The Patriot Post® · Honoring Our Vets, GOP Debate

Honoring Our Vets

[Wednesday was] Veterans Day — a day set aside to recognize the courage and sacrifice of the men and women who have served our country in uniform. The day originally began as Armistice Day to mark the 11 AM ceasefire on November 11, 1918 that ended World War I. Congress voted to change the name to Veterans Day in 1954 to commemorate veterans of all wars.

To the millions who have always been there to stop the tyrant, protect the weak and preserve the peace — we have not forgotten you. A grateful nation thanks God for giving us heroes like you.

[Tuesday] night’s GOP debate was handled much better by Fox Business than the previous debates by CNBC and others. Here are a few general observations:

Strangest Moment Goes To Rand Paul

One of the oddest moments of the night belonged to Senator Rand Paul. He chose to go after Senator Marco Rubio on defense spending. Rubio supports a significant increase over the next decade to cope with growing threats around the world including a rising China, Putin’s aggression and radical Islam. Paul confronted Rubio with this line: “Can you be a conservative and be liberal on military spending?”

Now that is strange. The left/liberals are notorious for wanting to slash defense spending. The GOP/conservatives have consistently supported a strong national defense. Only in “Paul Land” is supporting an increase in defense spending “liberal.”

Cruz Speaks Up For Workers Hurt By Illegal Immigration

Senator Ted Cruz has consistently argued that illegal immigration is depressing the wages of American workers. He did so again [Tuesday] night and managed to hit the media elites at the same time with this great quote: “[I]f a bunch of people with journalism degrees were coming over and driving down the wages in the press, then we would see stories about the economic calamity that is befalling our nation.”

Carson Hits Hillary On Lies

As expected, an early question in the debate went to Dr. Ben Carson and the media attacks on the veracity of his life story. Carson handled it well and turned the issue to Hillary Clinton’s falsehoods. Here is the quote: “[W]e should vet all candidates. I have no problem with being vetted. What I do have a problem with is being lied about, and then, putting that out there as truth. And, I don’t even mind that so much, if they do it with everybody, like people on the other side, but you know, when I look at somebody like Hillary Clinton, who sits there, and tells her daughter, and a government official that, no, this was a terrorist attack, and then tells everybody else that it was a video, where I came from, they call that a lie.”

Bush And Kasich Dig In On Immigration

One particularly revealing exchange [Tuesday] night happened between Ohio Governor John Kasich and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush. Both favor some sort of amnesty, or pathway to citizenship, for illegal immigrants already living in the United States.

Both attacked Donald Trump’s plan to deport immigrants residing in the U.S. illegally. They argued that it is unrealistic to think that we can return 11 million people to their countries of origin. But that’s a dangerous argument.

I would ask Bush and Kasich: What number of illegal immigrants do you believe we can return? Surely we can return some number, which would be better than not even trying.

It is dangerous for candidates running for president to suggest that America will not even try to enforce the immigration laws of the country.

All over the world, we are seeing waves of people leaving the developing world and walking into Europe, and there are 60 million more waiting for the opportunity to do so. There are also millions of people in Latin America waiting for their chance to come to America.

Would-be illegal immigrants who hear potential U.S. presidents appearing to suggest that they will not even try to enforce America’s immigration laws will be encouraged to come. They will think that if they can just get into the U.S., once a President Bush or President Kasich is in office, they won’t have to worry about being sent back.

Both Kasich and Bush present themselves as experienced chief executives who favor practical solutions to the big problems facing the country. But on immigration, the practical effect of their positions could produce waves of additional illegal immigrants pouring into the country. That would be a disaster for American workers and taxpayers.