Fred challanges rivals to Real policy rountable debates

Fox New Reports,

"I would like for each of us in small groups ... to sit in small groups and have a discussion, a round-table discussion," Thompson said. "Anybody who's a serious contender for the nomination — I would get to decide as to who I'd get to sit down with, and it'd be several. And I'd do it one-on-one, one-on-three or whatever."

It is about time we had serious debates not rigged media ones. Hats off to Fred for trying to get the ball rolling. Lets see who responds.

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Mike Huckabee is not Serious about Immigration

Mike Huckabee has a campaign ad running in Iowa with Chuck Norris in it. The ad just proves how amateur Mike Huckabee is and that he does not have a serious position on immigration. Mike Huckabee's Immigration plan: "Chuck Norris." This is the type of ad you would expect from a kid running for class president not President of the United States. It is time for Mike to step aside and let serious candidates talk about real issues.

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Fred Thompson on Tax Reform

Fred Thompson once again shows his campaign is the one of substance by realeasing a detailed tax reform plan. His plan would lower the corporate tax rate in order to spur economic development. His plan would also give people a choice to stay in the current tax system or opt into a flat rate system with lower tax rates and higher standard deduction but less itemized deductions. This plan would save people money on taxes while making the tax filing itself easier. Once again Fred Thompson has the substance while the other campaigns are being carried on hype put out by the media. The liberal media must be scared of a true conservative.

Here is the plan

In today's competitive global economy, a fair, simple, and pro-growth tax system is essential for America's success. America must be the best place in the world to invest and create high-paying jobs.

Fred Thompson's Plan for Tax Relief and Economic Growth promotes fairness and simplicity in the tax code and will create greater growth in the economy. It is based on a fundamental assumption that keeping tax rates low increases economic growth and enhances American competitiveness in the global economy. Increased economic growth will lead to higher wages and higher levels of employment in America. Equally important, lower taxes enhance the personal and economic freedom of all Americans by allowing them to keep more of their hard-earned dollars. Allowing Americans to control their own financial future has been integral to our nation's economic success and strength since its founding, and is the key to our future.

The economic proposals offered by Democrats will move us in the wrong direction -- their plan for higher taxes, in particular, will reduce America's competitiveness, push investment and jobs overseas, and send more of workers' and families' income to Washington. The conservative approach is to reduce government spending and return more money to America's families.
The following elements of the Thompson Plan for Tax Relief and Economic Growth will spur economic growth and move the nation towards a fairer, simpler tax system on the way to Fred Thompson's ultimate goal of fundamental tax reform.

1. Permanently Extend the 2001 and 2003 Tax Cuts. Tax relief enacted in 2001 and 2003 has proved critical to generating a strong economy that has experienced growth despite the war on terror, the collapse in the housing market, and other economic challenges over the last six years. Unless action is taken, every American taxpayer will see a massive tax increase after December 31, 2010. Allowing this tax hike will impose an enormous financial burden on American families, slow economic growth, cost America jobs, and make it more difficult to address the country's long-term budget, economic, and security challenges. The Thompson plan ensures the following:
*Reduced individual income tax rates, saving every tax-paying family a minimum of $600.
*Preserving the $1000 child tax credit, which was doubled from $500 per child.
*Protecting Marriage penalty relief.
*Retaining Education tax incentives, including Coverdell Education Savings Accounts,529 college savings plans, and deductions for higher education expenses.
*Reduced tax rates on capital gains and qualified dividends.
*Increased expensing of investment for small businesses.

2. Permanently Repeal the Death Tax. Current law provides death tax relief, but only through 2010. The death tax is inherently unfair. Under the Thompson Plan, the death tax would be permanently repealed, thus protecting millions of American families, including small business owners and family farmers, from double taxation at rates ranging as high as 55 percent.

3. Repeal the Alternative Minimum Tax. The AMT is a separate tax system that was intended to ensure that a few high income Americans could not use deductions and credits to eliminate their tax liability. However, because the AMT is not indexed to inflation, it is penalizing Americans it was never intended to affect. While in the U.S. Senate, Fred Thompson authored legislation that would have repealed the AMT. Consistent with that earlier proposal, the Thompson plan will eliminate the AMT as part of broader tax and spending reform. Until comprehensive reform is feasible, the Thompson plan would index the exemption amounts annually so that millions of middle class families will not become subject to this tax.

