Capitol Report
By State Representative, Leon D. Young
Leon D. Young
The GOP gaggle of presidential wannabes met for their second debate last week, with the beautiful Ronald Reagan Library providing the visual backdrop.
An estimated 23 million Americans tuned in to watch the event, which quickly devolved into another sad spectacle of political buffoonery.
With several GOP campaigns already feeling the pressure and on political life support, a number of Republican candidates (Jeb Bush, Scott Walker, Rand Paul and to some extent Chris Christie), immediate went on the offensive in trying to take on the Republican front runner Donald Trump; in a desperate effort to jump start their respective presidential bids.
Without question, the biggest winner in this 3-hour marathon debate was Carly Fiorina, the former CEO of Hewlett- Packard. Ms. Fiorina, the only woman in the crowded GOP presidential field, more than held her own.
She came across to TV viewers as knowledgeable, decisive, and completely unflappable. Moreover, she demonstrated (in no uncertain terms) her unique ability to take the Donald to task, which is something the other candidates have failed or are reluctant to do.
Ms. Fiorina also forced Trump to eat a bit of crow when she successfully rebuffed him about a derogatory comment he had made concerning her looks in a Rolling Stones interview.
Refusing to apologize outright, Trump did feel the compunction to say, “I think she’s got a beautiful face and I think she’s a beautiful woman.”
Unlike the first GOP debate, which was nothing more than a glorified question and answer session, the Republican candidates were actually encouraged to engage one another.
Once the debate focus turned to foreign policy, it became immediately apparent that Donald Trump was literally a fish out of water.
Trump stood behind his debate lectern dumbfounded and speechless, and made no real attempt to add anything of substance to the exchange.
Scott Walker’s debate performance in Simi Valley was much like his first: a total disaster.
The governor initially tried to throw a few elbows at Trump, but when that effort failed, Walker quickly receded back into the woodwork.
However, in one memorable exchange, Walker reverted back to old habit: he lied.
When asked specifically about calling “the minimum wage lame,”Walker responded that “the best way to make sure people earn more than the minimum wage is to provide them with the education and skills so they make far more than minimum wage.”
If you know anything about Walker’s real record since becoming governor, he has cut over 1 billion dollars from public education(K-12), and has completely decimated the earning income for most middle-class families in Wisconsin.
As we all know now, Walker suspended his presidential bid less than a week later, but was disingenuous to the very end.
Walker in citing his reasons for ending his campaign made it sound like he was doing it for the “good” of the Republican Party, and encouraged other GOP candidates to do the same in order to flush out Donald Trump.
But, in the real world, political campaigns don’t just end, they simply run out of money.
This was Scott Walker’s fate, as well. The Koch brothers’ endless spigot of money finally dried up, following Walker’s lackluster campaign appearances.
This, in turn, forced Walker to fold up his tent and sheepishly go home.