been reported. let's go to pittsburgh, pennsylvania. what races are you watching, jim? i am watching the governor's race here when tom corbett is running against the secretary under the previous democrat administration. , and we are blessed to have tom corbett because number one, he is an honest man who says what he thinks and does what he says. he has kept the state budget under control and had no tax increases in his four years in office. as far as obamacare goes, the a $2500t promised reduction in premium and better and ige, and i am retired just got my medicare part d

premium last year, and it is a 70% increase on a retiree. that is happening in general in western pennsylvania. tom corbett has tried to keep the cost of medical insurance down by having a special medicaid program, and thing god for him. i am definitely voting for tom corbett. the other guy, he cannot wait to get in there and raise taxes. like he says he is going to raise taxes. we cannot afford that in pennsylvania. there are too many seniors here. host: the pennsylvania governor's race, one of the most closely watched of the cycle. another one being closely watched, the florida governor's race tonight in florida. governor rick scott debating former governor charlie crist, the democrat in that race. 7:00 p.m. onht at c-span. it :00 tonight on c-span, the kansas senate debate, the final

of three debates between pat roberts and greg norman. that is our chauffeur today. we take you live to the heritage foundation, were congresswoman michele bachmann, the founder of the house tea party caucus, will be speaking soon, talking about the rise of the modern tea party and how it shook up the political debate. hope you have a great wednesday. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014]

we are waiting for minnesota commerce woman michele bachmann, the founder of the house tea party caucus. she will look at the tea party's beginnings, future agenda. we expect live coverage to get underway in just a moment. this is hosted by the heritage foundation. theele bachmann represents fifth district in minnesota. she announced in may that she is retiring, not running for what would be her fifth term.

>> good morning. the flag.re closer to >> ok, great. >> for the photo shot.

morning and to the heritage foundation at sarah allison auditorium. we are glad you are joining us on c-span and some other television networks, as well as those joining us on the heritage.org website. we would ask everyone in house to make that last check of cell phones, that they are turned off as a courtesy. we will take internet questions at any time. simply e-mail us at speaker@ heritage.org. we will post it on the webpage for everyone's future reference as well. well coming her to the heritage foundation is the executive vice president of the heritage .oundation, filter log >> thanks, jon. we are delighted to have you all here today. we appreciate your joining us. we hope we will get out of here before the rain starts and you will not have two bank much

trouble leaving. we are delighted to be here for this special session we have today. in boston harbor in 1773, a bunch of patriots got angry about taxes by distant politicians, and they threw tea overboard. in 2010, a bunch of patriots got angry about taxes imposed by distant politicians. occupy wall street received far much more pandering from elites. the tea party message is simple -- tax less, spend less, and get government out of our homes and businesses. n extensive are in a intellectual history. there is a deeper message than just don't tread on me.

it is a bold philosophical statement. liberty was of that liberty is of more -- liberty is of more fundamental importance than trampling on the rights of citizens. vessel -- she was the representative from the foresota sixth district eight years, and she is a founding member of the tea party , the house tea party caucus, which has remained and she has remained a strong force for keeping conservatives true to their principles in congress. and i believe she ran for president a couple of years ago. although she will soon leave washington and we are going to dearly miss her, i assure you of that, and she will return to the , she will always

remain a shining light of the tea party movement and a testament to what good people can achieve when they get fighting mad ladies and gentlemen, please rip -- please representative michele bachmann. [applause] >> thank you so much for that warm introduction. that is the question everyone is asking the right now -- "what are you going to do when you leave congress after eight years here?" willl them, number one, i have a very long vacation. most exclusive place i could find was msnbc prime time. actually, that is a lie. [laughter] it is an honor for me to be here. i cannot think of anywhere i would rather be to give one of my final speeches while i am an official member of the united states congress then truly the gold standard for conservative thought, the heritage

foundation. it is a thrill to be able to be here. this is a stellar organization. i am thrilled to be here with cato and the family research center as well as your forum, concerned women for america. city is filled with terrific organizations that have stood long and hard and valiantly have fought for american principles and exceptionalism. and for 40 years heritage has been at the top of the heap. in many ways, i believe that, as you said, the american values and principles that heritage has espoused for these years, has provided the framework for the tea party. it is limited government, it is strong families, it is free enterprise. there is nothing new here. but just because it is not new does not mean it is not profound. these are not new ideas. they are the same values that have been espoused since the time of the american revolution.

but what is that it was time for us -- we were in desperate need of a real awakening -- of a reawakening. that is what the tea party was all about -- republishing the american values of american greatness. all the media wanted to talk about was whether the tea party was up or down, whether it was dead or alive. but that missed the point entirely, because the tea party never was, never has been, never will be a political party. because, you see, it is a movement, a movement about returning us and our nation to our founding principles. , in publicenter discourse. when the patriots through the tea into boston harbor, they were not just protesting an unfair tax. i am a former federal tax lawyer. i hate high taxes. that is not with the boston tea party was about. it was also about cementing the soul of our nation and the soul

of this opposition to an overreaching government and a fierce passion for self-determination. of a declaration that in fuses really the meaning and being of what it is to be an american. it is this. it is the idea that there is a creator, and we acknowledge that in the declaration. that a creator created all of us and created a sequel. that in itself is profound. as the declaration of independence says, it is not a government, it is not a politician that gives any of us our rights. we were given those rights by virtue of birth, by the fact that a creator created us and gave us these rights. they are inalienable, which means no politician, no government takes them away

because only a creator can give them to us. it is a phenomenal philosophy upon which the nation was founded. those three inalienable rights the founders enumerated were right-- the inalienable to life. only a creator can give it, and only a creator can take it away. the second was liberty, freedom, the franchise that was intended for every human on the face of this earth. every human does not enjoy it, but that is what makes this government exceptional. because we recognize the freedom -- that freedom is yours, not something government can give. and certainly something government should never take away. the third is the pursuit of happiness. that is not just wanton hedonism. what it means, quite profoundly, is you have the right to earn and keep the fruits of your own labor. what a concept? life, liberty, and the right to earn and keep what you earn.

they are not just nice-sounding words. our founders gave us the ultimate social compact, that governments were instituted for one reason. just to secure the inalienable rights that were given to us by a creator. so government cannot interfere with them, and certainly government cannot take those fundamental rights aware from us -- away from us. that is what makes us an exceptional nation. party stands for three very basic things. number one, we are taxed enough already. number two, government should not spend more money than what it takes in. number three, government should live under the constitution. pretty extreme, right? pretty radical, right? president,our vice

joe biden, said that the tea party is crazy and lacks judgment. that is rich, because if these are the principles we stand for, i think whether you are democrat or republican, they are ones that you would agree with, that this is what brings for american greatness. if this is extreme, that is all we need to know in the arena of ideas. each of these three, unfortunately our current president has a failing grade. every step of the way he has push for a government with a more intrusive role in our lives. he telegraphed his intentions during his first inaugural address when he said, "it is time to begin again the work of remaking america." he went on to say that we should no longer be asking question of whether government is too small or too big. instead, he offers we should simply pursue government to get the job done. well, mr. president, the job is not getting done for the

american people, and i think we know that all too well. realizee, some of us the question of whether the government has the right to do something is far more important than the question of if government has the ability to do something. thee is nothing in constitution that says that government is a charity. there is nothing that says that government is meant to be our family. it is not meant to be the church . the constitution is clear. and it certainly, government should never be our doctor's office. when the president wants it to be all of the above, including our banker, student loan officer, and even our car dealer, placing government at the epicenter of our life -- it changes the game of the social compact. political liberty and economic liberty are in peril. they are intertwined, woven together by our creator who provides both of them to us. political liberty without economic liberty.

