Click on the video to activate live chat.
It was exasperating watching the GOP debate. If you are a political junkie it was a must however. Based on the ratings – it drew 18 million viewers – it was the third most watched debate ever. In effect either the GOP debate has become entertainment or there is much angst in the populace. The reality is that it is likely both.
There is much comedic relief in watching the debate. A ‘tough’ Jeb Bush sparring with Donald Trump was amusing to watch. Lindsey Graham having the mitigated gall to yearn out loud for a return to the Bush Administration was amusing in a rather macabre way. Saturday Night Live will have a lot of difficulty trying to make fun of the debate as the comedy is already baked into the original.
The problem however is very serious. CNN conducted a debate with questions that in effect told Americans that we are at war, that we are under attack. Republicans were happy to have a debate on those terms. After-all, their modus operandi, is living in an alternate state of reality and convincing Americans that their reality is America’s reality.
While live tweeting the debate it was impossible to keep up with the ignorance and the misinformation. One hopes that the sheer volume of crowdsourced tweets (#GOPDebate) helped do the job CNN failed to do, challenge the candidates to be truthful.
Rachel Maddow did a piece recently that highlighted several lies as well as misleading and ignorant statements by several of the candidates. Chris Christie thought King Hussein was still the King of Jordan. He lied or was unaware that Russia was a longtime ally of Syria when he stated that President Obama invited Russia into Syria. Carly Fiorina all out lied about the President getting rid of generals. And Donald Trump was unaware of the nuclear triad.
These candidates are pompous about effecting a strong and belligerent foreign policy for the alternate reality they have created. Worse, many seem to not understand as Jeb Bush would say, “I know what I don’t know.” Of course it is evident that if that were true his statements on both foreign policy and domestic policy would be quite different.
Anyone who saw the promo for the GOP debate has to be aware that CNN marketed the debate as entertainment. It was promoted as a boxing match. That would be forgivable if they then asked substantive questions relevant to reality and the real state of middle-class and poor America. In these times of never ending distractions everywhere, getting eyeballs is not very easy. Instead of monopolizing on their ‘get’ from the very entertaining promo, CNN seemed to deliberately play on the grounds the GOP has been laying out, America is at war.
To be clear, America is not at war. America is not under attack. There are terrorists who hate us for a myriad of reasons, but these are not states. They are thugs and private organizations. They require police action that yes, requires the help of the military. The DailyKOS piece I wrote “Will we be conned into war again” still applies. 30,000+ people per year throughout the country are killed by our gun culture. Most terrorist acts in the United States are neither Islamic or from overseas.
Indeed, there are many wars we need to fight. If CNN were not derelict in its duty it would not have allowed the GOP war footing to be placed firmly on terrorism and Islamic terrorism specifically.
If CNN were not derelict in its duty it would have asked the Republican candidates the follwing questions.
- If you believe the small number of deaths in America caused by Islamic terrorism warrants a war, why is a war not warranted on those who promote a gun culture that is killing north of 30,000+ Americans every year?
- Why is there not a war on the lack of healthcare given the number of Americans who die from the lack of healthcare every year? We are always able to find money to grease the military industrial complex to fight wars of choice — why not our healthcare system which saves instead of destroy lives.
- Why don’t we have a war on our crumbling infrastructure, potholes, failed systems, or falling bridges that kills or maims?
- Why is there not a war on income and wealth inequality which creates a catastrophic burden on the lives of millions?
CNN got a lot of eyeballs. Their duty in a debate is to probe the candidates in order for Americans to have the necessary information to vet them. It is not the job of CNN to simple allow the candidates to set the agenda. CNN like all the other networks airing these debates have simply become a two hour infomercial, a two hour advertisement for the political parties.
Viewers are encouraged to subscribe and join the conversation for more insightful commentary and to support progressive messages. Together, we can populate the internet with progressive messages that represent the true aspirations of most Americans.
