Live Blog Transcript: GOP Debate in Florida on CNN January 26th, 2012 at 8pm EST/7pm CST
What: GOP presidential debate in Florida
When: Tonight, January 26th 2012
Time: 8pm EST/7pm CST
How to watch: livestream at CNN.com
Who: Newt Gingrich versus Willard Mittens Romneycare and the Fifth Dimenstional imp known as Luap noR! *with Rick Santorum acting as a spoiler to benefit Romneycare
I’ll live blog transcribe the debate once it begins at 8pm EST/7pm CST. If you know of an alternate feed besides the one at CNN.com, please add it in comments. CNN’s feeds tend to stall out and drop midway through.
It should get interesting tonight. It’s really a showdown between the Tea Party (that is rooting for Gingrich now) and the Cocktail Party (which fully backs Romneycare). Santorum’s in the race to take votes from Gingrich so the Cocktail Party can have its way. Will people be smart enough to see this?
702pm CST — introducing the candidates
“The most important debate yet”
Ugh. Wolf Blitzer.
Candidates take the stage.
Luap noR introduced first. Romneycare next. Newt Gingrich. Then Rick Santorum.
Gingrich got the loudest cheers.
National Anthem performed by University of Florida North Chamber singers.
Candidates introduce themselves:
SANTORUM: I am Rick Santorum and I am thrilled to still be here. I am thrilled because I am here with my mom and she is 93 and lives here on the beach. I better stop right there.
GINGRICH: I am Newt Gingrich and I am from the neighboring state of Georgia and Jacksonville will be the home of the next nuclear carrier battle group.
ROMNEYCARE: I’m Willard Romney and I’m here with my wife and son Tagg.
LUAP NOR: We should not be a policeman or nation builder.
– question from audience: what actions will you take to address illegal immigration? –
SANTORUM: I agree with Romney. We are a nation of laws. My grandfather came to this country. We need to live by the laws that we have and not disobey the laws with the first act when you are here. We need a country that respects the law when you come and stay here. If you are here illegally you stole someoene’s social security and have done a lot of things wrong. We need to enforce the law at the border. Have EVerify employment enforcement. Sanction the employers and deport the illegals. My dad came to this country and I believe in immigration. We need immigrants because they bring a love of this country and great energy. If you don’t create an opportunity to work they won’t stay here.
GINGRICH: I think first of all that we should control the border. We should fix legal immigration in terms of VISAs. We need to make deportation easier. We should have a guest worker program run by Mastercard to minimize fraud and have employer penalties. If someone is single and only here a short time will self-deport and may or might not come back. But people who have been here a long time and are married and grandparents are not likely to self deport. We can have a citizens panel to review people who have American families who are willing to sponsor them…to be guests but not citizens.
ROMNEYCARE: They support the concept of self deportation. Legal people have ID cards that say they can work here and an EVerify system that shows who is legal — and sanction the employers who hire illegals. People will self deport if they cannot work legally. There are 11 million here illegally. There are three groups of people: people here illegally, people brought over riding coyotes, people who are in other countries trying to get here legally. We have a responsibility for the people who want to come here legally and stop the illegal immigration.
LUAP NOR: Let’s talk about it, and be practical. It is a big problem. The weaker the economy the more resentment of illegals. A lot of businesses like illegals because they are cheaper. The business people, well, visitors have a hard time coming across the border. We need more resources. I have a suggestion. We have too much worry about the Afghan and Pakistan border and use those resources on our own border.
GINGRICH: The position I took was that grandparents will not be deported successfully…they will just end up in a church and be declared in sanctuary. I want to control the border, to declare English the official language of government. I want to be bold but realistic. I don’t think an unrealistic promise will get through. We can decisively reduce illegality and make sure people are here legally. Romney is the most anti-immigrant candidate.
ROMNEYCARE: Well, Marco Rubio said that I’m not anti-immigrant. My father was born in Mexico and my mother’s family were whales. I want to expand legal immigration. This is over the top rhetoric. I am glad that Marco Rubio called you out and you can’t label people with highly charged epithets.
GINGRICH: I will give you an opportunity to self destruct. Tell me the language you would use to describe someone who would deport grandparents.
