{"id":2011021,"date":"2023-08-24T16:04:02","date_gmt":"2023-08-24T20:04:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/2024-gop-debate-a-bit-of-a-wash-for-everybody\/"},"modified":"2023-08-24T16:10:49","modified_gmt":"2023-08-24T20:10:49","slug":"2024-gop-debate-a-bit-of-a-wash-for-everybody","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/2024-gop-debate-a-bit-of-a-wash-for-everybody\/","title":{"rendered":"2024 GOP Debate: A Mixed Bag for All?"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2F2024-gop-debate-a-bit-of-a-wash-for-everybody%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2011021&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>Review \u200bof the \u200c2024 GOP Presidential \u2062Primary \u2062Debate<\/h2>\n<p>Wednesday\u200d night\u2019s first 2024 GOP presidential primary debate might wind up being\u2064 a bit \u200bof \u200da wash for all the \u200ccandidates involved \u2014 principally because nobody \u2064<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/inflation-rises-again-hits-5-4\/\" title=\"Inflation Rises Again, Hits 5.4%\">significantly exceeded<\/a> or underperformed expectations.<\/p>\n<p>Yet, simply because there was no clear winner or loser of the\u2064 debate itself, does not mean that\u2064 there\u200c weren\u2019t both highlights and \u200blowlights worth reviewing for \u2063each candidate. We\u2019ll review some of those moments\u2064 and \u200cmore for each candidate \u200cinvolved (and not involved) in no particular order.<\/p>\n<h3>Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy<\/h3>\n<p><b>Pros:<\/b> Ramaswamy, the 38-year-old untested politician, arguably made the biggest splash in terms \u200bof proving that he can handle being on \u2062the stage with \u2063the seven other politicians vying \u2063for the nomination. As a political outsider, Ramaswamy has chosen to shy away\u2064 from criticizing former \u2062President Donald Trump and his \u2064MAGA base \u2014\u200d a trend\u200b that continued in Milwaukee.<\/p>\n<p>To\u2063 his credit, Ramaswamy\u2063 was quick to answer many questions straightforwardly.\u200d He did nothing\u200b to \u200bturn off his more populist voters or those sympathetic\u200c to his platform. A particular highlight\u2062 was his response to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/ramaswamy-shut-down-dept-of-education-move-funding-to-parents-to-allow-school-choice\">how to fix the education crisis<\/a> in America, but he also spoke\u2064 of\u200b intangibles not\u200d necessarily reflected in policies.<\/p>\n<p>Conservative writer \u2064Amber Athey\u200d praised Vivek to\u200d that extent, \u200csaying,\u200b \u201cVivek is the only candidate on the \u200cstage who\u2062 has identified the real underlying issues \u2064affecting\u200d Americans. \u2063Our lack \u2063of\u2064 shared identity &#038; values. The\u200c others laughed at his assertion that we \u200care \u2062in\u2062 decline, they don\u2019t see \u200dour national malaise. They don\u2019t get it.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Vivek\u2062 is the only \u200bcandidate on the stage who has\u2062 identified the real underlying issues affecting Americans. Our lack \u200cof shared identity &#038; values. The others\u2063 laughed at his\u200b assertion that we are in decline, they don&#8217;t see \u200bour national malaise. They don&#8217;t get it.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 \u200cAmber Athey (@amber_athey) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/amber_athey\/status\/1694538633829552354?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 24, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><b>Cons:<\/b> Vivek \u2064has \u200cearned a nickname from political\u200c opponents as \u201cVivek the Fake\u201d and his flip-flops on \u200dkey issues hamper his\u2063 success. He didn\u2019t\u2062 do himself any favors toward shedding that label after he appeared to steal former President Barack Obama\u2019s line about being\u2064 \u201ca\u2062 skinny guy with a \u2062funny last name.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Watch for yourself:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Vivek Ramaswamy dropped a not-so-subtle\u2063 reference\u200b to Obama&#8217;s 2004 DNC speech last night\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/TGmAazHzuC\">pic.twitter.com\/TGmAazHzuC<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Townhall.com (@townhallcom) \u2062 <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/townhallcom\/status\/1694742534587658275?