8:42 PM: It seems like a real disservice to have Kasich and Paul and probably Bush and Christie and Fiorina in this debate.
8:48 PM: Big headline tonight is that Facebook sent a truck around the country to collect videos?
8:53 PM: Under Christie, there will be no bomb hoaxes.
8:56 PM: People feel “left out and out of place in their own country.”
9:01 PM: Cell phones with ISIS flags on them.
9:02 PM: I’ve had a post I’ve been working on for a while about this. But it’s nuts that people are granting to ISIS that is a “caliphate.” It’s cedes a huge advantage to ISIS and grants something that extremely few Muslims do.
9:05 PM: Notable that none of the candidates are willing to say that Trump’s Muslim ban idea is wrong.
9:07 PM: So Cruz totally dodged the question. No one is willing to really disagree with Trump’s Muslim ban.
9:10 PM: For all the outrageousness of the claims of the other candidates, none seems as focused as Christie on trying to make sure everyone is absolutely as scared as possible.
Full coverage of tonight’s GOP presidential debate beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET at TPMLivewire.
Pretty much everything people hate about internet commenters is on steroids at FoxNation. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that one commenter went so far with his threats toward employees of a Planned Parenthood partner that the feds have stepped in and arrested the guy.
A stunning coda to that notorious teen sexting case where police sought a warrant to medically induce an erection in one of the suspects and photograph it for comparison purposes.
Nate Cohn has a good piece in the Times today looking at the reasons why Donald Trump probably won’t be the nominee. And there are very solid arguments ranging from recent history – Newt Gingrich was killing it right now in 2012 – to various more granular arguments about the polls. I confess I’ve struggled with this question a lot – not anything about Trump himself but the predictive question, can he win and do I think he will win? In general, I’ve got a decent record of predicting these things. And that’s mainly because, like a good pilot, when you’re in bad or uncertain conditions, you need to watch your instruments rather than what you see out the window or what you feel.
TPM is pleased to announce that we will be awarding our Ninth Annual Golden Dukes on December 31st, in recognition of the year’s best purveyors of public corruption, outlandish behavior and The Crazy.
The awards are named in honor of former Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham, who epitomizes the iconic modern scandal. Each year we single out those practitioners of scandal who through their own unmatched bumbling, shameless behavior, criminality or mere derp have set new standards for public corruption, betrayal of the public trust and general ridiculousness.
And now for the esteemed judges and proud nominees…
From my morning inbox …
Dear Joshua,
With the nation still struggling to come to terms with the San Bernardino massacre, gun control is a hot topic across the country. According to a new report from the FBI, Americans have been buying a record number of guns in 2015. But purchasing a gun is only half the battle. When faced with an active shooter situation, or confronted by an intruder, would the average gun owner know what to do?
Retired Navy SEAL Instructor Chris Sajnog trained the world’s deadliest snipers, writing the manual that trained Chris Kyle. Now, he’s using his groundbreaking training program to teach everyday citizens how to protect themselves and their families.
In a telling development, Donald Trump has finally gone too far for Rush Limbaugh and Marc Levin: he’s attacking Ted Cruz.
We’re closing on our TPM Prime 2015 sign up drive. We have just 397 new memberships to go by December 31st, a tall order but doable. If you haven’t signed up yet and you’re a regular reader, please take a moment to join us. Just 14 cents a day. Click here to join us. And thanks.