VP Debate: Wherein Mike Pence actually said ‘whipped out that Mexican thing’

Let’s start with the bad news: many analysts believe Mike Pence “won” the VP Debate by a slim margin last night simply based on style. It’s true that Pence seemed calm and steady compared to Tim Kaine’s hyper energy. Pence didn’t lose his cool and he was able to consistently deflect Kaine’s interruptions. Pence also benefited from the fact that despite being a Republican governor with a notably terrible record on social issues, he was barely asked any questions about social issues. He’s at the forefront of that “religious freedom” BS which says that religious people have the right to discriminate against whomever they want, especially LGBTQ people. And he wasn’t asked about it once.

Now, for my super-intellectual analysis: Pence was only able to “win” the debate by a small margin because he was lying his face off throughout. Now the Clinton-Kaine campaign has clips of Pence lying his ass off, over and over, which is good news, I guess? Pence completely misrepresented his campaign’s positions and blatantly lied, over and over, about words Donald Trump actually said on the record. That was the heart of Tim Kaine’s sometimes-manic-seeming performance too: Kaine had prepped so hard and Kaine was absolutely quoting Trump accurately, but Pence was like a lie-covered brick wall. Kaine was frustrated – visibly frustrated. Kaine landed some great punches though and if his style had been a bit cooler, perhaps people would have been calling this debate a wash.

Some other interesting moments? Pence basically saying that we should never, ever discuss institutional racism or implicit bias in policing. Pence saying “you whipped out that Mexican thing again” when Kaine accurately quoted Trump’s words (#ThatMexicanThing is currently trending on Twitter). Pence calling Longwood University, the host of the debate, “Norwood University” (he even lied about that!!). Pence whining about Kaine’s “pre-done” lines, then Pence woodenly delivering his own prepared lines.

And of course this happened:

Photos courtesy of Getty.

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181 Responses to “VP Debate: Wherein Mike Pence actually said ‘whipped out that Mexican thing’”

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  1. mia girl says:

    I love that #ThatMexicanThing is trending. Latinos took that demeaning line and turned it into inspirational tweets of hard work, pride and achievement.

    P.S. Pence is a lying snake

    • Froggy says:

      Go to Thatmexicanthing.com lol

    • INeedANap says:

      Pence’s tiny, deep-set eyes seriously creep me out.

      • Who ARE These People? says:

        Impression: Pence is a mean person who has to work to look nice, Kaine is a nice person who has to work to look mean. They both had to play against type last night and the result was unsettling.

      • Esmom says:

        I said elsewhere that Pence creeps me out, too. He has the look of an evil overlord. And, WATP, I agree that their personas last night were unsettling. It was nerve-wracking to watch.

      • Kitten says:

        I didn’t watch it..now I’m REALLY wishing I had. I listened to NPR’s coverage on my run this morning and I missed a lot. Sigh.

      • TX Laney says:

        Doesn’t he look like Cotton Hill? I always expect him to mutter something about how his shins got blown’d off during the war

      • Little Darling says:

        Kitten; I’m not sure I’m better off for watching. It was very very hard to glean what each candidate was saying on each issue there is so much overtalking.

        What was worth it was seeing Crash Test Dummy Pence come to life and REALLY make women/humans dislike him.

      • Esmom says:

        LD, I’m not sure the average Trump supporter dislikes Pence after last night. Because in this new world order it seems the more awful you are, the more determined some people are to vote for you.

      • Kitten says:

        @LD-Yeah that’s what I’m getting from the all the comments here: that there was a lot of talking over one another. But as someone who didn’t witness the debate, I can attest to Christin’s comment below that in transcript form, I think it works more in Kaine’s favor.

      • Little Darling says:

        @esmom; UGH I know!! I guess I was hopefully talking to the liberals here, and if not liberal against Cheeto.

        It seems very strange for Pence to try to explain away Trump’s vulgarity when his vulgarity is the thing that appeals to people.

        @kitten The transcripts are so much better because one candidate made clear talking points and one whistled from his ass.

      • Lightpurple says:

        @Kitten, I watched and nearly fell asleep. There was too much talking over one another to follow what either was saying. A guy in the PR company downstairs just told me that part of Kaine’s job was to make sure Pence didn’t get off any lines that could be used in a commercial to reflect presidential qualities and temperament. He succeeded by talking over him.

      • LinaLamont says:

        @Lightpurple
        “… part of Kaine’s job was to make sure Pence didn’t get off any lines that could be used in a commercial to reflect presidential qualities and temperament. He succeeded by talking over him.”

        Icing on the cake that will be commercials of Pence denying Trump’s own words/tweets.

      • LinaLamont says:

        @TX Laney
        And, Sarah Palin looks exactly like Peggy… and is just as stoopid.
        I was heartbroken when that show ended.

