As the race for the White House commences with yesterday’s GOP debate, Americans are actively in search for a political representative. Someone who can stand a chance against President Biden in the general election. At this point, even a sane and reasonable voice for the issues that matter most to conservatives could seem to suffice.
Yesterday, the much awaited 1st GOP debate was held in Milwaukee as part of the Republican Party’s efforts to eradicate , or at least hamper, the ‘Blue Wall’, that helped get Biden and Democratic candidates up and down the ballot get elected in 2020 and 2022. Some of the more notable candidates included former Ambassador to the U.N., Nikki Haley, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Ron DeSantis, as most of us know, is just second in national polls to Trump, who just got indicted, a published mugshot and an inmate number in the Fulton County Jail just a night after the debate. Mr. Trump is also facing multiple court dates, one of which is before lurking around the first primary caucuses in Iowa, and the next, less than 2 months from today (As requested by the DA’s office).
Wednesday’s debate was a very significant moment for all the candidates to display themselves under pressure.
Wednesday’s debate-while some may disagree-was a very significant moment for all the candidates to display themselves under pressure. It also gave some of the candidates edge over their competitors since the debate featured moments of comparison and less moments about the Biden Admiration’s policies since entering office. Of course, this was exactly what was anticipated since a growing number of Republicans hardly have any substance with their arguments surrounding issues on climate change, economic policy and Healthcare policy. And to that point, one candidate specifically, Billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy, made it a point to divorce himself from others on that stage. And it didn’t exactly go well or in his favor.
Ramaswamy, 38, tried to make things about age and about how everyone’s out to get him because of his ‘inexperienced’ career in politics. They would not be wrong in doing so. Ramaswamy’s only experience is in his business career and occasional talks on ‘Wokeness’. You can’t expect to not be attacked on a Presidential debate stage for it. It’s ludicrous. Regardless, he went into the debate thinking he would make a point against board member politicians. Usually, Nikki Haley is known to be as outrageous on issues than anyone else. She has substance, but no volume. She isn’t willing to far enough to either side of the political agenda. She may call it moderate but it’s an unsuccessful attempt to appeal to ‘Likely Voters (LVs)’, who will not be a part of the base that can help make her the nominee. This week, however, Haley took a surprising turn, bolting her experience at the United Nations, going into a shouting match with Ramaswamy. She said all the right things. Ramaswamy has himself said that he would like to give Ukraine to Russia, and Taiwan to China, in the name of ‘peace’ if he were elected as President of the United States.
During the debate, he had no substantial argument to defend his views and was the candidate most in line with Donald Trump’s foreign policy-just that he was willing to speak openly about it. Ramaswamy also seemed to be adopting some of Trump’s more common habits. Similar to the 2016 drama, Ramaswamy referred to Ambassador Haley as ‘Nikki’, just like Trump referred to Secretary Clinton as ‘Hillary’. Rule number one for being President is having etiquette, something the former President lacked but saw retribution for. If Ramaswamy’s winning strategy is being more like Trump, he should realize it’s an old strategy and part of a more broader conversation on what experts actually mean when they say conservatism is on the brink of collapse. As for other candidates, they’ve seemed to move further away from Trump than ever before. Former Governor of Arkansas, Asa Hutchison, who has always maintained his distance from Donald Trump, seemed to be completely ignoring the idea that Trump was ever part of the political debate. Others like Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina decided to take the conversation to a personal tone. However, it’s worth noting no one, except maybe Asa Hutchinson, and Chris Christie, are actually running for President. Most of the candidates on that stage are not electable and vying on the opportunity to be selected as someone’s running mate to decorate and solidify a political career for after Preside t Biden’s tenure ends. It’s interesting how financial markets take a hit with these political shifts, especially surrounding the Republican Party, and it’s timeless inevitable nature of failure. After 2000, when the news came in that the Supreme Court decided to certify George Bush’s victory, stocks crashed. Essentially, the volatility Republicans were known to bring to the office of the President became quite apparent by then.
The writer is a columnist and a linguistic activist.