of our natural -- national security. that is what i ask you to do. that is what i asked iowa what to do. lead and be bold. this is not a time for bush to shrink. this is a time like 1981, a time to have a bold colors, not pale pastels. the contrast between different visions. so, when you are attacked, as i this is why i believe what i said brigit yes, i do believe. here is why.

you may not agree with me on every issue. i suspect you do not. but what you know is i agree with me on every issue. [laughter] [applause] people have said, how did you win in the state of pennsylvania? i hear it all the time. i do not always agree with you how could you? there is only a few candidates. we cannot all run. right? they would say to me repeatedly, we know that we can trust you. we know that you are out there and doing it because you believe it is in the best interest of america. if that is what you are looking for when you turn the debates on in the fall and you are not afraid to turn your head and

say, "oh, wow. he did not stand up for what we believe in. he did not stand up for the basic principle of americans -- exceptional as and." you do not have to worry about that. it will be bold colors and a big contract. that is exactly what america needs. i believe it and i hope the people in america believe it, too. i will be happy to take your questions. [applause] >> senator, santorum -- i am curious as to what your take is on the rulers -- i think it was lindsey graham or some senator -- who said he believed with confiscation about 401k and individual retirement accounts. >> i would be stunned if lindsey graham said that. i would be disappointed if the bid. [applause]

i have heard this before. i know this has been proposed in the past as a way of financing things. let me assure you, there will be no confiscation of private property under this administration. in fact, one of the most reprehensible of decisions in the recent years with the taking of private property for commercial purposes by the government. [applause] while i disagree with newt gingrich on some of his proposals with respect on how to deal with the court, they do go one step too far in separation of powers. i do believe we have to have a president whom when he stands up and takes the oath of office -- that is right. you have to say "i will defend the constitution of the united states." i will do that.

if the court does not, then the president has to push back. this is one of the things i talked about. you have a lot of folks who say i believe this, i believe that, i believe this. that is wonderful. most of the people running here in new hampshire are running as conservatives. not all, but most. the question is -- what does the record say when the rubber hits the road where they are going to do that? i would make the argument there is one person in this race who actually -- i actually talk about my record. a mattel last week, the pundits said i talk about my record too much. people do not want to hear about your record. they want to hear about what you are going to do. all of the other candidates are talking about what they are going to do my answer was if i have the record, that is all i would talk about. [laughter] i have a record i am proud of.

those talking about the record and what they are going to do, when people look at the record and get the moment -- guess what happens? they do not hold up. when i say i am going to do something as president of the united states to push back on the supreme court when it goes against the constitution in and agree this way, i did. when i was in the united states senate, the court struck down the partial birth abortion ban act. it was a nebraska statute that passed overwhelmingly in the house and the senate. when i had the opportunity when president bush came into office, i work with the house judiciary committee. we wrote a bill and said "you are wrong. this is not unconstitutional. we sat out two broad sections of the bill detailing to the court why we believed the court was wrong in their in -- in their interpretation of the constitution. president bush reversed the

decision. this is not an olive garden where the supreme court gets to make decisions and all of us have to bile. it is three equal branches of government -- [applause] -- we all are sworn to uphold the constitution, and i will. yes, sir democrat >> we hear about social security being broke. i wonder if it would be very difficult to have a public assistance program and only pay social security to only those people who have contributed. >> social security is only for people who contribute to it. she asked if we should have a separate fund and only contribute social security dollars to those who have contributed to the system. a lot of you get confused with the welfare program ssi.

it is not a social security program. it sounds like social security. it is not. it is supplemental security income. it is a general welfare program. it is a general fund program. it is a program for people who are, in most cases, disabled or claim to be disabled. social security is a separate, supposedly, a trust fund and a separate revenue stream. your social security taxes, 12.4%, 6.2% side that the employer pays and 6.2% you are supposed to play, but only president obama are only paying 4.2%. you are paying less. that money goes into an account and is used to pay benefits. right now there is not enough money coming into the social

security system to pay benefits, which go primarily to seniors who reached the age -- the eligibility age, which is roughly 66 right now. as you know, most seniors take social security at 62. right? so you have a social security old age and survivor benefits. that is someone who is a minor and a parent dies. they get a benefit out of social security. the third area is social security disability. that gets confused with ssi because if you are disabled and have paid into it long enough, you are eligible for social security disability. it has different criteria than ssi. the problem with social security is that we do not have enough money coming in to pay the

benefits. even if that 2% tax, which has been cut and extended for a couple of months -- you saw the big hubub about that -- there still would not be enough money coming in. you would get upset with me, but i would take too late -- take you on a walk to the days of yesteryear everyone now understands that the retirement age is 66. it is moving back to -- does anybody know? 67. ok? 67. when did that happen? i heard one right answer. the politicians who did this were absolutely brilliant. they passed a bill that did not take effect for 20 years, so nobody blames them.

[laughter] it was brilliant. they increased the eligibility age by two years back in 1983. it did not start phasing in -- it does not phase in for almost 40 years. ronald reagan did that. most people had no idea. people do not associate ronald reagan with raising the retirement age because they did not know about it. this is one of the beautiful things you see about congress. they have learned their lesson. right? all of the medicare changes, when did they take place? 10, 15, 20 years from now. we can do that under reagan when we're running $80 billion deficit and $100 billion deficit. only 1.2 dot -- now we are running $1.20 trillion deficit. $50 trillion and counting. we will have another debt ceiling increase.

we are emerging in america. 42 cents of every dollar is being borrowed to fund the government. think about that. look at the young people here. we are saying to them, "this generation of people deserve to borrow 40 cents on the dollar and foot the bill to you." you are not going to get any benefit from it, you'll simply just pay the bill. that is a pretty heavy burden put on the next generation. $15 trillion. you look at it now. we are managing it, but when the economy starts percolating, and it will under my administration, guess what else will start coming up -- going up? interest rates. why? we have so much money out there. we will have to rein that in. how you rate it in? increased rates.

right? you are going to reign it in and as a result, borrowing costs are going to go up. now you are talking real money. if we do not do something now -- rick santorum gets affected and we do what i say we need to do -- deal with the entitlement programs now, not 10 and 20 years from now -- you will know, unlike ronald reagan who may be was a better politician than me, you will know it was rick santorum who got the american public together to fix this problem. why? because it's our problem. the problem with. obama is he does not want to gather you all together to fix this problem. he would rather divide and conquer. he would rather pit one group against the other. those who have purchased those who do not. in order for him to win the

election and have no chance of getting anything done and passed the problem onto the next generation. we can no longer afford that. we need real leadership. [applause] yes, ma'am? >> my concern is about social security. i was amazed when i found out years ago that congress allowed -- was allowed to dip into social security. now they want to raise the retirement age to 70, i have heard. we earned that money. we worked hard for our social security. i hold congress responsible. why does the united states not hold themselves responsible for allowing democrats and republicans, whoever was in power, to get away with that? why is there no penalty? >> well, i love ronald reagan, but if i would point to one thing during his administration

that he did seriously wrong, it was this social security fix. he bought the idea of increasing taxes and now -- taxes now and reduce benefits later. that is exactly what the bill did. he increased taxes on workers in 1983 going forward and reduced benefits later. by increasing taxes as dramatically as they did, what did they create? the social security surplus. the social security surplus was not a little bit of money. it was a lot of money. it was a 12.4% tax and -- employee and employer combined. they needed about 9% or less. they had a huge shock of it, 25% of the overall tax was in excess of what was needed to pay benefits.

why did they do that? why did they not just match the payment to the benefit? well, they were going to build up a surplus. they convinced ronald reagan sadly enough. they convinced the american public they could build up a surplus. let's look at what they did with the money. the money came in -- 9% of the 2.4% payroll tax was paid out to the beneficiaries. what happened to the 3.4% side? let's take $100 billion as a nominal figure. what happened to the surplus? what did they do with it? what did they actually do with that money? what was the transaction they conducted? they invested it in treasury

bills -- special interests treasury bills. ok. they take the $100 million, take it out of the trust fund -- it is actually $20 million, but $100 million -- this is actually $20, but $100 million. [laughter] this is a treasury bond. they gave them a treasury bond. what did the federal government do with the money? gone. what is over here? it is a piece of paper that says "the federal government owes the federal government $100 billion." so, they took more money from you in 1983 said they could create this piece of paper, spend more money in 1983, did

you this piece of paper, and some day in the future -- now, because we do not have enough money to pay benefits -- we are going to take this piece of paper and do what? get another piece of paper, this time from the chinese, and replace it. i do not believe social security is a ponzi scheme, but this was a bad deal. all we did was finance a bigger government in the 80s, 90s, and the last decade, and hide the real deficit that was going on. now we are paying the price because we have a huge government spending. it did not look as though we were in as huge a deficit. look at what happened. one of the reasons we have seen the deficit explode is because of obama policies. there is no doubt about it.

the social security trust bond was in a positive position because we spent everything else. i have taking the position, not a popular one, i know -- what are we doing cutting separate -- cutting social security taxes? we need that money to pay benefits or this is a big share raid. there really is not a social security trust fund. -- this is a big charade. there really is not a social security trust fund. change is the way we want. increase taxes more, cut benefits more. i will take this one step closer -- i have been a supporter 15 years ago of personal retirement accounts for social security. i was a big advocate of that. [applause] when i was an advocate of that

in 1987 or 1988, my only trip with bill clinton on air force one was 1997. i was a freshman senator. it was actually my second. i went out with bill clinton in kansas city to talk about how to reform social security. we had a great talk on that plane. we talked about how we would take the surplus at 3% and use it, instead of creating this, which was phony, and larry summers and bill clinton knew it was phony, let's create a real asset that will actually pay benefits. bill clinton, to his credit, wanted to create an asset, but have the government hold the assets. in other words, corporate bonds and even some safe stop. the private-sector would have to pay it would be a real asset as

opposed to this, which is simply a promise from the government to pay. i want it to be individually held, he wanted it to be government held. we were working on something, and mike jelinski-hall's address -- monica lewinsky's dress fell off. [laughter] here is the problem now. that 3% we were going to use to create this real asset does not exist anymore. some people have suggested we need to go to another system. who is going to finance it? who is one to give younger workers -- i am all for governor workers and a retirement account instead of social security -- but where will we get the money? we have $1.20 trillion in deposits. are we going to increase the deficit any small -- even more

so we can borrow more money? you cannot be for that right now. we have to get our fiscal house in order. we have to adjust taxes and benefits on social security. how do we do this? this is my last point. how do we do this? other countries have done this. they create a formula, one that has to be on the benefit side. the formula has to effect -- affect benefits. i believe we should curb benefits for higher income seniors. and the step back again. 1937. social security is put in place. what was the poorest age group in america in 1937? people over the age of 65. what was the wealthiest -- what is the wealthiest age group in america today?

>> politicians? [laughter] [applause] >> ok, politicians over the age of 65. i will cede to that. the bottom line is, seniors are not the poorest people in america today. it is, in fact, younger workers. here is our conundrum. we have to fix it. what do we do? we say to younger workers we are going to tax you more and give benefits to high income seniors who have paid into social security, or are we going to make you pay more, slow down the economy, hurt the economy, and take more resources out of you? i have a hard time seeing how that is fact -- out that is fair. franklin roosevelt would not have seen that as fair. we need to look at changing that. there is a whole bunch of ways to do that brigid there are a

lot of ways you can structure it so higher income seniors -- another thing -- dependent benefits. we have benefits that go to children of parents who rabbi. absolutely legitimate. a lot of those children, though, also get benefits if the mother or father -- in both cases the father -- turn 65. the child of a 65-year-old gets benefits. most of the 65-year-old dance i know usually are not hurting for cash. -- that's by no usually are not hurting for cash. -- dads i know usually are not hurting for cash. there are some things we can do. some little things and some big things. i do believe, and i know this is not popular, but after 67 goes

we need to continue to move it forward. why? back in 1937 what was the retirement age? was the life expectancy of an american? 61. the eligibility age was set at 55. social security was put in place for people so old they could not work. it was a program for people who could not provide for themselves. today, the eligibility age is 66, average life expectancy is almost 80. at a time when seniors collect social security, 70% of seniors take benefits at 62. what is life expectancy at age 62? 85. you are going to be on social security benefits under the current system for the vast majority of people who reached the age of 62, they will be on social security benefits for 23

years. i am just saying that we are running a at $1.20 trillion deficit. this is not the only way we are going to solve this deficit. it is a piece of it. but the idea that we are not going to be honest enough with the american public and have this discussion to understand the problem -- here is what i will say to you -- let's solve it together. it is. to be-options. you can decide as a society what we are going to do. are we going to curb of benefits are higher income seniors? are we going to tax and number workers? we can raise the social security taxes. we can tax younger workers more. we can do a combination of those things, i believe, based on the demographics. there is a preferential way. you may disagree.

yes, sir. in the back. either one of you. you fight it out. >> if you should become president, what in the hell will you do to clean up washington so all of you politicians down there are not able to make use of insider trading? this is it legal according to all of your rules or regulations. if anyone of us in this group did that, they would hang us by our funds. the other part of it is cronyism, nepotism, and on and on. >> the insider-trading members of congress are being accused of is specific to members of congress. they are covered by the same rules as far as having knowledge of what a corporation knows.

if they acknowledge and they trade on that, they are as guilty as anybody else. the unique thing is something we should not have a lot for. people should behave well. members of congress should be ethical. should they not? of course they should behave ethically. here is the problem -- when people do not behave as they should, we have to pass laws. they are going to pass one, and i support it. then we have to enforce the law. then we have to have staff you are going to pay for to enforce the law. we are going to have all sorts of expenses? why? because people do not leave -- lead good, moral lies. all people care about is cutting taxes and cutting government. everything will be fine. if people do not make good be decent, moral loss -- families

and faith is an important part of the foundation of economic limited government. this is a classic example where everybody in this room is one to pay more taxes or your tax dollars are going to go to enforce a law there should not be a need for. why? because people should not do it. what they do is get inside information about a bill that would affect a particular company and then go out and trade on it. you know that is wrong. i know that would be wrong. everybody should know -- guess what? well, a lot of people may be do not have those values. yes. go ahead. >> getting back to what you are talking about, there are many social ills within this country that have absolutely no part of the dialogue. from wall street up to social

security. ssi, what it is, who it really affects, and how you are destroying the moral fabric. what we have done to the minority community is a sham and an atrocity. what can you do to change that? >> it is not just the minority community. it is everybody affected by this culture of entitlement. the reason i am in this race -- the principal reason -- is because of obamacare. i think obamacare will turn every american into a dependent american. someone who will be reliant on the federal government. [applause] right? just remember a few months ago when president obama was fighting with congress about the debt ceiling. what did he do to get his way? do you remember? he did a press conference. he looked into the camera and

said, "if congress does not pass this debt ceiling and you do not call them right now, you are not going to get your social security check. you will not have your medicare bill paid. you, the spouses of our men and women overseas, are not going to get your check." you are dependent upon the federal government for your life. the more dependent he can make you, the more power he has over you. this is a tipping point. obamacare is the tipping point in our country. right now, we have talked about -- legitimately so -- there are a lot of people on the margins of life. some who are fall gently, illegitimately getting some of these resources for being disabled. ssi is historically are rife with problems. particularly children getting

ssi. i dealt with this when i worked on the welfare reform bill. if you want someone who as a long, storied track record, and a good one, of dealing with these issues -- when i was on the ways and means committee, i repeat reform bill. i was a ranking member on that subcommittee. when i came to the senate, i ended up managing the bill and working with president clinton and getting a bill signed after he vetoed it twice to end welfare. he bought read the programs, got rid of the federal entitlements. i was the principal author of it in the united states senate, managed the bill on the floor. we stopped the entitlements. we capped the funding. we would not allow any increase in funding. did the responsibility back to the states and set two requirements. there were two things i root

refused to compromise on. work requirements and entitlements. poverty is not a disability. it is a temporary condition. the expectation is the government will give you a temporary hand and give you the assistance to turn your life around, but you will do so or you will stop receiving benefits. guess what happened? the welfare rolls were cut in half in america in places like wisconsin. it was cut by 92%. employment went up among the very people who the left contended would be standing in bread lines. no, they were selling bread. it was a fundamental change in america. guess what happened? poverty levels went down to the lowest levels ever for one of the areas that have the highest levels of parts -- poverty is starkly, which is african- american children. the idea that america -- that

republicans do not care about those on the margins of life because we do not vote for these programs to provide for them, it is just the opposite. we do care and that is why we want to stop these programs from providing and creating that dependence. you've already asked a question. must go to someone way in the back. yes, sir? >> thank you for coming to new hampshire. one of the basic premises of everyone running for the candidacy is the repeal of the affordable care act, or obamacare. the question was asked at one of the republican debates to ron paul about what he would do about a person with an elvis if they could not afford the treatment. -- with an illness that they could not afford the treatment.