      • SusanneToo says:

        @LinaL. Peggy was the brains of that family. The episode that slayed me was when about five flakes of snow fell and cars were slipping and sliding all over the parking lot.

    • Saks says:

      Also on the positive side, this might have give Latinos the final impulse to got and vote for the democrats. People seem really angry about this

      • Little Darling says:

        Why aren’t we talking about Periods for Pence. How about the fact that Pence’s war war on Planned Parenthood while he was in Congress. Or that he wants wants Roe v. Wade overturned. Or that as governor of Indiana he’s signed every one of the abortion bills sent to him. Can we talk about Pence’s war on women?

      • Sadezilla says:

        @Little Darling, YES. This frustrated me to no end when I looked at the transcripts. Pence said “Donald Trump and I would never support legislation that punished women who made the heartbreaking choice to end a pregnancy.” Say what now? That was a bald-faced lie based on Pence’s history. Indiana is the state that passed a law that mandated burials for miscarriages, so what do you think that means for women who have abortions?

        I think I’m going to have a rage stroke…

      • Annetommy says:

        Don’t have a rage stroke. You need to be healthy for that polling booth. It’s a shame Kaine seems to be seen as the loser. He has a great line about trump having a personal Mount Rushmore that included Putin, Kim Jong Il etc.

      • Tiffany :) says:

        I think so many people think the “burial for miscarriages” law is a joke, but sadly it is real. From The Atlantic:

        “[The state legislature] passed a wide-ranging bill, making it a criminal offense to dispose of fetal remains in any other way besides burial or cremation, including in cases of abortions, miscarriages, and stillbirths.”

        http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/05/state-mandated-mourning-for-aborted-fetuses/482688/

    • Snappyfish says:

      Pence is a sociopath. His record in Indiana is vile to say the v v least.

  2. Tate says:

    Won on style while lying his ass off. What a joke our political system has become.

    • Esmom says:

      Yes, it has indeed. I felt like my head was going to explode so I really felt Kaine’s pain.

    • Lahdidahbaby says:

      …because we all know that style trumps substance in our political amusement park these days. Grrrr, it makes me CRAZAZY!

      And speaking of CRAZAZY, some of the posters last night said they thought Pence was HOT. Omggg, Pence is NOT HOT unless you mean hot like the hardboiled egg his head resembles! I have been known to enjoy smallish men (because you can flip them around on the bed) but he is not my kind of small.

      • Esmom says:

        LMAO at “flip them around on the bed.” *Wiping tears*

      • G says:

        That was me and trust me I am as confused and ashamed as you. I didn’t ask for this! I DON’T WANT TO FIND HIM HOT.
        Mostly I am still waiting for his foundation brand because it withstands bull and lies and I need it.
        Pence is a terrible person regardless and his positioning of his governing is laughable. He only won because Kaine refused to keep his cool. It was so frustrating to watch. Kaine should have won that.

      • Kitten says:

        Oh my god I just burst out laughing.

        Never change, Lahdidahbaby.

      • doofus says:

        DAYUM. To quote one of my fav actors and movies, “I wanna party with YOU, cowboy!”

      • Fl girl says:

        OMG at “flip them around in bed”

      • LinaLamont says:

        “because you can flip them around on the bed”
        😂 hahahahaha

    • Christin says:

      It was truly style over substance. One was a cool liar.

      • Lahdidahbaby says:

        Cool liar. Exactly. And sadly, that goes pretty damned far here in America today.

      • Christin says:

        It pained me to watch Kaine (normally calm and collected) get a tad riled by the pure lies/denials that were delivered so calmly.

        However, in transcript form, or in a commercial, those obvious lies and denials may work well for HC’s campaign. Kaine peppered him with pertinent questions.

      • noway says:

        First this never meant a lot, no one ever elects someone because of the VP. Dan Quayle is a perfect example, and he got his clock cleaned by Lloyd Bentson for all you youngens out there. Also after Trump’s performance they really had no where to go but up. Honestly, they both did what they were supposed to. Pence needed to seem calm and not as crazy as Trump, and Kaine needed to remind America Trump’s nuts. I think it was really against Kaine’s normal personality, and it made him seem a bit over caffeinated, but he can work on his style a bit if he has to do it again sometime. Still he did get Pence to just plain out lie a lot, albeit calmly, which gave them a lot of material to work with till Sunday’s debate. Love how Trump was getting on Kaine for interrupting, when Trump was the original interrupter. Hypocrite much.

      • Christin says:

        Oh the memories of poor Quayle (potatoe, anyone?). I think this is the only VP debate. And it really will be forgotten in a day or two, especially at the rate the deflecting headlines roll out.

        The next big show will be the town hall format, with HC and DT answering questions one-on-one.

      • buzz says:

        One of my favorite lines from Gone With The Wind – “What a cool liar you are, Melly.”

