Last Wednesday was the second game of the World Series between the New York Mets and the Kansas City Royals. For those of you who aren't political nerds and actually value your time, it was also the third night of Republican presidential debates. In the undercard, Lindsey Graham was the victor and stole whatever spotlight was available. On the main stage, Rubio, Cruz and Christie came out on top; Bush and Carson performed miserably. Everyone else was either somewhere in between or inconsequential. However, one of the fascinating dynamics at play during the debates was the assertion of the moderates. Even before the playoff rotation hit the stage, the centrists of the first debate leveled heavy criticisms against the frontrunners and the party as a whole. In the largely ignored “JV” debate, George Pataki and Lindsey Graham (foreign policy hawk, but domestic policy moderate) had powerful moments when they condemned the GOP for denying science:
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In the buildup to the debate, the dismally polling moderate,
John Kasich, had dished out a helping of vitriol for his Republican opponents.
According to CNN, on Tuesday at a campaign rally in Westerville, Ohio, the irritated Kasich asked the crowd, “Do you know how
crazy this election is?” he listed and brutally criticized some of his
opponents’ polices and declared, “I’ve about had it with these people,” and
that he is “sick and tired of listening to this nonsense.” The very next day, at the commencement
of Wednesday’s 8pm main event, the Ohio governor wasted no time, blatantly
ignoring the opening question and utilizing the extent of his 30 seconds to continue
his assault on the credibility of the Republican frontrunners:
This next fiery highlight involved the moderate (insofar as policy) governor of New Jersey. Granted, seeing an outspoken Chris Christie is like seeing a soft-spoken Ben Carson—unlikely that you’ll expel your morning coffee at the revelation. As the night wore on, the CNBC moderators began to lose control of the candidates and had ventured from tough to insulting to “gotcha” questions. Perhaps the crescendo in the tension between debater and moderator manifested itself in a question concerning fantasy football. This is a moment where Christie distinguished himself by corroborating his own straight talk narrative while simultaneously lambasting the moderators:
Now, I would consider neither Marco Rubio nor Jeb Bush as true
moderates, but they’re more reasonable than many of their partisan compatriots (Trump, Carson, Cruz, Santorum, Jindal, and Huckabee, for example). This may
have been the evisceration of the night. Bush had eyes on Rubio's senate voting record, readied his aim, clenched his fist, cocked it, then proceeded to punch himself square in the lips. Could not leave out this indelible stamp of friendship:
Ultimately, it’s unclear how much this debate is going to
alter the race (if at all). Rubio, Cruz and Christie had solid nights—Rubio’s
being particularly excellent. Bush and Carson had abysmal performances, with
Jeb’s being particularly disheartening, especially for his donors. Maybe that’s
what this night will be remembered as—a Jeb Bush failure. But as a viewer of
both debates, it’s clear that the moderates in this race came to fight: against the Democrats, debate moderators, and even their own party. Whether
or not the punches land is another matter, but at least they’re swinging.
