;)
The Commentariat -- October 10, 2016
Afternoon Update:
Kelsey Snell of the Washington Post: "House Speaker Paul Ryan will not campaign with or defend Donald Trump through the November election, according to a knowledgeable source who participated in a phone call with House GOP lawmakers on Monday morning. 'The speaker is going to spend the next month focused entirely on protecting our congressional majorities,' said Ryan spokeswoman AshLee Strong. 'There is no update in his position at this time,' Strong said regarding an endorsement." CW: Strong also confirmed that Ryan, a Wisconsin Republican, would call upon his state legislature to change the Badger State's official state animal to a weasel.
Greg Sargent: "There is a lot of chatter to the effect that Trump has 'stopped the bleeding.' [see Driftglass, linked below]... If it means, 'Trump fired up demoralized hard-core GOP base voters with an exciting show of fight, which will make it harder for GOP lawmakers to continue abandoning him, requiring them to instead say he took steps towards righting his campaign,' then, yes, Trump probably 'stopped the bleeding.' But..., if anything, Trump doubled down on his core boorishness, mostly to deepen his bond with his supporters, because in the end, those are the only voters he knows how to connect with." -- CW
MJ Lee of CNN: "Donald Trump issued an unmistakable threat to Hillary Clinton Sunday night: I am willing to cross any line to make the next 30 days of your life hell." -- CW
Rosie Gray of BuzzFeed: "Trump's revanchist positioning is a sign he's retreated to pleasing the hard core of his base, despite the fact that they cannot deliver him the White House; a performance like this won't bring on board the voters Trump must persuade in order to win.... On Sunday night, Trump's Facebook page posted an image emblematic of where his campaign is now. It's a meme of him standing at a lectern, with the words 'She would be in jail' right next to his face." -- CW
Steve M.: "I'm told that yesterday's events are unprecedented in American politics.... But the only thing new that happened yesterday was that Trump brought the attitudes, suspicions, and resentments of conservative America to the debate stage undiluted.... Donald Trump is the real Republican Party stripped of phony civility and fake high-mindedness. He represents his party better than John McCain and Mitt Romney ever did. He's the genuine article. If you're shocked by his campaign, you've had your head in the sand for a long time." ...
... CW: Yup, what's really upset Republicans this election season is that Donald Trump is the crude public embodiment of who they really are, and the deplorables they rely on to support them.
*****
Presidential Race
Patrick Healy & Jonathan Martin of the New York Times: "In a startling political maneuver before tens of millions of viewers, Donald J. Trump accused Hillary Clinton of smearing women who had accused Bill Clinton of sexually assaulting or harassing them, turning their presidential debate Sunday night into the tawdriest in modern history as he sought to salvage his presidential candidacy after explosive reports about his past lewd comments about women.... Mr. Trump ... argu[ed] that the accusations against Mr. Clinton were 'far worse' than Mr. Trump's remarks in 2005 that he could kiss and grope women because he was 'a star.' Mr. Trump apologized for those remarks but also repeatedly minimized them as 'locker-room talk,' and even tried to blame Mrs. Clinton for raising them in light of Mr. Clinton's behavior.... At several points, Mr. Trump expressed his frustration with the two moderators.... 'Why aren't you bringing up the emails?' he asked, before flatly accusing the moderators of conspiring against him. 'It's nice, one on three,' he said." -- CW ...
... David Fahrenthold & Katie Zezima of the Washington Post/Both Sides, Inc.TM:"Sunday night's presidential debate was unusually dark and bitter, with the two candidates taking steps unheard-of in the genteel tradition of Presidential debates, with .... Donald Trump referring to ... Hillary Clinton as 'the devil,' and promised that -- if elected -- he would order the Justice Department to investigate her. Clinton said at one point that Trump lives 'in an alternate reality.' The first half-hour of the debate was dominated not by questions from the undecided voters in the audience, but by interruptions and accusations by Trump himself.... 'You bragged that you committed sexual assault,' moderator Anderson Cooper said, and then asked Trump if he understood the implications of what he said. 'I didn't say that at all. I don't think you understood what was said. This was locker-room talk,' Trump said.... The words 'sex tape' also made their debut in the solemn tradition of American presidential debates, as Trump denied doing something he had actually done: Asking his Twitter followers to 'check out sex tape' of a former Miss Universe with whom he was feuding." -- CW ...
... Danielle Paquette of the Washington Post: "The exchange [between Anderson Cooper & Donald Trump] stands out for more than just its lewd content, already unusual in the context of a presidential debate. Cooper used the Justice Department's definition in describing the behavior Trump bragged about in the conversation, calling it 'sexual assault.' The Justice Department defines sexual assault as 'any type of sexual contact or behavior that occurs without the explicit consent of the recipient.'" -- CW
... CNN video: Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway tells Dana Bash to "stop saying 'sexual assault.'" ...