  3. Sullivan says:

    I quit. These debates aren’t good for my health.

    • Lahdidahbaby says:

      Or my teeth. Too much sustained gritting!

    • isabelle says:

      I’ve came away being more excited about Hillary. Do wish Hillary team would actually attack more on policy versus the scandals. he dam* Russians hacked into our computer system to influence the election, favoring Trump, and they’re focusing on Miss Universe. Oh and where are those taxes Don!

  4. AlleyCat says:

    Why is “winning” not determined based on answers, but rather style and body language?

    • Neelyo says:

      Sad isn’t it? It’s like Nielsen families and tv critics are the determining factor in who ‘won’.

    • Esmom says:

      You might ask the same question about how Trump managed to get as far as he has. Facts/answers apparently don’t matter to a large number of people.

    • Danielle says:

      Right? It’s appalling. The Republican party may have created the monster that is the trump candidacy, but we as a people allowed/encouraged the banality of our media, who in important debates declare winners based on style and likeability.

      • Tiffany :) says:

        “but we as a people allowed/encouraged the banality of our media,”

        Very true. We set the bar.

    • adastraperaspera says:

      For me, Kaine’s message was lost a bit in his lack of decorum. I think his debate demeanor did not work well in the television medium. It reminded me of the movie Broadcast News, where the Albert Brooks character who is the better reporter just sweats profusely throughout his newscast, making his nervousness part of the story.

      As unfair as it seems, the television medium requires that you project an image as you give your message. Otherwise you risk looking unpolished. And television will always favor the polished person, no matter how much of a liar they are (see Ronald Reagan).

      • Who ARE These People? says:

        I wanted the Dem campaign to brush him up, spruce him up and spray him a bit more, I agree that rumpled/ordinary guy image didn’t work as well against Pence’s polished robo-cop appearance.

        Kaine would have worked better in a Town Hall format.

      • adastraperaspera says:

        I agree that a Town Hall format would have worked best to get at the facts. Pence had the Reagan Teflon thing going, and the Dem strategists that came up with this plan for Kaine should have seen that coming.

      • HH says:

        @WATP – “polished robo-cop” AHAHAHAHA! That’s a PERFECT description

    • noway says:

      Well I think winning was an initial impression poll, and Pence slightly won that, plus he did look a bit more calm and a lot are saying he won stylistically. I think once the fact checking came through, you would probably give it to Kaine as he was definitely more accurate. The problem with this debate was the format. The topics went everywhere and didn’t really mesh together well. One moment where I felt you truly got to really see Kaine, and not just Clinton’s running mate, was when the question was name a situation where your faith intersected with your job and how did you handle it, as both men are very religious. Kaine’s answer was just him about how he doesn’t believe in the death penalty, but as the governor of VA he had to uphold his office even though he didn’t personally believe in it. It was honest, and he didn’t pivot to slamming Trump then, and one of the few glimpses of just him. Pence on the other hand talked about abortion, but not how difficult it was for him to uphold the law, and he did pivot to slamming Clinton and Kaine for upholding partial birth abortions. However, Kaine had a great comeback for this you can believe what you want and actively try to inform people of other scenarios like adoption which Pence was touting he has encouraged and increased in Indiana, but why don’t you trust the women to make a good decision for them. I thought that was a great way for a pro-life person to explain why the government doesn’t need to be involved in this issue.

  5. Nicole says:

    This country is beyond embarrassing at this point. Between this farce of an election, the UN basically publishing reports about how awful our country is, and other countries now (for the first time) issuing travel warnings….we’ve truly lost it.

    • Sixer says:

      Sympathies. Look at it this way, Nicole. It could be worse. You could be sitting next to me here in the UK, where I am crying into my cup of tea and thinking about getting my kids dual Irish nationality. At least Trump is probably going to lose. Our extreme xenophobes are actually in charge.

      • Christin says:

        I truly hope we still have a chance and that people think instead of buying hype and deflection.

        I still worry that that on election night, US voters in the later time zones (we have three hours’ difference) may think it’s OK to stay home because of early predictions. West coast has to bring it home!

  6. Tiffany27 says:

    Let’s be real, everyone lost because Biden wasn’t up there. I still remember that 2012 VP debate. He was ready to throw hands!

  7. LinaLamont says:

    Many analysts are also saying that Pence threw Trump under the bus in order to allow himself (Pence) a shot at 2020. … that Kaine did what he was supposed to do– give Clinton clips of blatant lies for her ads… constant denials of what came out of Trump’s own mouth and tweets.
    Also, that Quijano got the debt and social security questions wrong. That she was putting forth common, but false, talking points.

    • Bre says:

      I can believe that about Pence and that scares me. This man is terrible and not someone I want as president. I also thought that Quijano wasn’t the best moderator. She gave up on getting the answers to questions posed to Pence and I love how she asked a question specifically geared towards him and he didn’t even answer (although Kaine did). The question about when his personal religion was challenged by what he had to do in office. That was clearly suppose to be about LBGT.

