August 7, 2015

Madison lefties make an event out of watching the GOP debate and say things like "I think anyone in this room could answer these questions more intelligently than any of the men on stage."

The local Madison newspaper reports.
About a hundred people, some wearing “Solidarity” t-shirts, others sporting Hillary Clinton stickers or Russ Feingold buttons, packed into a room at the Essen Haus in Madison on Thursday night to watch Gov. Scott Walker participate in the first GOP debate of the 2016 presidential campaign....

“I want to see Donald Trump attack other Republicans,” said Joshua Sanchez, who had his “GOP Debate Bingo” card poised and ready to go on the table in front of him....
“I’m just expecting them to be piranhas and eat each other up,” said attendee Sandi Penzkover. “Their egos really get in the way. They’re making a mockery of the presidency. I just view them as little boys, adolescents arguing.”
Of course, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker was a special object of contempt:
The crowd, wedged into the Essen Haus meeting room and nursing their beers and eating cheese curds and onion rings, came to attention for all of Walker’s sparse speaking time.... 
The arguably biggest reaction of the night, however, was when, nearing the end of the debate, the governor mentioned his face off with “100,000 protestors.” At that point, cheers seemed to echo through all of Essen Haus and [the overflow venue] Come Back Inn.

57 comments:

David said...

This is what democracy looks like.

madAsHell said...

Essen Haus!!
Wirklich??

I Have Misplaced My Pants said...

There's something so bumpkin and low-rent about folks who celebrate their partisanship in such crude fashion. Don't they know how unsophisticated they look? It's cringeworthy.

Alexander said...

Democrats have one joke.

Look at , he's an idiot!

That's it.

David said...

And none of them seemed to notice that the hated conservative Fox News was peppering a diverse lineup of conservative candidates with difficult questions. Contrast the Democrats and other news media.

paminwi said...

Surprise, surprise, surprise! (Said in a Jim Nabors voice!)

Renee said...

We need to stop treating elections like sports rivalries.

Bill said...

"Goldstein!"

SGT Ted said...

“Their egos really get in the way. They’re making a mockery of the presidency."


Oh, the irony.

Fandor said...

A favorite saying of "lefties" is, "The debate is over..." concerning whatever issue they wish to surpress discourse about.
If they ever achieve the total control they desire all debate will be over, forever.

tim maguire said...

There is no one who sees the world in black and white more than the liberal who insists it's shades of grey, no one more simplistic than the sophisticate. Such is life in politics.

amielalune said...

Renee: Agree, but if we did that, the Dems would lose a lot of people. They count heavily on those who consider themselves (and desperately want others to consider them) "highly intelligent." The fact that they then proceed to act like third world soccer fans is lost on them.

MadisonMan said...

The difference between the Republican and Democratic fields couldn't be more stark. Old white people vs. a mix of Young and Old.

I agree with pants upthread, this behavior of Madison Democrats is cringeworthy.

Wilbur said...

Dog bites man.

TosaGuy said...

Madison lefties put Walker on that stage; they are too withdrawn into their own alternate reality that they don't realize that.

Sebastian said...

"And none of them seemed to notice that the hated conservative Fox News was peppering a diverse lineup of conservative candidates with difficult questions. Contrast the Democrats and other news media."

Diversity only matters when it serves the cause. "Peppering" conservative candidates with "difficult" questions helps create an MMA circus atmosphere, which can be exploited. Contrasting would require intellectual honesty, which is inconvenient and a waste of time.

Still it would be fun to see the diverse Dem lineup square off in the same way.

traditionalguy said...

Why don't the intellectuals like seeing Governor Walker. He is their hometown favorite son.

Maybe Walker is a mean Nazi hater like the smart University of Wisconsin professors say that he is. But if not, then the Professors are good at lying. Such a waste of brains.

Hammond X. Gritzkofe said...

This country is well and truly trashed. Among the most important, critical services a national government must provide are:
..defend the borders;
..foster a simple code of laws, uniformly applied;
..sponsor a sound currency.

