I didn’t watch the first Republican debates, but I did catch the ones last night. I would say that I was disappointed, but I expected so little that it was no surprise that they lived up to my very low expectations. Asking candidates individual questions is not a debate, it’s a question and answer session.
It was apparent to me fairly quickly that the Republican party no longer wishes to hide the fact that it is moving to the left. All three of the media favorites: Romney, Giuliani, and McCain were asked questions to the effect of “you supported X, is that really conservative?” To which all three either made no bones about their support of ‘X’, or dodged the question altogether.
“Fair and Balanced” Fox also had no apparent desire to talk about Conservative issues at all. The most conservative, Ron Paul, was only asked questions about the war in Iraq, in a clear attempt to paint him in as negative a light as possible. I was very impressed with Paul’s answers to the questions, despite the fact that he was clearly flustered and did not have Romney’s articulate demeanor. Paul’s argument was that if we were going to go to war, we needed to do the Constitutional thing and declare it. He even sponsored an amendment to the bill authorizing of military action in Iraq that would have formally declared war, but it was voted down. His other point was that if we are running around the world sticking our noses in everyones business, it should be no surprise when people wish to wage war with us. I solute Paul for not capitulating to Guiliani’s emotional response and call for retraction.
As each candidate moved to the Political Left from Paul, they tended to get more and more time during the “debate”. They also got more chances to talk about diverse issues. If that is what they think Conservatives want, then they are in for a big shock in November ’08 when the Republicans get spanked by Hillary because people like me either stay home or vote third party. I have yet to ever vote for a Republican for President, and Giuliani/McCain/Romney sure aren’t compelling reasons to start.
Until the “Conservative” media and the Republican party gets things figured out, all people like me can do is hope for a divided government, with a Legislature controlled by one party that refuses to give the Presidency controlled by the other party anything that they want and vice-versa.
I’m tempted to run for Senator of Minnesota in 2008 under my new “Vote No” party.