Second GOP debate: The circular firing squad that refuses to shoot
Tiana Lowe Doescher
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Moderator Dana Perino ended the second Republican presidential debate with perhaps the most crucial interrogation of all. After challenging the rest of the field with how they would beat the absent but overwhelmingly dominant front-runner, the Fox Business anchor asked the contenders to write, Survivor style, which candidate they would vote off the stage and out of the contest.
After two hours of relentless interrupting, ad hominems, and (not-so-) friendly fire rather than a laser focus on the disastrous fiscal and foreign policy of Joe Biden, the circular firing squad all surrendered when actually beckoned to take a parting shot. Only Chris Christie conceded that he would rather have anyone else on the stage representing the party than former President Donald Trump, who didn’t even bother to show up to the fight night; that’s how secure Trump feels in his nomination.
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Only two candidates who appeared on Wednesday have strong showings in national polling, and those in the crucial early states, but only the ascendant Nikki Haley seemed ready to get down in the dirt. Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) managed to tone down the robotic smiles and delivered his most polished answers when reminding voters of his truly spectacular electoral record, but when faced with the accurate charge from Haley that he attempted to ban fracking in Florida, DeSantis couldn’t help but cackle.
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Vivek Ramaswamy, who has solidly swept into fourth behind DeSantis and Haley, had to take the opposite approach after seeing his internals from the last debate. Just weeks after claiming that he was the only candidate not “bought and paid for,” Ramaswamy softened his stance toward his competitors, focusing on his granular policy docket, including treating drug dealers as bioterrorists and Federal Reserve reform, rather than looking for a redux of his fights from the first debate.
Haley is already being blasted as shrill by the usual suspects and GOP surrogates on social media, and perhaps, after her rise in the polls, Haley did come off strong. But a debate is meant to draw blood, and contrary to too many on the rest of the stage who simply recited rehearsed talking points for Twitter, at least she fights.