divorced all it was in law school. i argued with my parents. i sent them scripture after scripture on the sanctity of marriage. i argued that this was wrong. i was very judgmental. i did not agree with their decision to get divorced. it hurt me personally. i will tell you i asked god for forgiveness. that all of us on our faith journeys, we encounter obstacles. one of the things everyone of us learns as a child becoming an adult is that our parents are people. people are entitled to make mistake, stumble, sin. that is part of who we are. it is not my role to sit and judge them. that is something i have asked

for forgiveness and i was wrong. [applause] >> you are wrong in judging your parents. what about your colleagues in the senate? >> it is interesting. i have endeavored not to do so. to the best of my knowledge in my time at the senate, i have not spoken ill of any of my colleagues, republicans or democrats. [applause] mr. luntz: are you sure you want to make that declarative statement? mr. cruz: i'm sure i do, and indeed, my standard response -- i have the whole press corps here. one of the things our wonderful friends in the press will observe is that when others attack me -- and for whatever reason, that has happened once or twice -- my response

consistently is to respond with praise, to take the high road. that is how i intend to approach the next 18 months, not to impugn anyone's character. [applause] mr. cruz: but i do want to make something clear. it is very different to say you will not engage in personal attacks and to say you will not differ on policy. i think we have an obligation to speak the truth. [applause] mr. cruz: i think it is the bread and butter of politics that should be the heart of a political debate, and where i differ with other candidates on amnesty, common core, religious liberty, marriage, i will endeavor to tell the truth about my belief, my record and their records, and have any election

be on substance but not on personal vitriol and attacks. [applause] mr. luntz: by the way, when he says candidates, he means leaders. in the back, we're going to go with microphone three. >> a question for you about medicare. currently, medpac is working on recommendations to congress regarding site mutual payments and health care, specifically between inpatient rehab facilities and skilled nursing facilities. this will mean that individuals with brain injuries, spoke, -- stroke and spinal cords will not receive the appropriate evidence-based rehab to reach their full potential to become a productive member of society again. how do you plan, if elected president, to ensure that individuals receive appropriate health care based on evidence?

mr. cruz: thank you for that question. i will say i do not know specific policy recommendations referenced in the report you brought up, so let me speak more generally on how to approach the issue. without revealing the report you referenced, i do not want to give an opinion without having read it. when i will say is twofold. number one, when it comes to health care generally, we ought to be reforming health care so that we make health insurance personal, portable, and affordable. we expand patient choice and keep government from getting in between us and our doctors. [applause] mr. cruz: now that principle applies across the board but also applies in particular circumstances. for example, what has happened to the v.a. is shameful. [applause] mr. cruz: we need real accountability in the v.a., and in particular, we need reforms

that allow our soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines to be able to choose any doctor they wish. if they want to go to v.a. great, but if they want a cardiologist in private practice, we should empower our that's to have choices. -- empower our vets to have choices. [applause] mr. cruz: finally, on medicare we need to honor the commitments we made to our seniors, and in particular, what we needed washington is leadership to stand up and preserve and reform medicare and social security so we can take care of our seniors and hollow through on those commitments for generations to come, and i am campaigning on entitlement reform to strengthen those fundamental bulwarks of our society. [applause] mr. luntz: let's go to microphone two. >> thank you, mr. cruz.

i follow you, and i want to thank you for fighting on the senate floor on many issues, including obamacare. i am from wisconsin. on one of the millions of americans paying the comic care fine -- commie care fine and seeing my hours go over 21. i'm in iowa looking for work. tying that question into -- and i believe you would write it if you became president of the united states, that you would appeal this, tying this into we need a 2/3 majority all the time to override what obama calls his pen and phone -- tying this into the iran deal, what are we going to do if we do not get the 2/3 majority? this is serious. we have hostages sitting yet in iran. look at what happened to our u.s. marine last year sitting in mexico. what are we going to do?

