NRA claims they will participate in tonight's town hall discussion on gun control. Really? Update!

"I’m not a crisis actor. I’m somebody that had to witness this and live through this and I continue to have to do that," says Florida student David Hogg in response to conspiracy theories being written about him https://t.co/JruN0GWMRD https://t.co/j8VoIwj4ma

— Anderson Cooper 360° (@AC360) February 21, 2018

Courtesy of TPM: 

The National Rifle Association will participate in a town hall discussion on gun laws and last week’s Florida school shooting, which will be hosted by CNN on Wednesday evening. 

The NRA’s national spokeswoman Dana Loesch will represent the organization at the discussion with parents and students, CNN reported. Sens. Bill Nelson (D-FL) and Marco Rubio (R-FL), as well as Rep. Ted Deutch (D-FL), have also told CNN they will be in attendance. The discussion will be broadcast live at 9 p.m. EST Wednesday. 

Loesch said she decided to attend because she’s “always been about more discussion, not less” and she hopes to be able to “offer some solutions as to what people can actually do to prevent these things from happening in the future.” 

“I just hope that people are respectful and that it’s a civil discussion,” she told NRA TV. “We’re not going to get anywhere in this country by screaming at people and impugning their characters simply because they believe as they do. … I hope we can be respectful and have a civil debate without anyone screaming murderer at me.”

Wait, they're sending Dana Loesch?

THIS Dana Loesch?

Is that really the MOST rational person the NRA can find to represent them?

Well she better pack a lunch because this is who she will be facing off against.

Delaney Tarr, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School student: "We've had enough of thoughts and prayers... so this is to every lawmaker out there... we are coming after every single one of you and demanding that you take action, demanding that you make a change." (via ABC) pic.twitter.com/5CLQTyJPDu

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) February 21, 2018

As I a rule I do not bet, but if I did I would be putting the whole pile on that young lady.

Maybe she is not armed with military style weapons or armor piercing bullets, but she clearly has a conceal carry permit for the truth.

Update: My favorite part so far.

Marco Rubio and Trump are called pathetic and weak by father who lost his daughter in Stoneman Douglas shooting. #Rubio pic.twitter.com/g9Jp5CeZfJ

— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) February 22, 2018

Rubio is getting filleted out there. 

Update 2: Changed my mind, THIS my favorite part so far.

Student to Rubio: “Can you tell me right now that you will not accept a single donation from the NRA?” Audience at CNN town hall erupts in cheers. #StudentsStandUp

— MJ Lee (@mj_lee) February 22, 2018

I think Rubio peed a little at that question.

Hillary Clinton's new book discusses her campaign, her time on the debate stage, and the fact that Donald Trump is a creep.

I don't typically like to post videos from Morning Joe, but this is the best reporting on this book that I could find online.

Here is what WaPo had to add: 

Hillary Clinton said her “skin crawled” as Donald Trump loomed behind her at a presidential debate in St. Louis, and added that she wished she could have pressed pause and asked America, “Well, what would you do?” The words, Clinton’s most detailed public comments about what happened during one of the campaign’s more memorable moments, are included in her new book, “What Happened,” which she called an attempt to “pull back the curtain” on her losing bid for the presidency.

In the recording, Clinton noted that she wrote about moments from the campaign that she wanted to remember forever — as well as others she wished she could “go back and do over.” 

The moment from the debate appeared to fall into the latter category. 

“This is not okay, I thought,” Clinton said, reading from her book. “It was the second presidential debate and Donald Trump was looming behind me. Two days before, the world heard him brag about groping women. Now we were on a small stage and no matter where I walked, he followed me closely, staring at me, making faces. 

“It was incredibly uncomfortable. He was literally breathing down my neck. My skin crawled. It was one of those moments where you wish you could hit pause and ask everyone watching, ‘Well, what would you do?’ Do you stay calm, keep smiling and carry on as if he weren’t repeatedly invading your space? Or do you turn, look him in the eye and say loudly and clearly, ‘Back up, you creep. Get away from me. I know you love to intimidate women, but you can’t intimidate me, so back up.’”

Obviously she should have gone with that second instinct.

Not really sure that would have made any real difference though. 

I am definitely going to buy this book as I am a political junkie and quite fascinated with what must have been going through Hillary's mind during this batshit crazy campaign season.

