October 4, 2016

The Vice-Presidential debate is tonight — What question about Trump will be wielded to trip up Pence?

The moderator is Elaine Quijano. I don't know much about her — other than that she's Filipino-American and a Democrat and her mother was an immigrant. I'm not basing my idea of a question on anything about Quijano, who will be chosing the questions herself. I'm just speculating about what I think will have to be a question for Pence.

I won't try to word this in the style of a debate moderator. I'm going to put this much more bluntly and you can just imagine a neutral-sounding version with appropriate foundational clauses. I'm just conveying the core idea.

Governor Pence, you are a respectable, honorable man. How could you squander your hard-won reputation to prop up the monster that is Donald Trump?

There should be a corresponding question for Tim Kaine. Like Pence, he's got a more honorable reputation than his running mate and he's on the ticket to lend respectability to a person who could be called a monster... who has been called a monster.

2 monsters. It's like an old horror movie...



We get what we want in a democracy. And it seems we wanted a horrorshow. Too late to find another show. Yes, there's nice little Timmy and Mikey, with their little show tonight. But all that matters is what they will have to say for themselves as they prop up a monster. What are you doing with that monster?

49 comments:

rhhardin said...

I don't even know which one is which (nobody tell me! spoils the surprise).

Hagar said...

Elaine Quijano sometimes does the weekend CBS Evening News. She is so "low energy" that I sometimes wonder if she is going to make it all the way through the newscast.

Rob said...

I believe the corresponding question for Tim Kaine would be, "Senator Kaine, you have the honor of sharing a ticket with someone President Obama has called the most qualified person ever to run for president. Could you tell us your thoughts on being Secretary Clinton's running mate?"

Nonapod said...

And my bemusement continues. Why does the GOP put up with so many obviously leftward leaning debate moderators?

Etienne said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Bob Boyd said...

"Governor Pence, you are a respectable, honorable man. How could you squander your hard-won reputation to prop up the monster that is Donald Trump?"


"Even if I agree with you, obviously I couldn't say anything."

Larry J said...

The moderator is Elaine Quijano. I don't know much about her — other than that she's Filipino-American and a Democrat and her mother was an immigrant.

My wife was born in the Philippines. She is a naturalized US citizen and retired nurse. She doesn't call herself a Filipino-American. She's an American. She hates the Democrats in general for what they did to health care and despises Hillary Clinton in particular because she's such a sleazy person. Good judge of character, my wife.

rehajm said...

We get what we want in a democracy.

Do we? We get what we deserve.

Brando said...

The real question should be "you're about to be VP for someone who is either the oldest or second oldest person ever elected. Have the Baby Boomers found this way to screw over the American people one last time?"

DavidD said...

"Suppose one accepts, for the sake of argument, that the person at the top of the ticket is indeed a monster. Wouldn't you want--wouldn't everyone want--a running mate that would provide balance and stability?"

Clayton Hennesey said...

First Glenn Reynolds, now Scott Adams.

Somehow I think Twitter's attacking a guy who can draw funny images of institutional behavior is the more stupid move.

Ann Althouse said...

"Even if I agree with you, obviously I couldn't say anything."

LOL. I love when commenters do that.

Ron Winkleheimer said...

I am just going to pedantically point out that the US is a republic, not a democracy.

bagoh20 said...

You know there is another candidate for President who has lots of controversial history to explain to the public, but it's like they aren't even running anymore. It seems like everyone is just supposed to either vote for or against Trump. It's almost as if the media is ashamed of who that other mystery person might be.

Wilbur said...

Governor Pence, you are a respectable, honorable man. How could you squander your hard-won reputation to prop up the monster that is Donald Trump?

Pence: You know, I've made a huge mistake. I was told before the debate that, despite being a registered Democrat and occupying a job as a teleprompter reader for a TV network biased heavily towards my opponent, you were an honorable person capable of moderating a debate in an unbiased manner. And I believed those who said that. A huge mistake on my part. Next question.

Matt Sablan said...

I imagine they're going to ask him about stuff like funerals for fetuses and abortion. Because I've seen it on r/politics and the attacks on Republicans follow a traditional story arc. Blog --> Internet forums --> Journalists/TV/News --> Everywhere.

I think we should ask Kaine how he would have voted on the vote he skipped most recently.

bagoh20 said...

"We get what we want in a democracy."

Tyranny of the plurality.