      I agree Kaine did what he was suppose to do. Everyone talks about how he interrupted a lot but I think he was encouraged to. I mean, lets me honest. If Hilary had interrupted Trump she would have gotten so much heat for not being “Presidential”. She is a woman after all, they must never interrupt and they must always smile!

      • noway says:

        I know women have such a bigger standard to uphold. Not a Sarah Palin fan, but I did laugh at her comment. Why do the men get to sit down at a cozy table while I stand up in heels for an hour and a half. Hate to say it, but the woman has a good point.

  8. Lucy2 says:

    I wasn’t home to watch it last night, but later saw a friends mom post that we should elect Pence president because he seems like a nice guy. Facepalm.

    • LinaLamont says:

      There should be an IQ test that you have to pass before you’re allowed to vote.
      /sarcasm…/not sarcasm…/sigh

    • Who ARE These People? says:

      He seemed so smarmy! People are so easily fooled.

    • G says:

      Nice to who?
      We queer people certainly don’t find him to be very nice. He’s like a soul-less, shady grandpa.

    • Trixie says:

      “[Pence] seems like a nice guy”… Unless you’re a woman who wants any control over your own body.

    • Bre says:

      This is one of the reasons I think we shouldn’t have the VP debate. Trump is a horrible human being but if is VP is at all likeable (which I didn’t think Pence was) than people will vote for Trump even though the VP doesn’t run the country (unless your Dick Cheney)

      • Arpeggi says:

        The thing is that if Cinnamon Hitler was elected, it is very likely that VP Pence would be ruling the country while Cheeto “works” at “making ‘Murica great again”. And that is pretty scary

    • M4lificent says:

      He’s even more terrifying than Trump. Pence signed a law a few months back that would force women in his state to bury or cremate aborted or miscarried embryos and fetuses. I know that this is common and voluntary in some other cultures, but it’s not a social norm in the US. And to FORCE women struggling with the intended or unintended end of a pregnancy to enact this law under threat of criminal prosecution is just beyond belief.

      Trump and Pence are like the two sides of the demon in The Exorcist. When Linda is projectile vomiting and spinning her head 360, it’s the devil you know and you know what you’re getting into. But the truly terrifying parts of the book/movie are when the demon very calmly and logically debates the priest. He sounds so reasonable….

      I can totally see Pence playing the long game with the Tea Party on this one. Trump’s only sucking up to the far right because he knows that statistically they could help get him elected. He doesn’t even believe half of what he says. But Pence truly believes this crap.

      • Giddy says:

        Pence had not much to say when Kaine asked him why he and Trump don’t trust women to make decisions about their own bodies. But then he warbled about the sanctity of life etc. He does not believe in abortion even in cases of rape or incest, or to save the life of the mother.

      • Jezi says:

        Omg that is the perfect analogy of Trump and Pence I ever did hear. So true!

      • Sadezilla says:

        Agree, M4lificent. They are both terrifying for different reasons. I like your Exorcist reference, very accurate!

    • Shark Bait says:

      My mom wrote that on her Facebook. She wrote Mike Pence for President! Her sister, who is gay, schooled her on Pence. My mom deleted that post but their other sister (my racist aunt, sorry I have 12 aunts) started putting up all this garbage about Hillary is anti LBGT etc etc to I defend my mom and trash Hillary at the same time.

  9. Locke Lamora says:

    Good God, even in a normal year, your elections are so incredibly theatrical.

    We’ve all seen Donald as yuge joke, but now, as November is approaching, nothing seems impossible. Please, America, don’t let him win. I can’t imagine what the world would look if these two came into power.

  10. Neelyo says:

    HATE HATE HATE Mike Pence. There’s not a font big enough for me to declare my hatred for this fanatical bigot.

    • SusanneToo says:

      Yeah, too bad we don’t have 72 point here.

    • adastraperaspera says:

      Pence is extremely dangerous. Like Ivanka Trump, he is the new face of Facism in the US. Calm, cool, collected, totally void of fact or feeling, and backed by faceless oligarchs. A perfect Orwellian villain. We have to stop them. This election is a referendum on humanity.

      • Belle Epoch says:

        Beautifully stated and so true.

        Agreeing with everything here – about Pence’s tiny, squinty eyes; about needing an IQ test to vote (sarcasm/not sarcasm); about Pence not on the same page as Trump, etc. Pence + Kaine = PAIN.

        Did anybody notice that within the first 5 minutes Pence said he could take over as President if anything happened? To me it sounded like that’s the end game! Trump gets elected, then his foot hurts and Pence takes over. TERRIFYING.

      • Esmom says:

        Yes. Well said.

