i like to say there is always a bull market somewhere. i promise to find it for you. i'm jim cramer. i will see you tomorrow. hey, larry. what do you have for us? >> all right, jimmy. in a couple of hours mitt romney gives the most important speech of his presidential campaign. can he close the deal with a strong economic growth plan and message? good evening, everyone. i'm larry kudlow. this is "the kudlow report" live from the republican national convention in tampa, florida. mitt romney has worked six years to get to this moment. this day, to take to the stage as the republican nominee for president. in a couple of hours he'll spro deuce himself to tens of millions of people watching. he's a businessman making a closing pitch and he better tell the american people he has an economic growth policy that features limited government, lower spending, lower tax rates and deregulation. that kind of plan is necessary

to persuade american that is we can get out of the quagmire that has lasted too long. rom romney romney's challenge? to convince america we need economic change and he's the man for the job. new tonight, 20 million watched his running mate paul ryan introduce himself. it was this line you are about to hear that worries conservative supply siders that romney-ryan may be giving up the tax cut message. please take a listen. >> after four years of government trying to divide up the wealth we will get america creating wealth again. [ applause ] with tax fairness, regulatory reform. we'll put government back on the side of men and women who create jobs. >> all right. i know paul ryan for many years. i know he is a tax cutter and a supply sider. but that word tax fairness

troubles me enormously. there is speculation that someone in the romney camp deliberately put those words into it. tax fairness? ryan doesn't believe in the left wing class warfare tax the rich tax fairness idea. that's an obama idea, not a romney idea or a ryan idea. uh i hope. anyway, paul ryan did launch a brilliant attack on the failed obamanomi obamanomics, but the lack of tax cut talk may have confused investors anesthesia business. the dow is down 106, nasdaq down 32 and the s&p down 11. we have assembled a power house line-up. new hampshire senator kelly ayotte, conservative columnist ann coulter, senator ron johnson and senate minority leader mitch mcdonnell. growth not debt wins elections. that's my two cents. in fact, growth solves debt. that's why i'm hoping for a clear romney-ryan growth plan.

tax cuts, limited government, sound money. in other words, jobs through free market incentives. that's what wins elections. it will be left to mitt romney tonight to borrow on the catch phrase of his celebrity speaker clint eastwood. take a listen. >> go ahead. make my day. >> okay. make my day. first up, another big night at the convention. mitt romney set to take the stage at 10:00 p.m. eastern. cnbc will carry the speech live. now cnbc's own john harwood down on the floor joins us with the details. good evening. >> good evening. mitt romney has been breathing the air of presidential aspiration his entire life. his father ran for president in 1968. didn't work out but for the last six years mitt romney has been after this prize. the biggest moment in the six-year quest comes tonight when he takes the stage behind me which has been rejigered for his appearance, lowered down so he can connect with the

delegates, convey a greater sense of intimacy to viewers around the country and make room for his family up there. he's been practicing the speech. i think on the growth message he assumes he's got your vote. but he's trying to reach out to a broader audience. the message from the excerpts we have seen shows an outreach in sadness rather than anger to people who supported barack obama before. he asked the question. if you voted for barack obama before doesn't it tell you something about his job performance that you felt the best the day you voted for him, not now? then he came to the conclusion and said, i'm running for president to create a future where a parent knows their child will have an education, people know jobs will be there, seniors are secure. but i didn't see a reference to individual tax cuts. i know that's something you will be watching for tonight.

>> absolutely. i'm going to be looking for all mention of tax cuts and economic growth. let's get to kelly ayotte from new hampshire, ron johnson from wisconsin. senator ayotte, i don't want to be cranky about this. but ryan's speech was brilliant in his dissection of obama care and obamamonics. i didn't hear a mention of tax cuts and the phrase tax fairness, i don't know where it comes from. that's a left wing phrase. that's an obama phrase. can you tell me what's going on here? >> i think larry is taking the phrase and putting it in terms of what we know his position is on tax reform -- and mitt romney's which is lower and simplify. let's make the tax code an

efficient way to get revenue and help economic growth. that's the plan. i think he was going to take their terms and say this is what fairness is. let's have a code that's lower and simplified. >> okay. that may be -- that's a good defense, senator ayotte. but it may be too good of a confiden defense. tax fairness is not a conservative phrase. tax fairness is what obama talks about. senator ayotte may be right. if that were the case -- and you are right -- then ryan should have taken a sentence or two to spell it out. there is a lot of conservatives today who are very anxious about tax fairness and the fact that ryan never mentioned any of mitt romney's tax cuts. >> right. >> why not? >> well, first of all, i will give him the benefit of the doubt and say he's not willing to seed the ground our tax code isn't already fair enough in terms of taxing the rich. from uh my standpoint, you're right. we need a pro growth message.

