Cramer's 'Mad Money' Recap: Unassailable in a Selloff

The machine broke down today, Jim Cramer told viewers of his "Mad Money" TV show Tuesday. And it happened very quickly -- too quickly for people to react.

An "overheated market" in China and system error caused the U.S. market to drop 416 points in the blink of an eye, he said. Although there were plenty of buyers, they "simply couldn't get to the floor fast enough to buy."

Meanwhile, the selling, perhaps exacerbated by exchange-traded funds, "cracked the dam," Cramer said.

In the old days, when things were sane, there were order imbalances, a stoppage of trading; but things are different now: "You can force the market down," Cramer said.

"My sources indicate that a big options trade went awry and some concentrated ETF selling ... simply crushed this market as easily as a knife through butter."

The "most important takeaway" here is that market players only have three protections "from the whims of a broken system," he told his viewers.

First, there are companies that pay dividends equal to or better than Treasuries after taxes -- a "great defense," Cramer said.

Then there are stocks that are "so low in valuation" that investors and the companies themselves know they are bargains, "meaning they are buying back stock right here," he said.