# March 3rd Republican debate **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [March 3, 2016, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/march-3rd-republican-debate/747875 "2016-03-03T23:10:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2016, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/march-3rd-republican-debate/747875/121 "2016-03-04T14:41:55Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > Well, young Marco, politics is the means by which a democracy resolves its differences. I believe that as of last night’s “debate” (quotes are definitely required here) the accepted Trumpism is “Little Marco”. As for Flint, Bill Maher nailed it last Friday. Trump (along with other Republicans) wants to abolish federal agencies like the EPA and most other regulatory agencies especially if they deal with the environment, along with the entire Department of Education. What better way to Make America Great Again™ than to have everyone uneducated, stupid, and poisoned! ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2016, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/march-3rd-republican-debate/747875/122 "2016-03-04T14:47:32Z")
> [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#): > > Well that’s where the cross-country comparisons come in. Are there authoritarian thugs in other democracies? Sure. And they typically receive well under 10% of the vote. > > Admittedly you can point to Silvio Berlusconi, but I’d want to read a solid treatment about the comparison before moving to judgment. And Berlusconi is atypical, while Italy has generally had a dysfunctional political system, one I wouldn’t want to emulate. (Super-proportionate PR is better than strict PR.) Jesus Christ, the guy has never actually held political office and he’s already “an authoritarian thug”. This is as much about celebrity as anything else. Joe Schmoe could have the same platform as Trump, and he’d get nowhere. I can’t see that there anything about the process that has produced Trump. People like him. Mostly because “he’s Trump”, and he’s outside the system. He plays to people’s fears, but that makes him a demagogue, not “an authoritarian thug” ---
**Author:** ![Algernon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a183cd/32.png) [@Algernon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algernon)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2016, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/march-3rd-republican-debate/747875/123 "2016-03-04T14:52:51Z")
> [@Thing\_Fish](#): > > Didn’t watch a second of it and feel I got all the essential details in ten minutes of reading this thread and laughing my ass off. Thank you, Dopers! > [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](#): > > I remember when I was young and I thought brilliant people ran the world. Those were good times. > [@El\_Kabong](#): > > I’d weep for the country, if I didn’t think to some extent we are getting what we deserve. Heh, heh. I love the Dope. And I am so embarrassed for our country. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2016, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/march-3rd-republican-debate/747875/124 "2016-03-04T14:55:29Z")
The more I think about it, that little white nugget was the most likable thing on the stage last night. And then Ted Cruz ate it. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2016, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/march-3rd-republican-debate/747875/125 "2016-03-04T14:59:38Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > I believe that as of last night’s “debate” (quotes are definitely required here) the accepted Trumpism is “Little Marco”. I want a “Li’l Marco” plush doll! ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2016, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/march-3rd-republican-debate/747875/126 "2016-03-04T15:04:13Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > The more I think about it, that little white nugget was the most likable thing on the stage last night. And then Ted Cruz ate it. It was, and I miss it. I keep telling myself that maybe Cruz didn’t eat it, maybe it just flew away. Maybe it’s in a better place now, laying eggs in a dog turd somewhere and about to produce countless progeny. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2016, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/march-3rd-republican-debate/747875/127 "2016-03-04T15:11:45Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > it’s in a better place now, laying eggs in a dog turd somewhere and about to produce countless progeny. I thought you said Cruz didn’t eat it. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2016, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/march-3rd-republican-debate/747875/128 "2016-03-04T15:17:46Z")
> [@standingwave](#): > > It’s not exactly the Lincoln-Douglas debates. LINCOLN: LOL! I stealin ur grrrl! ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2016, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/march-3rd-republican-debate/747875/129 "2016-03-04T15:22:35Z")
So, I didn’t watch much (listened to more, my wife had it on in a different room). I did hear Wallace point out that Trump’s tax plan doesn’t add up, and adds massively to the deficit/debt. Of course, that is a feature of all of the Republican plans (and Bernie’s, AIUI). Did they talk about the other tax plans? Donald’s best defense there would have been “it’s no worse than Cruz’s”, but that is using ‘best’ in a very technical sense. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2016, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/march-3rd-republican-debate/747875/130 "2016-03-04T15:47:40Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Jesus Christ, the guy has never actually held political office and he’s already “an authoritarian thug”. This is as much about celebrity as anything else. Joe Schmoe could have the same platform as Trump, and he’d get nowhere. > > I can’t see that there anything about the process that has produced Trump. People like him. Mostly because “he’s Trump”, and he’s outside the system. He plays to people’s fears, but that makes him a demagogue, not “an authoritarian thug” Everything I read from people who really know him is that he is not an act. I take his response to the statements by a wide variety of military leaders that they will refuse to follow Trump’s order to torture and any other orders that violate international law, that such is their oath, that “they’ll do as I tell them” at its face value, what his true intent to do would be if he had the ability to do so. Likewise his desire to muzzle free press. He is making it clear that if elected he would do his best to be an authoritarian thug. Sure Joe Schmoe might want to be one too, but Mr. Schmoe is not on track to be the nominee of one of the two major political parties of this country. Demagoguery is a tool to create authoritarian rule. Demagogues are a risk within democracies. They can gain power and once they do they can enforce their authoritarian thugocracy. Yes it has happened historically on multiple occasions. Hitler might have lost the election for President in 1932 but it was the popular support from his demagoguery that then got him appointed Chancellor and got the then elected President to issue the decree nullifying many civil liberties. And we have seen Islamists win democratic elections and then enforce their religious versions of authoritarian thugocracies as well. Joe McCarthy had power by way of the ballot box and of public opinion. We should not dismiss the risk of demagogues lightly. It is not merely a reflection of a primary process, even if in this case the process amplifies it greatly. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2016, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/march-3rd-republican-debate/747875/131 "2016-03-04T15:57:47Z")
