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LEGACY AND THE FUTURE:TWO PRESIDENTIAL FORUMS THAT MATTERED (2016 ELECTION)Charles Bruner, January, 2016For those wanting to know how Presidential candidates think about equality and opportunity – particularly for those currently left behind – two Presidential candidate forums conducted outside the political-media complex of attack ads, sound bites, and “gotcha” debate questions offered some glimpse into one of the most serious issues facing America. They both provided opportunities for thoughtful dialogue that went beyond simple sound-bites to address questions that have no easy answers but require concerted response.The first of these was the Jack Kemp Forum on Expanding Opportunity conducted in Columbia, South Carolina, which featured six of the Republican Presidential candidates interviewed in groups by House Speaker Paul Ryan and U.S. Senator Tim Scott. It focused upon solutions to poverty and the need, in particular, to expand opportunity for those who currently live on society’s margins.From the first forum, Presidential candidates did delve into issues that prevent too many Americans (and therefore children) from realizing “the American dream.” The following are statements made by Presidential candidates during the forum that I expect will be new to even the most ardent of followers of the Iowa Presidential campaign through the mainstream media:Jeb Bush: Poverty is complex – it is not just economic deprivation; there are all sorts of limits to opportunity. The only way we’re going to become a more just society is from the bottom up. We have to listen and learn before we set policies and lead. … Men are becoming obsolete in lower-income communities. Withholding adjudication as part of getting drug treatment is needed to reduce incarceration. You have to get men engaged in the workforce again.Marco Rubio: If you are a child born into a broken family, in an unstable home, in a dangerous neighborhood, in substandard housing, in a school that’s failing in your community, where the people on the street corners are drug dealers or not good role models, you’ve got six strikes against you. We need to be focusing on breaking the model for those with six strikes against them. We need to focus on eradicating poverty – we treat the pain of poverty today. We need to empower people who can work with and mentor people in poverty to turn their lives around. … One of the great injustices is that the only people who cannot chose where to educate their children are poor people. I would like to open Pell grants to high school students who go to community college to learn a trade.Mike Huckabee: I believe there is an incredible opportunity to restore the opportunity for upward mobility. We need a new vision and approach. We must attack fundamental reasons people cannot get out of poverty. If you’re a single mom and you are able to get WIC, food stamps, and maybe housing assistance, you face cutoffs when you earn a little more. Rather than work getting them ahead, work could totally impoverish families. Those welfare mothers are a lot smarter than those in Washington who fashioned the system.Chris Christie: Drugs are a huge problem. The war on drugs hasn’t worked – incarceration is not the answer. People can be treated – this is a disease, and this is a family issue. Treat, not incarcerate. … Education is key. We need longer school days and longer school years to educate our youth.John Kasich: It is immoral that we are locking up those with bi-polar disorder and schizophrenia. The working poor and those with drug addiction and mental health issues live in the shadows. We must have an attitude that everyone has an opportunity to rise. Everybody deserves a chance. It is an attitude of economic growth with everyone having an opportunity rise. It’s a sin not to help people who need help but it is a sin to continue to help people who can help themselves.Candidate proposals to address these issues involved devolution and block granting and expanding school choice and reducing the power of teacher unions; and they largely viewed the federal government as the cause and not solution to many of the problems – which clearly run directly counter to Democrat recommendations on these issues. At the same time, the statements offer the opportunity for further dialogue on solutions to real and complex problems that do exist – particularly for families in poverty and in poor and disinvested neighborhoods. Moreover, candidates, moderators, and conservative scholars at the forum also talked about the need for the Republican party itself to step up to address these concerns and, in particular, the perceived “compassion gap” – that the public thinks Democrats care more about these issues than Republicans. Senator Lindsey Graham, a former Presidential candidate, perhaps said it most succinctly: “A party is not worth its salt if it can’t help people. Both parties need to work together to eradicate poverty.”There was much to chew upon from this forum and its deliberate focus upon poverty and opportunity.It was not the three Presidential candidates at the Brown and Black Forum who were true story from that forum. Instead, it was the questions that the moderators and students asked that took center stage. These included:What would you do to require universities and colleges to address sexual assault on their campuses and what sanctions would you impose if they do not?What will you do about the dangers of domestic terrorism in terms of White Supremacy groups and their threats, in comparison with those of ISIS?Is the Democratic party too much under control of the establishment and the wealthy?How do you define “white privilege? How has it affected your own life?There are people in prison for possession of marijuana even in states where “weed” now is legal. What will you do to end incarceration for possession and to decriminalize or legalize marijuana?Is the country ready for free public universities?Is there any instance where a man should be able to tell a woman what to do?Is there any instance where the United States should deport a child from this country because the child is not a legal resident?The FUSION team did not include mainstream media personalities like those who have moderated the Presidential debates – John Dickerson, Meghan Kelly, Brent Brown, or Don Lemon. In fact, with the exception of Jorge Ramos, Alicia Melendez, Akilah Hughes, and Rembert Browne were themselves millennials, as were the livestream commentators, Mariana Atencio and Nando Rodriguez-Vila. One of the things I liked best about the Brown and Black Forum was the recognition it did provide to the Forum’s originators, Wayne Ford and Mary Campas, both now grey-haired seniors. Not only were they duly applauded at the beginning of the event in their front-row seats, they were subjects of a short media piece that recognized their prior accomplishments and their living legacy. Before the forum, and this is probably true for many of my age and in my political and social circles, I had not heard of FUSION nor was I familiar with much of the media developed for millennials. I found the energy and eagerness to look at old challenges and issues through new eyes most encouraging. Martin Luther King said that “the arc of justice is long,” but, like other things in the 21st century, I think that, with youth and non-youth those willing to share our experience and legacy, we can and will accelerate that arc. It is certain that, regardless who becomes President, we will make ground on issues of poverty and inequality only if we have support and leadership across the political aisles – which requires much broader and deeper dialogue on issues of equality, opportunity, and the American dream as seen from all vantage points. These two forums provided a start to this dialogue but also emphasized that this dialogue needs to occur across political parties, across communities and races, and particularly across generations. The youth of today and tomorrow are not encumbered by growing up with a majoritarian White and dominant culture peer group. Those older in society have the opportunity to provide a legacy and support but also to be open to and ensure youth voices are heard and youth are represented. The strength of American society may rest with personal initiative, but it also rests with collective spirit, inclusion, and the idealism that is in us all but reflected in its most unfettered form in its youth.Charles Bruner, FCAPO (freelance child advocate and poverty opponent), Former Director, Child and Family Policy Center (cbruner@)FUSION … championing a young, diverse, and inclusive America with a unique mix of programming that includes original reporting, investigative journalism, coverage of pop culture, comedy and satire, as well as original series and documentaries. Full forum from live streaming is available at: ................
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