Kemp

  You are probably tired of my saying this, but I am a political junkie.  I will go to see anyone I deem to be a political figure.  This was the case in January 2016.  The Jack Kemp Forum on Poverty was going to be at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center.  It was billed as a time when all of the Republican candidates for President would be there.  I was a big fan of Jack Kemp.  He had an empathetic heart, and I was interested in what the candidates would do about poverty in America, so I had to go.

 When I got there, they had metal detectors in the lobby.  Apparently, the machine went off, as I walked through it, or else I had the "look".  A woman from the Secret Service pulled me aside and proceeded to wand me.  She was wearing a bulletproof vest and was armed.  I was a little scared of her, which I guess was the point.  I passed the test and got to go inside the auditorium.

 The event was hosted by Senator Tim Scott and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan.  They announced that candidates Donald Trump, Carly Fiorina and Ted Cruz would not be coming to the forum.  They said those three had "scheduling conflicts".  I guessed that Trump and Fiorina didn't want to be there, because both were rich and felt uncomfortable talking about Poverty.  With Cruz?  Who knows?  Maybe because very few people liked him.  Those candidates who did come were Jeb Bush, Ben Carson, Chris Christie, Mike Huckabee, John Kasich, and Marco Rubio.

 Each candidate came out and presented a short speech on Poverty.  They also allowed questions from the hosts and interactions between the candidates.  When Rubio came out, there was a group of protesters in the back that got vocal and tried to get him off of the stage.  They were complaining about some comments that Rubio had said days before about immigration.  The security people came in and got the protesters out.  He was the only one to be heckled that day.  

 Most of the candidates used their stump speeches, but I was impressed by Kasich and Christie.  Both of them had concrete solutions, as opposed to abstract ones.  We broke for lunch, and they had a catered boxed lunch for each of the forum goers.  That was better than going outside and then have to be wanded again by a Secret Service woman.

 The forum went past its allotted time.  Toward the end of the event, Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski did a live MSNBC show from the forum and interviewed several of the participants.  I stayed for that.  I wanted to get my money's worth, even though the event was free.  I was sure one of those guys would be the Republican candidate for President of the United States.  Probably Jeb Bush.  It turned out that I was wrong.