And then there were two. Well, actually three. (Well, probably still just one.) It’s another episode of Special Coverage on today’s BradCast! [Audio link to full show follows this summary.]
Former SC Gov. Nikki Haley squared off with FL Gov. Ron DeSantis in Des Moines, Iowa on CNN Wednesday night for the 5th, so-called “GOP Presidential Debate,” just hours after former NJ Gov. Chris Christie decided to drop out and as the disgraced former President and presumptive Republican front-runner did a live town hall on Fox “News” just up the road. All just days before voters trudge out into -6 degree (“Feels Like” -25 degree) temps on Monday night for the first-in-the-nation Iowa Caucuses.
Topline: Haley and DeSantis repeatedly called each other liars (she even created a website for his); DeSantis largely dominated Haley (while calling in some sexist tropes for good measure); and nobody laid much of a glove on GOP polling leader and four-time indictee, Donald Trump — as usual.
Of course, there was much more than just that going on. Which is why we’re joined today for smart insights on all of it by our 2024 post-debate analytical champeens and long-time OG bloggers HEATHER DIGBY PARTON of Salon and Hullabaloo and ‘DRIFTGLASS’ of the weekly Professional Left Podcast and its companion show, No Fair Remembering Stuff.
“This is not a debate,” explains the sage Driftglass. “This is a televised entertainment for a very specific audience.” On the other hand, argues the insightful Digby, “this is the most irrelevant political spectacle I have ever observed.”
And yet, we still had more to talk about than we could fit into an hour! About what all of it means (if anything) for the GOP, for Americans, for Democrats, for Joe Biden and — most importantly — for American democracy. Enjoy!…
(Snail mail support to “Brad Friedman, 7095 Hollywood Blvd., #594 Los Angeles, CA 90028” always welcome too!)
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On the topic of Game of Thrones, I would note a couple of takeaways:
1. Ned Stark, a progressive idealist, naively tries to run Westeros in season 1, and gets unspectacularly beheaded. By season 5, arguably, the people of Westeros are so fed up that a socialist-like cult gains power (and would have held onto it too, if not for shenanigans). –The point is perhaps it was naive to think Bernie Sanders could have won, or accomplished as president as much as Biden has.
2. The Mad King, who literally everyone hated, got suddenly assassinated by his own bodyguard while taking a bath. What made someone finally kill him? Because his son died in a duel, and his own people realized that the House of Targaryen was futureless, so they’d rather kill him now and concede the war and throne. –The point perhaps is that Trump may go down way sooner than anyone expects. There will be some legal loss, which is almost common news at this point, but on the technical side breaks things, and enough of his lawyers and staff will walk off, and then just like that he’s done.