It seems to me that you are requesting a major and drastic change in the way that Elections (and I assume Great Debates) are moderated.
Mods say “moderating” when they are posting as moderators. The rest of the time they can and do call idiotic things idiotic.
It does not seem so to me. Leading off with “Bwahahaha!” is simply being a jerk and, to my ear, is directed as an insult at the other poster. It is easily the sort of “personal jab” that does not deserve a “waning” but does deserve a “note” … yes mods are allowed to post but a mod acting like a jerk deserves less rope, not more rope, than do others.
Yes I do think that mods should hold themselves to the standards they would like to other posters hold themselves to, rather than skate to personal insults.
Your definition of insult is much different than mine and much different than it has been moderated on this board for anyone.
Really? I don’t have to look any farther than active threads in ATMB right now to find that we have a lot less than that to my read getting “noted” when done by someone who is not a mod.
Yeah sure some level of snark is part and parcel of this board in all fora. Generally speaking it is given more of pass when it is funny/clever; this of course in no way was. In general however I have often observed mods “noting” when a posters first entry into a thread is to demean another poster.
GQ is to Elections as apples are to oranges.
Has an active Mod ever been warned or even noted? Or is their a “code” amongst Moderators?
Sweeter, but with a thinner skin?
There is a cleansing ritual that we are not allowed to talk about.
Someone else I am sure can provide the details but if nothing else there was an incident years back involving (I believe) TubaDiva. So the short answer to your question is yes. As I recall, she didn’t bitch about it; just basically took a mia culpa and was suspended for a while although the details are fuzzy in my brain.
Yes. twickster gave herself a note when she called another poster an “asshole” while she was moderating that poster outside of the Pit.
So mods are infrequently modded. Which raises two not necessarily mutually possibilities:
Mods are modded only if they cross the line more egregiously than do other posters (a code), or
mods generally hold themselves to the standards that they wish to see those they mod hold themselves to (a code of a different sort).
Perhaps the latter is too much to expect but I do not think that hoping for it, and being disappointed when it fails to occur, is out of line.
Many Notes are informational, to tell people what the rules are. The Mods are very well aware of these, so rarely need to be Noted.
Once in a great while, a Mod will forgot where he’s posting, so a Note happens.
My point is that “Bwahahaha” is no more derisive than any of the other comments I linked, and many others. The fact is, the very first thing that would need to be eliminated would be the rolleyes.
Simply put, being derisive of someone’s position and statements is no way considered an insult by the use on this board for moderation. Therefore, tomndebb was not in any way being “a jerk” as defined by this board, and not contributing in any way to a Pit-like atmosphere.
If you think people should be less dismissive overall, then make that case. But tomndebb was fully in line with standard moderation and no way crossed any lines or even got close to any lines of behavior.
If you are trying to argue that moderators should be that much more stringent on themselves, you’re basically saying that moderators are not allowed any negative commentary about other poster’s ideas, creating a huge double standard.
That was in no way a personal insult.
Your reasoning is flawed because your position that a rule was broken is incorrect. I don’t see a long line of others agreeing with you.
You leave out another reason why mods don’t need to be modded often. They are not chosen at random. Although there is an ancient ritual involving the blood of goats and pentagrams, we wouldn’t be considered for modhood if we were the type of poster that racks up warnings or is in need of much moderation. That’s really just logical. All mods started as posters. How we post was not a great mystery.
It may not seem so to you because you’re not a moderator, but that’s the case.
Well, we certainly don’t want to use the power of the Dope to foster an “undesirable atmosphere” this election season.
Tom should’ve said “Muahahahaha!” instead of “Bwahahahaha!”. The latter expletive entails an outpouching of lips and a forceful exhalation, which connotes aggression. 
This is wildly different than any standard we have ever employed on this board for either “being a jerk,” or for an insult. You are completely redefining the meaning of these terms as they have been recognized on this board for the past 15 years.
If we were to shift our standards of moderation so drastically, we would be issuing ten times more warnings than we presently do, at least until people caught on to the new standards, or else those people who were habitually slightly snarky were banned.
In acquiescence to Mr Trump, maybe a carnival-like atmosphere in Elections would be appropriate.