Live Blog-n-BYOB: Saturday NH Debate
Posted: January 7, 2012 Filed under: Live Blog | Tags: X 2012: The ESOTUS (empty suit of the united states) election 163 Comments
Original Artwork by Dakini Creations (click to visit)
Good evening, news junkies!
- Will Mittens get Newtered?
- Will the media cover anything Hunstman says as something of consequence?
- Will Santorum’s head cavity explode and reveal that there’s been a sparkly stockpile of GLITTER in there all this time?
Join us here at Sky Dancing with your Poison-and/or-Beverage of Choice tonight, as our frontpage team and wonderful commentariat live-blog the Republican debate on ABC in the comments section and find out the answers to all these pressing questions.
If you need something to keep yourself from falling asleep during tonight’s debate and/or from giving in to the urge to file for citizenship elsewhere at the prospect of one of the these GOP loony toons becoming the next ESOTUS (Empty Suit of the United States), below are a couple drinkable recipes to peruse, interspersed with a few newsy links about tonight’s Battle of Unarmed Wits in Manchester, NH.
First, a link where you can find a live feed of the debate via WMUR New Hampshire: Watch Debate at 9pm Eastern/8 pm Central.
ABC.com is also supposed to have livestream here.
I don’t know how reliable those two links will be tonight, so if anyone knows of any other live feed links, please post in the comments.
Now, for one of my favorite grown-up drinks…Blueberry Caipirinhas (h/t Chef Marcus Samuelsson, of Top Chef Masters fame):
- 18 ounces Cachaca or white rum
- 3 Tbsp. light brown sugar
- Juice from 2 limes
- 8 lime wedges
- 1/3 cup blueberries
- 1 Tbsp. shredded mint leaves
In a pitcher, combine the rum, sugar, lime juice and lime wedges. Use a heavy spoon to muddle the ingredients and crush them together. To serve, place 1 1/2 tablespoons of crushed ice in the bottoms of 6 glasses. Divide the blueberries and mint leaves among the glasses, then top with the rum mixture and serve immediately.
In New Hampshire, you are expected to think for yourself and live up to the state's motto, "Live Free or Die." (Robert F. Bukaty/AP)
Let’s be honest, there’s a little truth to New Hampshire’s reputation. The maple syrup is great. The state is not known for its nightlife, and it’s tied for third with West Virginia as the whitest state in America.
So when long-time politician Ray Burton was asked to describe the state in one word, his response was surprising.
“It’s diversity, I believe,” he said. “Variety and diversity.”
The 72-year-old Burton doesn’t mean race or ethnicity, though.
“In the district that I’ve represented now for 34 years, out of the 263,000 people, about a third are Democrats, a third Republicans, and the other third are independents,” he said.
Democratic registration has fared worse than Republicans in Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina and Pennsylvania — the eight swing states with party registration. Republican losses are biggest in Nevada, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania.
The decline is due to a variety of factors. People move, people die, people revolt in disgust. Many are stripped from registration rolls by states seeking to remove inactive voters.
By contrast, the number of independents has grown for years and is up more than 400,000 since 2008, or 1.7%. States with big gains: Colorado, Florida, North Carolina — and Arizona, a possible target for President Obama in 2012.
The 2012 winner, says North Carolina elections director Gary Bartlett, will be “whoever is attractive to the unaffiliated voter.”
I don’t know about that. I don’t think any of the declared candidates on either side of the aisle are particularly attractive to the unaffiliated voter.
Except the Still Not-a-household-name-Jon-Huntsman, of course.
I’ve made no secret that I’d at least *consider* voting for Huntsman if he made it through the primaries–but I knew that was a long shot from the start.
The Republican grassroots are determined not to nominate the only guy many Independents would take a serious look at. Figures.
