Posted on 10/21/2007 11:38:01 PM PDT by My Favorite Headache
I am going to post just a small review of my night with 23 Republicans at the Fox News Orlando Republican Presidential Debate.
Luntz was angry early on before camera's went live when he polled the group to make sure everyone there was undecided. A 21 yr old guy raised his hand and said he was supporting Ron Paul. Luntz absolutely lost it on this kid and said "Why in the hell did you not put that on your questionaire that was e-mailed to you? Why does it not shock me that a Ron Paul supporter would pull this kind of crap?"
"If someone else shows up you are being replaced and out of here...this room is for undecided."
I was originally placed in the second row towards the end of the row next to a man named Fred Hawkins Jr. who is running for Osceola County Commissioner. Luntz asked us a bunch of questions with a camera crew and producers in tow behind him and I was the first to answer. I was the first person to use the word "socialism" and it spread like wild fire.
I said the concept of America voting a socialist like Hillary Clinton as President should be motivation enough for Republicans to get their act together. I reminded Luntz of the Hillary quote saying "This is the same woman who is quoted by the San Francisco Chronicle saying "We will have to take things away for the common good." Luntz had this smirk on his face and he knew I handed him gold.
After 3 segments it was time to go live. By the time you saw what you did at home we had already gone through 3 rounds of questions and I was lighting up the joint with what I call the biggest crisis this campaign.
What do any of these men who are running for President plan on doing to combat the extreme hatred of anyone who is a Republican by the mainstream media and how bad the liberal blogs, Soros, and just about everyone who has some sort of journalistic power slimes Republicans on a daily basis. Who is going to have the spine to stand up to it and how do they plan on doing it when the Bush Administration has been knocked out time and time again with no fight.
WHO IS GOING TO PREVENT THE PERCEPTION THAT REPUBLICANS ARE NOT WAR MONGERING NAZI'S WHO ARE OUT FOR OIL COMPANIES AND THE RICH?
Luntz definitely told us through his polling and research that as of today Hillary Clinton will win in a landslide. He was putting all of his money on her. I said you are going to go broke. He said Republicans are too disorganized and the focus group proved that.
I said not it does not. I said if you want to see motivation and organization? Put Hillary Clinton against any Republican and you will see Republicans vote like you have never seen before, the alternative is too grave. Whether we can stand it or not Republicans will do everything in their power to elect anyone else but Clinton.
You saw my exchange later on saying we have long memories and do not want to live through that hell again.
The Ron Paul comment I made was simple and sweet and every single person except the Ron Paul supporter all said "perfect" with regards to that remark.
Luntz walks over and says "you are good...you are going down to the front row...keep talking."
We taped about 70 mins worth of discussion. More clips will be aired at 6:20 AM on Fox and Friends First and then 8:20 AM on Fox and Friends. Then more clips from the debate will be aired on tomorrow's Hannity and Colmes as well from 9-10.
I am sure this is when you will see how hardcore it got in there.
I called out the room at the end of it all..when I saw how many people put their hands up that Rudy was the only one who could beat Hillary I said "I am really saddened to see how many people think he is their answer. That is very telling that the fire that was there earlier tonight for all of us agreeing that we want a true Conservative is gone already and that makes me sick as a true Conservative."
To me the top winners tonight were Romney, Huckabee, Thompson, and blech...I hate to say this but Rudy. His night was not that bad but he certainly is not my top choice for President.
I called for a thining of the herd. Paul, Tancredo, and Hunter need to go. They virtually played zero in the room. It was sad because I really like Tom and Duncan and said that if a Republican wins the White House in 2008 they should all be given cabinet posts ASAP.
Except Paul...which who by the end of the night lost his one supporter...the 21 yr old guy who didn't raise his hand when asked if anyone supported him.
Finally...Luntz. A nice guy but can be insulting. When he compared a moderate conservative to a major serious conservative he wanted a show of hands...then he added "When I say major serious conservative I mean you can hear the German Nazi marching bands and get excited", I then said to him "There it is..exactly what I was talking about." Luntz said "Relax I was only joking." I said "I know you were and it is that kind of talk that I am absolutely disgusted by and sick of...sick of it Frank...enough is enough with the nazi conservative comparisons people have got to speak up for conservatives...true conservatives."
