10/10/16 - Debate Reaction

2nd 2016 Presidential Debate

by Gary Bauer, Contributing Author:  Setting The Stage - I don't think there is another presidential contender in modern history who had to walk out onto the debate stage under circumstances as difficult as Donald Trump faced last night. Forty-eight hours before, the Trump campaign had been hit with a ten year-old tape featuring Trump making lewd comments about women.

Multiple Republican politicians, demonstrating once again that too many have no stomach for a fight, had abandoned Trump before the debate had begun -- again over a 10 year-old tape. Can anyone name one Democrat who abandoned Hillary Clinton over the obvious cover-up, obstruction of justice and mishandling of classified information that has unfolded over the last several years?

The GOP's lack of courage and fight is a fundamental issue that must be addressed after this election. Ironically, it is why Donald Trump won the nomination. Millions of Republican voters felt betrayed by a party that they believed was weak and ineffective in countering Obama's aggressive, left-wing agenda. They believed Donald Trump would fight back. And last night, he did!

The Debate - Just before last night's debate, Trump doubled down by holding an impromptu press conference with Paula Jones, Kathleen Willey and Juanita Broaddrick, the most prominent victims of Bill Clinton's sexual assaults. Joining them was Kathy Shelton. When Shelton was just 12 years old, she was raped by a 41 year-old drifter. Hillary Clinton defended the man who raped Shelton and later laughed about it. Trump even brought Broaddrick, Jones, Shelton and Willey into the debate.

The same media complex that is trying to turn an old tape into evidence that Trump actually assaulted women is once again trying to scrub Bill Clinton's history. Remember what Colin Powell recently wrote about the former president?

Predictably, in a country with massive problems that could bring us to our knees -- from racial discord to the growing threat of radical Islam -- our media spent the first half hour of the debate arguing over a ten year-old tape with embarrassing and inappropriate language. Trump apologized and did everything he could to refocus the debate on the problems bedeviling the American people. In the view of many observers, he dominated the exchanges with Hillary Clinton. Here are a few examples.

• When Hillary tried to take advantage of the old tape, Donald Trump hit back twice as hard. Trump said:"If you look at Bill Clinton, far worse. Mine are words, and his was action. . . There's never been anybody in the history of politics in this nation that's been so abusive to women. . . Bill Clinton was abusive to women. Hillary Clinton attacked those same women and attacked them viciously."
• Hillary defended Obamacare. Trump eviscerated Obamacare.
• Hillary attacked Trump for alleged Islamophobia. Trump stuck to his guns about limiting immigration from terror-ridden countries and pointed out that she wanted to bring in tens of thousands of more Muslim refugees into the country. By the way, I hope you didn't miss this news from the weekend: "Majority Of Paris Attackers Entered Europe Posing As Refugees." Or this report of a Maryland imam who praises ISIS.
• Hillary once again attempted to deny that anything inappropriate happened as a result of her mishandling of classified information. It is a ludicrous claim on every level. Trump promised that if elected he would appoint a special prosecutor to bring Hillary to justice. At one point, Trump reminded the American people that Hillary, who is supposed to be the most qualified person ever, had told FBI agents she didn't know what the "C" on her emails stood for, indicating something was "confidential" or classified.
• Trump also reacted well on his feet. When Hillary tried to explain her comment to a Wall Street audience about having public and private positions, she attempted to compare herself to Abraham Lincoln. Trump responded, "Now she's blaming the lie on the late great Abraham Lincoln. That's one that I haven't heard . . . Honest Abe never lied."
• There was also a Candy Crowley moment. You may recall that in one 2012 debate, Crowley started debating Mitt Romney. Last night, Trump attacked the Obama Administration's penchant for broadcasting military plans. At one point, Martha Raddatz interjected herself just like Crowley. But, unlike Romney, Trump didn't back down and Raddatz quickly moved on.
• The candidates presented a very stark contrast on the question of Supreme Court appointments. Hillary Clinton made it clear she would appoint pro-abortion justices who would defend Roe v. Wade and the rest of the left's radical agenda. Trump said, "I am looking to appoint judges very much in the mold of Justice Scalia. . . people that will respect the Constitution of the United States." Trump added that his judges would defend the Second Amendment, "which is totally under siege by people like Hillary Clinton."

The Results - Many pundits felt that Donald Trump exceeded expectations last night. He was on offense, Hillary on defense. Most significantly, undecided voters broke Trump's way. Frank Luntz reported that a group of undecided St. Louis voters, who started out evenly divided between the candidates, had shifted 18-to-4 in favor of Trump after the debate.

What We Did - When news of the old tape broke Friday night, some Republicans ran for the tall grass. (They've had a lot of practice over the years.) But we ran to the front lines. We condemned the inappropriate words, but reminded Americans that our country isn't in danger over old comments. You can read our statement here.

The response was overwhelmingly positive. We were featured with Franklin Graham and Tony Perkins in an article highlighted most of the weekend on the Drudge Report and viewed by millions. I have done multiple interviews defending our values, and Fox News began its broadcast last night by citing Franklin Graham and me standing with Donald Trump.

Final Caution - The left-wing media have thrown professionalism overboard. There is some indication that they are now just making things up. For example, in the middle of this turmoil, there were multiple reports suggesting that Senator Jeff Sessions was arguing for Trump to step down and that he even made the case in a meeting. Sessions said he was not at that meeting and he reaffirmed his support for Donald Trump.

After the debate, Senator Sessions said, "He just did a heroic job tonight. I think people saw in him a man who can be president of the United States that has the ability to lead and get things done that haven't gotten done in many decades."

There were reports that the Republican National Committee had reallocated resources away from the presidential campaign. The RNC denied the reports as "false." In fact, RNC Chairman Reince Priebus was on the plane with Donald Trump on the way to the St. Louis debate.

There were reports that Kellyanne Conway was on verge of resigning and that Mike Pence was going to abandon the ticket. Again, false.

My friends, this is nothing but the media's attempt to panic the conservative base and the GOP establishment. The GOP establishment has been panicked for a while now, but the conservative base is standing strong!

I promise we will continue to do everything we can to defeat Hillary Clinton and her left-wing allies and elect the Trump/Pence ticket on November 8th!
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Gary Bauer is a conservative family values advocate and serves as president of American Values and chairman of the Campaign for Working Families

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