Mr. Carlson pressed former Vice President Mike Pence on his support for Ukraine in its war with Russia. Stating, “you’re distressed that Ukrainians don’t have enough American tanks when every city in the United States has become much worse over the past three years…our economy has degraded, the suicide rate has jumped, public filth and disorder and crime have exponentially increased. And your concern is that the Ukrainians, who’ve received tens of billions of US tax dollars don’t have enough tanks. Where is the concern for the United States in that?” Mr. Pence responded, “it’s not my concern."
Tucker Carlson was able to have the former Vice President admit that he puts the well-being of a corrupt Ukrainian regime and the Ukrainian people ahead of the well-being of Americans. Mr. Pence’s response basically ended his fledgling, and doomed presidential campaign. If his political advisors and consultants had his best interest in mind, they would have him drop out of the race now.
Mr. Carlson wasn’t done with the political murder of Mike Pence. Delusional candidate Asa Hutchinson showed that he is simply a member of the swamp when questioned about his veto of a bill that would have banned so-called gender-affirming health care for minors, otherwise known as gender mutilation. Hutchinson said that he “sided with parents,” with his support of hormonal treatment. Mr. Hutchinson then became irritated stating, “I hope that we’ll be able to talk about some issues.” Carlson jumped on Mr. Hutchinson’s response stating, “This is one of the biggest issues in the country, and I think every person in this room would agree…it’s a central issue.”
Both Mr. Pence and Mr. Hutchinson demonstrated that they are not qualified to represent conservative, America First Republicans as the party’s nominee for president. They are part of the uniparty, the politicians who go along to get along, whose only concern is the next election and the next check from mega-donors. Not everyone faired as poorly as Messer’s Pence and Hutchinson. Tim Scott, who is basically running for a cabinet position or Vice President, did well with the crowd with his five basic principles of:
1.) If you take a loan, you pay it back, attacking President Biden's obsession with forgiving student debt.
2.) There is dignity in work. If you are able-bodied, you work.
3.) If you commit a violent crime, you go to jail.
4.) Men should compete in sports against men.
5.) Our southern border is the major security issue our nation faces.
Mr. Scott did stumble when he avoided directly answering if he would, as president, send cluster bombs to Ukraine.
The best performance of the day went to businessman Vivek Ramaswamy. He received a standing ovation for comments about the January 6 Capital protest, stating, “you want to know what caused January 6 is pervasive censorship in this country. You tell people in this country they cannot speak, that is when they scream. You tell people they cannot scream. That is when they tear things down.” Ramaswamy also stated that if elected, he would pardon former President Trump. He also demanded that other GOP candidates make the same pledge.
Mr. Ramaswamy is currently running in third place behind former President Donald Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. He should be watched closely. I believe the race will come down to Mr. Ramaswamy and Mr. Trump. Mr. Ramaswamy will see a surge after the first few Republican debates. The only question is if there will be enough delegates left once the nation discovers him.
Jim Nelles is a supply chain consultant based in Chicago, IL. He has served as a Chief Procurement Officer, Chief Supply Chain Officer, and a Chief Operations Officer for multiple companies. Jim served his country as a Naval Officer after attending college on an NROTC scholarship. He has a BA from Northwestern University in Economics and French as well as a Masters in Management from the JL Kellogg Graduate School of Business.
