Posted on 09/09/2011 6:31:20 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Last night's Republican debate was one of our last chances to laugh at the guys with no shot at the nomination...
Maybe the most telling moment of last night's Republican debate came not when Rick Perry said "propes" instead of "props," but when he appeared to forget Rick Santorum's name. "Let me just respond to the last individual," Perry said, as he avoided answering a question about America's persistent racial inequities. With the press-appointed "official start" of the 2012 campaign, and the first debate featuring all the universally acknowledged front-runners who are actually running, it is time for us to bid a regretful goodbye to those individuals who make the early months of the campaign fun: the third-tier fringe candidates like Rick Santorum.
You could tell when the Politico/MSNBC-sponsored debate began that the moderators wished there were fewer people onstage. Almost the first 15 minutes of the debate were spent on an argument solely involving the only two people with a shot at the nomination: Rick Perry and Mitt Romney. Brian Williams and John Harris clearly preferred addressing their serious questions to those two, and many of the questions aimed at the others onstage were about one of those two ex-governors. Poor Michele Bachmann, heretofore the only credible non-Romney candidate, seemed barely to be present. Huntsman got a lot of airtime, but he's been getting plenty of press attention this whole time.
The lovable third-tier candidates -- the guys who were never, ever going to win this -- will have fewer and fewer chances to share their madness with America after last night. Newt Gingrich, Herman Cain, Rick Santorum and Ron Paul will remain in the race for a while longer (or a lot longer, in Ron Paul's case), but going forward, they'll be less likely to be invited to debates, less likely to inspire "dark horse" fantasy analysis stories, and less likely to inspire blog posts documenting crazy things they said. (Well, fine, they'll continue inspiring blog posts until I stop writing them because people have stopped clicking on them.)
The debates do lose something when the candidate pool coagulates into two very slightly different people. Ron Paul will occasionally bring up the few things he is right about, like the drug war. Herman Cain is the funniest person on the stage, without fail. Rick Santorum is fun to have around as a reminder that sometimes @$$holes aren't rewarded for their awfulness. And Newt Gingrich can still nail an applause line -- he got love from the (deplorable) audience by demanding an English-only law and rather pointlessly attacking the media for ... asking him to debate his colleagues.
Of course Bachmann is still in third place. But the data indicate she could still win the Iowa caucuses in January. So it was truly weird that the moderators ignored her in favor of hopeless cause (and liberal favorite) Jon Huntsman. Neglecting Bachmann does help the press create the "narrative" of her impending collapse now that Perry's in the race. But that's premature. We've got a year to watch Perry and Romney beat each other up; there's no reason to prematurely push everyone else out. Even if everyone else is laughable.
So it was truly weird that the moderators ignored her in favor of hopeless cause (and liberal favorite) Jon Huntsman.
***
Do they understand the media is in the tank for the Democrats?
Salon is far left.
huntswoman is a democrat, not a republican.
Any dude who calls Santorum an a$$hole is a guy who will be packin’ fudge for fun tonight. Bob
The democrats are the laughable ones, who choose to ignore that Rome is burning in the backdrop.
Mockers, etc.
Read something about that somewhere....
Neglecting Bachmann does help the press create the “narrative” of her impending collapse now that Perry’s in the race.
***
Nevermind. They know, and they don’t give a rat’s behind how unethical this is.
Romney is stuffed with money and will start blowing it with his usual desperate measures when he knows he cannot get ahead. The Primaries will not be good to him. Perry will blow him out of the water.
Just what we need extremist, 0 whoring, Progressive Fascist at Salon telling us who our Candidate should be
“Governor Palin is in third place.”
In what race?
Palin is not a candidate.
Rep. Bachmann is in fourth or fifth place, usually statistically tied with Rep. Ron Paul.
Bachmann was in 3rd for awhile, but does seem to be dropping into Paul territory. Paul has no chance at all to win, but he has supporters that are willing to keep paying for his vanity bid, Bachmann will not have that luxury.
While the article is written by some detestable left wing Salon hack, it is true that Newt, Cain, and Santorum have no chance at all. Huntsman doesn't either, but he will have establishment/RINO money to keep going for awhile as they desperately hope he can become a contender.
Like they say; no mon, no fun.
My order would be
Santorum
Gingrich
Cain
Bachmann
Giuliani
Huntsman
Paul
From O4P NY:
http://www.organize4palin.com/2011/09/09/o4p-ny-to-gov-palin-take-ny-all-29-electoral-votes/
Truth is like a crucifix for Perrywinkles.
Salon is code for stupid. But they are so stupid they don’t even understand that. What they do understand is that their toothless Messiah ain’t gonna win and it boggles them to no end; also that what they normally consider to be stupid people will not be voting for Obama... only intelligent people.
The 3rd tier are now just running for Vice President.
After Wednesday's debate, the media will do all they can to keep inviting Ron Paul. Right now, he's the foil for Rick Perry, and they'll invite him because his argument with Rick Perry are good entertainment and sometimes even good civics.
The media will also want to keep inviting Newt Gingrich. While Newt Gingrich has no chance of winning the nomination, he's interesting. He says things that many of the Republican viewers like to hear, so inviting him makes Republican voters more likely to watch the debates. More viewers means more advertising dollars. The contrast between his brilliance and Rick Perry's not-so-brilliance also makes for good TV.
The media will keep inviting Jon Huntsman because he is a foil both for Mitt Romney and Rick Perry. He's not as amusing in his attacks as Ron Paul is, but his approach is closer to what the media wants to see. In addition, Republicans should want to see how Jon Huntsman attacks the candidates who have a chance because Obama will likely use the same attacks in the general election debates.
Michele Bachmann will keep getting invitations because she looks nice and has a loyal following. She didn't do much to keep this debate interesting, but if they hit her with "are you a flake" and "are you submissive to your husband" questions, they can write stories about whatever she says.
Rick Santorum is a serious statesman. Many of us don't agree with all of his positions. Many of us don't think he has enough executive experience to be a good presidential candidate. Even so, he adds to the debate because he knows so much about what has happened in Congress over the past twenty years. Like Newt Gingrich, he makes everyone elevate their game a little bit.
Herman Cain may be the guy that they'd like to be gone next. His campaign peaked a few months ago. He says some good things, but he doesn't say things that are particularly interesting.
Of course, the candidate that the media wants and doesn't want is Sarah Palin. If she gets in the race and comes to the debates, the viewership will go up dramatically. Everyone will want to see what she has to say. The liberals will expect her to say stupid things. They'll then have fits when she shows a good grasp of the issues. They'll still make fun of her, but they'll go crazy when she earns a bit of respect from people in the middle.
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