http://www.big3news.net Covering The Stories That Matter Most. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 03:55:23 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=101 Covering The Stories That Matter Most. BIG 3 NEWS no Covering The Stories That Matter Most. http://www.big3news.net/wp-content/plugins/powerpress/rss_default.jpg http://www.big3news.net http://www.big3news.net/2011/12/16/republican-presidential-candidates-battle-it-out-in-final-fox-news-debate-before-jan-3-iowa-caucus-vote/ http://www.big3news.net/2011/12/16/republican-presidential-candidates-battle-it-out-in-final-fox-news-debate-before-jan-3-iowa-caucus-vote/#comments Fri, 16 Dec 2011 05:30:38 +0000 Rusty Ray, Executive Editor http://www.big3news.net/?p=8362 http://www.big3news.net/2011/12/16/republican-presidential-candidates-battle-it-out-in-final-fox-news-debate-before-jan-3-iowa-caucus-vote/feed/ 1 big3news,campaign 2012,debate,Fox News,Iowa,Republicans Listen to preview:     - In the last of more than twelve debates leading up to the Jan. 3 Iowa caucus vote, seven Republican presidential candidates faced off on a wide range of topics including their electability, leadership, judicial oversight, Listen to preview:     In the last of more than twelve debates leading up to the Jan. 3 Iowa caucus vote, seven Republican presidential candidates faced off on a wide range of topics including their electability, leadership, judicial oversight, foreign policy and the economy. The two-hour contentious but substantive televised event, hosted by Fox News Channel on Thursday, featured four moderators asking questions of Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann, Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Former Utah Governor John Huntsman, Congressman Ron Paul, Texas Governor Rick Perry, Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, and former Senator Rick Santorum. Early on, it was clear Gingrich, who leads in most national polls, would face the harshest criticisms from his opponents who tried repeatedly to weaken his lead with attacks on his record. Leading the charge was Bachmann -- who won the award for most colorful adjectives, citing Gingrich's defense of his work with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as "shocking", and characterizing Paul's foreign policy views on Iran as "dangerous." Pressed by moderator Chris Wallace to back up her charges that Gingrich was engaged in "influence peddling", the Congresswoman was blunt and direct. "It's the fact that we know that he cashed paychecks from Freddie Mac, that's the best evidence that you can have," Bachmann responded. "Over $1.6 million dollars. And frankly, I am shocked, listening to the former speaker of the house, because he's defending the continuing practice of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae...and they were the epicenter of the mortgage financial meltdown." For his part, Gingrich has repeatedly denied charges that he worked as a lobbyist for the government-backed mortgagel institutions. "I did no lobbying of any kind, for any organization, and that was a key part of every agreement we had," Gingrich retorted. Romney sailed through the evening relatively unscathed, although near the end of the debate he was forced to explain perceived flip-flops in positions such as gay marriage, abortion rights, and gun control issues. Surprisingly, Paul received considerable more air time than in previous debates. And although he was the lone candidate espousing a more diplomatic approach to world events and crises, he consistently hammered home his long-standing views that public officials must act in accordance with the U.S. Constitution. "Everybody wants to be a powerful executive and run things," Paul said. "I, as the president, wouldn't want to run the world, I don't want to police individual activities and their lifestyle, and I don't want to run the economy. So that's an entirely different philosophy but it's very, very much in our tradition and in the tradition of our Constitution." In what was probably one of the most explosive exchanges of the debate, Bachmann and Santorum went to great lengths to describe the foreign policy threat from Iran while attempting to discredit Paul's approach of Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD) similar to that during the Cold War when more than 30,000 Soviet Union missiles were aimed at the United States. "Iran is a country that is ruled by the equivalent of Al-Qaeda," Santorum said. "They are a radical theocracy. The principle virtue of the Islamic Republic of Iran, according to (the Iranian) President, is martyrdom." Paul, whose Iranian position was described in a question by debate moderator Brett Baier as "to the left of Barack Obama", said he would have the support of the American people. "You know what I really fear about what's happening here," Paul asked. "It's another Iraq coming. There's war propaganda going on. And to me, the greatest danger is that we will have a president that will overreact and we will soon bomb Iran." Paul went on to say that the American people would best be served by not jumping the gun like "that useless war in Iraq, and lost so much in Iraq, BIG 3 NEWS no 1:05 http://www.big3news.net/2011/09/04/tea-party-tease-sarah-palin-blasts-president-obama-permanent-political-class-at-iowa-rally/ http://www.big3news.net/2011/09/04/tea-party-tease-sarah-palin-blasts-president-obama-permanent-political-class-at-iowa-rally/#comments Sun, 04 Sep 2011 09:57:34 +0000 Rusty Ray, Executive Editor http://www.big3news.net/?p=7123 http://www.big3news.net/2011/09/04/tea-party-tease-sarah-palin-blasts-president-obama-permanent-political-class-at-iowa-rally/feed/ 1 http://www.big3news.net/2009/09/30/safety-burn-2/ http://www.big3news.net/2009/09/30/safety-burn-2/#comments Thu, 01 Oct 2009 02:28:13 +0000 Rusty Ray, Executive Editor http://www.big3news.net/?p=1412 http://www.big3news.net/2009/09/30/safety-burn-2/feed/ 0