Recent polls suggest that Trump’s debate performance last week (was it only last week?!) and his attempt to look strong after coronavirus spread through the White House have not helped him politically. Most polls have him behind Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden by double digits. An article in
My husband couldn't understand why watching Mike Pence made me furious, not that he thought Pence did a good job, he just didn't get my furor. The mansplaining and condescension were simply too much. A friend's comment about Pence's performance summed it up, "He sure doesn't know how to win women voters."
Fav fly meme: "That fly is Pence's only black friend."
I also was exponentially more furious at Pence last night then I was at Trump last week, but didn’t realize why until I read these comments. He pushed that condescending man-splaining button that was activated so often in my corporate career, and I had to leave the room. I don’t see the point in having another debate between Biden and Trump. The Covid risk from an infected Trump and hangers-on seems to far outweigh any benefits for Joe.
Thank you, Heather. The fly was a much needed moment—or just over two minutes—of levity. That the Biden camp captured flywillvote.com was quick-acting brilliance.
Once again, I found myself yelling, this time at rule-breaking Pence, “Shut the eff up” while the weak moderator just kept thanking him, like an umpire trying to quiet an unruly crowd at w tennis match.
Nicolle Wallace called Pence “flaccid.” I was more concerned about his bloodshot eye, which may be a symptom of the coronavirus. I remain disturbed that the debate was held in person, inside, and hope Kamala stays healthy.
Couldn't help but think of the viral moment Bernie Sanders had, when a small bird landed on his podium and watched him for a minute while he was giving a speech. That bird seemed like a small blessing, a symbol of hope and of peace, calmly sharing the lectern and showing, it seemed, respect.
Contrast with a fly landing on Pence's head unnoticed. Flies seek out rotting carcasses and piles of dung! Hilarious. Couldn't have been scripted better. Somebody get that fly a contract!
Again, my friend Josh Marshall at TPM has the Senate Republicans - under McConnell's "leadership" - figured out. McConnell got to Trump to back away from a Covid Stimulus package because he figures they're going to lose the Senate and don't want their fingerprints on any "deficit spending" so they can revert to playing "deficit hawks" in the next Congress, while putting all oars in the water to get Barrett onto the court, where 6 conservatives can stymie the Biden Administration and they just go back to doing what they did 2009-2017.
Which means the morons are setting themselves up to lose the filibuster and the court through an expansion.
Greece just found the leaders of the far right Golden Dawn Party guilty of running a criminal organization. I think that's a good idea: we can prosecute the GOP under RICO for "conspiracy against America" and get them all.
Thanks for the recap Heather. I didn't watch the debate last night, but will catch up with it later. I had spent the day at the Oncologist having an array of testing done that frankly knocked me off my pins. I crawled in bed thinking Heather will handle it for me and ofcourse you did, splendidly.
Thank you Professor Richardson! Susan Page was completely ineffectual at keeping Pence to his 2 minutes and could not stop him interrupting Senator Harris. She was gracious and sharp, and lively. I have always thought Pence was a little creepy and wooden, he did not change my mind. And the fly! I hope there are no more debates. The rules aren’t followed, The questions are not really answered, and I doubt any minds were swayed. And I hope that Kamala Harris stays healthy. It is completely irresponsible to have the debaters on the same stage in this age of COVID19.
What about the lack of a face mask on Karen Pence? EVERYONE (except Mike, Kamala, and moderator) was to have a mask on AT ALL TIMES...it was a ticket pledge....and anyone who took off the mask would be escorted from the venue by law enforcement. Continual flouting of the rules.
Not much will be changed by this debate, but there might be some movement.
Pence held his ground on abortion, policing, and packing the courts with conservative judges – things his core requires. I don’t think they care much about anything else. Covid, if that is an issue with the core, has already been decided in their minds – it shouldn’t be, but it probably is. He blew off the rest of the electorate.
One answer that really angered me, was his response to the question about Trump and company not adhering to established Covid precautions during ACB’s nomination announcement and what kind of message that sent. He said he trusted the American public to make the right choice – i.e., the Government has little or no role to play in protecting the health and welfare of the public and further, do a we say, not as we do.
Harris held the ground she needed to hold and may have gained a few points with young voters who might have thought to sit this one out, with her support for student loan relief, marijuana legalization and the environment.
I would give the night to Harris. She established herself as competent, forceful and capable of taking over should something happen to Biden – and that may have been a concern for some who hadn’t been much paying attention to her thus far.
Thank you, Heather. It seems the most important thing for Joe and Kamala to do over the next four weeks is to stay healthy. Hopefully this is the last “debate.”
In the NYT regarding the next debate going virtual: "Mr. Trump’s campaign manager, Bill Stepien, denounced the debate commission as 'swamp creatures' who were seeking to protect Mr. Biden, calling the move to a virtual debate 'pathetic.' " You can bet your a$$ we're ALL trying to protect the next POTUS from a COVID-19 infection! Since when did keeping anyone from contracting a potentially deadly illness become pathetic? This is the literal definition of toxic masculinity.
Thank you Heather. I didn’t watch the debate last night, (I felt certain that Kamala would do a great job and Pence would be his usual lying self), so I didn’t know about the ‘fly’. As I was reading about it, I suddenly envisioned myself with a fly swatter, hitting Pence on the head, repeatedly. 🙂
My husband couldn't understand why watching Mike Pence made me furious, not that he thought Pence did a good job, he just didn't get my furor. The mansplaining and condescension were simply too much. A friend's comment about Pence's performance summed it up, "He sure doesn't know how to win women voters."