Here’s an excerpt from the prolific Charles Pierce’s latest on “Huntsman, Fighting Invisibility Off With Sanity” (H/T Bostonboomer):
I have chaffed him not a little for his chronic bouts of invisibility during this campaign in which, all things being equal, he should be a major player. Alas for him, however, all things are not equal. The calculations in Republican politics are as skewed and goofy as the field of candidates, to say nothing of the ideas most of them have been spewing since everything began last summer. Jon Huntsman should not be polling behind Rick Santorum and Ron Paul. Hell, Trigger shouldn’t poll behind those two. But Jon Huntsman never has been good at the calculus of the crazy, so there he is, chatting with the folks over their eggs, a nice man who’s come to talk and little more than that.
[…]
“The real problem is the insurance companies,” Huntsman said. “We can’t have truly affordable insurance in this country because the insurance companies are not doing what they’re supposed to do — which is take a risk.”
I can assure you that I have listened to these jamokes from one part of the country to another and this is the first time than any of them have mentioned the fact that, perhaps, maybe, if the private insurance companies weren’t such a greedy pack o’ bastards, health-care costs in this country might moderate just a tad. (On Wednesday night, a guy got up at a Santorum event and talked about how hard he had it in the insurance game, and Santorum practically threw him a parade.) It was like a cool breeze blew through the diner. The elderly gentleman relaxed visibly. Jon Huntsman waved, shook hands, posed for a couple of pictures on the front steps, and was gone, leaving just a little bit of sanity behind for people to remember him by.
And boy, in this election year, is that not nearly enough.
The companies on Thursday announced that they have teamed up for a collaboration dubbed the “Yahoo News/Funny or Die Presidential GOP Online Internet Cyber Debate.” It will air Friday at 8am EST on Yahoo News and the Yahoo Screen page, reports the New York Times.
Moderated by former CNN host Larry King, the 16-minute spoof features a side-splitting cast of actors and comedians playing the Republican candidates including Horatio Sanz of Saturday Night Live fame as Newt Gingrich; John C. McGinley from Scrubs as Rick Santorum; Patrick Warburton playing Gov. Rick Perry; Leslie Jordan as Rep. Ron Paul; Greg Germann playing Jon Huntsmann; Erin Gibson as Rep. Michelle Bachmann,; and Twitter funnyman Rob Delaney as Mitt Romney.
Mike Tyson, who has already shown off his comedic chops in Funny or Die election spoofs, will reprise his role as former GOP hopeful and pizza mogul Herman Cain. Additionally, Bryan Safi will play Bachmann’s husband Marcus and Reggie Brown will play President Obama.
I haven’t had a chance to check it out yet, so if you have/find the youtube, please post it!
- 2 cups ice
- 1 cup frozen blueberries
- 1 cup blueberry nectar
- 1/4 cup seltzer
- 2 tablespoons frozen limeade
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 3 ounces tequila, optional
- 1 lime wedge
- Coarse salt
Combine ice, blueberries, blueberry nectar, seltzer, limeade, lime juice and tequila, if using, in a blender and blend until smooth. Rub rim of 2 glasses with lime wedge and dip in salt. Divide the margarita between the prepared glasses and serve.
Five things to watch for in tonight’s Debate, from the go-to place for campaign news — i.e. the NY Times Caucus Blog (I’m abbreviating the excerpt to the first paragraph after each number, so be sure to click over to read the rest if you’re intrigued):
1. NEWT UNLEASHED: Newt Gingrich continues to insist that he will not go negative in the coming days. But he says that even as he repeatedly lashes out at Mr. Romney’s record, calling him a “Massachusetts moderate” — and worse.
[…]
2. SANTORUM IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Polls going into the weekend showed Rick Santorum gaining strength in both New Hampshire and South Carolina. Though still trailing Mr. Romney by quite a distance, Mr. Santorum, who has been on the fringes of previous debates, is clearly benefiting from a second look by voters after his near-win in Iowa.3. HUNTSMAN’S LAST STAND?: For Jon Huntsman, the challenge is the same as it’s been for the last several months — getting people to notice his campaign. This may be his last chance.
4. NO MORE ‘OOPS’: For Rick Perry, the main challenge is simple — no more mistakes. The debate stage has not been a friendly one for the Texas governor, but the lack of debates has also meant a lack of attention as the media focuses elsewhere. The weekend gives him a last chance to restart his campaign.
