PRIMARY DEBATES: Hold your Applause

The last four Republican presidential candidates have had plenty of opportunities to make their voices heard in recent debates, but Newt Gingrich is concerned that his debate audiences are being stifled.

During Monday night’s Republican primary debate in Florida on NBC, host Brian Williams asked the audience to hold its applause until commercial breaks.

What seemed like a simple request by the news station to eliminate long periods of applause that interrupt the speaker and slow down the debate was interpreted by Gingrich as an attack on the audience’s First Amendment rights.

He said Tuesday on Fox News Channel that the request was aimed directly at his supporters, highlighting his reliance on audience participation to appear dominant during debates.

Much of Gingrich’s debate strategy involves delivering biting responses to moderator’s questions he deems inappropriate or cheap. These attacks are usually met with rounds of cheering and applause.

Outbursts such as these during debates effectively silence the debaters and moderators, turning what should be a reasonable discussion into a contest over who can make the most noise.

But this applause, Gingrich said, is an expression of the audience’s First Amendment right to free speech, adding that the media is trying to silence those who disagree with it.

Gingrich might not just be worried about the audience’s rights. Anyone who has watched a debate can see that applause is a crucial aspect of his expressive debating style ““ his cutting retorts sound awkward when met with silence.

Gingrich said he plans to boycott any primary debate in which the audience is not permitted to cheer, but if he becomes the Republican nominee, he will have to face off against President Obama in debates that have historically prohibited audience applause.

It is hard to imagine heckling in a presidential debate, and the primary debates should be no different. Candidates should be able to hold their own on stage without cheers and heckling from the audience.

Debates don’t need to sound like football games for audiences to be heard. There is a ballot box for that.

Email Clark at

mclark@media.ucla.edu. Send general comments to

opinion@media.ucla.edu or tweet at us @DBopinion.

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