Round Two
The second officially-sanctioned, rule-laden debate sponsored by the Republican National Committee will be held tonight at the Reagan Library. KXEL will air it live starting at 8 p.m.
If you’re looking for this event to generate any more insight about the candidates than the last one did…well, you’re far more optimistic than I am. But on the unlikely chance that news breaks out or something memorable happens, as noted, it will be on KXEL.
The stage will have one fewer podium, as Gov. Asa Hutchinson did not meet the arbitrary requirements of the RNC…that means 7 candidates on the stage, none of them named Elder, Johnson, Binkley, or Hurd.
Because again, in the eyes of the RNC, unless you have achieved a massive donor base and increasing poll numbers by now—four months before the first vote is even cast—you don’t deserve to have your voice be heard.
Again, I do understand how unwieldy a debate with even three or four candidates can be, much less seven, eight, nine…or a dozen. But these aren’t debates, they’re merely candidate forums designed to see who stumbles as opposed to who excels.
And as far as gleaning any insight beyond scripted 60 second talking points? Forget it.
Lest you think I’m picking on Republicans…this is the same doomed approach taken by Democrats in the last cycle four years ago. And while I suppose it’s preferable to having no joint appearances misidentified as debates…well, actually, I’m not sure about that, because it takes up so much time attention, including the noise about making the debate stage, that it diverts attention and time from discussing issues that matter to voters, as opposed to inside baseball.
And of course, like the first debate, front-runner Donald Trump will not only not be there, but he’ll be doing something specifically designed to draw attention away from the debate. Last time, it was an interview with Tucker Carlson on X…this time, it’s a rally with UAW workers in Michigan.
So while I encourage you to tune in, because that’s my job…I understand why you may not.