ROMNEYCARE: I am not rounding people up. People will self-deport. I am not finding grandmothers and taking them out of their homes. Nothing could be further from the truth. I am pro immigrant and want them to come legally. I want them to come legally.
GINGRICH: So we have gone from the Washington attack to the acceptance of the fact that families are going to take care of grandmothers. I want the grandmother to be here and have residency and not citizenship so they can finish their lives with dignity within the law.
ROMNEYCARE: Our problem is not 11 million grandmothers. Our problem is 11 million people getting jobs and school districts having to deal with these kids. The real concern is for people who want to come here legally and let’s stop illegal immigration.
ROMNEYCARE: I haven’t seen any of my ads, so I don’t know what they are saying.
GINGRICH: We do not want anyone trapped in a situation where they cannot get jobs and advance. English should be the official language of government. No one should be trapped in a linguistic situation where they can’t get a job. Romney makes deliberate and offensive distortions.
ROMNEYCARE: i have a bunch of ads and I doubt that was mine. English should be the official language of the United States and in schools we should teach kids in English. We need English immersion in schools so the kids can have all the jobs and opportunities.
– question from a Mexican person at a debate watch party somewhere: what will you do to engage Latin America and support people there? –
LAUP NOR: Free trade. I think we should trade with Cuba. The more you can do to promote free trade the better off you will be. We don’t have an obligation to dictate to these people. I will encourage free trade. You need to set standards for people to emulate. I don’t think the nations in South and Central America want us to dictate their governments. It is time to have friendship and trade with Cuba.
SANTORUM: I am not with Paul or Barack Obama. The way we treated Honduras was terrible. They threw out a dictator and the US government didn’t stand with them. Instead of siding with them Democrats sided with Chavez and Castro. It’s Chavez, Castro, and Obama against the people in Honduras or Columbia or the people who want to be trading partners with our country. We need to form that bond in this hemisphere. We need to come together against the threat of terrorists and Iran and other places. The threat of radical Islam growing in that region — it is important for us to understand the situation and solidify those ties.
LUAP NOR: Standing up for nations like this usually means we impose ourselves and pick their dictators. Most of the time these people just end up resenting us. Where you going to get the troops or the money? I know a much better way than force to get along with people.
SANTORUM: Paul is not listening. I want strong economic relationships and national security relationships. These countries are moving towards militant socialists because we ignore them. Columbia is working with narcoleptics and not us. Columbia has been hanging out to dry for three years.
Wolf says that he’s double-checked and Romney is running an ad that says that Gingrich called Spanish the language of the ghetto. And Romney is called out for lying.
GINGRICH: I didn’t say that and you know it you are lying again.
– how to phase out Fannie and Freddie –
ROMNEYCARE: We’ve had this discussion before. Speaker Gingrich was hired by them to promote them and keep people from dismantling them. We should have had a whistle blower and not a horn tooter. Are they a problem today? Absolutely. We are creating another housing bubble. The right course is to get people back to work. There is unemployment here and we need to get people back to work and get them into homes and get the industry growing again.
GINGRICH: Florida is one of the most hard hit states in foreclosures. Raise your hands if you know someone who has been foreclosed on. I did no lobbying for Freddie and Fannie. To our shock, Romney owns shares of both Fannie and Freddie and made millions…he invests in Goldman Sachs…how much money has he made in how many households that have been foreclosed upon.
ROMNEYCARE: First of all, I don’t make my investments. I have someone who does that for me. I own mutual funds and stocks. Have you checked your own investments? You also have mutual funds that invest in Fannie and Freddie. Let me finish, we’ve got more time. There is a difference in what my trustee did. It’s like buying savings bonds. What the Speaker did was get paid $1.6 million to work for them. You have to ask yourself why. He was clearly promoting Fannie and Freddie and this is one of the reasons we’re in the trouble we’re in.
GINGRICH: Romney doesn’t know the ads he’s running and he doesn’t know what he’s invested in. He is very quick to draw the widest possible exaggerations. The only time I ever talked to Congress about any of this is the time I told Congress to vote no on giving them any money. We need to break these entities up.
