Debate sponsored by FNC [FoxNews Channel] 1-16-2012
Featuring Romney, Gingrich, Perry, and some others [no bias here].
Brett Baier in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. SC Republicans sponsoring.
Will be doing the color commentary here: Mitt Romney has on a blue tie and Brett Baier has on the best red 'power tie'. Juan Williams, Kelly Evans and another are in.
MLK statue shown. He faced challenges, like 10% unemployment in SC. First question goes to Newt who talks about the 16million jobs he created with Reagan and then 11million to go to 4% unemployment. Mitt has white pokadots on his blue tie and looks great. Invested with Bain Capital for 120,000 jobs. Also Olympics. MA had 4.7% unemployment. Record is out there — proud of it. [Wild cheering.]
Brett asks Rick Perry of Texas a question, and he decides to answer a different question. His income tax is out every year and wants Mitt's "so the people can see how he made his money." . . . Mitt mentions TX and Bain Capitol helping steel mills. "I agree with Gov Perry on regulations, etc."
WSJ Gerald Seib presses Romney on the "Bain Capital model". Mitt corrects his perceptions. Free enterprise works to improve our economy. GDP/capita in USA is 50% higher than in Europe. Staples plus Bright Horizons plus the steel mills in Texas alone added 120,000 as of today. "I have a jobs plan out there and I'm not even president yet."
WSJ Kelly Evans asks the next question. She is in a beautiful blue dress and addressed the question to Ron Paul. "In our attack ad on Rick Santorum, I could hardly get all of it in in one minutes." Paul has a stripped blue tie, and Santorum responds in a solid blue tie with little white squares not too visible. He wants to talk fast and go on and on like he usually does, "I support Right to Work" but didn't press it when PA didn't want it.
FNC Juan Williams asks the question he says Kelly Evans asked, attack ads. Santorum then puts a pointed question to Mitt Romney, "Do you support votes for felons who have served their time." [Martin Luther King voting act, Rick Santorum points out.] (Seems like a trap, because in MA could vote while they were on probation, going on and on again.) Mitt answers.
Rick Perry points out that campaign finance reform should be decided at the state level. Santorum had said, tell your superPACs, "Stop it!"
Break: Plus a reminder: use @BrettBaier #SCdebate with your Twitter question.
Twitter question about endorsement of Jon Huntsman who criticized before. "Convince me you won't change your mind again." Mitt discusses his state with Abortion vs his personal beliefs. He vetoed embryonic stem cell. Marriage is for a man and a woman. Obama wants USA to be like Europe. [Finishes strong, to cheers.]
Camera shows Gov Nikki Haley very pretty in a light patterned red dress and a million dollar smile. Question is to Rick Perry about federal government scrutinizing voting when there has been discrimination in the South. "This administration is out of control" and in war with religion.
Rick Santorum answers a different question, looking more poised and presidential than previously this evening. Still, he is trying to work in too many words, very wordy.
Gingrich talks about the 99-ers who collect for 99 weeks. "There is a better way to think about this: job training. Give them help to a business-run training pgm. 99 weeks is an associate degree. We think work is good, different than Obama." He gets wild cheering almost to the level of Romney.
The pretty on the questioning table shoots a ping-pong ball over to Romney and he hits it back to applause. The question was about his business and failing companies, etc. It gives Mitt a chance to talk for five minutes on free enterprise and new markets that Obama didn't open.
"I would say your question suggests you are very confused about my position on our national defense", Ron Paul. "We would be stronger." More nuttiness.
There is a difference in military spending and defense spending. If you build a complex in Bagdad that costs more than the Vatican, that is money wasted. [ED: Ron Paul will maintain his base of nutty voters.]
Question: Where would you put the personal income tax rate? Perry: 7% flat tax; Santorum: 10% & 28%; Romney: 25%; Gingrich, 15% flat tax; Ron Paul, zero like in 1913. "What's so bad about that?"
"Will you release your income tax records?" says the gal in the blue dress. Romney says he will follow tradition, and open his records (possibly) in April, if nominee.
The audience boos the question to Romney who had ancestors in Mexico. Romney says he favors those who stand in line legally and would veto the Dream Act. Return home and legally apply, like everyone else. I welcome legal immigration. I will not do anything that opens up a wave of illegal immigration. [Extended applause.]
"Work, Graduate, and Get Married, with children" and 2% who don't have poverty. Then Santorum speaks against Obama, "need to be neutral in teaching abstinence."
You could take the high-paying union janitorial job in NYC and hire 30 young teens that would then learn the value of work and to stay out of crime in the streets.
Juan Williams draws 'boos' by staying stuck on stupid, pressing Gingrich on belittling the 'poor' and calling Obama the 'food-stamp president'. "The fact is, Juan, that more people have been put on food stamps by Barack Obama than by any president in American history." He continues and finishes strong. [Best cheer of the evening.]
Since the debate went to a break, the cheering continued to best of the night.