and thank you for being a fighter. [applause] mr. cruz: thank you for that question. it's a very important question. you are right that barack obama is fond of saying that he has a pen and has a phone. whereas if you live by the pen you die by the pen. i have said that if i'm elected president, the very first thing i intend to do is revoke every single unconstitutional and illegal executive action barack obama has taken. [applause]

but let me get to iran because iran is an issue of extraordinary importance. this iranian nuclear deal is catastrophic. i think the single greatest national security threat facing america is the threat of a nuclear iran. under this deal, iran is allowed to keep all 19,000 centrifuges and allowed to keep spinning many of those centrifuges. it's allowed to keep much of its enriched uranium. it's allowed to keep developing its icbm program, which exists for one purpose and one purpose only, and that is to carry a nuclear warhead to the united states of america. you do not need an icbm to reach israel. you needn't icbm to get across the atlantic and attack what they call the great satan, which is the united states of america. if this deal goes through, billions of dollars of a ran --

billions of dollars will go to has below, to hamas -- to hezbollah, to hamas. if this deal goes through, the obama administration will become the world's leading finance year of radical islamic terrorism american dollars will fund jihadists seeking to murder americans, israelis, and europeans. mr. luntz: why would the president do this? mr. cruz: ben rhodes, the deputy national security adviser, said the iranian nuclear deal would be the obamacare of the second term. i think he meant that as a compliment. the reason is simple -- they view this purely as a domestic political legacy and agenda. you cannot fight and to feet radical islamic terrorism when you have a president and an administration who refuses to do

the words "radical islamic terrorism." [applause] -- refuses to utter the words "radical islamic terrorism." what is happening in iran this week, profoundly endangers israel, profoundly endangers america, risks millions of lives. it's interconnected with the terrorist act at chattanooga where four u.s. marines and once taylor were murdered. -- one sailor were murdered. president obama inexplicably referred to that as a lone gunman. it was not a lone gunman any more than hassan at fort hood was workplace violence. [applause] mr. cruz: and there is no issue more important than that the next president be one who will stand up on the world stage and

say unequivocally under no circumstances will iran led by a theocratic ayatollah who leaves chance of death to america under no circumstances will iran be allowed to acquire a nuclear weapon. mr. luntz: ladies and gentlemen, senator ted cruz. [applause] >> welcome to iowa and the 2015 family leadership summit. former arkansas governor mike can be.

-- huckabee. [applause] >> thank you. i recognize that people want both. i want by applause what you think is a greater threat to america's future. and by the way, the reason that i do this is that we have a 140 people sitting up. sitting up here writing about this. when you think about a threat to america, what is more of a threat to you?

the collapse of the culture and the family or the economic collapse and the loss of jobs? which is a greater threat to america's future? by applause, who thinks it is a family and culture? [applause] mr. luntz: ok, we got it. you just cut into 15 seconds of his time. i don't have to ask the other side. so what does the next president do? i don't think you believe that we should be legislated morality and idle we should be passing it

by executive order -- and i don't think we should be passing it by executive order. governor, what should we do? mr. huckabee: we legislate the morality of speeding by telling them how fast they can drive on a highway, and how fast they drive is what they decide to do. but let's talk about why the crowd reacted like that. most people in the room understand that the most basic unit of government is not the city council and it is certainly lot -- not the state legislature. it is certainly not the congress. the most basic family -- basic unit of government is the family. a mother and a father raising the next generation. those parents are there to train that generation to be, the replacements for them.

and all of the basic things that we learn about how to behave with each other, how not to steal, to kill, to hurt people july, we learn in that governmental unit called the family. we know that there are people in the donor class saying that they don't want to hear about the morality stuff, let's just talk about the economy. i can tell you a very specifically about the fact that the breakdown of social order is directly proportionate to the cost of government. we have a lot of government and the cost of it because if people don't behave and to self govern, then we all start saying, "let's get somebody to stop this." and the next thing you know, we have more government and it costs more money. we need a strong, moral fiber in this country and we need people growing up in this country understanding that they have to

govern themselves or else someone else will have to step in and govern them instead of themselves. [applause] mr. luntz: is washington inherently immoral? mr. huckabee: washington -- the word inherent is operative, it is operatively immoral because the donor class feeds the political class at the expense of the working class. the reason we don't see a lot of changes between the democrats and republicans in power is because the same donor class that throws the money at the political class expects the dance to be done and it is. why do you think that the republicans, after being sent to washington to fight executive overreach on obamacare, gave the president and more power on the trade agreement than 74% of republicans opposed? why did they do that? because the donor class wanted

