Republican Presidential Candidates at Lincoln Dinner

A sellout crowd of more than 1,300 activists from almost half of Iowa’s ninety-nine counties took part at the Republican Party of Iowa’s annual Lincoln Dinner in Des Moines.

Eleven announced or potential Republican presidential hopefuls for President were each offered ten minutes to speak.

David Meyer, who is a small business owner from Altoona, explained that the field for the Republican nomination for the White House is wide open. “We came specifically to hear them all, because there is not currently a name that leaps to the top of the page,” said Meyer, according to Iowa Public Radio.

One after another, the candidates gave conservative speeches, in which the criticized President Barack Obama for negotiating with Iran, and also denounced the favorite Democratic nominee Secretary Hillary Clinton. Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush begun its address with a personal note. “Many of you all know me as George and Barbara’s boy for which I’m proud. Some of you may know that ‘W’ is my brother… I’m proud of that too, whether people don’t like that or not, they’re just gonna have to get used to it,” said Bush.

Last week Bush came under fire for waffling on whether the U.S. must have gone to war with Iraq, and Kentucky Senator Rand Paul tackled this talking point. “The question was asked of one of our candidates this week, was the Iraq war a good idea. Would you do it again? It’s a valid question,” said Paul.

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, who is the first runner in some Iowa polls, listed with great enthusiasm his conservative accomplishments.

We defunded Planned Parenthood and passed pro life legislation, we passed concealed carry and castle doctrine to protect ourselves, our family, our loved ones, and our property. And I’m proud to say in Wisconsin now the supreme court has allowed us to go forward to say that it is safe to vote, but hard to cheat. It’s easy to vote, and hard to cheat. We require a photo ID to vote in the state of Wisconsin now, “ mentioned Walker.

South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham made a speech in a lighter tone. “The more you drink, the better I’ll sound, so keep drinking,” Graham told the audience, adding he fully supports President George W. Bush’s intervention in Iraq. “Saddam Hussein was gassing his own people, he was denying U.N. inspectors access to weapons sites, and I’m glad he’s dead.”

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