Over the weekend, there was yet another Republican debate, featuring on the main stage seven of the nine remaining candidates. (Carly Fiorina and Jim Gilmore are still not polling high enough to make the cut.) The evening got off to a rocky start.
Video Description: Two anchors, a white man and a white woman, introduce the debate moderators, a white man and a white woman. Then, starting at 0:28, the male anchor says: "So let's welcome the candidates for the Republican nomination for president. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie." Applause as Christie walks out from a hallway leading to the stage. The female anchor says: "Dr. Ben Carson."Naturally, the debate itself was full of the usual garbage. Bigotry interspersed with bad policy. Marco Rubio's third-place finish in Iowa made him the center of the soon-to-be-also-rans' attacks, and Chris Christie [CN: disablist language] was particularly effective in exposing Rubio's reliance on prepared talking points.
Over the noise of the audience applause, Carson doesn't hear his name called, and hangs out awkwardly in the hallway instead of walking onto the stage. The camera zooms in on him, and he smiles. Cut to the stage. Cut back to Carson standing in the hallway. In the background, a stage hand shoos him onstage, but he still doesn't move.
The male anchor says: "Texas Senator Ted Cruz." Carson walks forward, expecting his name to be announced, then stops. He turns and looks behind him, as Cruz comes walking out. Carson gestures for him to pass, and they smile at each other. Cruz walks onto the stage. The stagehand peeks out and tells Carson to go onstage, but he remains fixed in place.
The female anchors says: "Businessman Donald Trump." Trump also does not hear his name called, and stands there awkwardly beside Carson. The male anchor says: "Florida Senator Marco Rubio." The audience applauds as Rubio comes out and strolls by Trump and Carson and onto the stage. Trump smiles into the camera, looking vaguely annoyed to be standing there with Carson, not understanding he's been announced.
The female anchor says: "Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush." Bush walks by Trump and Carson, patting Trump on the shoulder and shrugging with a "sucks to be you!" expression as he passes.
The female anchor says, over the sound of audience applause: "Ladies and gentlemen, the Republican candidates!" Cut to the stage, where there are three empty podiums. The male anchor says, "Dr. Ben Carson, please come out on the stage." The female anchor says, "And Donald Trump." Carson walks out. Cut back to the hallway. Trump still hasn't heard his name called and stands there looking agitated. Behind him, John Kasich peeks his head out from backstage.
The male anchor says: "And lastly, we welcome back to the debate stage, Donald Trump." Applause as Trump finally hears his name called and walks out. Kasich still hangs back at the end of the hallway. Chris Christie asks, "Can I introduce Kasich?" OMG.
The male anchor says, "Yes, we're gonna introduce Ohio Governor John Kasich." Applause as Kasich walks onstage. And at long last, all seven candidates are onstage. GOOD GRIEF.
Rubio also got pushback for his ultra-extremist anti-abortion position, which includes no exceptions for rape and incest. Asked about it on Sunday by ABC's George Stephanopoulos, Rubio defended his position, saying: "It's a terrible situation. I mean, a crisis pregnancy, especially as a result of something as horrifying as that, I'm not telling you it's easy. I'm not here saying it's an easy choice. It's a horrifying thing that you've just described. ...And that's why this issue is so difficult. But I believe a human being, an unborn child has a right to live, irrespective of the circumstances of which they were conceived."
Yeah, well, you know what I think about that shit.
All of these candidates are so aggressively terrible. It is, truly, difficult for me to fathom, emotionally if not intellectually, that there are millions and millions of people who support these jerks with abundant enthusiasm.
Shakesville is run as a safe space. First-time commenters: Please read Shakesville's Commenting Policy and Feminism 101 Section before commenting. We also do lots of in-thread moderation, so we ask that everyone read the entirety of any thread before commenting, to ensure compliance with any in-thread moderation. Thank you.
blog comments powered by Disqus