Coming back, a very large sand sculpture of six candidates is shown outside, very impressive. We are hoping hopefuls got a drink of water and a break also.
Ron Paul disagrees with a question on killing ben-Laden since he voted YEA and it took ten years after he was trapped, then let escape, from Tora Bora. "I did not say that!" Respect sovereign nations. [ED: It's a hot button for Ron Paul.] Newt Gingrich talks as the adult in the conversation, bringing in facts and insights. Newt has to interrupt his own supporting-applause to add this story: Here in SC during the Revolutionary War had a young 13-yr-old man sabred by a British officer and wore a scar on his face his whole life, Andrew Jackson. "Kill the enemy" was his view.
The audience is in tune with the Grich cheering, laughing, a few standing.
The Paulster is given opportunity to respond, and if SC is watching, he is going to have to drop out of the race on Saturday. "Save the money."
Romney says to not negotiate with The Taliban, "of course not" and "Kill them." You don't negotiate from a position of weakness, pulling back. Have a military so strong that no one would think of testing it, Congressman Paul.
Romney continues, "The vice president is wrong." The Taliban is the enemy as they kill our soldiers. We should defeat the Taliban. [ED: Romney is keeping their hearts.]
Rick Santorum is given a token question to remain "also ran". He talks about his bill to sanction Syria.
Rick Perry is asked about Turkey in NATO, murder rate of women up 1400% from Islam rules. He wants to go to zero with their foreign aid and then converse with them. He pauses twice and looks up in his third sentence. Give Ron Paul the gong, I wore the uniform. Young Marines made a mistake [P-Gate]. What is despicable is cutting the head off of xxx Pearl and hanging our soldiers from bridges. I saw 1979, never again!
Ron Paul served also. Taliban stood with us when fighting Russia there. They just want to keep foreigners off their land.
WSJ Kelly Evans, still looking pretty, asks about signing the National Defense Act as written. Romney gets boos when he says yes he would have, and continues unfazed to explain about detaining the enemy. "Look, you have every right to protest, but not to kill Americans, and plot and join groups that are at war with America. That's treason and we have a right to put them in jail."
He continues, "you have to choose people that will not abuse the power." People who join al-Qaeda are not entitled to the rights under our Constitution and penal code. He uses the rest of his allotted time to reiterate the Obama cuts to military.
Same question to Santorum who questions his allotted time.
Ron Paul talks about the Patriot Act and the Fourth Amendment.
Rick Perry has opportunity to push is 20% flat tax rate, after paying your home mortgage, etc. Eliminate the corporate tax. Make Congress, part-time. Freddie and Fannie need to be out of the housing market. [Made questioner Kelly look foolish and stuck-on-stupid.]
Romney makes some good points, Obama cut Medicare by $500billion to pay for Obamacare. For those 55 or older or already retired, nothing changes. He supports private plans like Paul Ryan (premium support program). Then he makes four concise points: (1) lower requirements to qualify at lower levels and higher for top; (2) then increase the retirement age a couple of years for Social Security; (3) same for Medicare, including optional private plans; and send Medicaid back to the states; (4) Obamacare, repeal that one and get out balance sheet right.
Gingrich talks about the model of Texas and Chile, proven on privatization. He looks good explaining it. [ED: Look for young people to have an option, some day.]
Santorum calls Romney, "not bold", and calls Gingrich, "irresponsible" ignoring TX. "First, we have to get our financial house in order first." He is talking with passion, but losing most people. "Borrowing money from China to pay millionaires." Gingrich answers, while Santorum has a wide grin and shakes his head, no. Gingrich mentions balancing the Reagan budget four times.
Romney says "Rick is right" that it will take an effort to pull back from Trillions, and Debt at 25% of GDP. In private business, you balance your budget or you go out of business. We cannot continue to just borrow from Social Security. [Details on tax cuts.] That accomplishes your position (pointing to Newt) without fiscal insanity.
Peacemaker Romney gets a smile first from Santorum, then from Gingrich.
Break: go to www.FoxNews.com/Debate to see how well candidates answer.
Romney points to success in MA on gun ownership rules, supported by both sides. We have all the laws we need, just enforce them. Santorum criticizes Ron Paul, fighting for last place. Ron Paul responds, "states rights". Santorum demands to respond [They are both out of here.]
Romney and Gingrich talk about SuperPACs as false as Big Foot. "This campaign is not about ads, it's about issues", Romney. "Get rid of McCain-Feingold", the adult in the conversation, Mitt Romney.
Softball pitch from Evans to Perry on border crossings at a 40-yr low. "We're going to secure the border with Mexico. . . . locked down within one year!"
Gingrich sounds good on public education: radically reduce Dpt of Education and cut out all federal regulations; return power back to states; they should also do the same and return power to local districts. "Let teachers, [using hand gestures], parents, and students get back to learning."
Final Analysis seems to be that Romney still leads; Gingrich was super; Perry is back but not in the lead. Two can leave: Paul, then Santorum. It is said that Romney and Paul have all the money. Will Santorum stick through Florida?
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