pro growth tax reform is a better way to do it. there are folks like kelly and i sitting in the senate and in the house of representatives. any kind of tax reform that republicans will propose will be pro growth. if you need assurance that will be the direction i think both kelly and i will guarantee you that's the approach. >> absolutely. >> what bothered me -- okay, i'm so anxious to hear governor romney's speech tonight. romney has been quite specific. he's got a 20% across the board tax cut for everybody. he has a 25% corporate tax rate to make america competitive. down from 35%. they are not talking about it. this convention didn't talk about it. i have heard brilliant speeches. the emphasis has not been on a growth plan. yes, obamanomics failed but

what's the republican plan to go in its place? >> i i think we'll hear about it tonight in mitt romney's speech. we heard about it from paul ryan. he emphasized growth and cutting the deficit and the debt. what we have added obviously the $5 trillion to the debt under this president is abysmal. talking about regulatory reform. we have heard it from the businesses in this country. they are burdened with the regulations coming out of the administration. so we heard about it last night. i think we'll hear about it tonight. the other thing that's important as well is energy independence. this president has set us back in terms of developing our resources. that's in the excerpts we have seen released about governor romney's speech. >> senator johnson do you think an unemployed manufacturing or construction worker is worried about the united states' debt to gdp ratio or is she or he worried about voting for the candidate that will get them e the job? >> that's what they are interested in.

let me set your mind at ease. governor romney has been talk about pro growth tax reform, regulatory reform. he's been laying it out. i think the goal of a speech like this, just like paul ryan. this is an opportunity for governor romney to look in the camera and explain and convey to the american people who he is. that he, paul ryan, quite honestly every republican is concerned about every american. we understand this is the land of unlimited opportunity. president obama doesn't. we want to make sure every american has a good opportunity to build a good life for themselves, their family. you do it by not growing government which creates increasing debt but it is my understanding we are a nation of freedom, individuals being able to aspire to something great. >> okay. >> i just think that's more of the tone of what he wants to take. >> i'm a devoted free market guy. it's the best path to prosperity. last one. will romney be specific about his tax plans and his other

plans? 12 million new jobs. ryan said that. what seems to be missing was the 4% growth target along with the specific tax cuts. will romney be specific? i think americans want it. >> larry, i think he's already been much more specific. think about what we have heard prosecute this president -- nothing. we have already heard about the 20% cut from governor romney. also the simplification of the tax code. we have heard about a strong specific energy plan. we have heard their ideas in terms of cutting the debt. getting it down to at least 20%. and we have someone who can put together a responsible budget for our country. >> all right. >> there are no answers on the other side. >> all right. you have a point about the other side. they're going to come back at you all next week. ron johnson, senator ron johnson, senator kelly ayotte, thank you. >> thank you, larry. >> here is steve moore of the wall street journal editorial board, the co-author of "return

to prosperity." i want to get your take. is mitt romney going to deliver a message of economic growth tonight? did paul ryan trip up by talking about something called tax fairness which is really a left wing idea? >> we talked about this last night after the speech. you were exercised about it. uh i'm not as -- look, cut the guy slack. it was a block buster speech. he introduced himself in a way that was likable, charming and presidential. effectively he just delivered a knockout punch to obamanomics. he didn't address the growth issues. i share your concern on that issue. that makes it more important that mitt romney hit those issues that paul didn't talk about. i have spent the last half hour or so reading through excerpts. i'm sure you have seen them, too. i wasn't comforted by what i

