Thoughts on the Debased Debate

Sequestered on my mountain, I did not watch the Republican presidential debate. I watched a few clips on Twitter and heard soundbites on NPR.

On a program from NPR affiliate WAMC-FM in Albany, one woman opined, “They are all unlikeable, every single one of them.” The other panelists, all echoing the extreme left of the Democratic Party, more or less agreed. She focused ire on the more liberal participants in the debate by calling Nikki Haley “slimy,” mocking Asa Hutchison as though he regarded himself as “Moses,” and describing Chris Christie as “awful.”

Sometimes we talk about ourselves when we talk about others.

My relatively uninformed opinion of the manufactured event fixates on two, interrelated aspects. Haley did come across as obnoxious, as Scott McKay highlights, in her attacks on Vivek Ramaswamy. By rewarding interrupters with applause and more airtime, the media and the public incentivize uncivilized behavior. (READ THE ARTICLE: The Heritage Foundation vs. the GOP Establishment)

In response to filibustering of the like Haley displayed in that exchange, moderators resort to the belittling tactic of calling for a show of hands on simplistic questions. Are they teachers and the candidates unruly fifth graders?

Debates seem like a good idea. Unfortunately, the media events labeled as debates do not include much actual debating.

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