The Republican candidates for president were at the Ronald Reagan Library in California last week for a debate. One candidate promoted himself well, like Reagan and remembered the former president's trademark: "Thou shalt not speak ill of any Republican." And for those two reasons, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis comes out in a tie for first place in the second GOP debate. He was the first to refuse to take the bait and answer the "voting someone off the island" question. Smart.
After all, in the private sector, whenever you go into a job interview, you rarely criticize the other candidates vying for the same job. You merely sell yourself to the potential employer. In this case the employer is the American people. Doing so also makes you more likable. And people seem to hire or vote for people they like. Plus, DeSantis finally got his pre-politics biography out there which is extremely impressive. He is the only candidate in more than 30 years with military experience. It was helpful and relevant experience for future commander-in-chiefs like Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Carter, H.W. Bush and Reagan. So why is he in a tie? That comes down to weakness and being too stubborn. DeSantis continues to want to rewrite history on the "benefits" of slavery for Black people.
South Carolina Senator Tim Scott politely tried to explain it to Ron, but to no avail. The answer is simple: "There were no redeeming aspects of slavery for Black slaves." Some sentimental descendants of slave owners may agree with DeSantis, however. But rest assured 99.9% of Black descendants of slaves were offended by these remarks. But does DeSantis care? The "Gipper" (Reagan) was also known for two other qualities. The first was one-liners. Everyone over the age of 50 should remember the following: During a 1980 debate against President Jimmy Carter (Happy 99th Birthday, Mr. Carter!) Reagan would say sarcastically, "There he goes again," when the former California governor deflected criticism or an attack. It worked every time.
The second classic Reagan debate moment occurred during his debate against former Vice President Walter Mondale. The moderator asked him about his advancing age. Reagan said with a smile, "I will not make age an issue in this campaign. I will not exploit my opponent's youth and inexperience for political purposes." Even Mondale had to crack a big smile. It was a classic moment in politics. The best in this category of quick and candid one-liners clearly goes to former South Carolina Governor and U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley. Fox News decided to pit Haley against Scott, unlike what they did for any of the other candidates. Scott took the bait. Haley came out on the better end of two heated exchanges over issues people outside of South Carolina could care less about. It is never good when you get hit to the degree that it brings laughter from the audience. Haley's "bring it Tim" retort had to hurt Scott. Haley's comment on her favorite target, Vivek Ramaswamy, was also a nice hit - "Every time I hear you I feel a little bit dumber." Thus, Haley finishes in a tie with DeSantis in the debate. But all the candidates seemed to ignore the only factor that truly matters. Who is the best candidate to defeat President Joe Biden or any other Democrat to whom Biden could hand the baton? Reagan realized that he was not going to win elections with Republicans only. Reagan put together a coalition known as the "Reagan Democrats."
The remnants of this coalition got me elected three times to Congress from Connecticut. You need to win the independents or do exceptionally well with them and even peel off some like-minded Democrats. Chris Christie shines here as he was able to win two elections as governor of deep-blue New Jersey. No other candidate on the debate stage has been able to do this. He also has notable achievements as governor that he has yet to honestly tell the audience about due to his preoccupation with attacking former President Donald Trump. To the chagrin of the liberal media, in a general election poll that would assess this strength, Haley came out on top, beating Biden by six points. The CNN poll had Trump tied with Biden. Ramaswamy, the only Republican to lose to Biden in that same poll, has not proven that he could get elected to any position by the general electorate. He took considerable heat from his adversaries for his admiration of TikTok, a social media company that several states and the federal government have banned because it is Chinese-owned and could gather the personal information of American citizens.
The Holiday Inn Express candidate does not know what he does not know. Reagan knew that just being the best Republican would not cut it. He signed the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day National Holiday bill into law. The Reagan Democrats and independents gave Reagan one of the most significant landslide victories in U.S. history in 1984. Lesson learned. Reagan was a consensus builder. He always said that having a person with you 80% of the time is better than the inverse. (House Republicans should learn that lesson.) Despite false narratives from many past presidential candidates, America is still searching for someone who could unite the country. We must ask each candidate, "Could it be you?"
Gary Franks served three terms as U.S. representative for Connecticut's 5th District. He was the first Black Republican elected to the House in nearly 60 years and New England's first Black member of the House. Host: podcast "We Speak Frankly." Author: "With God, For God, and For Country." @GaryFranks
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