Watching GOP debates has now become a kind of abdominal contraction drinking game, with cringes replacing shots at each seemingly inevitable moment when members of the audience embarrass their candidates with some outburst or another.
And now Democrats are trying to turn each moment into a social.
The Republican party has a presidential debate audience problem, and the Obama team are increasingly using it to paint their presidential candidates into a corner. It’s a rare direct engagement between the President and the slew of Republicans vying for the chance to challenge him — and the kind of thing that Democrats hope could pump up what many say is a lackluster base.
In short, the cheering loonies in Republican debate crowds are playing right into the Democrats’ hands, and Obama and company are going to play the hands dealt them.
Obama kicked things off at a fundraiser Monday.
“Some of you here may be folks who actually used to be Republicans but are puzzled by what’s happened to that party, are puzzled by what’s happening to that party. I mean, has anybody been watching the debates lately?,” he said. “You’ve got audiences cheering at the prospect of somebody dying because they don’t have health care and booing a service member in Iraq because they’re gay.”
Obama’s progressive allies have been making this point since members of the audience cheered in approval of the concept of letting the uninsured die. The official party line was to steer clear of that one, but that seems to have changed following the booing of active duty Army Cap. Stephen Hill, who’s currently serving in Iraq.
That one was a tough sell. One by one, Republican candidates lined up to condemn the boos, with one Perry surrogate, Florida state Rep. Matt Gaetz (R), telling TPM he wished the candidates had said something on the debate stage to shut the naysayers down.
He wasn’t the only one. Following the president’s remarks on the subject, the DNC released this web video:
In New Hampshire Tuesday, Obama campaign adviser David Axelrod picked up the torch.
“Not one person on that platform, not one candidate was willing to say, ‘Don’t do that, it’s inappropriate to boo someone who’s risking his life for our country, who’s serving our country honorably,'” Axelrod said.
Vice President Biden called the moment “reprehensible” on The View Tuesday. But he declined to attack the GOP candidates over it directly when given the chance by View host Joy Behar. Watch the clip (starts at about the :50 mark):
For their part, the Republican candidates have strongly condemned the booing of the gay solider after the debate and at least one, Gary Johnson, saying he wished he had said something while he was on stage.
But Democrats seem to think they’ve got the GOP on the run from their own debate audiences, and they are doing their best to make sure people are paying attention.
