And They're Off !! The First GOP Presidential Debate Proves the Party Will Have a Strong Presence in 2016 | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Last night, August 6, the first of twelve GOP Presidential Candidate Debates was held in Cleveland, Ohio. It was moderated by FOX News, and specifically by Bret Baier, Megan Kelly, and Chris Wallace. Because there are 17 candidates vying for the GOP nomination, this first debate was broken down into two groups. The 10 candidates polling the highest in national polls (Donald Trump, Jeb Bush, Scott Walker, Mike Huckabee, Ben Carson, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Rand Paul, Chris Christie and John Kasich) faced off against each other at 9:00 pm and the 7 "second tier" candidates (Rick Perry, Carly Fiorina, Bobby Jindal, George Pataki, Rick Santorum, Lindsey Graham, and Jim Gilmore) faced off earlier.

    The dates and locations for the following GOP Presidential Candidate Debates are as follows:

September 16, 2015 - Simi Valley, California
October 28, 2015 - Boulder, Colorado
November 2015 - Wisconsin
December 15, 2015 - Reno, Nevada
January 2016 - Iowa
February 6, 2016 - New Hampshire
February 13, 2016 - South Carolina
February 26, 2016 - Houston, Texas
March 2016 - TBA
March 10, 2016 - TBA

    According to most of the analyses so far, Carly Fiorina was the clear winner of the "lower tier" debates. And it seems that NJ Governor Chris Christie and former FL Governor Jeb Bush failed to stand out in the major debates.

    Ed Stiles, the Field Director for Americans for Prosperity, organized a Debate Watch Party at La Ribera Restaurant in Greenville and a large and energetic crowd showed up. A great time was had by everyone.

Going into the debate, the top ten GOP presidential candidates were ranked as shown: Below.

    Bret Baier started off the debate by asking the candidates if they would pledge to support the eventual GOP nominee *and* to not run an independent against them. Donald Trump was the only candidate to raise his hand in opposition. Trump said he would wants to win as a Republican, however could not pledge to support the eventual nominee. As he explained later, he really would like to be the GOP candidate but he has a fear that the party (and the media) will treat him unfairly. He felt he needed to withhold his pledge in order to have leverage so that he will be treated fairly.

    I was a little disappointed in Megan Kelly as a moderator. She clearly does not like Donald Trump and brought her bias and feelings to the moderator table. I felt her questions were targeted, unprofessional, and intended to alienate him from female voters. She asked: "You've called women you don't like fat pigs, dogs, slobs and disgusting animals. Does that sound to you like the temperament of a man we should elect as president?"
Moderator Megyn Kelly: Above.
    Trump interjected: "Only Rosie O'Donnell!" The audience erupted into laughter, probably remembering the great insult-fest that he and Rosie engaged in several years ago. He then used the question to tell the audience that he doesn't play the "political correctness" game. "I don't have time for that, and frankly, neither does our country."

   

Trump don't play those games! Donald Trump: Below.
Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush went into the debate as the #2 candidate, most likely because he is the establishment favorite. Unfortunately, he came across very weak on the illegal immigration issue, did not come across as forceful, and never had a break-out moment: Below.
    "Read My Lips." Oh, wait. Different Bush. "We will not waver; we will not tire; we will not falter, and we will not fail." Again, different Bush. He explained that he is his own Bush. I mean, his own man. On a lighter note, I laughed when he commented that his nickname as governor of Florida is "Veto Corleone." What Italian wouldn't appreciate that comment!

    Hometown favorite, Governor John Kasich, was a crowd-pleaser. As the governor of Ohio, a swing state, he stands on a record of reforms and brings a message of economic mobility. He is hopeful, uplifting, and optimistic... and embodies the term 'compassionate conservatism.' All his responses struck a similar theme - he wants the US to be a shining city and wants everyone to get along.

    Kasich received his greatest applause for his answer to the question asking whether he supports gay marriage. "Look, I'm an old-fashioned person here and I happen to believe in traditional marriage. But I've also said that the Supreme Court has ruled ... and I said we'll accept it. And guess what? I just went to a wedding of a friend of mine who happens to be gay. Because somebody doesn't think the way I do doesn't mean that I can't care about them or I can't love them. So if one of my daughters happened to be that, of course I would love them and I would accept them. Because you know what? That's what we're taught when we have strong faith."

