So, yeah. Five Republican presidential hopefuls locked horns in Miami on Wednesday, for the third debate of the 2024 primary cycle.

Also, yeah: The debate has been analyzed to death by political pundits on all sides of the issues, sliced and diced to smithereens by social media keyboard jockeys across the fruited plain, and at the end of the proverbial day, the event likely changed the minds of few, if any, Republican voters. 

That said, the purpose of this article is not a rehash or analysis of the debate. 

The purpose is a bit of contemplation on the current state of the Republican Party — as amplified by various exchanges in the Wednesday debate — with the 2024 presidential election looming, less than a year from the date of this article.

The low point of the scrimmage featured Vivek Ramaswamy and Nikki Haley — twice.

Ramaswamy took a cheap shot at Haley at one point, referring to her as “Dick Cheney in three-inch heels.” 

Do you want a leader from a different generation, who’s going to put this country first, or do you want Dick Cheney in 3-inch heels?

Ouch.

Vivek Ramaswamy goes after Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis: "Do you want Dick Cheney in three inch heels? In which case we've got two of them." pic.twitter.com/rLNCy2OZB9

— MSNBC (@MSNBC) November 9, 2023

The blast came during an exchange when moderator Lester Holt asked Ramaswamy what he'd tell Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with respect to the ongoing Israeil-Hamas War. The 38-year-old entrepreneur used the question to blast Haley, saying: “She becomes a military contractor. She joins the board of Boeing … and is now a multimillionaire.”

Haley of course returned fire, albeit -- perhaps -- she played the "woman card" a bit too strongly, but just the same:

I’d first like to say, they’re five-inch heels — and I don’t wear them unless you can run in them. The second thing I will say: I wear heels, they’re not for a fashion statement, they’re for ammunition.

Substantive stuff, right? 

There was another exchange between the two that was even worse — over TikTok.

Ramaswamy again kicked it off:

In the last debate, she made fun of me for actually joining TikTok, well her own daughter was actually using the app for a long time so you might want to take care of your family first before preaching to anybody else.

Haley fired back: "Leave my daughter out of your voice. ... You’re just scum.”

So here's the thing. Yes, if family members have no bearing on a candidate's campaign or positions, it's generally a good idea to leave them out of the debate. And yes, Ramaswamy came in hot against Haley's daughter. However, I believe Haley responding with the "You're just scum" ad hominem was beneath civil debate.

Let the Merch Sales Begin!

No sooner had the dust settled on their debate skirmishes, Ramaswamy and Haley fired up new campaign merch in separate attempts to monetize the occasion. 

Ramaswamy's campaign is selling "Rebel Scum" merch to capitalize on "ScumGate," while Haley is selling a mug that features her "ammunition" comment.

"Rebel Scum" includes one design that features Ramaswamy's likeness in a flight suit — an apparent reference to "Star Wars."

The Establishment in both parties is corrupt to the core and is alive more than ever. It’s time to fight: now is the moment for freedom-loving American patriots everywhere to stand up and take back the country we love from a corrupt group of politicians who are marching us toward World War III. This is our 1776 Revolution.

Over the top — or nicely done?

The Establishment in both parties is corrupt to the core and is alive more than ever.

It’s time to fight: now is the moment for freedom-loving American patriots everywhere to stand up and take back the country we love from a corrupt group of politicians who are marching us… pic.twitter.com/2J2UtBB1qO

— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) November 10, 2023

The Haley campaign's effort was less ambitious but still to the point.

Nikki Haley Heels Ammunition Mug Black#NikkiHaley2024 #NikkiHaley https://t.co/EXufQb6CbC

— Nikki Haley 2024 Store Merchandise (@haleynikkistore) November 9, 2023

Much ado about nothing — or one more example of what ails the GOP?

The Bottom Line

If Wednesday's debate spat between Vivek Ramaswamy and Nikki Haley had been a one-off — simply a fiery moment in a hotly contested presidential primary debate — it likely wouldn't have received the amount of attention it did.

On the other hand, given the current state of the Republican Party, with the primaries in the spotlight and the eventual presidential candidate hanging in the balance, the incident served as a microcosmic view of the state of the party as a whole — with Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, the entire Democrat Party, and the so-called "mainstream" media loving every minute of it.

2024 matters. Let's not screw it up.