Debates should address issues primary voters care about

For Republican primary voters, watching presidential debates can be a bit like studying for a math final with a psychology professor:  the questions we needed answered bore no relation to the ones being discussed. 

The problem was hardly that the questions were too tough.  They were simply off topic for the debate’s target audience.  As Fox Business Channel prepares to host Tuesday’s debate, moderators would do well to remember that they are there to stand in for the audience, asking the questions the audience wants answered – not the ones the moderators want to talk about.

{mosads}Last week, the CNBC moderators asked question after question about Democrat voter priorities.  How many Republican primary voters list in their top ten the issues of income inequality, climate change, gender wage gaps and drug company profits? These are priorities for Democrats, who believe government is the solution to them.  But for Republicans who favor free market solutions to these problems, candidate positions on them are largely irrelevant.  Such non sequiturs do nothing to help the target audience make a decision.

A debate is intended to inform an audience interested in knowing more about the debate participants — what they believe and how they view the issues of the day. Since the presidential cycle is currently in the nominating stage, each party holds its own proprietary debates. Democrats debate with Democrats, primarily to inform and persuade other Democrats. The same is true of the Republicans. Later will come the time for debates between the two.

A debate moderator’s role is to act in proxy for the audience, asking questions that audience members would ask if allowed to do so. A synonym for moderator is “go-between.” The audience is not interested in the opinions and values of the moderator, but is hoping to learn more about those debating. The moderator’s role is to be a “go-between” who facilitates that interaction between contestants and audience without getting in the way.

CNN and Fox News did a better job in previous debates of focusing on the questions relevant to the audience.  CNN asked Democrat candidates about Democrat priorities – gun control, Medicaid expansion, climate change, Black Lives Matter.  They asked Republican candidates tough questions about the refugee crisis, Planned Parenthood funding and birthright citizenship.  Similarly, Fox News had challenging but relevant questions for Republicans about reducing the power of federal agencies like the EPA and IRS, stopping ISIS, and balancing religious liberty with gay rights.

CNBC moderators, on the other hand, seemed more intent on litigating conservative ideology than on illuminating the differences between the candidates on issues that matter to actual Republican voters.  Even when they asked about issues Republicans care about – like entitlement reform, immigration and student loan debt, the questions were framed to address the concerns of Democrat voters, not Republicans.  The moderators came across as tone deaf to the real issues.

On entitlement reform, they only asked about the short-term pain, not the long-term gains that interest conservative voters.  On immigration, they talked about threats from H1B visas – the top issue for union voters – when they could have posed any number of tough questions about deportation, Dreamers, or fixing the legal immigration process. On student loan debt, there was no acknowledgment of Republican voters’ concerns about rising college tuition costs driven by government money – only a question about how government can rescue people from the consequences of their decisions. 

Where were the questions that spoke to the audience’s greatest concerns?  Completely absent were some core issues in which tough questions should be expected.

Not a single question was asked about replacing the Affordable Care Act, addressing the weaponization of federal agencies against political opponents, confronting crushing regulatory burdens, developing energy independence, or restoring 10th Amendment rights to states.  Fortunately, many of the candidates found ways to address some of these issues despite the failure of moderators to ask the questions. 

Voters are counting on Fox Business Channel on Tuesday to choose tough but enlightening questions that help them identify the candidate who most closely reflects their views and interests. 

Chaffetz has represented Utah’s 3^rd Congressional District since 2009. He is chairman of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee and also sits on the Judiciary Committee.