      • bonzo says:

        The big news on Monday was that the Federal Appeals Court ruled that Pence’s attempt to block the resettling of Syrian refugees in Indiana was illegal. He was interfering with the distribution of federal funds to resettle Syrian refugees and the court noted that the law bars discrimination based on nationality. His “nightmare speculation” was based on zero evidence that any US terrorist act has ever been committed by a Syrian.

        One of the interesting facts about this case is that among the three-judge panel that issued the ruling (conservative judges, in fact) includs one of the judges on Trump’s list of potential Supreme Court nominees.

        Like a lot of conservative evangelicals, Pence’s pro-life stance is narrowly defined by the unborn, but doesn’t include the rest of humanity. Why care about the unborn if you don’t show equal protections for the rights of the poor, disabled, women and minorities??

      • Little Darling says:

        Well said Bonzo!

      • doofus says:

        “Why care about the unborn if you don’t show equal protections for the rights of the poor, disabled, women and minorities??”

        that’s the question I’d like EVERY GOPer to answer.

        they only care about the “sanctity of life” when it has to do with controlling a woman’s actions. once that baby pops out? you’re on your own.

  11. Soror Bro says:

    There’s something off about Tim Kaine’s facial expressions. He’d make one scary clown.

  12. lightpurple says:

    Moderators should be equipped with fire hoses to blast the candidates the moment one interrupts and talks over the other. Wait your turn! I do like that she pointed out several times that Pence had not answered the actual question.

  13. LinaLamont says:

    “I try to spend a little time on my knees every day.” -Pence, last night in debate
    Yeah, giving Trump a bj.

  14. OriginallyBlue says:

    Mike Pence is the creepiest f*cker. He makes me feel very unsettled and I cannot look at him.

  15. Merritt says:

    The news media seems to be ignoring that Pence said “That Mexican Thing”.

  16. Olivia says:

    Trump/Pence 2016. Gaslighting America.

    • Sadezilla says:

      That’s exactly what it was! Pence lied his face off, but people won’t necessarily know that unless they review a fact checker afterward. This, of course, assumes voters care whether what is said is true or not . That last comment is not directed at the present company at CB, of course!

  17. Jenns says:

    This was my favorite tweet from from The Onion:

    Pence Fact: Pence’s hair turned white after witnessing a woman buying birth control.

  18. eggy weggs says:

    Hey, other folks living in Indiana: Let’s all share what it’s been like for us living with this turd as our governor!
    I’ll go first:
    –Crappy roads
    –Refusal of Syrian refugees. Turned ’em away as if they were a package we didn’t want from Amazon. (‘Sok, the East Coast got ’em.)
    –This “religious freedom” thing, which, to the best of my knowledge, was based on two bakeries refusing to make rainbow-themed baked goods. The first was a bakery in Indy’s City Market. They refused to make rainbow cookies. The second was a bakery down the street from where I lived at the time. This bakery was rarely open, and when it was, was severely under-stocked. I maintain to this day that the bakery was a front and/or hoax; they knew that once they refused to serve a gay couple, all the hate would come out and they could launch a kickstarter fund to raise big $$$ and quit working altogether for a year or two.
    There’s more, but I’ll leave it for the other fine folks living in the Hoosier state to share. 😀

    • G says:

      Aren’t you all facing a huuuuuge HIV epidemic too? Something about drug use and lack of consistent healthcare which ties in with shared needles? I watched a documentary awhile ago that talked about it but I don’t remember the details. I do know Pence was governer for part of that.

      • eggy weggs says:

        Oh, yeah! DRUGS + disease from sharing needles. I live in a small town about an hour south of Indy and we’ve got meth zombies.

    • Kitten says:

      I just don’t understand Idianians.. Like, every single person I’ve ever met from Indy (and I have two close friends from there–one is a fervent Trump supporter, sadly) is SUPER-nice yet the political climate seems to skew really right. How can people be so nice and yet so bigoted at the same time?

      ETA: Not that I’m saying every person in Indy is like that! Sorry, I just meant from my experience and of course, in Boston there aren’t a ton of people from out here so my experience is obviously limited.

      • bonzo says:

        So true, Kitten. My BFF lives in Kokomo and I have several other friends living or from there and it is very conservative. It might as well be included in the “Bible belt” along with Kentucky as it doesn’t skew to the left like Illinois or Ohio do.

      • Kitten says:

        My friend (the Trump-supporter) is from Kokomo!!!!He always talks about it in the pejorative (he moved to Cali from Boston a few years ago) like it’s a terrible place…?

        But thanks for that background–makes sense now. I generally try to avoid talking about politics with him, for obvious reasons.

      • Courtney says:

        It’s pretty mixed, really. We had a democratic governor from 1989-2005. We probably would’ve had a democratic governor longer, but one died in office in the early 2000’s. We also tend to send one D senator and one R senator to Washington, hardly ever both senators are from the same party.