Our national government has failed at all these. The failure is now obvious, spectacular, and systemic.

Our national government has failed at these important tasks because its capacities are absorbed by activities less needful.

The only credible solution is to disallow the national government from engaging in these less needful activities until such time as the national government has shown itself capable of performing the needed tasks.

I will be voting Libertarian, thank you.

mikee said...

The progs cheered when mentioned regarding their faceoff with Walker, but forget that they lost that faceoff. May it always be thus.

Chuck said...

As we all know, the phrase "__________ is a city of ___ square miles, surrounded by reality" is claimed by lots of places. I've heard it in connection with Austin, Texas; Ann Arbor, Michigan; Berkeley, California; and several places in New England.

But I heard it first in connection with Madison. And I will always associate it with Madison, where it is truer than any other place I can think of in America.

mikee said...

TradGuy: Aren't we all Nazi haters? I know I am. Aren't you?

dbp said...

""“Their egos really get in the way. They’re making a mockery of the presidency. I just view them as little boys, adolescents arguing.”""

The arrogance of the ignorant never fails to astound.

Bay Area Guy said...

Whatever Madison Lefties are against is probably a good thing.

Mick said...

Cruz Rubio and Jindal are not eligible natural born Citizens and should not have been in the debates. So the debates are illegitimate to begin with.

Even the State Dept. has a directive that doubts Cruz' eligibility



7 FAM 1131.6-2 Eligibility for Presidency

(TL:CON-68; 04-01-1998)

a. It has never been determined definitively by a court whether a person who acquired U.S. citizenship by birth abroad to U.S. citizens is a natural-born citizen within the meaning of Article II of the Constitution and, therefore, eligible for the Presidency.

b. Section 1, Article II, of the Constitution states, in relevant part that “No Person except a natural born Citizen...shall be eligible for the Office of President.”

c. The Constitution does not define "natural born". The “Act to establish an Uniform Rule of Naturalization”, enacted March 26, 1790, (1 Stat. 103,104) provided that, “...the children of citizens of the United States, that may be born ... out of the limits of the United States, shall be considered as natural born citizens: Provided that the right of citizenship shall not descend to persons whose fathers have never been resident in the United States.”

d. This statute is no longer operative, however, and its formula is not included in modern nationality statutes. In any event, the fact that someone is a natural born citizen pursuant to a statute does not necessarily imply that he or she is such a citizen for Constitutional purposes.



In August 2013 the State Dept. quietly added a directive claiming that citizens naturalized by 8 US Code 1401 are "not considered naturalized". Even though 8 US Code 1401 was clearly enacted by Congressional power to enect uniform rules of naturalization, and even though Rubio, Cruz and Jindal would not have even been onsidered citizens before 1898 (Cruz before 1922--Cable Act). The state Dept reasons that "naturalization" means the "conference of citizenship AFTER BIRTH by any means whatsoever". This is a distinction w/o a difference, since those naturalized by 8 US Code 1401 are indeed naturalized AFTER BIRTH (not in the womb or birth canal) by the statute itself (any means whatsoever). They were preparing for the candidacy of Rubio, Cruz and Jindal. Their candidacy is meant to whitewash the Usurpation that has already occurred with Hussein Obama, who was also, at best, if his birth story is true, naturalized by 8 US Code 1401.



7 FAM 1131.6-3 Not Citizens by “Naturalization”

(CT:CON-474; 08-19-2013)

Section 101(a)(23) INA (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(23)) provides that the term "naturalization" means "the conferring of nationality of a state upon a person after birth, by any means whatsoever." Persons who acquire U.S. citizenship at birth by birth abroad to a U.S. citizen parent or parents who meet the applicable statutory transmission requirements are not considered citizens by naturalization.

Mr. D said...

It's like a bunch of Bears fans cheering for the Seahawks in the NFC Championship game — they'd prefer not to remember the score of the earlier games.

SomeoneHasToSayIt said...