do your market-based reforms of health care, where they attempt to ensure everyone in the country, or what would you do with that individual? >> i believe in opportunity -- equality of opportunity as opposed to equality of results. we believe in freedom and responsibility instead of government dictating to us how things are supposed to be operating. i believe in free people and free markets. that does not believe -- that does not mean government does not have a role. it has a role of being a referee. every three runs up and down the sidelines and throw a penalty when there is something wrong, but not to be the quarterback. what i have put forth over the years started back in 1992. i work with a guy named john k. sick who is now the governor of ohio. we started a medical savings accounts. it was an idea of a consumer-

based health care system. dick armey, 15 years ago -- we sponsored a bill that says we should not treat people who do not have employer-provided insurance unequally under the tax code. if you have employer-provided insurance, every dollar your employer spends on insurance is not taxable to them. yet, if your employer gives you the same amount of money instead of buying that insurance, you have to pay taxes and then go out and buy your own insurance. depending on your tax bracket, you had to do it with after-tax dollars. the idea of having a system where we treat everybody the same -- we give tax credits to the uninsured so we can give an equality under the tax code

about how everybody is treated. i support a system that allows that. i would get rid of the existing tax code. 10% and 28%. two rates. why that level? because of that is the top level that ronald reagan put in place. if it is good enough for ronald reagan, it is good enough for me. five deductions. one for health care, housing, pension, children, and charity. simple code. it will support those who need support in health care. [applause] yes, ma'am? >> if you get elected, what would help jobs the most? "made in america" is an

important label i look for. making something in america is almost impossible. what was your problem going after boeing? quite president obama appointed three recess appointments to the national labor board. i am sure they will be friendly and hospitable to american business. what the president did was wrong. she asked about manufacturing jobs and, at the end, she asked about the national labor relations board. let me address both -- manufacturing and national labor relations with respect to boeing. he did just a. three people. against the rules of the senate, i believe, and wrongly appointed. having served in the senate, we do not allow, in fact we us -- and says, the senate not adjourn

far more than two weeks. if you adjourn for that period of time, then the president, during the recess of the senate, can appoint people on a recess appointment. it is allowed under the rules. well, there were people out there for the product safety commission that was created -- the consumer financial-services commission, or something like that, under dodd-frank, which would allow enormous power over overseeing your financial transactions to determine if you should have them or not. all to protect you. why? because you cannot be trusted with freedom. we have to do these things for you. the senate republicans wisely said we are not going to adjourn. we are going to just recess.

we will come back for a session on a regular basis so obama cannot do this. you know what? what our rules to president obama? he is such an important man. he is the president of the united states, is he not? as he said today in ohio, when a minority stance in the way, i will do whatever the american people deserve. who cares what the law says. who cares what the roles are? i am the president. that is pretty scary stuff. i hope that the united states senate does what they are supposed to do. even take the president to court. this is not something the president should get away with. [applause]

let me answer her other question, which was what are we going to do about "made in america?" i come from a steel town in western pennsylvania. people ask me, how do you win your elections? i have policies that were in sync with the people i represented in the people i grew up with. my grandfather was a coal miner from southwestern pennsylvania. i grew up in a blue-collar town. i understand the importance, in this country, of manufacturing. the importance of making sure we are not just a knowledge-based economy. we are creating a lot of great products like these cameras, microphones, or whatever the case may be. we are creating great medical devices. but we are not making or creating in america.

manufacturing somewhere else. wealth is accumulating, but it is not distributed. having travelled around the small towns in new hampshire, south carolina, iowa and having represented a small towns in pennsylvania -- guess where most of the manufacturing occurs in america? small-town america. guess what area of the country has been hurt the worst of the past few decades? small-town america. why? the jobs have left. with it, the quality of life that does not exist for a lot of blue-collar workers today. the average job and in america pays big $5,000 a year. the average manufacturing job base $77,000 a year. when i was growing up as a kid, 21% of the work for it -- work force was involved in manufacturing. now it is a 9%. some say that era is gone, we

cannot get it back. why did we lose manufacturing jobs? because we became a competitive as a country. i represented as a congressman. i was a republican. 9% conservative voting record. i ran in a district that was 71% democrat. maybe you have heard of the monogamous a lot valley -- there were mills' lined along that river as far as the eyes could see. there is one left. one still mail left. -- steel mill left. that area was economically devastated. that was my district. i know the impact of bad management decisions and bad labor decisions. it is not all the government's fault, but, in my opinion, it is now. in every other area of business, labour and management

can compete. guess what? we are being held from getting jobs back because we are 20% more expensive to do business in america for manufacturers than the nine top trading partners we deal with. china, mexico, india, etc. and how are we going to get those jobs back? excluding labor costs. let's put labor cost aside. we want a higher labor costs. we want people to make better wages than they do in vietnam. but we have to be competitive on the non-labor side. regulation, cost of money, energy. i put forth a bold plan that takes the corporate tax for manufacturers and cuts it in half. -- for manufacturers and eliminate it. we take the regulations that are

real costly -- the ones that cost over $100 million -- we have an agency that looks at regulations and prices stuff. everybody does it. when you come out as a department, you have to get a cost for your regulation. during clinton and bush, the average number of regulations that cost over $100 million -- and many of them cost $1 billion -- 60 per year. last year, under president obama, approached 150. people want to know why this economy is struggling and suffering? this administration is crushing it with regulations. [applause] why are they doing it? because of vague no better than you. -- because they know better than

you. they do not trust you. we are going to repeal every one of those regulations. our energy policy will get rid of subsidies, every one of them, for every type of energy source. we are going to open up areas for drilling and have the kind of cheaper energy we need. [applause] yes, in the back? >> i was wondering how you and degrading your energy policies with current climate change sciences? >> i get asked this question a lot. look at the data, and you can see some change in the climate, but, then again, the cake. in history where you'll have not seen a change in climate. the question is, what is causing the climate to change? but most scientists would agree

there are a variety of factors that cause the environment to change. i think the vast majority of scientists say there are probably 100 factors. why have we decided this one particular factor, carbon dioxide, is the tip of the fact -- tip of the tail that wags the entire dog? why do we make the assertion that this is what is the case when there is a whole lot of other factors that could be affecting it? that is the question. some people have a very strong feelings. here is the other question -- let's even assume, not that i agree with that, that they are right? what would be a rational response? well, if you have a problem and you want to craft something,

what should that thing you are crafting do? solve the problem. do any of the proposed solutions put forward by al gore and his friends do anything to solve the problem? even the scientists who support the theory will admit to you that it does not do anything to solve the problem. why support the solution? other than you may have some other agenda that may be in place here. right? [applause] let's go back to what that agenda is. there is a common theme you should be hearing here. they do not trust you to allocate resources in a way that they believe is best. they want to have a system that forces you to do what they think

you should do in running your business and your lives. that is top-down and the basis of america. i go back to the starting comments that i made -- america is based on this constant -- the declaration of independence. right? whites from god, god-given rights to provide for yourself and your family to pursue happiness. life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. the sanctity of life, the dignity of all life. liberty to do what? to pursue happiness. happiness was defined at the time of our founders. not exactly the same definition it is today. it is not, actually. today people take it is enjoyment, pleasure, what makes you feel good. have you actually read the dictionary definition of happiness of the count -- at the time of our founders?

the prominent definition is "do the morally right thing." we have rights coming to us from god to have the freedom to pursue and do the right thing. do what you ought to do, not what you want to do. john adams said our constitution was made -- it was this document that had radical freedoms. look at this constitution. radical freedom. freedom never before seen in the history of the world. our founders were concerned. john adams said this constitution is radical. freedom was made for moral and religious people. it was wholly inadequate for the government of any others. why? if you do not do what you ought to do and just do what you want to do and you have this freedom to do it, you have this situation where members of congress are trading insider

bills. government gets bigger, bigger, bigger. why? because you cannot be trusted any more. you do not do the right things anymore. therefore, we need government to make sure that you do. that is the fundamental struggle. whether you believe that we can be a country that is good, decent, and moral. someone said we are going to be constrained with change from within or moral restraints, or change from without. in america, -- america succeeded and revolutionized the world because we believed in self-restraint. we believe in doing what you ought to do. we have a government under president obama who fundamentally believes differently. one final point i will make on this -- there is another constitution adopted at the same time as our competition.

that was the french constitution. another revolution that occurred. it is modeled after the american revolution. there was a difference. i take we went through 20 something constitutions. it was a document with radical freedom. but they did not have a declaration of independence like ours. the moniker of their revolution was liberty and fraternity. liberty and brotherhood. but no fatherhood. no rights from god. no rights from god that government had to respect. they just believed that power should go to those who control. it was the tyranny of the majority. we are a country that is going the way as we are from those god-given rights and the

foundation of limited government. then we are a country that is on our way to france. ok, what is some young people. a young person right there. people. get some young a young person right there. how many more questions do we have? ok. we can do breakfast. there is compelled to ask a question? i know it will be the same number of questions. one, two, three -- oh, call on. if you absolutely have to. oh, my gosh. do you really want to keep people here this long? i will tell you what -- we will keep going for a while and,

hopefully, i will wear you down. we are not close to closing. go-ahead. >> i am from massachusetts. >> ollie new hampshire residents can ask questions. [applause] i am not barack obama. i will not make a retroactive role. that rule did not exist when you got up, so you are allowed to ask -- ask a question. i trust you to be honest. i will not have any police here check your id. i will not hire anybody or pass a law. we will trust you to be good, free people. go ahead. [laughter] >> as a candidate -- >> is it your question or are you asking someone else says question? >> how do you respond to your

19-year-old nephew that and you should vote for your oracle, rick santorum? furthermore, if you receive the republican nomination, you will inevitably receive massive funding from corporations you will need to defeat obama. how do you plan to keep middle- class americans confident that you will stand up for them and not corporate interest? >> good question. if you have seen my financial reports, i am not getting much money from corporate interests. or any interest for that matter. [laughter] we did eight votes from mitt romney spending $30,000 on television, just to give you an idea. [applause] by the way, i love my nephew. i have 35 and nieces and nephews. one out of 35 and nieces and

nephews is pretty good. he is a ron paul supporter, god bless him. it is a phase. i understand it. [laughter] [applause] we all go through those things. god bless, johnny. it is wonderful. we all have to go through those things. the answer is -- i have laid out my plan. i laid out those plans -- again, i am embarrassed about the money we have raised so far. today we have raised, according to the folks i talk to before we came in, we raised as much money today as we did -- 50% of all money we have raised to date, we raised today. [applause]

the vast majority is online. i do not think there are many corporate interest the ready to be on line. we still good about the grassroots support we have gotten today. we are getting in the arena of hopefully be able as we go from the grassroots states of new hampshire and iowa to the bigger states -- a significant percentage of folks who can influence of votes. you go to florida, it does not quite match up. you have to have more resources. yes? young lady in the back. >> i have something to ask you that is very important to me. when you are elected -- >> she said "when you are elected." [applause] >> can you ensure me that the santorum administration will not

infringe on a law abiding citizens' right to own a firearm? >> i am a staunch defender of the second amendment. [applause] i have a one and a% of voting record for the nra. i work with them -- i have a 100% voting record 4for the nra. the decision handed down by the supreme court is maintained. ruth bader ginsberg is one of the four dissenters who says there is an individual right in the constitution to bear arms. she gave a speech not too long ago and was talking about the court cases that needed to be overturned. the one she focused on was the heller case.

i would encourage you to go out and read that dissent. if barack obama is reelected and one of the four or five justices -- conservative justices please this court, that decision will most assuredly be revisited. most assuredly, given the faults barack obama is putting on this court, will reverse that right. read that dissent about what government can do to control your access to guns. that is why this election is important. we are gun owners. we are nra members. my wife is here. my wife actually owns more guns than i do. "i even bought a couple of shotguns for my kids for christmas. my son and i went pheasant hunting.

i got for pheasants. i am a big believer in it. it is part of our family. ok. yes, sir? you have been pretty vigilant here with your hand. >> i am from kingston, new hampshire. i have worked in the insurance industry for 20 years in massachusetts. i have experienced firsthand health care reform in massachusetts. rest assured, obamacare is a mirror image of massachusetts. >> why do you say that? >> because i know obamacare and the law in massachusetts. it puts obligations on employers and individuals. one of the poison pills in the law basically tells insurers,

it's they have to spend for every dollar collected in premiums. recently some states to put in waivers to say, give us a chance to get our books in order so we can accept what you are putting on us. >> in return, they said that they can't do business in the state. they close their doors, and people have lost their insurance. if you get the nomination and you are in a debate with barack obama, will you be willing to stand in front of him and tell him, if you like your insurance, keep it, president obama, you are a liar. [applause] calling't believe in people names. i do believe in ascribing fax 2

statements that they have made. if the statement they have made is untrue, i will say that it is untrue. if someone is a liar, you get the impression that they have to actually do it. over the course of this campaign, you will find a series of under statements and you could make that decision if a person qualifies or not. with respect to mlr's, it was implemented going into this year. understand what this is. if you are a small plant or a large plan, 85%. it has to be paid out of your premiums. your insurance company, you have got 80% of your premium dollars

coming in. you have to take 85 cents of every dollar and spend it on claims. that means you have 15 cents of every dollar to pay for operating your business. legal accounting, salaries, it is not your profit margin. you don't get a 15% profit margin, it is 15% to run your business. i don't know if you know what the average is in terms of what it costs to ensure here in new hampshire. for large companies. >> it is about even. >> is different from state to state. there are a lot of things that are -- this is something states

have done. others don't. each 85 is pushing the envelope. when bill clinton introduced -- proposed hillary-care, it was 90%. was it the -- trying to think. the joint tax, and they looked at the bill. if you have 90% have to pay out, you really aren't an insurance company. you are not managing risk, you can't, with that small margin

make a profit can do anything to spend money to manage risk. as a result, what happend under clinton-care, obama said ours is much less expensive. the reason is that the joint tax looked at the 90% and said, it is not a private system. it is a federal payment. it is a tax, an expenditure of the federal government. they considered all the premiums at all the benefits. what did the obama administration do? they came with 90%, this is a huge new federal program, so they committed 85%. this is the kind of got bashed out we know how to run your business better than you do.

