How many candidates are up there? Eight? Gonna take a while to sort this out.
My first look/listen to Perry!
First words out of Perry's mouth attacks Romney's record.
Moderator tries to go to another person, Romney cuts him off to rebut Perry.
Perry interrupts moderator to rebut Romney. The two attack each other.
Santorum. "My plan is the best plan that can pass the Senate." "We cut corporate tax rate from 35% to 0%." Wha?? Seems energetic and positive.
Cain. Eliminate the current tax code, it's a barrier to the economy. 9% tax on corporate income, personal income, and sales tax. "If 10% is good enough for God, then 9% is good enough for the federal government!"
Huntsman. We (Utah) were the #1 job creator in the nation.
Bachmann. Problematic legislation: Obamacare... small business owner says I had to cut 10 of 60 people. I raised 5 biological children and 23 foster children.
Paul. Didn't understand what he said. Rambled something about regulations being important, but opposed to all (?) federal regulation.
Gingrich. I served during the Reagan campaign and helped pass his jobs program. When I was speaker we added jobs and balanced the budget for 4 straight years. He was legitimately complimentary toward other candidates. Breath of fresh air.
Perry on healthcare: Romney's plan taught America how not to work. This guy's coming across pretty mean!
Romney: On day 1 I'll give an executive order to grant people a waiver from Obamacare. My Massachussetts plan covered 8% of people, Obamacare covered 100%.
Perry: I'd do that too. The reason my state is last in healthcare coverage (25% with none) is because of the federal government! Couldn't follow his explanation, though.
Bachmann. Obamacare took over 1/6 of the national economy. An executive order will not overturn the law. I was the first Congressperson to introduce a bill to repeal it. I'll elect 13 more Republican senators so as to overturn it. (You can elect senators?)
Gingrich. I'm not interested in causing Republicans to fight each other. We all hate Obamacare. Quit trying to bait us!
Now the moderator is defensive! Awesome. Good job Newt!
Cain. The free market should be allowed to control cost.
Moderator. 1 in 7 Americans are "poor." Where do they fit in?
Santorum. No one did more than me! We passed welfare reform because it was creating a culture of dependency. Let's end federal entitlement and create independency. No more means-based welfare. Half the people in this country rolled off the welfare rolls.
Perry. Referred to Santorum as "the last individual." Geez, how long until he shows respect for someone? His fiery statements are met with silence and some pity applause. This guy's an animal.
Romney. We are an energy-rich nation behaving like an energy-poor nation. This president is strangling America by stopping offshore drilling. Where are these "green" jobs?
Paul. He rambled totally off topic and kept invoking Reagan. He's like Ross Perot on amphetamines!
Perry: Another refusal to acknowledge someone (Paul) by name. Social Security is a Ponzi scheme! Young people shouldn't have to pay in to something that's not financially sound.
Romney. Funding SS isn't the issue. We shouldn't commit to opting out of SS, we should be committed to saving SS.
Cain. I like the Chilean model, using personal accounts. Theirs was broken, workers were paying 28% into the system. Now they use individual accounts.
Paul. This guy is a skinny volcano of negative phrasing! His arms are flapping all over the place like a Muppet and he stutters. I'm calling him Gonzo from here.
Perry. "I feel like a pinata." You're the frontrunner dude. Be tough.
Santorum. We created Homeland Security because right after 9/11 we had a lack of coordination. Lame joke about having 7 kids.
Romney. "Obama doesn't have a clue about how to get this country working again." What's he going to say about OTHER nations if elected?
Gonzo. Look at the monstrosities at the airports! Their employees are accused of sexual activity in treating passengers! 9/11 came about because there was too much government. This TSA bureacracy is bad!
Moderator. What about FEMA?
Gonzo. We were fine before 1979 when FEMA was created. People figured out not to live in bad places. We spend 20 billion dollars a year on air conditioning in Afghan. Stop paying it. Our troops would come home, we'd reinvest the money and we'd be happy.
Cain. Let's fix FEMA, let's fix Homeland Security. The federal government shouldn't run Medicare, education, TSA. Empower the states to do more, and limit the federal government.
Huntsman. Homeland Security is too imposing, it's unAmerican. Jobs are the big issue, we're talking about small issues.
Moderator. Texas education is near the bottom of the nation's states.
Perry. We're making progress. We have a unique situation since we share a border with Mexico. We'll continue to have a fine workforce.
Gingrich. I like charter schools. I'm in favor of school choice. I'd like a Pell Grant for K-12 so parents could choose.
Moderator: What would make the Mexican border secure?
Perry. You need boots on the ground, and monitoring from the air. The federal government is responsible. Once the border is secure, then we can discuss about immigration reform.
Romney. We need a fence or technological equivalent to determine where people are. Need patrol agents. And must stop illegal hiring "the magnet." Cannot give amnesty, let the legally waiting immigrants in, and get the illegals out.
Gingrich. We should require 1st generation immigrants (and all American children) to learn American history.
Huntsman. I agree with Gingrich. I'm the child of immigrants.
Moderator: What would you do with the 11 million illegals?
Huntsman. Dodged the question.
Bachmann. Dodged the question. Twice.
Cain. Secure the border. Promote the current immigration process. Empower the states to solve it.
Gonzo. It's a BIG mess in Texas!! It's the DRUG WARS down there!! People who want barbed wire fences and machine guns... that's not American!! Fences keep bad people out but it might keep us in!!
Romney. I believe in a lot of what the Tea Party believes, but I'm not a "Tea Party" member.
Perry. I'd sign on for a deal with $10 of spending cuts for each $1 of tax increase. At the last debate all the others voted for it.
Bachmann. Remember Ronald Reagan! (Seems like a cheap grab for applause.)
Huntsman. Let's not make pledges, it diminishes the political discussion and weakens the ability to govern once you get there. Look at their record to indicate where they're likely to go.
Romney. We have a crisis in confidence because we have an absence of leadership. Obama is flailing about, he's in over his head. (Mitt, use facts man, not sensationalism!)
Perry. He complimented "this president."
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