GOP debates should elicit serious policy stances

One dominant fact shapes Wednesday’s GOP presidential debate. Donald Trump — leading in polls among Republicans after losing the White House in 2020 — said he won't take part but will release a prerecorded interview with longtime supporter Tucker Carlson.

Any front-runner in a primary would wish like Trump to deflect the danger of a pile-on. As of Tuesday, at least eight other party candidates had been deemed qualified, and a couple more could be added at the last minute.

The event thus marks the first internal challenge in seven years to Trump’s party primacy. His rivals now face the tricky task of winning over Americans who voted for him in his two prior contests. Meantime, everyone in the pack will slam Joe Biden’s record in their own way, to convince the skeptical that they'd be the best to beat the president. By taking the time to listen, everyone — Republicans, independents and Democrats — might get an idea of what any or all of these candidates might actually do if elected.

After many chaotic and polarizing years, patriotic-minded voters will seek assurance that the next incumbent will faithfully execute the law and protect and defend the Constitution. Beyond that, the candidates must address disparate and equally important issues. The absence of Trump’s showmanship and tendency to defame all detractors allows for more substance.

Since the debate to be aired on Fox News will not and should not be entirely about the 45th president — or even his status as a criminal defendant — the eight-plus scrum of GOP alternatives should get a chance to outline their strategies on taxes, foreign policy, climate change, borders and immigration, drug addiction, education, and jobs and inflation.

That’s a lot for moderators to elicit in two hours from a fragmented field. But debates always produce some valuable voter information, some hint of what the candidates' presidency would portend. Alternatives are especially interesting in this unique cycle when an incumbent — and the ex-incumbent he unseated — are the front-runners.

Republicans differ on the Biden administration’s support for Ukraine in driving Russia out of its territory. Candidates would do well to specify how they’d better process asylum-seekers and negotiate a bipartisan, comprehensive immigration deal in Congress. There are fiscal choices to be made on sustaining Social Security in coming years. Exactly how are we to compete with China on trade and worldwide influence? Will Republican candidates intervene in national efforts to convert to green energy, and if so, how? Should funding for an infrastructure plan be modified? What can they credibly promise to do about the cost of living? New ideas would claim attention if sensibly presented.

Details rather than defamation would raise the party’s level of discourse, which could benefit everyone. We guardedly hope this debate can be a step in that direction.