5. PAUL’S ATTACKS: Of all the candidates, Ron Paul has seemed the most willing to offer character attacks under his own name. In Iowa, he ran brutal ads against Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney, questioning their ethics and their positions.
“I’m going to N.H. on a mission to spread love and set the record straight: contrary to recent reports, I am NOT Ron Paul. And I am not running for president of the United States. I hope to meet Ron Paul in person so we can be seen together to put the rumors to rest once and for all. And to remind Mr. Paul and all the Republican presidential candidates ‘if you can’t love yourself, how in the hell are you going to love somebody else. Can I get an ‘Amen?'”
RuPaul also mentioned that while he is not a political person, “any time a man leaves the house in a wig and a pair of cha cha heels, he’s making a political statement. Let us not forget that this great nation was founded by a bunch of men wearing wigs.”
Why, oh why, is there not a video of this? And if there secretly is, can any of you send it my way? I want to go to there.
peej
Carissa
bostonboomer
ecocatwoman
mablue2
peggysue22
quixote
skydancingguestblogger
Mona (aka Wonk the Vote)
Sky Dancing 
Have my wine chilled and ready to go. I’m picking up the live stream here:
http://news.yahoo.com/elections/debate/
Should be interesting!
Oops! Turns out it’s on TV down here. Makes it much easier. Santorum speaking now and a Romney rebuttal–on jobs, specifically the job numbers just released [which they’re talking around, of course]. Now, Eye of the Newt and his criticisms of Bain Capital.
Your voice your vote? bullshit!
Four minutes in, two guys speaking, and already you can tell they’re a sorry lot.
Opening a fresh bottle of wine…
They are successful because they have the president and the other congress critters in their back pockets
Wonk, I love the RuPaul links…
Me too! 🙂
So here comes Huntsman…
Such a diplomat. Even when tooting his own horn.
Hmmm…think he is pulling for a VP nod?
If Romney gets the nomination, Huntsman probably won’t get the nod. This country doesn’t seem ready for a not-Christian president, let alone a not-Christian ticket.
Cosmos here!! Ready to live free or die laughing!!!
and I’m trying to overlook the Saints-Ram Score
Oh damn, I forgot that!
“as our frontpage team and wonderful commentariat live-blog the Republican debate”
Hah. I wouldn’t be able to bring myself to get within a continent of those entrails. However, that blueberry thingy sounds well worth it. Are frozen blueberries okay? I think I have some of those.
I’m just going to sit up here in my cyberpunk cloud city and drink until y’all let me know when it’s safe to look over the edge.
Aww…you aren’t watching this crap Quixote?
I think frozen blueberries would be good. Let me know how it goes if you try it!
Here is the link to the funny or die sketch: The Yahoo! News Funny or Die GOP Presidential Online Internet Cyber Debate
Okay, I just played the first few seconds and had to stop because I was laughing so hard…
Rick Perry…the confused cowboy
Mitt Romney…the beige
Rick Santorum…the worst
Lol,
empty emptier and emptiest
Thanks for that!
BuddyRoemer Gov. Buddy Roemer
No excuse, Santorum. You are part of the corrupt system. You cashed in for personal gain. #NHdebate #abcdebate
BuddyRoemer Gov. Buddy Roemer
Perry is as much of an outsider as Romney is a crusader for the middle class. #blowingsmoke #NHdebate #abcdebate
Is he posting his responses on twitter?
Oh Gawd, what a boring guy. Next contestant please.
which one? Lol
They’re all so dull, watching paint peel off and wood rot would be so much more entertaining
Wow, it started right out with the candidates attacking each other. I missed the very beginning, but I gather Newt talked about the film he purchased that details Romney’s record of destroying companies, putting people out of work, and trashing their pension funds. Ron Paul attacked Santorum as a big government corrupt lobbyist.
