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Opinion

Messy GOP debate favors entertainment over policy

Aug 25, 2023

Dr. Rashad Richey National TV Political Analyst, Talk Radio Host, Univ. Prof.

By Straight Arrow News

The first Republican presidential debate offered American voters a chance to start assessing potential GOP candidates who may emerge as the party’s frontrunner in the coming year. Throughout the debate, the candidates engaged in vigorous exchanges, addressing a range of topics including age, policy positions, and inevitably, the role of former President Donald Trump.

Straight Arrow News contributor Dr. Rashad Richey breaks down the Republican party’s recent “clown show” and provides perspective on how personality and entertainment has taken precedence over meaningful policy discourse.

You know, I really need Republicans to get their lives together. And I mean this in all due respect. The first GOP primary debate just happened. It was literally the biggest clown show, not including Donald Trump, to date.

What happened during that debate? Number one, Fox News decided to open the debate up with a song and ask the first probative question: “How does this song make you feel, Ron DeSantis?” It set the tone for the debate to be more like entertainment, rather than substantive.

According to Statista, the things important to you are: one — inflation — two — jobs, economy, immigration, things they really did not discuss. According to polling data, Donald Trump is not the number one fixation of Republicans. As a matter of fact, you all still — talking to Conservatives — give a damn about issues.

Now those issues may be contrary to my belief as to how they should be solved. But at least we’re talking about issues. At least, we’re talking about immigration, even if we disagree. At least we’re talking about economy and jobs, even if we disagree on how to get us to a better realization and implementation of solution.

You know, I really need Republicans to get their lives together. And I mean this in all due respect. The first GOP primary debate just happened. It was literally the biggest clown show, not including Donald Trump to date. What happened during that debate? Number one, Fox News decided to open the debate up with a song

and ask the first provocative question.

How does this song make you feel Ron DeSantis

is set the tone for the debate to be more like entertainment, rather than substantive. According to statistics, the things important to you

are one inflation, two jobs, economy, immigration, things they really did not discuss. According to polling data, Donald Trump is not the number one fixation of Republicans as a matter of fact,

you all steal, I’m talking to conservatives give a damn about issues. Now those issues may be contrary to my belief as to how they should be solved. But at least we’re talking about issues. At least, we’re talking about immigration, even if we disagree, at least we’re talking about economy and jobs, even if we disagree on how to get us to a better realization and implementation of solution.

But do you not find it ironic that the very Republicans who are supposed to be at the top of the leadership list for President of the United States, they’re not talking about what you’re talking about? They’re not talking about your inflation, unless they utilize it as a political point to go after Biden and the administration. They’ve come up with a new terminology. Biden nomics. Beautiful, you all can make up words. Here’s the thing. Inflation impacts real people. It has a ripple effect. The individuals on this stage, however, including Trump, who is not on this stage, they have so much money that inflation doesn’t really impact them the way it impacts the majority of Americans. So they can wax poetic about landing political points against Biden, arguing among themselves about who will support a particular candidate if they perhaps win the nomination. These things are important to a degree, but political debates should always be about policy dynamics, not personality. To start the debate, with entertainment, made the debate entertainment only

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