you do not get economic liberty without political liberty. history teaches that people are most productive, happy, and successful when they are free and can be independent. if you restrain freedom. if you set a person's independence, you will lose the final spark that made the country great. the love affair with big government occurred with the bush administration. it occurred long before that, partly back to the days of fdr and lbj or you can even go back to the time of "give me liberty, give me death." pedro castro was worried about big element. took the obama mistakes of his predecessors and hit the accelerator with a quantum leap of unimaginable proportion. withgan when i was here the wall street bailout. i was a freshman member of the united states congress. it was one of my first major votes. i was sitting as a member of the

financial services committee, in the midst of this very consequential debate. as you recall, this was a blank check for a scum $700 billion bailout. it has never been seen and never been heard of before in united states history. send over from the white house was treasury secretary hank paulson. he came to our republican conference to sell us on the bailout. and i confronted him at the microphone with a few important questions, none of which received an answer. one of my questions was, where did the number $700 billion come from? the second one was what will you use it for? since we could not get a straight answer to either fundamental question, not only did i vote against him, we put together a great ad hoc group of both democrats and republicans who came together and said maybe this is not a great idea, and we are giving the treasury

secretary a blank check for $700 billion. the first vote failed. you could have heard a pin drop in the chamber that they when the vote came up. nancy pelosi thought she had the vote in the bag. she did not. voted no later, i again. it breaking from here to san francisco, and the vote got rammed through. that bailout led the president for bailout mania in washington, d.c. once again, taxpayers were on the hook to bailout private companies to the tune of billions of dollars. -- worse, thef government gave pink slips to 3400 privately held automobile dealerships. this was shameful in our history. many were ordered to close their

stores within 30 days. imagine that. you own a private business, and the government sends you a pink slip, shut your doors because we tell you to? $300,000 worth of spare parts and inventory in your back office, and you are told -- we are telling you, close your door? unconscionable. the trillion dollar stimulus package. if you are a clinically connected ally of the obama administration, you have a leg up. so-called green energy companies like solyndra receives hundreds of millions of dollars. before they went bankrupt, it was cronyism at its worst. the department of energy became the epicenter of loans to obama donors. then there was obama care, the crown jewel of socialism. it amounted to a government takeover of 1/6 of our economy. look how that has turned out. politically connected allies, one after another, not a waiver

to obamacare. false promises like, you can keep your health care plan if you like it. or you can keep your doctor if you like him or her. you will save $2500 annually on your health-care premium. it is not so funny for the american people who have to live with this abysmal health-care system. were spent on a dysfunctional website. that was not funny, and that does not include all the money that was wasted on state websites either. conveniently, the government its insurancel class for next year until after the midterm election is over. the american people watched all this unfold. fed up, the modern tea party was born in a positive turn of the pendulum. i founded the tea party caucus in congress. every day, real americans can have a voice and a way to share their concerns with elected

representatives. more than anything, it proved to be a listening caucus because the polls of real people who live outside the beltway bubble. this was pretty refreshing for washington, d.c. americans of all backgrounds organized rallies. they went to town hall meetings. they showed up here at the u.s. capitol. it was a spontaneous organic uprising. astroturf. called it it could not possibly be real people would actually stand up and say they wanted to have self-determination. a rally to stop obamacare that i tens ofproduced thousands of americans, showing up at the capitol. than one weeks notice, no organization, and no one paid them to come. but they came here to say their "not with my health care you don't."

one woman from hawaii came and told me she saw me make the call on the sean hannity show, and she said i ordered a plane ticket on the spot so i could be there with you the following noon, thursday at the capitol. people came from alaska. all 50 states, over 20,000 people -- doctors, lawyers, people from all walks of life -- saying the country cannot embrace socialized medicine. the grassroots energy sent a wave of freedom loving reinforcements to washington, d.c., in 2010, including the likes of senators mike lee rand paul. it took the gavel away from in the house of representatives, and with the largest number of seat pickups since 1948. i wonder what this election this year will yield. establishment moved toward embracing the tea party's message about constitutional rights of both like national debt and balanced budget.

you know you are effective when tea party organizations were systematically targeted by the irs, which tried to diminish their voice in 2012. the irs admitted they had conservative and faith-based groups for their ownership and membership lists. intimidate and all to slow down applications for tax exempt status before the crucial 2012 election. ironically, president obama himself once made the case for less government intervention in the marketplace. yes, he did. during a town hall meeting in new hampshire in 2009, president obama said, "i mean, if you think about it, ups and fedex are doing just fine, right?

office doing post most of the work." one clear thinking about -- from the president. on one side you have president obama, our post office president. bigger government and more spending is the solution to every problem that comes along. if a better model exists, the answer does not change the model. but spend more money to prop up the old model. on the other side, you have a philosophy that believes in maximizing your choices, not forcing you to choose the government preselected choice. it encourages entrepreneurs to create new models and let a free market decide whether or not your idea will succeed. earlier this year, i had the privilege of traveling to england to speak at the oxford union, both about innovation and the bureaucracy that stifles innovation. in that speech i told the story of a great american to read his norman, a phd biologist

from the university of minnesota. very unique class. he is one of only three americans to win the nobel peace prize, the congressional gold medal, and the presidential medal of freedom. those distinctions go to luminaries like martin luther king jr. and like l.a. rise of. as in iowa and minnesota and myself, i am pretty proud of norman. why human capital and human creativity as an innovating force has to be nurtured, it has to be defended, and it has to be allowed to thrive. the short version is this. his research led to thousands and thousands and thousands of failures. failure upon failure upon failure, year upon year of

failure of trials in his research, but ultimately it led of wheat that was heartier, resilient and covered --writing that have been -- resilient than ever before you started with saving the lives of 100 across the world can say that matter because of what they did billion lived today back up his remarkable. fortunate it was that he had a friend in test as you have to go to some bureaucracy every approvaleeded to get for each of the 6000 varieties of wheat he bred.

when he saw an opportunity that no one else saw, that none of the experts could dictate to him , where he could or could not plant those seeds or how he knew to do his work. he himself saw the bureaucratic threat to innovation. more than 40 years ago. this is what norman said. threats togreatest mankind today is that the world may be choked by an explosively pervading but well camouflaged bureaucracy. control progress from the top down is exactly what stifles innovation. quorivileges the status over the new. it embraces the powerful over those who are powerless. lifting up the rich over those who are poor. and it helps the big at the expense of the small. centralized control discourages the thousands of tinkerers

across the country and small businesses who move america forward. r, see this in ube revolutionizing the industry. but instead, the taxi lobby regulations more are the result. we see this and telephone numeral education bureaucrats are trying to forcibly shut down and levy fines against computer software. their offense? these new and exciting promotions of learning do not send inside government's frequency vibe. we see this in the medical technology industry, where the fda is stepping into -- is stepping in. we could talk about all the

developments that are going to change our lives in the next five years in the realm of health care. when we do not need government to put a net over innovation, we see explosions and greatness in the medical industry. the fda is stepping in to regulate one of the most innovative markets in the world, particularly when it comes to would allowthat each one of us more personalization and more control of our health care. imagine, if you have a disease, your prescription drug could be designed exactly to fit your dna. not one-size-fits-all penicillin penicillin -- but a penicillin designed for you. sergeyused google ceo isn to recently say "health

so heavily regulated, it is a painful business to be in." there is no shortage of big companies who want counterparts in government to fix the regulatory environment to advance their business interests and protect themselves artificially against competition. crony capitalism, that is what corrupt nations do. that is not what america does. it is no coincidence that the greatest expression of investor innovation industry accompanied our very first experiment of clinical liberty and free political liberty and free enterprise. it is because only freedom -- freedom of speech, freedom of expression, scientific region, and certainly economic freedom allowed us the freedom of experimentation, the debate and the chance for risktakers like rlaug tot norman bo start and yes, fail time and time again. use, as thee yout economist f.a. hayek once said,

of the particular time that innovation demands. the environment of freedom has caused the greatest leap ever in our human well-being, not just for america. our ideas and innovations here are seen almost immediately and replicated even in third world and developing nations. you can go to the poorest country in the western and you willaiti, see cellphones by impoverished people all across the world, because impoverished people want a leg up, too. .rickle-down does work when you have innovation, when you have growth, you have new wealth that is created, it is always at the bottom of the economic ladder who have the most to gain. the environment of freedom has created the greatest leap ever , improvingll-being our lives by an order of magnitude.

