Written by Juliana Simone
August 7, 2015
The Fox News Network aired on Thursday evening, August 6th, what they called the first debates between the seventeen announced Republicans who are running for President and are seeking their party’s endorsement. The term ‘debate’ is questionable as it seemed more like target practice, where all the candidates apparently had a bulls-eye around their necks for the moderators. Each of them were hit with pre-written commentary veiled as questions that were clearly fired to take them down, rather than lift them up. Fox News, whose slogan is “fair and balanced,” did not illustrate such during this presumed debate that would allow candidates to showcase their views in the limited time allotted, but was much more of a mainstream media sabotage.
The Fox News Network aired what they called the first debates between the seventeen announced Republicans who are running for President and seeking their party’s endorsement on Thursday evening, August 6th. The term debate is questionable as it seemed more like target practice, where all the candidates apparently had a bullseye around their necks for the moderators. Each of them were hit with pre-written commentary veiled as questions that were clearly fired to take them down, rather than lift them up. Fox News whose slogan is “fair and balanced,” did not illustrate such during this presumed debate that would allow candidates to showcase their views in the limited time allotted, but was much more of a mainstream sabotage.
Perhaps this should have been The National Enquirer’s televised event considering the content of the material that came out of each host’s mouth with the learned token smile or straight face feigning a serious demeanor for the camera. Note to future debate moderators: People are tuning in to see the candidates, not you.
The Nielsen ratings reported the highest numbers ever recorded in history for primary debates were earned for Fox, with over twenty-four million people tuning in to watch the Prime Time debate showcasing ten of the seventeen candidates, with just shy of 8 million of those in the desired advertising demographics of people between the ages of twenty-five and fifty-four. Still beating the record for any prior televised debate before Thursday evening, just over six million people tuned in to see the preliminary debate with the other seven candidates who had lower polling numbers with the public. For Fox News, the show became their highest rated telecast ever for primary debates in the Channel’s history, with over six million tuning in to see the seven candidates who had lower polling numbers.
For these millions of viewers, expert policy was still consistently delivered from all seventeen candidates over the three hours of questions delivered to the two panels, despite the skewering, labeling and blatent effort from the moderators to paint their negative image of these professionals who could all easily sit in the Oval Office tomorrow and do a better job than sitting President Obama or any potential Democrat candidate.
The first debate, shown at 5PM EST, featured seven candidates seeking the Republican Party nomination to run for President in 2016, put on stage former Texas Governor Rick Perry, current sitting Governor Bobby Jindal, former Pennsylvania U.S. Senator and 2008 presidential candidate Rick Santorum, Businesswoman Carly Fiorina, South Carolina U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, former New York Governor George Pataki and former Virginia Governor Jim Gilmore. This hour of questions was moderated by Bill Hemmer and Martha MacCallum.
No surprise in any Republican interview or debate, the moderators promptly started with adverse questions most commonly reserved for members of this Party. This theme presided through both debates with just different mouthpieces setting up the slanted inquiries.
Opening remarks gave quick rules about time and noted that in one year from today the Republican Party nominee will be sitting here today.
Aiming first at one-time front runner for the 2012 nominee before choosing to drop out and later endorsing Mitt Romney, was Texas Governor Rick Perry. Perry, the fifth generation Texan whose family goes back to the early English colonists, was born to cotton farmers and whose father was a Democrat, has many accomplishments as an Eagle Scout, Texas A&M graduate and Corps of Cadets member, and as a Captain in the United States Air Force. He also served as a State House Represented for three terms as a Democrat and Agricultural Commissioner before being elected to Lieutenant Governor as a Republican. He now holds the title of the longest serving Governor in Texas, (elected to three terms in 2002, 2006 and 2010). The Fox News moderator summed him up differently stressing only negatives, and after this unfavorable summary of his career as Governor, Perry was asked “Why should people vote for you today?”
Not new to the game with the mainstream media, three-term Governor Perry was able to instantly respond how his state of Texas, under his leadership, was able to add 1.5 million jobs during a time when America was going through a period like our worst recession. He said on a positive note, the best days of America are in front of us. In response to the questioner who also wondered why he failed to run in 2012 as expected, he honestly noted back surgery and preparation as reasons. In jest, he mused “I was the front runner for three hours and that was the best three hours of my life.”
Carly Fiorina was next in line. Fiorina who once was the CEO of Hewlett-Packard, rising to the top from starting as a secretary, is most well-known for merging HP with Compaq which is the biggest high-tech merger in business today, resigned after HP stock lost half its value. She went on to serve as an advisor on Arizona Senator John McCain’s presidential campaign in 2008, and then ran for the U.S. Senate, losing to democrat incumbent Barbara Boxer. The moderator, kinder to her than the others on stage, maybe because of her gender, asked her about her qualifications and how as a former technology executive she would bring this knowledge to office.
Carly tells viewers how she rose from the position of secretary to CEO (of Hewlett-Packard). She adds, “I think to be Commander in Chief in the 21st century requires someone who understands how the economy works; someone who understands how the world works and who’s in it — I know more world leaders on the stage today than anyone running with the possible exception of Hillary Clinton — understands bureaucracies, how to cut them down to size, and hold them accountable; understands technology, which is a tool but it’s also a weapon that’s being used against us.”
