Gotcha

For years the press has been asking political candidates gotcha questions.  Since we’re heading into a presidential election cycle, these questions, which are asked mostly for the purpose of making the candidate look foolish, or unprepared, or intolerant, will soon be coming fast and furiously.

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Of course they’ll be overwhelmingly directed at Republican candidates.  Democrats, for the most part, will get a free ride.  For example, Marco Rubio was asked if he would attend the gay marriage of a loved one.  (Then all the other Republican candidates for President are asked the same question.)

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Almost immediately upon announcing his candidacy for President, Rand Paul was asked whether he supported a ban on abortions in cases of rape or incest.  Paul suggested they go back and ask liberal Congresswoman and current Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz whether she was okay with killing a seven pound baby in the womb shortly before birth.  (She is.)

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Jeb Bush was asked whether, if he knew then what we know now, it was a mistake to go into Iraq.  His answer was deemed unacceptable by virtually everyone.  Then most of the other Republican candidates were asked to comment.  Any Republican candidate who answers this question, is committing political malpractice if he or she fails to remind the questioner, that as a result of the surge, the United States had prevailed in Iraq, until Barack Obama recklessly pulled out all U.S. troops, directly resulting in the rise of ISIS and the chaos we now see in the Middle East.

Republican candidates are routinely asked if they believe in evolution.  (Some do, some don’t.)  They’re asked why they want to ban contraceptives (even if they don’t.)  And on and on.

For some strange reason, the mainstream press seldom seems to ask gotcha questions of Democratic candidates, presidential or otherwise.

I was perusing the Washington Times the other day, and came across a great op-ed by Gary Bauer addressing this phenomenon.  Gary, you might remember, was born in our area, Newport, Kentucky to be exact, and was President of the Family Research Council before unsuccessfully running in the Republican Presidential primary in 1980 (the year Reagan ran and won.)
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In the piece, Mr. Bauer suggests a list of questions journalists ought to be asking Democratic candidates for President.  The following are some of the better questions:

1. When does life begin?  And when does that life become a human person deserving of Constitutional rights?
2. You say you support women’s rights to make their own reproductive choices.  Do you support ANY limits on abortion?  Third-trimester abortions?  Abortions of fetuses who can feel pain or live outside their mother’s womb?  Abortions specifically targeting unborn girls?
3. Do you believe nuns should be forced to buy birth control or face crippling fines?  Do you support the Obama Administration’s healthcare mandates that force people of faith to subsidize abortion and life-ending drugs and devices or face the force of law?
4. Does the liberal virtue of tolerance include tolerance for those who oppose gay marriage?
5. Many of your supporters consider those who believe in the traditional view of marriage as the union of a man and a woman bigots, akin to racists.  Do you agree with this view?  If so, how do you reconcile this with the fact that you opposed gay marriage until very recently?
6. Do you believe that the American people are under-taxed?  Which taxes do you want to raise?  Name two taxes you would cut.
7. Is America facing a severe threat from radical Islam?  If not, what is the nature of the threat from terrorists?
8. Name two decisions that President Obama has made or policies he has implemented that you disagree with, and explain why.
9. And for Hillary specifically: in the 2008 campaign, you suggested Americans would not be able to sleep well at night knowing that Barack Obama would be the one taking an emergency 3 a.m. phone call to the White House about a foreign policy crisis.  Based on your conduct in the Benghazi affair, do you think voters have reason to doubt your ability to protect Americans from foreign threats?

So what do you think?  Pretty good questions, huh?  Think the press will ever ask Hillary, or any other potential Democrat candidate these questions?

Not a chance.

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