Santorum brushed off the corruption issue by claiming that CREW is just a liberal, biased organization.
what was that little moment where
MittensSanitarium said the buzzer was going off because RoguePaul was lying about him?And Rick Perry, SHADDUP
I heard that, but I missed what Paul said.
oops not sure who was saying who was lying anymore (?)
(I was looking down at my screen at that moment, trying to figure out why Firefox is using up over 100% of my cpu’s resources even though I didn’t have any tabs open and shut down and restarted firefox several times.)
Oh, that was Romney? I thought Santorum said that to Paul…
No it prob was Santorum. I realized that afterwards (see above) when I read bb’s comment about what Paul said about Santorum.
The “you lie” sounded so smug I presumed it was Mittens.
Yup, ABC just did a replay of that moment (what the hell? is this the Superbowl now)… anyhow, yes, sorry should have been Santorum, not Mittens. I’ll go back and cross that out above to prevent confusion.
Rick Perry is up. He’s been invisible lately. I wish he’d stay that way.
Perry claims he’s an “outsider.” LOL
That’s because he’s got a southern accent.
RuPaul – I am not Ron Paul – in New Hampshire Diner.
LOL!
Santorum now defending his industry involvement–for noble purposes, of course–and insisting he is a true conservative against Ron Paul’s attack that he is a big time spender.
And here comes Rick Perry. First answer–he’s actually speaking in intelligible sentences. Oops, he went after Ron Paul. Mistake. Paul is on fire tonight. Went right after Santorum, again.
Huntsman is too reasonable to be on this panel.
LOL!! I was thinking that too!
I thought the same thing!
These guys are just about at each others’ throats–metaphorically. I wish they’d do it for real.
Gov. Buddy Roemer
BuddyRoemer Gov. Buddy Roemer
Romney creates jobs. Just not in America. Any US jobs created by Mitt were by accident. #jobcremator #NHdebate
Now Mitt is trashing Obama. As much as I can’t stand Obama, Mitt is worse, so much worse!
Shrinking the size of the military was Rumsfeld’s idea, but Romney claims Obama is making a horrible mistake by doing what Rummy wanted.
They never admit that Obama has done or passed are things that the GOP wanted in the first place.
Gingrich is asked about being a chicken hawk, according to Ron Paul. Which he is.
Well, Paul got a good dig on that draft bit…
On Racism and his news letters.
Now he is defending his relations with black relations?
“It was like that when I got here…”
I would call him a chicken hawk! Newt is a fricken chicken hawk, no matter how much he knows about the military.
Newt just called Ron Paul a liar.
did he just piggyback onto Santorum’s “you lie” moment to Ron Paul? …or was this a coordinated effort on their part?
Kinda reminds me of John Edwards piggybacking onto Obama’s attacks on Hillary as status quo, etc.
Ooooo. Ron Paul got under Gingrich’s skin.
That’s because Newt IS a draft dodger and chicken hawk. And he knows it.
but his daddy paid his dues for him!!!
If Santorum wins, we’ll have to listen to his stories about his grandfather being a coal miner and owing his soul to the company store over and over again. Just like John Edwards, son of a millworker.
Hahaha. I think you’re absolutely right, BB. The coal mining stories are soon to become legend.
Paul is asked about his racist newletters. Claims he didn’t write them.
Claims MLK is his hero! OMG!
Want scary? Imagine if Ron Paul was as articulate as Gingrich and as good looking as Huntsman…he’d be the president.
Sorry, I just fainted … did he just say MLK was a libertarian?
That must be why he didn’t support the 1964 civil rights act or go to jail to achieve it.
what in the world…
Bizzaro World
Yes, he did say that MLK had taken the libertarian stand in peaceful resistance. Not sure how that washes but he did say it.
oh, so Ghandi was a libertarian too? sheesh! what a nutter!
I know right?
WTF does peaceful resistance have to do with being a libertarian? Was Gandhi a libertarian? What a stupid asshole!
Meant to write this here:
“It was like that when I got here…”
Ron Paul is making a very good case for himself. Now talking on the Drug Laws and the consequences for the AA community.