them to. if you ask me if there is an inherent evil, it has perhaps become that, but the operational breakdown of people not understanding who they are supposed to be working for and they are supposed to be working for the people like the ones sitting in this room and like the 5 million who have lost jobs in manufacturing since 2007, not as working for a handful of donor class who then it faced a ruling class, and that is what is breaking down of the economy, along with a total lack of confidence that people have in the government now that it is completely capitulating on every thing. [applause] mr. luntz: obviously, the president is the commander in chief, but is he the moral leader of the country as well?

mr. huckabee: by default, the president always sets the tone. would we be in this position with same-sex marriage if the president had maintained throughout his presidency the position he took in 2008 when he said to pastor rick warren at the saddleback church that he believed marriage was between a man and a woman and he went on to say that he believed that because as a christian, it was in the bible and god was in the mix. suddenly when the donors pushed him to take a different position, which he did, and by the way, there is only one of three explanations as to how he could arrive at that new conclusion, since he said it was in the bible, either he was lying in 2008, he has been lying since 2012, or the bible has been rewritten and he was the only one i got the new version but i have the new version and it is the only one that has not been rewritten yet. [applause] mr. huckabee: so let me --

mr. luntz: so which is it? so which is it? mr. huckabee: the president certainly sets the mood -- mr. luntz: so which is it? was he lying in 2008 or in 2012? mr. huckabee: while i know the scripture has not been rewritten, so he used religion he used faith, as a way to cause people to say, he is ok, he things like we do, when in fact he did not. now here is what i want to -- just go back to -- you asked what role the president has. just remember, when we were all in a funk after jimmy carter, we had a president the reminded us that america was a good nation in fact, a great nation. that we were a city on a hill. a light shining to the rest of the world. we were a beacon of freedom and opportunity. he made us love this country again.

i think sometimes we underestimate the role that an articulate president can make in changing the mood, the spirit, the attitude, the direction of the country. a lot of the job of the chief executive, whether he is a governor or a president, is to help articulate the vision and the message. and yes, i think we can go to a very different place with a president who not only says it but more importantly, frank, he actually has to believe it. [applause] mr. luntz: so again, if we can line up any questions for governor huckabee, please line up at one of the four microphones. my question is, what is happening inside st. louis inside baltimore, around cleveland, in new york? i don't remember a time in my

work when the division by color, by ethnicity, has been so great. you are not only a man of political conviction, you are a man of faith. what can the next president do so that we don't have anymore baltimore's? -- baltimores? so we don't have anymore new yorks or clevelands? mr. huckabee: what we can learn from baltimore and cleveland and new york, we had charlson first. we saw what god's love did for people who have their faith and who offer forgiveness instead of anger and hostility. the folks at the church in charleston gave us the most vivid picture of what god's grace looks like in a long time.

that ought to be a model. [applause] mr. huckabee: frank, let me add, we don't have a skin problem in america, we have a sin problem in america. that is the root and the heart and the cause of racial strife and it cannot be reconciled by the government stepping in and making pronouncements. there is a prescription. bob bender plots -- bob vanderplotz wrote a book about it. "if my people, who were called by my name and were humbled themselves and prayed and turned from their wicked ways, then he says we will hear from heaven and he will heal our land."

i think people will forget that god will heal this land, but he won't do it if we don't meet the conditions for him to heal it. [applause] mr. luntz: will you do something -- i am going to do something i have never done before and i don't know if it is going to work. mr. huckabee: and are going to do it to me? [laughter] mr. luntz: i am going to speak for about 10 seconds to get your attention. knock came in the shoulder if he is not paying attention if he is

in the first three rows, look up because you can't look away. tell me the truth. how many people in these first three rows here attend church at least once a week? 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and there are what, 400 people in here? i wonder if there is a disconnect when you speak of faith? they are human beings, they are citizens, nine of them raised their hands, what does that mean? mr. huckabee: i do think there is a difference between those who often give commentary on her culture and those who are the representatives of so much of our culture and content of the country. i just want to say that i'd find that -- i find it generally that