in the back. >> what does medicare cost? what percentage is paid through medicare? the ratio for medicare. >> it's 4%. >> it's a phony ratio. >> it is bad when it comes to government, but not bad when it comes to health care? we should have to pay all of that. >> medicare is administered by the private sector. stilldoesn't matter, they do it at 4%. >> is a felony ratio, that is not what they do. the transfer costs. medicare has such low rates of

reimbursement because they keep their costs low artificially. they have low rates of reimbursement that it costs private-sector providers, doctors and hospitals, they are no longer taking new medicare patients. the transfer costs on to the private sector. i have spoken to many physicians that tell me they can take no more than 25% medicare patients because if they do, they will go bankrupt. medicare is such a poor player. they can be that way because they suddenly rises by the government. -- they said the prized by the government. -- set the price by the government. they are not taking any medicare. 42% are not taking new medicare

patients. you can have a medicare card and said that it is efficient. here is how much they are going to pay. it is not a market. it is not real. you can't provide that benefit and have anybody -- if medicare ran the entire health care system, there would be no providers are doctors because they would all be bankrupt. you can say, yeah, we have done a great job of holding down costs, you do so by transferring costs to the private sector. that is the false economy of medicare. it doesn't work because it is an artificial system that relies on the private sector to subsidize. that is a separate question, and i think i talked about some of the ways to do so. i support the ryan plan that

takes government out of the health-care business in the dominating way in which it finds its. medicare doesn't just run the medicare system. it runs the private system. you look at reimbursements, they are taken off medicare, look at what is covered, what is not. medicare and medicaid have a huge impact as well as government regulations and state regulations on the management of the health care system. the private health-care system doesn't work and we need government to run it. government is running an owl and that is why it doesn't work, opec? -- the government is running it now, and that is why it doesn't

work, ok? >> one thing that comes from my thinking a lot is that our tenth amendment rights are being trampled on. one is the running amok of the epa, the education department, all of these major departments that are sucking our money and sending it down there. they give us 15 cents for the dollar that we send them. how are you going to make the government smaller? >> i will be very upfront on this, i am not a libertarian. i am a conservative. people that call me a big government guys are libertarians, and that is fine. if you don't really believe that any size or structure of government, that is fine. that is not, in my opinion, how the constitution was laid out. the government has certain

powers and obligations. it is hot just building a wall of america defending us from the tax. there is a difference. i defend myself saying i am a reagan conservative. on the tenth amendment, there are lots of ways to get to this. the best way to deal with the tenth amendment issue is to pass a balanced budget amendment to the constitution. let me just remind everybody that her back in 1995, we had three republican senators at the time. we came within one vote of passing a balanced budget amendment. one vote. the vote was a republican. i was 36 years old.

i go in there, i am 20 years younger than the next young this guy. i go in there and buy one of the big proponent of the balanced budget amendment. we felt we could actually do it. we're looking at the votes, working the democratic side of the aisle. the chairman of the appropriations committee, 28 years in the united states said that from oregon, stands up and announced that even though he has voted for it in the past, now that it can pass, he will oppose it. he gets up and does this, and of course, the media and just -- what a profile in courage of those that don't care about anybody at all the what to do is limit spending.

he did this heroic thing and i went ahead, the rose petals being thrown in front of his feet. they said he should resign as chairman of the appropriations committee. he betrayed a fundamental principle of the republican party as chairman of the committee that spent money. cancouldn't be a republican be given that authority if you are not going to stand up for the basic principles of limited government. that is the best way to do it. to cap federal spending at 18% of gdp. allays the bond by applause lines. -- i always step on my applause lines. that is the historical average since world war two. we are guaranteed limited government.

if you are guaranteed a limited government, the government is spending upwards of 25% of the overall economy, the federal government. as a result, government is getting bigger. if you limit it to 18%, would you have accomplished is making sure the federal government doesn't trample on the states. there are a lot of other things that limit the role of the federal government, but that is the short answer. for the purposes of people that need to use restrooms and get water, i will limit it to one. the that last person. anybody have a foreign policy question since i haven't discussed foreign policy?

>> my name is michael mcgregor, i am from newmarket, new hampshire. in the middle east, there is a lot of turmoil as there always is. there are a lot of things that could lead to a war between israel and surrounding nations either through an attack horrid forcing of their hand. if that were to happen, what steps would you take? >> people talk about how pro- israel they are, and how they respect israel as an ally. i have a track record of not only supporting the state of israel on the armed services committee, also working cooperatively with them as the authorized money for that program, but i also worked on major bills that dealt with the security of israel. when dealing with syria -- one

dealing with syria. and alosso, secondarily with iran. i have been allies -- a laser beam focus on iran for seven years. i was out there talking about missing the boat, we need to focus on iran because they are developing a nuclear weapon. they said, don't say that because in iraq, there were weapons of mass destruction and vega worked there. but this is true. saddam hussein didn't have a nuclear weapon and was close to getting one, but these folks are serious about it. there is no missile program, whatever they had was shut down. i had different intelligent and i continued to push forward with this bill. president bush opposed me.

joe biden opposed to me. barack obama voted against my bill. and then within four months after they voted it down, it became apparent what iran was doing, and there was a nuclear program, but the administration that opposed the hall voted for the bill. we are able to get passed -- if funded the pro-democracy movement. the folks that are trying to oppose this theocracy that is iran, help them organize, given the technology to help them organize a revolution in their country to be able to get rid of this regime that is an existential threat not just to the state of israel, but to the united states. they continue now because the

president has shown his weakness, repeatedly, with respect to iran. when president obama came into office, by the way, bush did not spend very many of them either. we had no connection to it, and worse yet, the president of the united states waited two weeks to make any comment when the revolution was suppressed. the only comment was early on in the summer of 2009 when the election results came man who which was a fraudulent election. within an hour of the polls closing, he announced that he won with 62% of the vote. president obama said it looked like a legitimate election. he is from chicago, of course it looks like a legitimate election. [applause]

he continually appease iran. i am happy he cited some sanctions today. is the first time i have seen him do anything to stand up for this regime that is building a nuclear weapon in doing so -- does anybody know the name of the town? qualm. qualm is a town outside of tehran that has a very important religious meeting for the people. it is the site of the jom kuram well. it was the residence of the twelfth imam. the man that lived from this

well until the end of see would go into a suspended state and return at a time of great chaos to help as long, curved and rule the world. this well which still exists, they all come to the well. they write things down and got things into the well to ask for the guidance. every speech that he gives, he talks about it, it is coming soon. they are preparing the way for him to come back. it just so happens that they are building a nuclear facility at a time when this man comes back at the time of chaos. they are building this nuclear facility. it happens to be in this very important town, dealing with the

end of * prediction. when you hear democrats and republicans saying that iran should not be allowed a nuclear weapon, there are a lot of countries that have got nuclear weapons. we don't want anybody else to get a nuclear weapon, but you don't see them doing anything diligently to stop it. you have republicans and democrats been arduous. the facility is being built. hobbies are folks that are not just going to build it to protect her. they are going to build it to shield the attacks as they attack others, or use its. this is the real threat. that is why we have to have a policy. i have laid out a plan that says iran will not have a nuclear weapon under my administration.

period. [applause] and i will use all means necessary. if they get a nuclear weapon, the world as you know it will be fundamentally changed. the events we saw on 9/11, there is a war occurence. it will be life with this theocracy, with the protection of having a nuclear weapon in his hands. i enjoy doing this, i can do it for a long time. i don't want to try your patience. let me thank everybody. if you like what you heard, you think this guy has what it takes to go toe to toe with barack obama, he has got what it

takes on national security and economic policy, the knowledge to transform the health care system that to do the things necessary to limit government. to stand for strong families and strong communities, and have an important effect in his favor -- thing in his favor. in heavily democratic state or district, i have been able to get elected. this certain candidate in is theel mostectable.-- is the most electable. when has that candidate run as a conservative and got any votes? never. is it because he raises the most money? we are doing ok right now. if people in new hampshire give us a shot, we will do a lot

better. right? [applause] media hype.e don't buy the line that he a mod to beerate -- you have to be a moderate to win the election. it's so funny. iowa, bush won iowa. but reagan won new hampshire. and it made all the difference in this country. interesting that i know what is the more conservative and new hampshire is the more liberal. bush, reagan. don't let this country down. new hampshire is going to do what america needs. i trust you to do that. thank you and god bless. [applause]

[captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] [inaudible conversations]

>> things are going well. thank you very much. i could have gone three hours

[inaudible conversations]

>> you shouldn't have to have it, but i support it. that's fine. the senate -- [inaudible]

>> was the biggest difference between you and mitt romney? >> a strong, principled conservative and when the going got tough, i did not walk away from the things that i believed. [inaudible]

>> our road to the white house coverage will bring you primaries this month. new hampshire goes to the polls followed by primaries and south carolina and florida. we will bring you the latest political coverage on c-span and on our web site. today, the 2008 republican presidential candidate senator john mccain endorsed mitt romney. the announcement came at a campaign event. ♪

>> what a welcome. my goodness. it is nice to have a win. can we do better in new hampshire? let me see if i can get a microphone going again. let's try for more than eight- vote margin. i am proud to be here with senator john mccain and a great friend. i appreciate the center being here. i will say a few things, offer

some thoughts. as you heard me last night, i was appreciative of the process that began last night. we are on track to retire a guide that is a nice guy, but over his head. it is time for barack obama to go home and time for someone who understands this economy to lead the country. [applause] i happen to think that the gap between what candida obama promised and what he delivered is so extraordinary that the american people understand that they will do the right thing and, when we have to have somebody that can get this country going in the right track. it is a long list. his failure to put in place crippling sanctions, his failure to stand up for the people that went to the streets, those

things that represent extraordinary risks in the future of our world and our own nation, it was the economy. he said he was going to borrow from your generation to pay back, and he was going to do that to hold unemployment below 8%. they're having trouble with the microphone, so i can still hear myself. people are out of work, they are underemployed. these are real people having a tough time making ends meet. a lot of folks get depressed after a long time of unemployment, and this is a national tragedy. of course government itself. it spends too much money. spending more than a trillion dollars more than we take in, either of us will be alive to

pay that back. i think it is immoral for us to spend every year that we take in. the president went out on the today show, and he said that if i can't turn this economy around in three years, i will be looking at a one-term proposition. i am here to collect. we are going to take back the white house. [applause] just a couple of thoughts about how we are going to fix the country. one is the deficit and a massive spending in washington. i had the occasion as the governor of the state next door, and they allow me to come and. i took our budget, we found that we were $3 billion short in the

first administration, the first year. let's divide all the things we have in the budget between those things we have to do and those things we like doing. i will look at all of our programs and asked, is this program so critical that it makes sense to borrow money from china to pay for it? on that basis, we will get rid of a lot of programs. [applause] and i will go to work to make america a jobs-creating machine again. i know how that is done. i know how to compete with other countries. i know why jobs come here and why they leave here. my intent will make america --

got will be to make america a the most attractive place for innovators and on to open doors. when the head of coca-cola says the business environment is better in china that in the united states of america, you know something has gone very badly awry. i will get our tax rates competitive, regulations are up today, and i will make sure that we open up new markets for american goods and crack down on cheaters like china. and we will take advantage of our oil, gas, we can't continue to rely on energy from others when we have energy from canada next door. let's get american in their -- energy secure again. this campaign is not just about dollars and cents. as important as that is, it is

not just about jobs. it is also about the heart and soul of america. the question is whether we are going to remain a nation that our founders would recognize. a nation founded on the principles of opportunity and freedom. when they drafted the declaration of independence, they said the creator had endowed us with certain inalienable rights. life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. that last phrase refers to the fact that in america, we can pursue our dreams as we choose. we are not limited by the circumstances of our birth. we are limited only by our dreaming, capacity, and willingness to work. the opportunity where education, hard work, risk- taking, and dreaming lifts individuals and our entire nation.

it has been a source of prosperity for america. let it be a gdp per person or income per person 50% higher. these american principles are not temporary, but permanent, enduring, to ensure they get the job-creating machine going again. the principles of hope and promise that we always love. i think he is inspired by the european-style social welfare states. and believe that the purpose in government is to take from some people and give the others. the methodology to pursue that strategy is to promote enfy as op -- envy as opposed to ambition. i want america to remain one nation under god. i want to bring us together and restore the principles -- i

don't want to transform america into something we don't recognize. how want to restore america. i love this country, i love its future, i am an optimist about america. and about the potential that each of you young people has about being prosperous and free. there is no model in the world had no principles in the world a more effective in creating jobs and peace and prosperity and hope and promise them the principles of the founding of the united states of america. i love this country, i love the principles upon which it was founded. i will restore them for the greatness of this great land. i am proud to introduce a friend, a person that has stood for america in far off places and here at home. senator john mccain. [applause]

>> thank you very much, mitt. thank you. thank you. thank you. thank you very much. i say thank you for that kind introduction, mitt. i say with some stocks a that i returned to this place that i love so well. that i return to this place that i love so well. we should make mitt romney the united states of america, and new hampshire is the state that will catapult him to victory. that is why i am here. [applause] i would also like to thank all of you for your involvement in

this political process. for your investigation and examination of the candidates. there are so many jokes. who are you gonna -- what do you think about him for president? i don't know, i only met him twice. that is why they are funny, they are true. some of you have not committed yet. i hope if you watch this campaign throughout the state, we will get an overwhelming vote that will catapult this candidate to the white house. can i say, thank you, governor, for all you do? i can't help but see the governor without the old joke of the two inmates in the chow line . one turned to the other and was bettere food when you were governor. [light laughter]

>> maybe the governor of illinois. >> some states, you can't tell the joke. can i say how proud i am of this rising star? this incredible united states senator -- [applause] many of you know her husband that has served in the national guard. i am glad to see you. say hi. [applause] there are some many friends that i would like to say hello to, but i would like to get right

into it if i could with you. i am a big boxing fan, and i have always loved the sport. i think it is one of the most difficult and challenging that there is. it is one of the great moments in sports, some of the great boxing matches. it has been called the sweet science or the red light district of sports. one of my favorite fighters of all time was a guy named joe lewis. he was the heavyweight champion of the world and he had a fight coming up with a guy that was light heavyweight champion of the world. he had a lot of style and elusiveness. joe said, how are you going to beat this guy? he said, he can run, but he can't hide. our message to president barack

obama, you can run, but you can't hide from your record of making this country bankrupt from destroying our national security and making this nation and one that we have to restore with mitt romney as president of the united states of america. [applause] now, all the media reports is that the president is going to attack congress, maybe that is not a bad idea. the approval rating is 9%. you are down to paid staffers adnd blood relatives. the democrats and president obama had both houses of congress, both majorities when we passed the bailout, obamacare, the stimulus package.

