Should TheBlaze host their own GOP debate?

November 02, 2015

Editor

On radio Monday morning, Glenn and his co-hosts expressed their disappointment with the way the GOP presidential debates have been handled thus far.

Stu shared an innovative idea from presidential candidate Carly Fiorina, who Tweeted, "I'll debate any one, any time, any place. And how about letting some conservative networks host debates as well?"

I’ll debate any one, any time, any place. And how about letting some conservative networks host debates as well? Cc: @oann @theblaze
— Carly Fiorina (@CarlyFiorina) November 2, 2015

Instead of playing "gotcha" with candidates, Glenn called for fair treatment to allow the American people to hear what the candidates have to say and choose for themselves.

"If they're lying, the American people will sense it. And once they really hear the differences between the candidates, then they can make their choice," Glenn said.

In an open letter to Reince Priebus, Chairman of the National Republican Committee, Glenn proposed a new kind of debate, "in both substance and distribution." See the letter, complete with Glenn's handwritten notes below.

Listen to the full exchange from radio or read the transcript below.

Watch tonight's episode of the Glenn Beck Program on TheBlaze TV to hear more of what Glenn has to say about this. Tune in for FREE here.

Below is a rush transcript of this segment, it might contain errors.

STU: What you need, Glenn, is innovative thinking from candidates. Like, for example, this latest tweet from Carly Fiorina who tweets, "I'll debate anyone, any time, anyplace. And how about letting some conservative networks host debates as well, including TheBlaze."

PAT: Yes.

STU: She points out. That's an interesting question.

GLENN: That wouldn't suck.

STU: That's an -- I would like to see it. I mean, we are capable of doing a fair debate as much as I have my own personal biases. I think that would be an interesting debate. Look at the way you've treated these candidates. I think some of the best interviews that have happened --

GLENN: I hear from each of the candidates, each the candidates -- I would say almost all of them have said, fairest interview that they've had -- at least what they say to me when they're leaving.

Fairest interview that they've had. And it's because I'm not trying to play gotcha. I really, truly believe that when the American people see them for who they really are and they're allowed to actually speak their mind on what they really believe --

PAT: Uh-huh.

GLENN: -- if they're lying, the American people will sense it. And once they really hear the differences between the candidates, then they can make their choice. Why -- I just -- because I despise gotcha politics myself, where I've gone in interviews and said, we can really make a difference here, if somebody will just treat me fairly. I'm not asking you to treat me with kid gloves. Just treat me fairly and let me make my points in a fair manner because then we can really make -- then people can decide.

And so because I hate it so much, that's the way I've been trying to conduct these interviews. I'm not going to do a gotcha. I'm going to ask you tough questions, but I'm not going to do a gotcha.

STU: Yeah. It goes back to the Ben Carson clip you played, which I pretty much agree with, although with a slight modification. Because he said something like, "What we need are people that are interested in getting the candidates to be able to disseminate information -- or disseminate information about the candidates." And I don't know if that's exactly the focus I want. I don't want them just being people who can disseminate information about the candidates. I like tough questions. But it's someone who is interested in the answers. Not interested in promoting themselves. Not interested in getting some big moment that can go viral. We're talking about people who are actually interested in the differences between these people.

GLENN: The first thing that has to happen, you have to actually believe the country is in trouble. On our side. On the left, they don't necessarily think the country is in trouble. On our side, the majority think that our country is in real, deep trouble. So you have to -- more than self, your country love, the first thing.

And then actually ask the questions that are honest that reveal the candidate for who they really are. That's what has to happen.

STU: Uh-huh.

GLENN: Nobody has to have a shouting match with Donald Trump. Why have a shouting match with Donald Trump? Mr. Trump, can you tell me the difference between a constitutional and a progressive president? Yes or no? And what is that difference? Would you consider yourself a constitutional or a progressive Republican?

There's no gotcha in that at all. He'll have to define them. And by how he defines them and then how he describes himself, you'll know because you'll be able to compare. Is that true, or is that not true? There's no gotcha there. Because I don't think that there's -- you know, the Republicans are running away from progressivism, just as the Democrats ran away from socialism.

Well, people are wanting the truth. They just want the truth. They know the truth. They know that the Democrats and that Bernie Sanders is a socialist. They know that Hillary Clinton is a socialist. They know that.

So they're capable of handling the truth on who you really are. They want somebody to say who they really are. Even if they don't agree with it. They want them to say who they really are and what they really, truly believe.

And so, I mean, I think just putting the candidates in a place to where they're comfortable enough to where it's not hostile fire the whole time because --

PAT: And you're asking the right questions that conservatives care about. You got to ask the right questions. You're not asking them, "Well, how are you going to stop the evil richest 1 percent from earning another dollar?" That's not a Republican principle.

