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Ted Cruz's Closing Statement Went Back To Basics

by Seth Millstein

The 11th Republican debate more closely resembled a schoolyard shouting match than a high-minded policy forum, which shouldn't be surprising to anyone who has followed this election so far. Ted Cruz's closing statement at the GOP debate was an attempt to break free from this and speak directly to common, everyday Americans. Here's what he said.

I want to talk to every soldier and sailor and airman and Marine. I want to talk to every mom and dad and sister and brother of someone fighting for this country. For seven years you've had a commander-in-chief who doesn't believe in you, who sends you into combat with rules of engagement that tie your hands behind your back. That's wrong, it is immoral, and in January 2017, it will end.
I want to also talk to all the police officers and firefighters and first responders who've been left behind by this president. Starting in January 2017, I will have your back.

You may notice that this is shorter than most closing debate statements, and that's because this time, the Fox News moderators only gave the candidates 30 seconds, rather than the standard "talk as long as you want!" Notably, Fox also broke with tradition this time by omitting a performance of the national anthem at the beginning. That, as well as the truncated closing statements, suggests that they wanted to squeeze every last minute of actual debate out of this thing, and good for them! Because hey, let's be honest: The only part of a debate that really matters is, yes, the debate.

But tonight's event was only a debate in the most narrow, literal sense. It did feature multiple human beings disagreeing about things, but then again, the same could be said about a couple of 5-year-olds fighting over a toy truck. That's what the 11th Republican debate most closely resembled — and amazingly, we've still got two more of these things.