LUAP NOR: This subject does not interest me a whole lot. The question does. What are we going to do to Fannie and Freddie. We should have sold it off. I think an ounce of prevention is what we need to talk about. We know how the bubble came about. Community Reinvestment Act was affirmative action telling banks they had to make these risky loans. It was assumed Fannie and Freddie would always be protected. I was trying to prevent this stuff. I had legislation in to remove the line of credit from the Treasury.
SANTORUM: In 2006 I wrote a letter warning about a bubble and a meltdown and we couldn’t do it. We need to reduce the amount of mortgage money in them. The bigger issue is that these two are playing petty politics. Newt was part of Congress and did what he did and Mitt is a wealthy guy who does what he does and we need to talk about things that are important now and not this nonsense.
– after break, questions about space –
737pm CST
If you want to submit questions to CNN, you can do so at this link>. Just click on it and it lets you submit questions to CNN.
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Back from break: 740pm CST
Question on transparency and tax returns
GINGRICH: This is a nonsense question. Look, how about if the four of us agree to talk about issues that matter to the American people? This is a national debate. We have a chance to talk about important things.
ROMNEYCARE: Wouldn’t it be nice if people didn’t make accusations somewhere else?
GINGRICH: I don’t know of any US president who had a Swiss bank account.
ROMNEYCARE: I have a trustee who handles my investments. For a while he had money in a Swiss account and there is nothing wrong with that. I think it’s important that we don’t castigate people who are successful. I get returns on my investments. I earned that. Those investments lead to jobs being created in America. I am not going to run from that. I paid taxes and gave money to charity. What I’ve accomplished in my life shouldn’t be seen as a detriment but an asset.
GINGRICH: I am happy to simply say that Romney should have the same standards for other people that he wants applied to himself. It should be a two way truce.
ROMNEYCARE: I am happy to talk about the Speaker’s background.
GINGRICH: I believe we need to have someone who fights for hard working tax payers. We need to reduce everyone’s tax down to 15% and not bring Romney up to our tax level. We need to shrink the government to meet the revenue not raise the revenue to fit the government. I would like the Mitt Romney Flat Tax Rate of 15%.
SANTORUM: We need as much money funneled into the economy as possible. We want people to deploy their wealth as much as possible. If not, people will invest in nontaxable instruments that don’t employ people. I take the Reagan approach. let’s have a 20% top rate and a bottom rate of 10%. We should have a simplified code with five deductions. I don’t believe in a zero capital gains rate. I think if you get to zero then guys like Mitt Romney who make so much money would not be paying much at all in taxes.Lower rates are better than zero.
LUAP NOR: My goal is to get rid of the 16th amendment. You can’t run a welfare and a warfare system that polices the world. Taxing the rich is not a solution. The 99 and the 1 I understand. There is a transfer of wealth from the middle class to the wealthy. Wall Street is not getting poorer. The bailout and the system favors one group over another. The welfare system helps the wealthy. If we could stop all the transfers to the wealthy class. There is a big difference between those who earn money and those who rip us off in the monetary system.I have one page of medical records and I am willing to challenge any of these guys to a 25 mile bike ride in the heat of Texas. You know there are laws against age discrimination so if you push this too much you better be careful.
– talking about John McCain’s medical records –
ROMNEYCARE: I am happy to release my records.
GINGRICH: I would release mine and Ron Paul is in great shape.
– question from audience about space flight and NASAR –
ROMNEYCARE: Space is a tremendous cost. Let’s bring in top professors and industry experts to decide what to do. Let’s come together and talk about different options and the cost. Let’s create a plan to keep our space program thriving. I am not looking for a moon colony. I would rather be rebuilding housing here in the US.
GINGRICH: Do you really believe NASA in its current form is the most effective way of leveraging space. We have no lift vehicle. Does NASA just sit around and think about space. I made a speech yesterday on this. I believe the use of prizes and incentives and common sense….Atlas 5 can be a manned capable vehicle….there are things to do to accelerate space innovation. Lindbergh went to Paris because of a prize. We need to get Americans back on the moon before the Chinese get there.
SANTORUM: Young people not dreaming big dreams. They are not getting involved in math and science. Space is a place and we need to bring good minds in the private sector there. We have a big deficit, we can’t promise new programs and big ideas just to get votes. We need to start cutting programs and not grow them. We need to spend less money every single year. You can’t do this with grand schemes. Those are things that sound good but we have to be responsible in the way we allocate our resources.