        Former governor and senator Evan Bayh would’ve been a great presidential or vice presidential candidate.

      • Christin says:

        Kitten’s description sounds like my hometown area (and it’s not in Indy, just a couple of states away). I’ve never been able to explain it, because I don’t understand it, either.

      • Bonzo says:

        Kitten, my friend moved from Nashville to Kokomo and jokingly refers to it as being a cultural wasteland. She misses the great live music and arts scene that we all enjoyed living in Music City back in the ’90’s. 🙂

      • eggy weggs says:

        I have been living in the Hoosier state for 10 years. There is an excellent article that might explain some of the mindset of the traditional Hoosier. I’m not going to post the link here, but google “Indiana is Weird.” I found it on FiveThirtyEight. It helped me understand.

    • Courtney says:

      Another Hoosier:

      He seems like a normal, reasonable human being. That’s how he became our governor. Trust us, he is not.

      He is far more concerned about playing political games than governing. The whole religious freedom bullshit? That was not caused by any issues actual citizens were having. It was not a big deal, everyone was getting along. HE created the problem so he could take credit for the “solution”.

      • eggy weggs says:

        Well said, Courtney. It’s all games! I just can’t figure out what he ultimately hopes to accomplish.

  19. Dani says:

    Honestly…Pence did WAY better than Kaine. Kaine is SO rude, will not allow Pence his two minutes to discuss anything, has to talk over him at every point. Even the host at one point had to tell them to stop speaking over each other. No one made a good point at any part because it was just like two high school kids trying to prove who has a bigger dick. The only thing I’ll commend Pence on is his decorum and his ability to let others finish their sentences. Kaine could learn a thing or two.

    • SusanneToo says:

      Pence talked over Kaine just as much as the other way around. The difference was that Pence was robotic and Kaine was fired up. That seemed to fool people into thinking Kaine was the rude one.

      • Saraya says:

        “Pence talked over Kaine just as much as the other way around.”

        You apparently didn’t actually watch the debate.

        “The difference was that Pence was robotic and Kaine was fired up.”

        You mean Pence was relaxed and statesman-like, while Kaine was rude and uncomfortable.

        “That seemed to fool people into thinking Kaine was the rude one.”

        No, people think he was the rude one because he was the rude one. Simple.

      • SusanneToo says:

        Watched every minute of it and I stand by my statement. And as I said above, it’s incredibly frustrating debating a congenital liar and someone who deflects and never gives a straight answer to a question.

    • Merritt says:

      Pence was rude too. But because he is basically a crash test dummy come to life, his rudeness seemed to go unnoticed by many.

      I’m more concerned with the lies Pence told. And his concept of religious freedom is also warped. His religious views should not be restricting women’s access to health services.

      • Esmom says:

        Yes, yes, yes, yes and yes.

        Anyone who claims Pence isn’t as or more dangerous than Trump is willfully ignorant.

      • Little Darling says:

        Pence doing a 180 on the Trump campaign’s positions on Syria to this point—by advocating a NFZ, for example, which Trump has opposed—was quite confusing.

        And the fact that he pretended to care about Syrian lives after spending several minutes smearing Syrian refugees as dangerous was certainly interesting. And by interesting I mean it made me want to throw a brick at my TV.

    • isabelle says:

      Yeah if you base your voting decision on shallow appearances, personality bluff and feelings, He would be appealing. Honestly he would be appealing to casual shallow voters, where appearance matters more than actual policy.

    • noway says:

      In fairness in the two debates someone did this because the world has nothing better to do, Kaine interrupted 74 times, Pence interrupted 57 times, Trump interrupted 55 times and Clinton interrupted 17 times. So the decorum award goes to the woman, and I guess you will vote for her. Is it really news that the men interrupt a lot. Also, apparently with the fact checking Kaine was a lot more accurate and honest than Pence. Pence is one cool liar. I’ll give you that.

  20. Miss Melissa says:

    Button up everyone. If Trump wins, Pence runs the country. That was the brokered deal.

  21. Who says says:

    I early voted yesterday ,so I feel liked I purged all my frustration with this election. It is cathartic.

  22. Jezi says:

    I had this on the other post but want to put it here.

    Did anyone think that Kaine did that on purpose? Maybe their game plan was to force Pence to answer to the public about Trump’s words? I think the Dems understand at this point that they won’t win over any republicans or trump supporters. Their target are women, the undecided and millennials. Pence and Trump are disgusting with their thoughts on how women should be. Their thoughts on how the government should control what a woman chooses to do with her body and to punish her if she goes against their feelings are not going to win you any woman voters. Pence was for Pence, Kaine proved that by pointing out and pushing for Pence to answer if he supports Trump’s stance. Kaine although was a bit annoying with the interrupting did his job. I’m sure dealing with a complete liar and denier was irritating and made Kaine want to prove that Pence was lying. Overall Pence basically didn’t stand by his running mate who is the actual nominee. That really was their only job as VP.

