The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

NBC ‘News’ Hosts ‘Republican’ ‘Debate’

Posted on | November 9, 2023 | Comments Off on NBC ‘News’ Hosts ‘Republican’ ‘Debate’

Excuse me for overloading on the scare-quotes in the headline, but let’s not kid ourselves: None of the five “candidates” (there I go again) on the stage in Miami is likely to be the 2024 Republican nominee.

According to the Real Clear Politics average, Donald Trump has 58.3%, more than 40 points ahead of his nearest rival (Ron Destantis at 14.6%), followed by Nikki Haley (9.4%), Vivek Ramaswamy (4.4%) and Tim Scott (2.6%) and, while I suppose anything is possible, the likelihood of the GOP 2024 nominee being anyone else but Trump is rather remote. So having televised “debates” without the odds-on favorite for the nomination is, we may say, “a really stupid and futile gesture.”

Speaking for myself personally, I’d be happy if DeSantis got the nomination, and I’ve previously expressed my admiration for Vivek Ramaswamy, but GOP primary voters aren’t seeking out my advice on how they should vote, so I’ve made my peace with the idea that Donald Trump will be the 2024 nominee, even if he has to give his acceptance speech from a jail cell in New York. It is what it is, and there’s no point complaining about it, so why was this “debate” on NBC?

Isn’t it just to provide fodder for media coverage? Sound-bites and TV images they can use as the basis for “news” stories and commentary, all of which is generally hostile to the Republican Party?

Highlights from the third Republican Debate: Ramaswamy, Haley and DeSantis spar over Trump, abortion and the economy
— NBC News

Losers, scumbags and policy, too.
The third GOP debate got testy, quick.
— Politico

Nikki Haley to Vivek Ramaswamy
During GOP Debate: ‘You’re Just Scum’
— The Daily Beast

Fact Check: Nikki Haley Claims
Ukraine Is a ‘Democracy’
— Breitbart

Tim Scott finally reveals mystery girlfriend
at 3rd Republican debate
— NY Post

So there’s your “news” about the “debate,” so you can’t say I haven’t done my “job” in covering this made-for-TV event. But I think there’s no doubt that Ramaswamy had the best rant of the entire night:

All the Trump people hate Ramaswamy and all the DeSantis people hate Ramaswamy, too. I’d say the same for the others, but is there such a phenomenon as “Chris Christie people”? Who are they? Can you name even one? Is anyone stupid enough to think Republicans are going to nominate that bloated RINO? And what about Nikki Haley? What is her constituency, beyond the media and Pentagon contractors eager to get paid to supply weapons for endless neocon foreign-policy adventures?

Readers here are probably divided into two large groups: Those who think Trump should be the 2024 nominee, and those who favor Somebody Else. My point is that, (a) if you’re in the Somebody Else camp, it doesn’t matter which candidate you support, because (b) Trump’s going to win it no matter what. The sooner you accept that reality, the better your mental health will be. Worrying about it will only drive you crazy and, I don’t know about you, but I’m holding onto sanity by my fingernails, and can’t afford to risk the psychological trauma of thinking too much about it — or watching these phony “debates.”



 

Category: Debates, NBC, Republicans

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