During debate prep Hillary Clinton actually prepared for the unwanted Trump handshake or hug.

Not easy to avoid the unwanted Trump hug, sometimes it even takes practice...

A favorite moment from debate prep (9/24/16): pic.twitter.com/JAAHaqKFoa

— Philippe Reines (@PhilippeReines) May 19, 2017

Courtesy of TPM: 

Longtime Hillary Clinton aide Philippe Reines on Friday shared a video of himself almost violently hugging his boss, showing how Clinton’s campaign had prepared the then-presidential candidate for Donald Trump’s notoriously forceful handshakes.

Reines, who stood in for Trump in the Clinton campaign’s debate prep sessions, seemingly shared the video of prep for what he dubbed “the unwanted Trump hug” in response to a story from Benjamin Wittes, the editor of the blog Lawfare and a self-described “friend” of ousted FBI Director James Comey.

You know after seeing this. and witnessing Hillary clowning around with staff, I almost wish that it had been leaked before the election to show that she wasn't as ice cold and uptight as she was often portrayed by the press.

In fact she also enjoyed seeing herself in this light.

I burst out laughing when I saw this video this morning. Hope it brightens your day. https://t.co/CEcdoaQUuC

— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) May 19, 2017

Oh what might have been.

Historically civil debate between opposing presidential campaigns devolves into verbal food fight.

Here is more courtesy of The Daily Beast:  

The intention of the panel, moderated by journalists including BuzzFeed’s Katherine Miller and MSNBC anchor Andrea Mitchell, was to gather six senior members of Team Hillary and six from the Trump camp, have them sit directly across the room facing one another, and have a calm, collected conversation about the behind-the-scenes moments of the 2016 race. 

Instead, the moderators had trouble even keeping the panelists focused on the questions at hand, because the two sides would not stop sniping at and taunting their political rivals during the event. 

“I would rather lose than win the way you guys did!” Jennifer Palmieri, the communications director for Hillary for America, shot at the Trump team seated a few feet away. 

“How exactly did we win, Jenn? How exactly?” Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway fired back, noting that “I have a smile on my face at all times.” 

Palmieri proceeded to bash the Trump campaign and its chief executive (and Breitbart News honcho) Stephen K. Bannon as a vehicle and emboldening power for America’s “white supremacists and white nationalists.” 

“Are you gonna look me in the face and say I ran a campaign that was a platform for white supremacists?” Conway angrily responded. 

Palmieri told her, plainly, yes. 

“Are you kidding me?” Conway asked incredulously.

Not only is she not kidding, she is absolutely right. As anybody who paid attention to this election already knows.

In fact if it had been me on that stage I would have followed that up by reminding the Trump campaign that they could not have won without interference from the Russians and the FBI's James Comey, making their victory perhaps the most un-American "victory" in history.

While this Harvard debate is usually quite civil, reports that I heard this morning put much of the onus for it going off the rails on the Trump campaign folks, who apparently heckled CNN chief Jeff Zucker for the channel's supposedly biased Hillary reporting, and Nate Silver for getting his polling wrong.

This was one of Kellyanne Conway's shots at the Clinton campaign:

“Hashtag-he’s-your-president, how about that?” Conway told the frustrated and defeated Clinton crew. “We won.”

So yeah I think it was Trump's basket of deplorables once again demonstrating how they earned that title. 

SNL takes on the third and final presidential debate, and yes it is awesome.

So many great lines.

Perhaps my favorite bit was when Alec Baldwin, playing Donald Trump,  suggested that Kate McKinnon, playing our next President, had not accomplished anything in the last thirty years, allowing her to launch into a listing of all of her past accomplishments.

There is also a shout out to Sarah Palin, as one of the "heavy hitters" that support Donald Trump, along with the best Baldwin brother, Stephen.

Sarah Palin tries to be clever, but you she's hampered by the fact that she's Sarah Palin, and then dives deep into the alt-right conspiracy pool.

Courtesy of the Trump Tramp's Facebook page:

Confession: I'm an Obama Admirer (Wait for it.)

It was nice to shake Obama's hand the other night and whisper a belated "thank you" for the courage and love of country he shows in this most important time. Our nation is at a crossroad; I wish we'd had more time to chat so I could further express appreciation (in the thankless position he's in!) for all his pro-America efforts at such a time as this. (Wait for it.)