people who don't even meet me treat me unfairly in the media. some are more responsible than others. even when they do treat me in ways that i don't think are altogether great, i never put them inside of a rope and pull tightly and hope that it will keep them away. i let them ask me questions. i don't think you can be president of the united states and not face the music, not only of the press, but frankly, i don't think people deserve to be president if they can't go to a town hall in iowa and answer the last question in the room of people who make up a group like this. [applause] mr. luntz: i will let you know one other point because i saw some of you there, last night at

cedar rapids, some of you guys were in the back of the room and here in ames, iowa, some of you are in the front of the room, so that ought to tell you something. [applause] mr. luntz: let's go to microphone number four in the back. >> hello, governor. the notion that government does not legislate morality is a false assumption. if we even look at something like the tax code, which says it is ok to take from earner a and give to questionable receiver b, there is a moral implication there. government is about morality and saying it what is right and wrong. so my question is this. we've talked, candidates have talked a great deal about our national security, whether it is isis or iran, whether it is our southern border, whether it is the collapse of our economy, and all of those things we need help with. but the big thing is, we have

killed 60 million unborn, not killed, but murdered, 60 million unborn since 1973. what must our next president do? because this is a problem. if there is a god in heaven, how can he bless a nation like that? thank you. [applause] mr. luntz: wonderful question. mr. huckabee: it goes to the heart of what i quoted from in second chronicles, "he can't bless our nation if he would want to unless we repent." let's be honest. this nation has committed grievous sins in the matter in which it has treated others. it is not about abortions. i think we have missed the point here. it is about how we treat the worth of every single human being. do we believe there is such a thing as a person who lacks

intrinsic worth and value? the idea that we are all equal is the reason that we have the opportunity to be americans. but it we say some people don't have worth, that they are disposable, if we say the captain of the football team has more value than the child of down syndrome, which i cannot believe anyone would say because it is so brazen, but if we decide one baby should die and one baby should live because of social inconvenience or economic situations, if that is how we value the worth of another human being, we have certainly forgotten who we are as a country. there is no excellent nation apart from the providence of god. there is simply no explanation for this nation.

god, i believe, has a purpose for us, but we could lose that purpose if we continue to violate the very importance of life and if we fail to recognize the dignity of those. life is more than just a gestational period. as president, i will defend life on the very moment of conception up to natural death. [applause]

mr. luntz: microphone, the front microphone? >> hello, i am great and my question is from a statement. that statement is that i am sick and tired of officials asking about border security and the sovereignty of our country and then the answer is dealing around amnesty. my question is, without even talking about amnesty and the aftereffects, what, what, what can you do or should the next president do -- mr. huckabee: one in the same. [laughter] >> to shut the screen door on the sovereignty of our nation? mr. huckabee: i have admitted that i will secure the border within the first year of my presidency. if that sounds audacious, let me

just remind you that 73 years ago, we built a road between british columbia and alaska, 1700 mile road in the most difficult weather conditions and we did it in less than a year. there is no way that you can tell me with the engineering capability that we have today that didn't exist 73 years ago that we wouldn't have the ability to secure our border. if the president says this is a priority, we will do it. and i will do it. [applause] mr. luntz: in the back microphone three. >> governor, one of the issues that really needs to be addressed is education. you know, it really has an impact on future leaders. as common core is going through the new legislature in congress, what will the next president do in making sure that each child will get a good education? mr. huckabee: i am passionate about music and the arts for every child, but i also believe

that the federal government has no role in dictating how the government -- how the education is handled. that is the decision between local government, mom, dad, the local government, and the state. [applause] mr. luntz: then i am going to push a little bit further. you told us what the federal government shouldn't do. what should the federal government do when it comes to education? mr. huckabee: virtually nothing because there is no constitutional precedents for it. [applause] at most, frank, at most, the federal government should make sure that there is a clearinghouse of best practices so that the state is doing something that is remarkably helpful in something, like music and art programs, to make sure that every student's talent gets touch, that every other state could borrow from those i he is