opportunitys the age or race or gender. --ipe for success is simple encourage work, don't discourage it. that is what england recently found. embrace human creativity and capital, don't limit it. allow people to follow their dreams. don't stop people from the benefit of failure. those who overcome failure ultimately learn how to succeed. here is just one example. i am a former federal tax lawyer and i know firsthand that our complex,has become too too unfair, and blatantly a tool for political cronyism and control. that is what lobbyists are all about. we need a flatter, fair tax system that levels the playing field for everyone and encourages innovation and growth and taxing investment and productivity --stops taxing investment and productivity. last year saw the 100th

anniversary of the united states income tax code. hardly something to celebrate. just go back down except on memory lane. tax bracket inp the united states -- this is how the tax code was sold -- was going to be a 7% tax rate, and the tax code was 400 pages long. 100 years later, the top tax rate -- bracket has ballooned to nearly 40%. that excludes state and local taxes. and the tax code today is over 74,000 pages long. and that doesn't include the regs.and the i just returned from speaking at the reagan ranch center in california. i had the privilege to speak to a wonderful group of young conservative women. when ronald reagan came into office in 1980, the top tax rate was, hold onto your seats, 70%. sound like france? not working so well for them.

it didn't work so well for the united states, either. but by the time ronald reagan left office, our top tax rate dropped from 70% down to 28. he also secured a 25% across-the-board reduction in income taxes for all americans in every tax bracket, and simplify the tax code from 16 brackets down to 2. in addition to cutting taxes, he also reduced spending. he reduced regulation, and he maintained -- excuse me -- he --thatined a strong is what a long airplane ride will do for you. sorry, sorry. and he maintained a strong u.s. dollar. for is the winning formula strong economic growth, no matter how you cut it. the result was 92 consecutive months of economic growth, the

longest peace time expansion in american history. as we saw from reagan''s example, what drives innovation ultimately is a free market enterprise environment that fosters it. too many of our policies and institutions are on the opposite end of the free market spectrum. one example in the news recently, coming from the financial services sector, business -- the export import bank. it doesn't sound terribly sexy but it overwhelmingly subsidizes the most politically connected corporation in the world. last year i handful of fortune 500 companies received more than half of the bank's financing. nobody would care if this was a private bank. but this is a government subsidy . it amounts to cronyism that is financed by tax dollars and puts american businesses at a competitive disadvantage is. do you see where i mean?

government is lifting up the big at the expense of the small, enabling the rich at the expense of the poor. that's not what government is supposed to do. it is time to let the free market work and allow the export-import bank to expire. inventand must opportunity for all america is without getting special handouts to the select few. after six years of barack obama 's presidency, it is no wonder that the american people feel that this is a government for government, not a government for people. and i believe the president obama's lasting legacy will be that the american people saw what a lawless presidency looks like, what the government overreach looks like, and the american people are going to sit "nah, i think i will take a check." president obama set out to make government cool again and he did just the opposite. the principles that make america exceptional nation

are too valuable to throw by the wayside. they will allow america to shine as the enduring beacon of freedom and liberty around the world. the tea party awaken to the country to the values that we hold dear, and it made us the greatest nation in the world. the tea party embodies the revolutionary americans. spiritses up -- american that rises up in each of us when our freedoms and rights are being taken away. it is a spirit that built the nation from the bottom up. they didn't build us from the top down. america hasn't been preserved by officials in washington dc, as much as we would like to see it. it is preserved by the men and women who rose to the challenge and made the nation great -- the augs of the world, the martin luther king jrs. of the world, and elie wiesel. ragtag armyngton's

come to the painters across our continent and covered wagons to settle the american west. to the freedom seeking immigrants who cross oceans to claim the promise of america's ideals. that is what keeps us rich and strong. it is the faith and spirit of our citizens, along with the opportunity for a better life that built the country and made it great. theyom and opportunity, aren't political, they are not republican and democrat. they are american values also but if we don't stand up to defend these ideals, then who will? in the last few years, it was the tea party, the creaky little -- andf the tea party the squeaky little voice of the tea party that said "i will stand up and defend these great american values." death in the last line of defense to stand in a way of an ever-expanding government --they are the last line of defense to stand in a way of an ever expanding government that taxes too much, that spends too much,

and tries to extinction the liberty of the american people -- one liberty of the american people after another. the tea party will never be content to let the principles of american greatness slip away, and with two more years of president obama's pen and phone to come, contend with them we must fit i thank you, god bless you, and god bless the united states. [applause] >> we have time for a couple questions. let me kick things off -- this is one i'm going to be around -- since you are not going to be around, let me put this in policy terms. assuming the elections go the way people are talking about, you maintain a house, maybe gain the senate, there will be this ballot that comes up all the democratsblicans and -- do we go small ball to show

we can get things done or do they go after some big ideas and x-im banking like the e or the pipeline was an issue like that? what is your advice to the leadership -- i'm sure you are giving it privately -- what is your nice on how to manage that, and how would the tea party react to those situations? >> that is a great question. if everyone her the question, it was fundamentally this -- if the republicans have both the house and the senate this year, what is it that republicans in congress should do from a policy standpoint? --uld they go small bidwell small ball or big ball? you either go gold or you don't go at all. when i came to congress i decided to take the dice and roll them, and give it everything i had. a monotone. five biological kids, 23 great foster kids in our home.

when i was in the kitchen table listening to the radio or watching tv, looking at what was going on in faraway pc, my opinion was this -- what is wrong with these people? don't they know how we live, don't they understand what it is like to raise a family? we had our struggling small business. don't they know what it is like for us? we want a better life like our parents and grandparents did. i say now and always, it isn't it isn't about politicians. it is about finally getting her act together and listening to the american people and recognizing that the world isn't stagnant. things are changing. we have got to do what we can so that the united states maintains its position as the economic powerhouse of the world. when we are the economic powerhouse of the world, then we can also be the military powerhouse of the world. the world is a safer place and

enter off when america is strong on both of those levels, economically and militarily. and what is phenomenal about this great american experiment in liberty is that it is all wrapped up -- all rests upon maximum liberty for the individual. what country does that? only us. lly america does that, ifts the greatest amount of liberty for the individual and, shazam, you have the greatest country in the world that is also a powerhouse. you don't do that with small .deas you do it with ideas like the tax code -- you change it now, immediately, and you either go with a flat tax or a national consumption tax. you figure out which one. we did the debate. you want somebody to lead the debate? i will lead the debate.

guess what, folks, this isn't working. america's foreign policy is working -- isn't working. literally thousands of innocent people across the world are getting killed, including women and children who are buried august by the islamic state. you see, there are consequences when we are not strong. that is why i say we don't have time to play around with now is the time to reclaim greatness, and you don't do it by dribs and drabs. you do if i bold moves. you have to compromise? yes, you do get not your values, and principles. but you do get there. >> please use the microphone . >> i just want to say what a hero you are to the silent authority, christian coalition, just mainstream america.

i got back from southern california, which as you know is , andy the democratic and andeen that and the seiu the undocumented immigrants, i want to know if you in congress realize that if you -- according re, candidate for mayor in los angeles, southern california looks like a third world dump and that is what it is becoming and if you pass immigration reform, that is what america will head towards, unfortunately. i just want to know what you have to say about that. yourll, thank you for question. no human being ever would be considered a dump. all human beings have worth and all human beings have value. when it comes to the issue of immigration, the most cynical move was made by the president of the united states. when the president of the united states announced publicly that yes, he was going to buy himself

unilaterally grant amnesty to potentially millions of people illegally here in the united states, presumably some of them could be terrorists that are in the united states who have recently come across our southern border. that is one of our greatest fears. we don't know that is one of our greatest fears -- but that is one of our greatest fears. he is going to wait until after the election, just like he is going to do with not publishing how much obama care premiums are going to go until after the election. let me say this about immigration. i spent four days on the southern border, i look at this issue and studied a lot. i thought i knew a lot about this issue until i went to america's southern border. i drew from the mouth of the rio grande all the way to laredo, and what i learned with this. it was shocking -- the border. stop anyone from coming into the united states, and it is not their fault. it is the politicians fall.