it was going to bring unemployment down below 8%. he can run, but he can't hide. that is what this campaign is all about. again.remidn yond you taxpayers were relieved. we passed a $991 billion appropriations bill to make the government run. do you know how long we debated that bill? 15 minutes. i identified $3.50 billion in spending just in the defense sparkepart. it can't go on like this. check and see who is the majority of the united states senate. harry reid and the democrats. along with president mitt romney, and a majority in the

united states senate, we will get things done. [applause] i know that jobs and the economy will be the dominant theme in this campaign. in arizona, people are hurting very badly. houses in my state are under water, worth less than their mortgage. i guarantee one thing, no one will ever say that mitt romney will lead from behind. he will lead from the front like what ronald reagan did. we are believed to be weak, in decline, and that is not the case. mitt romney and i and you believe that america's greatest

days are still ahead of us. it requires the kind of leadership to put us back in the position that made america the greatest and noblest experiment in the history of the world. that person is with you here today, president mitt romney. [applause] by the way, we forgot to congratulate him on his landslide victory last night. [laughter] [applause] >> ok, we are going to take some questions from you. raise your hand. >> how are you, i'm from occupy boston and new hampshire. congratulations on your victory. he said that corporations are people, but corporate profits have surged to record highs directly at the expense of wages

in a jp morgan report. it seems the u.s. is a great place to be a corporation. but increasingly a desperate place to live and work, can you refine year earlier statement where corporations are people to corporations are abusive people? would you reverse the policies of both the obama administration and his predecessors a route corporate center economic policies? record highs every year. people in this country are in permanent economic stagnation. >> what do you think corporations profit goes? >> it depends. if they retain it, they're not and distributing dividends and not using it for capital expenditures. they can hoard it.

it goes to shareholders. the 1% of americans that own 90% of the stocks. >> lets get the facts. you've had your turn, it's my turn. to're right, it goes dividends. they are not only the 1%. it goes to the people that have pensions. are you in the 1%? no? they are the dividends that come out from corporations. they can go in to retained earnings that can use for capital expenditures are growing the business are hiring people or working capital. when a business has profit, it can do good things. it can grow the enterprise. the only way you can hire people is if it grows the enterprise.

corporations are made up of people in the buildings that people were can. the buildings don't pay taxes. the only entities that pay taxes are people. corporations are collections of people that are trying to have good jobs for themselves and promote the future. corporations are made up of people have the money goes to people. somehow thinking that there is something else out there that we can just grab money from and get taxes from doesn't involve people, and they are still people. i want to make america a place where those corporations decide to invest here. i was with a guy that runs a big chemical company and they announced a factories in saudi arabia. we wanted to build that in pennsylvania, but the regulators in this country are not willing to allow us to get a hold of the natural gas.

tens of thousands of jobs lost not by the corporations, but by government not doing its job. i want to be the place where corporations and people want to invest, grow, their businesses. trying to make them better, that is how we get jobs. the only places that we can get jobs as with government. if we see nations that have tried that and it hasn't worked out. the only system that has worked to lift people out of poverty is free enterprise. look at cuba, north korea, the soviet union, they are bankrupt. look at china, all these years under communism and socialism. poverty, impoverished, they adopt some form of free enterprise like we have, allowing corporations to exist and guess what happens? tens of millions of people a year come out of poverty.

if you can come up with one that is better, brought forward by john adams at george washington and thomas jefferson, i am all ears. until then, i am in favor of the one presented by the founders of this country. [applause] we will give you a microphone. >> in 2006, mandates are to ensure responsiblility. passing the cost of health care to everyone else. why did you want to hold people that can afford health insurance accountable in massachusetts? >> i'm not sure about the last part, but the increasing cost, what is that?

>> it refers to health care. excuse me. hello. on the issues, healthcare. >> i know the topic, but i don't understand the last part. i don't think anyone is in favor of rising health-care costs. i think it is probably the most important issue we face in this country today, how to get costs down and keep the quality of. -- up. i'm an old business guide, numbers are something not familiar with -- i am familiar with and kind of like. 18%, the next highest nation in the world spends about 12%. that is six points of difference in spent on health care. and you know how big your

department of defense budget is? 3.8%. even less than the next highest country. we have got to find a way to get the health care costs competitive. one is to have the government put in place a price control. and have what some have called rationing. that is one way to hold it down. i believe that letting consumers act more like for buyers is a better approach. i would let states experiment with that idea. i, as one person, am going to come in and impose on the whole nation, my plan for health care. the right course is to let the constitution do what it was intended to do. the constitution said that those powers not specifically granted to the federal government are reserved by the states and the people.

i crafted what i thought that was good for our state, not perfect, by the way. i would not impose that on the nation, but those states can craft what is best for them. what works in massachusetts won't work in mississippi or texas. we had a% uninsured. texas has 25% of insured. -- uninsured. >> the only thing i would add to that is that with p presidentromney -- president romney, we would put in place a repeat o all ofbama -- a repeal of obamacare. if we save health care, obama care must be repealed and replaced. it will be replaced with medical malpractice reform. giving people a larger

responsibility for their own health care at a larger choice for what they choose for themselves and their families. that is how we get down the cost of health care and make it available and affordable to all americans. obama care is going to bankrupt this nation. >> hugh you have a question for the center? -- do you have a question for the senator? senator, you>> we must never fir conventional war against an unconventional and a maid. -- unconventional enemy. you agree? shouldn't we be building a state of the arts refinery rather than shipping 30 oil to houston

where it will only be shipped to some other place in the world? thank you. >> mike is here with us today. they lost their son in iraq. thank you for being here. [applause] everybody involved in the one organization, thank you for all you do. the town hall meeting in 2006, matthew's mother -- matthew was killed. he asked me to wear his bracelets, and i have been

wearing it ever since. now i am very pleased they have named a bridge after him. that is one way to recognize his sacrifice. every time of war has been over we have made predictions about the next conflict. after world war ii we were never going to have another conflict on the ground. all of a sudden, we found ourselves embroiled in korea. i think the chinese are a great challenge. many of the things they are doing is not in keeping with the maturity of a world power. there will be tensions in the region, and whether those lead to conflict or not, i do not believe so, but we have to be prepared. i would point out i don't think this issue of radical islamic extremism is going to go away in our lifetime.

i think we will always be contacting people who want to destroy everything we stand for and believe in. i think we have made progress, but i think we are a long way from winning this conflict, up because of long as there are places in the world for these kinds of ideologies are embraced and practice, you are going to have people who want to attack and destroy a america, so i am very worried about our cut some in spending, and i am worried about the impact of encouraging our adversaries, but i am also worried about american leadership. the world expects us to leave. in the arab spring there was not a single sign of the burning of the american flag. there was a commitment that they could be like us, democracy,

freedom, human rights, individual rights, so i believe there are tectonics' changes taking place in the world, and the arab spring is not just in the arab world. i believe vladimir putin is being touched by it. vlad and i have been exchanging thoughts, in case you missed it, but i really believe a lot of changes are taking place, and this universal yearning of freedom and god-given rights is going to cause changes around the world but we cannot predict. all of these dictators are not now in power. get a couple months ago nobody believed there would be massive demonstrations in moscow, so we had to be prepared, and i am sorry for the long answer. >> i want to add something to

the same topic before i answer your question. i believe in having extraordinarily substantial and superior military might. i believe in having an -- right now we have 280 ships, and the navy said we needed at least 313 to meet our missions around the world. i want to raise it to 15 ships around the world. we have fewer ships in the navy then we have ever had. i want to make sure we have 11 aircraft carrier task forces, not just because we need to win wars, but we need to prevent wars. ronald reagan used to say four wars began in his lifetime and not one of them was because

america is too strong. in the defense department i am going to use those savings to make sure we rebuild our armaments and also to make sure we can care for the veterans. good whole lot of them are coming home mentally and physically damage, and i would like to add to our troops. i will not shrink our military. with regards to where we put our refineries and how they work, if we have of risk of our hurricane-type crisis but would put america's economy at risk, and we are going to have to find ways to solve that by having the backup systems elsewhere. if that is the case, we are going to have to make the investment to put those backup facilities in place, but i can also tell you it is massively

expensive in some places. there is not only the cost of getting the will to the facility but the cost of transporting that into the marketplace -- getting the oil to the facility but also the cost of transporting it to the marketplace. if you have ushered in -- have a shirt on, it shocked me to know what the cost of manufacture was compared with a cost of getting it into your home, and distribution is a huge cost in our society, so as we change places for our refineries, we change our distribution, but is it puts us at risk, i will take care to make sure we provide for the american people in some of the end of the weather catastrophe.

-- in an event of whether catastrophe. >> i am chinese, and i am american, and i love this country. i heard all this degrading stuff about china, and it does not make me feel good. i love my country. i have three children. i work, i pay my taxes, and i vote. i have a question for you. to continue with the young man's question, it sounds like an big corporations have standard tax cuts to. new you know how many jobs they created after the tax cuts -- do you know how many jobs they created after the tax cuts, after 20 years of economic trickle-down theory, it did not help me. my tin can is still empty

empty. >> can you tell me where it is better to live than america of? can you tell me anywhere in the world where the income is better than america wrote? >> i love this country. good >> so do i. >> [inaudible] >> she said she loves this country and do not put any asians down. i hope i did not put any asians down. i welcome people from all over the world. we are a nation of immigrants, and i welcome people who come here from other lands. i love legal immigration, and if i am president, and we will have more of it. the income per person in america is 50% greater than europe, and

if you look around the world and other societies, why their income per person is far less than ours, so hours may be far less than perfect, but it is a lot better than anything else the world has seen, so i think we should find ways to improve the system and we have than to find something better, because i think the principles on which this nation was founded are the principles that have the best prospect of putting all of our citizens with greater prosperity and greater peace. >> i admire china across economic success. it is literally a mere cog, and the fact they have become a world power, but i have to tell you when you take people using the internet and throw them in jail, when you imprison nobel prize winners, when you take away the ability to elect their

own leadership, when you carry out a totalitarian form of government, i cannot and mire that, and i expect progress on the part of the chinese towards democracy. [applause] >> now that the troops are out of iraq, and do you plan to form a military alliance with iraq to avoid further conflict in the area? >> i will let you start with that one. >> i will be as brief as possible. we started the conflict in iraq because we believed saddam hussein had weapons of mass destruction. history will show whether that was the right thing to do or not, but at the time there was a belief at saddam hussein have weapons of mass destruction, and he was removed. and the conflict was ms. handled badly, and casualties started to

mouth every day and was handled badly, and casualty started to mount. -- the conflict was handled badly and casualty started to mount. we succeeded in a surgeon and basically bringing under control. -- and we succeeded in the urge and basically it under control. this president said he was going to get out of iraq. he fulfilled his campaign promise, and of course things are a serious situation in iraq as most of us predicted if we left her without leaving behind a residual force. iraq is unraveling, and the tragedy is it did not have to unravel, and 4474 brave young

americans gave their lives. >> thank you, senator. those of you who followed my comments about iraq know that i was very critical of the president's failure to establish an agreement that would have allowed our forces to remain behind to transition to the iraqi military. the secretary of defense said we would put something of that nature in place to keep troops in place, and the president failed to exert his own leadership to do so, and the consequence of that is unknown at this stage, but the danger to the success of our mission and the sacrifice made there is great. by virtue of your president following some agenda hard to understand in a setting like this. it is hard to understand, the

deficit, the economy. there is no question there is going to be every effort on the part of the president to distract the american people from the president's record, and we are going to have to be bringing it back day in and day out. he is going to attack on every basis he can find, but he will not want to talk about his record, and i believe we can bring it home, and we will allow him to return to the private sector, which i think he will enjoy enormously. [applause] he is going to take your microphone. he is going to run away from it. >> i am a student, and one of my main concerns are the paths that unemployment is taking right now, so i am wondering if you were elected president what would be your plan to a limit the amount of welfare and unemployment a tendency our

nation is trapped in? >> i would like to see an unemployment system where people had an unemployment account, where they are putting money into and on insurance -- and unemployed insurance account and they could take that money out. they could use it for job training or unemployment benefits, and that would give them incentives to move back into the workforce. i liked the idea that people receiving welfare assistance have the option of working. we made great progress, but when i was governor, a 80% of the people on welfare assistance in my state had no work requirement, and i wanted to increase the work requirement. i said even if you have a child two years of age you have to go to work. people said that is heartless. i am willing to spend more

giving take care to allow those parents to go back to work. it will cost the states more, but i want those individuals to have the dignity of work and get people back in the workforce. [applause] i will mention one more thing that is raised by your question, and that is in this country, let's say you are as young woman. you become pregnant. if you marry the father, the benefits you are entitled to will go down substantially. your qualifications for medicaid is not likely to be there because they will combine your income in calculating eligibility, so we encourage people not to get married. sense to me. i want to encourage people to get married because i think the ideal system is aware of mom and dad are able to devote

themselves to caring for the child. [applause] front row. we decided to save a little money on microphones here. >> my name is roxy. my mom is here from tucson, ariz., visiting. our question is we are very concerned about and border control. i grew up in tucson, and i know giffords is very passionate about the border control. senator mccain, we would love a personal response from you, and we would love to see you on the ticket with mitt romney. will you be on his ticket? >> thank you, and the temperature in tucson is 75 degrees today. >> we will check back in the summer and see how it is. >> our borders are not secure.

they are more secure than they were some time ago. we need to do a better job to get our borders more secure. the issue is not just people who come across our border illegally. this issue is that we now have a problem with drug smuggling, which is a threat to the existence of the government of mexico, atrocities and murders being committed in such an outrageous and incredible scale that it defies the imagination. children and women all fall victims to these ruthless people, drug dealers, and they are smuggling those drugs through mexico, arizona, through phoenix, where it is distributed throughout the country. there is another problem. there are people called coyotes. if you pay them enough money,

they will bring you across the border, and many times you will get to the united states. many times you are left to die in the desert. many times they are left and held for ransom and mistreated in the most unspeakable fashion. drug cartels are a threat to the government of mexico, so we need to have a more secure border. we need to look at all whole issue of immigration reform, but we also have to look at the human side of what it does to human beings, and we need to have a conversation nationally about why we are creating a demand for these drugs. it is the united states of america that is creating demand, and we need to figure out what is the best way to handle that aspect of this issue as well. i would like to say mitt and i have had a number of

conversations on this issue. we cannot let mexico collapse under these drug cartels. they have an election coming up, and mexican citizens are tired of the affect of what it does to their country as it passes through, and a lot of its stops in mexico, so we need to have a conversation and try to come up with a solution to this problem, but we also have an obligation to have a secure border. that is the first obligation of every nation. i believe we can achieve that. i believe we have made significant progress, but we welcome immigrants into our country illegally. all of of our immigrants. the reason and -- we welcome immigrants into our country, legally. all of of our immigrants. that has made this nation the greatest nation on earth, but we

are going to have to address this issue. >> i am told your time is up and my time is up, so we are going to get a chance to shake a few hands and say hi to some friends. if you have some more questions, come on down. i want to say thank you. it has been great to be with you. we appreciate your generosity. let's go get the white house and back. ♪ >> ♪ i was born free ♪ i was born free ♪ a river and rages strong ♪ ♪ deep, like the grandest

canyon, wild like an uncaged stallion ♪ you can knock me down and but you can keepeed, no chains on me ♪ ♪ i was born free ree ♪ ♪born for long i'm not good at goodbyes, but look down deep into my ieyes ♪ ♪ i was born free >> coming up, jon huntsman makes a campaign stop in new hampshire.