Remember when our Republican friends said it was “undignified and unpresidential” for Bill Clinton to answer the “Boxers or briefs” question? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2016, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/march-3rd-republican-debate/747875/132 "2016-03-04T16:12:50Z")
> [@E-DUB](#): > > Remember when our Republican friends said it was “undignified and unpresidential” for Bill Clinton to answer the “Boxers or briefs” question? If I were a candidate and a reporter asked me that question, my answer would be, “How badly do you want to find out?” [waggles tongue] ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2016, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/march-3rd-republican-debate/747875/133 "2016-03-04T16:33:54Z")
This debate was just plain ugly. I think the childish insults between Rubio and Trump were especially bad. The problem that the other Republicans have is that they are either limited to attacking Trump as a person (the Rubio and Cruz approach) or disagreeing with him on policy (the Kasich approach). The latter approach is obviously inadequate. The former approach might work, except that Trump is way better at the personal insults game than Cruz and Rubio. Trump has basically created a voting bloc of blue collar, lower educated, nativist white people. He is playing to the worst part of their nature. But this bloc by itself is not enough to win the general election. The rest of the GOP has not figured out a way around this problem. My solution would be to take the rest of the party, move to the left, and try to join up with moderate Democrats. I’m sure there are several reasons that isn’t a feasibile solution, but it’s what I would try. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2016, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/march-3rd-republican-debate/747875/134 "2016-03-04T16:53:14Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > I believe that as of last night’s “debate” (quotes are definitely required here) the accepted Trumpism is “Little Marco”. Fortunately, I’m not Trump, and equally fortunately, I don’t care about Marco’s size - in _any_ way. :eek: Actually, I’d originally written “little Marco” but then I called him “you wretched little twerp” at the end, so I switched to “young Marco” so as to not get repetitive with my adjectives. > [@](#): > > As for Flint, Bill Maher nailed it last Friday. Trump (along with other Republicans) wants to abolish federal agencies like the EPA and most other regulatory agencies especially if they deal with the environment, along with the entire Department of Education. What better way to Make America Great Again™ than to have everyone uneducated, stupid, and poisoned! Pretty much. And of course they’ve already cut enforcement budgets all across the Federal government, so that it’s much easier for everyone to get away with violating Federal health and safety and environmental regulations. And then when disaster strikes as a result of those regulations being ignored, the GOP is all “where were the Feds? The government screwed up!!” By design, Republicans. By _your_ design. Fucking **own** it already. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2016, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/march-3rd-republican-debate/747875/135 "2016-03-04T17:01:47Z")
They should cancel the remaining debates and schedule a series of pie fights. It would contain the same amount of issue-based discussion, and be more dignified. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2016, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/march-3rd-republican-debate/747875/136 "2016-03-04T17:17:28Z")
I didn’t see the debate, but it sure sounds like this one trumped (:eek:) the entrance debacle from the other debate for cringeworthy cringeyness. And also, I would like to take a moment to honor this sentiment: > [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > … If _Ow! My Balls_ were a real show, it’d be America’s top rated program. … ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2016, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/march-3rd-republican-debate/747875/137 "2016-03-04T17:21:34Z")
I’ve figured it out, Trump and Rubio are [carnies!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXRfnIfFYFI). Smell like cabbage too, I bet ---
**Author:** ![oft\_wears\_hats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7993a0/32.png) [@oft\_wears\_hats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oft_wears_hats)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2016, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/march-3rd-republican-debate/747875/138 "2016-03-04T17:24:24Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > They should cancel the remaining debates and schedule a series of pie fights. It would contain the same amount of issue-based discussion, and be more dignified. My wife and I were suggesting that this very morning. It would be easier to determine the “winner” as well. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2016, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/march-3rd-republican-debate/747875/139 "2016-03-04T17:29:01Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > … We should not dismiss the risk of demagogues lightly. It is not merely a reflection of a primary process, even if in this case the process amplifies it greatly. Good post and I agree with all of it. Trump’s stated policies would indeed order the military to commit what are indisputably war crimes under international law, and he has clearly stated that he would revise libel laws so he could basically silence the media if they were critical of him. And that’s just the beginning. What he would do to the economy, to the deficit and the national debt, to international relations, and to the prospects for war and peace – all these are anybody’s guess, but by most accounts, the outlook on all of them would be pretty bleak. And I have to agree that while the primary process isn’t solely responsible for the rise of the Trump demagoguery, it’s been a powerful enabler. Absent the primary process, a nominee would likely be selected from among qualified party elders with extensive resumes by a balloting process among free-voting delegates. You’d have a much shorter election cycle and a greatly improved chance that the nominee would be experienced and creditable and not some crazy wildcard or loose cannon who happens to be good at peddling political snake oil to the masses. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2016, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/march-3rd-republican-debate/747875/140 "2016-03-04T17:42:42Z")
So you prefer the old days when the States didn’t vote for their delegates? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/march-3rd-republican-debate/747875.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/march-3rd-republican-debate/747875.md?page=8)