The Patriot Post® · Thursday Short Cuts

Summing it up: “The short version: Elizabeth Warren treaded water, Cory Booker and Julian Castro found their grooves, Bill de Blasio vented his anger and may have created some buzz, Beto O'Rourke had a terrible night, and everybody else on the bottom stayed on the bottom.” —Jim Geraghty

Touché: “The NBC audio situation is just about as strong as the Democrat field.” —Charlie Kirk

For the record: “Boring!” —Donald Trump live tweeting the first Democrat debate

Horrifying thought: “What will happen Thursday night if former Vice President Joe Biden pulls his pants down onstage when it is finally his time to speak?” —R. Emmett Tyrrell

The bottom line: “For several generations, Congress — the branch of government closest to the people — has slowly but surely abdicated its role in American constitutional government even as the power of the federal government grew. The American people are increasingly divorced from an increasingly powerful national government.” —David French

Let’s hope so: “If we have two old white guys at the top of this ticket, we will lose.” —Howard Dean

Braying Jenny: “Wayfair workers couldn’t stomach they were making beds to cage children. They asked the company to stop. … This is what solidarity looks like — a reminder that everyday people have real power, as long as we’re brave enough to use it.” —Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (“Perhaps the Wayfair workers should think twice. The last time AOC inserted herself into a local issue, the freshman lawmaker cost 25,000 workers their jobs!” —Gary Bauer)

Friendly fire I: “I think that he’s not a pragmatic choice. … If you pick the perfect candidate like Joe Biden to win that guy in the diner, the cost will make you lose because you will depress turnout as well. And that’s exactly what happened to 2016. We picked the logically fitting candidate, but that candidate did not inspire the turnout that we needed.” —Ocasio-Cortez

Friendly fire II: “There is no comparison to the Holocaust, period, and to draw an equivalency suggests one does not understand what happened in the Holocaust.” —Gov. Andrew Cuomo scolding AOC

And last… “Look at Germany for what happens with ‘open borders.’ Insane costs. Violence. Sexual harassment. Nowhere to house migrants. The Democrats want to bring that HERE.” —Liz Wheeler