michele bachmann dropped out of the presidential race, and later, tonight's news has from , wmur.ter's tv station >> tomorrow, the latest from the presidential race in new hampshire with kevin landrigan, charles bass, also the result of younger voters. " washington journal begins live at 7:00 a.m. eastern on c-span. >> this month it is facebook first. go to our facebook page with facebook only exclusive, behind- the-scenes coverage, plus the road to the white house video clip of the day, and your comments and both of our poll

question. today's question, will the campaign heading up to the new primary be positive or negative? >> this is an hour 20 minutes. >> hello, everyone, how are you? we are doing the first year today in the campaign, new hampshire where we strongly encourage employees to get involved with the political process. what better place to do it than the first in the nation primary

state? we have the opportunity to meet with candidates, we are so very pleased to have him come to our home, our place of business, and spend some time with us today. we have with us today governor jon huntsman. he was so very understanding, he was supposed to be here in october. remember when we were restoring power to 230,000 customers? it was pretty well out in the field, we wanted to be able to meet ablehim then. we are happy to be able to be with him now. but you know that at one point i lived in utah for a couple of years. unheard what i was there, it was before the governor went down

there. jon huntsman was there from 2005-2009. he went on to be ambassador from china. he also serves as an executive of the family business, the huntsman corporation. he also went on to be ambassador of singapore and to serve as secretary of commerce. quite an impressive resonate in the history of good, civil service. and last year, he decided he was going to run for president of the indicted states. when he is not working, he enjoys riding his harley and.

we know about the big motorcycle event in june, he is welcome to try it out then. he is an avid motocross racers. he is a graduate of the university of pennsylvania. his wife is here with us, i want to and knowledge mary kay. they have seven children. three daughters, two sons that serve to the u.s. navy, and adopted daughters from china and india. we are pleased to have the governor to share his thoughts and views in division of our country. governor, please join us. [applause] >> thank you. thank you, gary. ladies and gentlemen, is a great honor to be here with all of you today. the new hampshire primary, give

me a break. i am the guy from out west that never thought i would be doing this. involved in the new hampshire primary is an extraordinary experience. last night, i walked out to a town hall meeting that was packed with more people that i ever thought we would see. we started his journey with some beliefs had ideas in the deep love for this country. a few people come at a house party 85 yourself with a town hall meeting as you did last night. the system works. you've got a message, you are able to connect with people, people turn out. now we will leave it to voters to do the rest. the day before i was in dover, i wasn't greeted by a former cabinet official as i was last life. -- night. i was greeted by a goat. a goat with huntsman stickers on it.

a goat that previously bit my knee. i got a christmas card that said "sorry about the knee." and new hampshire politics. ladies and gentlemen, i am running for the united states -- for the president of the united states of america. we are about the greatest nation that ever was, the next- generation. more divided, more settled with -- saddled with debt, less productive than any time in recent history. what have we done? how did we get here? we exported $3 for every $2

that we imported. science, technology, the highest standard of living in the world. i come from a manufacturing background and i appreciate that. it is a paltry 9%. what have we done. i am twice elected governor and lived overseas for times. have i experienced every human emotion imaginable? i am not the kind of person to engage in nonsense and rhetoric, but i believe this country needs to begin a journey to get us out of the hole that we are in. in the end, we are a bunch of

blue sky problem-solving how optimistic people. this is not who we are, finding ourselves in a hole with a cloud of malaise hanging over us. i don't care of your republican, an independent, a democrat. this is until we are. how we deserve better. -- this isn't who we are. we deserve better. i want to tackle too incredible issues for the country. i think it will get us to where we need be and we need to begin the journey immediately. the issues are simply this: they're both deficits. the first as a financial deficit.

$15 trillion in debt. what are we doing to the next generation of americans? this isn't a debt problem, this is a national security problem, ladies and gentlemen. when you get to 80% debt to gdp, your economy doesn't grow. i say we have to fix that part. i have embraced a credible spending program that takes up over $6 trillion over six years. we can't afford the luxury of sacred cows. of these discussions that say you can't cut medicare or the department of defense. we are well beyond those days, ladies and gentlemen. we have to have everything on the table and take a very hard-

hitting and open-minded luck. we have got to get our spending down to a more sustainable 19%. i want to do for this country when i was able to do, in part, by mistake. we took the state to number one in job creation in this country. we took it to where it was the best place to the nation for business. we reformed education, we took a good shot at health care reform. we got it back in the game. how to get this country back in the game, and i believe we are on the cusp of the manufacturing revolution and we might not even know it.

i come from manufacturing, and i looked for two years over in china. try that is going down in terms of its economic performance. it is going from a 8% or 9% gdp running down to maybe 4%, 5%, 6%. labor is on the rise, manufacturing is out, and so is unemployment. investment the fight itself and to the chinese marketplace is hooked into alternative. this country would be crazy if we did not recognize what is about to play out in the international marketplace and moreover, and do what needs to be done fixing our taxes, creating a more hospitable regulatory environment and moving toward greater energy independence. there is an opening here in

terms of an international economy that is a very important opportunity for this country and i want to take advantage of it. the best way to put people back to work, to close the gap that is so painful because of the lack of jobs and opportunity, we have to expand the economic base. we have to manufacture once again. i want to fix the nation's tax code like the was able to fix the tax code in the state of utah. the best tax policy in the entire united states, a little bit of leadership and we can nail this economic deficit. we of got to be smart about how we fire the engines of this country. i am not about to leave the legacy of the $15 trillion for the next generation. the deficit number two is not economic. i and believe that it is equally corrosive for the people of this country.

the trust deficit. we as people no longer have trusted our institutions of power. when no longer trust our elected officials. how pathetic is this? a nation founded on trust, a free society founded on trust and we are running on empty. congress, 8% approval rating? where these people hiding? congress needs term limits. [applause] we haven't had a president who has been willing to take up this issue and to lead the charge around the country as i want to do. in harnessing what i believe to be the public will, taking us toward term limits. no one does anything about it.

i want to lead the charge. i have seen that the institution called incumbency. it reaches up and grabs people, it grows very deep roots, and people find themselves part of the established order. we wonder why this trust, and this crony capitalism, i will also close the revolving door that allows congress to become lobbyists. a look at the executive branch. no trust. a president of the criticized crony capitalism only to find himself participating in the same practice with selendra. a president that had a wonderful had bipartisan spending plan fall right on his death and he throws in the

garbage can. no leadership when this nation so desperately needs it. a look at our tax code. no trust. if you could afford a lobbyist, we will do just fine. it is full of loopholes and deductions. you could imagine the kind of dragging his on the economy's performance. no oversight, and just performance that affect about 7% of the population. i put forward a tax reform proposal that has been endorsed by the wall street journal. the only candidate to have his tax program endorsed by the wall street journal calls for the complete elimination of

loopholes and deductions. because we can't afford them anymore. they distort the system and on the corporate side, they lead to nothing more than crony capitalism. i want to bring trust back to our tax code. public at our wars abroad and i said, no trust. i want to stand up and tell the people of the country what we have been able to achieve because it is real, and significant. we've run the taliban from power, same to al qaeda. we've removed osama bin laden, and we've paid a high price as people. at this point, i want our troops home. if it is time for us to come home from afghanistan. i want to recognize that we don't need the nation building

when this nation so desperately needs to be built. if it is weak, we project our values of human rights and open markets. that is the role the united states typically plays. nationt 100,000 troops building, it is counter terrorism. and how to stand up and tell the american people this. -- i want to stand up and tell

the american people this. afghanistan is not this nation's future. iraq is not this nation's future. our future is how prepared we are as people to rise up and hit head-on, the competitive challenges of the twenty first century. the economics in education. that will play out in countries i have lived in before. all i am here to tell you without a hint of hyperbole, unless we get our act together, rebuilding our core, we will see the end of the american century by 2050. that is not the legacy i am about to leave for the next generation. i look at wall street and i say, no trust. banks that are to been to fail. so we can fix our taxes and improve the regulatory

environment. we can launch a manufacturing renaissance. if we are left with damocles hanging over our heads, banks that are too big to fail. six banks that have assets equal in value to 2/3 of our nation's gdp. if they go down, we all go down. they will get a bailout if they get sick, and that is not fair. we are not going to do it again. until such time as we have a president, if you are too big to fail, you are too big. capitalism without failure isn't capitalism. we're building a bunch of banks that look like public utilities and this isn't serving our purposes going forward.

it makes it near impossible for small businesses today to get a loan because of capital coverage requirements. i went to a place called lindey's diner. all of the presence of been there. and you were the first candidate this go around to walk again. i like our chances. i went to the counter and i sat next to a middle-aged man, struck up a conversation. good man. ask him what he did. he said, i restore old motorcycles. i said, i have your vote already, i have a 40-year motorcycle rider. you also love guns in this state. with a name like huntsman, give me a break.

i struck up a conversation. i repair old motorcycles. i would like to expandit, but i can't. i have no debt, but i can't get a loan because of the coverage requirements. if i could -- what are you doing about health care? he said, i can't afford it. i haven't seen a doctor in 18 years. it is a good thing i have good genes. welcome to the state of small business in america. it is a tough go for people. and we need a president that will be brave enough to do what needs to be done.

friends, you have a choice. the establish tee u willp mitt romney. -- will tee up mitt romney. mitt's a decent guy. i respect him. this nation can't afford a status quo president. you get 47 to 50 members of congress supporting you, will you be able to do what needs to be done closing the revolving door and tackling trust? no way, no how. if you were the largest recipient of money from wall street, you will be able to take banks? -- take on the banks? no way, no how. in this country needs change, it needs a bold leadership. it needs a president that says, i don't care if i get reelected. it is on behalf of the next generation that we will make them.

we have an economic problem called the deficit that is like a cancer eating us alive. we have a trust deficit that is equally corrosive. that is the kind of leadership we need. i am an optimist at the end of the day. i wouldn't be standing before you if i want an optimist at heart. you look at america from china, you walk the streets to beijing and shanghai, economic growth for 30 years and they think their time has arrived. reflect on the greatest nation that ever was home and all i can tell you is, we are in a funk. we are a little dispirited. which is not who we are ready

-- as people. we are optimistic problem solvers, and it will take leadership and it will take leadership with a plan. it is also going to take reminding ourselves that this nation has everything a nation would want to survive and received. that is the other thing you see from 10,000 miles away. this nation has its fall. the confidence and no leadership. we have stability, rule of law, the longest surviving constitution and the world. we have private property rights even here in new hampshire. we have the greatest colleges and universities in the world. peoplefl stillock here -- people still flock here to attend them. we have the most creative people on earth sitting on their hands because they have no faith, no confidence in the

future of this country. we need to re-fire it. we have courageous armed forces. we don't want people coming from the frontlines of combat to the unemployment line. it will be dignity, gratitude, and respect. we have another greatest generation coming up, they are in your families and in line. they are the friends and neighbors where you can build the country like the greatest generation did. i can feel it coming already. ladies and gentlemen, i want your vote. i would shamelesslyask for it. -- shamelessly ask for it.

i can do that, right? if you don't ask, you will never get it. vo to ate, your i have -- but to get your vote, i have to earn it. if you don't like me, i hope that is not the case, your my wife. if you don't like her, you are just crazy. but we have seven kids that can divide and conquer very easily. i want your vote, i need help and support. in this is the new hampshire primary. this is the window through which the rest of the country can analyze and understand how those running for highest office in the land. give me a break, it is a big deal. you don't get to go out and change the course of the

nation's history by a vote. look at iowa. eight votes, it's real. take your vote and invest it wisely. i am asked vo forte and you -- for your vote and your trust. i am asking for the most valuable thing a human being can get another. i don't know -- for those of you that have never run for president of the united states before, could get up and ask someone for a vote is a big deal. when the meat folks that say, we have watched, look, and learn. i will vote for you. that is a gratifying moment. we are seeing more and more of

that in the state. because i'm an underdog. the state gloves underdogs. what happened here? the people of new hampshire has sent us another signal that we can predict. i ask for your help, support, and i am very grateful for the time we have been able to spend your together. -- here together. [applause] their questions that i would like to get through quickly, and there is a special gas call up. secretary, former governor, former congressman, a hero of mine, tom ridge, the former governor of pennsylvania. [applause]

always a good guy. it is the thrill of a lifetime to have somebody of his stature believe in your cause and introduce you. we will do a couple of questions and i want to turn a few moments over to tom ridge. yes, sir. >> [inaudible] >> you know, mary kay and i have embarked on one of the most comprehensive clinical trials in this particular area. we have raised seven kids. we have done public, we have done private, one of my daughters was home school. we have done international

schools. i walk away from that experience, and i try to implement some of them as governor. i walk away with the idea -- the first ischool in new england, i delivered ipads to every child in that school. these kids are now wired and outfitted in the most high-tech classroom in the world. their approach to learning has been transformed. it is a revolutionary concept. it is part of the charter school movement. with a different attitude, temperament, and approach to learning. the one-size-fits-all program is not ok. we need options and choices for

kids because the learning styles are many. i am a believer in the ideas, most of these kids have a genius inside. we don't find that genius until it is too late in life, it is our job to find it as early as possible. that will mean more charter schools, options and choices for parents, have engineering and science programs. also more art and music programs.

kids have different learning styles and we have expanded options pretty aggressively. education policy is best to prevent at the local level. as governor, i try to discover the value added of the department of education. i don't throw a brom politicalide -- out political bromides just to throw them out. no child left behind, i was the first governor to talk out of it. -- opt out of it. it designated our schools is not living up to adequate yearly progress based on someone else's criteria of a good school. tot doesn't make any sense me. those until a local level, -- at the local level, they don't want the schools to fail, they just want the tools to get it done. i have found to be the most powerful programatic priority

is early childhood development. we did this in our state with experimental programs. the goal was to nail the pillars of literacy by six or seven. but ages six or seven, nail they canliteracy and -- if they can nail literacy and math, they will go on to their academic careers and do pretty good. if you can't catch them by age is six or seven, then you will pay a price. they will fall through the cracks, you will have a less productive work force. it is not always about

resources, it is about priorities. regardless of the neighborhood you come from, regardless of your socioeconomic background, early childhood development is powerful. it is something that all of the schools ought to be focused on. i think our teachers are pretty special people in this country. a grandfather was a true rabble-rouser. he was an educator. i say, when you connect kids with a good teacher, you have the best technology at the world, every kid in the classroom, you combine it with an effective teacher, it is an unbeatable combination. i would like to use the bully pulpit of the presidency to

encourage the top graduates, the top 1/3 to pursue teaching as a career choice. we need the best and the brightest in education. we need them the molding in shaping the minds of tomorrow because there is no substitute for that. hot and data can say something. -- mom and dad can say something. it is a magical connection, but it is real. i want to make sure that we have the best teachers that we can encourage to go to the profession. of little bit above primary education, we need to do a much better job in this country, but i think we have hollowed out the last generation or two. if we are going to make this

manufacturing -- we need training to match up to those needs. bal herbl b about ae -- i heard about a ball bearings plan. i had been to two or three different shops in the last few days, they are looking for workers. they can't find people letter of -- that are trained. we need jobs go vocational acquisition development. you allied these kids are trained -- they walked out of the program, they have a job. we can operate on a flow of well trained and dedicated workers. part in the rambling, but i have a lot of thoughts.