Oh, sorry... not THAT Obama - this one - Barack's brother Malik who attended the Vegas debate in support of the anti-establishment, anti-#NeverTrump, independent, #AmericaFirstMovement candidate Donald Trump. (OMGD! That would be such a funny head fake if you were middle school kid being raised in a KKK household.) This pic shows Malik Obama and Dr. Ben Carson as we exited the debate's surreal hearing of the oft repeated, unrefuted, untruthful sound bites uttered on stage on behalf of the globalist agenda. 

Wednesday night, Malik and I and others had been stuck outside in the remnants of campaign motorcades so had to walk in late to the UNLV arena. ("Remnants of campaign motorcades" is code for "Had to get our own taxi because Trump refused to pay our way.) Finally taking my seat - front row center, literally on the 50-yard line - we missed opening remarks. Didn't miss anything in the way of media predictability, though, as it was a given we couldn't rely one iota on the referees (the media) to level the playing field in coverage of this final debate. (I will spare you  the link from Breitbart here.)

Friends, rest assured we can survive the crazy deception in this campaign, the question is - can America survive those who suppprt (sic)the deception?  (Yeah I too am pretty confident that we can survive the deception from the Trump campaign and all of his trolls.And yes I think America will survive as well. As for the Republican party, well let's just say the jury is still out on that one.)

(At this point Palin shares one of those despicable fact free alt-right videos attacking the Clintons. Just to prove that she is quite happy wallowing in the mud with Alex Jones and Stephen Bannon. Which is exactly where she needs to be if she his aiming for her own time slot on Trump TV.)

Stay strong America! Its an exciting and empowering time - a whole new ballgame where we no longer rely on blinded referees but instead we level the field ourselves. (Wait, since when are blind referees leveling the ball fields? Don't they have a ground crew for that?) Do your own homework; demand campaign accountability; teach your kids that truth still matters; stiffen your spine, take action and keep the faith!  ( I agree with everything except that last statement. But why do I feel we are talking about two entirely different "ballgames" here?)

 Truth prevails. It's time to dance upon injustice! (WTF? Methamphetamine is a dangerous drug boys and girls.)

- Sarah Palin

Good lord. It's like she dredged the alt-right swamps for material and just plopped it on Facebook in the hopes that the smell would attract the attention of Donald Trump and his Hillary hating white nationalist buddies.

But if Palin wants to get invited into that testosterone drenched boy's club she might have to up her game a little.

For instance watch how Alex Jones, the man who seems to provide Donald Trump with his never ending string of conspiracy theories, responded to the debate on Wednesday.

Yeah maybe if she ate more piles of raw meat and washed it down with several more pots of coffee she could then reach that level of cardiac attack inducing unfettered rage.

Not that I don't think she has it in her, she does.

So now President Obama is openly trolling Donald Trump on Twitter.

Outstanding 3 for 3 debate sweep for @HillaryClinton! Nobody has ever been more prepared to be @POTUS.

— President Obama (@POTUS) October 20, 2016

Now THAT'S a burn.

But not as bad as this one suggesting that Trump has a bromance" with Vladimir Putin.

.@POTUS: "Now suddenly you're okay with your nominee having a bromance with Putin." pic.twitter.com/yrvIIdNVGU

— POLITICO (@politico) October 20, 2016

Okay now that is DEFINITELY going to get an angry tweet from the Donald at some point today.

I have to imagine that the President is having the time of his life watching Hillary crush his nemesis in such a decisive manner.

Hopeful future TV talking head Sarah Palin provides her audition tape for Trump TV.

Palin says Trump will accept election results if they are "legit results" pic.twitter.com/9fvzz5zLBC

— Holly Bailey (@hollybdc) October 20, 2016

On Facebook Sarah "Back to you Jim" Palin expanded on this brief response: 

It was great to witness UNLV's Presidential debate tonight. Great running in to many friends! ("Friends?")

Trump ran the table and clearly explained his vision for making America safe and strong again. What a gamble it would be to vote for status quo failed government... more of the same of what dug us into the mess we're in today. (That "mess" would be the result of Republican leadership, NOT the Obama administration. For all you history buffs.)

Thank you to superb law enforcement personnel for keeping everyone safe tonight. Incredible job; incredibly tough task they accomplish - with a smile, no less! 

Seems silly media sheep are all chomping down on one issue after this debate, at least according to all the reporters who hollered out this same question to me: "What about Trump not accepting the election results?” 

