Substance shines at GOP debate

In the moments after a presidential debate, Twitter feeds and email inboxes brim with missives from each campaign, declaring its candidate definitively won the contest.

Last night in Milwaukee was no different, as GOP contenders faced off in their fourth televised debate in three months. On some Twitter feeds, candidates (via their communication teams) declared they were winning while the debate was still unfolding.

But the real victor in last night’s debate: old-fashioned policy discussions.

After weeks of discussing insults and one-liners among Republican candidates, the contenders faced a steeper task on Tuesday night: Tell the country what you would do if you were president. And be specific.

That dynamic produced a debate that was a bit less feisty but certainly more fulsome in hashing out details and differences over economic issues and foreign affairs.

One of the heftiest exchanges of the evening came between Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida and Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky over the intersection of foreign policy and fiscal conservatism.

Rubio proposed increasing the child tax credit from $1,000 to $2,500 for lower income brackets as a way of bolstering families. Paul challenged Rubio’s plan, calling it a form of “welfare” and asking how the candidate would pay for it.

But the exchange turned testier when Paul applied fiscal conservatism to foreign policy and challenged Rubio’s plan to increase defense spending. Paul declared such increases “not very conservative.”

Rubio countered that without an adequate national defense the country wouldn’t have an economy to preserve.

“There are radical jihadists in the Middle East beheading people and crucifying Christians,” said Rubio. “A radical Shia cleric in Iran trying to get a nuclear weapon. The Chinese taking over the South China Sea. Yes, I believe the world is a safer and better place when America is the strongest military power in the world.”

Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas—increasingly viewed as potentially a prime rival to Rubio—seconded the Florida senator, saying that defending the nation may be expensive, but added, “Try not defending it. That’s a lot more expensive.”

Still, Paul seemed unfazed by the exchange and seized other opportunities to show his facility in discussing economic issues and to warn of the imminent dangers of ballooning debt. It was a needed boost for a candidate whose numbers had been falling in recent weeks.

Meanwhile, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush tried to revive a flagging campaign by being more assertive in last night’s contest. This time he faced competition from Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who came out swinging for attention, often interrupting moderators and other candidates to grab more airtime.

If Bush was frustrated by the Kasich advance, he funneled his focus less on the other GOP candidates and more on Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton, reminding voters of the national election slated to unfold in just under a year.

Bush avoided the kind of pointed criticisms of fellow Floridian Marco Rubio that had smacked of a certain kind of desperation during the last debate. But Bush did challenge Donald Trump’s notions of deporting 11 million illegal immigrants, calling the plan unrealistic and saying Clinton’s campaign staffers “were high-fiving” each other when they heard Republicans discuss such plans.

Trump seemed unperturbed but also unpersuasive in his debate performance, reminding voters he would build a border wall and that “it will work.” When he blasted the Trans-Pacific Partnership (a proposed trade agreement) as a vehicle for China to gain ground against the United States, Rand Paul deflated Trump’s moment by reminding viewers of an inconvenient truth: China isn’t part of the deal.

The remaining candidates held ground, but didn’t necessarily advance it. Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson again proposed a proportional tax (based on the principle of tithing), and opposed increasing the minimum wage but didn’t offer many new specifics in plans to bolster the economy.

Carson’s rivals seemed hesitant to cross swords with him Tuesday night, following a week where the low-key candidate successfully defended off mostly debunked attacks on his life story while remaining even with Trump for the No. 1 spot in national polls.

Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina was articulate once again but didn’t move to fill out some of the talking points that worked well for her campaign in the days after a breakout performance in the second GOP debate.

GOP candidates will have one more opportunity to go head-to-head this year, with a pre-Christmas debate slated for Dec. 15. Meanwhile, Democrats prep for their turn: a debate in Des Moines, Iowa, Saturday night.