Republican Herschel Walker was not expected to win the much-anticipated debate with slick left-wing Pastor Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA).
Democrats usually win such debates; Walker is just a self-proclaimed country boy from rural Georgia.
Instead, Walker decorated Warnock and the liberal presenter with charismatic traits that some old-timers remind of Ronald Reagan.
In early 1980, a debate moderator turned off the microphones to silence Reagan in New Hampshire, and he famously protested by shooting back, “I paid for that microphone, Mr. Green!” The moderator’s real name was Joe Breen, not Green, but nobody cared. Applause erupted in support of Reagan, and this episode ushered in his successful two-year presidency and victory over Communism.
During last week’s Walker-Warnock debate, Preacher Warnock made the scathing remark that “I never pretended to be a cop.” That was a cheap shot at Walker, who Liberals have criticized for allegedly overdoing his work with law enforcement after his spectacular football career.
Most other Republican candidates would have gone defensive, responding with a stuttered response that left viewers thinking the dig had struck a nerve and struck something. But that wasn’t Reagan’s effective style. Or walkers.
Walker responded by holding up his five-pointed gold star, which was clearly recognizable as a law enforcement insignia. The audience erupted in spontaneous applause at Herschel’s spirited, dramatic response to Warnock’s cheap shot.
Then the Liberal presenter stepped in, perhaps dismayed that Walker had captured the moment so perfectly. Trump encountered a one-sided moderator in 2020 that prompted Trump to say to Chris Wallace, “I think I’m debating with you, not him.”
“Mr. Walker, you know the rules tonight very well. And you have a prop that is not allowed. Sir, I asked you to put this prop away,” the moderator stated emphatically.
Walker dealt with the host as successfully as he dealt with fearsome NFL linebackers, overlooking their attempt to tackle him.
“It’s not a prop. That’s real,” Walker replied.
Now the Liberals are trying to turn the episode into some sort of “badge-gate” kerfuffle, as they’ve been harping on Walker’s five-star badge ever since. But the Johnson County sheriff told NBC News he gave Walker the badge and didn’t mind Walker using it in his campaign and during the debate.
Other Republicans should have similar badges now that mass killings are making headlines almost daily and law enforcement agencies have been emasculated by Democrats. Violent crime has skyrocketed as progressives wage war against our brave officers in blue who fight to maintain law and order.
Recently, in Raleigh, North Carolina, a 15-year-old went on a shootout in a peaceful neighborhood that killed a dog and five people, including two veterans, one of whom was an off-duty police officer. The attacker was dressed in camouflage clothing, as some teenagers who are addicted to violent video games do when they turn their games into reality.
Meanwhile, across the country in Stockton, California, some form of profiling enabled the arrest of a suspected serial killer while he was searching for another murder victim at 2 a.m. This shows what good policing can do when the left is prevented from interfering in its work.
Police arrested a man dressed in all black as he was believed to be driving around to murder his seventh random victim in Stockton in recent months. He wore a mask around his neck and drove around the city in a walking pattern after midnight. Progressives have objected to effective policing, insisting that it is based on profiling, and have blocked the “stop and frisk” policy that has been so effective in reducing crime in New York City until liberals they finished in 2014.
When the debate moderator brought up the issue of abortion, Walker had another wink for leftist Preacher Warnock: “Why don’t you baptize these babies instead of aborting these babies? If it’s Black Lives Matter, why not protect these babies?”
When Warnock rumbled that a “patient’s room was too small” for the government, Herschel countered, “There’s a baby in that room too. And he’s asking taxpayers to pay for it, so he’s bringing the government back in.”
Even the liberal media felt compelled to admire Walker’s debating power. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution headline read, “Herschel Walker’s Performance in Debate Earns Points for His Campaign.” His Reaganesque performance is boosting the entire Republican field as the race for Senate control races to the end.
John and Andy Schlafly are sons of Phyllis Schlafly (1924-2016) and lead the continuing organizations of the Phyllis Schlafly Eagles.
