The DeSantis–Newsom Debate Is Pointless

T here’s an old throwaway Monty Python joke that I have long considered to have been impressively ahead of its time. In it, a faux-serious John Cleese welcomes viewers to a fictionalized version of the BBC’s television show The Epilogue, before announcing that, “Tonight, instead of discussing the existence or non-existence of God,” his guests “have decided to fight for it.” “The existence, or non-existence,” Cleese explains,” will ‘be determined by two falls, two submissions, or a knockout.” “All right boys,” he exclaims, soberly: “Let’s get to it.”

I thought about this sketch again this morning, when I was reminded that, tonight on Fox News, Governor Ron DeSantis and Governor Gavin Newsom will debate each other on the question of whether Florida is a better model for the nation than California. For those who enjoy televised bloodsports — and, especially, for those who regard politics as little more than light entertainment — the appeal of this bout will be obvious. For the rest of us, however, it must seem a touch odd. We know what cable-news debates look like these days, and we know that the chance of this one being superior to the rest is near zero. What, I must ask, is the point?

And why, exactly, has Ron DeSantis consented to take part? From what I can see, DeSantis seems to have been trolled into this dispute by Gavin Newsom, who clearly hopes that a high-profile spat with a controversial Republican will take the focus off his dismal record as governor. Which, of course, it will not — at least not in any way that matters. As the existence of God cannot be determined by a knockout in the ring, so a proper evaluation of the desirability of Florida versus California cannot be determined through a staged conversation moderated by Sean Hannity. There is a great deal wrong with the way in which Americans now consume their news, but as bad as the environment may be, there exists almost nobody in the United States who is willing to privilege the bombast they hear on TV over the reality they can see with their eyes. Ten minutes after the event is over, California will still be California and Florida will still be Florida. And then what?

Well, then: the fluff. At some point this week, one of the two men will inevitably be declared the “winner,” and, because this designation will have no connection whatsoever to reality, it will signal nothing useful at all. Why? For a few reasons. First, because, in an important sense, the question of whether Florida is “better” than California cannot be meaningfully answered. By design, the American federal system permits different people in different places to live in different ways, and thus avoids the need to decide every important or fractious question at the national level. Were I to be asked which model I would prefer to be imposed from Washington, D.C., I would, of course, choose Florida’s. But, given free rein, I would choose neither — preferring instead to limit the federal government to its proper role, and thus to create sufficient space for people with divergent beliefs to thrive. One can no more determine whether Florida is better than California by hosting an argument on cable than one can determine whether Mozart is better than Beethoven by conducting a poll on local radio. There is much about our politics that is measurable. There is also a great deal that is not.

And that which is measurable exists wholly independent of our rhetoric. If the last few decades of American history serve as any guide, tonight’s debate will be judged by an almost entirely superficial array of criteria: Was Newsom too oleaginous? Did DeSantis smile enough? Which man was more eloquent? Who had better zingers? How did they come across to the independents who live in neither state? And that’s before those judgements become irredeemably corrupted by the transient incentives of the hour. Republicans will back the Republican. Democrats will back the Democrat. Independents will split according to their pre-existing impressions. The press wants Newsom to win, so it will say he did. DeSantis’s backers in the primary will declare it the greatest performance since the Gettysburg address. Donald Trump’s many acolytes — to whom DeSantis will be the devil until at least June 4 next year — will experience a strange new respect for California. And none of this will change the material facts on the ground, which will remain that Florida is the most popular state in the union to move into, while California’s once-growing population has declined dramatically for three years in a row.

In a more sensible political culture, Americans might genuinely benefit from a calm and detailed conversation about our expanding conflict of visions. But, alas, that conversation will not be forthcoming tonight. Instead, we will get soundbites, hyperbole, distortion, and the throwing of wild accusations, punctuated by advertisements for gold, catheters, and MAGA-themed ceremonial coins, and cheered on from the sidelines by the tiny slice of voters who wear their political allegiances in the way that well-adjusted people wear NFL jerseys.

All right boys, let’s get to it.