-- those ideas. in the last 10 and a half years, there have been promises for the federal government funding, so the point is, those dollars should never be moved to the federal government anyway. they should have never left the taxpayers of that state and they should remain in that state. [applause] mr. luntz: having worked with people in every one of the 50 states, there is a difference in the schools, and i am going to pick on two states, there is a difference between mississippi and massachusetts. the students of massachusetts do no more. they have a higher degree of reading, a higher degree of writing, a higher degree of math. is it fair to the students of mississippi that it year after

year, they will never be as competitive as the students of massachusetts because they will never be that good? mr. huckabee: first of all before you go to mississippi somebody better taste your grits before you sit down for breakfast. [laughter] mr. huckabee: second thing, if the federal government intervened, then it would not be any better. my point is that the federal government has been intervening for several generations and it hasn't made anything better, it has made everything worse. let mississippi a run its own schools. [applause] mr. luntz: i have learned never to fight with him. [laughter] mr. luntz: in the final one minute, is there a message, this is the most negative, this is the most pessimistic generation since the survey of research 90 years ago, but you are someone of hope. why should they believe that our best years are still ahead of us?

mr. huckabee: is this my closing statement? [laughter] mr. luntz: yes it is. mr. huckabee: well, let me take advantage of it. [applause] mr. huckabee: one minute, right? let me say thank you, frank, for moderating the spirit there is a libel verse that says in the end, you shall be saved, and i think after today, you guys deserve that. presidents are not elected for what they expect, presidents are elected for what happens that no one expected. but the seminal moments in history that no one saw coming no matter how prepared or how studied they were, you are really electing a president not simply for what he knows, but for what he can do when confronted with what no one knows.

you are electing a person who will not only lead when managing a crisis, but will also give the country a sense of calm and assurance, and to give that country the ability to recognize that the god that we have been founded on is the one that we may have to depend upon in that seminal moment when something of catastrophic proportions happens. but before that person, and i sincerely hope that you give me the chance to be that person but before that person gets to that position, they have to get elected. and to get elected in the next election cycle, there is a good likelihood, frank, that the republican nominee is going to face hillary clinton, which means he will or she will will face bill and hillary clinton. i want to remind these people here today that in the 373 republicans running for president -- [laughter] mr. huckabee: there is only one who has consistently fought the clinton political machine in the most partisan state in america

during the 1990's after they had built up the machine over 25 years. only one person who has successfully not only fought against that political machine in every election and every is a tuition of government but can sicily defeated and transformed it, and most importantly, lived to tell about it. [laughter] [applause] mr. luntz: thank you, guys, god bless. thank you, mr. huckabee. mr. huckabee: thank you, frank. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen please welcome back our family

leadership summit, former governor rick perry. [applause] >> thank you. >> i normally don't like to be on the left. >> he doesn't like sitting down. >> as an idol like sitting on the left. [laughter] >> all of the questions i had for aired for you are now gone. if there was to be an investment in three different professions, i like to get an idea which professions they would invest in the most.

who would have the response ability of teaching our children. read and write in act properly. the second would be our nurses who help us stay well and get us well if we are sick. the third would be our veterans who defend this country. [applause] i'm sorry, parents are not getting a tax break tonight. who would use teachers, applaud. -- choose teachers, applaud. [applause] who would choose nurses, applaud. [applause] and who would choose veterans? [applause] what is your reaction to that? mr. perry: i would like to add my voice to that. keeping in mind that i am married to a nurse. [laughter] and a really good one.

if you don't first keep this country free, if you don't first have the investment in the men and women who are willing to hold their hands up and say here i am, send me, you will never have the dollars to hire a teacher, you will never have the dollars to hire a nurse. i just want to take a moment. driving back in here today from the airport, i left my grandchildren to come specially to be here with you all. before the night is up, lord willing, i will be back with

them. driving back in here, i heard something that was as disturbing to me as i have heard in this entire process of running for the presidency of the united states. there was an individual who sat upon this stage earlier today who doesn't understand or don't care -- doesn't care about people who serve this country. to discharge a legitimate american hero like john mccain. you may disagree with his politics and that's fine. but don't question the men and women of the military who sacrificed and sometimes pay a huge price for our safety and our freedom and our economics. [applause] as an individual who has worn the uniform of this country, i was highly offended what donald trump said about john mccain and his years of sacrifice in a dirty, dingy, terrible prison in north vietnam.