LUAP NOR: I don’t think we should go to the moon. Maybe send politicians up there. I was in the air force in 62. The amount of money we spend on space, well I would just do it for defense. We should not build government business partnerships. The people who work in the industry would have jobs in aerospace. We don’t need a bigger and newer program. Healthcare deserves more priority than going to the moon. Space technology should be used for defense and not the fun of it.
GINGRICH: It is really important to go back and look at what Kennedy said when he said we would go to the moon. People were tremendously excited and had a future. 90% private sector based, change government rules and regulations and create a system where the private sector is so engaged. Let’s do 6 races a day because NASA got out of the way. Let’s not let China dominate space. I want America to be a great country and not a country in decline.
ROMNEYCARE: I would fire an executive who wanted to build a colony on the moon. We have seem politicians do what each state wants to do. I know it is exciting in the space coast to want to do this stuff. In South Carolina it was dredging a harbor and in New Hampshire it was burying power lines. We have got to say no to this kind of spending.
GINGRICH: First, I thought candidates had to learn about the states they campaign in. The port of Jacksonville needs to be expanded because of the Panama Canal changes. The everglades is another project because the federal government failed. It is possible to do the right things in the right order — you don’t have to be cheap everywhere, you can have a vision and make things happen.
LUAP NOR: You don’t count the money taken out of social security because the national debt went up and we paid the interest on that.
GINGRICH: Under the system used, we were $405 billion dollars….we need to take social security off budget so that no one like Obama can threaten not to send the checks out.
SANTORUM: We just listened to Obama completely ignore the problems at hand, he ignored the heavy work and hard work and was not honest with the public. Going around and promising big ideas is not fine. We didn’t have a 1.2 trillion deficit. We have more debt than GDP. We need leaders with bold solutions. I will do that.
– question from audience: unemployed for ten years and unable to afford healthcare –
LUAP NOR: This is a tragedy and a consequence of government involved in medicine. When government gets involved in medicine you don’t get better care, the cost just goes up. It should be so much less expensive. Way too much government makes the costs go up.
GINGRICH: The largest challenge is to get the economy growing so she can have a job and afford insurance. We need to repeal Obamacare, Dodd Frank, and SarbannesOxley. We need to give her a tax break for buying into insurance. We need her to buy in with lots of people. Reforming the insurance system and get the economy growing again. Put her back in charge of her life and not be dependent on Barack Obama for her well being.
ROMNEYCARE: your employer gets a deduction when you buy insurance. When you are unemployed, you lose your insurance. What we should do is allow individuals to own their insurance and get the breaks that companies do. Get people to work. This president failed the American people. Obama said the same things and people are not working and we know what it takes to put people back to work. Obama says the same things and doesn’t do any of those things. I will get you back to work.
SANTORUM: I will add that i introduced health savings accounts with John Kasich. Governor Romney authored Romneycare which was a top down government run system that has 15 items in common with Obamacare. Romney agreed to this at the state level. The federal government cannot force people to enter into private contracts. Romney supported this in a state that is a model for what Obamacare will look like. Massachusetts has the highest costs in the country but people are not getting the care they need. This is the top down model that does not provide the contrast we need with Obama. We cannot give the issue of healthcare away.
GINGRICH: In my case, Rick is lumping us together. Go got HealthTransformation.net. I wrote the book Saving Lives and Saving Money. I did not advocate federal mandates. The fact is, it is a personal system dramatically different from Romeycare or Obamacare.
ROMNEYCARE: Massachusetts has a lot of flaws but a lot of differences. On day one I will take action to repeal Obamacare. I believe the people of each state should craft programs that are best for their people.
SANTORUM: Romney just said that he supports top down government run medicine. How are you going to go up against Obama with that? It is about fundamental freedom. Should there be a government mandate here in Florida? We need a clear contrast with Barack Obama.
ROMNEYCARE: I make enough mistakes. 92% of the people had insurance in Massachusetts. For the 8% who did not have insurance, we said buy it yourself. There is no government plan. If you don’t buy insurance then you must help pay for the insurance of others. No more free riders.
SANTORUM: Does everyone have a requirement to buy healthcare?
