Just a general comment, not necessarily about the debate but more about governing in general. (During the 2016 campaign, Trump said he would deal with National Debt by using bankruptcy laws. Trump thought it would be a good idea to operate the Fed like one of his casinos!)
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But back to the debate stage, 6 out 8 candidates on the stage are current or former governors.
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Some of them (Burgum, Pence, DeSantis, Hutchinson, Christie) brag about their "smaller government," "cut taxes," "balanced budget," cut, cut, cut policies and positions. (I do not remember Haley emphasizing those points as much. As UN Ambassador, Haley has a more national perspective.) (Ramaswamy is a businessman and Scott is a Senator.)
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Hutchinson bragged about his education policies in his state with an education ranking of 47 among 50 states. (Florida and ND are in the bottom half; Indiana [Pence] is 23/50.) Governing North Dakota (Burgum) is different than governing the nation. The population of ND is 780,000 -- LESS than 1 million people -- and population density = 10.7 people per square mile, the 46th lowest population density out of 50. ND has almost 2 million cows, 2.5x the human population.
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Arkansas is #49 for internet access, N Dak is #26, Indiana is #23 and FL is #20. "Cut every agency! Cut every service! Cut and Cut some more! ... The Feds will pay for it, eventually." You can't apply those STATE strategies to NATIONAL governance.
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And so on for various other statistics. Who pays for health care in most of those states: the US government. Who feeds the hungry in most of those states? Who pays for emergencies in those states (Christie needed Federal money to deal with Hurricane Sandy. Florida needs Fed money to deal with hurricanes every year. N Dak had MAJOR flooding in spring 2023 and needed FEMA assistance. Etc..)
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And if there's another pandemic (and there WILL be another pandemic), "Why plan or spend money to prepare for THAT??? What a waste that would be. The Feds will come to our rescue, or at least rescue those who survive the early stages of our short sighted policies."
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The list of points is a long one. The main point being: You can't operate the federal government like a state government for whom the FEDERAL GOV is their emergency backup, piggy bank, and money supply. You can't "Make America Florida!" or "Make American North Dakota!" or "Make America Arkansas!" We will be in BIG trouble.
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It was not "central" to the debate, but some candidates made the point that they have experience cutting anything and everything to save a dollar and eliminate critical services. When the Fed gov starts operating that way, everyone will suffer.
Posted By: impposter
NUMBER 1: Use directional, noise canceling microphones that only pick up the person wearing the mic. Ring a bell or buzzer with 5 seconds to go. 5 seconds is long enough to finish your sentence. 5 seconds after the warning, your mic is turned off and the live studio audience and broadcast audience do not hear you SO SHUT THE FUCK UP!!
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IMO, no big winner, no big loser. DeSantis did not impress (me). I predict no gain, no loss, or maybe small loss, losing a few points that will go to others.