More power to Trump for explaining how vitally important the legitimacy of every election is to our democracy within our Republic. (Gee what a surprise that she sees no problem with questioning the legitimacy of a national election. After all she is still convinced that she and John McCain won back in 2008. Not kidding!)

What reasonable person would preemptively accept any and all hypothetical questions and conditions of any hypothetical election? Trump's answer was RIGHT. (Hang on I think you got a little batshit on your keyboard there Sarah.)

Every American's sacred vote MUST be respected and legitimized in today's elections - but they must be FAIR elections. We're in the midst of proof of voter fraud and questionable - even violent - participatory elements in campaigns. That's why state legislators are now cracking down on voter fraud via tighter laws ensuring the security of our elections. (Well we know where SHE'S been getting her "news.")

When Trump is pressed on this, it harkens back to all the GOP primary candidates who screamed at Trump to support the Republican nominee - no matter what - and Trump initially responded that he could, depending on fair treatment. That is WISE and INSIGHTFUL! (Or as sane people refer to it Irresponsible and Arrogant.)

Trump got screwed in that deal when he eventually pledged to support the nominee and then some of his fellow candidates turned tail and refused to reciprocate when Trump won. 

Trump learned - why give opponents permission and incentive to act unfairly and cheat? It's shortsighted to commit to accepting the outcome of a race REGARDLESS of unscrupulous cheaters. How totally unfair that would be to the American voter! (So far down the rabbit hole here.)

Trump gave potential cheaters fair warning that we'll not give them any quarter. We'll hold them accountable. They'd better be on their toes. Cheaters will not win. (WE'LL hold them accountable?)

Of course Trump will accept the legitimate outcome of a legitimate election! What the heck is so hard to understand about that?(Well I guess it would be easier to understand if THAT WERE ACTUALLY WHAT TRUMP SAID!)


- Sarah Palin

If you will allow me I will give you the benefit of my years of digesting Palin word salad and provide a complete translation.

"Oh god, please give me a job Donnie! Clearly I have no journalistic ethics and will echo whatever talking points are put in front of me, all of them and any of them. I have a bunch of poorly educated, substance addicted losers at home to house and feed, and my damn SarahPAC funds are not even enough to book passage on float plane for a trip across Lake Lucille. Please Donald I will do anything, even all of the things that Melania now refuses to do!"

I think that pretty much sums it up.

Oh wait, you think I am exaggerating the idea that Trump is preparing to launch his media empire and still think he is actually running for President?

Well take a look at this: 

In the minutes before the third and final presidential debate, Donald Trump went live on Facebook in what may have been the inaugural broadcast of a forthcoming Trump News Network. 

A little after 8:30 p.m., Trump’s official Facebook page posted the link to the live video, offering up an alternative to the mainstream broadcast. The message: “If you’re tired of biased, mainstream media reporting (otherwise known as Crooked Hillary’s super PAC), tune into my Facebook Live broadcast. Starts at 8:30 EST/5:30 PST — you won’t want to miss it. Enjoy!” 

The broadcast quickly ballooned to around 200,000 concurrent viewers but quickly fell off to around 120,000. As of the middle of the debate, the feed was holding steady at around 170,000, trailing only the ABC News debate feed on the platform. The livestream featured punditry from retired Lieutenant General Michael Flynn and former Arizona Governor Jan Brewer, and in place of commercials, the feed was interspersed with pro-Trump ads and a special message from Ivanka Trump. 

Looking more like public access than a glitzy cable news offering, the broadcast moved slowly between guests with at least one or two hot-mic off moments where the hosts discussed where the next segment was headed. There were also hints of some surprise programming after the debate ends.

As you might imagine during this beta version of Trump TV all of the pro-Trump coverage was glowing and according to EVERYBODY who appeared on the feed Trump wiped the floor with Hillary in the debate.

In other words the only prerequisite for participation was to be a complete Trump sycophant  unencumbered with concern for facts or ethical reporting.

In other words Sarah Palin's dream job.

So yes, there is very likely going to be a new alt-right media outlet, and yes clearly Sarah Palin wants to get in on the ground floor.

The third and final presidential debate open thread. Update!

So here we go with the final presidential debate of 2016.

As usual I have no idea what exactly to expect tonight, though I would bet money that it will not be boring.

