Outside the Beltway

Republican Debate Drinking Games

Doug Mataconis · Thursday, August 6, 2015 · 10 comments

The internet being what it is, there are several suggested drinking games out there for tonight’s Republican Presidential Debate.

First, there’s Matt Taibi at Rolling Stone with a set of keywords for each or shot.

Not to be outdone, the politics guys at Time are out with their own drinking game, with the warning “This is going to hurt.”

If you’re like me, you might be interested in Above The Law’s Official Lawyer’s Guide To Getting Drunk While Watching Donald Trump Debate.

Finally, Tyler Koteskey at Rare has come up with a rather detailed drinking game that I’d only recommend playing if you don’t have to be at work tomorrow morning.

Enjoy!

FILED UNDER: 2016 Election, US Politics, Donald Trump, Rolling Stone

About Doug Mataconis

Doug Mataconis held a B.A. in Political Science from Rutgers University and J.D. from George Mason University School of Law. He joined the staff of OTB in May 2010 and contributed a staggering 16,483 posts before his retirement in January 2020. He passed far too young in July 2021.

Comments

Tillman says:

Thursday, 6 August 2015 at 16:31

Huh. This debate ends right around when Jon Stewart’s last show starts. That’s excellent timing.
PJ says:

Thursday, 6 August 2015 at 16:32

Health officials warn that you could die playing GOP debate drinking games: ‘It’s just a formula for disaster’:

Public health officials are urging Americans to exercise caution if they choose to participate in “drinking games” during the first Republican primary debate this Thursday in Cleveland, Ohio.

“You simply can’t drink every time one of these guys says something silly,” said Surgeon General Vivek Murthy during a Wednesday morning press conference. “We’ve got three candidates who are prone to gaffes — Jeb Bush, John Kasich and Scott Walker — and then a half-dozen obscure goofballs vying with Donald Trump for a little media attention. It’s just a formula for disaster.”

Murthy suggested that people play a safer variation of the traditional debate drinking game by only consuming alcohol when one of the candidates says something reasonable.

“We’re not saying that people shouldn’t have fun participating in the rotting vestiges of our once-great democracy,” he said. “Just do it responsibly. Instead of, say, shotgunning a beer when Ben Carson compares abortion to a planet-killing meteor wiping out humanity, consider taking a shot if Jeb Bush acknowledges that human activity is contributing to climate change,” he said. “And that drink might even have some therapeutic value when he goes on to argue that we shouldn’t do a damn thing about it.”

(SATIRE/PARODY)
Hal_10000 says:

Thursday, 6 August 2015 at 19:22

My drinking game is very simple. I think about the candidates and boy do I need a drink.
Pinky says:

Thursday, 6 August 2015 at 20:14

@Tillman:

http://thefederalist.com/2015/08/06/how-jon-stewart-has-enabled-the-politics-of-spectacle/

“Stewart is no more an honest newsman than, say, Donald Trump is a serious presidential candidate.”
Frnak says:

Thursday, 6 August 2015 at 21:43

@Pinky: Meh. Maybe I need to think about this some more but the article doesn’t convince me. For once, I find it kind of shallow in its own sense, using a lot of broad sweeping statements while barely mentioning anything that’s ever happened on the Daily Show and analyzing it. But to me, if the Daily Show is spectacle, it’s a mirror of the media and politicians it skewers. Jon Stewart is quite adept at showing how shallow the media and politicians are. I’d think that means he’s not the “enabler” of some modern age of political spectacle (a rather hyperbolic… or well, spectacular… statement) but a reply to it. Is it the correct one? Does he rise far above its level? Maybe not. Does he press down society to an even lower point? I wouldn’t think so.
jewelbomb says:

Thursday, 6 August 2015 at 22:26

@Pinky: Wow. That was some truly atrocious writing. Not that Stewart is above criticism, but this piece is absolute garbage. One assertion after another and nary a scrap of evidence or argument is provided. Is this what passes for a think-piece at the Federalist?
Grewgills says:

Thursday, 6 August 2015 at 22:35

@Frnak:
Exactly. Blaming someone who satirizes news as entertainment and the politics of spectacle for news as entertainment and politics as spectacle is missing the point by about as far as is possible. It’s sort of like blaming Carlin for the FCC making stupid arbitrary rules.
DrDaveT says:

Thursday, 6 August 2015 at 23:05

@Hal_10000:

My drinking game is very simple. I think about the candidates and boy do I need a drink.

I was planning to get through the debate without recourse to liquor.

I failed.
OzarkHillbilly says:

Friday, 7 August 2015 at 09:10

@Pinky: And this differs how from anything Stewart has himself said? He’s a comedian fer Christ’s sake. That people listen to him before any politician says a hell of a lot more about the quality of our politicians than it ever does about him.
Tillman says:

Friday, 7 August 2015 at 09:43

@Pinky: It turns out the honest newsman at NBC exaggerated his war reporting claims, the honest newsmen at CBS were tanked for proffering false accounts of Benghazi, ABC’s better known for fake politics (“Scandal”) than actual news, and no one at Fox can be called honest. 🙂