“Would You Rather Have a Conservative as Your Next President?”
The Family Leadership Summit in Iowa on Saturday was a veritable who’s who of 2016 GOP presidential candidates including Dr. Ben Carson, Senator Ted Cruz, Lindsey Graham, Governor Mike Huckabee, Governor Bobby Jindal, Senator Marco Rubio, Governor Rick Perry, Senator Rick Santorum, Donald Trump, and Governor Scott Walker.
I like the one-on-one sit down interview format, and I think Frank Luntz does a great job both interacting with the audience and asking key questions. According to Luntz, the candidates were “unable to rely on a Teleprompter or note cards” and as such “the presidential hopefuls display their impromptu speaking skills.” Not only did Luntz ask questions of the candidates, but the audience did, as well.
Donald Trump’s comments about John McCain have taken center stage, but there were many great moments throughout the day. You can catch all ten full interviews of the attending presidential candidates here.
Of all the interviews, I was most taken with Ted Cruz’s (surprise, surprise).
Cruz tweeted some of the key points he makes during the interview:
2016 will be a referendum on #FullRepeal of Obamacare and if elected I’ll sign legislation repealing every word of that failed law #FLS2015— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) July 18, 2015
DOJ should open an investigation and prosecute Planned Parenthood and Congress should hold hearings and cut off its taxpayer funds #FLS2015— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) July 18, 2015
The First Amendment is our first freedom and I’ll never shy away from defending the religious liberty of every American! #FLS2015— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) July 18, 2015
Watch the full Ted Cruz interview:
One of Luntz’s first questions was about the “gotta be a governor” refrain we’ve heard from many conservatives during every presidential primary in recent memory (not that being a governor made Jimmy Carter a stellar president or that not being a governor made George Washington a poor one).
Watching Cruz during this exchange is telling. He remains calm as Luntz asks the Iowan audience how many preferred a senator, then asks how many preferred a governor—the applause is much more enthusiastic for the latter. And understandably so. Governors have executive experience dealing with state legislatures, managing executive agencies and matters of their state, and handling the stress and pressure of the executive branch. Conservative prefer governors with good reason.
Clearly ready for this argument, Cruz responded, “how many of you would like to have a conservative as your next president?”, and the crowd went wild. I have to admit that if we’re looking at a former governor Bush or current governor Christie, I’m all-in for a conservative senator (or former CEO) over either of them. And if it came down to Cruz (or Carly) running against former governor O’Malley, I can’t imagine many conservatives deciding that O’Malley’s governorship makes him a better choice for president, so there are limits on this as a litmus test for GOP presidential candidates.
But what say you?
