Missing from the Stage
Apparently some of the Republican candidates for president will be quote-unquote debating in Alabama tonight. I use quotes because these encounters to date have been worthless in terms of actually deciphering policy or viewpoints…and certainly don’t resemble any true debates. At best, they are joint news conferences…but with different questions depending on who the candidate is…so again, it’s a bit of sizzle, and certainly no steak.
And thanks to the Republican National Committee’s thirst for control of the process, yet another candidate has been forced to drop out. North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum suspended his campaign this week; while he made it on the debate stage for the first two events and drew much praise for his rational proposals and contributions to the discussion, he did not meet the arbitrary RNC standards for tonight, or the previous debate.
There are now seven Republican candidates, four of which will be on the stage…in no particular order, DeSantis, Haley, Christie, and Ramaswamy. Trump is not attending, but would have qualified under the silly rules. Hutchinson and Binkley, however, are not worthy of their ideas being heard by potential voters.
We went from something like 16 candidates down to 7…and we’re still more than a month away from any voter actually declaring their preference in a caucus or voting in a primary. This denial of voter input is nothing more than a group of power-hungry national folks trying to determine who they want as the nominee…the only thing missing is the smoke-filled room, and it wouldn’t surprise me if one of those appears, as well.
No candidate forums in either Iowa or New Hampshire. Threats against candidates who don’t strictly follow the RNC mandates. Rules designed to limit voices.
This is today’s Republican National Committee…fresh from a series of electoral defeats, still trying the “we know more than you do” approach.
The Democrats are no better in terms of stifling debate…but that’s precious little consolation. Wrong is still wrong.