ROMNEYCARE: Yes, or pay the state for getting free care.
SANTORUM: In Mass, everyone is mandated as a condition of breathing or you have to pay a fine. People are now paying the fine because health insurance is so expensive. The people that were free riding has gone up 5 fold, because people are ready to pay a cheaper fine and then sign up for insurance than pay high cost insurance as a cost of Romneycare.
ROMNEYCARE: This is not worth getting angry about. It’s impossible. I know you don’t like my plan. I don’t like Obama’s plan. He cuts Medicare and raises taxes. Obamacare takes over healthcare for the American people. In debating Obama I will show I have passion and point out that what he did was wrong and I will repeal it.
SANTORUM: What Romney said is factually incorrect. It is the same mandate as Obama’s. The same fines.
LUAP NOR: They’re all wrong. This is a typical result of having government involved. Allow people to make decisions and not have government involved. When I started there was no medicare and medicaid. Government is not the solution. Most likely, we will have this problem unless we cut the spending. I am willing to cut one trillion out of the first year.
GINGRICH: Look at Ron Paul’s record as a doctor, it was a less expensive system and there’s a lot said to rethinking the thing from the ground up.
– question about Hispanics being in the Cabinet –
SANTORUM: Marco Rubio is an impressive guy.
GINGRICH: There is a number, I think of Susana Martinez and others. I thought about Marco Rubio in another role besides being in the Cabinet.
ROMNEYCARE: There are a number of qualified Hispanics like Brian Sandolval and he Diaz Brothers and Mel Martinez and of course Rubio who is a terrific Hispanic. Carolos Guittierez. I can name a lot of Hispanics.
LUAP NOR: My litmus test is individuals who understand monetary policy and the system. Hispanics are attuned to the foreign policy of non intervention. Hispanics are opposed to war more than others.
– commercial break at 818pm CST –
Whose wife would be best First Lady?
LUAP NOR: She is the mother of five and was married to me for 50 years and she wrote a cookbook.
ROMNEYCARE: My wife Ann is a mom. In some respects she is a fighter. He had MS and breast cancer. She would reach out to people who struggle and she would show them compassion. She helps troubled people and she helps people get married before they have babies.
GINGRICH: I think all the wives represented here would be terrific. Why I like Callista? These are all wonderful people. Callista has a tremendous artistic and musical background. She cares about the arts and music education. She has a best selling children’s book about America. She produces movies and has a great artistic talent. I would be thrilled to have her in the White House.
SANTORUM: My wife is not here, she’s doing something else. She is my hero and is someone who has educated herself as a neo natal nurse in an advanced nursery. She got a law degree to deal with ethical challenges. Then she gave that up and became a mom and a wife and we’ve had 8 children and are raising 7. Our little Bella has a disability. She wrote a book about our lost son Gabriel. It’s saved hundreds of lives. She also wrote a storybook to teach manners through stories and that book is civilizing the children of the world.
– question on Reagan –
ROMNEYCARE: At the time of Reagan I was in school and getting a job and working my way up as a consultant before starting a business. I did not get involved in politics early in life. As my business became successful, I was in turnaround, and I was asked to get Salt Lake City on track in Utah and it was the greatest professional experience of my lives getting the Olympics together. And then I became Governor and it was like that. I learned some lessons and became more conservative after being Governor because people wanted me to be that. The Speaker was a Congressman during Reagan’s time and was closer than me.
GINGRICH: It is interesting to see the Romney attack machine coordinate. Michael Reagan has endorsed me. In 1995 Nancy Reagan said that Barry gave Ronnie the torch and Ronnie passed the torch to Newt. In 1992, Romney was donating to democrats and in 1994 he said he was an independent and progressive. Those fighting in the 80s should be recognized for it.
ROMNEYCARE: I never voted for a Democrat when there was a Republican on the ballot. I voted against Bill Clinton and Ted Kennedy. With regards to the Speaker on the Reagan years he can speak for himself. I am proud of things I am able to accomplish.
