we can all agree that these debates are worthless and shouldn’t be continued until after a couple of primaries have winnowed the field.
I remember the 2016 dem debates, with Jim Webb and other repub light also-rans stuck in with Hillary and Bernie. Worst. Debates. Ever.
Until now.
20Watching the second debate is painful. The circular firing squad seems like an apt description of what’s happening. Seems that the main purpose of tonight is to get Dems to fight with each other so there’s plenty for the talking heads to yak about on their shows tomorrow. Some of the Dems have tried to stop the nonsense to no avail.
As for despairing about all this, yes, it can feel pretty awful BUT despair, checking out, and giving up are exactly what Trump & Company and the Russian trolls want. Please, please, please — let’s not give them this gift!
We need to support Democratic candidates for all offices all across the country. But beyond this we must support and keep encouraging each other to stay in the fight so that we don’t give in to anger, despair, and disappointment. The only way we can win is to stay in the fight.
21Bonnie: so true. Tonight it’s attack Joe Biden night. And attack Kamala Harris secondly. There have been some that try to keep things on track and keeping the focus on the shitshow and orange gibbon in the WH. Right now Jay Inslee is looking good. OK, I admit to being a fan of his, living in the state to the south of where he’s governor (and also a former resident of his state).
OK, better. Attacking W for the Iraq war. These people need to keep their criticism on Republicans.
22Bonnie and Hannah – agree. I didn’t think last night was all that bad. But tonight, aided and abetted by the “moderators”, there was about a 20-30 minutes of nothing but accusations and recriminations. No policy connection, except for Biden this or Harris that did such and such in their previous jobs.
BOOOOOOOO, CNN!!!
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