4. Reduce the Corporate Tax Rate. The United States has one of the highest rates of tax on businesses of the industrialized nations, second only to Japan. EvenJapan is currently considering reducing its corporate tax rate. Economic studies suggest that the U.S. Treasury is actually losing tax revenue by keeping the corporate tax rate so high. In order to increase the competitiveness of U.S. companies in the global marketplace, the Thompson plan would reduce the U.S. top corporate tax rate (including the corporate capital gains tax rate) from 35 percent to no more than 27 percent, which is the approximate average of the world's leading economies—the nations of the Organization on Economic Cooperation and Development. This tax reduction will promote U.S. competitiveness, encourage companies to keep their operations (and jobs) in the U.S., and spur continued economic expansion and growth.

5.Permanently Extend Small Business Expensing. Small businesses create two-thirds of all new jobs in America, and employ nearly 59 million Americans -- more than half of the nation's private-sector workforce. Women own a quarter of all small businesses, minorities are nearing the 20% mark, and Hispanic Americans are opening their own businesses at a rate three times the national average. Current law allows small businesses to write-off purchases of equipment of up to $125,000 per year, rather than depreciating those assets over time. Making expensing of equipment and other small business items permanent will encourage greater investment and growth.

6. Update and Simplify Depreciation Schedules. The current depreciation schedules are outdated and in many cases do not reflect the realistic useful life of an asset. This is particularly true for investments in high technology. For example, computers must be depreciated over three years, even though they become obsolete in half that time. The Thompson plan would simplify and update these schedules to allow American businesses to make the investments they need to compete and create more high-quality jobs.

7. Expand Taxpayer Choice. The Thompson plan would give Americans greater choice about how to pay their federal taxes. This plan is based on a proposal developed by the House of Representatives Republican Study Committee that would provide taxpayers the option of remaining under the current, complex tax code or opting for a simplified, flat tax code. The simplified tax code would contain two tax rates: 10% for joint filers on income of up to $100,000 ($50,000 for singles) and 25% on income above these amounts. The standard deduction would be more than doubled to $25,000 for joint filers and $12,500 for singles. The personal exemption amount would be increased to $3,500. Therefore, a family of 4 would be exempt from income tax on the first $39,000 of income. The simplified tax code would contain no other tax credits or deductions. It would also retain the 15% tax rate on capital gains and dividends. This approach would dramatically simplify taxes for tens of millions of Americans. In addition, the larger standard deduction and personal exemption amounts will still provide significant tax relief to families with children. This proposal would serve as a stepping-stone to fundamental tax reform.

America 's economic future depends on our nation's ability to maintain its competitive and innovative spirit. Solutions to challenges in our economy are found in the homes and small businesses of ordinary Americans, not in the halls of Washington. Fred Thompson's goal is to allow Americans to retain greater control of their own money.

To do that, Fred Thompson believes we need a more limited, more effective federal government. Currently, government spending is projected to grow at nearly twice the rate of inflation over the next several years. This spending path is unsustainable and will hamper our economy unless fiscal discipline is imposed. It is critical that we address the problem of government spending, especially for entitlement programs, if the U.S. economy is grow and thrive in the coming decades. The Thompson Plan for Tax Relief and Economic Growth provides commonsense solutions to increase American competitiveness in the 21st century. These solutions will allow Americans to keep more of their money and encourage companies and entrepreneurs to invest and create jobs in the United States. Enhancing the choices of taxpayers, permanently reducing taxes, encouraging investment in America's corporations and small businesses, and restraining government spending are all steps in the right direction. America's economy has endured several challenges over the last several years -- it is time to move forward and enter a new era of economic security and prosperity.

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One funny piece by Joe Biden

I have always had a soft spot for Joe Biden. I dont usually agree with his political positions, but he is always a straight talker and that is a lost art in politics today. Joe has a piece out now about how all the other democratic cantidates agree with him all the time. It is one just truly good piece set to the tune " You got a friend in me."