saw. >> i didn't see. >> i didn't see tax cuts listed. >> that's it. i didn't see specifics. i agree with you. look, you and i know paul ryan. he's one really smart guy. >> right. >> he is a jack kemp ziebl. -- disciple. he doesn't believe in tax fairness. that's a left wing tax the rich phrase. steve, how did that get into ryan's text? >> how did it get in there? i don't have any idea. >> it's crazy. >> the night before i was troubled by a phrase that chris christie said when he said shared sacrifice. we don't believe in sacrifice. we believe in growth. what concerns me about the fact -- and i was there for the first three days of the convention. it's almost like the republicans are embarrassed to talk about tax cuts. they should be leading with it. this is not just good policy. it's great politics to tell everybody in america we are doing a reagan-style tax cut

that doesn't just cut rates for the rich but cuts tax rates for everybody. whether you are rich or poor. >> what bothers me and we are still here in tampa. what bothers me is i think this convention emphasized too much austerity and debt and not incentives to grow, create jobs for entrepreneurs. i don't hear the delegates getting excited about these pro growth messages. when the republicans go austerity, steve, what happens? they lose. >> that's a very good point. it's interesting that the symbol when you walk into the convention hall as uh i did. you're there today. what's the symbol? the debt clock. it should be how many jobs we'll create over the next three, four years. i think if you read our

editorial the other day we made it clear. the best way to reduce the debt is to put people back to work, grow the economy and get the 4% to 5% rate of growth. you will grow it $2 billion, $3 billion through additional profits. >> you will lower the deficit by two-thirds to three-quarters. >> right. >> it's worth close to $3 trillion in lower deficits over ten years. i hope people listen to steve moore, wall street journal editorial board. coming up, stocks drop with the dow stopping right at the 13,000 mark. was it doubts over another round of fed easing or maybe paul ryan's "no" to tax cuts hit the markets. keith mccullough is next. later on, we e eel be graced by the presence of conservative columnist extraordinaire ann coulter. don't forget, free market capitalism is the best path to

prosperity. i'm in a sky box at the republican convention and i'm shouting this to the rooftops. republican delegates, free market economics are the best path to prosperity! i am larry kudlow. we'll be right back. you know why i sell tools? tools are uncomplicated. nothing complicated about a pair of 10 inch hose clamp pliers. you know what's complicated? shipping. shipping's complicated. not really. with priority mail flat rate boxes from the postal service shipping's easy. if it fits, it ships anywhere in the country for a low flat rate. that's not complicated. no. come on. how about... a handshake. alright. priority mail flat rate boxes. starting at just $5.15. only from the postal service.

humans -- sometimes life trips us up. and sometimes, we trip ourselves up, but that's okay. at liberty mutual insurance we can "untrip" you as you go through your life with personalized policies and discounts when you need them most. just call... and speak with a licensed representative about saving on your policy when you get married, move into a new house... [crash!] or add a car to your policy. don't forget to ask about saving up to 10% when you combine your auto and home insurance with liberty mutual. security, coverage, and savings. all the things humans need to make our beautifully imperfect world a little less imperfect. call... and lock in your rate for 12 months. liberty mutual insurance. what's your policy?

>> announcer: this is a special edition of "the kudlow report," live from the republican national convention in tampa, florida. here now is larry kudlow. >> all right. you can hear one of my favorite oldies "my girl" in the background. unfortunately it was a red day on wall street. the dow off 107 points. question, was the sell-off marked by confusion over last night's paul ryan speech? i don't know. maybe keith does. he's the ceo of hedgeye risk management. why did the market drop? were people disappointed in ryan or are there other things going on? >> there are always multiple factors but the big things are central planning expectations with ben bernanke which is a huge opportunity for romney to address in terms of getting rid

of bernanke. number two, when paul ryan talks that's probably the first margaret thatcher looking renonld reagan redo you have seen. that's a strong dollar message. the dollar was up and perversely in the short term that's a head wind for stocks. >> you basically are okay with the ryan speech. you're not worried that it was too austere and he didn't mention tax cuts? >> i'm not worried about that. with the pro growth message they have to get specific. if they bring the heat with the strong dollar message they can nail it. clinton got it, reagan got it. oil prices come down and that's a tangible message to give to the country. >> uh i dpr-- i agree. i think bernanke will speak tomorrow. what's your expectation. will he open the door to more useless fed stimulus or what? >> this guy will waffle.