    • BettyD says:

      I absolutely think it was a strategy. Comparatively speaking, very few people watch the VP debates in real time, and now they have Pence on camera lying his smarmy, robotic ass off about Trump’s insane claims. I fully expect the Clinton campaign and PACs to make hay of Pence and Trump vs The Receipts in most of their videos and talking points between now and the election.

      • Jezi says:

        Exactly! Now they just have to push home that it was a campaign of lies. Kaine is normally non-confrontational with his speeches. I’ve never seen him so aggressive. So to me I felt like this was their plan to light fire under Pence’s ass to hold him accountable for his runningmates verbal diarrhea. I love how Kaine pointed out that Pence and Trump have two different ideas. That was pretty much how it was. The only part that personally bothered me was the fact Pence’s anti-LGBTQ was not brought up. Between Pence’s feelings on women and his feelings on LGBTQ that would of been the most powerful message Kaine would’ve had. I guess one out of two ain’t bad though.

    • Saraya says:

      “Did anyone think that Kaine did that on purpose?”

      Lose on purpose? No, I don’t think he meant to do that.

      • Jezi says:

        That’s your opinion! However Kaine succeeded in pointing out that Trump said certain things and Pence couldn’t defend. Kaine also had plans that both him and Hillary put together while Kaine had differing plans from his running mate who is the actual president nominee. So if you look at Pence remaining calm and robotic as winning then ok he “won”.

      • Little Darling says:

        Oh, are you referring to the blog posts that the GOP released BEFORE the debate went live stating Pence won?

      • Merritt says:

        I don’t think Kaine lost. Pence lost by lying his ass off.

      • doofus says:

        LD, that was HILARIOUS.

        someone hit “upload” a bit too soon!

      • BettyD says:

        Keep squawking that line. Frankly, I find debating with utter liars, deliberate obfuscaters, and all-around vile human beings rage-inducing, so I’m pretty impressed Kaine didn’t flip a table, Christ-in-the-temple style.

      • Brittney B. says:

        Someone also hit “upload” too soon during the DNC. Trump’s mailing list sent out an email about all of Hillary’s lies during her speech… before her speech even started.

      • Tiffany :) says:

        Are you being intentionally obtuse? Of course Jezi is correct. The Clinton campaign already had an ad up first thing this morning using the clips from the debate where Pence is denying things that Trump actually said.

        Kaine built a not-so-pretty vase that the Clinton campaign was able to break into pieces and use to make a powerful mosaic. Kaine accomplished his goal.

      • Tiffany :) says:

        NPR did a great job of fact checking all of the things Pence tried to deny that Trump said.

        http://www.npr.org/2016/10/05/496691508/mike-pence-says-trump-never-said-that-well-he-did

    • Kate says:

      I’m going to quibble with your comment a bit: The Clinton campaign has made a concerted effort to go after moderate Republicans and/or right-leaning independents, particularly women, who find Trump repulsive. See Machado, Alisha. See the Mirror ad. Some have speculated that the effort to go after moderates has turned off the Bernie-bros and other left-leaning voters. But at this point in the campaign, with a month left, turn out becomes the focus. The attention has turned to firing up the base and getting typical Democratic voters to the polls. The debate, while won on style by Pence, offered the Clinton camp a treasure trove of ads using Pence’s comments spliced with Trump’s bluster.

      • noway says:

        Bingo, Trump has a better chance of winning if turnout is low. This is why Obama, Sanders and now even Al Gore are encouraging the base to go out and vote for Clinton. Seriously, some of the red meat comments from Pence – “mexican thing” and the lies hopefully will make the young people go out and vote. Al Gore is good with millennials too, and he can inform them about what happens when you don’t show up to vote.

    • LinaLamont says:

      “Did anyone think that Kaine did that on purpose?”
      Yes.

  23. delorb says:

    Umm, how can you ‘win’ a debate, when people can easily refute your answers? IMO, the problem isn’t so much the candidates, but the media that is allowing them to get away with style points outweighing the truth.

  24. Giddy says:

    Pence lying repeatedly as he denied statements Donald had made was the theme of the night. I wish I had had some Xanax to “whip out” to calm my rising blood pressure last night.

  25. Saks says:

    When your people works hard in horrible conditions in a foreign country to give their loved ones a better future… also, tacos #thatmexicanthing

    We are not going anywhere! Viva Mexico! 🇲🇽

  26. RedWeatherTiger says:

    How can one be declared the winner if one is full of complete shit? Or is that the society we live in now?

    Or maybe he won because the RNC declared him the winner before it even started?

    I also like how Pence said the Clinton campaign was based on insults while Agent Orange was live-tweeting insults about Kaine.