The Hillary camp has invited Mark Cuban and Meg Whitman to be Clinton's guests tonight.

As for Trump he invited Pat Smith, that crazy Benghazi mom who seems to think that Hillary murdered her son with her own two hands, Leslie Millwee who claims that Bill Clinton sexually assaulted her, and President Obama's estranged half brother.

(I literally have no idea how that last one is supposed to rattle Hillary.)

Well that a pretty eclectic group of folks that Trump has gathered, I cannot imagine how it can get any more bizarre.

So: Trump source tells me @SarahPalinUSA is an invited guest to tonight's #debate.

— Hallie Jackson (@HallieJackson) October 19, 2016

And I stand corrected.

Once again I have no idea how this is supposed to take Hillary off her game unless Trump is counting on uncontrolled laughter at the ridiculousness of all this to make it harder for her to answer questions. 

Hillary Clinton has spent the last five days prepping for this final debate, while Donald Trump seems to have decided that he does not need any prepping, and will undoubtedly declare himself the victor afterwards anyhow.

In fact Trump has even refused to do the traditional walk through.

Trump skipped his walk-through at the debate hall, per the campaign. Didn't go. Still at his hotel. "His debate team is taking care of it."

— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) October 19, 2016

Of course all of this is likely a sign that Trump does not think this debate will do anything to help his campaign, which is a little odd since this is the first debate hosted by Fox News and they are more than a little sympathetic to the conservative candidates.

Though to be fair I am not at all convinced that Fox is necessarily in Trump's corner anymore.

After all he has viciously attacked Megyn Kelly one of Fox's biggest stars, and recently had a falling out with Fox News founder Roger Ailes, so though I am sure that Sean Hannity is still aggressively tonguing Trump's ass I am not sure that the rest of the network feels the same.

As usual I will be live tweeting the debates, and will come back here and update this post as events unfold.

Let the games begin!

Update: Some tweets.

Here's Trump complaining about the Emmys being rigged after he didn't win for 'The Apprentice' #debatenight pic.twitter.com/Rw7spgDQLR

— Marlow Stern (@MarlowNYC) October 20, 2016

This side by side screen thing is really not doing @realDonaldTrump any favors. He simply cannot control his resting bitch face. #debate

— Gryphen 2009 (@Gryphen2009) October 20, 2016

Hillary is pounding Trump like a railroad spike right now

Update 2: Here is Sarah Palin saying that if the results are "legit" then "we" will accept them.

Palin says Trump will accept election results if they are "legit results" pic.twitter.com/9fvzz5zLBC

— Holly Bailey (@hollybdc) October 20, 2016

Still not sure why she is there.

Update 3: I think that this photo sums up this debate quite nicely.

She won decisively, and the only people who do not agree with that are currently working for the Trump campaign.

Hillary Clinton on the Ellen Show. "I would just feel this presence behind me, I thought whoa this is really weird!"

Hillary also addressed the notorious "grab their pu**y" tape and said that Trump seemed "wrought up" and filled with anger.

When Ellen pointed out that it seemed that the Trump campaign was "crumbling" Hillary made a point of telling the audience that she does not want anybody to think the election is over and that they need to "turn out and vote."

At the end of the segment Ellen showed this tape to Clinton and the audience. Just watch Hillary's reaction.

And they say she is cold and humorless.

Hillary Clinton's first ad using Trump's words from the second debate is brutal.

Does Trump have the discipline to be a good leader? You decide. pic.twitter.com/KfdtXNeFfE

— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) October 11, 2016

I have said repeatedly that the Clinton campaign should be paying Trump for helping them write these incredibly effective ads.

Damn that is devastating!

Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton: "I've Had the Time of My Life."

Well since it seems that EVERYBODY wants me to post this here you go.

I guess it's a nice change from the normal political acrimony that we are awash in these days.

However I have to admit that I was hesitant as this was my wedding song.

Now if I could only remember from which marriage.

Samantha Bee's take on the 2nd presidential debate is a "must see."

Courtesy of Raw Story:

Just hours before the debate, Bee describes Trump attempting to grab the media narrative by enlisting the help of four women who say that they’ve been victimized by the husband of his political opponent. Using the women as some sort of “rape victim human shield” was never going to work, however, and the answer for why can easily be found looking at Jennifer Aniston. 