he's in a big world of hurt. he's got no growth, no employment gains. now consumer confidence -- get this -- for august is down 9% versus last month with the stock market going up. his strategy alongside obama is to get the stock market up. everybody will think everything is fine. everything is not fine. median incomes are down 5% since obama took office and the cost of living is up and to the right. >> keith, given your views that you have outlined are you playing this from the long side or the short side now? >> we are basically out of the way. sadly that's a big part of why there is nothing going on growthwise. people like me who run small businesses won't do anything until we e hear the central planners speak. that's sad and pathetic but that's the leadership platform we have been delivered for four years. >> one thing paul ryan did last night was attach central planning and i loved it. sorry we don't have more time.

we appreciate it. paul ryan gave a bril i can't want speech last night. was it short on growth and too long on debt? robert costa has more next on kudlow. this country was built by working people. the economy needs manufacturing. machines, tools, people making stuff.

companies have to invest in making things. infrastructure, construction, production. we need it now more than ever. chevron's putting more than $8 billion dollars back in the u.s. economy this year. in pipes, cement, steel, jobs, energy. we need to get the wheels turning. i'm proud of that. making real things... for real. ...that make a real difference. ♪ [ wife ] your dad's really giving him the business... the designated hitter's the best thing to happen to baseball! but it's not the same game! [ wife ] wow, he's really gonna get us a good deal. it's better! no it's not! the pitcher comes up and he's out! [ dealer ] he can bunt! whatever. but we're good with 0% apr for 60 months? oh yeah, totally. thank you so much. that must've been brutal. [ male announcer ] the volkswagen autobahn for all event. at 0% apr for 60 months, no one needs to know how easy it was to get your new volkswagen. that's the power man engineering.

these are sandra's "homemade" yummy, scrumptious bars. hmm? i just wanted you to eat more fiber. chewy, oatie, gooeyness... and fraudulence. i'm in deep, babe. you certainly are. [ male announcer ] fiber one. all right. last night not far from where i'm sitting republican vice presidential candidate paul ryan gave a powerful and brilliant speech.

but i didn't hear the tax cut message. i didn't hear the economic growth message that i was hoping for. did paul ryan and the gop miss a crucial opportunity? let's talk to cnbc contributor robert costa, the brilliant political reporter for the national review. i'm not denying that the speech was brilliant, that he didn't rip obama care into shreds, but when i looked at the ex-t text saw "tax fairness" that's a left wing phrase i have been fighting my entire life. that means tax rich people. what was that doing in paul ryan's speech? >> you can roll your eyes at that part but i heard jack kemp andnalled everything ryan stands for with pro growth politics. this was about introducing himself to the country. most of the country doesn't know who he is. for him to cite jack kemp from

new york he believes in the same plux and pro growth ideas you do. >> i spoke today and we talked about jack kemp. uh miss him dearly. yeah, ryan cited kemp as the leader of the reagan tax reform. okay. but that would have been a perfect opportunity for ryan to have said, and we have pro growth tax reform. we have a 20% individual tax cut across the board and we have a 25% corporate tax cut down from 35% and we are going to exempt middle class people from capital gains. he mentioned kemp but not any kemp policies. i didn't like that either. >> you're sitting there with a checklist looking for this and that. the country was listening to the theme of the speech. ryan talked about individualism, entrepreneurship. he was about supporting small business, big businesses alike. rom uh any had the record of bain capital. this was a big picture speech. conservatives are saying where are the specific policies, the meat of the speech. for people who don't know him

this was the speech they needed to hear to see a 42-year-old who understands the history of reagan, of kemp and to bring it into a narrative that fits 20 the 12. >> do you think he had too much emphasis on debt? debt equals austerity. my take is and the late robert novak used to say republicans are put on the planet to cut taxes. to me, debt is a losing issue. the unemployed manufacturing worker could care less about debt. he or she wants a job. if we go down the road it's a losing issue. can you defend that or is it going to be growth? debt or growth? i ask you. >> there is a balance in the speech between austerity and growth. the best line was about jobs, empowering people to grow in the economy. yes, there is a lot of emphasis

on debt. debt is a problem. it connects with a lot of independent voters. romney and ryan can't talk about growth. they have to have a lot of things as part of the argument. >> will mitt romney fill in the missing gaps on tax cuts tonight? will he do that? >> what romney will do tonight, i have been briefed by romney speech writers. he's going through his bain experience in a way he hasn't before. he may not talk about tax policy but he's going to say, uh i helped create sports authority, staples. uh i built a business. i'm like everyone else who built a business. you may not like it if you're a democrat or a liberal, but he'll stand by his experience. if you're a market guy, a pro growth guy, you will appreciate the message tonight. >> we'll see. robert is always right. i'm not sure he's got h right but we'll discuss it. up next, a preview of mitt romney's speech by senate republican leader mitch mcconnell joining us on set. i'll ask if the gop can still