-- politicians' fault. america is the most generous nation in the world when it comes to immigration. we allow in legally over one million people from across the world, every year. legally. if you took every other country of the world and you took the number of people they allow in your immigration -- thru immigration and you added up every other country in the world, every country in the world together doesn't equal with the united states allows in immigration in one year. and we are not the most populated nation in the world. we are an amazingly generous country. and immigration is good for the united states. dri nation of immigrants. -- we are a nation of immigrants. that doesn't include the number of illegal immigrants who come into the united states every year. illegal immigration is estimated between an additional one two million per

year. that is an enormous amount of people. we have had great waves of immigration into the united states, but then we also hit the aus button so that wee had time to assimilate could we may get time now. calvin coolidge did that in the 1920's. wehit the pause button and period of time where we dealt with assimilation. very different now. today we have open borders combined with the welfare state. we didn't have that prior to 1965. that has changed our equation. you can't talk about immigration without talking about america's current welfare state, because those are two issues that come together. >> yes, talk radio news. i know anted to ask is

minute ago you were talking about introducing legislation to help ban people who have western passport from entering america who had fought with islamic state. i wonder if you would talk about the latest on that. >> thank you. that is a great question. i just returned from the middle east, and it is very concerning what is going on. i confirmed when i was in europe with our that the eye and our department of homeland security -- our fbi and our department of homeland security a scenario i find it concerning, when that would offend the average american person. i come from a state -- just by way of background, i come from minnesota, a state with a tragic nexus to terrorism. we have the only convicted terrorist from 9/11. leavee had over 50 b,nnesota to join al-shabaa an affiliate of al qaeda. they're strapped to his life vests onto themselves and kill themselves fighting for al-sha

baab.we have had cases of terrorism financing, over 20 ns we've minnesota to fight on behalf of the islamic state. killedst two americans fighting for the islamic state were from minnesota. we have a tragic nexus to terrorism. as i saw the up-tempo rise of i sit onic state, -- the house intelligence committee and we deal with declassified secrets of the nation and also arrorism -- i asked for private classified meeting with the fbi and i asked our fbi, are there any minnesotans who have left to fight for the islamic state? they told me yes, there were two. at that time it was classified and now the whole world knows. presumably if they d't blow themselves up or if they aren't killed fighting for the islamic state, with a be allowed to return to america if they choose to?

they said yes, they would, because they are americans and have an american passport. these are terrorists. these are terrorists who have taken up arms against the united states. they would be about three passage to return -- allowed free passage to return to the united states of america? there isn't a citizen i've spoken to who thought that was a good idea. i just had that confirmed again within the last two weeks by our fbi and homeland security that that is how they read along. i have read the law, united states code section 349a. as i read the lock him i believe our government would not be required to allow them to come back into the united states, but i want to make it absolutely clear, so my legislation would add another subsection that would say if an individual who is an american citizen with a u.s. passport is either affiliated with or a member of a foreign terrorist organization,

u.s.-designated, then the government would have the right to hold her passport and begin andull their passport begin the process of the naturalization. in other words, they would have full due process rights but wouldn't have the right to return to the united states, because presumably they have battlefield experience, they have relationships with other terrorists, and potentially a plan for terrorist acts in the united states. we know the up-tempo of the islamic state. we know what they have stated. they have stated unequivocally by their leader -- in january he made this quote, "we will be in direct contact with you soon," meaning the united states. "we are with you. we are watching you. we are with you." just recently again in the last month or so he made another

comment to the united states along the same lines, that they intend to have activity in the united states. no one thought they would be able to get into baghdad. today mortars are going into western baghdad. the question is will back that fall?- will baghdad i think when a man man speaks, you listen. we need to take the threat from the islamic state seriously, i recognize that we could see violent activity here in this nation as well. that is why on every level we need to secure our borders. i am sorry to say -- i don't believe that our government is fully securing our borders today. in fact, i know they aren't. not on the southern border through illegal immigration, but certainly not from legal immigration, when an american ,itizen who becomes a terrorist in my mind they did not have a right to, and upset the safety

and security of the american people. have thecan people right to feel safe in their homes and safe in your community , and that is what my legislation is doing and we have members of congress coming on that legislation. i think it should be fast tracked. when we come back into cohington, d.c., to deaths the legislative companion by takers in the senate needs to be fast tracked. the legislative companion by ted cruz in the senate needs to be fast tracked. we need to stop terrorists from coming into the united states. one from the web addressing campaign-finance issues, and the fact of the beltway seems to have so much control over who wins and loses because of the national development and campaign financing. propose having alternations restricted to spending within the districts from which the candidate is running.

would you care comment? >> that is an interesting concept. i've never heard of that before. for the benefit of the camera, the question from the internet from an anonymous individual is gets elected seems to come from washington, d.c. because so much of the money comes from lobbyists and organizations in washington. the question was how about it all the race comes from i assume individuals who live in the district, right? is that your understanding? in from individuals who live the district because anybody can open up a po box and bank account and defeat the purpose. i have never heard of that idea before, but i do know in minnesota -- let me tell you, one thing that worked pretty well for us, maybe counterintuitive, but i believe it is ridiculous the amount of money we're spending on this capsion -- these elections

on into the realm of bizarre and absurd, even by washington, d c standards, because the election last time, about $1 billion was spent on either side. i was told recently that we may be looking in 2016 at about $2 billion being spent on either side to enact the president of the united states -- elect and president of the united states. why would that be? the reason why is whoever becomes president holds the key to the world's largest atm machine, and the people who are giving the money to elect the president want access to the atm machine. for my remarks i mentioned solyndra. that is exactly what it was, an individual organization giving lect barack obama president of the united states, and lo and behold they get hundreds of millions of dollars and shazam it goes up in smoke and too bad, it is the taxpayers money.

it happens over and over again. too pollyanna, but in minnesota we have limits on what you can spend on elections, actual limits. when i ran for the state senate for the first time, our limit with something like $50,000. ng mom anda youhng kitchen table maker, i thought $50,000 was the moon and the stars. how would i raise that kind of money? asay i have his distinction the member of congress who has raised more money for a house seat than any other member of congress. tops always nancy pelosi's order to defeat and i didn't want her to win, i wanted to win, and people were very generous. over $2 million in a two-year election cycle. that is crazy money, crazy get any candidate should have to raise that kind of money. i think the question is a great one because money is buying

influence, rather than real people going to the polls. ps on how be limits, ca much could be spent. the other idea that i have heard in california, maybe with local --ctions, there was a limit there was a booklet that was sent to every person's house, and on the booklet was a list of each of the candidates by their name with their photo, and then of basicsic questions answers to certain issues, so people would get that in the mail and they would have a side-by-side comparison of the candidates and people would go and vote. seems like a fairly rational idea. there is things we can do, but what we are doing now isn't working. it is leading to a game of bigger and better, and we are at .he point of bizarre and absurd one thing i love about the heritage foundation is this is a bolstering of thought and ideas. don't we need more of that in our politics?

we need more ideas. whose idea will win rather than 20-second soundbite on tv mwill win? great question. >> thank you very much. >> thank you for having me today. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, thanks for joining us. again, welcome to michele for joining us today. >> thank you, everyone. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

[captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014]

>> please, nobody wants you to retire. >> oh, thank you. i, what is your name? >> thanks. i like the shadow to the female group and the reagan ranch. >> are you from santa barbara? >> ventura county. close enough. i like the shout out. >> they are great, aren't they? >> they can be a little overexcited sometimes. >> overexcited. describingor california as a third world nation. i was like, "oh, god." >> thank you. >> you said there was any to

have caps on campaign spending. would you support overturning citizens united, the supreme court decision? >> i was talking about how we deal with campaigns in minnesota. that was done pre-citizens on howand it was caps much would be spent on limits on how much for the race at a time. cap, etc.$1000 it made it so that real people were giving money into elections and it has kept them fairly small. i just think that that is a good thing, and i think that the question isn't just citizens united. the question is really the overall legislation, mccain-feingold, and pre- mccain-feingold, it was just too much money. special interests have the upper hand in real people don't. that is the direction i want to

move, real people having more of a direction. >> do you think there should be restricted on groups like koch industries -- i'm not getting into that. i'm just going with the remarks i made. >> i want to ask a follow-up question. do you know if there are specific dates or just the general think -- >> on my legislation? >> legislation on foreign fighters. >> everyone is back campaigning so we won't be returning to d.c. until after the election. iless something comes up don't think it will be back. when the comeback, depending on what happens, there may be a movement to have it, and i'm hoping we do that in november. that is what i am hoping, that we could do a fast-track to if we want to get it done, we can get it done pretty fast. >> thank you very much. >> thank you.

thank you for coming today. what's your name? >> kelvin. i'm a minnesotan, too. thanks for the story of norman borlaug. >> have you seen the statue? >> we were there a couple weeks ago. >> good for you. where are you from in iowa? >> i'm from minnesota. >> did you go to luther? that is where my mother went. i went to winona state. what's your name? >> dakota. >> hello, dakota. >> thank you so much. >> thank you. oh, you're welcome. good to see you. good to see you again. >> you remember -- >> oh, i do. >> talking about ebola, policy-wise, do you feel what has been done as far as screening at airports, taking

temperatures -- is there anything else you feel like -- >> well, yeah, when it comes to ebola we have been failing the emergent people so far because i don't think it was taken as seriously as it needed to be taken for a few sunday mornings ago we had the administration on tv saying "ebola will never come into the united states." well, it did almost immediately, and. the commonsense of the american people knew that when you have a highly contagious virus that can spread the way it can and with all the movement of people across the world, you can easily ine in -- it can easily come . you need to quarantine at the locus of where the problem began . it was primarily in western africa, but not solely. there have been outbreaks in the congo as well. migration coming out of all those areas up into europe and other areas. it is very, very difficult, and

that is why we have to make sure that we have -- put a lot of whetherto dealing with it is the vaccination cure, whenever, to be able to deal with it -- the doctor who originally got ebola from africa and then came back into america has been generously giving up some of his flight as transfusion to this woman in dallas. we have got to go beyond that and we have got to put every available resource we have into the medical science that knows how to treat this, but also, we can't take this lightly on movement. it has been shocking to me that the president did not want to stop flights that were coming in from those nations. now, that wouldn't do that alone -- >> would you do that? >> absolutely. we have to do screening, but we have seen reports that screening in many ways has been useless in those areas. we can't just rely on what is happening in my.

-- in liberia. the liberians, to their credit, max been stretched to the of their abilities. we have to do a certain amount of screening as well fit for the time being, looking at the problems, appreciating how serious this problem is, we need to 14 the problem where we can and not exported. we cannot allow people to come into the united states who may have had contact. people have a far more serious view of this problem, and they are willing to take a little bit more stricter actions than they have before. >> all right. >> thank you. >> we are going to head out this way. >> hi, guys. let me see you. thank you for coming. so nice of you to be here today. i was surprised to see you out there. how did you even know? insiders, aren't you? aww. are you here full-time?

>> 12 weeks. >> great. i haven't come over you. i have got to come over and see you. i absolutely will. >> correction anxiety -- [laughter] >going to be our mother. >> our coach. >> ok, you guys, we will see you soon. bye-bye. >> if you missed any of what michele bachmann had to say, you can see this event again later today on our website, cspan.org. in the u.s. house will return following the midterm elections wednesday, november 12. we will have live coverage on c-span. coming up later today, defense secretary chuck hagel is the keynote speaker at a conference of the association of the u.s. army. live coverage is set to begin at 12:30 eastern here on c-span. also, more campaign 2014 coming up.

life debates tonight for you. first, the florida governor's race, the debate between republican rick scott and former governor charlie crist, who was a republican while serving in the state as the chief executive. e coverage starts at 7:00 a.m. eastern on c-span. here are some of the ads running in a race. cost governor, kelly crist florida -- charlie crist cost jobs it is predicted that rick scott will create one million by 2018. a vote for rick scott is a vote for prospering free market economy. r jobs, for fo florida, for governor. >> rick scott is blaming me for the financial crisis? that's ridiculous. the recession was caused by me or by you. you know who caused this? greedy wall street bankers and corporate takeover artists. in other words, guys like rick scott.

his company permitted outright fraud. remembersee his ads, it was guys like rick scott and crashed our economy. i am charlie crist could i will work for you, the people. always have, always will. >> this isn't just the doorway to a school, it was my doorway as a public school kid to opportunity. i want to make sure every child has the same chance for a better life. but rick scott's education cuts are closing that door on florida's kids, spending almost $200 less per student than when i was governor. was governor we brought both parties together to open the doors of opportunity, not close them. together we can do it again. >> sponsored by let's get to work. just the other day -- >> do you think obamacare has irreparably harmed floridians in any way? >> no, i think it has been great. >> great? 300 health plans canceled.

less work hours for american jobs. >> i think it has been great. >> great, charlie? hisacare might be great for political career, but it is not great for the rest of us. >> that debate is tonight on c-span at 7:00 eastern. following that at 8:00, the third and final debate in the kansas senate race between republican incumbent pat roberts, who is running for a fourth term, and independent challenger greg orman. the democrat in the race dropped out several weeks ago. the candidates have put out these recent ads. >> i'm pat roberts and i approve this message. >> trillions in new debt. obamacare. nearly 10 million americans unemployed could now barack obama says -- >> i'm not on the ballot, but make no date come of these policies are on the ballot. every single one. >> obama's candidate in kansas?

greg gorman. a vote for greg norman is a vote for the obama agenda. >> make no mistake, the policies are on the ballot could >> pat roberts is attacking me and that is what is wrong with washington today. they would rather attack opponents than the problems we face. i have tried both parties and i've been disappointed with both. i will not answer for either party. i will answer only for the people of kansas and stand up for the best idea, regards of who thought of it. i am greg orman and i approve this message because while they try to attack and label me, our country's problems get worse. >> in case you have forgotten, i am a bob dole, and i want to talk about my good friend robert -- pat roberts. he is a fourth generation kansan who fights for changes every day. from protecting our national security group creating patsands of new jobs, roberts is a workhorse in the stakes are high, the choice is

clear. we need to keep pat roberts in the senate. >> i'm pat roberts and i approve this message. when pat roberts first got to washington, there were over 100 illegal immigrants in america. years later, the problem has gotten worse. now there are 11 million illegal immigrants. roberts has come back to kansas to lie about greg orman. opposes amnesty, he will secure the border with a plan that is tough, practical, and theodore taxpayers. >> i am greg norman and i approve this message because while they attack and try to label me, our country's problems only get worse. >> see the third and final 8:00e live tonight at eastern. monday night, senate minority leader mitch mcconnell and kentucky secretary of state mary lundergan grimes met for the first and only debate could here's a portion of their exchange about the minimum wage. [ wage increase

