In a recent interview on WSPD, conservative warrior Raven Harrison discusses the importance of focusing on "The Real Issues" in the upcoming Republican presidential primary debate. With the debate just around the corner, Harrison emphasizes the need for candidates to address pressing concerns and present their strategies for a better future. This article provides an overview of the key highlights from the interview and underscores the significance of prioritizing substantive discussions over mere political rhetoric.
WSPD August 22nd, 2023 with Raven Harrison
During the interview, Raven Harrison expresses readiness and anticipation for the upcoming debate night. While acknowledging the allure of watching the clash between Trump and other candidates, Harrison stresses the need for the discussion to move beyond personal attacks and instead delve into the substantial matters that affect the nation. By focusing on "The Real Issues," Harrison argues, candidates can articulate their plans and set themselves apart in a meaningful way.
Highlights
Throughout the interview, a few noteworthy points stand out. Firstly, both Harrison and the show's host, Scott Sands, agree that excessive fixation on Trump detracts from the opportunity to discuss important subjects that impact the American people. They highlight pressing issues such as environmental disasters, the open border, inflation, and supply chain disruptions that require immediate attention. Harrison insists that citizens deserve to know each candidate's strategy for addressing these matters and moving the country forward.
Additionally, the conversation revolves around the potential pitfalls of candidates aligning themselves too closely with Trump or using him as their primary focus. Sands emphasizes the importance of candidates differentiating themselves from Trump by articulating their unique policy proposals and addressing crucial issues. They suggest avoiding getting caught up in mere criticism of Trump, as that approach offers little to the American electorate. A discussion on the real issues is where their attention needs to be.
Transcript
- Oliver Anthony singing: What the world's gotten to for people like me, people like you, if I could just wake up and not be true, but it is.
- Scott Sands: Alright, so I'm gonna have to pay attention to the song because I just heard that. And I think, okay, I don't, I don't really understand what the big deal is, but it's, it's a story that's gone viral. They're offering this guy boat loads of money that he's turning down. I'll, I'll have the whole story. Next hour and we can pay attention to the lyrics together. I'm Scott Sands. Great to have you here. Thanks for listening. 319 tomorrow at 7pm. Coverage begins with the first Republican presidential primary candidate debate, which is probably not the proper name for it. The debate itself begins at nine. You'll hear it all on WSPD and everywhere on our free iHeart radio app. Raven Harrison is joining me now, the conservative warrior Raven Harrison commiser website. Raven, you ready for a debate night tomorrow?
- Raven Harrison: We're ready. Let's, let's see it. I don't know. I think we'll get the popcorn for whether we want to watch Trump and Tucker or if we want to watch the other 602 candidates.
- Scott: Well, there's, I think there the total will be eight. I think it's, I understand strategically why Donald Trump has chosen not to participate in the debate. In fact, if I were a campaign advisor, I strategically probably would have advised him the same way. There's no need to play around in the kiddie pool. You're beating everybody else by two or three to one margins. So no need to, to acknowledge the competition, let them fight amongst themselves. However, I think the country is missing out on an opportunity to hear from Donald Trump, especially because with so many independent voters, there seems to be a ceiling of what Trump could get in a general election. And I think he needs every opportunity he can get to draw that distinction between himself and Joe Biden.
- Raven: Well, I agree with that. What I would say, and I agree with you on both counts. If I was advising him as a strategist, I would tell him not to do this because that's going to make him the center of attention, which he will be whether he's there or not. It's going to allow the other ones who have not been able to bridge this gap with his lead to try to climb up on Trump by just taking potshots at him there. And I don't think we're going to see the real issues come out if Trump was there. I think in this, you know, scenario, he's putting a clear mark between Fox News and all the other ones who have, you know, traditionally used Trump, you know, and his celebrity factor, but have not been as gracious on the coverage. So I think they'll still be able to hear vintage Trump that this is the opportunity for everybody else in the field to be able to set themselves aside from Trump. If they're just going to mention Trump the whole time, then it's basically going to be a huge block.
- Scott: And if I were advising DeSantis or Rameshwamy or even for that matter, Chris Christie, I would tell them to avoid Trump and steer any questions they may get about Trump back towards the issues that the American public really cares about. And I think that's also a distinction that these candidates could make between themselves and Donald Trump.
- Donald Trump every time he speaks right now is talking about the witch hunt, talking about the indictments, talking about how he really won the election, talking about election fraud, talking about how the Democrats and the establishment of the swamp are out to get him. Meanwhile, DeSantis, Rameswamy, Christie, Nikki Haley, Tim Scott have the opportunity to talk about Biden's failed economic policies, the crisis we have at the border, national security, Ukraine, China, North Korea, Iran. These are all important issues, primarily the economy that Donald Trump is not addressing right now when he should be.
- Raven: Well, and this is the important thing for the American people to be paying attention to. Are these politicians, are the candidates going to be able to resist the lure of just focusing all of their energy on Trump, because that's not what they need to be doing. What they need to be doing is showing what they would do. I don't want to hear about your, I don't really want to hear their interpretations of what Trump's policies are.
- We have real issues that you alluded to, and they are significant. We have, you know, Hawaii is underwater. They've been, you know, on fire. They're getting $700 per resident when we're sending billions to Ukraine. Our border is open. Inflation is still sky high. We have supply chain issues. So we need these politicians not to be politicians. We need them to address the issues. What is your plan? How do you intend to do this? And I'm hoping that they will try to resist the bait, which is the bait is to go after Trump and to completely align themselves for or against his policies, which is not giving America much of an option.