By Driftglass. Multiple applications.... Mark Barabak, et al., of the Los Angeles Times: "Donald Trump took a scorched-earth approach to trying to right his faltering campaign Sunday night, lashing out at his rival -- and even threatening her with imprisonment -- during a presidential debate where he confronted the turmoil that's pushing his party toward mutiny." -- CW ...
... John Cassidy of the New Yorker reprises "the nastiest presidential debate of all time." -- CW
But it's locker-room talk, and it's one of those things. I will knock the hell out of ISIS. -- Donald Trump, "explaining" his sexual predator boasts during the debate
Karen Tumulty of the Washington Post: "He vowed to put her in prison. He stalked across the stage, and hovered imposingly behind her. At one point, he referred to her as 'the devil.' Rather than being chastened by the most serious crisis of his presidential campaign..., Donald Trump came forth in full alpha-male mode for his second debate with ... Hillary Clinton on Sunday night. It made for a discomfiting 90 minutes...." -- CW ...
... The Candidate vs. the Stalker. Paulina Firozi & Melanie Zanona of the Hill: "Social media quickly responded on Sunday during the second presidential debate of 2016 at the image of Republican nominee Donald Trump looming behind ... Hillary Clinton as she answered a question on healthcare." Tweeters called in "menacing," "bullying," "threatening," etc. "Abusive men do this to us all the time." -- CW
Brian Beutler of the New Republic: "Since he launched his presidential campaign over a year ago, Donald Trump's overarching strategy has been unchanged: win by subjecting his opponents to abuse and humiliation. On Sunday night, that strategy changed to subjecting Hillary Clinton to as much humiliation as possible on his way to defeat.... Trump launched a ceaseless and unhinged series of attacks on Clinton, both on the debate stage and off.... He promised that if he's president of the United States, he would instruct his attorney general to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Clinton's email practices, and, in the fashion of a junta leader, that under his administration she'd 'be in jail.'... At one point he smacked down his own running mate, Mike Pence, for serving up ad hoc Syria policy at the vice presidential debate last week: 'He and I haven't spoken, and I disagree.'... For a party desperate to part ways with him, to avoid being dragged down with him, his performance was disastrous precisely because Trump succeeded at the only thing he came to accomplish...: to pander to his demoralized supporters." -- CW
Helaine Olen of Slate: Donald Trump "blamed Hillary Clinton for the fact he doesn't pay taxes. Because, you see, 'A lot of my write-off was depreciation, and that, Hillary as a senator, allowed. The people that give her all this money want it.' (Clinton, of course, wasn't a senator in 1995, the year Donald Trump reported the $916 million loss. If you needed reminding!)" -- CW ...
... CW: The notion that a first lady or a junior senator or even a president can just snap her fingers & get Congress to change the law is beyond ludicrous. Yet that was Trump's "best argument" throughout the debate.
New York Times Editors: "Donald Trump boiled his decadent campaign down to one message during the presidential debate on Sunday night: hatred of Hillary and Bill Clinton.... Sniffing and glowering, Mr. Trump prowled behind her as Mrs. Clinton presented herself again as the only adult on stage, the only one seeking to persuade the great majority of Americans that she shares their values and aspirations.... Once again, as he flailed, he whined that the moderators were ganging up on him and failing to question Mrs. Clinton about her private email server -- immediately after they had done just that." -- CW
"Tin-Pot Dictator." Zack Beauchamp of Vox: "There is no way to sugarcoat this:... Donald Trump threatened to throw Hillary Clinton in jail if he wins the presidency. This -- threatening to jail one's political opponents -- is how democratic norms die.... This is everything we feared about Donald Trump. His long history of trying to silence critics with lawsuits, his inability to let personal slights go, his pettiness: The nightmare scenario is that these would incline him to use the power of the presidency to forcibly silence his critics and opponents. That's what is done by tin-pot dictators...."...
... CW: This may be the most important takeaway from the debate: that a candidate for POTUS has threatened to shred the Constitution to incarcerate his political rival and that he has done so in the most public way possible. Trump's model for this tyrannical threat is former Ukraine President Viktor Yanukovych, a Russian puppet, who -- after a bitter election -- arranged a show trial against his main rival, Yulia Tymoshenko, then jailed her on Trumped-up charges. Yanukovych's handlers included Paul Manafort, who served as Trump's campaign manager. The parallels are, needless to say, eerie.
Bryan Bender, et al., of Politico fact-check the debate: "In a campaign season littered with falsehoods, Sunday night's debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton marked the moment when the tether between rhetoric and reality snapped.... Much of this falls on Trump, who combined the familiar falsehoods of his fact-challenged stump speech with a new set of unsubstantiated charges about Clinton's past treatment of other women. And on the biggest question of the night -- how Trump would answer for leaked audio in which he described his technique for making unwanted sexual advances on women -- Trump largely got away without answering at all." -- CW ...
