The issues important to young voters were finally discussed in the GOP debate when moderators selected questions on criminal justice reform and immigration from popular YouTube personalities.
Young veteran Mark Watson asked the presidential candidates whether police should be required to wear body cameras.
“We currently have better cameras in our pockets than in our precincts,” he said. “Why aren’t we using technology to better protect our communities?”
Sen. Rand Paul took the question, and instead of blaming technology, he blamed politicians and the War on Drugs for recent instances of police violence, while making a broader call for criminal justice reform.
Paul’s views on criminal justice reform are unique among the other candidates in the GOP field, and are in line with many younger voters. Paul reminded people that he is the only candidate who has actually visited some of these communities and is one of those leading the effort for reform in Congress.
“One thing I discovered in Ferguson was that one-third of the budget in the city of Ferguson was getting reaped by civil fines,” Paul said. “People were being fined to death. You or I, or many people in this audience, if we get a $100 fine, we can survive it. If you’re living on the edge of poverty and you get a $100 fine, or your car towed, a lot of times you lose your job.”
Paul also pointed out that the War on Drugs disproportionately impacts the African-American community.
“Drug use is about equal between white and black, but three out of four people in prison are black or brown,” he said. “I think something has to change. I think it’s a big thing our party has to be a part of.”
This is where @RandPaul really shines: CJ reform – linking it to Ferguson #GOPDebate
— Margaret Menefee (@MargaretMenefee) January 29, 2016
Unusual to hear at a #GOPDebate – @RandPaul talks about how “the war on drugs has disproportionately affected African-Americans.”
— joegarofoli (@joegarofoli) January 29, 2016
Sen. @RandPaul cites that he’s been to Ferguson to work on criminal justice reform. How many other @GOP candidates can say that? #GOPDebate
— Jack Hunter (@jackhunter74) January 29, 2016
Another YouTube question came from a young entrepreneur who emigrated to the United States from Mexico and is a veteran of the Iraq war.
“There are many immigrants who contribute positively to the American economy, but some of the comments in the campaign make us question our place in the country,” she said. “If America does not seem like a welcoming place for immigrant entrepreneurs, will the American economy suffer?”
Ben Carson tackled the question first with a hard line on immigration, saying the government needs to watch out for potential terrorists.
“We need to reorient our immigration policies and our visa policies for people who are coming into this country, because there are many people out there who want to destroy us,” Carson said. “Now, I recognize the vast majority of people coming here are probably not those kinds of people — but that’s not good enough.”
However, Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio both followed up, saying that America should be a welcoming nation and that our immigration system needs reform.
Jeb also got an opportunity to blast Trump for his ‘toxic’ rhetoric when young Muslim YouTube star Nabela Noor asked about the rise of Islamaphobia.
“Nabela is a rising entrepreneur. she wants to pursue the American dream, she is an American citizen, she should not feel uncomfortable about her citizenship,” Bush said.