True that!
What about Romney? Is he a chicken hawk. I doubt he was in Vietnam. LOL
I think the only two that served was Ron Paul and Rick Perry.
Chicken hawk too–he never served either. Only Ron Paul and Rick Perry.
They were nowhere near Vietnam, either of them.
From Wikipedia:
How convenient – sorry, I meant to say how sad it was that he didn’t have an opportunity to serve his country in that sad turbulent time.
Here comes the contraception!
Ah…Mitt…Santorum does want to ban it.
we should ban santorum… it’s a health hazard
Mitt f’d it up badly.
Sophie said:
Want scary? Imagine if Ron Paul was as articulate as Gingrich and as good looking as Huntsman…he’d be the president.
I think you you’re making a good point.
Now, we’re on states’ rights to ban contraception. This is a setup for Santorum. A well-deserved setup.
Right of Privacy…Paul needs to keep out of the women’s private uterus.
Paul is a PPUF (pro-privacy-unless-female)
love it… absolutely
Huntsman: “I don’t feel my marriage is threatened by civil unions.”
They’re still on social issues. Good grief. Make it stop.
Mitt Romney looks like an evil Muppet.
Screw them on the marriage. But at least they’re being honest. It was heart wrenching to watch the Dems dance around this one.
NEWT just turned into the Catholic Church candidate and reversed the progress that JFK made decades ago.
There’s a lot more anti-christian bigotry today than there is to the other side says Newt. Audience applauds loudly.
Sick…sick…sick.
Sigh. Stick a fork in the GOP. They’re done.
How the hell can these guys go up against Obama? Obama has the veneer of being 21st century.
These guys are taking us back to Medieval times.
I don’t know how much more I can take.
Oh, here we go with the War on Christianity. When are the real issues discussed??? Policy questions that tap into an individual’s readiness for POTUS?
The press is lame. And compromised.
Perry is on the war on religion..why don’t these moderators ask about separation of church and state?
There’s a question on Afghanistan now.
Is this not a country in which 50% of the people are poor or low-income? And all they’re talking about is gays,god,…and let’s wait for the guns.
It’s coming, Wonk. For sure.
UGH Goodhair twisted Christians into being oppressed in this country because they can’t help sex-trafficked individuals? WTF?
Huh?
Mitt Romney is such a f**kin phony. Ugh.
He just rambles on and says nothing.
Hollow as a reed. If it’s Obama and Romney, it will just be two shadows swordfighting each other.
Hey Wonk, that’s one of the best summaries I’ve heard 🙂
Hiya Joyce! Thanks and great to see you here. 🙂
That is a perfect word picture of those two himbos.
Huntsman talking foreign policy/Afghanistan. Says civil war is around the corner. Doesn’t want to be the president invested in that.
Maybe the only serious moment in this entire debate thusfar and perhaps entire debate.
Newt: I think we’re asking the wrong questions.
Translation: You’re asking things that I can’t answer to my favor.
tru dat!
Damn. I just wasted an evening. I would have been better off making Alicia Silverstone’s Vegan rice krispies.
Hahaha. OMG. Perry wants to send troops back to Iraq. Send this man back to Texas
Santorum has no clue about foreign policy. What a dope. All he ever worked on in the Senate was fetuses.
Stick a fork in Perry. He just suggested we go back in to Iraq and stop Iran from taking them over again? Iran move back in again? WTF? When did IRAN occupy Iraq?
OMG “Islam does not appear anywhere” Someone please escort Sanitarium off the stage please, this guy is too stupid for words.
Iraq:
But the time frame was set by Bush? WTF?
Other than Huntsman, these guys have NOT done their homework at all.
I know…he is the only one that sounds reasonable. By that I mean not batshit crazy or dumb as dirt.
The Iraqis told us to leave and Obama wanted to stay. These guys are in la la land.
No kidding. Perry says Obama could have renegotiated. He tried. Perry is clueless too. But we already knew that.
I can’t provide any specifics about why I would send troops somewhere, says Romney. He can’t provide specifics about anything because he has no idea what he’s talking about.