donald trump owes every american veteran and in particular john mccain an apology. [applause] to finish that thought, i think it makes iowans very wise in being able to identify that without a strong military, without our ability to defend and protect these values of the extraordinary country we live in, that america is lost. i want to say thank you to everyone of you who has worn the uniform of this country, that are wearing it today, or those of you who have helped to raise great and extraordinary patriots. thank you for your gift to this country. [applause]

frank: governor, this is a policy discussion rather than a political discussion and i'm going to come right up to the line. i hope i don't cross it. if donald trump does not apologize to john mccain, do you feel that that disqualifies him as a legitimate presidential candidate? mr. perry: and as the commander-in-chief in this country, in one word, yes. [applause] frank: as governor of texas, you had the tremendous challenge both financially and politically, of defending a border and you were very critical of the president in how he handled it. what does the next president have to do? it's the question more people have asked about than any other in this forum. what does the next president have to do to ensure that the

promises that have been made about border security actually happen and for you as the governor, you wanted the power to make those decisions on the border. should the next president give those governors the power or is it the responsibility of washington to secure the border in texas, arizona, new mexico, and california? mr. perry: it is obviously the latter. our constitution -- understanding the constitution is really important. i am sure the current resident of the white house, as a constitutional law professor has studied the constitution. for whatever reason if he doesn't want to follow it, that's another issue. the constitution enumerates those powers that are to be given to the federal government. one of those is to stand a strong military and another one

is to secure our border. wouldn't it be awesome if the federal government just got those two things right? and left everything else to the states like the 10th amendment tell them to do, to have those powers not delegated to the federal government by the constitution or reserves for the states or the individuals? the 10th amendment really matters. i understand how to deal with the border. i have been dealing with it for 14 years. the last seven or eight years in particular, we have had extraordinary challenges great -- challenges. when the president came to dallas, after a short conversation on that ramp at that airport in dallas, i realized the president was not going to engage in his

constitutional duty. i told him, if you don't secure the border, taxes will. -- texas will. that's exactly what we did. i asked for volunteers of our texas national guard. we had over 2000 that volunteered. we sent a thousand to be force multipliers on that southern region of the border along with our texas ranger recon teams. they were literally in the river in boats. we had a 74% decrease in the number of apprehensions in that southern region of the border by november. i don't consider that to be a failure, but it's a failure of the federal government when a state has to go and do the federal government's responsibility. i want to share with you one thing. if you elect me your president and the will to secure the

border with mexico and the united states will reside in the white house. [applause] let me just share with you -- frank: what he means to say is that whoever gets elected president -- this is not an advocacy. this is a discussion of policy so that the family leader doesn't get into trouble. mr. perry: oh. [laughter] let me share with you how to secure the border. there was all of this rhetoric that gets thrown out, we will just go build a wall from here to there. i know about securing the border. you have to have personnel and you have to have personnel in the right places. our president didn't even know that the border patrol is 45 or 50 miles away from the border in many places. we need those individuals to be on the border, in the river in many cases, in a prevention per

-- prevention position. you put the personnel on the border, you have the strategic fencing in the metropolitan areas. what's really missing today is the aviation asset. flying 24/7, looking down with our technology, analyzing what is going on on that border. when you see activities that are clearly illegal or suspicious, you have quick response teams that go to that border. that is how you do it. [applause] frank: we are going to go to the audience for questions. >> hello, i am tracy. i have a question regarding obamacare. we obviously all know that it has not been good for our country.