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Fred Thompson to Be Endorsed by Right to Life

Breitbart.com is reporting that Fred Thompson will be endorsed by the Right to Life Committee. This is a big step for Fred Thompson as his campaign is picking up speed. Fred Thompson remains the true conservative candidate and as the records of the other candidates get exposed he could in the end be a candidate that most republicans will be able to gather around.

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Mike Huckabee: "whatever tax is fine with me"

Mike Huckeabee has been running as a conservative. He claims to be the only true conservative. Well, this video should expose the real Mike Huckabee. He is a tax and spend Republican who is only conservative on his stance on abortion. His view on abortion could just be lipservice to get votes judging by the rest of his record.

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Hillary can not handle the heat? Plants questions in audience

Coming off a bad week last week things just seem to keep getting worse for Hillary. The media has been covering a story that she stiffed a waitress at a deli in Iowa. Now, a story is coming out that Hillary planted people in the audience this week at a stop to ask specific questions. This is just the latest in a series of events that make us question if Hillary is really going to come clean with the American People. She has consitently refused to give a straight answer on many controversial issues, while she has kept records that involve her during her husbands time in the White House sealed. Hillary appears to be afraid of letting the American people see who she really is. It is time Hillary come clean and unseal her records and actually give the Americans People straight answers to the question they want answers to. It appear that may be too much to ask from Hillary Clinton.

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Fred Thompson wants to stop giving companies a free pass on Illegal Immigration

Sen. Fred Thompson released the following statement endorsing H.R. 3554 by Congressman Steve King (R - IA) today and calling for better enforcement of America's laws against hiring those who cannot work in the country legally:



"It's time for America to start enforcing our immigration laws and stop giving businesses that hire illegal workers a free pass. A key principle of my immigration reform proposal is attrition through enforcement. I am supporting a bill by Congressman Steve King, which would deny a tax deduction to employers for the wages they pay to illegal immigrants because it provides a disincentive to employers who hire undocumented workers. Businesses in America that do not play by the rules should not be rewarded under our tax system."



H.R. 3554 would prohibit an employer from taking a deduction for wages paid to illegal aliens while providing safe harbor for employers participating in the electronic verification program.



"I am happy that Fred Thompson has endorsed my bill and it's because he understands that IRS enforcement can be as important as the DHS in enforcing immigration law," said Congressman King.



Sen. Thompson recently released a comprehensive border security and immigration enforcement proposal that would make America safer by increasing security at our nation's borders, enforcing our country's existing laws to reduce the incentive for illegal immigration and streamlining the legal immigration process.



Thompson's two-pronged plan, which can be found in its entirety at www.fred08.com , is based on two principles: 1) Securing the Border and Enforcing the Law, and 2) Improving the Legal Immigration Process.



Highlights of the proposal include:

No Amnesty : Amnesty undermines U.S. law and policy, rewards bad behavior, and is unfair to the millions of immigrants who follow the law and are awaiting legal entry into the United States.
Enforce Existing Federal Laws : Enforce the laws Congress has already enacted to prevent illegal aliens from unlawfully benefiting from their presence in the country including:

A.End Sanctuary Cities by cutting off discretionary federal grant funds as appropriate to any community that, by law ordinance, executive order, or other formal policy directs its public officials not to comply with the provisions of 8 USC 1373 and 8 USC 1644, which prohibit any state or local government from restricting in any way communications with the Department of Homeland Security "regarding the immigration status, lawful or unlawful, of an alien in the United States."

B.Deny discretionary Federal education grants as appropriate to public universities that violate federal law by offering in-state tuition rates to illegal aliens without also offering identical benefits to United States citizens, regardless of whether or not they live in the state, as required by 8 USC 1623.

C. Deny discretionary Federal grants as appropriate to states and local governments that violate federal law by offering public benefits to illegal aliens, as prohibited by 8 USC 1621(a).


