GOP Debate: Round 12

Written by ls2group

12 Debates.

One might ask, “Has anything really changed since that first debate in August?”

Well, yes and no.

First, let’s look at what has changed.

Candidate focus. We started this election with 17 candidates declaring their run for the Republican ticket. Now we are down to four. Instead of being overwhelmed by the many faces of the race, we have a much smaller pool to work with. It is also rather nice to only watch one debate per evening – sorry J.V. stage debaters!

Dropouts have spoken. Chris Christie and Ben Carson’s endorsements of Donald Trump have definitely created a splash. Carly Fiorina also recently endorsed Ted Cruz. Unfortunately, Marco Rubio and John Kasich have not received any endorsements from past candidates. These endorsements may not have swayed voters, but they resulted in airtime, which is much more valuable.

Voting has begun, and 23 states have already cast their votes for the Republican ticket. Trump is leading the field with 459 delegates. Voters are no longer in the mindset that the election is far away or not important. On top of that, the convention is just four months away. Delegates at the local levels will begin fighting for their chance to attend and vouch for their candidates on the main stage. Iowans are especially concerned about this – county convention begins in less than 24 hours.

What hasn’t changed?

Pundits are arguing that last night’s debate was much more civil than previous debates and candidates really focused on their policy positions. Congratulations contenders, you kept this debate PG! Many debates in the past have been heated and candidates have made robust and cynical comments, but generally the discourse has been (somewhat) civil, with a dose of feistiness.

On the policy front, candidates did not showcase any changes to their platforms. No one should have been that surprised by Trump’s position on Muslims or Ted Cruz’s drive to abolish the IRS.  We have been hearing these same positions for several months now. In last night’s debate, candidates also continually used ambiguous language and grand terms to quickly address or move on with questions. They are playing the political field; this is the territory we face.

Funny thing is, we have one more debate scheduled – lucky number 13!  Will we see anything new from that debate? Probably not. More states will have voted, candidates will drop out, and stances on policy will not change.  Trump and Cruz will increase their delegate counts and we will encroach on the ever-looming convention drama.

The future question we may be asking ourselves, “Did this election ever really change?”