There were a few hiccups at the GOP Debate last night….
The beginning of the Republican primary debate in New Hampshire Thursday night may go down as the most awkward in memory.
It all started when Ben Carson failed to walk onstage when his name was called, causing a bottleneck in the wings that the other candidates had to walk around. Then Donald Trump apparently didn’t hear his name and stood by Carson while other candidates walked by the two of them. On top of it all, the ABC News moderators forgot about John Kasich, leaving an empty podium on stage and one Ohio governor hovering off to the side.
Then Marcodyne Rubicon Systems Model T100 faltered last night, getting stuck on repeat.
Vox:
The context is important here: Early in the debate, Christie mocked Rubio for relying so much on his stump speech at the debate. Christie said, “Every morning when a United States senator wakes up, they think about, ‘What kind of speech can I give, or what kind of bill can I drop?’ Every morning, when I wake up, I think about, what kind of problem do I need to solve for the people who actually elected me. It’s a different experience.”
Rubio then went on to repeat the same line over and over again, doing exactly what Christie criticized him for:
8:30 pm: “And let’s dispel once and for all with this fiction that Barack Obama doesn’t know what he’s doing. He knows exactly what he’s doing.”
8:32 pm: “Let’s dispel with this fiction that Barack Obama doesn’t know what he’s doing. He knows exactly what he’s doing.”
8:34 pm: “This notion that Barack Obama doesn’t know what he’s doing is just not true. He knows exactly what he’s doing.”
9:21 pm: “I think anyone who believes that Barack Obama isn’t doing what he’s doing on purpose doesn’t understand what we’re dealing with here. Okay?”
These GOP debates are very difficult to watch. From the lazy moderator’s softball questions which have internalized all the bogus GOP talking points, to the utterly anti-factual responses that go unchallenged, the whole experience makes the stomach flu look like a fun weekend in comparison.
A little slapstick comedy is a nice change of pace, but overall – ugh.
I can’t possibly watch them. I like my TV too much and can’t afford to keep buying new ones every time I watch a Republican debate.
Ha. So True. I’ve never made it wire to wire. I can’t afford it.
We watched the entire thing. It was amazing. Christie’s attack against Rubio might have amounted into nothing if Rubio hadn’t proved him correct. It was painful in a wonderful way. Rubio is obviously incapable of thinking on his own and going off script. My bet: This could end his race.
Trump was all over the place. He was extremely confusing. His health care answer sorta sounded like single payer. I laughed when he went after the audience – claiming they were all big donors and that he couldn’t get tickets for his supporters. I’d love to know who exactly was in that audience.
Man, that clip of the walkouts is painful. Neither ABC or these candidates seemed to have it together.
I know! They needed a wedding planner!
@Pandora – I don’t get who Trump is trying to appeal to. People who think any and all torture is allowable, we should steal the natural resources of any country we don’t like with abandon, and America’s good standing in the world is meaningless? Even among Republicans that can be only 15% or so.