Greg Awtry

The big debate for Nebraska Republican Senatorial candidates came and went without substantial and specific dialogue about how any of the candidates would solve the nations’ problems.

Deb Fischer, Jon Bruning and Don Stenberg spent the entire hour with the tired old position statements, “I’m for this,” or “I am against that.” The debate began flat, stayed flat and ended flat.

Here they were, debating at a college campus, and not a college student in sight. No live audience, very little pressure from the panel to seek out specifics, and voters had to come away with more questions than answers on who best will go to Washington with a plan and a vision to fundamentally change this country.

All three candidates said time after time they supported a balanced budget amendment. All three do not want to increase taxes. That means we would have to cut a trillion in spending each year to balance the budget. Folks, that is cutting one third of our government.

Here’s a question that wasn’t asked. “What specifically would you cut or eliminate that would add up to a trillion dollars a year?”

All three said they are against illegal immigration, and do not support amnesty for millions of illegals who are already here. Here’s a question that wasn’t asked. “What would you do with the millions of illegal immigrants who are in the United States right now?”

Would they deport millions of people? Would they aggressively go after employers who are illegally hiring immigrants? They all want a secure border. Are they in favor of a fence? How would they secure the border?

Instead we got questions about who could they work with in the senate or explain a mistake you made and regret. We got questions asking about opponents’ weaknesses which to his credit, Bruning refused to answer.

All three candidates want to reduce the size and scope of the federal government. My question would be, “Please explain and be specific!”

All three want to drastically reduce the regulatory burdens of federal agencies. My question would be, “Please explain and be specific!”

The panel that questioned these candidates missed a heck of an opportunity to dig past the “position statements” and uncover the candidates’ real solutions to problems facing America.

The voters were left empty handed with no more knowledge of the candidates and their solutions, if any, than when the debate began.

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For the past several weeks, I have been having a digital conversation with an extremely intelligent man about the state of the nation. As I read and re-read the email exchanges, it would seem we were living in two different countries. He sees America one way; I see it another way.

He is more positive. I am more negative. He sees a brighter future for America. I am not as convinced. He likes a larger government while I think the one we have is too big as it is. He is more respectful to our leaders while I tend to point out their deficiencies. On the surface it is a rather odd conversation.

If big media or Capitol Hill were to overhear our conversations they would be quick to label us. My intelligent friend would quickly be labeled a liberal and they would slap a resounding conservative label on me. (They would both be wrong by the way.) They would be delighted we disagree then make a ten-second sound bite pulling out of context remarks into a quick little commercials that would advance their position… not necessarily ours.

By doing so they would miss the entire point of our conversation, which is simply that we both love America and we both have concerns about whether we can advance as a nation and restore this country to greatness. Big media and partisan politicians would point out our differences and the areas we agree would be left on the cutting room floor.

Why am I even writing about this? It’s because as communication has advanced to an unprecedented state, with 24-hour news, digital reporting around the globe with nothing other than a cell phone and constant news alerts, the people are being shortchanged. We no longer get the whole story, just biased little one-minute clips of controversy.

Two quick examples:

One; last week the Republican’s debate. The news coverage was all about the disagreements, finger pointing and name-calling. Did you see even one news story about ideas and areas of agreement? If you did I would like to know.

Two, also last week, President Obama threw out his plan to reduce corporate tax rates and eliminate some tax loopholes. This has been a Republican idea for some time. Did you see even one Republican point out that Obama was making a move in the right direction? If you did I would like to know.

The moral of the story? Like it or not, the answers to our country’s problem lies in the compromise. Neither party has it right. Neither party has it wrong. And until they are able to have an intelligent conversation, like my friend and me, we will be stuck in this awful place we find ourselves in today, and that’s a shame.

Well, I sat through another Republican Primary presidential debate last night. What’s missing? Maybe it’s just me, but is seems there is something missing.

Maybe it’s because of all the petty little middle-school tactics by Santorum, Romney, Gingrich and Paul. Maybe it’s because “facts” are twisted and turned into narrow slices of truth intended to sway us one way or the other. And maybe, just maybe, none of the four are “presidential” material.

None of the four seemed very presidential to me and haven’t from the start. I wondered why. They are intelligent and have plenty of experience. They have ideas to try and improve current issues that face the country. But there is something missing.

It’s vision! Not only do Americans want to know what the candidate will do short term, but where are we going as a nation? How will our country be different under four years of their leadership versus four more years of Obama? And what’s in store for our children and grandchildren given the uncontrollable debt, in a nation that can’t protect its own borders and one which swaggers around the globe imposing sanctions on sovereign nations, and invades countries when our national interest is not always in danger?

People want to know, as Obama promised so well that there is “Hope and Change,” and that we have a bright future filled with opportunity and growth. But we all know now that the hope and change Obama promised, he was unable to deliver.

From my seat in front of the TV, I am not seeing a candidate with a vision for America, and not seeing a candidate who can inspire us to greatness. I see mediocrity, and unfortunately I have not yet seen “presidential” material.

Could change, but at this point, this deep into the campaign, I highly doubt it. What a shame…