– question from someone from Cuba –
SANTORUM: I oppose Obama on Cuba. I support the Cuban people and their right to have a free Cuba and we should stand on the side of the Cuban people against despots. Chavez, Noriega, and Morales are all puppets of Cuba. We cannot reward the cancer spreaders with dilly dallying and inattentiveness to the problems of South America. We cannot reward Marxism and thuggery. Cuba is working with Iran and other countries to setup missile sites and training camps. This is the exact wrong message at the exact wrong time.
LUAP NOR: Well, I would ask the Castro Brothers what they have called about. What can we do to improve relations? They are not going to attack us. I would talk to them and take their car. It helps Castro. The people who want to overthrow Castro see the backfiring sanctions. It is time to change. The Cold War is over. They are not going to invade us. I have noticed already. People have changed their mind and Americans are much more open and less frightened. There is not a jihadist under the bed every night.
ROMNEYCARE: First of all, Obama has ignored Latin America and other nations. We need economic initiatives to build trade. I want more free trade agreements. Obama reaches out to the world’s worst actors. Throughout the world, tyrants look for weakness to take advantage. If i am president we will use every resource we can to make sure that when Fidel Castro finally dies the people of Cuban can enjoy the gift of freedom.
GINGRICH: I was very proud as Speaker to make sure the Helms Burton Act passed. It was an important step towards isolating Cuba. Obama cannot bring himself to look south and imagine a Cuban spring. Bring together every non military asset and break up Cuba like Reagan Thatcher Pope John Paul broke up the Soviet Union.
– question about bringing peace to Israel –
ROMNEYCARE: Reason there is no peace for Palestinian people is because of Hamas. There is a belief that the Jewish people do not have a right to a Jewish state. It’s the Palestinians who want to eliminate the state of Israel. We stand with our friend Israel and we will not have an inch of difference with our friend Israel. Obama talks nothing about the rockets raining on Israel from the Gaza Strip. Obama threw Israel under the bus. I think he has time and again shown difference from Israel and that creates greater aggression from the Palestinian people.
GINGRICH: Prior to the 1970s the Palestinians were just Arabs. There were 11 rockets fired into Israel in November. How many people would be for a peace process if rockets were raining down. This is war for another form. My goal for those who are Palestinian is for them to say that Israel has a right to exist and let’s work together for a prosperous future. The political leadership there will not stand for it. I will move the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem to send the signal that we are for Israel.
– question from someone form Puerto Rico who says she is bilingual (but is speaking in broken English), asks about Puerto Rico becoming a state –
SANTORUM; Governor Luis is a friend of mine and I spoke to him this week. I went to Puerto Rico many times. I have a relationship with friends down there. Medicare reimbursement rates are deplorably low down there. I believe that there should be self-determination. I support that and don’t take a position one way or the other. I also support helping the Puerto Rican economy. Poverty rates there should not be allowed. We must create a successful economy on that island. I take no position on statehood and support their self-determination.
– question from audience about religious beliefs –
LUAP NOR: My religious beliefs affects my character and the way I treat people and how I live. The only way to affect things is my oath of office and my promises to the people.
ROMNEYCARE: I concur. I would seek the guidance of Providence. We are based on Judeo Christian laws and ethics. The conviction that the Founders were writing a document that is not just temporary is something that a president must carry in his heart. I would seek to ensure that those principles remain in America. Help people through trade and soft power.
GINGRICH: I would say that there are ways it would affect me, anyone who is president is faced with enormous decisions and should seek God’s guidance. We need some sense of what to do. Also, there is an obligation to recognize that this is something that should suffuse your life. I am running because there has been an increasingly aggressive war on Christians in this country largely by a secular elite in the news media and academics and judicial activists. We should not have religious suppression by the state.
SANTORUM: The Constitution is the How, the operating manual. The Why is our religion. The Constitution is there to protect our God-given rights. Not government-given rights. Faith has everything to do with it. If our president believes that rights come from the state than everything can be taken away. I believe in faith and reason and I want to say that there are foundational things that have changed the world.
– 840pm CST break –
853pm CST back from break
Tell voters why you are one person who will defeat Obama/
LUAP NOR: i have evidence I will do well. One of the reasons is that I have a freedom and Constitution message. It includes free markets. I protect civil liberties. You should run your life as you choose. More tolerance. Civil Liberties. My position undermines OBama on foreign policy. I want a Constitutional foreign policy.