take the senate and what about the dreaded fiscal cliff? "the kudlow report" will be back. in communities across the country. whether it's supporting a delaware nonprofit that's providing training and employment opportunities, investing in the revitalization of a neighborhood in the bronx, or providing the financing to help a beloved san diego bakery expand, what's important to communities across the country is important to us. and we're proud to work with all of those who are creating a stronger future for everyone. i bought the car because of its efficiency. i bought the car because i could eliminate gas from my budget. i don't spend money on gasoline.

it's been 4,000 miles since my last trip to the gas station. it's pretty great. i get a bunch of kids waving at me... giving me the thumbs up. it's always a gratifying experience. it makes me feel good about my car. i absolutely love my chevy volt. ♪

>> announcer: this is a special edition of "the kudlow report" live from the republican national convention in tampa, florida. here now is larry kudlow. >> all right. welcome back to "the kudlow report." i am larry kudlow. in this half hour the tampa bay times forum is filling up for the crescendo of the convention. mitt romney will accept the republican nomination for president. syndicated columnist ann coulter is among our many special guests. first up let's begin with another very special guest to weigh in on mitt romney's speech and will republican reinforcements help the gop recapture the senate? as always we are honored to be joined by the distinguished senate republican leader mitch mcconnell. we appreciate it, sir, as always. i have been asking this question of your colleagues, kelly ayotte and ron johnson. uh am concerned that the

convention is not producing a republican economic growth plan that will satisfy the country that there must be a change. >> i thunk that governor romney is going to address that tonight. we have been getting a biography of him. i expect him to give us an autobiography on himself. i also think tonight he'll lay out the direction he would like to take the country. a totally different direction than the one we have been on the last four years. it seems obama will say we had a start for recovery. let me have four more years and i will give you a full-fledged recovery. i don't think the populous believes it. i don't. but i wonder aren't people going to check out mitt romney to see what his alternative economic plan is? isn't that the meat and potatoes tonight? >> i think so. it's important for him to tell us more about himself. that's the autobiography, but

also to talk about what a difference it would make to the american people if he won. and the economy is the overwhelmingly significant issue in this country. we know the other guys borrow, spend, threaten to raise taxes, over regulate. they could do anything they wanted to and it didn't work. we'll do something different and empower the private sector to lift us up out of the economic trough we are in. >> a couple other important pieces to the puzzle. wall street is very worried about the dreaded fiscal cliff and a possible recession. do you have new thoughts, comments on uh how this is going to play out? >> here's what we ought to do. we ought to extend the current tax rates for another year to give us time to go through the comprehensive tax reform we know we need to do. on the squeser we ought not to cut a penny less than we

promised the american people we would cut. this government has a spending problem. but we ought to negotiate sensible reductions, for example, reducing the size of the federal government which would get you an enormous amount of money rather than leveeing the mindless across the board reduction which would not have happened in the first place had the president gotten involved in helping us negotiate an outcome to debt and deficit. if obama said i want to meat with republican and democratic looet leaders to take this fiscal cliff off the table would you do it? >> absolutely. he found time for everything else. >> it would help his presidency and the country. >> we need to put the country first. if he was willing to put the country first we would have ended up in a solution to the long-term debt and deficit

problem last year. the speaker and i offered every opportunity to do it. you can argue about the results of the simpson bowles commission. the president having appointed it, ignored it. then we had this structure in place, larry, to get an outcome y'all called the super committee. it was a process. had it come up with a solution it would have passed. instead it completely disappeared. >> let me ask for questions on this point. todd akin is even in a new poll against claire mchaskill. just came across the tape. is missouri still in play in your judgment? >> i think we have enough seats in play to still take the senate. we have at least ten opportunities to pick up seats we don't currently have. whether missouri is still winnable or not is an interesting question. we have a lot of other places where we can win.

enough to net four for the majority. >> that would give you 51 votes. >> yeah. >> will that allow the tax reform and budget reform and the entitlement reform and the overthrowing of obama care? is 51 enough? >> the chief justice said the individual mandate was a tax. taxes are clearly eligible for what we call budget reconciliation which can be done with 51 votes. we believe peck take the heart out of obama care with a simple majority of 51. we intend to do it if the american people give us the support we need to get the job done. >> thank you very much. as always, we appreciate your coming around. coming up, mitt's make or break night. the most important political moment of his life. america is looking for a growth message to put us on the right track. ari melber and phil muser face off next. this is "the kudlow report" live from tampa. [ male announcer ] it's a golden opportunity

to experience the ultimate expression of power... control. america is looking for a growth

a real fisherman.

