GOP Debate 2015

The first debate among Republicans at Quicken Loans Arena had just ended and it was the talk of social network.  An earlier debate was held with Rick Perry, Rick Santorum, Governor Jindal and others who were not chosen for the main debate had their chance to present themselves. In that debate, Santorum came off a bit weak, Jindal seemed scripted and Perry flubbed by saying Ronald Raven instead of Ronald Reagan. The only one who was poised, calm and addressed the issues directly was the only female candidate, Carly Fiorina.


In the main debate event, Trump raised his hand to a question asking if anyone present would not run as an independent nor support the Republican nominee.  He received boos from the audience for this. Many worry that he will cause Republicans to lose the debate by running as an independent. Rand Paul then interjected attacking Trump criticizing his donations to Clinton and other politicians. It seemed Rand Paul was trying to get Trump and Chris Christie to lose their temper since he would do something similar later during the debate. During an exchange, Rand Paul interjected as Trump had finished speaking on Obamacare and Trump replied, "I don't think you heard me. You're having a bad time tonight."

Jeb Bush who is expected to be the nominee came off as pale and insecure in his replies.  He stuttered a lot and was meandering in many of his replies. Both Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz were more articulate and kept their temperament in check. Chris Christie also did well but was caught off guard when Rand Paul told him that he hugged Obama and he could go hug him again. Mike Hucklebee was also good, but he came across as too theocratic.  John Kasick of Ohio was meandered a bit, and seemed to be wishy washy on same-sex marriage and took advantage of the fact that the debate was in his home state. Ben Carson did not address questions directly and was too docile.  However, he gave some nice replies regarding divisions, race, and a funny closing. Scott Walker reinforced his views that he is pro-life and was the first to defund Planned Parenthood. However, he was not strong in other areas. Donald Trump was bombastic but toned down a bit. He was clearly unprepared and just repeated the same things he had since first announcing his candidacy. Rand Paul was a bit scripted, raising his voice to get attention but really did not present any plans. He seemed to be the one looking to attack others on the panel.

I was hoping to see a better debate. Much was expected from Trump, but he seemed to have bombed. Chris Christie was also not "himself" on the debate. I was expecting him and Trump to go at it at some point, but nothing happened.  The debate was too controlled by moderators. Some candidates were focused on more than others, and not all received the same questions.  The audience was left wondering where the candidates who were not asked specific questions stood on issues mentioned those questions. The debate broke network news history by being the most watch.  It had over 25 million viewers.







Source:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/wp/2015/08/07/marco-rubio-and-carly-fiorina-win-the-republican-debate/

https://www.yahoo.com/politics/the-6-buzziest-moments-from-the-fox-news-126060991291.html

https://www.yahoo.com/politics/august-6-gop-debate-cleveland-live-blog-analysis-125972433101.html

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/donald-trump-kicked-off-gop-012146278.html

https://www.yahoo.com/politics/august-6-gop-debate-cleveland-live-blog-analysis-125972433101.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/07/us/politics/rivals-jab-at-donald-trump-as-gop-debate-becomes-testy.html?_r=0

http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/live-coverage-republican-presidential-hopefuls-debate-n405591

http://time.com/3986043/republican-debate-watch/

http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/06/politics/republican-debate-fact-check/index.html

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/08/07/us-usa-election-republicans-idUSKCN0QB0AX20150807

The Presidential Race Begins

The presidential race for 2016 is underway. First Ted Cruz announced his candidacy last month with the platform that we have to "restore the constitution," now Rand Paul, Hillary Clinton, and Marco Rubio have also joined.  Like Ted Cruz, Rand Paul is also running on the platform of "bringing America back."  Hillary Clinton is running for a second time after dropping out in 2008. She announced her candidacy via her website using a video that featured mostly women and LGBT couples.  It is clear that she is running on progressive issues.  Marco Rubio spoke in a general way mentioning that politicians have been stuck in the 20th century and putting emphasis on the economy, immigration and foreign policy. Jeb Bush who was a mentor to Rubio has yet to officially announce his candidacy.  It will be interesting to see if Rubio attacks him during the campaign.

This presidential race should prove interesting. There can be a first Latino president, first female president and the first time a former first lady may become president. While the debate will rage on regarding economics, foreign policy, education and the like, I think social issues will be heavily discussed in this election; particularly, same-sex marriage, religious freedom and abortion.










Source:
http://www.wndu.com/home/headlines/Sen-Rand-Paul-enters-race-for-Republican-presidential-nomination-298927081.html

http://www.baynews9.com/content/news/baynews9/news/article.html/content/news/articles/bn9/2015/4/7/rand_paul_ready_to_j.html

http://wbay.com/2015/04/07/republican-rand-paul-enters-race-for-white-house/

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/apr/7/rand-paul-enters-presidential-race-vows-take-ameri/

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2015/03/23/a-time-to-reclaim-the-constitution-of-the-united-states-ted-cruz-enters-the-race/

http://www.france24.com/en/20150323-republican-senator-ted-cruz-announces-2016-presidential-bid/

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/24/us/politics/ted-cruz-2016-presidential-race.html

http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/lara-brown/2015/04/13/hillary-clintons-2016-announcement-video-shows-shes-her-own-worst-enemy

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/13/hillary-clinton-video_n_7055324.html

http://time.com/3819137/hillary-clinton-2016-video/

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/meet-gay-couple-featured-hillary-clintons-presidential-announcement/story?id=30275674

http://www.npr.org/blogs/itsallpolitics/2015/04/13/399233906/hillary-clinton-is-back-but-will-there-be-a-return-of-the-rodham

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/14/us/politics/on-the-road-hillary-clinton-stops-for-lunch-at-chipotle-and-goes-unrecognized.html?_r=0

Drones can Kill Americans

A big commotion is unfolding in Washington, DC.  Attorney General Eric Holder stated in a letter to Senator Rand Paul that the President has the authority to launch a drone attack against any American citizen without a trial.  The words are indeed troubling.  In a nation that prides itself on the words, "Innocent until proven guilty," the suggestion that the President can have any American killed via a drone at will without trial is indeed something all Americans should be concerned with.  Rand Paul is now doing some old fashion filibustering by attempting to block the confirmation of John Brennan as CIA director in order to garner attention to the issue.

Rand Paul said:

“I will speak as long as it takes, until the alarm is sounded from coast to coast that our Constitution is important, that your rights to trial by jury are precious, that no American should be killed by a drone on American soil without first being charged with a crime, without first to be found guilty by a court."

This issue is now adding fire to the gun debate where some fear that the government is getting too powerful and citizens must have arms ready in case tyranny shows its ugly head.

It is indeed a scary time to be an American.  



Source:

http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/345040

http://security.blogs.cnn.com/2013/03/05/holder-drone-strike-against-americans-in-the-u-s-possible/