As both parties hold debates, candidates continue to spew lies and make unbelievable statements. My previous post included Jeb Bush, Ben Carson, Chris Christie, and Ted Cruz.Check out the next four (in alphabetical order).
• Carly Fiorina, the only woman in the Republican field, had a good showing in the first and second debates even though Fact Check proved what she said about abortions and fetal tissue video footage was deliberately false. And although Planned Parenthood and other reputable sources have denied her assertions, she doubled down on her flawed commentary by saying at the second debate: "I dare Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama to watch these tapes [edited tapes and supplied by anti-abortion group Center for Medical Progress, yet still didn’t have the scene she described]. Watch a fully formed fetus on the table, its heart beating, its legs kicking, while someone says: 'We have to keep it alive to harvest its brain.' “(Tampa Bay times, Political Fact .com; http://www.politifact.com/... meter/statements/2015/sep/17/carly-fiorina/cnn-debate-carly-fiorina-urges-others-watch-planne/). Liked by Republicans for her robust criticism of Clinton and her strong response to Trump has launched her from the kid’s table to a real contender. With an impressive career in both profit and nonprofit work, Carly Fiorina became the first woman to lead a Fortune 50 company. She touts her business acumen, even though she was fired by Hewlett-Packard after the company’s stock value dropped by half in 2005 from $106 billion to $56 billion. While she cites the revenue as doubling during her tenure, she neglects to mention that a large share of that was because of her disastrous purchase of Compaq, increasing the low margin PC business versus growing the more lucrative printer business. As far as her political or government experience, she has never held an elected office. In 2010 she ran for a California U.S. Senate seat, but lost to Barbara Boxer. Now she is running for President of the United States. Carly successfully fights for spotlight by supporting standard GOP values –no new taxes regardless, no ban on assault weapons, and repeal Obamacare. She shares some truths about her rival Republicans, “People are tired of the status quo. You see that in various movements in and out of our [the Republicans] party, but most candidates are offering hollow rhetoric, not specific solutions.” (Carly Fiorina Quotes, http://www.azquotes.com/...) Is Carly a viable candidate or is it just her turn in the spotlight?
• Lindsey Graham’s ratings are approximately zero percent, so there are only two ways he can go -- up or out. Since his platform is primarily bomb Iran, this extremely hawkish senator isn’t very popular with most rational people. The Iraq war destabilized the Middle East, left a large parcel of land for ISIS to grow and occupy; an Iraq army incapable or unwilling to defeat ISIL; incurred trillions in costs, thousands of dead Americans, and thousands more with missing limbs and suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder; and soldiers with years of deployments who now are finding it hard to integrate into society. Lindsey Graham’s foreign policy is clear—he wants to invade Iraq again. You cannot destroy ISIL in Syria without a ground component. ..There is no way that I can see how we fix the problem in Iraq and Syria without American ground troops. (Lindsey Graham on War & Peace; http://www.ontheissues.org/...). On the domestic front, his support for the controversial oil industry is consistent. Even though the oil and gas industries continue to rake in high profits, Graham would prefer giving them taxpayer subsidies rather than using the money for food stamps, healthcare, or education. Accordingly he said, “I’m going to vote with my party. I just think oil subsidies have to be part of a bigger package.” (Top 10 Absurd Quotes by Lindsey Graham, http://www.freedomworks.org/...) Do you think most Americans support oil subsidies over job programs, feeding the hungry, taking care of our veterans, and making education affordable?
• Mike Huckabee, an Evangelical Christian, thinks we shouldn’t have separation of church and state, but be ruled by the divine. Does he not realize that idea goes against the very foundation of our country? His outlandish remarks include “The Iran deal is so bad it will ‘take the Israelis and march them to the door of the oven.’” ('Offensive,' 'Sad': Reaction To Huckabee's Holocaust 'Oven' Reference; http://www.npr.org/...) Additionally Huckabee called on conservative Christians to engage in a massive "Biblical disobedience" campaign against the "false god of judicial supremacy," comparing the Supreme Court decision on the legality of gay marriage to the Dred Scott case that upheld the Fugitive Slave Act. (Mike Huckabee Set the Bar Really High for the Worst Reaction to the Same-Sex Marriage Ruling; http://www.motherjones.com/...) His overt support for law breaker and jailed Kim Davis displays a disturbing quality that is sweeping our country…that an individual’s own religious beliefs top the rule of law. Therefore, he supports a theocracy type of government over our current democracy. Do you care if America becomes a theocracy rather than a democracy?
• John Kasich, governor of OH, just barely made the first Top Ten debate, and had a less than stellar performance in the second one. Unlike most Republicans, he admits that we have to take steps to fix our environment. “If we intend to provide a better life, and a better world, for future generations, we can't ignore the quality of the environment we leave them.” (John Kasich Quotes, http://www.azquotes.com/...) But as Governor his conservative values dominated many of his actions. He cut taxes in Ohio several times. He is anti-abortion, and signed a controversial bill placing restrictions on the procedure and women's access to it. He also strongly favored a labor law that would have imposed harsh restrictions on collective bargaining rights, but the proposition was defeated in a popular election. Along with practical agenda items, his bizarre views shine through on other issues. While many Americans think teachers make a lot of sacrifices in pursuit of educating our youth, Kasich believes otherwise. He recently stated, "If I were, not president, but if I were king in America, I would abolish all teachers’ lounges where they sit together and worry about 'woe is us.'” (GOP presidential candidate says teachers are whiners with a 'woe is us' attitude; http://www.businessinsider.com/...) Do we really want a president who thinks one of our most pressing national issues is teachers’ ability to converse with each other a few minutes a day away from the students they are working hard to educate?