South Carolina Republican Candidates Forum Draws Clear Distinctions

The South Carolina forum occurred on a day when President Obama addressed a raucous union rally in Detroit

Five Republican candidates for the Presidency of the United States gathered at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center in Columbia, South Carolina on Labor Day in a unique forum sponsored by the American Principles Project. Each of the five participants was asked similar questions covering a full range of policy issues from fiscal to foreign policy to social issues.

P>COLUMBIA, S.C. (Catholic Online) - Five Republican candidates for the Presidency of the United States gathered at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center in Columbia, South Carolina on Labor Day in a unique forum sponsored by the American Principles Project.

They answered questions posed to them by Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina, Congressman Steve King of Iowa and Robert George of Princeton University, the founder of the American Principles Project and McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence at Princeton University.

The leaders of the American Principles Project Palmetto Freedom Forum only invited candidates who polled above 5% in one poll, the Real Clear Politics Poll. As a result, former Senator Rick Santorum and former Governor John Huntsman were excluded from the Forum.

The event was supposed to provide the first National exposure for Texas Governor Rick Perry who has moved into a significant lead in many early polls. However, at the last minute, the Governor left to attend to the growing emergency precipitated by the spreading wildfires in Texas. 

The event featured Minnesota U.S. Representative Michele Bachmann, businessman Herman Cain, former Speaker of the U.S. House Newt Gingrich, Texas U. S. Representative Ron Paul and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney.

The event was reported on by John King of CNN. Back on June 13th in New Hampshire, King hosted an earlier CNN sponsored debate. Every time he asked a question he could be heard emitting strange noises in the background while a candidate tried to answer.

King also mischaracterized the responses of the candidates in New Hampshire. At least this time in South Carolina his participation was limited to brief comments while the network broke for commercial interruptions.

However, upon returning from those commercial breaks King purported to "summarize" the candidate's responses. Instead he used the loaded language of the main stream media to push his own agenda.

For example, each of the candidates answered Professor George's astute questions on the fundamental Human Right to Life. John King kept using the term "abortion rights". Abortion is an act of taking the life of a child in the womb. Abortion has no rights. Only people have rights.

The format was unique. Each of the five participants was asked similar questions covering a full range of policy issues from fiscal to foreign policy to social issues. They were all sequestered in a sound proof room while the other candidates answered the questions. They were thus unaware of either the content of the questions or the responses given by their fellow participants.

It was a unique and interesting format which enabled the viewer to gain insights into not only the positions of the candidates but their confidence in a spontaneous venue. There was no podium and the candidates had to walk the platform. This provided a snapshot into their communications skills, an important concern in an age of Teleprompters.

Senator Jim DeMint focused on fiscal issues, Congressman King on immigration and foreign policy and Professor George on human rights such as the Right to Life and the Right to Religious Freedom. Professor George brilliantly utilized a quote from Abraham Lincoln's first inaugural address as a framework to zero in on the fundamental Human Right to Life and the 14th amendments equal protection clause.

Drawing the obvious analogy between the infamous Dred Scott decision (which denied fundamental rights to black people) and the Roe v Wade decision (which denies fundamental rights to our first neighbors in the womb) he asked the candidates if they would promote the use of Congressional legislation to protect the "inherent and equal dignity of all members of the human family including children in their mothers' wombs". 

It was a brilliant question, opening a window into the depth of the candidate's convictions concerning the fundamental Human Right to Life. It also offered the candidate's an opportunity to move beyond a 10th Amendment 'return it to the States" approach on fundamental human rights such as the Right to Life.

George also asked each candidate about the exclusion of Catholic Charities from the provision of adoption services by the State of Illinois. Because Catholic adoption agencies cannot place children with homosexual partners they have been denied participation since Illinois passed civil union legislation.  George asked the candidates whether this denial is a violation of the fundamental right to religious freedom.  

The first onstage was Michelle Bachmann. She was articulate, confident and comfortable in her answers. She answered the question on the Right to life without any equivocation and strongly defended Religious Freedom as a fundamental human right. The second was businessman Herman Cain who also showed clarity on both critically important questions.

Next, former Speaker Newt Gingrich displayed his formidable intelligence and gave excellent answers. Senator Ron Paul followed Gingrich. He rambled in his answers - on these questions and on several others. Finally, Mitt Romney, a last minute entry, failed to stand firmly for protecting Life as a fundamental human right. Instead, he spoke of appointing "strict constructionist" judges and returning the issues to the States. 

The effect which this forum will have on who finally emerges as the Republican standard bearer is unclear. Much will depend on how many people watched the Forum on Labor Day. However, it kicked off a month which will give rise to several other Republican candidate debates. The next debate is Wednesday, September 7, 2011. It will include Santorum and Huntsman.

The South Carolina forum occurred on a day when President Obama addressed a raucous union rally in Detroit. The rally began a week when the President will present his long awaited "jobs plan" to a joint session of Congress. Clearly, the U.S. Presidential campaign of 2012 is now fully underway.

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