[ male announcer ] humana. we create easy to use, powerful trading tools for all. look at these streaming charts! they're totally customizable and they let you visualize what might happen next. that's genius! strategies, chains, positions. we put 'em all on one screen! could we make placing a trade any easier? mmmm...could we? open an account today and get a free 13-month e ibd™ subscription when you call 1-888-280-0149 now. optionsxpress by charles schwab.

to dabble with the idea of hybrid technology, it's already engrained in our dna. during the golden opportunity sales event, get great values on some of our newest models. this is the pursuit of perfection. all right. so romney is set. mitt romney is set to take the stage tonight at 10:00 p.m. eastern. you will see it here live on cnbc. honesty, there is so much riding on tonight's speech. this is a defining moment for the entire presidential campaign. so let's talk. here now is cnbc contributor ari melber of the nation magazine and phil musser, gop consultant and former romney campaign adviser. ari, uh want to give you the first whack. what do you expect mitt romney to do and how specific do you think he'll be about taxes and

economic growth which i think is a winning issue? >> i don't think he's going to be that specific. he's got to talk about the humanizing elements, what he cares about, what he believes, why people should connect to him. the problem for romney started last night with paul ryan. that speech had more substantive lies in it than most people can remember in a convention speech. the romney campaign has been on the defensive all day. i don't think they expected that when they put paul ryan on the ticket. he lied about medicare, the gm plant closing, the debt commission which is his issue. something he voted against and tried to pin it to obama. i think the lies are hurting the campaign. >> i don't know how much you heard. ari says paul ryan had lies on gm, welfare, medicare that uh now it's coming pack to haunt him. do you believe it? >> i don't know. i think i heard enough from my friend ari on that one. if that's the tone and approach

of the democrats which is to continue to be vitriolic and try to tear mitt romney down that's a mistake to go on national television and call mitt romney a liar. the one thing this convention has done is started to flesh out for independents in this country who mitt romney is. we are talking about his leadership as a leader of faith, in his community as governor. tonight he'll look america squarely in the eye, be proud of his success, talk about his background in his life and lay out five clear ideas for the country moving forward. that's the wrong approach if you are calling him a liar. >> ari, if governor romney lays out five clear approaches for the future of america and america's economy isn't that going to be five more approaches than what your man barack obama -- i mean, obama never said anything except he wants to raise taxes on rich people, probably everybody else and spend more. he doesn't have five. he has two. tax and spend.

>> do i get to respond to you and phil? >> and regulate! let's throw that in. >> go, ari. >> to larry's point, look, barack obama has laid out specific plans, whether you like them or not. he put the jobs act on the table. a third of it was tax cuts. it never got a vote. there are clear plans there. i think we can look at what's in them. to phil's point, he sort of took what was a substantive issue i raised. i listed several lies. then he attacked me and said my tone is off. he's taking a personal attack and putting it on me. it's not about me or the a.p. which called out the lies is in it against paul ryan. mitt romney has a chance tonight. e i'm looking forward to the speech. he has a chance to clarify what paul ryan did and try to speak in specifics, larry, as you mentioned that don't involve him lying to the american people. this is not a small point. we are talking about news on a news channel. paul ryan said things that were false. he has to deal with it sooner or

later. >> but it's not going to happen tonight. >> no. >> i want to leave that go for a moment. >> okay. i get this morning we believe in america, a plan for a stronger middle class. this is from the romney people. i just wonder -- it's a preview. because it's very specific. fundamental tax reform that reduces individual tax rates by 20% across the board. also, cut the corporate tax rate to 25% from 35% and the middle class will pay no capital gains and dividends. that stuff was missing from paul ryan's speech last night. will it appear -- these numbers -- tax specifically economic growth tax cuts. do you think mitt romney will use these specifics in his speech tonight? >> larry, i think governor romney will take the framework for what you just articulated and close his sales point in this speech meaning his articulation of the things he'll accomplish in the first four years of his presidency talking

