Meeting the presidential candidates, Round One

One of the benefits of living in northeastern Nebraska is living relatively close to Iowa and the chance to see many presidential candidates up close. As a result, I have taken advantage of that opportunity each of the last two Fridays in October and made the trip across the Missouri River to such places as Atlantic, Council Bluffs and Orange City, Iowa to listen to and meet-and-greet with five of the Republican candidates. Here are my thoughts on each of them.

Ted Cruz

Texas Senator Ted Cruz was the first candidate I went to listen to on Oct. 23 in Atlantic and Council Bluffs. Sen. Cruz has earned a reputation for his outspoken conservatism and is considered to be part of the rogues gallery by many liberals.

While Sen. Cruz is very very conservative, I also found him to be a dynamic speaker and he made some very good points when he spoke. He spoke often of his conservative record, his support of the Second Amendment and his opposition to the recent Iran deal. He also touched on what I think is one of the biggest issues of the next election: whoever wins the next presidential election could go a long way in shaping what the Supreme Court will look like deep into the century. With several 5-4 decisions on recent pivotal cases, the next president could have a major effect on how those decisions turn out in the future.

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Carly Fiorina

I had a chance to listen to Fiorina speak Friday night at the Northwest Iowa GOP Rally in Orange City, Iowa. She talked a lot about her background and how she went from being an administrative assistant to being the CEO of Hewlett-Packard. She said that she is Hillary Clinton's worst nightmare and expressed her dissatisfaction with President Obama's foreign policy. She was quieter spoken than I expected, but also had a quiet forcefulness to her voice. 

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Marco Rubio

Florida Senator Marco Rubio also was in Orange City on Friday night. Rubio, at 44, is the youngest Republican candidate in the race, and with his slogan of a "new American century," could serve as a stark contrast to the Democratic nominee should he get the GOP nomination. Rubio could be the toughest out in this race. He is young and conservative (and I think conservative enough to appeal to the "base"), but he is not so conservative to frighten large blocs of voters. 

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Rick Santorum

I'll be honest – Rick Santorum surprised me. The former Pennsylvania senator is known as one of the more conservative GOP candidates and has a strong appeal among religious conservatives. When he spoke Friday night in Orange City, he not only touched on his conservative record (especially on pro-life issues), but he also spoke often of his faith and delivered perhaps my favorite quote of the evening: "God speaks in whispers. To hear Him, you've got to get real close." I can definitely see why he won the Iowa caucuses in 2012.

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Chris Christie 

I got to hear New Jersey Governor Chris Christie twice on Friday – once at a town hall meeting in Council Bluffs and later that evening in Orange City. If you know me well enough, you might know that I've been a big fan (figuratively and literally) of Governor Christie for a while. On one hand, he is known for his plain-spokeness – you can ask a few of the hecklers that have went toe to toe with him about that – but he also has developed a well-earned reputation for his mix of solid conservative views, yet with an ability to work with the Democrats. While many in the GOP consider that a weakness today, I see it as a strength – for that is what made Ronald Reagan great when he was president. Christie spoke of his pro-life views (while adding that he does believe in exceptions for rape, incest and health) and also spoke of his strong views on how he would handle Iran and Russia. He also expressed his support for police officers while saying that bad cops need to be dealt with.

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A few quick takeaways: 1) I've not heard any of the candidates that I've heard so far -- even Cruz or Santorum -- mention same-sex marriage. 2) Christie and Santorum said a lot about being pro-life. The others not as much, not even Cruz. 3) All of the candidates have been very critical of President Obama's deal with Iran and have said that they would do something to scrap it and/or change it if they win the election next November.

 
In conclusion, I will say that the last two Fridays have been extremely interesting. I hope in the next few weeks to listen to other candidates and meet-and-greet with them as well. When I do, look to this blog to see my take on them.