Her client she represented got him off and she is seen laughing on two occasions laughing at the girl who was raped. -- Donald Trump
It is totally false to say that Hillary Clinton laughed about the rape of a 12-year-old. And it has been thoroughly debunked. -- Zack Stanton of Politico
... David Leonardt of the New York Times: "This is the second time I’ve summarized a presidential debate by listing Donald Trump's untruths, and there’s a reason. The country has never had a presidential candidate who lies the way that he does -- relentlessly." -- CW
Driftglass live-tweeted the debate, AND he watched the post-debate punditocracy: "... within 20 seconds of this crime-scene being shut down and roped off, everyone from PBS to CNN to MSNBC were racing to declare it a tie and that Donald Trump had finally 'stopped the bleeding'. And I put 'stopped the bleeding' in quotes because within moments pundits on CNN and PBS (David Brooks) were both using exactly this same phrase. As if they had already worked out in advance what the narrative was damn well gonna be regardless of the facts on the ground." -- CW ...
... CW: Sorry, David Brooks, et al., the public doesn't agree with your super-brainy analysis. (Note: snap polls are not super-scientific, which should be okay with Trump.
New York Times reporters' live commentary on the presidential debate is here. The page also contains a livefeed of the debate. ...
... Update: The commentary is pretty good & includes fact-checks.
Robert Costa, et al., of the Washington Post: "Donald Trump's campaign sought to intimidate Hillary Clinton and embarrass her husband by seating women who have accused former president Bill Clinton of sexual abuse in the Trump family's box at the presidential debate here Sunday night, according to four people involved in the discussions. The campaign's plan ... was thwarted just minutes before it could be executed when officials with the Commission on Presidential Debates intervened. The commission officials warned that, if the Trump campaign tried to seat the accusers in the elevated family box, security officers would remove the women.... The gambit to give Bill Clinton's accusers prime seats was devised by Trump campaign chief executive Stephen K. Bannon and Jared Kushner, the candidate's son-in-law, and approved personally by Trump." Read on. -- CW
Ha Ha. Melania's Revenge? Judy Kurtz of the Hill: "Melania Trump opted to wear a Gucci garment to the second presidential debate with an eyebrow-raising name: a 'pussy-bow' shirt. The hot pink blouse, which retails for $1,100, was identified by multiple fashion mavens on social media as the one Donald Trump's wife was sporting at the Sunday debate in St. Louis." -- CW
Ashley Rodriguez of Quartz on where to watch the second presidential debate, which will begin at 9 pm ET. Unlike posts from a couple of other reputable news outlets, Rodriguez notes that NBC is not carrying the debate. But there's this: "NBC is partnering with AltspaceVR to host a debate watch party in virtual reality. Anyone with the Altspace VR app on Oculus Rift, Samsung Gear VR, or HTC Vive can join in. (Just beware of technical challenges.)" -- CW (Also linked yesterday.)
Alan Rappeport, et al., of the New York Times: "Donald J. Trump and Hillary Clinton head to St. Louis on Sunday for a widely anticipated second debate that comes as extraordinary upheaval in the Republican Party has upended the presidential race just a month before the election."
Brian Stelter of CNN: "The first set of questions at Sunday night's presidential debate will be about Donald Trump's vulgar comments on a newly published 2005 videotape, and the fallout from it. And Hillary Clinton will get the first question." -- CW
Editorial Board of AL.com, which comprises the Birmingham News, the Huntsville Times, Mobile's Press-Register & other Alabama media outlets, endorses Hillary Clinton: "Donald Trump must not be president.... Even before the revelation of video evidence of Trump making lewd, demeaning comments advocating sexual advances on women against their will, we knew that he was unfit to lead this country.... Any endorsement of Clinton will be a bitter pill to swallow for many in our state.... Still, Hillary Clinton is more than qualified to be president, and in winning her party's nomination has reinforced the promise that our democratic process is equally open to all. We've watched Clinton weather every challenge -- public and personal -- that's faced her over the last 30 years and, unlike Donald Trump's late night Twitter meltdowns, Clinton has consistently remained presidential in her response and demeanor." -- CW
CNN: "President Obama comments on the latest Donald Trump controversy at a campaign event for Illinois Rep. Tammy Duckworth in Chicago":
Kevin Drum takes a look at the most "controversial" remarks Hillary Clinton reputedly made in speeches to bankers which came from hacks Wikileaks released. Pretty much a plateful of bland nothingburgers. "If anything, this suggests that Clinton hasn't privately said much of anything that's especially friendly to Wall Street." -- CW
Madeline Conway of Politico: "Under fire for bragging about sexual assault, Donald Trump tried to redirect by holding a surprise panel, broadcast live to Facebook, with women who have accused Bill Clinton of sexual misconduct on Sunday evening, just an hour and a half before he was set to square off with Hillary Clinton in their second presidential debate. Seated beside four women -- including Juanita Broaddrick, Paula Jones, Kathleen Willey and Kathy Shelton -- Trump addressed viewers ahead of the debate, making an issue of Bill Clinton's own sexual history as the GOP nominee faces a mass defection from within his own party." CW: You can be sure we're going to hear about this Sunday night. ...