Comanche Voter said...

Right on bagoh20--and behind the mystery curtain is "The Hildebeest"! You'll have to elect her to see what you get, cuz the Press just isn't going to tell you.

bagoh20 said...

I bet a large majority would agree on which monsters represent which candidates in that photo, and that's the election in a nutshell.

buwaya said...

I see the whole thing as reality breaking through, the emperors new clothes getting noticed. They always were monsters, everyone was just happier pretending they weren't, and of course ignoring the underlying monstrous environment.
In other words, preferring Kaine and Pence is "civility bullshit" on another level.

buwaya said...

I see the whole thing as reality breaking through, the emperors new clothes getting noticed. They always were monsters, everyone was just happier pretending they weren't, and of course ignoring the underlying monstrous environment.
In other words, preferring Kaine and Pence is "civility bullshit" on another level.

holdfast said...

Mr. Kaine - You've said you oppose the death penalty because, and I quote “my faith teaches life is sacred.” And yet you support a woman who is a staunch defender of abortion right up to the moment of full term birth. Mr. Kaine, both my children were born prematurely - each weighing less than three pounds. How can you convince me that your so-called faith is anything but a cheap cloak of convenience used to protect the lives of heinous murderers for crass political advantage when your ticket defends stabbing through the skull and vacuuming out the brains of babies larger than the combined birth weight of both my children, because apparently that baby is just a clump of unwanted parasitic cells?

Yancey Ward said...

There wouldn't be a corresponding question for Tim Kaine.

Fixed that for you.

I think it likely Pence will get asked that question in some form, and Wilbure, above, had the right reply.

Clayton Hennesey said...

I think this debate may have more effect than many anticipate, simply because Trump-Clinton has already been spazzed out on both sides.

Pence-Kaine, on the other hand, is a new perspective on the competing ticket, and if I were a Martian knowing nothing about either's policies I'd already have to conclude that Pence is the mature adult in the room and Kaine some sort of foolishly grinning, gap-toothed comedian or clown, possibly chosen as his master's harlequin. Kaine, bless his heart, just can't ever look anything but sheepish and eager to please.

YeeHaw! said...

Pence's answer:

Elaine, there is no denying that our two presidential candidates are not fit to be elected dogcatcher. Both Secretary Clinton and Mr. Trump are so God-awful, it is difficult to tell who might be worse.

Yet, frankly, there is little possibility that either of these reprobates are going to actually survive until January.

Secretary Clinton is on her last legs, and was clearly high as a kite during the last debate on whatever devilbrew her so-called Doctor injected her with so that she might last 90 minutes without collapsing. Mr. Trump is not doing much better, and we should be able to have him declared mentally unfit by any reasonable doctor.

Therefore, the question is who do you want: Me, or Kaine. Obviously, Kaine is a drooling idiot. That leaves me.

jacksonjay said...


Pence lost his honorable and respectable status with that whole religious liberty thing in Indiana. Pissed off both sides, as I recall. Expect that question.

I'm beginning to question this whole Master Persuading, Media Manipulating Jedi bullshit. You know, The Trumpster boldly claimed that if the Chinese tried to treat him with disrespect, he'd just hop back on that plane and come home. He has crowed and crowed about this and that being "rigged", RIGGED I tell yeah! He whines and whines about being mistreated here and there. But, when it comes to these debates and debate moderators, he seems to have no influence. If his microphone was faulty, why didn't candidate Bad Ass just stop the whole thing and demand a new mic. Or better yet, walk off and get back on Trump Air and head home? (That part of the SNL spoof was spot on.) Where in the world are all these high level negotiating skills that are supposed to overwhelm me?

Now I've got it. He isn't a politician. He isn't establishment. He is a businessman. Or something.

traditionalguy said...

Monster Trump is up 70/30 with men who see him as a strong leader. He is down 60/40 with women who see him as a strong leader. But Monster Hillary is so bad neither group will show up for her speeches, and the Media has to do a 24/7 attack job against Trump while it supresses any news that Hillary is a brain damaged, lying thief that long ago sold her self to Saudi and Chinese owners.

This election his become an up or down vote on Monster Trump seen through a media smoke screen.

As for me and my house, we love the smell of The Trump Monster's Napalm in the morning. It smells like... Victory.

mikee said...

