YOU WOULD THINK POLITICIANS WOULD ACTUALLY KNOW HOW TO DEBATE

 

It embarrasses me that politicians and news outlets don't know how to conduct an actual meaningful debate. If there are any competitive debaters out there, correct me if I say anything wrong here. This is how I remember it.

First, both parties agree to the debate rules. If the rules are followed, there is NO reason why this debate can't be done virtually. First, in a real debate, both sides are given the same question or proposal. I did not like the different questions for different people. That lends itself to political bias. Well, maybe it doesn't matter because both candidates talked around the issues without answering the questions that were actually asked not once but several times.

We all know what the major topics are: the economy, COVID, the supreme court, international relationships, taxes. Every candidate should get the same question. In a real debate, the question is posed. First person responds, second person responds. If they talk over the limit or they talk over the other person, they are penalized or disqualified. Now, I think the modern equivalent of that is turning off the microphone.

If I recall correctly, there is some time for participants to prepare for rebuttals. During this preparation time, an objective fact-checker should be allowed to speak. It would need to be someone each side can agree on which is probably impossible, so maybe you could get one conservative and one liberal to do this job. Of course, that leaves out moderates like me.

Then, you have rebuttals. Then you have a follow up to the rebuttals. Then, you go on to the next question. The order of response is changed. The person who went first on the first question goes second. This switches each time. At the end of the debate, each person gets a final time to reaffirm their positions on the topic. They are not allowed to add new information or try to rebut again. If they do, then the microphones should be turned off. Allow the other person to talk. Give the first person another chance to do what they are supposed to. If they don't, shut them off and not allow them to talk anymore. You break the rules a first time, you get a second chance. You break the rules a second time, you take the consequences.

Some of you might say that this will take forever, but the truth of the matter is that if the candidates are forced to meet the time limits, a whole lot of time would be saved. As far as I'm concerned if you can't abide by these rules, you are either afraid or you have nothing of substance to say.

There's another thing I've noticed about the debates. Both parties, at times, do not answer the question they are asked. They should get a time penalty. If you don't answer, the first time you get 15 seconds taken off your time. If you're supposed to talk for 2 minutes, your mic gets cut off at 1:45. If it happens a second time, you get a minute taken off. When that time is over, your mic gets muted. That would force them to actually talk about the issues.