Presidential Primary Debate of 2016 Recap
by Kaiji Obras and Jennifer Nguyen
The primary Presidential debate for the 2016 Elections took place Tuesday, December 1st and aired live on National Television at 1:35pm PT.
This past week, we witnessed five of the most qualified presidential candidates battle it out over their takes on many issues like immigration, unemployment, and education. This debate took place in south-eastern Washington, at Richland High School - Home of the Bombers and was hosted by a series of representatives from different interest groups.
The candidates were first asked why they are most qualified to be the next leader of our country.
Storm took the stage, first addressing the issues with liberal media and the recent attacks set on him by a liberal media group - leaking a minor scandal regarding his personal life and a “bunker” he owns in Wyoming. Tarksyn attempts to keep the focus on Storm’s personal life but Storm professionally replies “I’m paying my taxes” and moves the conversation back to real issues, showing supporters his commitment to the people and the dedication he has for solving these national issues.
Rep. Candidates John Storm (left) and James Tarksyn (right) at the debate.
John Storm made a very strong point in his argument when he pointed out that he came from the lower class and worked his way up to where he is now. Storm made it evident that the American Dream can be pursued by anyone under his presidency.
Republican candidate James Tarskyn made strong assertions that his business expertise will boost the U.S. economy by creating job opportunities for everyone. Both conservatives expressed how their plans can be beneficial to our country, but Storm seemed to have an edge over Tarskyn. Tarksyn used up his rebuttal time, showing the firm ground he stands on certain issues and that he will speak to what he thinks is right and best for the American people without hesitant.
With education being a small portion of the national budget, every dollar counts. The current state of the education system is obviously flawed and has much room for improvement. When Tarskyn was asked to speak on the most effective way to assess student learning, he expressed, “We need to stop those bureaucrats in D.C. from reaching into our education and teaching us how to teach our kids. Only people at the local level know how to provide the best education for them”.
Similar to Tarskyn’s approach was Storm’s, who said “we need specialized experts at the local level to assess our kids.” Green Party candidate Mark Chen, who has experience in public education posed the question, “Should we even be assessing our children?” We were all taken aback his comment, considering the fact that Chen was one of the only candidates who has ever worked in public education.
President Obama has dealt with unemployment fairly well over his past couple of terms by cutting the rate in half from 10% to 5%. Tarskyn states that reduction of taxes and business regulation will help with the national unemployment rate and is the only way to increase national productivity. Storm had a similar response to the prompt, while adding some particular insight as to why we should be lifting taxes from small businesses.