Charles Pierce on yesterday’s Republican candidate debate:
In brief, Saturday night may have been the most naked piece of point-shaving and game-throwing since the 1919 World Series. I’ve seen fixed prizefights where the issue was more in doubt. The other candidates went so far into the tank for Willard that they may not dry off until next August. In the 1950’s, Frankie Carbo would have had them all killed because they made it look so damned obvious. Where was the promised Gingrich assault on the frontrunner? Where was the blood, the guts, the glory? Where was the damn slasher film we all anticipated? This was a waltz, and a clumsy one. If the people in that audience had any pride at all, they’d have attacked the ABC platform and demanded satisfaction for this massive piece of consumer fraud.
However, news stories say that today the remaining Seven Clowns — they’re down to Five Clowns now, since Perry chose not to drop out just yet — went after Mittens today, so maybe they aren’t folding just yet.
Nate Silver says that Mr. Frothy’s surge may already have stalled.
Romney has a lead in New Hampshire worthy of Secretariat; it’s going to be a landslide. He is comfortably ahead in the polls in South Carolina, which will hold its primary on January 21. If he clobbers the rest of the field in those two contests, which is possible, it’s going to be very hard to stop him from being the nominee. Not that I mind.
It looked to me like the “fix is in,” and has been for awhile.
The powers-that-be have been trying to reassert the control they lost with the arrival of their, now red-headed stepchildren, the Teabaggers – and their hands-down choice – IS MITT!
All the rest were allowed their moments in the sun to whine and “shine,” to put on their sad clown parade, and make this charade seem like a real competition.
From “As You Like It:”
“All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players:
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages.”
Plus one:
Mitt – the 1% Candidate – by the 1%, for the 1%.
Santorum – The K-Street Torquemada, for those who like their economic and sexual extremism less ‘Mormony’ and more old-time Catholicy.
Paul – a dope on everything except dope and war.
Bachmann – The crazies like ladies, too. Just not so much lately. And so, the men in the butterfly nets carried her off stage right – very far right.
Cain – A drop of chocolate in a vanilla sea. Also now gone. Being ‘extra-cheesy’ with ladies who were not his wife, cost him a chance at “The Franchise.” But not really – eventually the voters would realize that they don’t want chocolate on top of their pizza.
Gingrich – A 1-hit wonder, a blast from the rancid, fetid past.
Perry – The man, the myth, the… The man, the myth. Even in today’s dumbed-down Republican Party, it was refreshing to see the party not fall for an even bigger moron from Texas than Little Boots.
Huntsman – Who’s he, and what’s he doing here? A relative lamb in wolves clothing.
Or, you can sum-up this whole sorry sociopathic lot with quote from “Macbeth:”
Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
That last sentence says it all.
Unless one any of these idiots, full of sound and fury, and some other less complimentary things, actually becomes our President.
And then we will all be poorer players, hungrier shadows, doing a hell of a lot more fretting, while these assholes strut upon their stage, as America begins to really signify nothing.
I sort of assumed months and months ago that he would be the GOP candidate. Still reading (not watching) to see if this indeed comes to pass.
It must be really hard to act like the show is a completely unexpected surprise.
Here’s a link to the list ogre super PACK on Open Secrets.
http://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/superpacs.php?cycle=2012
Here’s my take on the ‘fix’. The powers-that-be are pressuring GOP candidates to follow Regan’s 11th commandment not to speak ill of other GOP candidates. What is ‘allowed’ is to use your super PAC to do character assassination. And Romney is WAY ahead in money and expertise in backstabbing. Like they say in Mission Impossible, the candidates will disavow any knowledge of their actions.
The other thing is that the GOP is not a monolithic unit any more. At the same time the mainstream establishment GOP had blessed Romney, the ringmasters of the Tea Party were promoting Cain. The rank-and-file teabaggers at different times have lined up behind Perry and Bachmann and they are still trying to build the Frankenstein anti-Romney. And they will fail.
The ‘fix’ is in to the degree that nobody who isn’t named Romney will get enough delegates before the convention to be the nominee. If enough candidates stay in it and stay strong enough that it is a brokered convention, Romney will steal it. Heads I win – Tails you lose. The thing to pray for, because we can’t do much to affect it… is that it doesn’t end early…that it is a brokered convention.. with the nomination (Romney) a bald-faced act of piracy that provoke third and 4th party conservative candidates run against Romney in the general election out of spite.