“Rubbing a woman’s face in her husband’s infidelities is not the way to America’s heart,” Bee explained. “We love wronged wives. This is the same America that is still obsessed with Jennifer Aniston. Her ex-husband has split up with the woman he cheated on her with and we still want to know if she’s alright.” 

In the end, “none of it is Hillary’s fault and none if it erases what Donald did,” Bee said. 

I swear this show is getting better all of the time.

Now I would like to take a moment to delve into Trump mocking Hillary over her answer to the Wikileaks kerfuffle in which she referenced Spielberg's movie "Abraham Lincoln."

Trump went after her and essentially accused her of hiding behind Honest Abe and somehow smearing him at the same time.

However the thing is, she was not lying. And it was those hacked e-mails from Wikileaks which prove it.

Courtesy of Quartz:

Hillary Clinton invoked American luminaries Steven Spielberg and Abraham Lincoln to get out of a tight spot in tonight’s presidential debate. 

The moment came when she was asked about comments in paid speeches that have dogged her presidential campaign. 

Specifically, she was asked about an excerpt of a hacked e-mail containing potentially controversial excerpts from a $225,000 paid speech she delivered to the National Multi-Housing Council in 2013, after she left public office. 

In her speech to the nonprofit, she argued that politicians “need both a public and a private position” in order to accomplish anything. The debate moderators asked Clinton on behalf of a voter, “Is it ok for politicians to be two-faced?”

As you see in the video above Hillary responded to that question by saying that she was actually talking about the Spielberg movie and how brilliantly Lincoln held his cards to his chest while working to get the 13th Amendment approved.

Trump then made his derisive comments, and Hillary simply let them stand. And the fact that she let them stand should have been Trump's first clue.

Here is the entire excerpt from that e-mail in question:

*CLINTON SAYS YOU NEED TO HAVE A PRIVATE AND PUBLIC POSITION ON POLICY* *Clinton: “But If Everybody’s Watching, You Know, All Of The Back Room Discussions And The Deals, You Know, Then People Get A Little Nervous, To Say The Least. So, You Need Both A Public And A Private Position.”* CLINTON: You just have to sort of figure out how to — getting back to that word, “balance” — how to balance the public and the private efforts that are necessary to be successful, politically, and that’s not just a comment about today. That, I think, has probably been true for all of our history, and if you saw the Spielberg movie, Lincoln, and how he was maneuvering and working to get the 13th Amendment passed, and he called one of my favorite predecessors, Secretary Seward, who had been the governor and senator from New York, ran against Lincoln for president, and he told Seward, I need your help to get this done. And Seward called some of his lobbyist friends who knew how to make a deal, and they just kept going at it. I mean, politics is like sausage being made. It is unsavory, and it always has been that way, but we usually end up where we need to be. But if everybody’s watching, you know, all of the back room discussions and the deals, you know, then people get a little nervous, to say the least. So, you need both a public and a private position. And finally, I think — I believe in evidence-based decision making. I want to know what the facts are. I mean, it’s like when you guys go into some kind of a deal, you know, are you going to do that development or not, are you going to do that renovation or not, you know, you look at the numbers. You try to figure out what’s going to work and what’s not going to work. [Clinton Speech For National Multi-Housing Council, 4/24/13]

As you can see in context is says something completely different than what was reported by the media, and  certainly different from how Trump tried to characterize it.

Here is a helpful hint for Donald Trump to keep in mind for his next debate with Hillary.

If she says something definitive like this, with the full knowledge that fact checkers are going to scrutinize every word, you should know right up front that it is highly unlikely that she is telling a lie.

Donald Trump buys into conspiracy theory that CNN focus group was coached before finding that he lost the debate.

Wow, @CNN got caught fixing their "focus group" in order to make Crooked Hillary look better. Really pathetic and totally dishonest!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 10, 2016

Courtesy of Mediaite: 

There’s a new conspiracy going around that a brief bit of unintentionally picked-up audio shows a CNN conspiracy to coach its own focus group, and it didn’t take long for Donald Trump to embrace the conspiracy. 

A bunch of conservative websites picked up the snippet, which shows the clip of Hillary Clinton saying “America’s great ’cause we’re good” followed by a CNN reporter repeating the line to the focus group. 

Right after that she asks the focus group what about her argument resonated and one woman mentioned that line.

