Friday, August 7, 2015
From: Gary L. Bauer
Who Won? You Decide
The Republican candidates had their first real debate last night. Early indications are that the audience was huge. There were none of the dreaded “gaffes” all candidates fear, nor was there one single debate moment that dominated the evening. The jury is out on who was helped and who was hurt.
Here’s my take: Carly Fiorina, participating in the “2nd tier” debate, was impressive. The former Hewlett Packard CEO was smart, crisp, conservative, and articulate. It would be a treat to see her debate Hillary. In the top tier debate Trump was Trump: tough, sharp tongue, take no prisoners. Two unscientific “call-in” polls this morning, Drudge and Time magazine, have him as the winner.
Cruz and Rubio were very impressive. Both are positioned as real contenders to win conservative grass roots. Jeb was unremarkable in my view. He had no outstanding moment. For the first hour he seemed hesitant. He was better in the second hour, but at this point, other than because of his money, should he really be considered the “front runner.” Ben Carson had a great one-liner at the end of the debate on being a brain surgeon and wondering if the folks who run Washington have already lost half of their brains. Huckabee was impressive as always as was Santorum. Christie and Rand Paul got into an early nasty exchange on balancing civil liberties with national security. It didn’t reflect well particularly when the camera caught him smirking when Christie talked about hugging the families of victims killed on 9/11. Paul reiterated his opposition to aid for Israel. Really, Senator? Even Obama supports aid to Israel, although he obviously is willing to sacrifice Israeli security for his ill-conceived Iran nuke deal.
Obama Loses Two Key Democrats
As Obama was heading out of town, news broke that two key Democrats were going to oppose his ill-conceived Iran nuke deal. In the senate, Senator Chuck Schumer ended weeks of speculation and announced that after studying the nuke pact he is unconvinced it does what Obama claims. Here is the core of the statement he released:
“In the first ten years of the deal, there are serious weaknesses in the agreement. First, inspections are not ‘anywhere, anytime’; the 24-day delay before we can inspect is troubling. Even more troubling is the fact that the U.S. cannot demand inspections unilaterally. Additionally, the ‘snapback’ provisions in the agreement seem cumbersome and difficult to use.
“After ten years, if Iran is the same nation as it is today, we will be worse off with this agreement than without it. If one thinks Iran will moderate, one should approve the agreement.
“But if one feels that Iranian leaders will not moderate and their unstated but very real goal is to get relief from the onerous sanctions, while still retaining their nuclear ambitions and their ability to increase belligerent activities in the Middle East and elsewhere, then one should conclude that it would be better not to approve this agreement. To me, the very real risk that Iran will not moderate and will, instead, use the agreement to pursue its nefarious goals is too great.”
In the House, Rep. Eliot Engel (NY) the top Democrat on the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, said he would vote “no” too. Engel said:
“The answers I’ve received simply don’t convince me that this deal will keep a nuclear weapon out of Iran’s hands, and may in fact strengthen Iran’s position as a destabilizing and destructive influence across the Middle East�”
Obama did land two Democrat senators, however. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (NH) was not a surprise. More significant was Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (NY), who many thought would oppose the deal. Apparently, Senator Schumer made no serious effort to convince her to join him in opposing the pact.
TAKE ACTION: If enough of you act, we can stop this deal. Your elected members of Congress are evaluating President Obama’s nuclear deal right now. They need to hear from their constituents. Call the Capitol Hill switchboard right now at 202-224-3121 and urge them to oppose the Iran nuclear deal.
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