that she advocates is going to cost us a lot of jobs for young people. much better way to target the low income people that you are talking about is the earned income tax credit. the way to deal with that underemployment problem -- the problem of those who were employed and not making enough -- a much better way to do it without killing any jobs at all is the earned income tax credit, which is already a part of the tax law, and ought to be grown and expanded. >> let me stop. the is amazing to hear senator say that the earned income tax credit should be grown, because he supported that asthat slashed well as the child care tax credit. these help our veterans, 20,000 kentuckians, 140,000 military families, 300,000 children. his record is against -- >> did you vote against those bills? >> i don't have any idea what

she's talking about. i'm a longtime supporter of eitc and the child care credit. >> supported -- in ath all due respect, large budget though there are probably things in there that any onepluck out that of us might not have preferred. when you put together a budget, hadsecretary grimes has not this experience yet, but when you put together a whole budget, you will not approve of absolutely everything in it but the budget is designed to do is to put an overall cap on what we are going to stand. you can't serve in a legislative body and not occasionally cast a you are notething crazy about, because there are other things that you like. >> here is more on the kentucky senate race between alyson hannigan grants and senate majority leader mitch mcconnell. hill" and the democrats

will not spend any more money that -- announced the democrats lost any more money on the race in kentucky. the race has been slipping away from grimes in recent weeks, long considered a pickup opportunity for democrats. the parties shifting almost solely to defense in hopes of protecting its fragile six-seat majority. c-span's campaign 2014 coverage. follow us on twitter and like us on facebook to get debate schedules, previews from our politics team. c-span is bringing you over 100 senate, house, and governor debates, and you can instantly share your reactions to what the candidates are saying. the battle for control of congress. stay in touch and engaged by following us on twitter,, @c span, and liking us on facebook at facebook.com/cspan.

>> coming up next, the georgia senate race today. republican senator saxby chambliss is retiring. this after his second term in office. ook and rothenberg political report lists this race is a tossup. this is just under an hour. >> good evening. welcome for tonight's debate among the three candidates for the soon-to-be vacant u.s. senate seat in the state of georgia. we want to thank all of you who in watching live on 13 wmac those watching on a tape delayed basis, and those who have turned out at the arena in support of their candidate. thank you very much. [applause]

i am news anchor with 13 wmac in macon. i will be moderating tonight's debate. obviously, the purpose of tonight's debate is to hear what our three candidates have to say on the issues and why they should be the next senator in the state of georgia, and while we appreciate your passion for politics, those of you who are here tonight, we are going to be able to hear what the candidates have to say. they will have to hear what each other is saying, they will have to do with the panelists are saying, so we appreciate your cooperation in that regard. at this time it is my great pleasure to introduce the candidates left to right. the positions they have drawn beforehand. republican candidate david perdue. [applause]

democratic candidate michelle nunn. [applause] our libertarian candidate amanda swafford. [applause] the format of the debate is as follows. each candidate will get a one-minute opening statement, they will then answer questions from our panelists, who i will introduce in a minute. she will then be allowed to question one another -- they will then be allowed to question one another. and then one minute closing statement. that is the format.

our panelists going left to right, the special projects macon, mr. wmac randall savage. tpb and reporter with radio, ms. lea fleming. news anchor and reporter in atlanta. -- veteranent call columnist with the "ajc," mr. jim galloway. crowd,tes, analysts, thank you for being here tonight. we will begin with a one minute opening statement as drawn. mr. perdue, you have the honors. >> thank you. wow, great to be home. welcome to perdue country. [applause]

folks, this race is not about michelle nunn, it is not about me. it is about the direction of our country. we have a full-blown crisis in america today. we have fewer people working than any time since jimmy carter was president. no class wages have dropped dramatically. and yet in the last six years with put 4 million women into poverty under the failed administration of this president. [applause] -- no wonder 70% of americans believe we are headed in the wrong direction. this, my democratic opponent will do nothing -- be nothing but a rubber stamper for the failed agenda. we cannot give harry reid one more vote in the united states senate. [applause] >> opening statement. ms. nunn, your turn. >> thank you, thank you. [applause] thank you to our panelists,

thank you to david and amanda, and thank you to our rockets and enthusiastic crowd. [applause] i'm really grateful to be here in my hometown. just a few miles -- [applause] just a few miles down the road from our family farm. kids love to come every single year. it is great to be here. yearsery proud of my 26 of living and working in georgia, and mobilizing younger going from an organization with a few thousand dollars to $30 million budget. i know that we can change washington, change the send someoneif we who is committed to collaboration and creativity and georgia values. [applause]

>> ms. swafford, one minute opening statement, please. >> i am a man that s-- amanda swafford, and you may not have heard about me, but i stand for true freedom. i am bringing personal responsibility to this race, running for the united states senate because i believe it is that important. i am counting on my full-time job running for the united states senate because i believe in the american dream, and that you deserve a real choice in the united states senate race. we know it makes no difference which party controls conference -- congress in washington because both parties have control us for decades. it is time we get serious about electing a candidate for united states senate who understands the power and responsibility of the individual lies the true liberty, not with big government. i hope you will keep an open

heart and open mind and listen to our message of true liberty tonight, and i thank you so much for the honor and privilege of participating in tonight's debate. [applause] you, candidates. at this time we will begin questions for our -- from our analys -- panelists. randall, directed to mr. perdue. isis wasn'tng ago, a household word, but it is now. how do you think the united states is handling the situation, and do you think bombing targets should be used? when ourtarted president did not heed the advice of many extremes people in the military -- many experienced people in the military. he created a vacuum that allowed the rise of isis, and today i read our security and a national order -- borders needs to be taken into account, because of

security at the border is not just an immigration issue, it is a national security issue. i have said many times that i want to do with this over there, not over here. thank you. >> how about ground troops? how about ground troops? >> right now what we need to do is make sure we have planned an omission, and we don't have that right now. when we put boots on the ground we better give them a chance to win, right now we don't have that. >> lea, direct it to ms. nunn. >> the world has been outraged by the beheadings and murders by isis. you said in an interview that isis is a dangerous terrorist organization and it has to be defeated, and we must take the lead in that. if elected, how would you vote on the issue of isis? >> first of all, i have said it

is an incredibly dangerous that could i go back to one year ago when we were asked of candidates will be with you about syria, and david perdue said we should do nothing. i said we should intervene and lift up the moderate forces. there is a big difference in this race, and it is about leadership and it is about foresight and not about political expediency. it was the popular thing to do a year ago to say we should do nothing. it is now the popular thing to do to say that we should engage. we need leaders who will do the right thing, not the popular thing. we need to do the airstrikes and make sure we have commercial authorization for long-term engagement -- congressional

authorization for long-term engagement. >> mr. perdue, you want 30 seconds to rebut. >> times have changed in a year. this president drew a line in the sand. he had no plan then, he has no plan now. this is a very dangerous time in our history. we have got to get serious about our national defense. right now because of our debt reassessing our ability to protect the national security -- we are threatening our ability to conduct our nationals. the biggest threat to our national security is our own debt. thank you. s. next question for m swafford. >> we want to thank the candidates for being here. there was a story in "the washington post" last week that the trend is for candidates not to appear in these kinds of debates. there was one in minnesota like this and it has been canceled,

so a big round of applause for the candidates for being here tonight. give yourself a round of applause for caring enough about government to be here as well. , if you are elected from you would be the only libertarian in congress. would be-- with that an issue of where you would caucus. would you caucus with republicans, progress, or neither --democrats, or neither? >> if i am elected as the first libertarian in the senate, i would ask which party wants to caucus with me, as the first solid recordh a of working in government and reducing government and giving our citizens more freedom. which party would want to caucus with me? that is the true question. i would not support any of the leadership currently in place because congress and the leadership has done a dismal

job, dismal. >> next question will come from jim galloway. please.t to mr. perdue, >> you were quoted in a 2005 deposition saying he spent most of your career outsourcing. let me finish, please. let me finish. you would say services, others would say jobs. you say you are proud of that. we will be talking a lot about this this evening, i think, so take annexed a minute and lets you begin to make your case. >> well, look, don't be confused, folks. this is another attempt by mike desperate opposition to use one --e out of 186-page document article 186-page document to define a career. let me tell you what the issue is. the issue is over the past 30 or 40 years we have decimated an entire industry because of bad government policies.

