News Roundup for 1/24/12

Gingrich to debate moderators

-Headline of the Day-
"Gingrich won't 'allow' moderators to silence crowd at future debates."

Noodles isn't very good at bluffing. See, in case you haven't noticed, Gingrich's debate strategy has been to say something incredibly dickish to the moderators. This becomes a big applause line, because Republican audiences really like assholes. Then Newt basks in the love for him (which is really just hatred for the media) as waves of hoots and the sound of clapping hands washes over him.

That didn't work in the last debate in Florida, because NBC moderator Brian Williams decided that this debate would be less like a gladiatorial event and more like... well, a debate. You know, logical arguments, well thought-out points, appeals to reason rather than emotion. The whole shebang. Real furrowed-brow, cocked-eyebrow, Aristotle stuff. Newt's specialty is the red-faced, throbbing-forehead-vein, Bill O'Reilly stuff.

So you can see the fix he's in.

"We’re going to serve notice on future debates that we won’t tolerate -- we’re just not going to allow that to happen," Gingrich said of NBC's "be nice and polite" policy. "That’s wrong -- the media doesn’t control free speech. People ought to be able to applaud if they want to. It was almost silly."

Yes, Newt is "just not going to allow" any more moderators to drag the tenor of a GOP free media event all the way up to an actual debate, in much the same way that boxing coaches don't allow refs to stop fighters from hitting below the belt. (The Hill)


-Ick-
Geez...


Click for full comic

Ew. (Bad Reporter)


-Bonus HotD-
"Rich Republicans sure love Mitt."

Mitt's winning the 1% demo. The problem: the 1% demo is only 1%. (Salon's War Room)