Godzilla (after the first few movies) was a monster that saved the Japanese from other monsters. So make of Trump, our very own Godzilla, what you will. He is our protest monster, sent by voters to fight against the existing monsters in our federal government.

PB said...

It used to be that the loser in the presidential election became vice president. I think the parties should institute something similar. The number two candidate running in a primary should be the vp running mate for the winner. That way anyone who wants to be VP must run for president. It would eliminate the farce the Dems played out by trying to clear the field for Hilary. Clearly they never expected a Bernie to run and O'Malley was only put forward as a token so there would be someone running against Hillary.

Bob Ellison said...

Ghidora, I knew Mothra. Mothra was a friend of mine...

Theranter said...

He's going to get hammered with questions on the RFRA and immigrant things in Indiana.

I hope he has good responses at the ready.

(Huh, my old username finally came back!)

Bay Area Guy said...

Trump's not a monster.

He may be an A-hole. He may be a demanding boss. He may be exceedingly rich, and difficult to work for.

He may say things that are bombastic, loud, discordant to the ears, and not fully baked.

But, he's not a monster. He's a capitalist. And, to succeed in the capitalist world, you have to throw some serious elbows, which he has.

Hillary's not a monster either. She's an intellectual rentier. A lawyer, whose never tried any cases, but has ascended the greasy pole of politics, with a boost from her husband, to make millions of dollars.

The problem is that she and her followers will America worse. More socialism, more government intrusion, more atheism, more welfare state, more illegal immigrants, more crime, less tolerance for conservative values. They want America transformed into something it is not -- Detroit economics, with San Francisco values. I don't think it will work.



Matt Sablan said...

"A lawyer, whose never tried any cases,"

-- I thought we have a recording of her in at least one case.

Matt Sablan said...

Honestly though: I don't envy our decision right now. It's like every step of the way this election we said: "You know what? What could go wrong?" Then realized: "Oh that."

Michael K said...

he's got a more honorable reputation than his running mate

Not very honorable. He;s another Pelosi-type who says he is Catholic and supports abortion big time.

He says whites need to become a minority before things get better. He is a looney tune on many issues.

jrapdx said...
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MacMacConnell said...

Senator Kaine when you were following your dream of being a Marxist Liberation Theologian working in Honduras, did you suck any of those Benedictines' dicks?

Rob said...

"Mr. McConnell, that's an insulting and outrageous question. The fact is, they sucked mine."

buwaya said...

"Honestly though: I don't envy our decision right now. It's like every step of the way this election we said: "You know what? What could go wrong?" Then realized: "Oh that." "

Your problems began long before this. Mostly all that icky stuff was swept under the rug. Now that lump under the rug is moving all by itself. A disturbing phenomenon. But its an effect, not the cause.

walter said...

I'm hoping Tim wears his cheerleader outfit and leads the audience in "Yooh!..Rah!..Rah!..Hil!..Err!..Reeee!"
(It's high time. She wants it.)

If bait is thrown..I doubt Pence will take it.
He will be a very welcome calm counterpoint to Trump's excitability.

walter said...

Larry,
That the mod is an immigrant isn't the sole driver. It's that background and working in the MSM in an "immigrant" focused election. She probably likes her job and wants to play ball.
But if she is "low energy" as some say, maybe less butting in.

walter said...

I think it a strange choice to have Walker play Kaine in debate prep. But maybe Kasich wasn't willing. Is he alive?

walter said...

Scratch that..Kasich would constantly slip into mentioning his dad was a mail carrier.

readering said...

Safe bet that question ain't coming down the pike. She will no doubt pick on a specific foible--using private emails, banning all muslims--but she is not going to impugn the general character of either presidential candidate. The interesting thing will be if either candidate commits an unforced error like Ayotte at her NH debate with the whole "role model" thing. On second thought, Maybe the vp candidates will be asked the role model question.

Anthony said...

Pence-Kaine 2016!

n.n said...

The Tell-Tale Hearts beat ever louder.

JamesB.BKK said...

It's been said that Democracy is just a more polite form of mob rule. Now that the restraints on plunder in the US Constitution have been dissipated and class (and now again race) warfare rules the electorate, that country is representative.

CStanley said...

...Kaine some sort of foolishly grinning, gap-toothed comedian or clown, possibly chosen as his master's harlequin.

When Kaine was first picked, my husband commented that he looks like a Batman villain. A perfect description, I think.

CStanley said...

Harley-Kaine.