Seven Observations of the Walker-Warnock Georgia Senate Debate

While my time in Georgia was short-lived, I was there long enough to vote for Raphael Warnock. 

If Democrats are to retain control of the Senate, it is crucial that Warnock defeat Republican Herschel Walker, the former Heisman Trophy winner. This evening the two debated in Savannah, Georgia. Here are my seven observations of this debate:

1. The Debate Panelists Were Awful

The debate was only an hour long and the panelists limited Walker and Warnock to 15 and 30 second responses. One cannot have a meaningful debate about student loan forgiveness and Medicaid expansion under those conditions and the campaigns of both candidates are at fault for agreeing to such conditions. Georgia voters were poorly served by this debate.

2. Warnock Was a Fourth Grade Teacher; Walker Was a Fourth Grade Student

Senator Warnock is a functioning adult who can speak in complete sentences while it was unclear whether Walker understood what was being discussed. The man could not pronounce the term federal minimum wage. But defeated former President Trump and Georgia Republicans have no trouble with this from Walker so long as he does what they tell him to do.

3. Nevertheless Warnock Exceeded Expectations

Despite sounding utterly incoherent, Warnock does have personality, a sense of humor and charm. Not that I believe him when he says he's transparent. But he was not intimidated by Warnock. As such, I think the big story of this debate is that Walker exceeded expectations.

4. If Walker Can Debate Warnock Then Why Can't Hobbs Debate Lake in Arizona?

Notwithstanding Walker's limited vocabulary and even more limited grasp on public policy, and admission that Warnock would "embarrass" him on stage, he nevertheless showed up to debate Senator Warnock. If he can do this then what reason does Arizona Democratic gubernatorial candidate Katie Hobbs have for not debating her GOP opponent Kari Lake?

5. Warnock Distances Himself From President Biden While Walker Fully Embraces Trump

Senator Warnock was asked point blank if President Biden should seek re-election in 2024 and he would not answer the question. His answer was artful in that Warnock said he was focused on being a Senator and not a political pundit. Nevertheless it was an artful dodge. With the way Warnock was distancing himself from President Biden, you would have thought it was Biden who was responsible for the events of January 6th. 

Needless to say, Walker had no such hesitation when it came to supporting Trump's bid for re-election making a point of calling Trump his friend. The one talking point Walker consistently stood by was that Warnock voted with Biden 96% of the time and in this regard he was successful in getting Warnock to throw Biden under the bus.

6. Warnock is Competent, Serious Senator

Despite distancing himself from President Biden, Warnock demonstrated himself to be a competent legislator who had demonstrated he takes his job seriously and a willingness to work with Republicans when possible by focusing on the issues in Georgia. 

7. Warnock's Competence Might Not Matter to the Georgia Legislature

Yet Warnock's competence might not matter. Voters might be prepared to give him a full term, but with the Georgia legislature having diminished the power of the Secretary of State while empowering itself to overturn the will of the people and install Walker to do their bidding. If this comes to pass it will be a product of the destructive legacy of Trumpism.