Jon Stewart Takes On CNN Tea Party Debate: Reality Show Antics And A Rick Perry 'Beatdown' (VIDEO)

Jon Stewart spent most of Tuesday night's "Daily Show" covering Monday's CNN Republican Presidential debate, including the pre-show grandstanding, the 'beatdown' frontrunner Rick Perry took from his fellow candidates and some of the Tea party audience's shocking reactions.

If you watched the debate yourself you might have noticed the unusual level of reality show-style antics at the top of the show, including a montage featuring candidate nicknames, multiple introductions, the singing of the national anthem and a set that looked like "Betsy Ross's vagina," according to Stewart. That's why it blew Stewart's mind when moderator Wolf Blitzer told the candidates to keep their initial mission statements short.

But when the debate finally got started, the theme of the night became apparent: going after Rick Perry. In part two of Stewart's segment (appropriately titled 'Indecision 1776' for our founding father-loving Tea Party friends) he shows how Ron Paul, Jon Huntsman and Michele Bachmann took on Perry for providing in-state tuition for illegal immigrants and accusing him of taking millions of dollars in donations from medical companies after mandating the HPV vaccine, among other things.

Did any of that slow his momentum? Not in Stewart's opinion:

"Perry's already winning the race without making any sense," Stewart said, using Perry's statement that we should both bring the troops home and stay in Afghanistan as an example. "He says it in such a homespun, likable way that you're halfway home before you realize, 'Hey that didn't make any f*cking sense!'"

And then Stewart got to the real stars of the night: the Tea Party audience who posed questions to the candidates. When Ron Paul suggested he might think uninsured people who get sick should be left to die, the audience actually cheered. Let's just say Stewart has a few entertaining ideas as to why this happened.

Watch Stewart's full coverage below and check out correspondent Al Madrigal's reaction segment for more.

WATCH: Part one

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Indecision 1776 - Ye Cobblestone Road to the White House
www.thedailyshow.com
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WATCH: Part two -- Rick Perry

Click here to watch on TDS website

Comments

[huffingtonsurferdude]

04:39 AM on 09/16/2011

Wow, CNN went way over the top with the garbage. Anyhoo, Rick Perry's posture indicates what a great President he will be. He is obviously a fine, fantastic Texas American who will lead the Nation on to greatness in war. Cha Ching, $$$.

[zoebear]

01:41 PM on 09/15/2011

"Holy Sh#t! Look at Rick Perry! That's not a candidate for President. That's a patriotic collectible from the Franklin Mint!" LOL!!!

[Cole 33]

01:05 PM on 09/15/2011

Rick Perry really does look like a Corporate ad, like an actor hired by a corporation to "play a president" he just looks and sounds like he's staged, like someone was going through a clothing catalogue looking for a "presidential type" for an ad campaign.

[donbrown]

02:11 PM on 09/15/2011

He's a Trojan Horse for a complete corporate takeover....

I hear the progressive itching to shout "It's already Happened!"

They are naive -- If you believe that, you ain't seen nothin' yet. Don't vote and see what happens.

[Cole 33]

02:16 PM on 09/15/2011

Not fully taken over yet, just sponsored, like a Nascar.

[Impulse725]

11:29 PM on 09/15/2011

So, Reagan 2.0 rather than Bush 2.0

[Cole 33]

11:28 AM on 09/16/2011

I actually think he resembles both of them, physically I mean.

[sean6886]

12:50 PM on 09/15/2011

OMG-CNN has quickly become the TBer network.

There are many sad things about this show that CNN put on-but another sad thing is again, them trying to make GOPers and TBers look like the very patriotic ones who love America.

[Elias Maxwell]

09:23 AM on 09/15/2011

And running now for the 2016 election . . . . CNN presents (WTF was that)

[purple13]

07:20 AM on 09/15/2011

so many delicious zingers...blue angel interior fly-by...franklin mint patriotic collectible...

OFFS, Jon Stewart...HOW i adore thee and thine writers, i cannot begin to count the ways. you make me laugh when there's seemingly nothing to laugh at these days.

[Francois Bergeron]

03:30 AM on 09/15/2011

Oy. CNN. How low can you go...

[OnandUpwards2011]

01:17 AM on 09/15/2011

Fair point made by Stewart but to be honest, other than Ron Paul it's really best to keep the comments short for most of those candidates because in the end once they give a little detail you'll end up seeing how completely incapable they are to run a kindergarten let alone states and countries.

[gts31bumbee]

12:13 PM on 09/16/2011

Let me apologize to the kindergarten teachers for you. I agree with you that all these candidates are lacking and in a few cases are real airheads. There are only two Repugs. out there that can beat Obama but none are in the race. Stay tuned...

[siciliabel]

12:37 AM on 09/15/2011

I thought that flyover was something they inserted at the Daily Show to ratchet up the K Mart patriotism quotient. I can't believe CNN is that much over the top.

[redheadwoman]

11:45 PM on 09/14/2011

OMG---they had a blue angels cge; seriously?
CNN gets worse and worse---thanks for the slam, Jon!

[Shouterguy]

11:08 PM on 09/14/2011

Gettin' uuuuuugly.

[Shouterguy]

11:04 PM on 09/14/2011

Yes. This year I'm voting Ike. Again.

[Shouterguy]

11:03 PM on 09/14/2011

Can we put them on an island and make them form tribes? Can we vote off one per week until one gets to wear the "corporate crown?"

Huh?

[Shouterguy]

11:00 PM on 09/14/2011

Like what you see?

No?

Then VOTE.

[labourboss]

10:47 AM on 09/16/2011

Rick Perry was reelected governor by 18% of the eleigible voters. It was one of the lowest turnouts on record (32%). As I allway s say, " Bad laws are made by bad politicians who get elected by good people who don't vote".

[VikingViking]

10:55 PM on 09/14/2011

Those people aren't real politicians...real Presidential candidates....are they ?
It's just a bizarre 'reality' TV-show...right ?
Like American Idol ?

No ?

Really ???

VikingViking, an European observer.

[Impulse725]

11:30 PM on 09/15/2011

If only