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You Asked & The Candidates Answered

The questions asked at Tuesdays townhall debate revealed a lot about how
the public is thinking about the campaign. How each candidate conducted
themselves in their responses and rebuttals better differentiated them and their

stances
on the issues from their oponents

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At Tuesdays debate members of the public asked nearly a dozen questions;

the first set of questions was directed at all of the candidates, the second set
at either the democrats, or the republicans, and the third set comprised of
one specific question directed at each candidate. This article lists the
STRAIGHT-UP best question from each set based on the range in responses
given by the candidates. The analysis of the responses that follows is based
on how well the candidate answered what was being asked, maintained their
message consistently and how they conducted themselves throughout the
debate.
The primary election was held immediately following this debate, and the
results were democratic candidate Norman and republican candidate Bill.

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What does patriotism mean to you?

This question was directed at all of the candidates and each of their answers
were drawn away from the gubernatorial focus of the campaign and allowed
the candidate to express their idea of American values, not just specificallly
Kansas.
Caskey said patriotism is standing up for your country and for what you
believe in. Murphy said patriotism is participating in democracy and
sacreficing a little of your own for the good of others. Norman believe
patriotism is service, and acting for your country. Finally, Bill alluded to
Superman for his explanation stating that patriotism is truth, justice and
the american way.

--Rather than just passing another law that doesnt seem to be

effective, what do you want to do to truly make wages equal?
This question was prefixed by stating the fact that there are already gender
equality laws in place that are obviously failing. The two democratic
candidates share the plan to regulate equal pay for men and women, and

this question asked them to expand on wht their plan will work where others
have failed.
Murphy has a plan in place named the Paycheck Fairness Act, which he
named the central part of the platform he is running on. He claims that
although legislation may not be independently successful in creating change,
it is the most important part. He promised to pass legislation that will solve
the problem. Norman answered the question in a completely different way
and named ideology as the root of the problem, not lack of legislation. He said
what is most important in creating change is to raise awareness and address
the issue.

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Where do you stand on same-sex marriage and LGBTQ rights?

The answers to this question came from the republican candidates and
was important to address because marriage equality and LGBTQ rights are
mainly a liberal, not consevative, issue. However, both candidates promised
to work across the aisle have said their political ideolgy is not the standard
republican thinking. Caskey calls himself a progressive republican and
similarly Bill identifies as a thoughtful conservative
Caskey said that while America is setting the standard for equal rights,
Kansas is lagging behind. He hopes to reduce radical idealism. Bill was
abundently clear about his opinion on the issue in his response that he is
disgusted with the way Kansas current governor has dealt with equality
issues and strongly believes that the government has no right to take away
rights.

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The final four questions asked on Tuesday were to a specific candidate and
STRAIGHT-UP are not worth discussing in this article because they did not
yeild any new or interesting details. If you would like to inform yourself on
the questions and answers, a full video of the debate is available on-line.

On Thursday, following the final debate between Norman and

Bill, Reed Norman was elected as the new Kansas Governor.

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Its my promise, thats what I know, STRAIGHT-UP.

-Alyssa Lindbloom, the STRAIGHT-UP post
Lead Correspondent on Candidate Relations