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 24, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h3>Florida Governor Ron DeSantis<\/h3>\n<p><b>Pros:<\/b> The Florida\u200d governor had a quality \u2063night \u2014 not\u200c necessarily for what he \u200dsaid, but for\u200c what he did not say. DeSantis avoided \u200cverbal landmines that could turn off \u200cMAGA voters and largely stayed out \u2063of the fray in terms of personal attacks. He stayed on message: America is\u200d in decline. We need to fix it. I know how to fix it. Look at Florida for results.<\/p>\n<p>Those who are squarely \u2062aligned with DeSantis are likely \u2064to \u2063stay with him \u2062after last night\u2019s appearance. Maybe \u2064as a result of his personal and political discipline, and perhaps \u2063because \u2064of his popularity amongst the GOP base, the other candidates avoided lobbing assaults at him\u2063 as well.<\/p>\n<p><b>Cons:<\/b> \u200bWhile DeSantis\u200b didn\u2019t get attacked\u200c all that much, he also didn\u2019t \u2062make the \u2062impact he needed to be seen as the pre-eminent opponent to\u200c Trump. Trump is 40 points ahead of DeSantis. He is going to need to peel away\u2064 that support in order\u200d to defeat \u200bhim.<\/p>\n<p>To that end, it doesn\u2019t seem\u200b like he\u2064 did anything to win over the Trump\u200b primary voters\u2064 he needs \u2014 especially compared to Ramaswamy. As we\u2019ll discuss \u2062with\u200b former\u2062 United Nations Ambassador \u200cNikki Haley, he may even lose some of the more hawkish GOP\u200d voters who want more aid sent to Ukraine.<\/p>\n<p>There are \u2063many voters waiting for DeSantis to \u200chave a big, breakout moment\u2062 that shows he can be entertaining, \u200bconnect with voters, and be able\u200d to stand on his own two feet against Trump. That didn\u2019t happen here.<\/p>\n<h3>Former United\u2062 Nations\u2063 Ambassador \u200dNikki Haley<\/h3>\n<p><b>Pros:<\/b> Haley\u2019s most\u2064 passionate and arguably best moment of the night came in her defense of the\u200b moral and political need\u2063 to help Ukraine defend itself. \u200dWatch \u200dhere:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Nikki Haley slams Ramaswamy at \u2064the GOP debate\u200b on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/republicans-had-better-reject-democrats-ndaa-culture-war-if-they-want-any-praise\/\" title=\"Republicans must reject the Democrats' NDAA culture war to earn praise.\">foreign\u2064 policy<\/a>:<br \/>\u201cUkraine is the first line of defence for us. Vivek wants to hand Ukraine to \u200cRussia. He wants to let\u200c China eat\u200b Taiwan.\u2064 He wants \u2062to stop funding Israel.\u200d You don\u2019t do that to friends.\u201d \ud83d\udc4f\ud83d\udc4f<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/LMVDTOuGws\">pic.twitter.com\/LMVDTOuGws<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Bella\u2062 Wallersteiner \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@BellaWallerstei) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BellaWallerstei\/status\/1694590499833712791?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 24, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>If\u2064 you are somebody who \u2063believes that the U.S. \u2063should be doing more to help\u2062 President Volodymyr Zelensky in his\u2064 fight against Putin, it\u2019s tough not to see\u200b Haley as your preferred candidate. That could be \u2064bad news for DeSantis, who might have \u200cvoters turn \u2064their backs on him in favor of Haley.<\/p>\n<p><b>Cons:<\/b> Ukraine isn\u2019t that much of a priority for voters and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pewresearch.org\/short-reads\/2023\/06\/15\/more-than-four-in-ten-republicans-now-say-the-us-is-providing-too-much-aid-to-ukraine\/\">data indicates that an increasing number of Republican<\/a> voters want less money and\u200d weapons sent to the Eastern European country \u2014 not more.<\/p>\n<h3>North Dakota\u200c Governor Doug Burgum<\/h3>\n<p><b>Pros:<\/b> Burgum \u2062was one of the only \u200bcandidates on stage who didn\u2019t sound exasperated when speaking. His calm statesman-like approach was appreciated to \u200bsome degree\u200d in\u200c contrast to the hyperbolic yelling that has\u2063 become the norm at these events. He \u200dseems like a very likable guy.<\/p>\n<p><b>Cons:<\/b> He just doesn\u2019t have the name recognition, policies, or the \u201cit\u201d factor that could \u200bhelp him win the \u200bnomination.\u200d He\u200b reminds this author of Eugene Levy in \u201cBest in Show.