about energy independence, trade, closing with a growth agenda for small businesses. the excerpts of his speech laid it out. the last point will be how we can use different ways to inc t cent growth. we may not get him to specific numbers. >> why not? reagan used to use specific numbers. he had a 30% across the board tax cut. he used to talk about it. >> the good news is -- >> larry -- >> uhi'm not asking for a keyne treatise. he has 20% supply side tax cut, 20% corporate tax rate. he has 4% growth and 12 million jobs. those are his goals. if your man barack obama had those goals, wouldn't obama be talking about them specifically? this is the part i don't get about team romney. where are the specifics?

>> i'm not trying to put you on the spot. we have had conversations before. this is an area where you are different than the new entrants into the republican party. some of the guys don't want to talk details. the country is tuning in. you cut through the super pacs, the spin. you're allowed to tell people your plan. chris christie and paul ryan didn't do the numbers. we have disagreements about what's in there but i think you have a fund mental difference in the style of phil next to you in the romney campaign which as the nonpartisan media pointed out has stuck to vagaries on the budget and plan. >> i'm a specific guy. >> i know it. >> my hero, there is a ronald reagan memorial going on. let's play some of it now. >> and lift-off. >> daring. decent. fair.

>> the first woman ever nominated to the supreme court of the united states. >> that's our heritage. that's our song. we sing it still for all our problems, our differences we are together as of old. we raise our voices to the god who is the author of this most tender music. may he continue to hold us close as we fill the world with our sound in unity affection and love. >> everybody is looking forward to being able to help. that's what we are here to do. >> one people, under god. >> mr. gorbachev, tear down this wall. [ cheers ] >> dedicated to the dream of freedom he placed in the human heart. >> waving their passports they rushed forward. >> we have to leave it there.

i worked in the reagan white house in the first term. i was associate director of omb. i met my wife of 25 years in the reagan white house. he's one of the greatest presidents in the history of the united states. ari, thank you for helping us. phil musser, thank you. coming up, a little bit about culture wars in the election. welfare, women, white middle class males? will the gop resort to pandering to special interest groups? conservative columnist extraordinaire with us ann coulter. we'll be right back. >> whatever else history may say about me when i'm gone, i hope it will record that i appealed to your best hopes, not your worst fears, to your confidence, rather than your doubts. in this springtime of hope, some

lights seem eternal. america's is. thank you, god bless you. god bless america. [ cheers and applause ] the designated hitter's the best thing to happen to baseball! but it's not the same game! [ wife ] wow, he's really gonna get us a good deal. it's better! no it's not! the pitcher comes up and he's out! [ dealer ] he can bunt! whatever. but we're good with 0% apr for 60 months? oh yeah, totally. thank you so much. that must've been brutal. [ male announcer ] the volkswagen autobahn for all event. at 0% apr for 60 months, no one needs to know how easy it was to get your new volkswagen. that's the power of german engineering. [ "the odd couple" theme playing ] humans. even when we cross our "t"s and dot our "i"s, we still run into problems -- mainly other humans. at liberty mutual insurance, we understand. that's why our auto policies come with accident forgiveness if you qualify, where your rates won't go up due to your first accident,

and new car replacement, where if you total your new car, we give you the money for a new one. call... to talk to an insurance expert about everything else that comes standard with our base auto policy. [ tires squeal ] and if you get into an accident and use one of our certified repair shops, your repairs are guaranteed for life. call... to switch, and you could save hundreds. liberty mutual insurance -- responsibility. what's your policy?