-- pardon the rambling, but i have a lot of thoughts. our long term reality is, in fact, how prepared linares people. we have an economy that works, and classrooms that are producing literate people. i have every reason to think that we can get there. thank you. another question, comment? >> governor.

we are importing a lot of foreign oil, exporting dollars overseas. talk about your policy to reverse that trend and how we can be more self sustaining with energy in the country to support our economy. >> well, i want to start by leading a converstion in this nation that points out how ridiculous it is to maintain this heroin-like addiction. we are losing huge opportunity here when we can -- we wake up

to the reality, we have more gas than saudi arabia. we need to convert more transportation and power generation. we are not looking back, we are looking forward. there has been no clarity. i like the natural gas part of the pickens plan. i talked to pickenses several times about energy. i said, you could talk about the multiplicity of products, that is all reality. i think it is very real. i think the sun and the wind will play a role. i think inevitably that is where

science and technology takes us. if we are quick to do it in and on a subsidized fashion, it crashes and burns. we have to build a bridge from our today to the inevitable tomorrow. i say let's begin building the bridge with the products we have. when elected president, i am not one that is quick to promise the moon. here is the one step will take because i lived this reality. i never thought i would drive a natural gas car. he said i would love to take that black suburban of yours and converted to natural gas. i said i had no idea you could even do that. the light -- the right limiting

feature. i wanted to our public utilities and said, you can either be ahead of this debate or you can be behind. i need some help in building some infrastructure so we can designate a natural corridor and get the marketplace moving. he responded to that and they were right on it. the one thing i want to do as president, i want to break up this one product distribution monopoly. i say that is not right. to all the other products we want to begin drawing from, i think it could be the most powerful contribution toward energy independence against anything. if we are going to take steps toward that goal a reality, we have to have the infrastructure to do it.

boards are worth it unless we can talk about the infrastructure i want to do what we did to broadcast communications back in the early 1970's. we went from three stations to a multiplicity of stations. it will take the senate judiciary committee. let's start the journey. let's get a president that can advocate in favor of making that important step without which is a whole lot of talk and we can have the infrastructure in place to get something done. i think that would be the most important contribution we could make. i want to get behind it. ladies and gentlemen, it is a great pleasure to call up to this stand governor, secretary, congressman tom ridge. [applause] >> thank you.

i always wanted to be introduced by the president of the united states. it is a great pleasure to join me today. i am not presumptuous to think that anything i say about my support for gov. huntsman will change her mind. hopefully it is already made up. hopefully you and your family will vote for him. but in the potential reality that you're still somewhat undecided, let me add my thinking to yours. you will see all kinds of celebrities running around. the only person i know politically in my life, i've run for office eight times, i'm 8-0. i'll retire undefeated.

my father. my dad worked two jobs as a salesman, he did it with a certain amount of respect and dignity. i don't have any coattails, but i have some thoughts. we need principled leadership. we want to trust that they will do everything they possibly can to do everything they promised when they sought for your support. a vote is a trust. the governor has talked very beautiful and tw abouto the -- beautifully about the two deficits.

this country needs a principled leader we can trust. i started being governor- centric. every day was a good day to be gov. we have a couple governors in the race. what governor is the most consistent conservative. what governor has had no

epiphanies? what governor says to you, today, that he said to his utah constituents and the american public, i want a consistent conservative, someone we can trust. i want the governor that has the most accomplished record -- the most progressive states in terms of job growth. take a look at that record, it was about tax reform and regulatory form. you drive those innovators and entrepreneurs. the nisei, which of the governor's had the best economic plan? we have a modern governor, a principal governor, a governor that made record. what about foreign policy experience?

this century is unlike anything before. we have to engage in a thoughtful and a smart way around the rest of the world. here, we have not only the most accomplished in the season candidate -- and seasoned candidate. others are lacking in a certain important area. the white house is not a place for ojt. it is not a place for on-the- job training when it comes to

foreign policy. i have a lot of good relationships with my friends on the other side of the aisle. i really appreciate governor huntsman's civility and the thoughtfulness of his answers. there's no soundbite. you have to try to figure out a way to get -- you decide for the rest. my democratic friends, they have said to me, the candidate on your side of the aisle that we think is the most electable, president obama is a formidable candidate because he is an incumbent president.

he is a formidable fundraiser. we need somebody that is electable. the most electable candidate of them all, uns if youea want tot -- if you want to unseat the president of the united states, is governor huntsman. he was running in the face of the hope and change presidential nominee on the other side. i have adopted that. i hope you're part of that change. one of the reasons that the governor decided to focus on new hampshire, it is the first primary.

i say this with enormous respect, i know most of the candidates of the republican side of the aisle. i looked at the iowa results. if you have 25% voting, and 25% of that 25%, you've excited about 6% of registered republicans in iowa. it's not mandate for much. its not a coronation. what you say to the pundits and analysts, this is the first primary state. we are decision makers and game changers. i am quite confident that as of next tuesday night, there is one more fiscally conservative, principled leader you can trust in the race is governor jon huntsman. happy new year to you all.

i appreciate the regulatory agency that oversaw a bunch of the utility companies, the legislators, i love your energy. the governor talked about that a long time. we are not an oil-rich company, we are an energy rich country. we should not be competing with one another, we should figure out how we can use it all. thank you, ladies and gentlemen. [applause] >> thank you, governor. it is helpful to have you with us, and thank you for serving as the home less security during a-- homeland security secretary during a challenging time. [applause]

governor, i would like to present you with a token of our appreciation. this is a vest for you to wear with boots as you get around. we thank you so much for your time, your comments, for sharing your thoughts with us, we wish you well, and we enjoyed our time with you. the governor will be available if you would like to talk with the governor. you can learn some more about him. thank you for joining us today. [applause] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2011]

>> well, from my point of view we do not need another war where we do not know we are accomplishing. >> if we are, to use hard national security, are elements of power, we need to make sure it is in our national security. we are not spread so thin we cannot do it right. >> there was were going into iraq. afterwards, you look back. afghanistan things were supposed to be going so well. then it is like, what are we there? we are spending tens of money. now we are going to go into another place? >> we want to make sure that are

absolutely consistent with our national security. >> i want to make sure you are doing something. >> we want to make sure it is worthwhile. >> it is a pleasure to see. i help you take a look at our positions and find something you like. >> that we should the very best. >> i in very happy i came to listen to you. you have my vote. >> thank you. >> i like that on the spot decisionmaking. thank you. >> it is a pleasure. >> before you can persuade people in policy, how do you to get past the tactical threshold? how do you get people like me to

pay attention to the people in the state. mitt romney had a much bigger crowd. >> were you here last night? >> i was not. >> it did not think you can get much bigger crowds than that. have begun to the zeroth to third place? as we picked up momentum, people began to pay attention. people are listening to the message. as far as i can tell, they are signing on. that is a pretty good display of the work -- a pretty good this year -- a return that we paid to the state. what you were saying about manufacturing overlaps what rick santorum was saying. the you think that is an omission from the rhetorical emphasis that the campaign has had so far of the entire field? what i did as governor he would

not find it at the person in the race who did something as governor who took the state to #one. sanders did not -- did not do that. i did that in my state. i have lived in manufacturing power houses and i can identify the opportunity this nation has going for to win back its lost manufacturing. you have to have the right positions in place to do that. you cannot pick winners but you can create a more hospitable environment. i created a flat tax for people. i hear people to win -- talking about that. i did that. it brought the economy to life in places where ought to put the words became more active. our college graduates stayed in the state as opposed to leaving opportunities. you have to start with the structure will pair year.

i would say our tax code -- the antiquated nature of our tax code, that would be step #1 along with dealing with regulatory issues that need to be fixed. health-care costs, dodd frank that makes it near impossible for people to get a loan. thank you. pleasure to see you. >> i went to your u of h speech. i wanted to get a chance to meet. >> it is a great honor. glad he have had a chance to be here. i hope you like what you see. >> i hope to hear a lot more from you. appreciate it.

>> take care. thank you all for being here. >> i do not remember the town. she was teacher of the year last you. it is a big deal. >> it is a big deal. >> might be it was our county, i am not sure. >> that is a big deal. >> good luck. >> to work for the time you have given us. i hope after hearing what you have heard, you can take a look at our record and you can cast a vote. if you like what you see you will be in support of us. we would be forever grateful. it is a real honor. >> thank you. >> hal r. e. doing?

-- how are you doing? >> i do have a question for you. as far as bringing manufacturing but to the united states, what are some of the plans that you have? i you planning on taxing some of these big companies that shifted work overseas? >> i want a tax code. sometimes companies are encouraged to have bad behavior. i want to fly in the rate. i want to simplify and pay for it based upon the revenues that you would raise from phasing out loopholes and deductions. same thing i did too hard at tax code and our state. i know that it is to wobble. it would be the first step as a signal to the marketplace. if you can couple that with a

president that can use the bully pulpit to sit down with see those and others to say it is time to rebuild, it is time to get back to work doing job training, i want you to invest are here. we will do our best to improve our best climate to work for greater energy independence and improve the regulatory environment. i do not think he would have see those who say, i do not think so. they want to believe in this country. we just have not had that clarity from the bully pulpit of the white house. >> we need to bring it back. we need to get the united states back at their feet. >> we need to do it together and say, this division staff, we

have had enough of that so far. everyone has their on alleyway. we have to pull together as americans. we will never resolve these issues. we might disagree on the journey, but we can all agree on the idea of what we are giving to the next generation is bad debt. i think every american can agree to that. >> good luck. >> it is a pleasure to see. >> thank you for being here. >> how are you doing? >> how old are you? >> 17. what's argue a senior in high school? >> yes. >> all the issues we are talking about, they are all about your generation when you become of

voting age and participate more actively, we say we have to do everything we can for our generation to make sure this is a were the exchange. are now it is not. >> thank you. >> if you miss any of the presidential campaign, it is available on our web site c- span.org/campaign2012. read what candidates, reporters, and other viewers are saying on this book and it twitter. tonight on c-span, michele bachmann says she is ending her

presidential campaign. followed by the newscast from wmur. president obama talks about the economy and a visit to ohio. >> i know president obama can talking about reform. everybody leaves on the defense and the military from the neck down. people leave out the one part that will make a difference which is lawmakers. that is where it always stops. >> sunday, he would discuss how tax dollars are spent and the current procurement procedures on c-span "q &a." >> after finishing 6, michele

bachmann called an end to her presidential campaign. the announcement came today in west -- west des moines, iowa. >> thank you for being here today. i am proud to announce to you a good friend of mine, michele bachmann. >> thank you for being here. my name is michele bachmann. intrinsic to every american is the responsibility to watch over our republic.

you can look back to the time of the pilgrims, to the time of our founding fathers. all we have to do is look around. very clearly, we are encompassed with a great cloud of witnesses that bear witness to the sacrifices that were made to establish the united states and the precious principles of freedom that make it the greatest force for good that is ever been seen on the planet. every generation has served as the next steppingstone down the path of our liberty, and every day i am reminded of that conviction. i have a painting that hangs in the united states capitol. it was made at the signing of the constitution of the united states. every schoolchild is familiar with this painting.

i am privileged to see it on a regular basis. never was the painting's poignant reminder more evident than on the evening of march 21, 2010, the evening that obamacare was passed. staring out from the paintings are the faces of the founders, and in particular the face of ben franklin. ben franklin served as a constant reminder of what he and the founders gave to us. they serve as the inspiration for my run for the presidency of the united states. i believe firmly that what the congress had done and what president obama has done in passing obamacare endangered the survival of the united states of america, our republic. i knew it was my obligation to ensure that president obama's program would be stopped before it became fully implemented. my message has been the

necessity for the complete repeal of obamacare in this once-in-a-lifetime campaign cycle for the presidency. obamacare represents the largest expansion of entitlement spending in our country's history. it has become the playground of social engineering, where the right always lose every battle and the left already has been given the formula for passing their agenda. it must be stopped. its repeal is more than just a cliche for me. obamacare violates our fundamental liberties as americans, including taxpayer- funded abortions. deeply troubled by the state of our country, i ran for the presidency as an american citizen who believes in the

greatness of our american principles. our principles derive their meanings, which are seated in the truth of the holy scripture, the bible. a politician i never have been -- nor will i ever hope to be, because i am not motivated in this quest for vainglory or the promise of political power. i have served one singular purpose in washington -- to lead an effort that was begun by the people of this country. that requires taking on the charge of repealing obamacare and dodd-frank, which mandated ensuring the election of 13 additional republican senators to guarantee that legislation's demise. these words of warning -- a turning point for our country and our economy. i worry what the future painting might depict, should obamacare be placed into effect.

would future generations ask of us, what did we do, what did we give, what did we sacrifice to ensure the survival of this incomparable republic? i realize that 2012 is our last chance and our only chance to repeal obamacare and dodd-frank. i knew how to get rid of both of them. i ran to elect 30 more republican united states senators who would help me repeal that legislation. i believed that the policies of barack obama are destructive to the very foundation of the republic.

i wanted my children and all of the children to live free, and have even better opportunities than our parents gave to us. i ran to secure the promise of our children's future. i decided to stand up and fight for our freedom and for the survival of the nation. i will continue fighting. i will continue to fight for you. to stop overspending in washington. to keep our country free, safe, and to fight against crony capitalism. fight against a tax code which is unfair, and it's killing american competitiveness. i will fight for american families. i will fight to protect life from conception. i will fight to secure our

borders. i will fight for this country. i came here to this wonderful state of iowa, where i was born and raised, and i had just one message to tell you. i told you the truth -- that our country is in very serious trouble, and that this might be the last election to turn the nation around before we go down the road to socialism. i did not tell you what the polls said you wanted to hear. i did not try to -- i listened to the people of iowa and all across america. they agree that president obama and his socialist policies must be stopped. the party of lincoln believes in the goodness of american people, and that america does remain the greatest force for good that the world has ever

known. we don't believe that government has the answers. government should respect the rights of the people. we believe government should do its job. it should do it without spending more than what it takes in. last night, the people of iowa spoke. if we're going to repeal obamacare and turn our country around, we must do so united. we must rally around the proposition that our country and our party and our people select, to be that standard bearer. i will continue to be a strong voice and to stand and fight for the country, and for our freedom.

mr. franklin and the founders, and the men and women who have given their last full measure of devotion in our military -- our veterans are watching us. they are expecting us to stand up and protect what they have fought to give us. we owe it to them and to the god that we serve, who gave us life to keep our republic free. i will be grateful to the state and to its people for launching us on the path with our victory in the iowa straw poll. my faith in the lord god almighty and this country and this republic is unshakable. i have seen the very best in the country and our people, and i will believe in the greatness of them, and of the god that i serve. i am grateful to our entire campaign team in iowa. i have no regrets. we never compromised our

principles. we ran this race with the utmost integrity and made an important contribution to this race. i thank my wonderful husband for 33 years, and my entire family -- my children, my mother, my stepfather, my beloved brothers who are here, and my brother david, and george, and our foster children. they have been my strength throughout the campaign. i look forward to the next chapter in god's plan, if we will only cooperate with him. something greater around the

corner. i have been blessed to live a wonderful life. i am grateful to have been a part of this presidential campaign. thank you. god bless the united states of america. [applause] thank you. ♪

♪

>> live every morning, washington journal talks with political guests. live coverage of a campaign event as they talked in new

hampshire voters. see what candidates are saying from the campaign trail act c- span.org/campaign2012. >> for more on candid activities in new hampshire, here is part of a local tv cast. >> i am really here for one reason only. >> he knows a thing or two a pounding the new hampshire primary. john mccain comes back with a message about mitt romney. >> another frequent traveler returns and he is one to watch after surging in iowa to a near tie for first, rick santorum looks to ride a wave here. >> mild weather is on the way back. high temperatures climb by the start of the weekend. >> it is cold but not cold enough. dangerously thin ice along the

pond at. >> nobody covers decanter like we do. wmur 9 at 6:00. >> the help winning over voters is the key to making that happen the focus of the republican race for president is now on the first appeared >> was in no time with pact scuttles today. tim coverage begins with the important endorsement that iowa caucus winner mitt romney received it today. >> few people know the new hampshire primary better than john mccain. he was in new hampshire to augment mitt romney is a win in iowa. he had to be feeling pretty good, some at the event just to challenge the front-runner today. today. >> fresh off of his razor-thin

victory in iowa, mitt romney arrived with a top endorsement. two time primary winner, john mccain. >> i am here for one reason only, to make sure that we make mitt romney the next president of the united states of america. new hampshire is a state that will catapult him on the way to victory. >> despite the rally cry, mitt romney ron hall turned combatant at a time. >> is there anywhere in the world where it is better than america pierre >> excuse me, you have had your chance. let this lady speak. she says it's a loss this country. i love this country. so do i.. >> mitt romney was on the defensive for his health-care plan that some call the model for a national plan. >> i crafted what i thought was good for our state, not perfect by the way. i would not impose that on the nation. >> after a narrow victory, the

mitt romney campaign is aware that the party is split. mitt romney is biggest name supporter also knows there is work to be done to unite a party behind a chosen candidates. >> i am confident we will come back together again. one reason is because governor mitt romney has had a very positive campaign. he himself has been very positive. >> i am not sure if new gingrich would agree with that statement. mitt romney will maintain a busy schedule. he is heading down south to south carolina for a quick trip before returning to new hampshire on friday. >> thank you. these are live pictures at this hour of mitt romney is town hall meeting going on at peterborough. we will hear more at 11:00. the other candidates holding a town hall meeting is rick

santorum. momentum is on hisj side. >> rick santorum touched down in new hampshire just after 5:30 hoping to bring with them all of the momentum he generated forj may photofinishing in the iowa caucuses. he arrives in the granite state after investing heavily in iowa after visiting every county in the hawkeye state. it paid off with a big finish. now, he is trying to pull off another miracle in one week. start tonight with a town hall. >> newt gingrich was did no time getting out of iowa and moving on to new hampshire. he started the day in concord where reporters asked him about this full-page ad that blasts

mitt romney as a timid republicans. newt gingrich sounded more professor than candid, not even referring to the primary or the mitt romney factor until late media event afterwards. >> other than the fact that governor mitt romney ran a negative campaign -- campaign of falsehoods, one of his ads are the four pinocchios from the washington post. the fact is three out of four republicans rejected it. >> the speaker met with state legislatures for a lunch. he said he will not leave the granite state until the primary is over. >> jon huntsman continues his campaign of the granite state. he held several events including this one and pittsfield or heat toward a manufacturing plant that makes firefighting gear. he says he is confident he will take new hampshire.

