The 12th Republican presidential primary debate is in the books. Here are a few brief thoughts:
Common Core
I’m no fan of Common Core, but the candidates should get their facts straight when they discuss it. Ted Cruz said Thursday, “If I am elected president, in the first days as president, I will direct the Department of Education that Common Core ends that day.” As far as the federal government is concerned, that’s already done.
As unpopular as No Child Left Behind was, few people probably noticed that Congress replaced it in December 2015. Recognizing the public furor over Common Core, congressional Republicans specifically negotiated to kill the federal role in Common Core. The law specifically says that the federal government cannot “attempt to influence, condition, incentivize or coerce state adoption of the Common Core state standards.” So can the next president really kill Common Core? No. It’s in the states’ hands now.
Social Security
With Chris Christie gone, there hasn’t been much smart discussion of Social Security in the Republican campaign. Until Rubio spoke Thursday about common sense reforms of the program, that is. First and foremost, don’t change the program for anyone currently receiving or close to receiving Social Security benefits. Second, gradually raise the retirement age. Third, slightly reduce benefits for rich retirees who don’t need it.
Next to Rubio stood Donald Trump, who ignored reality on Social Security. As CNN’s Dana Bash said, Social Security is going to run out of money within 20 years. But Trump said “It’s my absolute intention to leave Social Security the way it is.” Trump says he’ll get rid of “waste, fraud and abuse” in the system. As Bash pointed out, “that would only save about $3 billion, but it would take $150 billion to make Social Security solvent.” Please get with the program, Mr. Trump.
Debate Quality
What a great debate! Candidates discussed important problems like Social Security, free trade, Common Core and veterans. No one talked about the size of their manhood. Personal attacks were rare. Candidates were calm and respectful of their rivals. This is the picture that Republicans should want to paint of their party, not the disgrace we saw last week.
The moderators were tough, but fair on the candidates. They focused on issues important to Republican voters, starting with jobs and the economy. Occasionally, they followed up when a candidate’s answer was unsatisfying. That probably could have been done more often. The moderators also could have done a better job of distributing speaking time more equally. Oh, and it could have started at 8:30 p.m. like CNN said it would.
Jason Russell is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
