Presidential Frontrunners Speak at the 44th Eagle Council

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By Anthony Kristensen, Features and Opinions Editor

Two weekends ago, the 44th Eagle Council Forum took place, which included speeches from some of the top Republican presidential nominees, including retired neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson, former Texas Governor Rick Perry, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, Texas Senator Ted Cruz, former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum and Kentucky Senator Rand Paul. The Eagle Council Forum is an annual conservative conference that features some of the top leaders in the country and features smaller “workshops” that preach basic conservative beliefs, such as the conservative views on abortion and gay marriage.

The first candidate to speak was Dr. Carson, a relatively soft speaker who carries a bold message. Carson, who has seen a recent surge in polls that have taken him to second place, discussed repealing and replacing Obamacare, the Iran Nuclear Deal, term limits for federal judges and numerous other topics.

Next up was Governor Perry, who made the most headlines over the weekend. Perry, who has been near the bottom of the polls since his campaign got underway, slammed Republican frontrunner Donald Trump for his complaints over the questions he received at the first GOP debate, as well as his vigorous name calling and bold personality.

Yet, that’s not what brought the national attention to Perry on Friday night. Later on in his speech, Perry brought the room to a silent standstill as he had dramatically announced that he was suspending his candidacy for President of the United States

That however wasn’t the last mention of Perry, as later on Governor Huckabee announced at the beginning of his speech that, if he was to be elected, Perry would have a place in his administration, although exactly what place that would be has yet to be revealed.

As well as announcing that Perry would be part of his administration, Huckabee also gave a fiery speech regarding a variety of different topics, from the Kim Davis controversy to the Judicial Branch gaining too much power over the other two branches of government.

The second day of the convention was opened by Senator Cruz. Cruz, who has seen a large spike in the polls, based his speech largely around what he’d do on his first day in office, which included repealing numerous acts set by President Obama, including ripping the nuclear deal with Iran to shreds.

Then came Senator Santorum. Santorum, who has been near the bottom of the polls since announcing his campaign, slammed Senator Cruz for his immigration policies, as well as saying that the U.S. shouldn’t take in any Syrian refugees and should increase aid to Jordan, currently one of the leading nations in the fight against ISIS.

The last of the candidates to speak was Senator Paul. Paul’s speech wasn’t a very political one, as he was there to introduce his mother, Carol Paul, for the Homemaker Award, an award given to women who do exceptional things for their families. Also in attendance at the dinner event was former Texas Senator candidate Ron Paul, Rand’s father.