tax policies, regulaon policies, compliance issues. what i have fought for in this campaign is to get this economy going again. i believe we have got to reform. and finally, we have to work with energy resources. that was help us compete with the rest of the world. to kill it, that is not possible. what i am here representing as a way forward to get our economy going and putting our people back to work. thank you. >> jim, you have a follow-up? >> so david has said he has unique experience to really give

him opportunity, with 10 other folks who have business experience. but i tell you, he would be even more unique than that. he would be the only senator who has built his career around outsourcing american jobs. that is not the experience we need in washington. david in his deposition talked about 16 countries, thailand and singapore and india and pakistan, not once did he talk about creating jobs in the united states. >> we are going to move on. the next question, please. we were asking viewers to send in questions, and we got a 10 of questions -- time of

>> i think we are having trouble hearing you. >> anyway, they range from amnesty to getting american citizens jobs and the cost of educating children of illegal immigrants and health care reform. if you are elected to the senate, what would you do to provide amnesty? >> i am in support of the bipartisan immigration framework put forward by marco rubio and john mccain and 14 republican senators and the bipartisan coalition of democrats. it is also advanced by the u.s. chamber of commerce, the farm bureau, and it is a framework , with 20,000 security agents on the border as a part of this bipartisan bill.

so let's talk about what we could have already accomplished with that. pathway, not us a amnesty, a long journey of going to the back of the line, paying and taxes, security checks, learning english, and it gives us the opportunity to create jobs and to cut our debts. >> the follow-up. >> mr. perdue, it look like you were pulling at the bit on that one. did you want to respond? >> yes. let me tell you what was wrong with the bill. i would have gone against some of my republican counterparts because of two things. it did not define amnesty properly, and there were questions about securing our border. now with isis, we see that that is not acceptable.

presidentoxy for this who is not enforcing the laws of the land in terms of securing our border. forex ok, the next question. -- >> ok, the next question. this could sway the election by causing a runoff. how could you get beyond that 3% and possibly secure a win? >> i think i am a true, real choice for the united states havee, that we do not someone who represents americans who go to work every single day, and i thought when i was involved, it makes a difference when you have these real you try to decide, should i raise the thermostat? i think if we have an electorate

that is tired of the same for both parties, we have had a conference for decades that have promised tax reform, spending reform. have we got it? vote parties have controlled congress at various times in the last 20 years with majorities. what have we gotten out of that? that is the important question that i think we need to ask. i think it is time that we elect a senator who represents more of the diversity that we see in georgia every single day. number concludes phase one for the debate, and it is time now for the candidates to question one another. again, we will look and see who has this backstage, and the first question will be from ms. nunn. have said throughout the campaign that i support raising the minimum wage. you run a company with thousands

of employees that makes the federal minimum wage, and you have opposed raising the minimum wage. so i would like to ask you, what do you think that the federal minimum wage should be, specifically? >> let's talk about the minimum wage. we have proven time and again that this is about supplies and supply and demand. if you get the economy going, all rates go up because we have more people, more demand for people working. the problem right now is that my opponent wants to turn me -- tear me down in terms of my business career, but let's talk about what she really stands for. she supports obama care. she supports amnesty. she supports more regulation on energy, and she supports the economic policies of this administration that have caused this crisis that we have today, where 4 million women have been thrown into poverty in the last few years. >> ms. dunn, a 32nd rebuttal.

-second rebuttal. a 30-second rebuttal. >> let me ask my question again, because you did not answer it. at dollar general, what does somebody make? let me ask you again, do you believe we should have a federal minimum wage, and what do you think it should be? >> if you increase the minimum wage, you will kill jobs in this country. bigger government, higher taxes, more regulations. this is the plan that my opponent supports. >> we are moving on. next question. i appreciate it, but i can't even hear what they are saying, and in order to be able to

figure out if there is time for rebuttal, i have to be up to here, and i think our panelists are having a little trouble hearing as well, also. we need to be able to hear what everyone is saying. you have the next question. you may direct it. >> my question is for ms. dunn. in 2012, the democratic party finally put in place allowing individuals the freedom to decide who they wanted to marry. were you in favor of that platform before that time, or do you now support that platform that allows the individuals the freedom to decide who they want to marry? it one more say time again? i am sorry. >> yes. in 2012, the democratic party finally put a plank in their platform allowing people the freedom to decide who they want to marry. were you in favor of that before 2012, or are you in favor of it

now? >> i have said throughout this campaign that i believe that all people should have the same right as my husband and i have to marry. i also believe that marriage is butonly a legal construct that everyone needs to be able to define marriage. that has been my position throughout the campaign. >> mr. perdue, you can ask the next question. >> michelle, i grew up down here off highway 96, working on our family farm. for the agriculture community, i have said publicly i want to serve on the state agriculture committee. you have said very positive things about the state of agriculture in the state, and yet you rank agriculture number 18, and in world issues -- rural

issues number 30. is your campaign just a well-funded effort to deceive the people of georgia, to keep them from finding out who you really are? >> david, i did not hear all of that, but i think i got the gist of it. you, for you to question my georgia credentials is somewhat ironic. i have been born here. i have served and build organizations for 26 years here, while you were spending your career and places all over the country outsourcing jobs, according to your own deposition. georgiae learned my values of service and integrity and commitment across georgia, and i worked alongside georgians, again, while you have

been outsourcing jobs. a part of thet is american enterprise system. i just don't think it is actually what we need more of in washington. wrapl right, we will things up with a 32nd rebuttal for mr. perdue. know, michelle, back at you. you did not answer that question at all. have you justified to the farmers that in your list of priorities, there are 17 items more important than the farmers in the state? >> now, where did you get that? >> out of your plan. >> that is not true. and i will tell you that for over a year, i talked about serving on the agriculture committee, and let me put it this way. saxby chambliss and others said the farm bill was the most important piece of legislation for georgians as citizens, and yet, you stood against it.

the farm bureau was for it. every single farmer i spoke to said they were for bipartisan compromise, but you were against it. >> folks, i am sorry. i am just a business guy, but in my board room, we have to answer questions. she still do not explain to farmers why you have 17 items more important than farmers in this state area -- in this state. >> jeff, you have the next question. please.perdue, >> mr. perdue, since we are talking a bit about agriculture here, or, at least, i believe we can hear some of that, maybe about 10% or 15 percent of that, in again onigh immigration, and one of the more searing images, at least from television spots, during this campaign has been of you, a amnesty,"saying "no but defined by agriculture, even

at times when unemployment in this state was hovering between 11% and 12%, we could not get anybody to pick crops. there were all kinds of fields left unattended and unharvested. the that not constrict agriculture business in this state? >> absolutely, but, first, let's put context on this. verymmigration issue is a complex issue. i think we need to break it down in its components. the first components we have to solve is our border. it is not just an immigration issue. we have to secure our borders for national defense. your point, farmers in this state have a hard time getting legal labor. why? because it does not work for farmers. about 14am only has farmers in the state that can even use it because it is so expensive. the number one thing we need to do in the state of georgia for

agriculture is help these farmers have it so they can have access to legal labor. >> thank you. >> next question. you ask it to ms. nunn, please. >> a state court of appeals there is thed confederate battle emblem on the american flag and because of opposition to gay marriage. elected, will you support this? >> let me go back for one minute and talk about agriculture, because i do, again, want to ask -- you have, again misrepresented my position on agriculture, and i just want to make sure that people know that.