as a small business owner, it has been a disaster for my company and it cost us a lot of problems. i hear over and over that we are expecting that whoever becomes president is going to repeal it. i want to ask the question that this train has been loaded so heavily and it is going down the hill so fast that it's difficult to stop it. is it really possible to repeal it once we have so many people working in those jobs, we have people doing things that are difficult to just stop? mr. perry: the simple answer is yes here it what do you replace it with is the more appropriate question. it's one that the republican party must be able to lay out a cogent and thoughtful approach. i will suggest that it goes back to, it is not the federal government's responsibility to be delivering health care in this country. [applause] it is not the federal

government's responsibility to be directing the states' curriculum on education policy. it is one of the reasons i am against common core. [applause] i will suggest you it is not the federal government's responsibility to be telling the governor of iowa and the legislature here how to build transportation infrastructure. a clearly goes back to my belief that the 10th amendment means what it says. it is the state's responsibility to find out ways to deliver health care. i know that the states will come up with a way to more effectively deliver health care. one of the reasons we didn't expand medicaid in the state of texas is because the president himself even said this is a broken system in 2009 and i agree with him. why in the world what i want my

home state to engage in the expansion of a system that is already broken? we know from studies that have been done, there is no difference in results between people who have medicaid and those who don't. the issue for me is that you let the states come up with it. they will come up with different ideas that will help. they will come up with a broad menu of ideas about how to deliver health care. i trust these states. we know that we can deliver health care more efficiently effectively. that is the real answer for this. there is no one-size-fits-all approach to this. we need to respect that.

we need to stand up and be very open about it. the states are where this health care innovation is going to come from. louis brandeis said the states are supposed to be the laboratories of democracy. the states are supposed to go out there and experiment, come up with novel ideas about how to deliver this government that their people want. folks in connecticut and folks in iowa and folks in new mexico are going to have different ideas about how to do all that. states are supposed to experiment. he said, from time to time, a state will fail. their citizens will be impacted negatively from it. when i heard that, i always think about colorado. [laughter] but i will defend colorado's right to be wrong. i think that's the real issue there.

let the states have this opportunity to come up with the ways to deliver health care. you repeal it and then you allow the states to reform it the way they best see fit. i will suggest that not only will americans be healthier, they will be better served and at the end of the day, they will be happier. [applause] >> good afternoon. i live here in ames. i'm also a gay man. the reason i came to the summit today was in the hopes of getting a better understanding of why people who have different views from mine have those views. my question is -- responsible

for presenting all americans how can that person who would push an agenda that would deny me and tens of millions of other american citizens their right to pursue happiness? in addition, what do you as a leader of conservatives, what is your fear or what do you see the risk could be in allowing equal opportunities to gain legal status?

mr. perry: there'll be issues that we do not agree upon all across the country. there always have been. i am pretty much on the record about my beliefs about marriage being between one man and woman. [applause] i agree with those four justices on the supreme court who were on the losing side of that argument. that brings us to two issues. one of them is, i believe with all my heart, as i have talked about the 10th amendment that those decisions should be made

at the state. i think that is the appropriate place for them to be made. here is what i want you to think about today, all of us, whether we agree with this issue or not, the next president of the u.s. very possibly could click -- pick three supreme court justices in their term of office. those of supreme court justices could be there for the next 30-50 years. it is really important for us to think about republicans have not done a good job of putting justices on the supreme court within the last 30 years. if you go back and look at those

courts, whether it was kennedy whether it was roberts, and as a governor of texas, for 14 years i had the great honor and privilege to a point six of our nine -- appoint six of our nine chief justices. i don't think we can take a chance of having individuals being put on our court that do not understand the clear role of being a supreme court justice. it is not to come up with ways to redefine definitions, it is not for them to legislate from that court, it is to be a judge. [applause]

i will wrap it up, george will wrote a column this week that i recommend. he wrote about justice john roberts and justice john willett who is on the texas supreme court. and about the clear difference in these two individuals understanding the judicial supremacy and i want to remind you, i appointed john willet the texas record. [applause] >> i have a question for you. >> every person gets one question. >> he didn't answer my question. >> we will have a follow-up. >> how can you ensure equal

protection, i understand the policy, but this is not just about sexual choice or gender or age or race, it is all of it how do we ensure that every american has equal production. -- equal protection? >> i gave a speech a week ago where i talk about race, poverty, the 14th amendment, and the 10th amendment. it is important for us to get back to understanding that that 14th amendment, all people are created equal, and that they truly are and that we respect that. being able to put men and women on the court, again, this goes back to truly having conservatives on this theme

