Last Night's Nasty Republican Debate
Southern charm did not rub off on these candidates
W.J. Astore
One word describes last night's Republican debate from South Carolina: nasty. That's the word Donald Trump used to describe Ted Cruz (transcript here), and that's the word that best describes the tone of most of the debate. Ben Carson and John Kasich, as usual, tried to take the high road, but Marco Rubio and Jeb Bush joined Trump and Cruz in the mud-slinging, tossing accusations about who's lying and who isn't, who's insulting whose family, ad nauseam. (According to the LA Times, the candidates together made 22 accusations of lying; all that was missing was the old expression we used as kids, "Liar! Liar! Pants on fire!")
As far as content, there wasn't much new. The death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia touched off a dishonest discussion as to what President Obama should do about his empty seat. Pretty much all the candidates suggested the "lame duck" president should not nominate a replacement for Scalia (thereby abdicating his Constitutional duties). According to them, Obama is such a polarizing figure, and so untrustworthy, that he should leave to the next president the duty of nominating a new justice. It was all nonsense, but it illustrated the patent dishonesty of politics as practiced in America today.
As I listened to the debate, the content and tone reminded me of the mean and miserly Ebenezer Scrooge before his conversion. Again, there was much talk of deporting illegal immigrants, of blowing away our enemies (especially the Islamic State), of protecting gun rights, of ending Obamacare, of lowering taxes on the rich, all to be done in the name of our Lord.
Some media headlines from the debate coverage: "Jeb Bush attacks Donald Trump" (New York Times); "Sparks Fly at Rowdy Republican Debate" (NBC News); "The Gloves Come Off" (CBS News). Yes, much heat was generated, but precious little light. A dispiriting exercise, the debate illustrated the bad faith of the leading Republican candidates, as well as the rot within and across our entire political system.
If you missed the debate, consider yourself fortunate.