The Debate: Kingston - 5 Nelson - 0
A few of us made our way to Camden County tonight to see the debate between Jack Kingston and Rev. Nelson. Here is the blow by blow of tonight's debate:Nelson made the opening statement announcing that he is a veteran and a UMC pastor. He said we need good early childhood development. Kingston made his opening statement saying we need good, strong public education and the best equipment for our military. "I don't want a fair fight," he said. He also said that spending on veterans was up 92% since 1995.
1st Question: Should we get our troops out of Iraq?
Kingston - "Cut and run is a bad idea but we should not blindly stay the course."
Nelson - "War may be hell but war is easy. Peace takes work." He stated that we are creating terrosirst attacks by being in Iraq and then started preaching.
Kingston rebuttal - We do not want terrorists attacks in the U.S. He mentioned the Danish cartoon and the Pope's recent comments and pointed out that both had caused terrorist attacks and violence.
POINT KINGSTON
2nd Question: Has the war made the U.S. more safe or less safe?
Nelson - Less safe. We need to improve recruiting (uh, all branches surpassed recruiting goals this year) We need to get back our moral standing in the world.
Kingston - Safer. We were not in Iraq during the 1st WTC bombing, the embassy bombings or when the USS Cole was attacked. We have had no attacks on U.S. soil since 9/11. "I don't think our soldiers are torturing anyone at Guantanamo." (This illicited laughs from Nelson supporters who think are troops are the bad guys).
Nelson - Agreed that our troops are not torturing people.
POINT KINGSTON
3rd Question: Should the recommendations of the 9/11 commission be followed?
Kingston - "It is a metter of security over privacy."
Nelson - "I choose privacy."
POINT KINGSTON
4th Question: Is immigration a problem?
Nelson - Yes. Employers should get 2-years in jail for every illegal they hire. "10 foot fences only help sell 11-foot ladders (good line!) "But the 8 million illegal immigrants are not the problem with healthcare. It is the 46 million uninsured Americans.
Kingston - Yes. We need to secure our borders, fix the system. "And it is time to make English the official language!"
Although I liked the fence line, Nelson dodged the question and tried to change the subject. This was even until then, and Kingston stole it with the English line.
POINT KINGSTON
5th Question: What would you do about health insurance?
Kingston - Local flexibility and put prices for medical treatment on the Internet (cool idea).
Nelson - "The poor and uninsured are subsidizing the healthcare system."
There is no logic in Nelson's answer. It was a question that was obviously written by his people to bring up one of his issues. But he missed.
NO POINT
6th Question: How does your faith influence your morals as a legislator? (Another softball)
Nelson - He mentioned minimum wage and children. "How do we pray for our enemies?" (My answer: While standing over their graves!) "Are we concerned for their souls?" (My answer: Yes, I am concerned with how quickly we can release their souls from their bodies!) "Jesus was in favor of universal healthcare."
Kingston - "I pray for guidance before every vote. This is a tough job if you are not morally grounded."
I'm not sure which version of the Bible Rev. Nelson reads, but I have never seen a passage in which Jesus exalted his support of any form of healthcare. Maybe it is in the Book of Hillary?
POINT KINGSTON
Closing statements:
Kingston - Mentions supporting the military and alternative fuels.
Nelson - Began preaching.
Summary:
Overall production:
The bad: It was obvious that the questions were chosen specifically for Nelson (2 on the War, 1 on Health insurance, 1 on Faith). None of Kingston's issues were chosen (getting off of Mideast oil, specific moral issues such as gay marriage).
The good: The format was clean and the audience was taken out of the debate from the start.
Nelson:
The good - He is a preacher and is comfortable speaking in public. He managed to use some humor.
The bad - He never backed up his answers with facts. He also has a slight northern accent ("Warshington") that does not play well in the South. He also has a tendency to assume that he knows the political leanings of God and Jesus which offends people. He must remember, as a preacher on Sunday, you are speaking to people who already believe in what he is saying. When running for office, he has to convince people that what he is saying is right. The problem is, 72% of the people in this district do not believe in what he is saying.
