The Town Hall Meeting

This weeks Town Hall Meeting was a great chance for the public to finally know who their candidates are. The Republicans and Democrats were all in front of the crowd asking questions that mattered most to them. all the candidates were answering the questioned asked and at times, the debates got heated. The crowd went right in when the candidates arrived. The first questioned asked about the legalization of marijuana. Norton was the first to respond to the question stating that he supports legalization because it is not as harmful as other substances. The other candidates also agreed, Republican and Democrats, that marijuana should be legalized. Mr.Brunswick also asked questions to the candidates about taxes. Hix was the first to respond, stating that the US should not only increase some tax , but also cut spending. The candidates even began to ask each other. Bright asked Hix to back up his claims of cutting unneeded programs. As the discussion went on, Hix and Banga also were heated in the debate on whether we should have free trade. Banga advocated the idea of free trade stating that it allows Americans who can't afford high priced products to buy them at a cheaper price. On the other hand, Hix stated that we need to protect American businesses by imposing tariffs on foreign goods so that
American goods can compete. There were also debates over whether schools in the US should teach creationism in schools. This was definitely the highlight of the night. All the candidates were actively involved in this discussion. Surprisingly all the candidates but Manisha Banga agreed that creationism should be taught in schools. While the other candidates stated that it is a scientific theory that has proof, Banga argued that there is no scientific proof to back the claim up. She stated that there is a separation of church and state which must be enforced.

This is an image of the candidates about to begin the meeting

Overall, the Town Hall meeting was excellent. The candidates did a great job answering the questions that the public wanted answered. The majority of the questions had to do with school : student debt, tuition, gifted programs. These are the issues that matter to the public most today, probably because the public are high school students. The candidates did good, some better than others. This town hall meeting will be one of the determining factors of who will go into the primaries. Next, the speeches.