Summary and analysis of Republican Presidential Debate
Abortion a difficult topic for Republicans to navigate while seeking nomination and general election victory
The pink elephant in the room was, in fact, not in the room of the Republican Presidential Debate on Wednesday.
Former President Donald Trump–facing nationwide indictments and still the frontrunner–did not participate in the debate. All the other major candidates took the stage to debate the country’s future and their vision of it. Trump remained largely mute on social media during the debate.
Ostensibly, Republicans would have the upper hand politically with inflation, a lost war, and a populace generally unhappy with the direction of things. The thing that seems to be the biggest obstacle for them has been the loss of reproductive rights in many states with the overturning of Roe v. Wade. The reproductive justice movement has essentially kept Democrats competitive.
Florida Gov. Ron Desantis, Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, Former Vice President Mike Pence, Former UN Ambassador and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Sen. Tim Scott, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum were all on stage.
Much of the initial discussion dealt with typical Republican policies–tax cuts, sending more decision-making to states, and excessive government spending. At the onset, the biggest applause from the crowd came for Gov. DeSantis, Ramaswamy, and Haley. Pence got booed for calling Ramaswamy a rookie.
Ramaswamy has a mixed biography for most moderate voters. His book on the exploitation of social justice for personal profit fairly assessed how some on the left don’t effect change but have made themselves wealthy by portraying themselves as decorated and accomplished in fighting for racial equality. However, he also effectively called for fetal personhood on the campaign trail. He also doesn’t believe climate change is real after the candidates demonstrated a disconnect with a youth voter who asked them on video what they would do to address it.
Haley made a historical point about Margaret Thatcher, quoting her by repeating, “If you want something said, ask a man. If you want something done, ask a woman.”
Haley seems to be one of the more compelling figures in the Republican race, as most would struggle to appeal to women voters during a nascent abortion rights movement with ballot initiatives accompanying the presidential race. She has foreign policy experience and also ran a state. The troubling part about her campaign is that she’s committed to signing a national abortion ban into law.
After the first break, they addressed abortion. The moderator brought up successful ballot initiatives to uphold abortion rights. Haley said she was antiabortion but didn’t want to demonize abortion. She sought to argue for a ban on abortions late in the pregnancy. She didn’t think women should be imprisoned for abortions. Haley seemed to take the most nuanced position on abortion. She was also the only woman on stage.
Gov. DeSantis defended his signing of a six-week ban on abortion. DeSantis said that Democrats wanted to protect abortion rights up to birth.
The moderators didn’t make the point that those laws are in place to protect women from having to go through the process of justifying a late-term abortion for reasons like fetal deformity or rape to someone else. They can get the treatment they need without explaining why they need one awkwardly. I’ve encountered one of those cases in my research, with one occurring in Pittsburgh in the 1970s. Leonard Laufe, an obstetrician there, performed a late-term abortion on a woman who had been raped. He went through a coroner’s inquest that cleared him.
Pence evoked the Bible. He didn’t seek consensus, as many Republicans have shaped the rhetoric. He supported a 15-week federal ban on abortion.
Gov. Doug Burgum said they shouldn’t have a national abortion ban. He argued that abortion should be left to the states to decide on. That got the biggest applause from the audience. Burgum signed a six-week ban on abortion. He said that wouldn’t work in New York.
Hutchinson signed 30 antiabortion laws as governor. He said adoption services needed to be improved.
Sen. Scott said they couldn’t allow New York and California to decide to allow abortions late in pregnancy. He wanted a 15-week federal ban on abortions.
That’s the summary of the segment dealing with abortion.
If I’m providing honest counsel, President Joe Biden would struggle against many of these candidates given the difference in age and speech clarity. It seems the only surefire way he would win is if Trump won the nomination. I’ve indirectly suggested that it may make sense to have an open primary so Democrats have a younger candidate who would be more evenly matched in a general election debate. That’s a verboten point in national media and in liberal circles. But it’s one worth considering while the primary is still possible.