Over 22 million people watched the Republican debate on CNN. It was highly entertaining. There is no doubt about it, the Donald makes it all more interesting. He is a showman and his presence has people paying attention which could be very good for the GOP. However, under a bright light hopefully comes more scrutiny.
Carly Fiorina by most accounts was the candidate who really stood out during the debate. One of her big moments was when she spoke of Planned Parenthood and defunding it due to abortions. She spoke of a video she saw that allegedly had a doctor or nurse saying “we have to keep it alive to harvest its brain,” in regards to a fully formed fetus. That is gruesome and grotesque and deeply disturbing. She challenged Secretary Clinton and President Obama to watch this video that she has seen. I imagine viewing this video would certainly change some minds on late term abortions and the funding of Planned Parenthood. There is one problem. It does not exist. Nobody can find it. She gets to make political points and change minds while telling a boldface lie. She is not the only one.
Jeb Bush said there is one thing nobody can take away from his brother. George kept Americans safe. Unfortunately families of 9/11 victims and families of veterans and casualties of the Iraq war disagree. Nobody pointed this out. Instead it was an applause break for Jeb. Confront Jeb and read off the numbers of victims. Confront him with the number of first responders who are still dying as a direct result of working on the site of the 9/11 tragedy. Confront him with reality.
When asked about global warming Donald Trump does not believe it is anything other than related to weather. Confront him with the science. Confront him with accounts of dying oceans and melting polar caps. Confront him with the reality that sea levels are rising and this will have a direct impact on our coastal communities and therefore all of us. George Shultz was President Reagan’s Secretary of State and is certainly not a liberal says global warming is real. Make Trump and any others who think like him go on the record and say he does not believe in science.
Governor Huckabee was weighing in on the Kentucky Clerk Kim Davis and was citing minority Supreme Court opinions like they matter and had any legal standing. Remind the governor that minority opinions are just that…opinions. Law is not based on or enforced using minority opinions. Don’t let him pontificate.
Those who know me know inaccuracies passed on as truth drive me nuts especially when the truth is so readily available. It is no longer good enough to say the earth is flat because you heard your friend say it. Thirty million people tuned into the debate. Much less people will tune in the following day when some of these candidates will be forced to back track or spin. The technology is available to hold candidates to the fire in real time for the words they say. If they were held to this standard you would have candidates who would be more thoughtful and less manipulative when they spoke. You would have a more informed voting public. And no this is not just for the GOP. I want the Democrats held to the same standard. As Thomas Jefferson once said, “the people get the government they deserve.” As I look around my Facebook news feed at all the inaccurate memes passed on as fact and I look at our political system I think TJ may have been correct. All I can say is check everything because you never know where subterfuge and chicanery may exist.