Increased Border Security : Doubling Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents handling interior enforcement, increasing the Border Patrol to at least 25,000 agents, and increasing detention space to incarcerate illegal aliens we arrest rather than letting them go with a promise to show up later for legal proceedings against them.

Attrition through Enforcement : Reduce the number of illegal aliens through increased enforcement against unauthorized alien workers and their employers. Without illegal employment opportunities available, fewer illegal aliens will attempt to enter the country, and many of those illegally in the country now likely will return home. This course of action offers a reasonable alternative to the false choices currently proposed to deal with the 12 million or more aliens already in the U.S. illegally: either arrest and deport them all, or give them all amnesty.

Maximize Legal Immigration Program Efficiency : Reduce the backlogs and streamline the process for immigrants and employers who seek to follow the law. Also, simplify and expedite the application processes for temporary visas. Caps for any category of temporary work visa would be increased as appropriate, if it could be demonstrated that there are no Americans capable and willing to do the jobs.

Modernize Immigration Law/Policy : Change the nature of our legal immigration system to welcome immigrants who can be economic contributors to our country and are willing to learn the English language and reduce the scope of chain migration by giving family preference in the allocation of lawful permanent resident status only to spouses and minor children of U.S. citizens, and no one else (no siblings, no pa rents, no adult children, etc.).

English as Official Language : Make English the official language of the U.S. to promote assimilation and legal immigrants' success, and require English proficiency in order for any foreign person to be granted lawful permanent resident status.

Preference for American Military Service : Place those foreign persons who are lawfully present in the country and who serve honorably in the Armed Forces of the United States on a faster, surer track to U.S. citizenship.

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Bill Clinton: Hillary "swiftboated"

Bill Clinton has made the claim that Hillary was swiftboated at the debate last week. Come on, this is the most outrageous claim to date. I mean who would have imagined that someone would expect a presidential cantidate to actually answer a question. The fact is as the Hillary camp has made its first stumble they are trying to spin it to be everyone elses fault. It is the fault of the Clinton Machine whose trademark is to not give a straight answer on anything and now that everyone has caught on they are being held accountable. The only swiftboating that was occuring was from Hillary who wanted to make it through the primary with out taking a position on pretty much anything, but she got caught perpetraiting this fraud and is being held accountable.

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Another Hillary Paper cover up

Hillary just does not want us to see the REAL Hillary. ABC News is now reporting that another set of papers that were going to be released are going to be held back until 2009. Its time Hillary came clean with the American People. What is that this woman has to hide?

Link

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Poll shows large Majority against Pro-Illegal Issues

Whether Illegal Immigrants should be able to get drivers licenses has been a big topic since last weeks Presidential Debate. The Washington Times has a new poll out that shows that 77% feel they should not have that right. The only democrat who agrees with this massive majority is Chris Dodd. Even 62% of the people polled disagreed with the California version of the Dream Act that is before Congress that most the democratic cantidates support. It is time we tell these Democratic Cantidates to take immigration seriously and stop pandering for votes while sticking us with the price tag of all the Illegals.

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Fred Thompson Ad going up in Iowa

Fred Thompson's First Ad is going up in Iowa here it is below.



Remeber to Contribute Today!

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Fred Thompson responds to Huckabee, Thanks for being a Conservative on one issue!

Former Governor Mike Huckabee has been attacking Fred Thompson for taking the sound Constitutional Position that states are the judges of abortion laws not the federal government. He also opposes a Constitutional Amendment becuse that would take state power away and move it to the federal government. In a fox news interview Fred Thompson fired back,

"Yeah, well I don’t need to justify myself to the governor. My record is clear. 100 percent pro-life voting record over 8 years at the national level... I’ve said Roe v. Wade was wrongfully decided. I have been pro-life all my career and I always will be. The difference with me and most of the rest of them is that’s where I was yesterday, that’s where I am today, and that’s where I’ll be tomorrow... Gov. Huckabee talks about this, I suppose, because it’s the only conservative position he’s got. People talk about a sanctuary cities -- he apparently wanted a sanctuary state in Arkansas. He’s very weak on immigration policy. He was one of the highest taxing governors that we had in this country and rivaling Bill Clinton in terms of the CATO ratings and getting a B when Clinton got a B and getting an F for part of his administration. So I can understand why he might want to talk solely about this issue."

