boforsenate (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} boforsenate) wrote,@ 2006-10-11 02:06:00 |
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Debates - Round Two
I was able to watch the second debate between Ford and Corker tonight, and of course I have a few comments I'd like to make. Again, these aren't direct quotes but they're pretty close to what the candidates said.
The opening remarks were started by Bob Corker who talked about how he grew up in Chattanooga, started a business, etc. He then spoke about big ideas. Ummm...where? I haven't seen these "big ideas" in his campaign yet. Ford followed up by saying that we need to be involved in bilateral talks with North Korea and involve the UN. I say we need a few aircraft carriers off the coast of North Korea and forget the UN.
The candidates were given three minutes to respond to a question, and whoever had the rebuttal was given one minute. Why it would take three minutes to answer some of these questions is beyond me.
The first question went to Bob Corker, and he was asked how he thinks we should end the war in Iraq so we can bring the troops home. He tried to wiggle his way out of his "stay the course" statement from Saturday, and said we needed a new strategy which would include focusing on hotspots, securing Baghdad, and disarming the militias. Did he say HOW? No. Ford brought up Corker's "stay the course" remark from Saturday and again spoke about his three region idea that is neither new or original. My response? We shouldn't have sent our troops in to fight a war with one hand tied behind their backs. If the enemy runs into a mosque, blow it up. If we unleashed what our military is capable of from the start, I don't think we'd be in this mess.
Next Ford was asked about missing votes. An ad from the Corker campaign says that Ford has missed at least 365 votes. He said that he missed these votes because he was out campaigning. So he missed 365 votes in the last year or so? Wow, I wish I had a job where I could do that. Heck, I had to cancel an appearance in Knoxville for next week because I can't take the time off work. I don't know about you, but any job I've ever been at, they would fire someone who was constantly missing work, and that's what I would have said to Ford. His answer was insulting. Then he went on to say we didn't have a plan after taking Hussein out of power, so my question for him would be "Then why in the heck did you vote for it?" Corker spoke about his work ethic with his business and as Mayor.
Up next was the topic of the fence at the border, and it went to Corker. Is he for it? Ahh...I really don't know. He spoke about being at mile 6 (for his ad) and talked about allowing people to work here only if they're legal, so the issue of the fence was never addressed. Ford said Corker hired illegals and we need to adopt the 41 recommendations of the 9/11 commission. So guess what? NEITHER of these guys gave a yes or no answer. I never believe a word these guys say when it comes to border security, and this is further proof. My answer? Yes, I support it and want it to extend across our northern and southern border. Simple, isn't it?
Ford was then asked about the national debt. He said we need to eliminate pork spending (which I find extremely hypocritical of him to say), and that we need to let medicare negotiate with drug companies. Again, I know I sound like a broken record, but where is the authority in the Constitution to have ANYTHING to do with healthcare? Corker said that Ford wanted more government spending and then talked about his dealings with the INS, so we got no answer from him about the debt. I've stated this MANY times how we need to eliminate EVERY federal program that is not based on Constitutional authority. That would be a great start.
Abortion was the next topic, and Corker was asked where he stands. Come on, haven't we already gone over this enough? He says he's pro-life and Ford says he's pro-life. I'm pro-life too, but still believe this to be a state issue.
Up next was Ford being asked about the bar exam. He was asked how many times he took it, did he pass it, and does he call himself a lawyer. He said he took it once but failed it because he was too busy being a Congressman. He claimed his remark about being a lawyer was basically taken out of context, and then wowed the crowd by pulling a rabbit out of a hat. He might as well have, because he started talking about Iraq again and didn't give a straight answer about him addressing himself as a lawyer. Corker rebutted by talking about his dealings with the INS again???
Corker was then asked about minimum wage. He said he wants to lessen the burden on small businesses, I guess so they can pay employees more money? And then stated something about making healthcare affordable. Ford said he supported a minimum wage increase and then stated he has worked for BELOW minimum wage before. Really? I kind of have a hard time believing that. I mean that's illegal isn't it? Basically Corker never said he would support an increase, but at the same time tried to sound like he supported one. My response is that I am against minimum wage because, yet again, the Constitution does not give Congress the authority to dictate to businesses how much they have to pay someone. And I would have also told my story about when I was working for minimum wage when an increase went into effect and how the place I worked raised all their prices. Where do people who support minimum wage increases think all this extra money comes from? Do they think some magic fairy sprinkles pixie dust on a business and they all of the sudden have extra money to give their employees?