... Madeline Conway: "Hillary Clinton's campaign quickly hit back at Donald Trump for hosting a surprise panel with women who have accused Bill Clinton of sexual misconduct ahead of their second debate on Sunday, labeling the move a 'stunt' and 'act of desperation.' 'We're not surprised to see Donald Trump continue his destructive race to the bottom,' Jennifer Palmieri, the campaign's communications director, said in a statement. 'As always, she's prepared to handle whatever Donald Trump throws her way.'" -- CW ...
Ezra Klein: "At 7:26 pm, barely 90 minutes before the second presidential debate, Donald Trump tweeted, 'Join me on #FacebookLive as I conclude my final #debate preparations.' The link went to a Facebook live post, where Trump was holding a press conference with Paula Jones, Juanita Broaddrick, and Kathleen Willey, three women who have accused Bill Clinton of various forms of sexual misconduct. This, Trump thinks, is the Hail Mary that will save his presidential campaign. This is so much crazier than anything I ever imagined I would see in presidential politics that I legitimately don't know how to process it.... Every Republican who endorsed and normalized Trump while knowing there was nothing normal about him bears part of the blame for this moment.... The size of the disaster the Republican Party is facing cannot be overstated." -- CW ...
... ** Jeff Horwitz & Chad Day of the AP: "A sexual-assault victim who is critical of Hillary Clinton and who appeared alongside Donald Trump before Sunday night's debate was paid $2,500 by a political action committee founded by Trump ally [CW: & insane conspiracy theorist] Roger Stone. The Arkansas woman, Kathy Shelton, was sexually assaulted at age 12 and was the victim in a 1975 case in which Clinton was appointed to represent her then-41-year-old attacker, Thomas Alfred Taylor. Shelton has accused Clinton of crossing ethical bounds in the case, and over the past few months, Shelton has given TV and video interviews slamming Clinton.... The May payment to Shelton by the Committee to Restore America's Greatness PAC, founded by Stone, was described as 'contract labor' in campaign finance reports filed with the Federal Election Commission.... Stone has arranged to pay other women critical of the Clintons. Earlier this year, Stone sought to raise money to pay off the mortgage of Kathleen Willey, who accused Bill Clinton of making unwanted sexual advances toward her during her time as a volunteer in his White House in the 1990s. Stone claimed in an online video interview that Trump had personally contributed to the fund." The Trump campaign says it paid Juanita Broaddrick's travel expenses to the debate. -- CW ...
... Jordyn Phelps of ABC News: "Over the weekend, Donald Trump has called former President Bill Clinton an abuser of women and Hillary Clinton a bully who intimidated his victims. But if you rewind to 1998, the Republican presidential nominee had a very different view of the 42nd president, defending him as the real 'victim' in the wake of the fallout of the Monica Lewinsky scandal and blasting the accusers as 'terrible' and 'unattractive.'... 'The whole group, Paula Jones, Lewinsky, it's just a really unattractive group. I'm not just talking about physical,' he said. 'Would it be any different if it were a supermodel crowd?' [Fox 'News's Neil] Cavuto then asked. 'I think at least it would be more pleasant to watch,' Trump replied." -- CW
John Kelly, et al., of USA Today: "... an ongoing USA Today investigation of Trump's 4,000-plus lawsuits shows that he and his companies have been accused for years of mistreating women. Allegations outlined in at least 20 separate lawsuits accuse Trump and managers at his companies of discriminating against women, ignoring sexual harassment complaints and even participating in the harassment themselves. The details of these allegations, some not reported until now, suggest that the kinds of lewd and discriminatory actions reported last week may be more prevalent within Trump's organization than previously known." In at least two of the cases, Trump was personally involved in the alleged harassment. -- CW
Alexander Burns, et al., of the New York Times: "... Donald J. Trump signaled he would retaliate against lawmakers who withdraw their support from his campaign, and senior party leaders privately acknowledged that they now feared losing control of both houses of Congress.... On Twitter, Mr. Trump attacked the Republicans fleeing his campaign as 'self-righteous hypocrites' and predicted their defeat at the ballot box. In a set of talking points sent to his supporters Sunday morning, Mr. Trump's campaign urged them to attack turncoat Republicans as 'more concerned with their political future than they are about the country.'" -- CW
CW: Wow! When even Chuck Todd forgets IOKIYAR, the GOP really has hit a new low. ...
