Debate sham

Several posts under Lex had gone to all the trouble to rank the Republican field top to bottom.  I thought after the debates I’d re-rank them.  Then I saw these time totals for the “debate”:

·         Donald Trump 10:30

·         Jeb Bush 8:33 

·         Mike Huckabee 6:32

·         Ben Carson 6:28 

·         Ted Cruz 6:28 

·         John Kasich 6:25 

·         Marco Rubio 6:22

·         Chris Christie 6:03 

·         Scott Walker 5:43

·         Rand Paul 4:51

Why in the hell would anyone change their minds about anything based on these time totals?  Rand Paul is one my top third guys he got less than 5 minutes to address the nation.  I would say any of the 10 candidates outperformed the three moderators who took up over 31 minutes of debate time asking BS gottcha or would you please get in a loud obnoxious shouting match with one of the guys standing next to you type questions.

Yet I could not turn on Fox News Fri – Sun without hearing the anchors and the paid contributors heaping great praise on the moderators and how well everything went.  For anyone with a brain or who looks at the time totals, the “debate” was a complete sham of a “debate.”  Now comes endless talk and chatter about who “broke out”, who won and who lost.  Based on what?  Paul lost because he invested over two hours to stand on stage to get the opportunity to talk for less than 5 minutes? 

Fiorina did break out.  The moderators were out to “get Trump.”  Any other assessments of the “debate” candidates is probably based more on who you happened to like or didn’t like going in than anything that happened under the pitiful “debate” format that gives the agenda driven moderators 3 times the amount of speaking time as any of the candidates running for President of the United States.  On Fri after the "debate" Lex opined that the moderators - Kelly in particular - were:  Terrible. Horrible.  The worst.  The Great One Mark Levin says it better here.  

The RNC in coordination with Fox News in general and Kelly, Baier and Wallace in particular F__ed the whole thing up.  I can understand why FNC thinks it was a huge success – it generated 24 million viewers – well Trump did.  I can’t comprehend why the RNC, any of the candidates or the American people are satisfied with three non-candidates sucking up more than 3 times as much air time as the leading contenders.

The RNC had better be careful or there will be a brokered convention in Cleveland.  Trump can stay in until the very end and so can a number of other candidates.  My advice is get the networks out of your debates.  Go to the New York boxing commission and hire a time keeper.  Put 2-4 candidates on stage allowing one minute to ask a question and three minutes to answer the question.  Then 30 seconds for a follow up question with one and half minutes to answer. 

NEWS FLASH!!

The Donald is NOT going to go away.  Why?  He doesn’t have to.  Were he a typical candidate his big money donors would have dried up by now leaving the typical candidate stuck in a Motel 6 somewhere in Davenport, Iowa looking for a ride home.  The Donald is flying his own jet to one of his own hotels today.  He worth ten billion.  He doesn’t need donors.  Were he a typical candidate his Caligula, D.C. support would have abandoned him by now.  He doesn’t want any of the Caligula, D.C. crowd endorsing him.  They are his main target.  Were he a typical candidate, he wouldn’t be able to hire a single reputable political consultant.  He doesn’t need them, want them and rails against them.  He hires his own people and probably doesn’t listen to them either.

So what do you do with the Donald?  You co-opt him.   You agree with him to the extent that you can and otherwise ignore him.  Trump is an energy vampire.  The more you attack him the weaker you become and the stronger he becomes.  He says things to be attacked.  Fools take the bait. 

What confounds me is why the talking heads insist Trump get out while he’s the front runner but the same bunch never says, “Hey, Pataki, Graham, Santorum, Perry, Gilmore take a hike.  You have no hope.  You’re going to destroy the party.”

Other debate fallout
According to the oh so smart talking head crowd, John Kasich is on the rise?  Why?  Unemployment in Ohio?  No.  A state budget surplus then?  No.  Then it must be his withering attacks on the Shrilldabeast.  No.  He’s afraid to attack the Shrilldabeast.  Well then why is John Kasich on the rise?  Simple, he attended a homosexual wedding and abandon traditional marriage because the Supreme Court said he should.  It’s settled law don’t you know, just like Dred Scott.  And just like Dred Scott, it’s not worth fighting for.  Waaaaaaaait a minute.  Dred Scott isn’t the law of land anymore.  WTF is Kasich trying to pull?  

In conservative politics shouldn’t Kasich’s position work against him?  Oh it does.  But the Fox talking heads want you believe it is a big advantage for him.  Why?  Well Kasich is an establishment insider, not some shoot from the hip outsider like “wacko birds” Paul, Rubio, Cruz and Trump.  So it doesn’t matter that he’s outside the party norm on homosexual marriage, amnesty and Robertscare.  He’s an insider on the rise and won the debate damn it.  Who you going to believe, Fox News talking heads or your own common sense?