GLENN: And this is for us to decide. This isn't the general debate. This is for us to decide.

PAT: Yeah.

STU: When it comes to the general election debate, you kind of expect those questions, but there's no point in doing that now. You're trying to find out who is -- I think there is a point in looking at a candidate's weakness. You know, if you want to look at Ted Cruz and ask Ted Cruz about, "Well, you're too divisive in Washington." Or ask Donald Trump about his issues with, you know, things he's said in the past. Those are fair. But when you're talking about these income inequality questions about --

GLENN: Why do you hate women?

STU: Why do you hate women?

GLENN: I mean, that's just ridiculous. That's just ridiculous. That's a general election question. And, by the way, the -- the mainstream media should have a balance to it that it should have something like Carly suggested, TheBlaze to where when it comes to the mainstream media, to the general election, that the -- the Democrats' feet are put to the fire. If you're going to ask those questions about, why do you hate women? Well, I think I should be able to say, you know, look at the stats of Philadelphia. Look at the stats of Detroit. Look at the stats of St. Louis. Those are all democratically controlled since the 1960s. Your progressivism doesn't seem to be working. With the level of increase of homelessness and joblessness for African-Americans and Hispanics, how can you say this works to help the underprivileged and the poor?

Trump's education secretary has BIG plans for the DoE

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Our education system is broken, and the Department of Education is a massive failure. But that all ends now.

It's no secret that America's school system is seriously lacking in many ways. President Trump pointed out that despite our massive spending per pupil, we are behind most of the developed world in most metrics. Our scores continue to plummet while our student debt and spending skyrocket—it's utterly unacceptable performance and America's students deserve better.

That's where Linda McMahon, Trump's pick for Secretary of Education comes in.

The former WWE CEO and leader of the U.S. Small Business Administration during Trump's first term, McMahon laid out her harsh criticisms of the DoE during a confirmation hearing on the 13th and revealed her promising plans to turn things around. McMahon described the public education system as "in decline" and promised that under her authority, the DoE would be reoriented towards student success.

Here are the top three changes to the Department of Education:

1. Dismantling the Department of Education

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From the beginning Trump's orders for McMahon were clear: oversee the end of the Department of Education.

During her Thursday hearing, McMahon clarified what dismantling the DoE would entail. As Democrats have repeatedly pointed out, Trump does not have the authority to destroy the DoE without Congressional consent, as an act of Congress created it. That is why Trump and McMahon's plan is to start by shutting down programs that can be stopped by executive action, then approach Congress with a plan to dismantle the Department for good. The executive orders have already begun to take effect, and once McMahon is confirmed she will author a plan for Congress to close the Department.

McMahon also promised that the end of the Department of Education does not mean an end to all the programs currently undertaken by the doomed department. Programs that are deemed beneficial will be transferred (along with their funding) to departments that are more suited to the task. The example given by McMahon was IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) funding, which instead of being cut would be transferred to the Department of Health and Human Services.

2. School Choice

Robert Daemmrich Photography Inc / Contributor | Getty Images

In a huge win for parents across the country, McMahon pledged her support for School Choice. School Choice is the idea of allowing parents to enroll their student in any school of their choice, including religious schools and private schools. It would also mean that part or all of the funding that would have gone to a relocated child would follow them and continue to pay for their education.

This gives parents the ability to remove their children from failing schools and seek a better education for them elsewhere. A growing body of evidence suggests that the way we run our schools isn't working, and it is time to try something new. School Choice opens up education to the free market and will allow for competition.

Our children deserve better than what we can currently offer them.

3. COVID and DEI

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Trump's government-wide crackdown on DEI will ironically serve to increase inclusion in many American schools.

McMahon said as much during her Senate hearing: “It was put in place ostensibly for more diversity, for equity and inclusion. And I think what we’re seeing is, it is having an opposite effect. We are getting back to more segregating of our schools instead of having more inclusion in our schools.” She also spoke in support of Title IX, and the push to remove biological males from women's and girl's sports. In the same vein, McMahon pledged to push back against the rise of antisemitism on college campuses, which many Universities have failed to adequately address.

On Friday, February 14th, President Trump signed an executive order barring any school or university with COVID-19 vaccine mandates from receiving federal money. This only applies to the COVID-19 vaccine, and other vaccine mandates are still standing.

POLL: What DARK government secrets will Trump uncover?

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Will the dark secrets of the Deep State finally see the light of day? Or will they slip back into darkness, as they have many times before?