"Dogs bark, but the caravan moves on"

Curious George said...

I watched this instead https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jy8FSyI_Djg

Matt Sablan said...

I heard maybe from 9:30 to the end, missing the first half as I tried to find a link to listen online.

I was actually surprised with how civil it was and how divided the opinions were on a lot of things, but apparently, I missed the early fireworks. This is probably the most diverse, ideologically, set of candidates since, well, since last time. But, still. More depth of ideas than a Clinton/Sanders debate will be.

John henry said...

Per Conan one of the 3 best things in life is the lamentations of their women.

Love the sound of these progressive women (with or without dicks, whether they identify as women or not) crying.

Sounds like progress!

John Henry

Tim said...

I was sitting under a canopy at the local golf club watching it rain on a beautifully manicured fairway and drinking a local microbrew with friends. I'm certain I had better time.

TrespassersW said...

So a bunch of lefties got together to trash a bunch of Republican candidates, . . .

Help me out here: How is this newsworthy?

Anonymous said...

How is this newsworthy?

This blog isn't about "news" (otherwise Althouse would've listened to the audio recording of the Archer raid, rather than just blowing it off) rather the goal of the blog is to generate clicks on the Amazon portal. Red meat, like this latest entry, does wonders for the bottom line at Castle Althouse.

TrespassersW said...

Actually, I was wondering how the newspaper rationalized this as being newsworthy.

Matt Sablan said...

"Help me out here: How is this newsworthy?"

-- Was it in a daily paper? A LOT of things become newsworthy in a local paper when the deadline nears.

Wilbur said...

I said to friend last week what they should do is just have an hour-long or half-hour debate every night with only two or three participants so everyone gets a couple of turns in the barrel so to speak. It would be far more productive than 7 or ten participants getting just one or two chances to speak.

tim in vermont said...

What really makes me respect the left is their intellectual rigor, trenchant analysis of any given situation, and especially their ability to recap their opponent's best arguments and destroy them with steel trap logic and unimpeachable evidence.

tim in vermont said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
tim in vermont said...

It would have been fun to be there and say "Show of hands, how many of you think that 9-11 was an inside job?"

Sprezzatura said...

"Of course, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker was a special object of contempt:"

Is Althouse capable of noticing how much this is a two way street? Walker w/o jabbering about these protestors wouldn't have much interesting to say in the primary. Or, maybe some folks think it's awesome when Walker talks about buying clothes for a couple bucks.

Bobber Fleck said...

They wore Solidarity t-shirts. Were they serenaded by the Solidarity Singers?

Was the usual Democrat hangout at the Clock Tower Resort and Conference Center in Rockford, Illinois already booked, forcing them to use the Essen Haus in Madison?

Perhaps someday the Democrats will have a debate as well where we will find out Hillary's favorite ice cream flavor and whether Bernie wears boxers or briefs.

furious_a said...

The progs cheered when mentioned regarding their faceoff with Walker, but forget that they lost that faceoff. May it always be thus.

Face-*offs*, counting election, re-call, re-election, plus for grins the Senate re-call and Gableman win and the WI Supreme Court tossing John Doe. Cheering a legacy of futility, wasted public resources and jack-bootery, they are.

Etienne said...

It's like a football game. Everyone in the bleachers knows more about the game and how to advance the ball.

Hate to state the obvious, but there you go...

Birkel said...

PBandJ,
So your position is Scott Walker should not talk about his successes as governor?
Noted.

MadisonMan said...

Was it in a daily paper

Sort of. But the Cap Times is only "printed" online.

Anonymous said...

I don't think Madison Lefties have to worry too much about losing Walker to the Presidency. Of all the candidates on stage last night, he put me to sleep the most. Not that he wasn't saying the right things, but he wasn't inspiring. Him and Jeb Bush don't give me anything to hope for, except another McCain/Romney style defeat.

hombre said...

Lefty circle jerk. Dog bites man.

Gusty Winds said...