... Alan Pyke of Think Progress: "Trump's defense: He was only a misogynist the first 69 years of his life.... Voters needn't worry about Donald Trump saying he gropes women and gets away with it because he's famous, Rudy Giuliani repeatedly claimed on Sunday, because the process of campaigning for high office has left Trump a changed man.... 'It's a different man that emerges when you campaign around the country for a year and a half and hear the concerns and the problems of the American people.'" -- CW
Nikita Vladimirov of the Hill: "... Gov. Mike Pence on Saturday told a group of GOP donors that he remains fully committed to the Republican nominee despite growing pressure from some party leaders to have Trump step down from from the ticket." -- CW
Amy Wang of the Washington Post: "Starting Friday afternoon, thousands of people shared personal stories on social media of being sexually assaulted, many using the hashtag #NotOkay. For many hours, #NotOkay was a trending topic on Twitter in the United States. A day later, the hashtag continued going strong. The outpouring seems to have started after several prominent Twitter users posted about the potential consequences of brushing off Trump's comments. Doing so, they said, would normalize and enable 'rape culture.'" And, they argued, this kind of behavior was more commonplace than some might think." -- CW
Chas Danner of New York: "Billy Bush will not be appearing on Monday's Today show following the release of an Access Hollywood tape containing a misogynistic off-camera conversation the former Access anchor had with Donald Trump in 2005. Though NBC had previously maintained that Bush would be back on the air on Monday, CNN's Brian Stelter reports that the network will now reprimand Bush over the tape by sidelining him from Today for an unknown length of time, and possibly for good." CW: Are we all having a sad?
The Deplorables. Charles Pierce: "It doesn't matter now if [Donald Trump] drops out or not. He has shown the world what the black heart of modern Republicanism -- and of the modern form of conservatism that drives it -- really looks like. He has become its beau ideal. He will stand for it until the party commits itself to real change and genuine outreach to those people it now only employs as targets for its timorous angry base to aim at. Whether he stays or whether he goes -- and, god, I hope he stays -- Donald Trump has burned down all the camouflage. He is what they are." -- CW
Other News & Views
Kirk Ross, et al., of the Washington Post: "Hurricane Matthew pummeled the Atlantic seaboard Sunday, drenching North and South Carolina, where rescuers rushed to save hundreds of people from flooding and strong winds. The storm, which swept from the coast of Florida to Virginia Beach, has entered a dangerous new phase, sparking record flooding in North Carolina and causing power outages for more than 2 million people across five states. The death toll in the United States has climbed to at least 19, but local authorities warned that it could rise as people attempt to return home and are met with contaminated water, downed power lines and flooded roadways. Five people are missing in North Carolina, which has seen the most deaths so far." -- CW
News Lede
Washington Post: "Harvard's Oliver Hart and MIT's Bengt Holmström were awarded the 2016 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences on Monday for their work on contract theory, the study of how people can efficiently enter into agreements. Their contributions have shaped the thinking in a wide range of fields, from law to economics to political science." -- CW
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Reader Comments (35)
I'm confused. Trump thinks Bill is running for POTUS?
Trump thinks it is good idea to raise the issue of sexual behavior?
Trump thinks that Bill gives him excuses to sexually abuse women? In that case, since G. Washington had slaves he is entitled.
Trump thinks his wife should defend him but Hillary shouldn't defend Bill.
Trump thinks divorce is a good Christian activity.
Delusional, yes. NPD (rules that apply to all do not apply to him), definitely. Just plain stupid, for sure.
Has anyone noticed that he snorts between each clause?
"Get off this question(snort-inhale)"
He needs to stop waving those little digits around at that woman.
Yes, Victoria, he needs to get off the coke.
Trump: "I know nothing about Russia." End of story!
My summation. Hillery talks and looks like a professional. Donald looks and talks like an emotional wreck. She has ideas and proposals. He his complaints.
The MSNBC pundits are talking lots of love for Trump's performance. He looked like an out of control lunatic. Period. He couldn't make any type of connection to the questioners. He rambled and didn't answer questions that were posed in order to make unrelated attacks. She was passionate about several subjects and engaged the viewers. She had lots of specifics. His statement, repeated x2' "she has tremendous hate in her heart." If I were president, blah blah, you should be in jail. Same old shit. He also tried to physically intimidate her - didn't work. I suspect the town hall participants will have a different view.
Vox's Dylan Matthews has a debate review that is closest to what I saw.
The so-called 'town hall' format was flat and the questions for the most part were unchallenging. A number of participants sat through the entire event (their white paper in hand) and were never called upon. Was there some procedure that I missed?
The 'live blogging' was again more distraction than a help. In fact, it seemed there was a video time delay as I would see a post about something that was not said until seconds later.
Hillary answered questions.
