Here are a few brief thoughts on Tuesday’s Republican presidential primary debate.
Shutting Down the Internet
Good luck winning millennials if you say we need to shut down parts of the Internet. Donald Trump says he’s open to doing as much, if it would help in the fight against the Islamic State. How would he do that? If someone in Syria tries to recruit people to join the Islamic State over Facebook, would he shut down all of Facebook? That’s unlikely, but Trump needs to say something like, “This would be targeted. It would be so narrow you wouldn’t notice unless you’re a terrorist.”
Make it clear that it wouldn’t affect most Americans, or else millennials will jump to their worst conclusions about shutting down Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat . John Kasich was wise to oppose shutting down the internet and quickly move to other solutions.
Hillary Clinton
Hillary Clinton got off easy at the debate. For a debate that focused on defense, the former secretary of state and likely Democratic nominee escaped much blame for the present chaos across the globe. Candidates could have showed they are ready for the general election by consistently attacking Clinton’s failed foreign policy, not just in general terms but also by detailing her poor performance as secretary of state.
Chris Christie attacked Clinton and Obama in his opening statement. Jeb Bush did the same mid-debate, saying, “Hillary Clinton wants to double down on a failed foreign policy.” Candidates should have opened the floodgates on Clinton and Obama, attempting to outdo each other, but it never really happened. Ultimately, for being the most likely general election opponent, Clinton was not attacked directly enough or on enough issues.
Undercard Debate
How much longer will the undercard debate survive? It would be tough to blame Fox Business for nixing it from their Jan. 14 debate. Frankly, CNN’s Tuesday undercard debate was boring. Perhaps it was the lackluster candidates or the narrow issue focus. Surely, however, the undercard debate gets better ratings than any other programming. If the undercard debate does live on, it should absorb more candidates from the main stage.
A bigger undercard would be more entertaining, and eight or more candidates on the main stage can get overwhelming. Ratings for the undercard debate have been on a consistently downward trend, but they jumped up when Fox Business moved Chris Christie and Mike Huckabee to the undercard. It would be compelling to watch an undercard with any one or two of Christie, Carly Fiorina, Kasich or Rand Paul demoted.
Jason Russell is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