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>Former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson<\/h3>\n<p><b>Pros:<\/b> \u200bThe\u200c performance was \u200bclassic Hutchinson \u2014 if that is\u2063 even a thing. At one\u200b or two percent\u200c in the polls, it is pretty impressive that he\u2062 made it to \u200dthe debate stage at all. If you\u2019re somebody who hasn\u2019t completely \u200bgiven\u200b up on \u200cReaganite principles \u2063and Bush-era Republicanism \u2014 Hutchinson might\u2063 be your guy.<\/p>\n<p><b>Cons:<\/b> Hutchinson is somebody who hasn\u2019t\u200c completely given \u2064up on Reaganite principles and Bush-era \u2063Republicanism. It is apparent he doesn\u2019t \u2062know what\u2064 decade it is.<\/p>\n<h3>South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott<\/h3>\n<p><b>Pros:<\/b> Scott also didn\u2019t do anything to turn \u2063away\u200c voters. As a strong supporter \u2063of reforming education for all Americans, Scott\u200b made\u2064 a great point\u2063 that tends\u2062 to get overlooked in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/republicans-vowed-to-elect-more-women-they-did-just-that\/\" title=\"Republicans Vowed To Elect More Women...They Did Just That\">conservative politics<\/a> these days.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe only \u2062way we change education in this nation is to break the\u200c backs of the teachers unions,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">TIM SCOTT says &#8220;the \u200donly\u2064 way we change \u200beducation in this nation \u2062is to BREAK THE BACKS\u2064 OF THE TEACHERS UNIONS&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/9Jzw8axHjD\">pic.twitter.com\/9Jzw8axHjD<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Corey A. DeAngelis, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/these-five-democrats-hate-school-choice-unless-its-for-themselves\/\" title=\"These Five Democrats Hate School Choice \u2013 Unless It\u2019s for Themselves\">school choice evangelist<\/a> (@DeAngelisCorey) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DeAngelisCorey\/status\/1694544388905464129?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 24, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Scott is right. Even if we got all the\u200c woke stuff out\u2063 of the classroom and barred remote learning from ever happening \u2064again, teachers unions would still wield tremendous force. Their goal is to protect all teachers\u2064 \u2014 good \u2063and bad \u2014 from being fired while increasing\u200c benefits regardless of merit. In\u2064 turn, public education suffers \u2014 and your child is left in the dust.<\/p>\n<p><b>Cons:<\/b> Haley outshone him as \u2064the traditional GOP choice and his answers were a\u200c bit boring.\u2064 Scott is good\u200b at moving around the crowd,\u200d which isn\u2019t possible during \u200cthis style of debate. Perhaps\u2063 it just wasn\u2019t his format.<\/p>\n<h3>Former Governor Chris Christie<\/h3>\n<p><b>Pros:<\/b> Christie had one moment that\u200d was vintage Christie \u2014 nailing\u2064 down Vivek as \u201cVivekGPT\u201d and\u200b comparing him to Obama. Watch here:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Someone had to unplug the computer. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/3dac0fpZ1x\">pic.twitter.com\/3dac0fpZ1x<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Chris Christie \u200d(@GovChristie) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/GovChristie\/status\/1694523799780180315?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 24, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><b>Cons:<\/b> It\u2019s unclear why \u2063Christie is \u200drunning\u200c other than to torpedo Trump. \u2064He took aim\u200b at the absent frontrunner several times Thursday night but\u2063 failed to land any direct hits.<\/p>\n<h3>Former Vice\u200d President Mike Pence<\/h3>\n<p><b>Pros:<\/b> \u200bPence\u2019s best moment came in his defense of the \u200dunborn. He spoke with clarity and conviction while making the\u200d case that a leader must\u200c not govern based on consensus.<\/p>\n<p>Watch for yourself:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Can&#8217;t we have\u200c a minimum standard that says when a baby is capable of feeling pain, an \u200babortion cannot\u2063 be allowed?\u2063 @Mike_Pence stands\u200d for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/2024-gop-debate-a-bit-of-a-wash-for-everybody\/\" title=\"2024 GOP Debate: A Mixed Bag for All?