Trump evaded and insulted his way through.
and P.S. also sniffed and snorted from start to finish.
The man is vile.
His pre-debate press conference with the four women was an embarrassment.
Here's the link to the Vox article Diane mentioned above.
From the Vox article:
"COOPER: Have you ever done those things?
"TRUMP: No, I have not. I will tell you that I'm going the make our country safe…
"Trump kept trying to evade and Cooper kept repeating the question until Trump gave some semblance of an answer. And by dragging it out, he increased the power of the exchange. Trump did not want to clearly tell the American people he had never assaulted women. That should be an easy thing for a presidential candidate. That it wasn’t for Trump was massively revealing."
At that point I turned to my wife and said, "Trump is toast."
There's a reason why Trump didn't want to say he's never assaulted any women. Anyone who thinks he's never laid hands on a woman in an inappropriate manner - a manner which rises to the textbook definition of sexual assault - is living in a dream world.
And anyone who believes the Clinton campaign won't find those women (if they haven't already) is similarly deranged.
morning in muskogee, after the town hall, typing on a keyboard whose left shift key doesn't work. For that and for all the locker room talk in which i might have indulged over the years, i don't hesitate to apologize.
But the apology i'd really like to see would be the one from all the talking heads that remain mired in the thoughtless ''two flawed candidates" narrative and still can't climb out of it.
i don't have to be in love with hrc to see that she is at least as qualified as many of her predecessors. her experience is head and shoulders above many; her intellect superior to all but a few; and her policies more favorable to the many than most have offered, and unlike her opponent's those policies actually exist and can be assessed.
So the two flawed candidates storyline is beyond tiresome and lazy. it's misleading and because it's so wrong, it's corrupt and corrupting.
i picture the old vaudeville routine in which the cane appears from behind the curtain and jerks the offending performer off the stage. i'd like to see that routine repeated at least once, maybe on msnbc when Thuck Chod or Chris matthews utters something egregiously mindless after the next debate.
Based on their last night's sorry performances, we likely wouldn't have long to wait.
Thanks to all here for keeping us informed.
Time to hit the road.
Trump acknowledged that Hillary has tenacity––my word, not his––"she never gives up"–-when answering the question posed by the man who wanted to know if the candidates could come up with something positive to say about one another. So Trump's previous claim that she was ready for death's door––"see folks" she could hardly make it back in the car––she lacks STAMINA"––was –––oh, why do I even have to say it. And Hillary, quick on her feet praised the kids, –– nothing about HIM.
It was hard watching this debate––the infantile antics displayed throughout by someone who clearly has arrested development is painful to observe and I am in wonder how anyone could possibly take this man seriously. And how often have we said this.
I only stayed up to watch the whole debate debacle because I was
sure that trump was going to haul off and whack Hillary over the
head with his microphone. He kept hovering around and behind her
waving that thing, or was it the camera angle. Anyway, anyone can
sling mud at the opponent and that's about all he had, other than get
ISIS and I'm too smart to pay taxes and MY attorney general will
put Hillary in jail. And he also got in one "bigly".
Thank-you @unwashed for posting the link. On MSNBC, per usual, the minority panel participants (Eugene Robinson, Joy Reid, Maria Teresa Kumar) immediately saw the lunatic on stage while the regulars took at least 45 minutes to move from "it was a tie." Isn't it time for Chris Matthews to go away? Someone is really missing the boat in not hiring Kumar for her own show.
Trump's promise to imprison Hillary Clinton should not be forgotten as yet another of his throwaway insults. This, as Marie correctly notes, is the type of thing that happens in third world countries or fiefdoms ruled by tyrants and dictators where losing an election often means losing one's freedom or even one's life. It means you had the guts (or temerity) to take on the strongman, but always with the understanding that you will pay an enormous price for the challenge if you don't win (and in Trump's case, even if you do win). Putin regularly murders opponents. Trump emulates Putin. Well, you can finish that syllogism.
This, as Clinton stated--a vital point that was simply lost in the hysterical blathering and sniffling snivels from the other side--is not what America should be. Trump appeals not to the worst angels of our nature but to the worst devils of human nature, our baser instincts. His world view is exactly the sort that the founders sought to distance themselves, and their new country, from by designing an armature for progress out of the swamp of age old hatreds based on the rule of law and structured so as to impel civilizing virtues. Ignorant, violent bigots like Trump are the antithesis of civilization.
I stated the other day that Trump was no Hitler but his world view, charged by greed, narcissism, hatred, bigotry, stupidity, violence, and misogyny gnaws, like a feral animal, at the hard won boundaries of civilized behavior. He might not be Hitler, but like a malevolent John the Baptist, he presages the frightening possibility of someone more cunning and less stupid to carry on the GOP's job of eroding the American Experiment.
And just think about this. The stuff this asshole says out loud is probably nothing compared to what he believes in his black heart.