is one that i think is problematic, and i think that i have real concerns about it, as a number of other citizens do. as any would want to do, they would want to have a dialogue with him, but i have serious reservations about it. >> all right. please?stion, >> there has been a lot of gushing about legalizing medical marijuana in the state of georgia. if you were elected to the senate, would you support legalizing medical marijuana throughout the united states? >> i believe georgia, we have had unique cases in georgia where we have need people really struggle with a known substance that is helping them with their seizures,ith their and we have people who are having to uproot their lives and

move to other states, and in georgia does not get aggressive about these issues, we are going to have other states around us who are going to do it, and they will be leaving georgia, and that is affecting economic situation of the state, so, yes, i think that is very important, and in order to have that happen, we have to allow the legalization of marijuana were legal purpose is. >> the next question, directed to mr. perdue, please. the deficit figure was released for the period ending september 30. i know you talked about balancing the budget as your top priority. how would you do that, and how would you do that without raising taxes? >> thank you. >> it is a crisis in the obama

administration. today, today -- this is serious, guys. today, we are borrowing over a third of what we are spending. we have almost and $18 trillion debt. this president said he would cut the debt. not aa. is $1now, that debt million per household, per household, and the way to get out of it is to cut spending and grow the economy. the best way to grow the economy is to cut taxes and absolutely unlock our energy resources. my democratic opponent was handpicked by barack obama. his failed economic policies have created this mess, where we have fewer people working today than any time since when jimmy carter was president.

>> ultimately, i think david and i would agree that the long-term debt is a serious challenge. i think where we disagree is that i think it would only be resolved through a collaborative approach, by partisanship, not by republicans, not by working together and actually focusing compromise and growing our economy, revenue neutral tax out waste andting fraud and abuse, but at the same time, serving, for example, -- it has to be done through collaboration. >> you a direct question to ms. nunn, please. >> you have said the old role model would be your father who served this state for many years nobly, and you said that you

would reach across the aisle, that you would not be locked you any ideology, where would go to both sides, but in senate is a radically different place than that was left. is it possible to reach across the aisle, and if you attempt to do so, your party will penalize operating in such a way? do you agree or disagree with that? >> i have heard my father say that he has never had a single piece of legislation without the port, and i believe that. that when tell you david was asked if there was a single democratic idea, he could think of one. that is not what we need.

and, in fact, the only way we're going to change washington is through leadership, people who are focused on relationships, and people who are focused on campaign finance reform. again, this is only by sending people who are committed to work across the aisle. have 30erdue, you seconds to rebut. >> i do not know about you all, but i am getting a little bored hearing i am going to work across the aisle. we have 384 bills, and your first vote will be four harry reid as majority leader, and it is possibly 10 more years.

you will not find that. >> next question. the next question comes. >> you'll have to pardon me if this question has been asked, but i am kind of death at this point. monday's supreme court decision about legalizing same-sex marriage in five states could very well be a precursor to overturning the georgia state constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. please, let me finish. are you content to let the issue be determined by the courts or if elected to the senate, would you contemplate some sort of intervention? >> the primary purpose of this was to preserve and protect our individual rights. government should not be involved in the decision of how we structure our individual relationships. the libertarian party has been on record since the very issue,ng of this very

individuals with power and responsibility at the core of we believeieve, and we ought to make that decision. how can you trust the government to make that decision for you? it makes no sense. the reason they got involved in marriage in the first place if you go back and look that up, it is not a very good reason, and it is a very sad reason in our country, so absolutely, the purpose of our federal government is to preserve and protect individual rights, and we need to be responsible and --ow that, with in the bush with individuals and how they structure their marriage responsibility. >> next question to mr. perdue, please. >> mr. perdue, on your website, you say you would repeal the affordable care act or obamacare. in light of the fact that

obamacare was president obama's repealnd if you try to it, he will veto it. done?uld you get that >> thank you. first of all, this law is one of the worst laws that has ever been passed in the u.s. haveould believe we would a speaker of the house that says you have to vote for the bill to find out what is in it, to manage 15% of our economy. jobs are being destroyed. on most two thirds of american small businesses have stopped hiring or have cut back employment. this is a law that has to be repealed or replaced. price has a perfectly good bill in the house, and we can pass it. i think we need to belay the mandate to 2017 and let the people of america votes in the

presidential election in 2016 and pass a referendum about obamacare. >> leah, you have the next question. you will directed to ms. nunn, please? support the affordable care act? >> i have said time and time again that i believe there are things we need to fix about aca and things that we need to build upon. i think we need to add more affordable care concerns for individuals and extent tax credits to small businesses. this is affecting rural hospitals here in georgia. be having thisto argument for the next six years. if you want more of the same, you just turn david outline a plan for prosecuting and

attacking the other side. if you want to have people who are going to work together to do things that will matter in people's lives, like insuring the people who have conditions and access to health insurance, that parents can cover their kids, and you want to put the people of georgia first, then i would ask you to look at made. >> mr. perdue? 30 seconds you have for a rebuttal. 30-second rebuttal. >> let's think about obamacare for a second. my opponent talks about all of the working across the aisle. that will not happen, that one republican voting for it. >> jeff, you have the next question, please. you talked as a libertarian

-- we take a look at so many republicans and democrats adhere to many libertarian principles. they like the idea libertarian of the libertarian party, but they do not seem to like the candidates. looking at the numbers that the libertarians get, it is somewhere between 4% and 7%, and you seem to be tracking that sort of number, as well. point does the libertarian party break through and become a real challenger, and the second part, maybe the third part, will it happen in our lifetime? >> i think we are certainly getting there. if you look at the 2008 not seem to like the candidates. -- excuse me, the 2010 election, we had a candidate who was able to take one million votes in georgia. the libertarian also had a candidate in 2012 that also took one million votes in the race, and i, a candidate running for the united states senate and the only one you have had this experience in local government. i have a record of voting for freedom.

been with the libertarian party for 20, 18 years, and i can tell you the world of difference our candidates are already making. sense thaterious there are a lot of people who are standing up to getting tired of voting for the same old, a mold. -- old. everyone is tired of the iressa and the fair tax, -- tired of and the fair tax. >> jim, you have the next question. it goes to mr. perdue, please. about perdue, let's talk saxby chambliss, who you want to replace. he has been working with warner in virginia to bring down a deficit through an accommodation of reductions in entitlement

spending and increased federal revenue by closing the federal tax loopholes, and increasing the corporate tax rate at the same time. even though you say the federal deficit is the nations rate if national security threat. your approach will be? >> first of all, we have low hanging fruit. we have $480 billion of redundancies. this is the general accounting office number. that is the first place i would go. the second and place of the economy, what we have got to do is put people back to work again, and the way we do that is replace jobs. we have been working hard to get jobs or families to take care of themselves. what we have to do right now in we have to pull the regulators back, and we have to finally unlock our energy resources.

this country has the best workers in the world, but bad government policies are keeping us from putting them back to work. why? because this failed administration does not understand how to create jobs. believes that more taxes and regulation creates jobs. i am living proof that it is not the case. give them 30can seconds on that same question, if we could, please. >> could you clarify the question, please? >> on saxby chambliss and how to reduce the $17 trillion federal deficit, do you do it through an accommodation -- combination of spending cuts and revenue increases? >> well, i tell you, one thing is that the government is really bad at picking winners and losers, and if you are not

connected to the right people, or your industry does not have the most effective lobby, you are at an extreme disadvantage in this regulatory environment. the libertarian solution is really a three-step process. government.strip to bring spending in line with the actual budget. why have we not done that already? it is a simple question. >> i have said during this campaign that i may have been the only person that said and complemented saxby chambliss for his work with senator warner. do need to grow the economy, cut spending, and reform our tax code. david talked about his experience in actually creating jobs, but i just want to remind folks that he said he was