\">national\u200c 15 week pro-life protections<\/a> at \u2063tonight&#8217;s #GOPDebate: \u2064 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/ZPQGIVshPw\">pic.twitter.com\/ZPQGIVshPw<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 SBA Pro-Life America (@sbaprolife) \u200b <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/sbaprolife\/status\/1694543863157764298?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 24, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><b>Cons:<\/b> When he wasn\u2019t doing that, he came \u2063across as out-of-touch and\u2063 not in-sync \u2064with the base of the party. His solutions were\u2062 reminiscent \u2014 again \u2014 of policies\u2062 from the 1980s\u200b and early 2000s.\u2064 The success of politicians like Trump and DeSantis prove that what worked then won\u2019t work now.<\/p>\n<h3>Former President Donald \u2063J. Trump<\/h3>\n<p><b>Pros:<\/b> By staying out of the\u2064 spotlight for once, Trump actually might have helped his campaign. He certainly didn\u2019t lose any voters \u2014 the only\u200d other \u201cMAGA\u201d-style candidate \u200dwas Vivek. But his performance certainly\u2062 wasn\u2019t commanding enough to replace \u2062Trump as\u2062 the top dog.<\/p>\n<p>The other aspect at play is that many Americans have \u200cwondered what a Republican Party without Trump would actually look like. \u2062For example, \u2062after January 6, many politicians and pundits argued that the GOP should move away from Trump altogether. DeSantis, when \u200dfirst being\u200d floated as a GOP \u2063contender, was billed as the embodiment of \u201cTrumpism without Trump.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Yet what Americans saw\u200b last\u2062 night is that a GOP with Trump actually looks a lot like the GOP \u200dbefore his \u2062ascent. Both in recognition of\u200b the problems facing \u2062America as well as the \u200dpolicy solutions presented,\u2062 the majority of candidates offered a pre-2015 Republican \u2063Party vision. \u200dThe party\u2019s base\u200b revolted against that and there remains little to no appetite amongst most Republican voters for a return to a GOP <em>sans<\/em> \u200c populism.<\/p>\n<p>To\u200c that extent, just two out of eight candidates came remotely close to offering a \u201cTrumpism without Trump\u201d agenda: DeSantis and Vivek.<\/p>\n<p><b>Cons:<\/b> One sharp \u200dpolitical commentator told me in private what were the two biggest risks for Trump not\u2063 appearing. His no-show performance could hurt him in Iowa.\u2062 Recent \u200dpolls showed 59% of Iowans view skipping debates as a weakness,\u2063 he explained. The second is that\u200b his lack of presence \u200ccould keep challengers in the game for longer. There was no opportunity for Trump\u2062 to deal a presidential \u2062death\u2062 blow, as we witnessed multiple\u200b times in 2016.<\/p>\n<p>As predicted by columnist \u200cand friend of The Daily Wire David Marcus, \u201cIt \u200cwill take a\u2062 week to see how or if the debate\u2063 moved the polling needle.\u200d I\u2019m most curious to see if Trump\u2019s number moves\u2062 significantly one way or the other.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Conclusion<\/h2>\n<p>This debate might not move the\u200b needle in any \u2063direction, but it\u2019s\u200c also unlikely any candidate will be dropping out after that performance.<\/p>\n<div class=\"css-j7qwjs\">\n<div id=\"post-body-text\">\n<div class=\"e1nzmkc90 css-15jw47d\">\n<p><em>The views expressed\u200b in this\u2062 piece are \u2063the \u2062author\u2019s\u200d own and do \u200dnot necessarily\u200c represent those of The Daily Wire.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Wednesday night&#8217;s 2024 GOP primary debate was uneventful as no candidate surpassed or fell short of expectations. However, the absence of a clear winner or loser does not negate the presence of notable moments, both positive and negative.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":326,"featured_media":2011022,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[541],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2011021","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-daily-wire"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2011021","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/326"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2011021"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2011021\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2011022"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2011021"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2011021"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2011021"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}