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Thursday, November 29, 2007

Around the blogroll and elsewhere: Republican Debate Hangover edition
Posted by Jill | 6:10 AM
Sorry, folks -- no pithy analysis here. My forehead is still raw from its recent run-ins with the icepick, and I was just not up to inflicting any more pain. So I waited to read the transcript this morning.

Here are the questions CNN chose:


  • A question about whether as president Giuliani will continue to "aid and abet the flight (sic) of illegal aliens into this country."
  • A question about amnesty for illegal immigrants.
  • A question that sounds right out of the Republican playbook about H-2b guest workers (the questioner frames guest workers as saving his own job).
  • A question about whether Huckabee would give illegal immigrants greater discounts for college than children of military personnel get.
  • A question for Ron Paul about whether he believes in the conspiracy by the Council of Foreign Relations to merge the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.
  • A question about how these candidates will tackle the national debt.
  • A question about which three federal programs the candidates would cut to reduce federal spending.
  • A question about whether the candidates favor replacing the federal income tax with a federal sales tax.
  • A question about who will eliminate the federal farm subsidies.
  • A question about keeping unsafe toys out of the country.
  • A question about gun control.
  • A "mine's bigger" test about what guns they all own.
  • A question about black-on-black crime.
  • A question about what the punishment should be for women who get abortions and the doctors who perform them.
  • A question as to what Jesus would do about the death penalty.
  • A question whether they take the Bible literally.
  • A question about what the U.S. should do to repair our image in the Muslim world (which Giuliani answers by saying we need to kick some more terrorist ass)
  • A question about waterboarding. (Interestingly, Romney brings up Khalid Sheikh Mohammed without mentioning the Giuliani connection)
  • A question (?) in support of permanent bases in Iraq.
  • A request of Rudy Giuliani to answer if he is running on 9/11.
  • A question as to whether they'll give their vice president as much power as Dick Cheney has.
  • A general (who it turns out later on is a Hillary supporter) asks about don't ask don't tell.
  • A question about how they plan to repay the Social Security trust fund.
  • Who's willing to spend the money to put a man on Mars by 2020.
  • A question about why they think black Americans with conservative values don't vote Republican.
  • A question about repairing infrastructure.
  • Ron Paul is asked about whether he's going to run as an independent.
  • A question about how Rudy Giuliani could betray the Yankees by supporting the Red Sox in the post-season.

Guns, God, Brown People, Jesus, cutting programs, and how to punish the evil unchaste temptresses who won't keep their legs closed. Nothing about health care. Nothing about how long they plan to stay in Iraq. Nothing about the impending attack on Iran. Nothing about Middle East policy in general. Nothing about energy policy. Nothing about education. Nothing about the mortgage mess. And of course, nothing about how they would restore Constitutional law.

As Cenk Uygur opined this morning, these are not only guys you wouldn't want to be president, you wouldn't want to be in the same ROOM with them; because this is the most backward, fearmongering, death-centered bunch of guys ever assembled in one place.

And the only thing standing between us and one of this bunch of utterly batshit crazies is a Democratic Party that seems to want to lose.

Others weigh in:

Richard Blair asks, what part of the confederate flag question (video also there at All Spin Zone) seems incongruous in a Republican debate.

Michael Scherer at Salon put on his hip boots and waded in to liveblog it in just two screens. Walter Scherer has the analysis.

Every time he thinks he's out -- they pull him back in: John Cole liveblogged it.

TBogg couldn't face it either, but he cites a postmortem from an interesting source.

UPDATE: Whatever It Is I'm Against It has arguably the best wrapup of all.

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