>> we are full of optimism to rid we have a forward-looking attitude. there is no reason to reflect on anything but success. >> jon huntsman has bank everything on his new hampshire campaign. he will be here every day until primary date. >> ron paul did not have any scheduled events today but does plan on campaigning here starting on friday and going straight through the primary. rick perry says -- says he is staying in the respect of focusing on new hampshire. he said he bore reevaluate his campaign. earlier today, he said "here become south carolina." as for michele bachmann -- >> i have no regrets. we never compromise our principles. we can leave this for snowing we ran it with integrity. we made an important

contribution to this race. >> she jumped on a campaign bus one more time and waved to the crop before it went away. >> campaigning will lead up to what will be the most important debate yet. the stage is coming together inside the theater tonight. crews were working on the lights and background. said then that this is where the candidates will be debating, the wmur nbc debate. we will be broadcast nationwide life. if you are trying to find out more about the candidates and the new hampshire primary, the place to turn as wmur.com. there is a special section with the headlines of the day. check out who is 24 brief professional and personal info on all of the candidates. find out where each candidates stance on everything from jobs and the texas to gun rights and immigration.

it is all in the politics section at wmur.com. >> with hundreds of media members descending on the state, there was a special trading of sorts to help to greet the out of status. the granite state ambassadors covered things like primary history, the media, even french candidates. they work in places like the airport hoping to answer questions for visitors. >> not so much talking politics, giving opinions about candidates but more what are the hidden gems in the state. where are the places people want to go when they come here. >> right now there are about 400 grants state ambassadors who are volunteering helping guide visitors and helping answer any questions people might have about new hampshire. >> the 2012 session of the house opened today. giving attention where bills about gun rights. they and allowed a fetus to be a

homicide victim. they would allow gun rights on state properties. earlier today, they centered around veto bills including one that allowed title loan companies like payday tod o busines in the state. >> next tuesday new hampshire voters go to the polls followed by primaries and south carolina and florida. we will bring you the latest events and political coverage on c-span and on our campaign website c-span.org. /campaign2012. >> up next, president obama talks about the economy in a visit to ohio and announces the recess appointment of richard cordray. we will show you the confirmation hearing from september. michele bachmann said das but

that she is suspending her presidential campaign. " tomorrow morning's washington journal," the latest on the race with kevin landrigan. also, the results of a poll of young voters with trey grayson. washington journal pecans lead at 7:00 a.m. eastern on c-span. >> in a visit to go higher today, president obama announced the recess appointment of the head of the consumer protection bureau. he first nominated him in july but both some reprieve granted a confirmation in the senate. here is the appearance at shaker heights high school.

[applause] >> hello, ohio. it is good to beat back in ohio. -- be back in ohio. it is good to be back in shaker heights. hall of the red raider. [applause] i love you and i am glad to be back. i am glad to be here. i want to thank your major for

hosting us today. [applause] your superintendent mark freeman. the principle here, mike griffiths. [applause] i am pretty sure that we have a couple of congress people, but i do not see them. [applause] outstanding members of congress. they did the right thing every

day. we thank you them all for being here. i understand the folks here at this school have a pretty good basketball team. [applause] boys and girls. [applause] unfortunately, i have no eligibility left. i cannot play with you. i want to wish everybody a happy new year. [applause] 2012 will be a good year. [applause] it will be a good year. one of my new year's resolutions is to make sure that i get out of washington and spend time with faults lucky.

[applause] folks here in ohio and all across the country, i want you to know that you are the reason i ran for this office in the first place. you are reminded me of what we are still fighting for. you inspire me. ok. you do. you remind me that this country is all about folks who work hard and where responsibility pays off. anybody who puts in the effort and it plays by the rules can get a head. that is the america you deserve.

that is the america we are working to build up. [applause] that is why i told congress before the new here they cannot leave for vacation until we make sure that 160 million working americans would not get hit with a tax hike on january 1. this was not easy. it should have been easy. it was not. we have members of both parties to come together and make sure you can keep both -- more money in your paychecks each month. you are keeping that $40 of each paycheck because we made sure that we did not stop to the recovery. we made sure that families got the break in needed. it means a boost for our economy at a time we have to do everything we can to keep a

growing. more money spent by more americans means more business is hiring more workers. when congress returns, i will urge them to extend the tax cut all the way to six -- 32012. do the right thing. it is a no-brainer. do the right thing and pass these tax cuts. we still have more to do. today we are taking a another important step. one at that will bring us closer to the e economy we need. an economy where everyone plays by the same roles. to help us do that, i am joined by somebody q might recognize, richard cordray. [applause]

he is a son of ohio, a good man. today i'm appointing richard as america's consumer watchdog. and that means he is going to be in charge of one thing -- looking out for the best interests of american consumers. looking out for you. his job will be to protect families like yours from the abuses of the financial industry. his job will be to make sure that you've got all the information you need to make important financial decisions. right away, he'll start working to make sure millions of americans are treated fairly by mortgage brokers and payday lenders and debt collectors. in fact, just this week, his agency is opening up a simple 1-800 number that you can call to make sure you're getting a fair deal on your mortgage, and

hold banks and brokers accountable if you're not. [applause] now, i nominated richard for this job last summer, so you may be wondering why am i appointing him today. it would be a good question. for almost half a year, republicans in the senate have blocked richard's confirmation. [crowd booing] they refused to even give richard and up or down vote. now, this is not because richard is not qualified. there's no question that richard is the right person for the job. he's got the support of democrats and republicans around the country. a majority of attorney generals -- richard is a former attorney

general -- a majority of attorney generals from both parties across the country have called for richard to be confirmed. your local members of congress who are here today -- they support him. he has the support of a majority in the senate. everyone agrees richard is more than qualified. so what's the problem, you might ask. the only reason republicans in the senate have blocked richard is because they don't agree with the law that set up a consumer watchdog in the first place. they want to weaken the law. they want to water it down. and by the way, a lot of folks in the financial industry have poured millions of dollars to try to water it down. that makes no sense. does anybody think that the reason that we got in such a

financial mess, the worst financial crisis since the great depression, the worst economic crisis in a generation -- that the reason was because of too much oversight of the financial industry? of course not. we shouldn't be weakening oversight. we shouldn't be weakening accountability. we should be strengthening it -- especially when it comes to looking out for families like yours. [applause] the financial firms have armies of lobbyists in washington looking out for their interest. you need somebody looking out for your interest and fighting for you, and that's richard cordray. [applause] [applause] now, i have to say richard is a really nice guy. [laughter] you know, you look at him and

you think, this guy is not somebody who's going around picking fights. and yet, this fight on behalf of consumers is something that richard has been waging here in ohio for the better part of two decades. [applause] as your attorney general, he helped recover billions of dollars in things like pension funds on behalf of retirees. he protected consumers from dishonest lending practices. before that, richard was the state treasurer, where he earned a reputation for working with folks from across the spectrum -- democrats, republicans, bankers, consumer advocates -- had a great reputation across the board doing the right thing. and, cleveland, you've seen the difference that richard can make for consumers, and i have, too. and that's why i want richard to keep standing up for you -- not just here in ohio, but for

consumers all across the country. now, every day that richard waited to be confirmed -- and we were pretty patient. i mean, we kept on saying to mitch mcconnell and the other folks, let's go ahead and confirm him. why isn't he being called up? let's go. every day that we waited was another day when millions of americans were left unprotected. because without a director in place, the consumer watchdog agency that we've set up doesn't have all the tools it needs to protect consumers against dishonest mortgage brokers or payday lenders and debt collectors who are taking advantage of consumers. and that's inexcusable. it's wrong. and i refuse to take no for an answer. [applause] so i've said before that i want

to look for every possible opportunity to work with congress to move this country forward and create jobs. i'm going to look for every opportunity to try to bridge the partisan divide and get things done -- because that's what the american people need right now. and that means putting construction workers back on the jobs repairing our roads and our bridges. [applause] that means keeping our teachers in the classrooms. [applause] that means keeping our cops and firefighters doing what they do, protecting us every day. [applause] that means helping small businesses get ahead. [applause] that means serving our veterans as well as they've served us, like this young man right in the front. we are grateful for him, for his service.

[applause] these are ideas that have support from democrats -- they have support from republicans around the country, independents around the country. i want to work with congress to get them done. but when congress refuses to act, and as a result, hurts our economy and puts our people at risk, then i have an obligation as president to do what i can without them. [applause] i've got an obligation to act on behalf of the american people. and i'm not going to stand by while a minority in the senate puts party ideology ahead of the people that we were elected to serve. not with so much at stake, not at this make-or-break moment for middle-class americans.

we're not going to let that happen. [applause] for way too long, we've had a financial system that was stacked against ordinary americans. banks on wall street played by different rules than businesses on main street. they played by different rules than a lot of community banks who were doing the right thing across the country -- hidden fees, fine print that led consumers to make financial decisions that they didn't always understand. richard and i, before we came here, had an opportunity to visit with a wonderful elderly couple -- the easons. and mr. eason is a former marine, served in the korean war. ms. eason makes a really good sweet potato pie. she gave me one.

i'm going to eat it later, after. i didn't want to eat it before because i didn't want to get sleepy having a big piece of pie right before. but their story was the story of a lot of folks in this region, where a mortgage broker came to them, said that they could do some home repair for a few thousand dollars, and they ended up getting scammed; the loans got flipped. they ended up owing $80,000, almost losing their home, and the repairs were never made. those kinds of practices, that's not who we are. we cannot allow people to be taken advantage of. and it's not just because it's bad for those individuals. all that risky behavior led -- helped to contribute to the

economic crisis that we're all still digging ourselves out of. all those subprime loans, all those foreclosures, all the problems in the housing market -- that's all contributing to an economy that's not moving as fast as we want it. and that's why, last year, we put in place new rules -- new rules of the road to make sure that a few bad apples in the financial sector can't break the law, they can't cheat consumers, they can't put our entire economy in danger. and many of these provisions are already starting to make a difference. for the first time in history, we put in place a consumer watchdog -- someone whose only job is to look out for the interests of everyday americans. and we are so fortunate to have somebody like richard who's willing to do it, despite great sacrifice to his family. he's the right man for the job. [applause]

so if you're a student -- i see some young people out here -- [applause] his job will be to protect you from dishonest lending practices and to make sure that you've got the information you need on student loans. he has already started up an initiative called "know before you owe." that's a good slogan -- "know before you owe." you don't want to owe and then know. if you're a veteran, he'll help make sure that you aren't taken advantage of when you're coming home from serving your country. and it turns out that military families are some of the folks who are most vulnerable to some of these financial abuses.

if you're a senior, richard is going to help make sure you don't lose your home or your retirement because somebody saw you as an easier target. and that's what happened to the easons. endia, who i think is here -- ms. eason, are you here? you're somewhere here. there's -- ms. eason is down there. ninety-one years old. [applause] and as i mentioned, ms. eason's husband, william, is a former marine -- also a former boxer. so don't mess with him. [laughter] and i just want to repeat, 10 years ago they were approached by a broker who offered them a loan to make needed repairs on their home; made everything sound easy. the easons agreed.

broker ended up disappearing. they get left with $80,000 in debt, almost lose their home. they didn't lose it because of the intervention of some terrific non-for-profits that richard, when he was treasurer here in ohio, helped to support. [applause] east side -- that's right. now, the easons are good people. they're what america is all about. they worked hard. they served their country. they saved their money. they didn't live high on the hog. it's a modest house. they earned the right to retire with dignity and with respect, and they shouldn't have to worry about being tricked by somebody who's out to make a quick buck. and they need somebody who is going to stand up for them, and millions of americans need somebody who is going to look out for their interests.

and that person is richard cordray. [applause] and we know what would happen if republicans in congress were allowed to keep holding richard's nomination hostage. more of our loved ones would be tricked into making bad financial decisions. more dishonest lenders could take advantage of some of the most vulnerable families. and the vast majority of financial firms who do the right thing would be undercut by those who don't. see, most people in the financial services industry do the right thing, but they're at a disadvantage if nobody is enforcing the rules. we can't let that happen. now is not the time to play politics while people's livelihoods are at stake. now is the time to do everything we can to protect consumers, prevent financial crises like the one that we've been through from ever happening again. that starts with letting

richard do his job. so i know -- let me just close by saying this. i know that you're hearing a lot of promises from a lot of politicians lately. today you're only going to hear one from me. as long as i have the privilege of serving as your president, i promise to do everything i can every day, every minute, every second, to make sure this is a country where hard work and responsibility mean something and everybody can get ahead. not just those at the very top, not just those who know how to work the system, but everybody. that's what america has always been about. that's what america is going to be about today and tomorrow and 10 years from now and 20 years from now. [applause] and with the help of people like richard cordray, that's the country that we will always be. [applause] thank you. [applause] god bless you. [applause]

god bless the united states of america. [applause] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

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>> to find out more about the recess appointment, we talk to a capitol hill reporter. >> stephen dennis is the white house correspondent. he joins us. the senate has been meeting every two or three days to prevent the president from making a recess appointment. he has gone ahead with it. why did he do it? >> it is a stick in the eye to the republicans. a lot of liberal groups have been calling for the president to do this for months. it is interesting he did it today when there is some constitutional question of the legality of the appointment. he could have done it when the

session ended. you know, i do not think the white house cares about that. they are happy to see republicans fighting on a process basis -- whether he has the authority, they get to go to ohio and have a big rally and make this an issue of who is standing up for the little guy and who is standing up for wall street and pay lenders. i think they are more than happy to make this and have the republicans squawking about it. >> what have you heard from republican leaders? >> mitch mcconnell was sharply critical. he said it is not -- they are not in recess. they are having sessions. it is legally questionable.

speaker banner went a step further and said he can expect courts to rule this was illegitimate. republicans expecting court challenges, expecting the nomination to be thrown out. in the meantime, there is a question of whether this hurts obama's ability to get things done with republicans. they are incensed by it. if you are the white house, you are not expecting that much cooperation. you do not feel you have gotten that much from republicans and the ways. in the meantime, this shows you're based that you are fighting and you are taking action where there is so much frustration out there and so little is getting done, this is the president putting a capstone on his week long campaign of

executive actions. he had the big jobs package that it proposed last year. all he got at it was a two month extension of existing policies. he did not get anything he was talking about today, teachers, firefighters, small business tax cuts, he mentioned those things today. those of things the proposed months ago. they have gone nowhere. there does not seem to be much doubt for the president. he was not getting what he wanted from congress. why not take is that? republicans picked this fight. they are the ones who said, we do not care how qualified this guy is, unless you change the job, turn it into a much weaker position --

>> you mentioned a court fight. what about ms. reports that he may take the office as early as friday? are they likely to try to prevent that? >> i do not think they are likely to try to prevent it. the question is, who will have standing to go to court. it could be a situation where you will have to take administrative action against payday lenders and forcing them to comply. it would have standing to go to court and say this nomination was not kosher. it might be a very long, drawn- out process but we get to that point. in the meantime, the white house thinks this is going to be a political win for them. the more the republicans fight it, the white house is happy to have that fight and had it over

whether we should be having tighter regulations of wall street. that is a fight they feel confident -- even more confident on this than health care reform. >> stephen dennis covers the let us for roll call. you can read more at rollcall.com [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] >> the senate banking commission questioned richard coeur great. at the time, he worked for the consumer financial protection bureau. this is an hour and a half.

