Last updated on July 17th, 2023 at 06:42 pm
The Fox Business early presidential debate was a disgrace. The only winners were Rand Paul, who didn’t show up, and the people who didn’t watch.
We’ve all seen this before in the previous Republican JV debates. All of the Republicans on stage wanted more war in the Middle East.
Rick Santorum told the military that he would have their back while sending them off to more war. Mike Huckabee pretty much called the people in Afghanistan savages. Carly Fiorina took a shot a Trump by accusing him of being in a bromance with Putin.
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When the topic turned to guns, the Republican debate crowd booed when the moderator said that a majority of Americans support expanded background checks. Huckabee and Santorum went with the standard Republican line that Obama was coming for everyone’s guns. Huckabee tried to accuse President Obama of protecting Islam.
Rick Santorum played the class warfare card and claimed that the people who don’t have a college degree are going to be forced to pay for the free college for all plans. Huckabee claimed that a flat tax would save Social Security.
There was absolutely nothing new to any of this. These early debates have revealed themselves to be a completely pointless exercise. The candidates are at the bottom of the barrel, and they each were pandering while looking for a miracle.
It is time for the cable networks to put these early debates out of their misery.
Winners and Losers:
1). Rand Paul – Rand Paul looks like a genius for not showing up at this hour long Republican island of misfit toys. Paul is no great intellect, not is he a figure of great political stature, but he was above this, and he was smart to avoid the whole mess.
2). Anyone Who Didn’t Watch -There are few bigger wastes of time than watching two previous Republican primary rejects (Huckabee and Santorum) and one malfunctioning authoritarian robot (Fiorina) trying to convince anyone that they were auditioning for anything more than a contract as a paid contributor on Fox News. What Fox Business shamelessly put on the air was a debate only in the loosest sense of the term. Anyone who didn’t watch made a wise decision.
Losers:
1). Carly Fiorina – Fiorina’s biggest problem remains that she is an outsider who talks and acts like a Republican Party establishment insider. Her closing statement appeal for support sounded more like a threat than a rallying cry. Fiorina can’t attract any support because she is a failed business leader who lacks personality. Fiorina is finished as a 2016 candidate.
2). Mike Huckabee – I kept waiting for Huckabee to use the debate to try to sell the audience some quack cure for diabetes. Mike Huckabee is using these early debates to promote himself. He has no real shot at winning anything. Huckabee is following in the long tradition of Republicans who run for president because it is good for their personal business. Huckabee knows how to toss red meat out to the audience, but he will be back on Fox News and sending more spam emails before 2016 is finished.
3). Rick Santorum – Why? Rick Santorum is a failed US Senator, who was run out of Pennsylvania on a rail. If not for the incompetence of the rest of the 2012 Republican field, he would not have finished second in that contest. Santorum keeps repeating himself in each of these early debates. He has nothing to say, and no purpose in this race. Santorum’s candidacy is even more pointless than Huckabee’s.
4). The Viewers – I would have more respect for the cable networks if they would admit that these early debates are nothing more than a ratings grab. These “debates” need to end now. They aren’t adding anything to the national conversation, and they are getting painful to watch.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