The more Huckabee is exposed he resembles less what some conservatives want to make him out to be. In the end the real Conservative in this race is Fred Thompson. Remember the Conservative position is to respect the Consitution and not want more government control.

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Mondale Endorses Hillary: The last tax increase cantidate meets a new one. Did it work our so well for you Walter?

Walter Mondale has now endorsed Hillary Clinton. It is great when two people who both are campaigning on raising taxes can get together. Walter Mondale the only American Presidential Cantidate to campaign on raising taxes lost to Reagan in 1984. The end of his campagin came when he committed to the American people that he would raise their taxes. Now, the current crop of Democratic Cantidates are doing the same thing. I doubt it will work out so well for them in the end too. Leave it to the current Democrats to snatch Defeat from the jaws of victory.

For a Flash back



and

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Democratic Senate spends days grandstanding and then claims they do not have enough time to work on Improving Education

The Democratically lead senate has found plenty of time to grandstand on many issues since taking control. Apparently accomplishing the work of the people is not one of them. They have failed to pass Appropriations bills to fund the work of the government. Now they are claiming there is not enough time to work on a bill that was supposed to be brought up this year to help improve education by fixing some of the changes needed in No Child Left Behind. In an article on newsday.com this was said,

"It is is growing less likely that we will get a bill off the House floor in 2007," said Tom Kiley, a spokesman for Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., the chairman of the House education committee. "We continue to work hard on the bill."

What is becoming clear is that the Democratic Leadership of the Senate and Harry Reid in particular are less interested in governing than they are in grandstanding on issues. They have failed to complete the peoples work and should be held accountable.

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Rudy, Is it Pride or Arrogance?

Rudy this week we found out has been using outdated statistics in his stump speech to indicate his survival chances with Prostate Cancer here in America versus in England. At contention is his claim in an ad in New Hampshire that said, "My chance of surviving prostate cancer, and thank God I was cured of it, in the United States: 82 percent. My chances of surviving prostate cancer in England: only 44 percent under socialized medicine." Well that is not entirely true. The American Cancer Society says five-year survival rates were 95 percent in the U.S. and 60 percent in the United Kingdom.

Instead of correcting the misused statistics,

Giuliani defended his figures as "absolutely accurate" at the time of his prostate cancer treatment in 2000. "Those statistics have changed slightly today," he said Friday.

Rudy has been caught in several of these gaffes over the campaign in every instance he refuses to acknowledge his mistakes. This story would have gone away much better if he has just said that they had pulled an old statistic and would correct it in the future. That would not fit with Rudy though. I am not sure if it is just pride or arrogance, but Rudy seems to refuse to learn from mistakes or even admit to them. Not a good sign for someone who aspires to be President of the United States.

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Romney declares war on Fox News

Mitt Romney has released a campaign video showing scenes from the Fox News Debate in Orlando. Fox has insisted that Cantidates cannot use these clips and last week argued with John McCain about his use of a clip from the same debate. Romney attorney Ben Ginsbert had this to say,

"Indeed, the Romney campaign's use of a very short debate clip to deliver a message about Governor Romney is the very essence of political speech protected by the First Amendment. In addition to the First Amendment, statutes and numerous court decisions protect a political campaign's use of this material in this fashion."

Here is the Ad in question:

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Hillary Clinton Retreats on Pile-on Poltics and White House Papers

Hillary Clinton has had a bad week. In what was a horrible debate performance this week she flubbed a couple of questions and then refused to give straight answers when pressed by her opponents and the moderator. She followed this up with running ads on what she called "Pile-on Politics" where all her opponents were unfairly attacking her because she was a woman and they were all men. Barack Obama responded quickly to this line of reasoning saying that when he was attacked he did not run out and scream it was because of the color of his skin.

The New York Times now reports she is backing of this stategy:

“I don’t think they’re picking on me because I’m a woman; I think they’re picking on me because I’m winning,” Mrs. Clinton said at a news conference at the Capitol after filing papers to run in the New Hampshire primary.