Fav fly meme: "That fly is Pence's only black friend."
Flies love poo and other rotten things! Thank you, Heather, for ending on a note of high hilarity. Sleep tight!
I also was exponentially more furious at Pence last night then I was at Trump last week, but didn’t realize why until I read these comments. He pushed that condescending man-splaining button that was activated so often in my corporate career, and I had to leave the room. I don’t see the point in having another debate between Biden and Trump. The Covid risk from an infected Trump and hangers-on seems to far outweigh any benefits for Joe.
Thank you, Heather. The fly was a much needed moment—or just over two minutes—of levity. That the Biden camp captured flywillvote.com was quick-acting brilliance.
Once again, I found myself yelling, this time at rule-breaking Pence, “Shut the eff up” while the weak moderator just kept thanking him, like an umpire trying to quiet an unruly crowd at w tennis match.
Nicolle Wallace called Pence “flaccid.” I was more concerned about his bloodshot eye, which may be a symptom of the coronavirus. I remain disturbed that the debate was held in person, inside, and hope Kamala stays healthy.
Couldn't help but think of the viral moment Bernie Sanders had, when a small bird landed on his podium and watched him for a minute while he was giving a speech. That bird seemed like a small blessing, a symbol of hope and of peace, calmly sharing the lectern and showing, it seemed, respect.
Contrast with a fly landing on Pence's head unnoticed. Flies seek out rotting carcasses and piles of dung! Hilarious. Couldn't have been scripted better. Somebody get that fly a contract!
Again, my friend Josh Marshall at TPM has the Senate Republicans - under McConnell's "leadership" - figured out. McConnell got to Trump to back away from a Covid Stimulus package because he figures they're going to lose the Senate and don't want their fingerprints on any "deficit spending" so they can revert to playing "deficit hawks" in the next Congress, while putting all oars in the water to get Barrett onto the court, where 6 conservatives can stymie the Biden Administration and they just go back to doing what they did 2009-2017.
Which means the morons are setting themselves up to lose the filibuster and the court through an expansion.
Greece just found the leaders of the far right Golden Dawn Party guilty of running a criminal organization. I think that's a good idea: we can prosecute the GOP under RICO for "conspiracy against America" and get them all.
Thanks for the recap Heather. I didn't watch the debate last night, but will catch up with it later. I had spent the day at the Oncologist having an array of testing done that frankly knocked me off my pins. I crawled in bed thinking Heather will handle it for me and ofcourse you did, splendidly.
Ruth sent the fly...
Randy Rainbow summed it up for me: Pence is so full of shit that he's attracting flies . . .
Thank you Professor Richardson! Susan Page was completely ineffectual at keeping Pence to his 2 minutes and could not stop him interrupting Senator Harris. She was gracious and sharp, and lively. I have always thought Pence was a little creepy and wooden, he did not change my mind. And the fly! I hope there are no more debates. The rules aren’t followed, The questions are not really answered, and I doubt any minds were swayed. And I hope that Kamala Harris stays healthy. It is completely irresponsible to have the debaters on the same stage in this age of COVID19.
What about the lack of a face mask on Karen Pence? EVERYONE (except Mike, Kamala, and moderator) was to have a mask on AT ALL TIMES...it was a ticket pledge....and anyone who took off the mask would be escorted from the venue by law enforcement. Continual flouting of the rules.
I am following the "fly" on Twitter
Brilliant Letter today - thank you.
Not much will be changed by this debate, but there might be some movement.
Pence held his ground on abortion, policing, and packing the courts with conservative judges – things his core requires. I don’t think they care much about anything else. Covid, if that is an issue with the core, has already been decided in their minds – it shouldn’t be, but it probably is. He blew off the rest of the electorate.
One answer that really angered me, was his response to the question about Trump and company not adhering to established Covid precautions during ACB’s nomination announcement and what kind of message that sent. He said he trusted the American public to make the right choice – i.e., the Government has little or no role to play in protecting the health and welfare of the public and further, do a we say, not as we do.
Harris held the ground she needed to hold and may have gained a few points with young voters who might have thought to sit this one out, with her support for student loan relief, marijuana legalization and the environment.
I would give the night to Harris. She established herself as competent, forceful and capable of taking over should something happen to Biden – and that may have been a concern for some who hadn’t been much paying attention to her thus far.
Thank you, Heather. It seems the most important thing for Joe and Kamala to do over the next four weeks is to stay healthy. Hopefully this is the last “debate.”
In the NYT regarding the next debate going virtual: "Mr. Trump’s campaign manager, Bill Stepien, denounced the debate commission as 'swamp creatures' who were seeking to protect Mr. Biden, calling the move to a virtual debate 'pathetic.' " You can bet your a$$ we're ALL trying to protect the next POTUS from a COVID-19 infection! Since when did keeping anyone from contracting a potentially deadly illness become pathetic? This is the literal definition of toxic masculinity.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/08/business/media/trump-biden-debate-virtual.html?campaign_id=60&emc=edit_na_20201008&instance_id=0&nl=breaking-news&ref=cta®i_id=84562405&segment_id=40269&user_id=a1d0b2fd6a4a2da92a726af6595a05cf
Thank you Heather. I didn’t watch the debate last night, (I felt certain that Kamala would do a great job and Pence would be his usual lying self), so I didn’t know about the ‘fly’. As I was reading about it, I suddenly envisioned myself with a fly swatter, hitting Pence on the head, repeatedly. 🙂