>> announcer: this is a special edition of "the kudlow report" live from the republican national convention in tampa, florida. here now is larry kudlow. >> welcome back, everyone. we were given excerpts of mitt romney's speech tonight.

he'll tell a story to the american people. there are key points on welfare, women, white males. so i asked what's going on? is the gop going special interest like the democrats always do? joining me to discuss it, joy reid from the grio.com, and best selling conservative columnist ann coulter. her latest book is "demonic" how out in paperback. she has a new book coming out but won't tell me the title. first of all,ing on the welfare issue, hasn't it been proven that obama -- this isn't just something they made up. obama actually has waived the work rules on welfare. >> thank you for asking me that. uh wrote about that this week. no. mickey counts is a liberal democrat. he has a bumper sticker saying i like obama care. he's an expert on welfare reform. he says, yes, of course the work

requirements have been weakened. it's gotten to the point that the new york times, washington post, cnn, when they say debunked they mean, dead on accurate, you caught us. >> what's wrong with romney making it an issue? >> it is a big issue. >> if you are concerned about blue collar white mails, people that work with their hands, on assembly lines, welfare without work infuriates them. the question is if this legal analysis is correct why should romney use it? >> he should and he's going to it because it is effective. that's why they are screaming bloody murder. it's not just white working class people. this was the compromise pushed for, bill clinton campaigneded on it and we tricked him into signing it and he brags about it. the time requirements and the work requirements were the crucial elements of welfare reform in 1996. i was working for the senate then. to roll it back, what their argument is, we are waiving it

for if you are looking for a job. okay, that's waiving it. we are exempting it if you are a hard to place family. that's waiving it. this was what hard-core liberals resigned from the clinton administration over. this is what americans want, work requirements. if he's taking it away, mitt romney is right to think american people want to know about that. >> joy, why are you so violently against this? everyone says in order to change these requirements you have to have a legislative action. you've got to bring it back to congress. the law is clear. the states want flexibility not on work rules but on financial matters and distribution. >> first of all. we have to live in a fact-based universe. it's a great talking point for the republicans because they can bring back the welfare queen arguments that worked well in the 1980s when you are trying to appeal to working class white voters by saying, those people are cheating.

we know who those people are. governors including governor romney when he was governor of massachusetts asked for flexibility in the way they apply welfare reform in their states. this was a request from republican governors. they asked for flexibility. basically if you look on the website, if you look at how the flexibility is determined, you have to have a work requirement built in. hold on, larry. you can only receive flexibility if you meet the criteria that you're making an innovative program for people to look for work. that's built in. >> i have a couple others. are you worried that the republicans are aiming too much at women? i think men and women have to work together. i have been married 25 years. my wife is mypartner. i don't regard her as superior or me -- >> she can vote. >> except for your wife. >> she is a saint. in all seriousness, is romney going too far on pursuing the gender gap?

>> uh i haven't noticed it that much. i saw ann romney, chris christie, huckabee, condi rice and ryan. i didn't get a lot of an estrogen feeling from any of those speeches. but i thought they were great. >> they were. >> last night especially. >> what about white males? are they going too far after white males? they are trying to make up the gender gap by increasing the lead by white males. republicans shouldn't be the special interest party. that's what democrats do. >> we will never be the special interest party. i don't think we are being the special interest party. we are appealing to everyone. i disagree that the welfare ad is just appealing to the working class white people. clinton bragged about it. >> last word. 20 seconds. >> well, i think what's interesting and i read the excerpts from romney's search too it's constituency hunting. we'll hear a speech not about

the tea party but, hey, women, vote for me. >> thanks to you both. >> okay. >> joy reid, ann court, thank you very much. i'll be back at 10:00 p.m. tonight for special cnbc coverage of the republican national convention. we'll hear from surprise speaker clint eastwood and man of the hour mitt romney. that's it for this show. out's been a great and exciting week in tampa. i want to thank the cnbc and nbc crew here in tampa for their help and hospitality. [ male announcer ] at scottrade, you won't just find us online, you'll also find us in person, with dedicated support teams at over 500 branches nationwide. so when you call or visit, you can ask for a name you know. because personal service starts with a real person.

[ rodger ] at scottrade, seven dollar trades are just the start. our support teams are nearby, ready to help. it's no wonder so many investors are saying... [ all ] i'm with scottrade. there's natural gas under my town. it's a game changer. ♪ it means cleaner, cheaper american-made energy. but we've got to be careful how we get it. design the wells to be safe. thousands of jobs. use the most advanced technology to protect our water. billions in the economy. at chevron, if we can't do it right, we won't do it at all. we've got to think long term. we've got to think long term. ♪

i don't have to use gas. i am probably going to the gas station about once a month. drive around town all the time doing errands and never ever have to fill up gas in the city. i very rarely put gas in my chevy volt. last time i was at a gas station was about...i would say... two months ago.