And once more he's being helped by a media who see both candidates as being on roughly the same footing. "Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton Wage Scorched Earth Debate!" screams the CNN lede. Really? Since when is attempting to set the record straight as Clinton was forced to do time and again after Trump's lies, a resort to a scorched earth strategy?
Trump was allowed to skate away from the outrageous comments he made on tape. He simply ignored it and that was that. Anderson Cooper did get him to lie about whether or not he actually had assaulted that woman (or any other woman), but I doubt any of it made a dent. But Trump did open himself up with that lying denial. There must be legions of women (and young girls) upon whom this pig forced, or tried to force, himself. And if they're so inclined, now is the time for them to speak out.
With a month to go, not an hour should pass without assailing this monster. His unAmerican, uncivilized, intemperate and unconscionable attacks on this nation, its people, and what it stands for should not be forgotten.
PD,
Sniffles the Clown's response to the request to say something nice about Clinton should show up in millions of ads. Today. "'Clinton has plenty of stamina': D.J. Trump", who, by the way, doesn't seem to have much himself, judging by how often I spotted him leaning over, holding on to the stool. He looked like he was getting ready to faint.
And by the way, that was a brilliant question, just brilliant. Although I fully expected Trump's "nice thing to say" was going to be "I'd do her but only if she had a bag over her head."
I also thought he'd completely avoid that question like he avoided so many over the course of the debate. He must have been too tired by then. He needed a nap. Or another blast of coke.
Brian Beutler [CW] (above): "...his performance was disastrous precisely because Trump succeeded at the only thing he came to accomplish...: to pander to his demoralized supporters.”
Trump wasn't pandering to anyone. This isn't political strategery. He doesn't care about his supporters any more than he considers women human. This was a bully lashing out to protect his ego.
Revisit the stories of Trump's menacing, abnormal behavior as a child and you will see the same sick pattern in now the same sick adult. If he weren't so dangerous, he'd be pathetic.
Think William March's Rhoda Penmark, all grown up.
Most favoritest phrase of the moment for gullible morons:
"Locker room talk".
"It's just locker room talk" claims the Orange Headed Assaulter, and his minions dutifully nod their little heads and repeat the phrase as if it's a Get Out of Jail Free card (because Trumpy's had so many of those).
No it isn't just locker room talk. I've been in plenty of locker rooms over the years and I've never heard anything remotely like someone bragging about what amounts to attempted rape. I've heard guys bragging about sexual conquests or telling off color jokes. Plenty of jokes. The bragging is usually taken with extra large grains of salt by every man within earshot because guys who brag about stuff like that are usually loser douchebags, and more often than not, liars.
Like Trump.
And understand, the years in which I spent the most time in locker rooms (on an almost daily basis) did not represent an overly enlightened period. Women were still often referred to as chicks and broads, or worse. But still I never heard anything like what Trump describes as "just locker room talk". No, Donnie, it isn't. And it isn't, as your leashed weasel Giuliani describes, just guys being guys. Those are the words of a piece of shit sexual predator. An A number one asshole. And anyone who believes that Trump never did those things just hasn't been paying attention. And anyone who believes it's just locker room talk has either never been in a locker room, or spent time in some weird ass place I've never been nor want to be.
Biggest Lie of the Night
"I have great respect for women. Nobody has more respect for women than I do."
Let's ask Alicia Machado all about Trump's respect for women. Or his ex-wife who branded him a rapist. Or his daughter whom he refers to as "a great piece of ass". Or the women he calls pigs and dogs. Or the other women he goes out of his way to fat-shame.
Holy Christ, I'd hate to see what disrespect looks like.
Just watched Giuliani jabbering bullshit at Chuck Todd (and what the hell happened to him? He's almost journalistic here!). A fairly astounding revelation can be heard when Mayor NounVerb&9/11 informs Todd and his viewers that what Donaldo described on that Access Hollywood bus was wrong, followed by "...and he knows that now."
Err....what? Did Giuliani just admit that Donald Trump didn't realize sexual assault was wrong until he got to be 70 years old?
How old will he be before he gets that a nuclear North Korea is not such a hot idea? 98? How about understanding the Constitution? 120? The budget? 210? Maybe if the guy lives as long as Methuselah he'll almost be human.
These fucking people set the bar so low you'd need underground sonar to find it.
Can someone explain this to me?
Assuming he has some redeeming quality somewhere in his character, what possible motive could Ryan have for this stance?
@Marvin Schwalb: Reading your "Trump thinks" post I realized that there is no word in the English language to properly describe Trump's mental process, but it isn't thinking.
I too was taken aback at the MSNBC stalwart's reaction to the debate. To think that a raving lunatic spewing a toxic mess of lies, fabrications and fantasies won the debate was stunning. I found his behavior terrifying. That could be president? Unbelievable!!