ROMNEYCARE: People of America recognize it is a critical time. Either America will remain the great hope or if we’ll go on a path towards being like Europe’s social welfare states. I believe to get America back on track we need extraordinary change in Washington. We need to maintain our strength abroad. We need to change Washington . You can’t elect the same people and change chairs. I have lived in the private sector and I competed with businesses around the world. I was Governor of Massachusetts. Someone with my experience will beat Obama.
GINGRICH: I have participated in the two largest Republican sweeps in modern times. 1980 and 1994. I believe that what we need is a Big Choice election. I am running for my grandchildren. I want them to look back in 50 years, to rebuild the country and post a simple choice: do you want freedom and independence and good jobs…I believe if we have Big Election we can defeat Obama by huge margins. We need an American campaign who prefers paychecks to food stamps and the Declaration of Independence to Saul Alinsky.
SANTORUM: This is a big election about who we are going to be. I think I am a lot better to make this case to the public. I am not a top down person. I was not for bailouts to Wall Street. I was not for cap and trade or the Global Warming hoax. What did Obama lead with in his speech this week? Manufacturing. The Ronald Reagan Democrats working people know this president has left them behind. He has a plan for them and its dependency. We need to win the industrial heartland. I am the best person to win the states necessary and get that mandate.
900pm CST — end debate.
© 2012, Kevin DuJan. All rights reserved.
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I tried to post a link where people could submit questions for the debate, but it won't go through…maybe 'cause it's at cnn. Sent you an e-mail if you want to post it.
Florida will go a long way to determine the ulitmate nominee.
This debate is all brass knuckles.
Last man standing wins.
Technically, wouldn't Spanish be the language of the barrios, not the ghettos?
Mitt: "I have a blind trust to avoid any conflicts of interest" and so I don't have to explain myself and can claim complete ignorance over anything questionable that may have been done that benefitted me.
Funny, Mitt, I though you earned all of your money through your own hard work…now it's through someone else's and you know nothing about it? How does having a blind trust require you to have a Swiss bank acct?
That quote perked my ears. I thought "you don't know where your money is going?" and "What's wrong with an American bank or credit union?"
FYI…that noise that sounds like booing is actually "Neeeeeeewwwwt!"
Man! Rick Santorum's all hardcore tonight. He's gonna win this debate…he's ON TARGET!
Who can name the most hispanic Americans in politics? 1..2…3…GO!
I think Rick Santorum won this debate. I especially liked when he cut through all the squabbling of who did what and when and said he was there to talk about the issues. He looked like the only grown -up in the room. I got to thinking that as the father of 7 children Rick has to know that you can't say one thing and then do something else or you would have chaos in your household. I think he is a man of his word and now that he seems to be taking Rush Limbaugh's advice to stop talking about himself, he doesn't seem so sanctimonious.
Yes! He did a great job of that, except when it came to the Puerto Rico question. Then, he fell back into "I know this person" "I did this and that." After that he recovered well. No doubt he was the clear winner. That line about the Constitution being the the instruction manual, but the Declaration being the reason why we exist was great.
I wanted Santorum to say, in response to Mitt, "I think there's every reason to be angry. I think the American people are angry and they want to see action and results, not just more broken campaign promises. They want the gov't out of their lives. They want to have opportunities to better themselves…etc."
Newt and Mittens fought to a draw, which they will say favors Romneycare.
Santorum was very strong all night. Will not let go of Romneycare, which he shouldn't.
Paul was not spot lighted so he was not helped nor harmed.
I felt bad for Newt, 'cause I support him, but he totally fell for the media's trap again! He should have known better, especially after the last debate. They mentioned at the end that Mitt had a new debate coach and I think it showed. He was much better at countering Newt and didn't look quite as wimpy. That being said, it still rubs me the wrong way that he never takes responsibility for anything.
"I have all my investments in a blind trust. It's not my fault I gave money to corrupt institutions/businesses."
"I haven't heard that commercial. Even though it was put out by my people and finishes with 'I'm Mitt Romney and I support this message,' it's still not my fault, 'cause I didn't put it out and I don't support it."
"Obamacare may be modelled after Romneycare, but ours is different, because we don't really have a mandate. We just make you pay the gov't for healthcare if you don't have it. That's not the same as a gov't mandate, it's a 'fine.''"