The Trump administration is gearing up to fulfill one of Trump's most anticipated campaign promises: to make the contents of the JFK files, along with other Deep State secrets, available to the public. Kash Patel, who has promised to publicize the highly anticipated files, is expected to be confirmed next week as Trump's director of the FBI. Moreover, the House Oversight Committee created a new task force headed by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna called "Task Force on Declassification of Federal Secrets," which is tasked with investigating and declassifying information on the JFK, RFK, and MLK assassinations, UFOs, the Epstein list, COVID's origins, and 9/11. This all comes after the FBI found 2,400 "new" records relating to the assassination of President Kennedy following Trump's executive order to release the files.

Glenn discussed this topic with the cast of the Patrick Bet David podcast. Glenn expressed his confidence in Trump's radical transparency—on the condition that Kash Patel is confirmed. The cast was not as optimistic, expressing some doubt about whether Trump will actually unveil all that he has promised. But what do you think? What files are likely to see the light of day? And what files will continue to linger in the dark? Let us know in the poll below

Do you think the JFK, RFK, and MLK files will be unveiled?

Do you think the 9/11 files will be unveiled?

Do you think the COVID files will be unveiled?

Do you think the UFO files will be unveiled?

Do you think the Epstein list will be unveiled?

Transgender opera in Colombia? 10 SHOCKING ways USAID spent your tax dollars.

MANDEL NGAN / Contributor | Getty Images

The government has been doing what with our tax money!?

Under the determined eye of Elon Musk, DOGE has rooted out the corruption that permeates USAID, and it turns out that it's worse than we thought. Glenn recently read a list of atrocious causes that were funded by USAID, and the list was as long as it was shocking.

Since the January consumer index report was published today, one thing is clear: eggs are bearing the brunt of inflation. That's why we illustrated the extent of USAID's wasteful spending of YOUR taxpayer dollars by comparing it to the price of eggs. How many eggs could the American people have bought with their tax dollars that were given to a "transgender opera" in Colombia or indoctrinating Sri Lankans with woke gender ideology? The truth will shock you:

1. A “transgender opera” in Colombia

USAID spent $47,000 on a transgender opera in Colombia. That's over 135,000 eggs.

2. Sex changes and "LGBT activism" in Guatemala

$2 million was spent funding sex changes along with whatever "LGBT activism" means. That equates to over 5.7 million eggs!

3. Teaching Sri Lankan journalists how to avoid binary-gendered language

USAID forked over $7.9 million to combat the "gender binary" in Sri Lankan journalism. That could have bought nearly 23 million eggs.

4. Tourism in Egypt

$6 million (or just over 17 million eggs) was spent to fund tourism in Egypt. If only someone had thought to build some impressive landmarks...

5. A new "Sesame Street" show in Iraq

USAID spent $20 million to create a new Sesame Street show in Iraq. That's just short of 58 million eggs...

6. Helping the BBC value the diversity of Libyan society

$2.1 million was sent to the BBC (the British Broadcasting Corporation) to help them value the diversity of Libyan society (whatever that means). That could have bought over 6 million eggs.

7. Meals for a terrorist group linked to Al-Qaeda

$10 million worth of USAID-funded meals went to an Al-Qaeda linked terrorist group. That comes up to be just shy of 29 million eggs.

8. Promoting inclusion in Vietnam

A combined $19.3 million was sent to two separate inclusion groups in Vietnam inclusion groups in Vietnam (why where they separated? Not very inclusive of them). That's over 55 million eggs.

9. Promoting DEI in Serbia's workplaces

USAID sent $1.5 million (4.3 million eggs) to “advance diversity equity and inclusion in Serbia’s workplaces and business communities.”

10. Funding EcoHealth Alliance, tied to the Wuhan Institute of Virology's "bat research"

EcoHealth Alliance, one of the key NGOs that funded the Wuhan lab's bat virus research, received $5 million from USAID, which is equivalent to 14.5 million eggs.

The bottom line...

So, how much damage was done?

In total, approximately $73.8 million was wasted on the items on this list. That comes out to be 213 million eggs. Keep in mind that these are just the items on this list, there are many, many more that DOGE has uncovered and will uncover in the coming days. Case in point: that's a lot of eggs.

POLL: Should Trump stop producing pennies?

SAUL LOEB / Contributor, Chip Somodevilla / Staff | Getty Images

On Sunday, February 9th, President Trump ordered the U.S. Mint to halt the production of pennies. It costs the mint three cents to produce every penny, which Trump deemed wasteful. However, critics argue that axing the pennies will be compensated by ramping up nickel production, which costs 13 cents per coin.

In other news, President Trump promised on Truth Social that he would be reversing a Biden-era policy that mandated the use of paper straws throughout the federal government. From potentially slashing entire agencies to saying farewell to pennies and paper straws, Trump is hounding after wasteful spending of taxpayer dollars.

But what do you think? Was Trump right to put an end to pennies? And should plastic straws make a comeback? Let us know in the poll below:

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