    • Esmom says:

      It is apparently the society we live in now. I was aghast at Pence’s lies. And Trump tweeting insults while Pence claimed their campaign wasn’t based upon insults, it’s almost too much. My head was aching and it still is now.

  27. Jenns says:

    I felt that Kaine was interrupting to remind everyone all the crazy sh*t Trump has said. But I do think the interrupting backfired.

    However, what was interesting to me was that Pence seemed to be seperating himself from Trump entirely. Several times he was asked about Trump and Pence totally pivoted.

  28. mire usted! says:

    Kaine: “If you’re afraid to discuss it, you’ll never solve it.” The best line of the night.

  29. SusanneToo says:

    Did everyone else catch Pence’s baldfaced, blatant lie that the Clinton Foundation gives only 10% to charity, while the fact is that 88% goes to the programs it supports with only 12% overhead.

  30. SusanneToo says:

    When asked when they struggled with a conflict between their faith and their public positions Kaine gave a very thoughful answer about his personal opposition to the death penalty but his obligation to carry out the law of Virginia. Pence did not talk about any struggle, just about his faith which he feels comfortable imposing on everyone regardless of their beliefs. Pence would fit into ISIS or the Taliban quite comfortably.

  31. SusanneToo says:

    This from The Globe and Mail website. Sums it up nicely.

    “It is hard to say who “won” the debate. Mr. Kaine stammered and interrupted, but remained essentially honest. Mr. Pence lied calmly and well.

    “God bless you, career public servants,” Mr. Pence said at one point about Ms. Clinton and Mr. Kaine, in a classic moment of Midwestern Nice’s seething contempt. Meant as an insult, it nonetheless reminded viewers that Ms. Clinton and Mr. Kaine do serve the public. It also reminded them who Mr. Pence serves first and foremost: Donald Trump.”

    • G says:

      I found all of his comments about longtime civil servants to be obnoxious. First off, HE is a longterm civil servant. He needs to check himself into that category too.
      I also hate that this election focuses on longterm civil careers as being ‘bad.’ As if it’s a bad thing to want to serve your nation and your home. It’s maddening. Trump and his supporters value inexperience and think education and training is ‘elite’ when it’s not.

      • Christin says:

        Our congressman confessed to a small group of us a few years ago that the big difference in DC now is lack of civility. He said that just a decade or two ago, congresspeople might argue on the floor, but they would shake hands later and knew each other’s families, etc. It was more friendly. Now, he said more are just zipping in and out of the Capitol and the overall civility is noticeably diminished.

        It’s sad that much of the same is true in our society as a whole.

      • doofus says:

        Christin, IMO, it started with the election of Clinton (the GOP did whatever they could to nullify his win) and the whole Whitewater debacle. instead of governing and “working across the aisle”, they decided to INVESTIGATE INVESTIGATE INVESTIGATE…and several years and $50million later, they found out that the prez got a beej from an intern and lied about it.

        they had the WH for 12 years, and couldn’t deal with losing it so they went the scorched earth route.

        and it only got worse when DUHbya came in with his “you’re either with us or against us” rhetoric.

  32. nicole says:

    I thought that Pence was just creepy and smarmy, wouldnt trust him one bit, but I thought Kaine was trying to be more aggressive than he really is, and it didnt come over as he would of like it too, but I still think he got all the Trump lies out there and the Democrats will be able to make some good adverts out of it. Cant wait till Sunday’s debate, hope Hillary still on top of her game and is really ready for Trump because I think he is going to be really nasty this time.

  33. isabelle says:

    Well the one thing I got from the debate, even Pence can’t defend Donald and probably dislikes him as much as the voters. Last night was about 2020 but good luck Pence on being associated with Pence. Wouldn’t vote for him if Jesus came down and ordained him since he made a decision to run with Donald.

  34. Scootypuffjr says:

    I normally vote Libertarian, but after the first debate, I was *almost* convinced to vote Hillary. Trump’s whole campaign is such a sh*tshow. At first it was novel, now it’s just embarrassing. Not just for him, but for the US as a whole.

    • Brittney B. says:

      Keep going with that sentiment! I totally understand your wish (and right) to vote third-party… but you’re right, Trump is a national embarrassment. I really hope you can bring yourself to vote for Hillary after the next debates, because I don’t want our national embarrassment to turn into a national tragedy.

    • Tiffany :) says:

      I read this brilliant article the other day about 3rd party voting, and it made really great points (which I will now butcher in an attempt to summarize!)

      1. 3rd party voting in THIS election is largely based on an assumption that Trump can’t and won’t win.

      2. “The best message that the country can send with the popular vote is that if you try to win the presidency by stoking race hatred and promising to degrade the Constitution, you will lose and lose badly—that a fascist does not have an even-odds chance of becoming the most powerful person in the world.”

      https://newrepublic.com/article/137371/one-message-voters-send-election