Hours ago, Fox Business announced the Republican candidates that will be in the next debate: Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Ben Carson, Chris Christie, Jeb Bush, and John Kasich. Two very notable candidates have been left out of this list: Rand Paul and Carly Fiorina.
Weeks before the results were to be announced, Rand Paul pledged that he would not participate in any undercard platforms. Rand has said that he is part of a first-tier campaign and that he only deserves to be in the first-tier debate. So, when the candidate did not make the main stage, it should not have been a surprise that the candidate would reject his invitation to the undercard debate.
I am VERY happy that Rand Paul decided to boycott this debate because it shows that he is able to stand up to the media that obviously does not want him to do well. Because Rand Paul is not a typical Republican, many media outlets, including Fox News, have wanted to exclude him for a while because they want more moderate or conservative candidates like Trump, Cruz, or Rubio to win the nomination and take on Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders in the general election. I wouldn't be surprised if the more liberal outlets are only covering Trump so much because they want him to be the nominee so that he would lose the general election to Hillary Clinton. By standing up to the media, Paul is sending a message to the people that the media should not be picking and choosing who is to be on the debate stage.
In regards to Paul's chances, I feel that he does not have enough support to win the nomination, but I do feel like his campaign is underestimated. His campaign most recent announced over 1,000 precinct chairs in Iowa, and Rand spends his time in non-early states building up his grassroots support. While I feel like the media will spin this story into him leaving because he didn't get his way, his real supporters will know that he did this to make a point, and they will continue to support him. Even though many of Rand's supporters are moving to Ted Cruz's campaign (myself included), I believe that Rand has a group of energized supporters that will have him do better than most people expect.
Do you think Rand is doing the right thing by not participating in the next debate? Do you think it will hurt his chances at the nomination. Either way, I think we should continue to think about what the media's motives are behind any story that they decide to cover.
In Liberty,
Jacob Stech '18
I am VERY happy that Rand Paul decided to boycott this debate because it shows that he is able to stand up to the media that obviously does not want him to do well. Because Rand Paul is not a typical Republican, many media outlets, including Fox News, have wanted to exclude him for a while because they want more moderate or conservative candidates like Trump, Cruz, or Rubio to win the nomination and take on Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders in the general election. I wouldn't be surprised if the more liberal outlets are only covering Trump so much because they want him to be the nominee so that he would lose the general election to Hillary Clinton. By standing up to the media, Paul is sending a message to the people that the media should not be picking and choosing who is to be on the debate stage.
In regards to Paul's chances, I feel that he does not have enough support to win the nomination, but I do feel like his campaign is underestimated. His campaign most recent announced over 1,000 precinct chairs in Iowa, and Rand spends his time in non-early states building up his grassroots support. While I feel like the media will spin this story into him leaving because he didn't get his way, his real supporters will know that he did this to make a point, and they will continue to support him. Even though many of Rand's supporters are moving to Ted Cruz's campaign (myself included), I believe that Rand has a group of energized supporters that will have him do better than most people expect.
Do you think Rand is doing the right thing by not participating in the next debate? Do you think it will hurt his chances at the nomination. Either way, I think we should continue to think about what the media's motives are behind any story that they decide to cover.
In Liberty,
Jacob Stech '18
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