Kingston:
The bad - Because of the format of the questions, he never got to hit some of his key points.
The Good - He stood in there with no problem during a debate designed to make it easy for his opponent. This was home-cooking for Nelson with a pony-tailed liberal lobbing softballs for him to hit out of the park. But he never got into one.
FINAL SCORE:
Kingston - 5
Nelson - 0
Even - 1
posted by Georgia Veteran @ 9:14 PM
8 comments
8 Comments:
Great play by play! I was there and saw it exactly the same! Nelson was too preachy while Kingston stayed on the issues.
Rev. Nelson is a great speaker! He was very animated and passionate. The problem was that there was no substance to what he was saying.
Kingston made solid points and spoke like a man who knew exactly what he was talking about.
Nelson was passionate but Kingston was confident.
As much as I hate to say it because I am a lifelong Democrat, Kingston looked much better than Rev. Nelson.
About English becoming the official language: Would that mean that our public officials would need to learn to speak it properly? First thing that popped into my head when Kingston mentioned it.
I was at the debate, too. Didn't quite see it the same way (shocker, I know). I actually thought the whole thing was pretty boring. I didn't feel that the questions posed were particularly insightful or helpful to either candidate. I've definitely seen Jim perform better. He missed a few opportunities to call Jack on some points. For instance, Jack kept talking about teaching the Iraqis about the "rule of law." I happen to think we should lead by example when it comes to the rule of law. I don't believe that the recent legislation further expanding presidential powers and overriding habeas corpus is very respectful of the rule of law.
Overall, I felt that Jim narrowly won the debate. He backed up his assertions with plenty of facts. He even countered some of Jack's facts with more detailed empirical evidence (shortfalls in spending on veteran's benefits). I did think they were both respectful. I would like to apologize for the "enthusiasm" (CGCC's words, not mine) of other Nelson supporters. However, noone from the Nelson camp was standing outside the auditorium trying to hand out campaign materials. Can't say the same for Kingston.
One more thing: Jim's reference to Jesus being in favor of universal health care. He explained that he was referring to the fact that Jesus healed those who came to him, without asking for credentials, payment, or anything else. That is the bible Jim Nelson's been reading.
Mark this day on your calendar! Me and L&P have agreed for the second time! It was boring!
I disagree that Nelson backed up his facts. Shortfalls in Vet's spending? What shortfalls? It has steadily increased every year. As Kingston said, it has gone up 92% since 1995! For the record it has gone up by a third in the past 5 years.
Where were they handing out campaign materials? I didn't see that. I spoke with some who were passing along signs in the parking lot but that was just where they met.
And as for the Bible (And I remind you that words directly related to God, Jesus or the Bible should always be capitalized in respect for Him) That is like saying since Jesus multiplied the loaves and fishes, then He must be against grocery storesand restaurants charging for food? They are both quite a stretch.
But I guess that is just Nelson's LIBERAL interpretation of the Bible.
There was a young woman with brown hair handing out Kingston fliers in the hallway right outside the auditorium.
As to the shortfalls. I don't dispute that spending on veterans' benefits has gone up. However, an increase in spending does not guarantee the elimination of shortfalls. We are spending more on veterans, but it's still not enough. That was Rev. Nelson's point.
Sorry about the capitalization error. I sometimes miss the shift key.
Hey! L&P! We should have invited you down tonight to help us prepare for the parade! There's not too much talk about politics tonight, more about the Dawgs and how the Vols handed it to them!
I missed the young lady handing out fliers. and I understand about the shift key!
You know I'm not gonna do anything to help Jack get reelected. By the way, I happen to be a UT alum, so I don't think y'all want to hear my take on last Saturday's game, either. All I can say is, the Dawgs had better beat those stupid Gators in two weeks. October 28th is the day when Vols and Dawgs must put aside their differences and focus all their animosity on Florida.
Amen to that! I would love to see them Dawgs whoop up on some Gators!
That's 3 times we've agreed!
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