The arguably biggest reaction of the night, however, was when, nearing the end of the debate, the governor mentioned his face off with “100,000 protestors.” At that point, cheers seemed to echo through all of Essen Haus and [the overflow venue] Come Back Inn

What are they cheering about? He kicked their asses. They can give themselves and "A" for effort, but their the ones who helped lift him on to last night's stage.

Is Madison void of all self-awareness?

Michael said...

Of course they could answer the questions more intelligently! Because lefties could always do it better if only they wanted to, if only they decided to enter the arena, the ugly arena. Just as they could be as rich as they wanted if they really wanted to try.

I believe Hillary will find it not so easy as these Wisconsin lefties would, if they tried, if they entered the bourgeoise arena.

Todd said...

Gusty Winds said... [hush]​[hide comment]
The arguably biggest reaction of the night, however, was when, nearing the end of the debate, the governor mentioned his face off with “100,000 protestors.” At that point, cheers seemed to echo through all of Essen Haus and [the overflow venue] Come Back Inn

What are they cheering about? He kicked their asses. They can give themselves and "A" for effort, but their the ones who helped lift him on to last night's stage.

Is Madison void of all self-awareness?

8/7/15, 1:25 PM


Well they are of the "everyone gets a trophy just for showing up" generation...

Terry said...


"Madison lefties make an event out of watching the GOP debate and say things like "I think anyone in this room could answer these questions more intelligently than any of the men on stage.""
These are the people who think "small government" and "totalitarian" are synonomous, as are "big government" and "freedom."

Unknown said...

----maybe some folks think it's awesome when Walker talks about buying clothes for a couple bucks.

There’s that endearing contempt for our fellow citizens who are lower on the rungs of the economy and need to economize. Only the uber-mensch lefties living their bohemian lives escape the sneers.

Sprezzatura said...

"There’s that endearing contempt for our fellow citizens who are lower on the rungs of the economy and need to economize. Only the uber-mensch lefties living their bohemian lives escape the sneers."

Two points:

1) As I noted before, folks like you must think that Walker should step aside to clear the way for a dude who collects rain water to flush his toilet. Since, being cheap is some sort of qualification for the presidency.

2) Cheap folks who go around blabbing about how cheap they are not very interesting. I've had friends who talk about how this or that is soooo expensive for them. If you can't afford something, do something else. And, don't blab about how you couldn't afford the expensive alternative. This is America, land of opportunity. As cons tell us, if you're poor, it's your fault. Stop crying, work harder and smarter!

Don said...

Sounds like a gathering of bigots, doing their best imitations of Jon Stewart.

Bilwick said...

"Liberals" (and by that I mean of course "tax-happy, coercion-addicted, power-tripping State fellators") who, at this point in history, love Big Brother and think the more power and money we let him take the better off we'll be, shouldn't be mocking other people's intelligence.

walter said...

"If you can't afford something, do something else"

That's what he was getting at by bringing it into the public sphere. You may not like how he goes about it etc, but it is part of a larger theme.
On the other end, you have Trump bragging about how much he has..and buying Hil's presence at his wedding. Hillary, who goes to bed cackling at frugal non-players like Walker. Shopping at ordinary stores? What difference at this point does it make?

Bernie wants fewer deodorant choices to make his shopping easier and "fairer". But c'mon..when he says that..don't you wonder whether he uses any? Smell the Bern.

walter said...

I see a lot of activity from my Leftie FB "friends" regarding the debate..far more than previous elections. Did Soros issue marching orders? Did the crease in pants mailing list reach out on this?
Especially intersting from the Wisco folks is their disdain for Walker's not finishing his degree. Funny how degrees from vaunted institutions are considered irrelevant with those repubs who have them but the opposite with Walker...yeah..funny.

Maybe Spatula has an anecdote of a fair maiden he ass-fucked who needed deodorant and a degree. Maybe Degree deodorant?

walter said...

To some Degree, old male of white privilege Bernie feels the metaphorical burn of black dick here