I forced myself to watch the Republican Presidential debate last night. Rather than watch clips and other peoples' comments on the event, I figured I'd see it for myself and form my own conclusions.

The worst persons at the debate last night?  It was clear to me after two hours (two hours of my life I'll never get back) that the worst people at the debate were the Fox audience.

They cheered at the worst lines from the debaters and booed whenever somebody tried to express a near-reasonable opinion.  The crowd reaction was almost an inverse mirror image of my own feelings.  Even Fox News moderator Bret Baier had to turn around at one point and tell the audience to shut the fuck up (not exactly the words he used, but in essence what he said). 

I was appalled by the knee-jerk reactionary audience and I'm depressed by what they indicate for the future of the United States. 

Imagine still claiming in 2023 that climate change is a hoax. Imagine promising to invade Mexico on your very first day as President to thwart the flow of illegal fentanyl coming in from China through other, mostly legal ports of entry.  Imagine vowing to pardon twice-impeached, four-times-indicted ex-president Trump before a trial has even found him guilty, much less presented the evidence against him.

Now imagine the people who would give those statements a standing ovation.