"Besides, Obamacare made changes to medicare. Romneycare doesn't touch medicare." -psssst! That's because medicare is a federal program. Just because you don't touch medicare doesn't make it ok to have a mandate.
For crying out loud, can he please finally admit that Romneycare sucks! It's like listening to Obma say that the automotive companies are doing great after the bailout and then the "breaking news" this morning is that we're not going to get all of our money back from GM, 'cause the stocks would have to be selling at $69 and they're only at $29 and were at $31 when they were originally purchased by the gov't. (Those numbers may not be entirely accruate. Too busy ranting on Mitt to go double check them.)
Romney did well on points but his disapproval numbers are going to go up. My opinion of him is dropping with each debate. It will be tough voting for him if he's the nominee. BTW thanks Kevin for posting Lord's article from the American Spectator about Newt's accurate claim to the Reagan mantle and York's article on the true history of the political witch hunt Newt dealt with as speaker. These articles are definitely a must read for Floridians!!!
If anyone heard Rush today he was saying all this being released against Newt today was orchestrated. That none of it matches how he knew Gingrich back then, and that this was an orchestrated attack by the R establishment to get rid of Newt so they can crown their chosen leader (my words). I think Newt scares the dickens out of the establishment, so they are going after him with everything including the kitchen sink.
I couldn't hear the debate tonight, but was reading several comments (such as in Hot Air) that went on "live"- and it sounded like Romney crushed Newt. I hope not. The last thing we need is for the establishment R's win in this war…. and leave us with the same mess we were in before if not worse.
OK…I don't want to be a traitor to the cause, but I actually, for possibly the first time EVAH, agree with a lot (thought not all) of what the round table group is saying, including Erick Erickson.
Mark Levin on anti-Gingrich RINO lies, January 26, 2012 (.mp3) http://www.zshare.net/audio/98923869e5bf2588/
Ground report:
We live in FL, went and did our early voting yesterday. Along the way, saw the first and only signs we have seen up so far? Newt.
FL is very broken up place to place on party and person they back. We live in a Republican area, darn few teh One supporters 'round here, even back in '08.
More accurate excerpts from Santorum's rousing and accurate summary:
"The Constituiton is the HOW of America, it's the operator's manual. The WHY of America, who we are as a people, is the Declaration of the Independence. … endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights… The Constitution is there to do one thing: Protect GOD given rights. That's what makes America different than every other country in the world. No other country in the world has it's rights based in God given rights. Not government given rights! So when you say 'faith has nothing to do with it.' FAITH has EVERYTHING to do with it. … The role of the government is to protect rights that cannot be taken away… understand where those rights come from, who we are as Americans, and the foundational principles by which we have changed the world."
Mitt's remarks about firing an exec who recommends a Moon Colony might run into reality:
(1) How will Mitt fire Paul Allen, the 57th richest man in the world, Microsoft co-founder, sole investor in Burt Rutan’s Spaceship One which made the first private space flight?
(2) How will Mitt fire Sir Richard Branson, the 254th richest person in the world, founder of all Virgin Enterprises, one of which is Virgin Galactic which is turning the Burt Rutan Spaceship One into a paying passenger spaceship line.
Guessing both Paul Allen & Richard Branson might have bigger ideas in mind than just short sub-orbital flights.
Mitt lost the “moon colony” argument due to not being current with either technology (e.g. Spaceship One) or the history of settlement (e.g. “Northwest Ordinance of 1787″) or incentives (e.g. X-Prize).
Those exclaiming about the “1967 Outer Space Treaty” fail to understand that:
(a) a treaty can be withdrawn from (e.g. USA unilaterally withdrawing from “Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty” with USSR)
(b) Article XVI of the “1967 Outer Space Treaty” allows withdrawal from the treaty
Private individuals will settle space as they settled the North American continent. Not a dime of gov’t money need be spent; however, a legal framework, where property rights (Mitt might want to more aggressively defend such) can be established. Cause if Paul Allen or others want to spend their own money settling the moon, might they want some legal recognition of their property rights (e.g. possession is nine-tenths of the law)?
It's too bad Newt couldn't have given THIS ANSWER during the debate!