This is the supposed "coaching" that Donald Trump and the wingnuts are saying was caught on tape.

Mediaite goes on to say that it is not at all certain that the audience heard the remarks from Clinton and so the reporter might well have been reiterating what was said, or simply revisiting something the audience member had said while the cameras were off and asking that person to repeat her previous statement.

Of course in Trump world all conspiracy theories are believable, and since the Donald cannot bring himself to accept the possibility that this group decided that he lost this debate based on his performance, he simply must accept this one as well.

The memorable moments from last night's presidential debate.

Okay so this happened right before the debate and it got the whole internet abuzz over it.

But not in a good way.

Chilling to see desperation Trump feels by pulling together Bill Clinton accusers pre-debate. Once attacked these very women himself.

— Tony Schwartz (@tonyschwartz) October 9, 2016

After this stunt @realDonaldTrump is more disgusting and shameless than I thought. Wow. So sad and desperate

— Reshma Saujani (@reshmasaujani) October 9, 2016

This presser is one more indication that Donald Trump is completely insane.

— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) October 9, 2016

Apparently Trump had planned to seat these women with his family during the debate, but the officials put the kibosh on that idea.

One of the other memorable moments was when Trump bizarrely threatened to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Hillary Clinton for the ultimate purpose of throwing her in jail.

As Vox points out not only would it be impossible for a President Trump to launch an investigation against a former political rival, but threatening to do so is a threat to our democracy.

Another of my personal favorite moments from last night was when Trump essentially admitted that he had not paid taxes for years.

Of course Trump then went on to blame Hillary for the existence of the tax loophole seemingly unaware that one Senator from New York is unable to change tax policies all on her own.

And of course then there was the lurking.

What. Is. He. Doing. pic.twitter.com/6uE8sf09ul

— James West (@jameswest2010) October 10, 2016

Holy shit, that was creepy as hell!

One body language expert suggested that this was a "pre-assault indicator."

Yeah it was NOT a good night for the Donald, and things are only going to get worse from here.

In fact new polling shows Hillary with an eleven point lead.

Well you know that this will inspire a Twitter rant from Trump any minute now.

I imagine that in the next debate they will have to wheel Trump out in a Hannibal Lecter to keep him from physically assaulting Hillary Clinton in frustration.

Debate night part deux! Update!

Hah! You are so fucked!

Man I wish I could tell you what to expect tonight, but your guess is literally as good as mine.

The one thing I will predict is that Donald Trump will not be able to resist getting nasty.

As is made creepily clear by who he appeared in a press conference with right before this debate tonight.

In fact there is talk that he plans to bring up Bill Clinton's past infidelities right in front of Hillary tonight, a move that is guaranteed to back fire.

EXCLUSIVE — Video Interview: Bill Clinton Accuser Juanita Broaddrick Relives Brutal Rapes:https://t.co/9j7f8VK9Md

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 9, 2016

By the way I watched this Juanita Broaddrick interview and read the transcript and it simply does NOT come off as believable. And it is made even less believable once you learn that she denied these charges under oath: 

During the 1992 Presidential campaign there were unfounded rumors and stories circulated that Mr. Clinton had made unwelcome sexual advances toward me in the late seventies. Newspaper and tabloid reporters hounded me and my family, seeking corroboration of these tales. I repeatedly denied the allegations and requested that my family’s privacy be respected. These allegations are untrue and I had hoped that they would no longer haunt me, or cause further disruption to my family.

If Trump decides to go there you can feel completely confidant that Hillary is well prepared to respond.

As for Trump it appears that HIS trouble might be just beginning:

As a producer on seasons 1 & 2 of #theapprentice I assure you: when it comes to the #trumptapes there are far worse. #justthebegininng

— Bill Pruitt (@billpruitt) October 8, 2016

@mcuban the price is 5 million to cover the penalty fee. And we all get to hear him use the N word from what I hear https://t.co/IsmJvHHL1K

— Chris Nee (@chrisdocnee) October 9, 2016

I imagine that Trump is well aware that this is coming, and it cannot help but screw with this head tonight. And clearly it has made him irrational.

Trump may also try to make something out of those newly released Wikileak documents, but I have spent some time looking through them and I think Trump would be hard pressed to find anything that he can use in this debate.

As usual I will be Tweeting like a drunken madman during the debate, and updating this post as new information becomes available.

See you on the other side.

