I recorded Wednesday night’s GOP debate; then I deleted it unwatched. That was not a mistake. I’ll explain that and make some other observations about today’s Republican party in the following paragraphs.

If the phrase “Eight Republicans got two hours of prime time on Fox” sounds like the setup for a joke…well, Wednesday night it was. The biggest reason I decided not to watch the debate is because the 2024 Republican nominee wasn’t on the stage. I already endorsed Joe Biden and I have every reason to believe that I will end up voting for him but as an American who wants to be informed, I want to listen to the GOP nominee.

The eight on the stage break down into three categories.

In a class by himself is Mike Pence. What is he doing? He has no chance of being the nominee. Despite being in the best position to do so, he is not coming out aggressively against the front runner Donald Trump. And he certainly has no chance of the number two spot.

Chris Christie and Asa Hutchinson (most Americans still have no idea of who he is) are attaching Trump. My only analysis is that they are auditioning for top spots in a reformed Republican Party after Trump and the radicals are purged.

North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, Florida Governor Ron “Kinky Boots” DeSantis, Nikki Haley, Vivek Ramaswamy and South Carolina Senator Tim Scott appear to be auditioning for the Veep slot.

The 2024 Republican nominee will be Donald Trump and if he should implode, die or drop out prior to the convention the nominee will be someone who is not yet in the race. Two current governors come to mind.

Trump attempted to upstage the debate by simultaneously broadcasting an interview he had with Tucker Carlson on X (that’s what Twitter was calling itself on Wednesday). What a match: a TV personality without a network and a wannabe dictator without a country.

I still have a few lingering questions as to why Trump skipped the debate. Was he just afraid of facing Christie or was he too busy with his legal woes to do debate prep?

Trump – a master of garnering free press – surrendered to Fulton County law enforcement on Thursday evening, upstaging any attempts at post-debate spin and publicity by the eight. His surrender garnered live TV coverage reminiscent of the O.J. Simpson slow speed chase. I’m sorry TV media but I have to criticize your broadcasting decision. It would have been better covered with a one block segment on several of the evening news shows.

Trump’s mug shot gained instant notoriety. For most of us he just looked like a thug. To his followers (in his mind temporarily useful idiots) it was a sensation. Trump immediately began a marketing campaign (remember he is a consummate grifter) selling t-shirts and mugs with the picture including the phrase, “Never surrender”. The picture is the documentation of him surrendering. You can’t make this stuff up!

To me, the most interesting aspect of his surrender was his reported height and weight at 6’3” and 215 pounds. Either he self-reported or the measuring devices in Atlanta are in serious need of replacement. Trump is a tall man. Not 6’3”, but close. However, 215 is long ago in the rear-view mirror for Trump.

Thursday’s events were the result of Fulton County DA Fani Willis’ efforts. The Republican controlled Georgia Senate is already gearing up to remove her from office when a new law they recently passed and Republican Governor Brian Kemp both championed and signed takes effect on October 1st. Georgia State Senator Clint Dixon has promised to introduce an effort to have the newly formed, Republican controlled, commission do just that. Kemp (who is not one of the two GOP governors I had in mind above) would name Willis’ replacement if she is removed. One way to win a case is to have the charges dropped and an attempt at that appears to be in the offing here.

On the federal level the almost human Ohio Representative Jim Jordan is promising to investigate Willis. Jordan is good at blowing smoke on right wing media but to date his investigations have done nothing but waste a lot of taxpayer money.

Especially Trump’s mug shot makes me harken back to an old theory that ultimately Trump may have to resort to an insanity plea. That pose certainly doesn’t resemble what a sane man would look like in most of our minds. It looks more like Charles Manson than Albert Einstein. The physical reports of then-White House Physician, now Texas Representative, Ronny Jackson refute that but Trump will be happy to throw Jackson under the bus if need be.

And all this time the Republican opposition research team is running with videos of Biden petting a dog. Somehow, I don’t think most American voters will find fault with that.

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