Oct. 11, 2012
For Immediate Release
| Serving on the KHIPP presidential election forum were from left: Trey Grayson, Colmon
Elridge and Scott Jennings. (青瓜视频 Photo by Kaylynn Best) |
By Mary Kutter, student news writer
CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. - 鈥淟et's face it. Debates matter,鈥� Trey Grayson, director of the Institute of Politics at The John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University and past Kentucky Secretary of State, said at 青瓜视频 Oct. 9 in the Banquet Hall.
Greyson was one of three persons who spoke at the Kentucky Heartland Institute on Public Policies' 鈥�2012 Presidential Election Forum.鈥� Also participating in the conversation were Colmon Elridge, executive assistant to Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear, director of the White House Faith Based Initiatives and executive vice president of Young Democrats of America, and Jeffery Scott Jennings, senior advisor of the Romney campaign in Ohio, past senior advisor of the George W. Bush 2004 campaign in New Mexico, director of strategic development and senior strategist for Peritus Public Relations in Louisville, special assistant to President George W. Bush and deputy director of the Office of Political affairs.
The event was moderated by John Chowning, vice president for church and external relations and executive assistant to the president at CU, founder of KHIPP.
Grayson said, 鈥淸President Barack] Obama was leading in the polls until the first debate. Mitt Romney explained himself and his ideas [at the debate] in such a way that he had never done before.鈥�
Grayson offered a nonpartisan overview of the presidential election, speaking of the strong and weak points of President Obama and Gov. Romney. He discussed the recent history of reelection campaigns saying, 鈥淲hen you look at presidents running for reelection, generally they get reelected. But no president has ever been reelected since F.D.R. [Franklin Delano Roosevelt] with unemployment this high.鈥�
鈥淧resident Obama inherited a bad economy,鈥� Elridge said, defending the president's
financial record, 鈥渂ut four million plus jobs have been created and 95 percent of
Americans have received a tax cut from this president.鈥�
Pointing to the clear difference between Obama and Romney, Elridge said the Democratic
Party believes in being involved with businesses, education and health care.
Elridge told the audience how he grew up poor and lost his father at a young age. He said that the ideals of the Democratic Party helped him through educational opportunities. 鈥淚 am living proof that it actually works,鈥� Elridge said.
鈥淭here's the question of whether the 鈥楢merican Dream' will continue to be a reality of our future or a relic of our past,鈥� Elridge said, 鈥淎s I look at this presidential election, I think Obama should be able to fight for these ideals for another four years.鈥�
Jennings represented Romney and the Republican Party. The Kentucky-native said that the ever-expanding government is crushing job creation. He said at the beginning of his address, 鈥淭he unemployment rate is unacceptable.鈥�
Jennings claimed much of unemployment is due to the policies of the president that are stifling energy production and regulating small businesses to levels where business owners cannot compete in the marketplace.
鈥淲e are in a close race today because Obama broke his most important promise, fixing our financial crisis,鈥� Jennings said. 鈥淗e has only crushed jobs and people's hopes.鈥�
鈥淢itt Romney's candidacy is about getting people back to work,鈥� Jennings said. 鈥淢itt Romney is going to fix this situation with his five-point plan.鈥�
Romney's five-point plan includes energy independence by increasing access to domestic energy resources, eliminating regulations destroying the coal industry, approving the Keystone XL pipeline and streamline permitting for exploration and development.
鈥淚t is not acceptable that we are falling behind in the world with reading and math,鈥� Jennings said, moving to the second point of Romney's plan, which is improving education. 鈥淲e should empower teachers and parents first, and teachers unions second.鈥�
Curtailing unfair trade practices of countries like China and strengthening free enterprise around the world was the third point Jennings made on Romney's behalf.
鈥淥bama said it's unpatriotic to add to the debt,鈥� Jennings said when discussing the fourth point being to cut the deficit. 鈥淣ow we are six trillion more in debt after he has been in office.鈥�
For the fifth point of the plan, Jennings spoke of championing small businesses through reforming the tax code and reducing regulation on small businesses.
In a rebuttal after Jennings' points, Elridge said Obama's accomplishments in office were done almost entirely without the help of Congress. 鈥淭he Republican Congress' number one priority was not to help the American people but to make Obama a one-term president.鈥�
Jennings said in response that Obama had a Democratic Senate and House of Representatives for his first two years in the Oval Office.
When the two discussed some of Obama's controversial decisions while in office, such as the Affordable Healthcare Act (Obamacare), Elridge said, 鈥淲hat I have admired about this president is that he doesn't view his term in office in term of getting reelected. My grandmother would always tell me right is always right. It may not be easy, but it is always right.鈥�
Directing the discussion back to the economy, Jennings said, 鈥淭wenty-three million Americans can't find a job. Forty-seven million are on food stamps. Unemployment went down last week because so many people have stopped looking for work.鈥�
鈥淲e must build an economy by strengthening the middle class,鈥� Elridge said in disagreement
to what he called a 鈥渢rickle-down economy鈥� that he believes the Republic Party wants.
鈥淚t's about setting priorities,鈥� he said.
Concluding his speaking, Jennings posed the question to undecided voters, 鈥淲hat kind
of country do I want to live in?鈥�
Grayson closed the forum saying, 鈥淭here are essentially three candidates in this presidential election: Barack Obama, Mitt Romney and staying at home. If you want to see change in our country, I encourage you to come out and vote. It does make a difference.鈥�
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