Update: Well it looks like Kellyann Conway is completely on board with tonight's debacle.

Update 2: It looks like the career of Billy Bush is in free fall. I imagine that Donald Trump's is soon to follow.

Update 3: Oh god.

They have arrived in debate hall, guided by Rudy Giuliani pic.twitter.com/6T5gsLNXtx

— Hallie Jackson (@HallieJackson) October 10, 2016

Why do they make it so hard to get the corks out of these bottles?

Update 4: And shit just got even more real.

Update 5: Final thought.

I don't think that @realDonaldTrump was hurt in this debate, but then again his campaign essentially ended on Friday anyhow. #debate

— Gryphen 2009 (@Gryphen2009) October 10, 2016

Last night's SNL cold open.

So good last night, I laughed way to hard at Hillary Clinton "preparing" for today's debate.

But as good as Kate McKinnon was in that piece, she was brilliant in the Kellyanne Conway segment.

Apparently Conway has dropped off the face of the planet in the wake of that sexual harassment video featuring Donald Trump and Billy Bush.

She cancelled all of her Sunday morning show appearances and has remained off the radar since Friday. With  the exception of this one tweet this morning.

@realDonaldTrump & I earlier in motorcade en route to flight to St. Louis for debate. Photo credit: @MELANIATRUMP pic.twitter.com/xxFYh94Fkt

— Kellyanne Conway (@KellyannePolls) October 9, 2016

So it appears that she is still on the team, but no interested in facing the press.

Gee, I wonder why?

Now if you will excuse me I need to find that industrial size bowl for my popcorn before tonight's debate. 

One thing that did come from the VP debate last night, more material for those great anti-Trump ads.

Mike Pence's #VPDebate strategy seemed to be "if you close your eyes, Trump doesn't exist." pic.twitter.com/VM4CuglV89

— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) October 5, 2016

I don't know about the rest of you but I was kind of writing some these ads in my head last night while watching Pence working overtime to deny that Donald Trump had said the things that every voter in America already knows Donald Trump had said.

And as usual all the Clinton campaign has to do is use the actual words spoken by the two candidates to craft the ad.

It also gives Hillary quite a bit to work with this Sunday when she once again faces off against Jabba the Orange Hutt.

P.S. By the way it appears that the surge after the first presidential debate continues forward as Five Thirty Eight currently shows Hillary with a whopping 316 electoral votes.

Mike Pence denies that theirs is an "insult driven campaign" at almost literally the same time that Donald Trump is tweeting insults about Tim Kaine.

.@HillaryClinton & @timkaine think you're #Deplorables & #BasementDwellers. @realDonaldTrump & @mike_pence think you're PATRIOTS #VPDebate pic.twitter.com/zkjfmWOCRq

— Official Team Trump (@TeamTrump) October 5, 2016

This defense by Mike Pence was of course laughable on its face, but it was made even more so by these tweets coming from Trump who was live tweeting the debate.

"@elisac006: @nycmia @realDonaldTrump I agree. Kaine looks like a fool!!"

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 5, 2016

"@Jnelson52722: @realDonaldTrump @Susiesentinel Kaine looks like an evil crook out of the Batman movies"

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 5, 2016

"@Gsimmons03Ginny: @realDonaldTrump ..Kaine is awful, Trump and Pence are the ticket..no more lies, we are ready to see America Great Again!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 5, 2016

"Okay Donald I am going to go out there and try to do some damage control and start trying to represent our campaign as one about the issues and not one that engages in childish insults and unprovoked attacks okay?

"Sure Mike that sounds good. I'll be backing you up on Twitter."

"Thanks, wait what?"

Kind of makes you wonder exactly what Mike Pence thought would happen when he joined this ticket?

Sarah Palin cranky that she had to stand during HER VP debate.

Actually Palin kind of makes a good point as the only other female VP candidate, Geraldine Ferraro, ALSO had to stand during her debate in 1984.

However I would remind Palin that she was not the only one to stand during that 2008 VP debate.

And Biden was twenty years her senior, so imagine how hard that was on his old man legs.

Having said that I think we all know that the most likely reason for Palin and Biden being forced to stand during the debate was because Palin had essentially run on her youth and attractiveness so the network realized that more viewers would tune in to get a look at her ass than they would to hear that screechy voice of hers.

I think the one to feel sorry for here is Joe.