I love debates. Lincoln-Douglas, Nixon-Kennedy, Vinick-Santos from season 7 of “The West Wing.” To me, debating is an intellectual blood sport. Two seasoned veterans bludgeon each other with stats, anecdotes and the occasional zinger, all for the entertainment of a hungry audience.
This past Monday, the College Republicans and Young Democrats squared off for their annual debate. These debates, while perhaps lacking the gravity of a presidential debate, are nonetheless entertaining.
Who can forget the time the YDs claimed that a lack of gender-neutral housing would cause UNC to lose its competitive edge, and the CRs responded that those who don’t know their gender likely wouldn’t contribute to UNC’s intellectual environment. And let’s also recall the time the YDs gave an opening statement so loud that my Howard Dean scream imitation went completely unnoticed.
During Monday’s debate, the room felt tense and just a tad warm, which was likely caused by the amount of hot air being produced at the front of the room. Much like the past few debates, the YDs showed up loaded with stats. The CRs, in typical CR fashion, showed up.
Unfortunately, my calls to CNN regarding guest analysis from some of their talking heads went unreturned. However, I imagine this is pretty close to what their post-debate breakdown would be:
James Carville, former Clinton campaign consultant: Golly, the YDs wiped the floor with the CRs. It sounds like they finally bought my book — they were following the script so well. Step one, blame the Tea Party while praising the “moderates.” Step two, make everyone think your opponents are stupid or lying. Step three, talk until the moderator gavels you to sound like you know way more than everyone else.
Alex Castellanos, GOP strategist: I think the fire marshal should’ve been called Monday night — there were 10 pounds of highly flammable straw sitting there after all of the straw man arguments the YDs built. But the Republicans weren’t defending themselves. Your rebuttal shouldn’t be, “Yes, Democrats, you’re right, we do need to reform ourselves. Thank you for the stellar advice.”
Van Jones, CNN commentator: President Obama was absolutely electric tonight; I got chills. I don’t see how you can vote for Mitt Romney after that kind of performance. (It was apparently lost on Van that Obama was in fact not in attendance Monday night).
Ari Fleischer, former Bush press secretary: Even the Republicans won’t defend Republican positions. Why won’t the CRs support standardization of science education? Isn’t there just one science? I had to sell No Child Left Behind to a liberal mainstream media, and now Republicans won’t even touch the idea of educational standards.
Despite efforts by the CRs to appear more relatable by just winging it, completely unscientific polling I did after the debate showed their disapproval rating among UNC students holding steady.