    Again, I was disappointed in how Megyn Kelly attempted to downplay his challenges and achievements. Scott Walker won his election as Governor of Wisconsin. He was recalled and then voted back in office again. And when he came up for re-election, the Democratic machinery and the unions did their best to keep him out of the office, he won again.... He won 3 times in 4 years. He defunded Planned Parenthood 4 years ago, turned a bleak fiscal situation around, and got people back to work. But Walker remained calm and delivered a strong debate performance. He refused to be rattled by the questions and simply maintained that "I side with the people on this one."

    His funniest moment of the night came when he commented that "the Russia and China governments probably know more about Hillary Clinton's server than the US Congress." LOL!!

    Megyn seemed to shy away from hard-hitting questions to Dr. Carson. But when he was asked a question, he certainly used the opportunity to show the audience that he has been doing his homework. His answers were thoughtful and very entertaining.

    After what seemed to be a long period of time, Carson was finally asked his second question of the night - whether he approves of water-boarding as a means to extract information from terrorists. He responded: "Thank you for the question. I was almost convinced I wouldn't have another opportunity to speak tonight." He then proceeded to answer the question: "What we do in order to get the information we need is our business and I wouldn't necessarily be broadcasting to everybody what we're going to do..... We've gotten into this mindset of fighting politically correct wars. If we don't tie the generals' hands behind their backs, they will fight wars extremely effectively."

    Probably my most favorite answer from Dr. Carson came when he was asked by Megyn Kelly what he would do as president to help heal the racial divide. He answered brilliantly: "The purveyors of hatred, who take every single incident between people of two races and try to make a race war out of it" and stated "those who want to destroy us are trying divide us, and we shouldn't let them do it. I think the bully pulpit is a wonderful place to start healing that divide. You know, we have the purveyors of hatred, who take every single incident between people of two races and try to make a race war out of it, and drive wedges into people, and this does not need to be done. What we need to think about instead, you know, I was asked by an NPR reporter once, why don't I talk about race that often. I said it's because I'm a neurosurgeon, and she thought that was a strange response. ... I said, 'You see, when I take someone to the operating room, I'm actually operating on the thing that makes them who they are. The skin doesn't make them who they are, the hair doesn't make they will who they are, and it is time for to us move beyond that, because, you know, our strength as a nation comes in our unity. We are the United States of America, not the divided states, and those who want to destroy us are trying divide us, and we shouldn't let them do it."

    In his closing remarks, Carson hit a real zinger. He said that other candidates were able to talk about their achievements and he wanted to do that as well. He said: "I'm the only one who has separated siamese twins. I'm the only one to take out half a brain, although if you go to Washington, he would think that someone beat me to it." LOL!!

    I am born and raised in New Jersey, but I must admit that I am not a Chris Christie fan. He soured for me when he began cozying up to President Obama. And then it really went downhill after I saw him in an overly tight baseball uniform for a charity game he participated in at Yankee Stadium. It's hard to get that disturbing image out of my mind. But my most substantive criticism is that he displays a fundamental lack of understanding of some of the issues - particularly on the government's illegal collection of personal information. I don't believe, as he clearly believes, that "the ends justify the means."

    Most people who watched the debates will probably admit that the highlight of the evening was the interaction between Chris Christie and Rand Paul on the topics of national security and privacy. It was very confrontational and personal. It was the only instance I can recall where one candidate intentionally attacked another candidate. Christie was asked if he can really "assign blame to Sen. Paul for opposing the bulk collection of people's phone records in the event of a terrorist attack?" Without hesitation, he answered "Yes."

    Christie said he was personally involved in the events of 9/11 and prosecuting terrorists while Rand Paul was merely "sitting in a subcommittee blowing hot air," and trying to frustrate the government's effort to hunt down terrorists and keep Americans safe.

    Rand reminded Christie that the government can go after the phone records of terrorists without having to violate the 4th amendment and collect the private records of innocent citizens. "I want to collect more records from terrorists and less records from innocent Americans."

    Christie asserted that it is impossible to do both. At that point, Paul proclaimed: "Here's the problem, governor. You fundamentally misunderstood the Bill of Rights."

    Paul then reminded viewers that he filibustered for 10 hours on the Senate floor in an attempt to derail the extension of the Patriot Act and protect the 4th Amendment privacy rights of Americans. "I'm the only one fighting for your civil liberties!"

    And then it happened.... Rand Paul brought up the "hug heard 'round the world." He told Christie: "I don't trust president Obama with our records. I know you gave him a big hug and if you want to give him a big hug again, go right ahead."

    Christie answered by saying the "hugs" that he remembers "are the hugs that I gave to the families who lost their people on September 11th. Those are the hugs I remember." I don't appreciate candidates who try to tug on heartstrings in order to excuse their disregard of the Constitution.