Also in the debate the issue of the Former First Lady's White House papers emerged. The Clinton have been working to block the release of any of her records until 2012. Now after pressure has emerged what appears to be a self-serving withholding from public judgment the Clintons now indicate the documents could be ready as soon as January of 2009. This does not appear to help Obama or Edwards as the early state primaries will be over, but will put the documents out as the General Election starts to heat up.

In what could only be referred to as the Hillary Camp's worst week ever. She has taken positions and backed off them when put under pressure. In what appeared just a week ago to be an unflappable and flawless campagin they are now forming holes fast and quick.

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Will the Real Hillary Please stand up?

Hillary Clinton is an intresting figure. We have never had a woment President before and in the United States and our first real contender is the wife of a former President. That makes it even tougher to examine this women for her credentials and views because she is shrouded in the cloak of all things Clinton, even while trying to define herself. There is no question that Hillary was involved in her husbands White House. Her role on Health Care made this abudently clear. The real question that stems in the aftermath of that was what else was Hillary involved in during President Clintons terms in office.

We should be able to find that out because the White House keeps detailed records of everything that goes on inside and administration. That bring us to the point that none of that information is avaliable to us. In Fact President Clinton wrote a letter that asked that nothing relating to Hillary's role inside the White House be released until 2012. That is pretty convient she wants to run on a credential of being First Lady but wants none of the documents from that time released to the public. It begs a question though. What does Hillary have to hide?

The fact is that since Hillary was elected to the United States Senate she has been running for President. Her opinion on issues change from the moment she decides to run for the Senate. She has taken much different stands then she did when her husband was President. She has done this to make herself appear as a moderate to reach as many people as possible in a potential Presidential Election. She needed to since her dislike numbers are around 48% she would need every vote possible to win the Presidency. Now, she has defined herself that way with her position on the war and a number of other issues.

That brings us back to the Presidential Records. Why would she not want that information released to the public for them to go through. It is because those records show Hillary for who she really is. Not a moderate, but a liberal democrat. That is why she and with her husband behind the scenes will fight to prevent them from being released. They need her to appear a moderate just long enough to win the Presidency. It is time to call on both Clintons to show us the records. We need to have the real Hillary stand up and tell us who she really is. She is running for President now and this is the time to tell us what she believes in and what she really wants for america. It is not the time for veiled answers and locked records. We are the American People and we demand a full disclosure of the facts so we can form and educated opinion about Hillary.

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When Hillary is called out for talking out of both sides of her mouth who does she blame? Tim Russert for being "belligerent"

As everyone most likely has already heard last night was a bad night to be Hillary. In Democratic Debate 400 her opponents finally tried to make her give answers that actually mean something, what happened? She self-destructed by speaking out of both sides of her mouth.

She was asked what she though of Gov. Eliot Spitzer's plan to give illegals drivers licenses. She rambled for a while a ultimately defended his plan. When Chris Dodd was called on next and said that he disagreed with Hillary that Illegals should get drives license she shot back "I did not say that." In response Russert asked a follow up, "You told New Hampshire paper that it made a lot of sense. Do you support his plan?” Hillary who could not give a straight answer responded, "You know, Tim, this is where everybody plays gotcha."

Then came the barrage,

Edwards

“Unless I missed something, Sen. Clinton said two different things in the course of about two minutes. America is looking for a president who will say the same thing, who will be consistent, who will be straight with them.”

Obama

“I was confused by Sen. Clinton's answer. I can't tell whether she was for it or against it. One of the things that we have to do in this country is to be honest about the challenges that we face.”



So could Hillary bring herself to accept that she needed to be straight with the American people. No, she sent out an operative to claim that Moderator Tim Russert was unfair. "He bordered on the unprofessional, and He broke debate rules and was BELLIGERENT."

Hardly Hillary, the only person who is Belligerent is you, with your disregard with treating the American People with any kind of Respect. You are not the emperor or Queen you are running for President. Time for you to be honest with the American People even if you don't know how since you never have been before.

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