They say when you look for diamonds the three “Cs” will lead you where you need to be.
Well, when looking for drama a la the “Real House-husbands of Politics” aka the GOP debate, there are three Cs that make it all worth while—confrontations, cringe worthy moments and controversy—nothing makes politics better.
Here’s what we learned last night—16 months before the election—in a nutshell:
Jeb Bush is still running from his last name and his brother’s war; Trump likes to talk—a lot, oh and build walls; Rand Paul and Chris Christie really do NOT like each other; Ben Carson doesn’t talk about race because he’s a surgeon; Rubio lived paycheck to paycheck and doesn’t like Hillary because she never did; and Scott Walker and others were there too. Where is Saturday Night Live when you need them?
For the happy hour debate, Fiorina called the former Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton a “liar” on three different accounts. “We need a candidate that is going to throw every punch, not pull them,” she said.
There has been so much name-calling in this presidential race already, sometimes we need to be reminded that we’re watching adults or moderating recess for elementary school.
In other news, we don’t need to wait 16 months to see who Kim Kardashian is voting for… she nabbed a “selfie” with Hillary Clinton at a recent fundraiser and called her “our next president.” Not sure if that’s the kind of endorsement Clinton wants but hell, she just got a shout out to over 30 million people without having to knock on a single door.
Pop Off of the Week: Texas vs. Voter ID:
On the anniversary week of the Voting Rights Act, the state of Texas, which has led the way in rolling back healthcare rights for women, comprehensive education for children and more, surprised us this week, in a great way. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court Appeals said this week that the law, which requires Texans to show an I.D. upon voting, is discriminatory.
Voter ID laws were a drum that the conservatives kept beating during the 2012 campaign as way to discuss “fraud” while simultaneously gerrymandering districts to rollback the rights of minorities, young people, the elderly and more. Instead of shaping policies that appeals to the masses, conservatives have instead worked tirelessly to rollback voting rights. Well, no more. Let’s hope that this decision by the 5th Circuit will begin a trend that will pick up steam in 2016.
Poliwood Round-Up: Trending Topics in the #BlackTwitterverse This Week
Trend of the Week: #KellyOsbourne
In another case of celebrity foot-in-mouth syndrome, Kelly Osbourne now knows what it feels like to stick both of her feet in her mouth—and it ain’t good.
The former E! Fashion Police star joined The View this week and the topic of Donald Trump came up. In an attempt to put “The Donald” in his place for saying terribly racist and xenophobic things about Mexicans, the starlet said something equally as offensive. She said, “if you kick every Latino out of this country, who is going to clean your toilets?”
Yes, she actually said that. To make it worse the one Latina woman at the table, Rosie Perez, who rightfully took offense later apologized to Kelly on Twitter for being offended by her racially insensitive comment BEFORE Kelly even apologized for her comment. How does that even make sense?
THREE: Maxim Man
British actor and racecar driver Idris Elba made history this week as the first man to grace the cover of Maxim Magazine. The 43-year old actor looks ever the sex symbol and English gentlemen on the cover. In the issue, now on news stands, he discusses his rise to fame and his upcoming films.
The star also made mention of the not so subtle campaign social media fans have waged to make him the next James Bond. However, he says that all that attention will all but ensure he never gets the job. Let’s hope not because that would be a movie worth going to on opening night.
TWO: Raising the Bar
When Paulette Brown was in law school she noticed that the professors were pushing her and other minority law students to work as public defenders or other public service jobs as opposed to prestigious law firms.
She decided to carve out her own path, which led the 63 year-old black woman to be in-house counsel for several Fortune 500 companies and she is now making history as the first black woman to lead the American Bar Association, which until 1943 did not allow black people to join.
She has spent her career mentoring women and minorities and pushing the companies she has worked for to hire outside of their comfort zone. As she raises the bar, I raise my glass to her for never settling on for what people thought she deserved and instead carving her own path. Bravo!
ONE: Center Stage
While we may have 16 months until President Obama bids farewell to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Republicans kicked off the presidential season with their first debate on Fox. Front runner Donald Trump was the night’s biggest target with the other 9 candidates working tirelessly just to get people to pay attention to them.
They sang the same songs from the same playbook—Planned Parenthood bad, immigration reform bad, Iran deal bad, Hillary Clinton terrible etc. The most interesting point of the evening however was Donald Trump stating that regardless of Republican nomination that he will indeed be running for President—which garnered boos from the crowd.
The Donald of course was unfazed. Buckle up dear friends because this will indeed be the longest 16 months of our lives.