The big story for the mainstream media, however, was Carly’s actually calling their presumed nominee ex-SOS democrat presidential nominee Hillary Clinton a liar.
In post-debate interviews on Fox and other channels, the candidates made the rounds and appeared on live broadcasts to discuss their positions and performance. Fiorina, met with MSNBC’s Chris Matthew’s only to be assailed by the host on her broadcasted statement during the debate, who fiercely challenged her on her view. (http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2015/08/06/carly_fiorina_post-debate_faceoff_with_chris_matthews_i_will_debate_hillary_on_benghazi_server_planned_parenthood.html)
Targeting former two-term Pennsylvania U.S. Senator, Penn State grad, devout Catholic and father of seven, attorney, political consultant and 2012 presidential candidate Rick Santorum next, the moderator’s writers reminds him and viewers how he won the Iowa caucus four years ago and ten other states, but failed to beat Mitt Romney for the nomination, and in brief homage complimented Santorum adding no one here is going to question your conviction or your love for country, before hitting him with this caustic question – “Has your moment passed, Senator?” Santorum, another professional not new to debates, answered in the positive, said his message that won him Iowa and ten other states in pretty overwhelming odds, is the message that is going to deliver us in this election. He remembered not starting at the top of the heap four years ago and that they weren’t where they were today, but they stuck to their message:
Next in their sights, Louisiana native Bobby (née Piyush) Jindal, an enterprising youth in business and sports, who after being selected by Brown University for a pre-med program that only takes fifty students, was accepted at both Yale Law School and Harvard Medical School, but chose to attend Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar. Fiscal and social conservative Jindal, raised in a Hindu household, and the son of two engineers, was baptized into the Catholic Church during his freshman year at Brown. He is married with three children.
Former Congressman, first Indian American elected Governor, faced the selective wording from Foxof his question stated his current popularity rate among his constituents (percentage wise in the mid-thirties), noted in recent polls if Hillary Clinton were to be the Democrat nominee, she would beat him in his own state by several points, so therefore, if the people in Louisiana aren’t satisfied, what makes you think that the people of this nation would be?
Bouncing back with ease, he thanked the panel for hosting this debate and cited his record which included cutting 26% of the budget, we have 30,000 fewer state bureaucrats than the day he took office cutting government anywhere/anytime, we have eight credit upgrades, and are a top ten state for private sector job creation; state-wide school choice where the dollars follow the child instead of the child following the dollars, and were the most pro-life state for six years. In his minute of time, he won two landslide elections, said both Democrats and Republicans have got us in the mess we are in – eighteen millions of debt, have a bad deal with Iran and are not standing with Israel. Jindal believes change with the right leadership is what is needed to turn the country.
Native Carolinian, U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, who rose to the U.S. Senate after serving in the U.S House of Representatives for four terms, is a U.S Air Force Reserve officer, social moderate and considered in Washington to be a war hawk, followed, using all of his time to strongly oppose presumed Democrat nominee Hillary Clinton and emphasize the importance of our military presence and foreign policy. Aside from this agenda, Graham said under Clinton, we would follow cap and trade, and under his leadership, we would develop our own energy independence. He said he was sick of spending our country’s money on oil from people who hate our guts.
Moving on to Former New York Governor George Pataki, an attorney, who served municipally as Mayor before moving on to New York’s state assembly as a representative and senator, he accomplished beating three-term democrat Governor Mario Cuomo by a three point margin to then serve three terms himself. He is a fiscal conservative and social moderate.
Pataki’s question from the Fox News Network debate, cited former presidential nominee Mitt Romney said (in reference to his party) “we need new blood” and asked if he had a point. Pataki says as a Republican Governor in a democrat legislature, he was able to get Democrats to support Republican policies in New York, fix tax codes and cut taxes. Touching on Iran and the importance of negotiations with their leaders, he ended his time explaining he wasn’t ready to run four years ago. In this link below, Pataki interviews with Fox program host Greta Van Susteren before the debate and discusses his plan to let American voters know his record and plans for the future if elected.
http://video.foxnews.com/v/4402114505001/george-pataki-previews-gop-debate/?#sp=show-clips
The last of the seven candidates in what was nicknamed “the happy hour debate” – former one-term Virginia Governor, Jim Gilmore, who holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Virginia, a former U.S. Army counterintelligence agent, and Virginia Attorney General, was asked by the Fox News moderator, ‘as the last person to announce their candidacy, and as someone who hasn’t held office in thirteen years, again, is it time for new blood?’
What remains appealing about the legislators who have held office with experience is their ability to exercise their chops, so to speak, when being confronted by hostile reporters. Without a blink, Gilmore answered plainly and with confidence, because of the Obama/Clinton policies the country is moving further into decline, which he’d like to reverse.
Gilmore feels he has the experience to do this important job as a former elected prosecutor, he had served as an army intelligence agent in the cold war in West Germany, was the Chairman of Homeland Security for five years, Virginia’s Attorney General for six years and the Governor of his state during the 9/11 attack (1998-2002). This experience, in addition to building a solid economy while cutting taxes and creating jobs as the head of his state and his knowledge in foreign policy, makes him believe he is qualified for the job.