>> on the next panel we will consider the nomination of richard cordray to be the first director of the consumer financial protection bureau. welcome to the senate banking committee, and a warm welcome to your family and friends who are here this afternoon. the cftb was born out of the failure of prudential regulators to hold financial companies accountable for complying with consumer protection laws. congress created the cfpb to be a robust and independent agency, focused on protecting consumers like military families and older americans from the use of financial products. cfpb was also created to

streamline disclosures so consumers can make the best financial choices for themselves and their families. in fact, one of their first projects is to simplify the -- mortgage disclosure forms. the cfpb is an agency that of the american public wants. recent bipartisan survey shows that americans strongly support the creation of the cfpb. the director of the cfpb will play an important role maintaining the independence, promoting equitable and transparent consumer financial marketplace and exercising enforcement of consumer protection law. on july 18, president obama nominated mr. richard cordray to be the first ever director of the cfpb.

the purpose of today's hearing should be to consider whether mr. codray is qualified for that job. instead, a vocal minority is playing games with the process and holding mr. cordray's nomination hostage. this political gamesmanship is preventing americans from receiving the consumer protections they deserve, and putting community banks and credit unions at a competitive disadvantage. this vocal minority insists on rehashing the same debate congress had last year when it created the cfpb as an accountable independent regulator. the fact is, every regulatory agency is structured with different features that make it

accountable. each agency has a unique combination that fits its mission and independence. last year, congress decided on a structure for the cfpb which borrows some accountability features from other regulators, but also includes several new features unique to the consumer agency. the chart on display is many of the ways the cfpb is accountable. for example, the financial stability oversight council has the power to overturn cfpb regulations. by law, the cfpb's budget is kept and the president has the power to fire the cfpb director. so, the misleading claim of no cfpb accountability trumped up by special interests and put forward by a vocal minority

should be exposed for what it is, an attempt to destroy the bureau possibility to do a job protecting american consumers. i would remind my colleagues that in 2008, a bipartisan senate, including members on both sides of the aisle sitting here today helped to create the federal housing finance administration. fhfa is also an independent agency headed by a sole director subject to a gao audit and purposely not subject to the congressional appropriations process. now, let's talk about what the purpose of the nomination hearing should be. richard cordray has spent his career in public service caring about people. q. has taken the time to

understand and come up with the best solution for their problems. mr. cordray support small businesses and honest companies. he has been a member of a local chamber of commerce for 22 years. he believes in leveling the playing field such that small companies can compete fairly and that playing by the rules is good for business. i ask unanimous consent to include several letters of endorsement into the hearing record. mr. cordray also believes that people and corporations must be responsible for their own behavior, and if they act responsibly, they should get a fair shake. it is my hope that if confirmed, mr. cordray will use his knowledge and experience as law enforcement official and

public servant to better protect american consumers to enhance the quality of our consumer financial markets. we have seen important nominations denied an up or down vote on confirmation. the stability of our economy is too important to be put at risk by political games. it is time to allow the cfpb to do its job, with a senate- confirm director in its place. i now turn to senator shelby. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i did not think it would surprise anyone to hear that we believe today's hearing is quite premature. we do not believe the committee should consider any nominee to be the director of the bureau of financial protection until

reforms are adopted to make the bureau accountable to the american people. earlier this year, mr. chairman, 43 of my senate colleagues and i sent a letter to president obama expressing our serious concerns about the bureau's lack of accountability. we also proposed three reasonable reforms to the structure. we had hoped to work with the majority to address this issue before the president nominated a director. unfortunately, neither the president, nor the majority, made any effort to work with us to improve the accountability of the bureau. instead, the president nominated mr. codray to be the first director. it is regrettable the president and majority chose to ignore our request rather than work with us to approve the bureau's accountability. it may be good politics for them but it is certainly bad policy for the american people. one of our nation's founding principles is that the government should be accountable to the people.

yet the majority structured the bureau to grant its director unprecedented authority over the lives of the american people without any real and effective checks. all of the bureau's powers are concentrated in the hands of the director. the director determines which rules are enacted and which enforcement actions are brought. the director makes all hiring decisions and decides how the agency spends resources. because of the expansive jurisdiction of the bureau, every american will be affected by the director's decisions. the director will single- handedly determine the financial products consumers can buy, as well as which consumers have access to credit and which do not. accordingly, the directors' decisions will impact whether americans can buy a home, a car, or even basic household goods. it is staggering the amount of control the director will exert over the daily financial corp. -- choices and make --

available to the american people. despite having such broad powers, however, there is no meaningful check on the directors authority. the director cannot -- cannot be removed, except on the extreme limited grounds of an efficiency, malfeasance, or -- so a director cannot be removed for for policy choices. bank regulators cannot have a meaningful ability to ensure that the directors' actions to not needlessly undermine the safety and soundness of our banks. while some claim that the financial stability oversight council could overrule the director, the so-called check is simply illusory. the requirements needed for the council to act are so onerous that in practice the council will never be able to exercise its authority. that should not surprise anyone, especially here. it was the way it was designed. for example, the director of the bureau said on the council

and will vote to determine whether or not the council should overturn one of his decisions. it is not hard to guess how the director would vote. as a result, the director would be virtually free of any constraints on his authority during his five-year term. no one person, i believe, should have so much unfettered power over the american people. it blatantly violates the spirit of our system of government. our pursuit of better consumer protection should not require us to compromise our basic constitutional values. this should be something on which we should all agree. moreover, the principle involved will have real consequences. unless the bureau is reformed, it is a matter of time before this concentration of power is used or been misused to the detriment of american consumers and the economy. the job figures we have seen over the summer demonstrate how the administration's heavy- handed regulatory agenda is

crippling the economy with unnecessary costs and legal uncertainty. there could not be a worse time, i believe, to give an unelected and unaccountable bureaucrats a blank check to impose even more ill-considered rules that could further undermine our weak economy. at a time when our nation's unemployment rate is over 9%, this could be a very dangerous gamble. in closing, the chairman today here has attempted to turn the phrase, i believe, vocal minority into a pejorative. over the years, however, senators from both parties, have agreed on rules governing this chamber designed to protect the rights of minority, be it democrats or republicans. the requests made seek only to preserve the system of checks and balances and body in the constitution. that is not what i call a radical undertaking. thank you, mr. chairman. >> senator reed?

>> thank you very much, mr. chairman. i am somebody who believes strongly the work of the financial bureau should go forward and should go forward under the direction of mr. richard cordray. i think to block his appointment simply to express displeasure with the law is the wrong way entirely. the federal housing finance administration, created with virtually the same authority and on a bipartisan basis, was supported by most if not all of my colleagues on the other side. there was no discussion of pre- emption of the constitution or checks and balances. it was trying to deal with a serious problem, which we are trying to deal with today, protecting consumers throughout this country. that is the one of voice, when you think about voices, which is seldom heard loudly enough in washington, seldom heard certainly in the council of

bank regulators -- that is one of the great examples of what took place in the decade of 2000 until 2008, in which consumers were being systematically preyed upon. there was no agency. as attorney general, i think you were frustrated by your attempts that were pre-empted by federal banking regulators that were printed by federal law. we want consumers to have a voice. frankly, the notion that this is unchecked, and down the power, is simply wrong. all of the rules that the director will enforce are created by congress. we voted on it. sometimes we disagree, but they are all congressional law. and frankly, if it goes beyond what the law is, the courts will very quickly, as we demonstrated -- and there is a huge number of financial system

-- in court today to protect the system. if they are capricious, the rules would be struck down. but if they are consistent with the laws we pass through a democratic process to protect consumers, then consumers will receive protection. i think this whole debate has been sort of extended much too long, and as a result, consumers are potentially being harmed. i particularly -- because i worked on this issue along with my colleague senator brown from massachusetts -- i am concerned about military personnel. they will not have some of the benefit of some of the protections we put in place because there will be no one picking up -- right now, the leader of the office can make speeches, but until someone

stands up with the ability to enforce the rules with their benefit, they will be preyed upon. and they are. i think the other thing we have to recognize, too, it is as we go forward, we are trying to ensure we do not replicate the crisis of 2008. that we do not have a financial collapse. much was predicated based upon the predatory behavior of institutions. one of the great aspects, i think, in terms of the dodd- frank act is the first time we tried to shine light on the shadow banking system. fdic regulates financial institutions, fedor reserve regulates -- but for the first time, we decided to say let us take across the board position with respect to the shadow financial system. i have to say something, this

notion of, let's wait before we get a perfect before we appoint somebody, would have delayed, i think, the election of george washington, for many decades. let me just ask one specific question -- you'll already have the authority seven agencies to implement it today -- is that correct? i am sorry. i want to be sensitive to my colleagues. this is opening statement. i wanted to do both. forgive me. [laughter] i am man with a mission. let me just quickly conclude in 20 seconds. i think we've got to move forward. we essentially know what is about. the chairman pointed out. we are waiting for, i think, the sensible proposals to make reform, but it is hard to do

that until the agency operates in the field and on the ground and i hope the recall -- quickly we can do that. >> senator corker? >> i did not have an opening statement, but since i don't i sure would like to have a little leeway what the questions but i welcome the witness and look forward to the testimony and thank him for bringing his impressive family. i did not know how his children continue to smile as we are a here. >> senator akaka? >> thank you very much, mr. chairman. i am pleased to join you in welcoming mr. richard cordray and his family, lovely family, who has been nominated by president obama to serve as the first director of the consumer

financial protection bureau. i am confident that he will make the cfpb a strong defender for consumers. this has been needed in our country. he knows the market, and he has a demonstrated track record. he has been a fierce advocate for consumers and middle-class families. as attorney general of ohio, and then as the head of enforcement at cfpb. will count on him to fight against the predatory lending practices that contributed to the economic crisis from which we are still recovering. i look forward to mr. cordray's testimony today to hear about his vision for the landmark

cfpb and what he hopes to accomplish as its first director. mr. cordray is a highly qualified nominee and an excellent fit to become the first director of consumer protection bureau. and i asked the committee to consider his nomination favorably. >> thank you very much. >> senator brown? >> i have questions that i will submit for the record. >> senator brown? >> thank you, mr. chairman, ranking member shelby, thank you. in a moment i will have the honor of introducing richard cordray, a devoted family man, a distinguished lawyer, advocate of a public servant. i will hold that until right before he gives his testimony. we should not have to remind our colleagues that just three years ago our economy was on the brink of collapse. millions of americans lost their jobs. hundreds of thousands of people

in my state lost their homes. people all over the country lost much of their retirement security. hundreds of banks failed and thousands of businesses have been shattered. this committee was forced to take extraordinary actions. this was a man-made catastrophe that could have been avoided if we had a better regulatory system but the network of agencies tasked with protecting consumers was full of holes. ohio was to slow for meaningful protections -- efforts to convince federal regulators to act were ignored until too late. just three years after the near depression, profits of financial firms now make up the same percentage, about 40% of all corporate profits go to financial firms. the profits of financial firms now make up about the same percentage of all corporate profits as they did before the financial crisis. the banks that were too big to

fail because of mergers, because of what shook out because of these last three years have become even bigger. after decades of coddling wall street, main street still needs our help and americans are still struggling to find jobs, their homes are under water and their pensions are still being drained. to protect against future wealth-destroying crises congress created, with bipartisan approval, with bipartisan approval, the consumer financial protection grow to make sure consumer protection is a priority rather than an afterthought. as an independent agency with a single director, not all that uncommon in the federal government. the mission is to bring oversight and transparency to checking accounts, credit cards, mortgages, to student loans. in powered with tools to ensure our financial system support job creation by ending the tricks and traps, families and small businesses will keep more of the harder on money, we will be able to build middle-class wealth. the bureau is subjects, as jimmy johnson said, to

stringent notice, consultation, analysis requirements by dodd- frank, the administrative procedure act, small business regulatory fairness enhancement act, and regulatory flexibility act. to be a financial stability oversight council, the other banking relators have unprecedented authority to overturn cfpb's rules. already cfpb is ensuring mortgage contracts are written in ways consumers can more easily understand. it had turned positive reviews from industry and consumer groups alike. the substance and process in creating a new model mortgage loan disclosure form. helping men and women in uniform, as senator reed pointed out, preventing them from being targeted by bad actors who profit from practices. i called a senate historian recently and asked him when was the last time -- was there a

time when the senate actually, when a minority in the senate pledged to block a nominee because of that party actually opposed the agency's very existence. when was the last time a group of senators, 44 as senator shelby points out, signed a letter threatening to filibuster implicitly saying they will not confirm somebody until we get our way, until we change the law, the structure of the agency? never happened before until right now. unprecedented. that kind of partisanship is why people are so unhappy with their government. they see a dysfunctional government that simply cannot do this. we already had this debate once about the structure of this agency. amendments were offered. it would have water down the authority. they were considered fairly in committee. they were rejected by senators of both parties. now is not the time to undermine an agency that a bipartisan majority in -- created. what kind of precedents this has said? demanding and then accusing the

majority of not working with them, demanding we will not confirm somebody as qualified as richard cordray -- nobody questions his qualifications -- his background, his qualifications, and his performance in office of the various jobs he has been nobody questions that but they only want to block his nomination or anybody else's nomination simply because they don't like the agency. they apparently do not want an agency representing consumers. that is what got us into this. the result of their actions is to tilt the playing field, in addition to what else it has done, to tilt the va traditional banks are not regulated, walt the non-bank regulators are left untouched and that is why prominent bankers across the country are supporting this agency, they want to get it in power and a di