Charlie Pierce: “Willard must be destroyed.”
http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/new-hampshire-debate-january-7-6634202
Oh yes, Newt makes a very important point–Obama bowed to the King of Saudi Arabia. Bush just held hands.
Romney’s saying something but rambling.
Ron Paul speaks to the issue of the ‘unitary executive,’ something I’ll be writing about tomorrow.
Thousands were killed on the streets in Iran and Obama condoned it says Santorum.
The Emergency Broadcast System should run a test in the middle of Santorum talking.
One commentator says they shouldn’t be talking about gay marriage and birth control. I disagree completely!
Lol
Those issues affect the majority of the population. If these guys win, our culture will be back in the 17th century or worse.
Question about investing in infrastructure. Mitt Romney gives a rambling non-specific answer. Then says government gets in the way of creating jobs.
Mittens trying to sound like he’s got a command on the economy. Blah blah blah. “European style welfare state.” Yeah whatever, Mittens, you’re no better than Bachmann’s “zomg! Obama is a socialist!”
They keep ragging on Obama for his “liberal” policies, yet Obama repeatedly has push GOP shit through.
But Mr. Romney, building infrastructure means spending money!!!!! Sorry we don’t have a system built on opportunity and merit. We have a system that is defined as crony capitalism, something quite different.
The Saints are leading the Lions by 24-14.
Oh brother, Santorum the Republican populist…
Santorum wants to lower corporate taxes to zero?
And to pay for one of you.
Mitt says he’d love no taxes, but we have to have some taxes. Horrors!
Don’t raise capital gains taxes, he says. He thinks that will help the middle class?
Uh-oh, the Lions are within 4 points of the Saints.
Perry: Americans want government out of their hair. No, we want your hair to go home!
We don’t want Perry back here! Maybe he’ll get lost.
Had to do a load of laundry…and got distracted by the excitement of watching the clothes in the spin cycle. What did I miss?
Not much!
In a nutshell, you missed the GOP bozos giving their impersonation of Bachmann’s “Obama is a socialist” schtick.
Well I agree with only one thing Romney said, it is a critical time in America…but these dudes are bent on crushing any policy or funding that could help the US.
Huntsman up. Talking about closing tax loopholes and stop crimping around the edges.
I can’t believe Newt just said that Obama is trying to create a European style socialist model in the U.S. What is he on?
I know…the stuff they are saying is so fucking ridiculous.
Oh… Newt got an applause line for saying something to the near-verbatim effect of “I’m being too hard on Obama, who I’m sure is totally sincere in his effort to create a European style socialist yarda yarda…”
Are these people (audience) on crack?
Short answer: yes. Often referred to as happy juice [dare I say ‘koolaide’].
OMG! Santorum says there aren’t any classes in America and criticizes Mitt for talking about helping the middle class.
He’s a uniter!
hee
Santorum lives in the same alternate reality as Michelle Bachmann.
Hummm. Which would beg the question: And what country do you live in, Rick?
People like Santorum want to perpetuate the ‘myth’ of America, the hazy, nostalgic dream we like telling ourselves.
Only problem? It’s not based in reality.
Huntsman breaks the boredom by speaking Mandarin!!
Huntsman’s speech pattern and voice sound a lot like George Bailey.
I’ll have to listen more carefully, Sophie. See if I can pick that up. :0)
Romney rams it to Huntsman for implementing Obama’s policies in China. Huntsman comes back [in Chinese, hahaha] that Romney’s prescriptions would lead to a trade war.
Uh oh. Guns have come up now.
Parting shot indeed…
you’ll never believe that I just bailed to watch the saints-lions game …
okay .. I think we sealed the deal.
There you go, Huntsman actually has kids in the service–the Navy. Which is where my husband, father and uncles served.
🙂
I have an almost overwhelming desire to send Obama a check. Someone pull me down off this ledge.
won’t come from me … I have seen the future, and it wasn’t on that stage in NH unless we want Armageddon.
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