The next question went to Ford and it was about keeping gas prices low and if he supported drilling in Alaska. He really made no sense here. I mean he went on and on about funding both sides of the war, but really said nothing and didn't answer about drilling in Alaska. When Corker gave his rebuttal, Ford yelled out he supported drilling in Alaska. Gee, I find that kind of weird considering he voted AGAINST drilling in Alaska. Oh wait, I do call him Harold Fraud sometimes. I completely support tapping our own resources until other sources of energy are found.
Look, in case you can't already tell, these guys basically played the game of soundbite politics. There were a couple of questions after these, one of which I found pretty amusing. Ford was asked what attributes he feels he has to be able to govern, and Corker gave a rebuttal. They both talked about being able to work with either party. Gee, maybe it's just me, but I would state attributes such as honesty, integrity, ability to be able to adhere to the Constitution, things like that.
The only other really entertaining part was when the topic of lobbyists came up. You want to talk about dodging the question, both of these guys were doing their best tap dance to distract people. Corker brought up something about Ford's dad being a lobbyist, and of course Ford took this as a personal attack and went into a rant about "leaving families out of this". I love how every time someone brings up Ford's family, and especially when they NEVER mention the alleged illegal activities, that person is accused of a personal attack. Not like it matters, neither one of these guys said they don't deal with lobbyists and to me, lobbyists are one of the major factors involved in government corruption. We all know that, yet these guys would NOT distance themselves from them.
I've watched debates a lot over the years, and I honestly never put any stock in them because the candidates rarely say anything that would sway me. Most people I believe already have their minds made up when the debates take place, so it comes down to a bunch of "playing for the cameras". This is why I ask again for your help in getting me on the October 28th debate to have someone involved who won't play this game, someone who will TRULY speak his opinion with yes/no type answers. Please head over to my "news" section and contact the LWV and News Channel 5 to ask that I am able to participate. I'm amazed that Tennessee is being looked at as such a crucial state in this election, and the two candidates on the debate tonight are all most people in this state will know of. Corker just comes across as too vanilla, too "party line" kind of guy. Ford comes across as an arrogant hot-shot, and he has the Bill Clinton thumb-pointing technique down.
I can't believe that one of these two guys will actually win this election when they both offer nothing.
I was able to watch the second debate between Ford and Corker tonight, and of course I have a few comments I'd like to make. Again, these aren't direct quotes but they're pretty close to what the candidates said.
The opening remarks were started by Bob Corker who talked about how he grew up in Chattanooga, started a business, etc. He then spoke about big ideas. Ummm...where? I haven't seen these "big ideas" in his campaign yet. Ford followed up by saying that we need to be involved in bilateral talks with North Korea and involve the UN. I say we need a few aircraft carriers off the coast of North Korea and forget the UN.
The candidates were given three minutes to respond to a question, and whoever had the rebuttal was given one minute. Why it would take three minutes to answer some of these questions is beyond me.
The first question went to Bob Corker, and he was asked how he thinks we should end the war in Iraq so we can bring the troops home. He tried to wiggle his way out of his "stay the course" statement from Saturday, and said we needed a new strategy which would include focusing on hotspots, securing Baghdad, and disarming the militias. Did he say HOW? No. Ford brought up Corker's "stay the course" remark from Saturday and again spoke about his three region idea that is neither new or original. My response? We shouldn't have sent our troops in to fight a war with one hand tied behind their backs. If the enemy runs into a mosque, blow it up. If we unleashed what our military is capable of from the start, I don't think we'd be in this mess.
Next Ford was asked about missing votes. An ad from the Corker campaign says that Ford has missed at least 365 votes. He said that he missed these votes because he was out campaigning. So he missed 365 votes in the last year or so? Wow, I wish I had a job where I could do that. Heck, I had to cancel an appearance in Knoxville for next week because I can't take the time off work. I don't know about you, but any job I've ever been at, they would fire someone who was constantly missing work, and that's what I would have said to Ford. His answer was insulting. Then he went on to say we didn't have a plan after taking Hussein out of power, so my question for him would be "Then why in the heck did you vote for it?" Corker spoke about his work ethic with his business and as Mayor.