- Scott: Yeah, we're talking to Raven Harrison here on the Scott Sands Show, and I think a lot of that will be up to the moderators, up to Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum. I actually had Martha MacCallum on my show yesterday. And I couldn't get any specific questions out of her. But I, I did get the impression that that they're not going to focus too much on Trump. I get the impression that if Trump didn't want to be a part of this debate, he's not going to be a part of the debate. I think they'll have to ask him ask the candidates the obvious questions about the indictments, fitness to command, whether or not they believe he's a criminal, however they phrase that, I think there will be one or two questions about Trump's legal problems, perhaps directed at Mike Pence with regards to January 6. I think that would be an interesting question. So I think there will be a couple of questions about Trump. But otherwise, I think they're, the moderators, I think will intentionally leave him out of the debate, opening the door for these candidates to talk about the real issues.
- Raven: Well, I agree with you. What I would just say is the danger in that, is going to be it puts all the candidates in a position of having to support, you know, President Trump, as it was results of these indictments, the issue being the fact that, you know, if this really is about his ability to be able to question an issue, well, Hillary Clinton and Stacey Abrams both rejected a, you know, an election. So but they're not indicted. So it's a very slippery slope. And for Pence, he will have a very hard time trying to separate himself, you know, from January 6, and any kind of meaningful way that he would condemn President Trump and then try to absolve himself. That's going to be a really interesting road. He's going to have to navigate. But I agree with you 100%. I think that they're better served by trying to keep the focus off of Trump and find out what these candidates propose. What is their difference? How do they propose to unify us and move forward? You know, what is their strategy? And it can't just be, okay, hate Trump, if we get enough of that from the left.
- Scott: You know, if I'm Mike Pence, and, and I have not been asked this, but if I'm Mike Pence, and I'm confronted about January 6, my, my answer has got to be something along the lines of I'm very proud of what we accomplished in the Trump administration. We secured our borders, we improved the economy, we created jobs, we had the best economy and a 40-year history of the country, a strong military. However, on January 6th, President Trump tried to betray the Constitution. I did my job to defend the Constitution. Well, Donald Trump put me, my family, and the Congress in grave mortal jeopardy. And that is something I cannot defend and makes him unfit to lead this country again. My answer is something along those lines, if I'm Pence.
- Raven: He would say that, but it would be, you know, in terms of the Constitution. If, you know, there's a legal right to petition and say, I have a grievance, I want to make sure that there was no irregularity. That's not against the law. So I would hope that he would stay away from too much of the, of the semantics until we get, like I said, a court of law doing this. But I agree with you, if he's going to have to come out strong and say something about that, but it's really a strong polarization. And right now he's far enough in the polls to where he would need something of that gravity or momentum to kick him up. It looks like Vivek Rameshwamy is, is creeping into second place ahead of DeSantis.
- Scott: I think DeSantis has to have a strong night and he doesn't really have a reputation as a strong performer in debates. I think Vivek Rameshwamy will walk away with this as a win for him. I think Tim Scott is going to do especially well. I think Nikki Haley has an opportunity to, to demonstrate her intellect and prowess and knowledge of events. I think that Chris Christie is going to come away as unlikable. Mike Pence probably has numbered days. Governor Bergham, although he may be a smart guy, I like him a lot. I don't know what, what he's even doing on this debate stage. And I think that's the rest of my, after this, I think it consolidates down, I believe, to DeSantis, Vivek, Nikki Haley and Tim Scott. Those are, those are the four viable candidates right now in my opinion. And if it narrows down to just those four, that could mean Glenn Yonkin could jump in.
- Raven: That's true. And I don't think, I wouldn't advise him to, but yes, that is possible. It would create a state for him to do that. And I agree, you know, largely with your assessment, except for, you know, it's just, I think that DeSantis' campaign is completely foundering. I don't see it picking up at this point. And he has not been traditionally a strong debater.
- Scott: Raven Harrison, ravenharrison.com. Raven, it's always great to have you on the show.
- Raven: My [unclear], thanks for having me.
- Scott: Get some feedback from you maybe after the debate. I'm going to do some real-time analysis because my show Thursday is preempted by The Guardians game. I'll be on late afternoon for an hour maybe depending on how long the game runs. So I'm going to have to do some real-time debate analysis Wednesday night during the debate on my social media if you want to follow me.
- [Commercial begins] The McDonald's one, two, three dollar menu got me thinking you always
The Real Issues Wrap-up
As the Republican primary debate draws near, it is essential to recognize the significance of discussing "The Real Issues." Rather than becoming mired in personal attacks or obsessing over one candidate, this debate presents an opportunity for candidates to demonstrate their understanding of the challenges facing the nation and outline their plans to tackle them. By focusing on substantive issues such as the economy, national security, and international affairs, candidates can engage voters and provide a clearer vision for a better future.
As the debate unfolds, it is crucial for citizens to monitor how candidates navigate these discussions. Are they offering concrete solutions to the pressing issues that affect everyday Americans, or are they getting distracted by political theatrics? By staying informed and engaging with the debate, citizens can better assess which candidates are prepared to address "The Real Issues" and lead the country in a transformative direction.
Remember to tune in to WSPD for coverage of the debate and follow Scott Sands and Raven Harrison for real-time analysis and insights on social media.
