“We hope you will get the education you are looking for today,” said Christina Garrott Chairman of the Grassroots Group of Kentucky, of the senatorial forum her group sponsored at the Paducah Tilghman Auditorium. The goal of the group, and the forum was to educate voters on where candidates are on varied issues.

A crowd of about 300 people came to hear what candidates, Secretary of State Trey Grayson, Bill Johnson and Dr. Rand Paul had to say on issues ranging from term limits to global warming, and of course healthcare. And we found out that they think social networking sites like Facebook, play an important role in helping candidates and elected officials stay connected to their constituents.

Paul came out swinging in his opening statement, refuting “lies that were being spread by an opponent who is standing on this stage with me." He was referring to Grayson, who had attacked Paul’s stance on abortion, saying he was pro-choice, when in actuality he vehemently declared that he was pro life. This would be a stance that Paul would defend at least three more times during the 90 minute forum, in response to comments from both Grayson and Johnson.

Calling himself a Constitutional Conservative, Paul said he believes that government has seized too much power, ignoring the Constitution, and that it should only have powers enumerated by it. He believes that continuing to expand governmental control of our lives is robbing us of the freedoms that the Constitution provides all of us.

Grayson often cited the consistency of his views throughout his campaign, and not taking part in what he called the “Potomac Two Step,” of changing views on issues depending on the way the political wind blows, and his track record in Kentucky. Where he said has made government more efficient, cutting spending and “doing more with less,” a practice he believed Washington could stand to utilize. Which is why Grayson said that that he wants to be a senator because “I believe there is too much Washington D.C. in Kentucky, and thinks there needs to be more Kentucky, in Washington D.C.”
 

Johnson, in the middle of his first ever political campaign, said he had been a life long Republican and was inspired by what he called the three R’s “ Ronald Reagan Republican.” A 10 year navy veteran, he cited his track record of service to the country inspired him to answer the call and enter the race to be Kentucky’s next Senator when he said, “Ronald Reagan inspired me to military service and Barack Obama has inspired me to politics… But at the end of the day, you’re the boss, and I am the public servant and if I am supposed to do what you want me to do, then I have to listen to what you say.” 

Each of the men answered questions that were submitted by members of the audience, as well as those from members of the grassroots group.   The tightly structured forum allowed each candidate 90 seconds to respond to the questions.

Below are some of the issues that were raised in the forum and a portion of each candidates reply.

What would you do to fix Healthcare?

Grayson: Stop Junk Lawsuits, allow small businesses to pool together to get the better coverage that members of large businesses get.

Johnson: Improve access not by mandate, but allow insurance companies to offer coverage across state line, improving competition which would lead to lower costs.

Paul: You need to have more competition to bring prices down. Healthcare should work like term life insurance. Deductibles would be higher but premiums would be lower. We would create a marketplace that would fix the problems of pre-existing conditions.

Do you believe Congress should be required to participate in any legislation they pass and require of the American people?

Grayson: Yes.   “If it’s good enough for the people of the country, it’s good enough for Congress.”

Johnson: Yes. ”There is no better way to show Americans that legislators believe in a program by participating in it themselves”.

Paul: Yes. “Congress should not exempt themselves from any mandate they place on us.” 

 

Are you in support of a constitutional amendment setting term limits for congressmen?

Grayson: No. “We already have term limits, they are called elections, and we vote people out of office all the time who are not doing a good job.”

Johnson: Yes. “I support term limits. I have always said I am doing this to answer a call to once again serve my country, and that if elected I will serve only two terms as a senator. I believe there are many people who are qualified to be congressmen. I think they should serve our country for a period of time, and return home.”

Paul: Yes. “Though there are career politicians who have done a lot of good over the years for our country, like my father (Congressman Ron Paul), that under term limits he would have to come back home. But I think its an important enough reform to have because our system of pork barrel spending is so bad on both sides of the aisle, the only way to fix it is by bringing them home.”

Should Government be involved in the ownership and operation of Large Companies or Small Businesses?

Grayson: No. "I think it is dangerous, and I will tell you why. Just look at the situation with Toyota…We have a government that is telling Toyota what to do, when it also owns two of its competitors, there is a little bit of a conflict of interest there. That is why I am against government ownership of any business. When government competes in private industry, we all lose.”

Johnson: No. “Should the government be involved in owning or running businesses. They have a track record of not running the government very well. So I don’t know how to stretch the word “No” out for 90 seconds.   My answer is no.”

Paul: No. “Should government be involved in owning or running any business, absolutely not. The Republican platform says that we don’t believe in bailing out private businesses, much less owning them.”

What is your position on global warming also known as climate change?

Grayson: Any argument for global warming has to be based on sound science. And I think we know from all these emails from East Anglia University in London, we all know that it is not based on sound science. So why would we want to pass legislation or empower the EPA to get rid of jobs because that is exactly what legislation like Cap and trade will do. In Kentucky, we get 90% of our power from carbon powered plants, and coal. If they tax carbon Kentucky would be the second most effected state in the country. It makes no sense to pass legislation based on unsound science.

Johnson: I do not believe in man-made global warming. The EPA has classified Carbon Dioxide as a pollutant. How can a gas that we exhale, and one that is needed for plant growth be a pollutant.   It might be in Washington but not anywhere else. We need to look at these environmental policies especially when they are going to kill jobs and decimate the coal industry.

Paul: You know its been a rough year for the global warming crowd, so much so that they’ve had to change their name to climate change. Its’ too darn cold out there to talk about global warming. They are having trouble explaining why the polar ice caps are melting on Mars, is there too much pollution on Mars. There’s a lot of bad science out there, where scientists have made their conclusions and are now working their data to make it fit those conclusions. Their agenda is not pollution its capitalism. These people do not like our way of life. We need to oppose them and reign in the EPA.

The Grassroots Group recorded the forum in its entirety and will post it on YouTube in the near future. Once it is we will have it available for you right here on iSurfPaducah so you too can become better educated about the men who want to be your next U.S. Senator from Kentucky.