Up next was the topic of the fence at the border, and it went to Corker. Is he for it? Ahh...I really don't know. He spoke about being at mile 6 (for his ad) and talked about allowing people to work here only if they're legal, so the issue of the fence was never addressed. Ford said Corker hired illegals and we need to adopt the 41 recommendations of the 9/11 commission. So guess what? NEITHER of these guys gave a yes or no answer. I never believe a word these guys say when it comes to border security, and this is further proof. My answer? Yes, I support it and want it to extend across our northern and southern border. Simple, isn't it?
Ford was then asked about the national debt. He said we need to eliminate pork spending (which I find extremely hypocritical of him to say), and that we need to let medicare negotiate with drug companies. Again, I know I sound like a broken record, but where is the authority in the Constitution to have ANYTHING to do with healthcare? Corker said that Ford wanted more government spending and then talked about his dealings with the INS, so we got no answer from him about the debt. I've stated this MANY times how we need to eliminate EVERY federal program that is not based on Constitutional authority. That would be a great start.
Abortion was the next topic, and Corker was asked where he stands. Come on, haven't we already gone over this enough? He says he's pro-life and Ford says he's pro-life. I'm pro-life too, but still believe this to be a state issue.
Up next was Ford being asked about the bar exam. He was asked how many times he took it, did he pass it, and does he call himself a lawyer. He said he took it once but failed it because he was too busy being a Congressman. He claimed his remark about being a lawyer was basically taken out of context, and then wowed the crowd by pulling a rabbit out of a hat. He might as well have, because he started talking about Iraq again and didn't give a straight answer about him addressing himself as a lawyer. Corker rebutted by talking about his dealings with the INS again???
Corker was then asked about minimum wage. He said he wants to lessen the burden on small businesses, I guess so they can pay employees more money? And then stated something about making healthcare affordable. Ford said he supported a minimum wage increase and then stated he has worked for BELOW minimum wage before. Really? I kind of have a hard time believing that. I mean that's illegal isn't it? Basically Corker never said he would support an increase, but at the same time tried to sound like he supported one. My response is that I am against minimum wage because, yet again, the Constitution does not give Congress the authority to dictate to businesses how much they have to pay someone. And I would have also told my story about when I was working for minimum wage when an increase went into effect and how the place I worked raised all their prices. Where do people who support minimum wage increases think all this extra money comes from? Do they think some magic fairy sprinkles pixie dust on a business and they all of the sudden have extra money to give their employees?
The next question went to Ford and it was about keeping gas prices low and if he supported drilling in Alaska. He really made no sense here. I mean he went on and on about funding both sides of the war, but really said nothing and didn't answer about drilling in Alaska. When Corker gave his rebuttal, Ford yelled out he supported drilling in Alaska. Gee, I find that kind of weird considering he voted AGAINST drilling in Alaska. Oh wait, I do call him Harold Fraud sometimes. I completely support tapping our own resources until other sources of energy are found.
Look, in case you can't already tell, these guys basically played the game of soundbite politics. There were a couple of questions after these, one of which I found pretty amusing. Ford was asked what attributes he feels he has to be able to govern, and Corker gave a rebuttal. They both talked about being able to work with either party. Gee, maybe it's just me, but I would state attributes such as honesty, integrity, ability to be able to adhere to the Constitution, things like that.
The only other really entertaining part was when the topic of lobbyists came up. You want to talk about dodging the question, both of these guys were doing their best tap dance to distract people. Corker brought up something about Ford's dad being a lobbyist, and of course Ford took this as a personal attack and went into a rant about "leaving families out of this". I love how every time someone brings up Ford's family, and especially when they NEVER mention the alleged illegal activities, that person is accused of a personal attack. Not like it matters, neither one of these guys said they don't deal with lobbyists and to me, lobbyists are one of the major factors involved in government corruption. We all know that, yet these guys would NOT distance themselves from them.
I've watched debates a lot over the years, and I honestly never put any stock in them because the candidates rarely say anything that would sway me. Most people I believe already have their minds made up when the debates take place, so it comes down to a bunch of "playing for the cameras". This is why I ask again for your help in getting me on the October 28th debate to have someone involved who won't play this game, someone who will TRULY speak his opinion with yes/no type answers. Please head over to my "news" section and contact the LWV and News Channel 5 to ask that I am able to participate. I'm amazed that Tennessee is being looked at as such a crucial state in this election, and the two candidates on the debate tonight are all most people in this state will know of. Corker just comes across as too vanilla, too "party line" kind of guy. Ford comes across as an arrogant hot-shot, and he has the Bill Clinton thumb-pointing technique down.
I can't believe that one of these two guys will actually win this election when they both offer nothing.