The worst of the Trump party plan for the 4 harpies wasn't sitting them in his guest suite it was the plan for them to surround and accost Bill Clinton immediately after the debate. Now THAT would have taken the debate to a historic low.
That Independents still can't decide which candidate is most fit for the post qualifies them for inclusion in Hillary's 'basket of deplorables'.
Nancy,
The simple answer involves three qualities, qualities most prevalent in the species Homo Republicanis, fear, self preservation, and opportunism.
Lyin' Ryan fears the wrath of the knuckledraggers if he disses their master, Trumpado. His sense of self preservation demands that he reject any pretense of integrity or seriousness (especially after he was booed off the stage in Wisconsin the other day for disinviting Der Fuhrer). And like most vermin, scavengers, and maggots, Ryan is an opportunist par excellence. He smells a chance for a free lunch, he grabs onto it like the last seat in a lifeboat.
Talk of a higher, more refined interest in honesty, the nation's business, and Very Important Things is just that with people like Ryan: talk. These people operate on the most basic, and base, of corporeal needs and desires like eating, defecating, and surviving by shivving the other guy in the neck if they get the chance. There are no flights of philosophical theorizing, no grand cogitation, no high minded nobility.
Just the same old "Fuck you, Charlie, I got mine. And if I'm threatened, I'll sell my grandmother to survive." Or support Donald Trump.
Paul Ryan in a peanut shell.
Re: there's always dog catcher; but not really, you're not qualified; when are Trumps advisers going to inform him that he is running for the office of the President not dictator? Details details details.
http://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-words-echo-womans-allegations-507763
We already have at least two women on the record confirming that it wasn't just "locker room talk." Jill Harth said Trump grabbed her in a resturant. "I knew better than wearing a skirt around him anymore. It was a barrier of protection.” And Miss Utah got an unwelcomed kiss on the lips.
Trump smooches with Rudy in drag!
Doesn't this beat all?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IrE6FMpai8
Nancy; my explanation is: It's the Donnie and Paulie show. I
sorta remember when my mother watched those soaps. So I'm
writing my version of "The Donnie & Paulie Soap Opera".
Scene 1:
Donnie speaks--"Paulie, will you still love me in the morning?"
Paulie speaks--"Donnie, I promise forever and ever (or until at
least until November 8).
Donnie speaks--_"Paulie, why aren't you answering my 46 tweets
that I did today after you spurned me?"
Paulie speaks--"Donnie, don't call or tweet me anymore. I have a
permanent relationship with the House of Representatives and it's
on shaky grounds right now. I was such a jerk to get involved with
you in the first place".
To be continued.
AL.com: Donald, when Alabama won't endorse you your campaign is definitely in deep kimchee. Is Mississippi next?
Kiss it goodbye.
While observing this appalling effort by the Republican Party to win back the presidency of these United States, a campaign that actually began with the first election of President Obama, I am again and again reminded of the words spoken by Claudius in “I, Claudius”: “Let all the poisons that lurk in the mud hatch out.”
From Politico:
"Over the last 24 to 48 hours there have been a lot of false rumors that we didn't want to engage in," Priebus told the 168 members of the RNC, many of whom have also stood behind Trump, according to a person on the call. "Nothing has changed in terms of our support for the nominee."
Priebus told them that Trump had issued a "heartfelt" apology and that "I think the issue was taken care of at the debate." Three people on the call verified Priebus' remarks.
The Priebus call came hours after Speaker Paul Ryan held a conference call of his own for jittery House Republicans and declared that he would no longer defend Trump on the campaign trail, or ever campaign with him."
I guess if your name is Reince, you have to live your life out on the limb just to survive!
http://www.politico.com/story/2016/10/priebus-declares-rnc-standing-behind-trump-229568
How can we suggest to HRC that she bag the last debate?
Not worth her time or trouble, especially since Chris Wallace will be moderating...
One great aspect of this muck is the response of so many men about "locker room talk". I am really buoyed hearing men saying a) they have never heard anything like this, and b) if they did, they would smack it down. Despite appearances to the contrary, civilisation is going in a forward direction.
WhiteWash, Reince, Repeat.
It's October 10th or "10-10".
The day when we'd balance eggs in Chinatown!
(I give thanks for that lighthearted memory.)
Late Sunday night, a friend's text asked if I'd 'weigh in' on The Event. I found myself (figuratively) speechless. But by this morning . . .
For one who rarely gets sick, I had finally succumbed to *physical* illness ("Asthmatic Bronchitis": a sudden & yuuuge onset, yet no-worries-doable with meds & a puffer.) Must be from inhaling these many months of toxicity. (If this all were only a Fever Dream.)
I was sent the following.
It felt harsh.
It felt relevant.
= = = = =
Another Day, Another DEVO: "Beautiful World"
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=56u6g0POvo0