The fireworks were on display in full force at the first Republican debate of the 2016 primary season in Charleston, South Carolina, on January 14. I was privileged to be in the debate hall and later in the “spin room.” After going through airport-style security directed by the secret service, I, along with crowds of other people with tickets in hand, entered the North Charleston Coliseum Performing Arts Center and excitedly awaited the start of the debate. At around 8:50 p.m., RNC Chairman Reince Preibus took to the stage and poured enthusiasm into the packed house. Before announcing the moderators, he passionately proclaimed, “We are the party that is diverse. The other side is boring, old, and stale.” He then assured the audience that the RNC is committed to whoever is the Republican nominee, putting to rest any speculation that the RNC would not back Donald Trump should he become the nominee of the party.
Following his uplifting remarks the moderators, Neil Cavuto and Maria Bartiromo, addressed the audience and laid the ground rules for the debate, requesting that the crowd refrain from clapping excessively to avoid taking time away from the candidates. Of course, no one listened.
After the singing of the national anthem, the debate was underway. Donald Trump arguably had his best debate performance of the election season and inaugurated his feud with Ted Cruz. In responding to Cruz’s attack on Trump’s “New York values” as being out of touch from those of the rest of America, Trump brilliantly invoked 9/11, reminding Cruz that it was the values of New York that were behind the spirit of the policemen, firemen, and emergency medical workers of that tragic day – as well as the construction workers who rebuilt the city afterwards. He chastised Cruz for insulting New Yorkers, to which Cruz had no response, although it was clear that Cruz had been questioning whether Trump is a true conservative. However, Cruz won the exchange with Trump, hands-down, over Trump’s futile questioning of Cruz’s eligibility to be president of the United States because he was born in Canada. Cruz, a prolific debater and experienced litigator, deftly responded that, under Donald Trump’s theory, Marco Rubio, Bobby Jindal, and Donald Trump himself (he has a Scottish mother) would also be disqualified from the presidency. Cruz then stated, “I will not take legal advice from Donald Trump.”
If anyone thinks, however, that the Republican nomination is now a battle between Cruz and Trump, think again. Rubio, an energetic presence on the stage and a skilled debater in his own right, is not to be underestimated. Moreover, Senator Rubio is starting to receive endorsements from elected officials with clout. He recently received the endorsement of the influential South Carolinian congressman and chairman of the Benghazi Committee, Trey Gowdy. During the debate, Rubio certainly had his share of one-liners that resonated with the audience and the folks watching at home. He stated that Hillary Clinton is disqualified from being president of the United States for having lied to the families of the four victims in Benghazi. He also zinged Cruz for calling Edward Snowden a “great public servant” and for joining Bernie Sanders and Rand Paul to vote against defense bills.
Ironically, when the cameras were not running, the candidates conversed with each other like old friends, returning to politics-as-usual when it was time to come back from the commercial break.
But the real maneuvering actually begins after the debate has concluded – in the spin room, where the campaigns field questions from reporters, giving them an opportunity to spin why they believe their candidate won the debate. It’s also an opportunity to learn how the media view who came out on top. Like it or not, the media have an incredible amount of influence in the selection of the nominee.
I left the debate a little early and rushed to the spin room, which was not connected to the debate hall. By the time I arrived, the room was already saturated with cameras and media personalities.
Dr. Ben Carson, once a front runner and now struggling in the polls, made an appearance in the spin room in an attempt to invigorate his lagging candidacy. Of significance, Dr. Carson stated that the American Muslim advocacy organization, CAIR, is not welcome in the United States, because it “has clear-cut ties with the Muslim
Brotherhood and some other terrorist organizations.”
When Donald Trump entered, the media swarmed around him, determined to get an up-close shot of the celebrity candidate. As Trump passed me, I quickly snapped a photograph of him. I guess I, too, got caught up in the Trump hoopla. Before I could ask him a question, he was whisked away by his secret service detail.
Despite the presence of Carson and Trump, the dominant topic of conversation among the media in the spin room was whether Cruz’s attack on Trump’s “New York values” will resonate in states such as New Hampshire. In other words, while Cruz’s unflinching conservatism may work for him in Iowa, would it be a liability or an asset for him in the long run, as he tries to gain the support of more moderate voters in other parts of the country? Cruz’s communications director, Rick Tyler, did not seem to think that Cruz’s attack on Trump’s “New York values” should be interpreted as anything other than an indictment of New York society’s liberal social policies. The campaign is apparently not concerned that Cruz’s expression of his conservative principles could be perceived by some in the party as being divisive or elitist. They are banking on conservative primary voters siding with Cruz, regardless of his combative style, because of his record of being a consistently staunch conservative.
But, regardless of who seems to be winning at present, politics is anything but predictable. The Rubio camp entered the spin room eager to portray the Senator as the more likable candidate of the pack. In the end, the race might come down to Marco’s likeability vs. Ted’s unwavering conservatism. Congressman Gowdy, who represented Rubio in the spin room, told reporters, “I do not know anyone who has met Rubio who does not like him. Senator Rubio, to me, does a really good job of confronting the issues that have people upset, but he does it in an apirational [sic], hopeful, persuasive way.” Congressman Gowdy is clearly looking ahead to the general election, as he believes Rubio’s style will be attractive to voters in key battleground states where Republicans need to win. If likeability is on Republican voters’ minds this primary season, then Marco Rubio may outshine both Ted Cruz and Donald Trump to secure the nomination.
Time will tell.
Brad E. Kauffman is an attorney and freelance writer from Baltimore, Maryland.