That in a short capsule is it. Met some really nice people and we had a discussion at the end of everything and went our own ways.
I thank Luntz for letting me say whatever I wanted to on camera and speak up for Conservatives and letting me call Ron Paul out on global television.
Thank you for your comments. I am heartened that there are people like you who stand up so proudly and so intelligently for conservatism. I will follow your example and do all I can to make sure that we will not have another Clinton to lead our nation to socialism and ruin.
Whether we can stand it or not Republicans will do everything in their power to elect anyone else but Clinton.
Not if Giuliani is the GOP candidate. He and Clinton are both socialists. Voting for either one will only bring more socialism to he White House.
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Scary. But I’d rather have the lesser of the two. I’ll vote for Rudy and hopefully keep the government out of my health care and the Lincoln Bedroom free of trash.
dang you did good. i saw that last night and heard you say the comment about not wanting to go through that hell again. had no idea it was you! great job! frank luntz annoys me. i thought he was shilling for rudy in the clips i saw, did it seem to you that he favors him?
How can you say Republicans will be united against Hillary, when this forum shows every day that they are not? I’m not trying to be a pessimist, just pointing something out.
that's my question too, looked like he was skewing it to favor rudy, from my perspective.
I watched the debate & I remember your comments - you were great!
I didn’t watch Fox & Friends this morning, so I can’t comment on how Luntz presented his data this morning, but my impression last night was that he was pushing Guiliani as THE candidate that can beat Hillary. I did not hear him say one single word about Fred Thompson.
Did you get a sense that they were trying to minimalize Thompson? My sense after watching the pre-debate, the debate & the post-debate - is that the fix is already in & the big money is behind Rudy. FOX doesn’t like having Fred in the race. How did Luntz treat Thompson?
Leni
Great Job!! I thought ALL the candidates were good last nite....smart, quick, and humor filled....they all came off likable and capable except for Paul.....the only supporters of Paul are Young, Single White dope smokers usually Democrat.
Jolly good show ole chap. I watched it for a while and saw a lot of your statements. Never figured you to be a Freeper. Again, damn good show. You said what aa lot of us think & feel.
You were wonderful! I must have missed the room full of hands for Rudy. What I saw was five hands go up when the group was asked about Rudy, with the remainder of people in the “undecided” group.
“Put Hillary Clinton against any Republican and you will see Republicans vote like you have never seen before, the alternative is too grave.”
Only if the Republican isn’t actually a liberal Democrat.
If it’s two liberal Democrats running on the two major party tickets, I’m going third party.
Aside from Luntz, Hannity and most of Fox News are whores for Rudy and I’m not sure why. Hannity, you’d think...should be a dyed-in-the-wool Fred Thompson or maybe a Duncan Hunter guy...
Sadly Duncan has never run anything bigger than his office. He might make a good secretary but certainly not President.
Good Grief....Rudy is NOT a SOCIALIST! Comments like these show immature thinking....which is NOT what a freeper has. He is more liberal, but Socialist?????
I watched the debate and I remember your SOCIALISM comment toward the hildebeast...and I thought...at least ONE person in that room understands what the risk is.
I thought the 2 or 3 upfront people, on the right, were all Rudy fans and quite decided on him.
Hannity should have been promoting Duncan Hunter from the get-go....Hunter is the only lifelong true conservative in the race.
It’s inconceivable to me that Hannity is so solidly in Giuliani’s corner.
Since Giuliani is not any kind of conservative at all, I can only conclude that Hannity is a phony.
I saw you and I remember thinking that if you weren’t a Freeper, you should be. Good job you did. You brougght many good points that are uusually ignored.
I agree with you about Hannity.
He immediately defended Giuliani’s awful social issues just by saying “He told me he changed his mind and that is good enough for me.”
WELL IT AIN’T GOOD ENOUGH FOR ME!!!!!!!!!!!
I’ll say this at the risk of being pounced on but you are right. He IS THE conservative.
BUT..he polls at what 5%? The true conservatives are not having the pull that many thought they would.
Come on folks, he is not going to be THE candidate.
I agree with Headache, I want to beat Hillary. I want our party to rally around whomever is the Republican that can do that.
Whoever that is (outside of Paul) I would vote for.
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