court. men and women who understand that our founding fathers, that constitution and that bill of rights, that was extraordinary work. >> so you have support that will protect our basic rights? >> each one of us has a rule the legislative branch, the executive branch, and the courts have a role, they are different, but they are there to ensure that the people are protected, that equal rights are protected and that our courts do not need to be in the business of getting confused about being in the legislative branch. and frankly, we need a president that understands that you need to work with the u.s. congress

and that this unilaterally going it alone is not good for the future of this country. president obama today -- [applause] i think he puts america in jeopardy, i think he puts the world in jeopardy when he says i will go it alone and i do not think that that is good for america or bodes well for the world. [applause] >> as a way to wrap this up, somebody will take the oath of office. that individual can do something within the first few hours. what should be the very first executive action, or the very first decision, or the very first comment that new president should do on january 20, 2017. mr. perry: there are things that the president of the united

states will say in his inaugural address to bring together the united states. i think people are looking for the president laying out a decision, giving hope to the people of this country, hope for their grandchildren. that starts with an inaugural address that is positive, that lays out the vision of both economically and military, giving hope that we will live in a country that we are secure economically and that we are secure in our safety. one of the first things i would do as president is negate this deal with iran and send a message that america will be there with our allies and we will do everything we can to stop iran from getting a nuclear weapon. [applause]

frank: ladies and gentlemen governor rick perry. mr. perry: thank you. thank you. thank you, bob. thank you, sir. yes, sir. >> the five democratic presidential candidates spoke at the iowa democratic party hall of fame dinner. we will show you comments from all of them tomorrow at 3:00 p.m. eastern on c-span. >> this sunday on q&a, molly crabapple. >> it may be drawing patterns or having a tattoo. around the country, you can land

in solitary for your art you're reading, your belief, your gender status, your sexual orientation, or your friends. i draw not just to show the finish drawn, what to build a rapport with people. very often when you have a camera, right, it is a great distance between you and the person. you are taking these images. they cannot see what you're taking even -- what you're taking. it's vampiric in a way, even though you can make some beautiful things later. it is more of an interchange. most people have not been drawn before. most people are pretty delighted to be drawn. most times i drop people because i like to and i like talking to them when i do it. >> sunday night at 8:00 eastern and pacific. >> we are showing you the 2016 republican presidential candidates to appeared at the

family leadership summit in ames, iowa. next you will hear from lindsey graham, bobby jindal, rick santorum, and wisconsin governor scott walker. >> please welcome to iowa and to the 2015i will family leadership summit, south carolina senator lindsey graham. >> wow. mr. graham: more roads for iowa. >> how many have you gone to so far.

mr. graham: we need to improve your roads like we have in south carolina. everything is two hours and 15 minutes from the other place. it is worth the travel though, because there are nice people. frank: i have never had someone walked out and take a shot at a state before. mr. graham: i feel their pain. i feel their pain. frank: usually i am the idiot who does that. here is a question, it is serious. what is the balance between results and principles, because we had a long conversation about this, let me thank you all for being quick with your questions, being insightful with your approach, for participating for , being engaged. i hear that people are tuning in and they appreciate what you are saying, so iowa, you should be proud of yourselves. mr. graham: here, here.

frank: so the question is the balance of results and principles. i'm going to use the 80% number because this was ronald reagan's number. he suggested if you can get 80% of what you are trying to do it is perfectly fine to compromise the other 20%, because you had to get something done. others today believe that 80% is not enough, that we should be fighting, if we absolutely believe in something, that there is no reason to compromise. even if nothing happens. please give us an indication, do you prefer candidates who will provide a record of a compliment for conservative principles as of 80% and get things done, or do you want to fight for the 95-100% and not give in at all. he prefers the 80% candidate? -- who prefers the 80% candidate? [applause] frank: i need to correct that,

the 80% leader. who prefers the 100% leader? [applause] frank: ok, this is one of the great challenges the next president will face. when to compromise. when to fight for principle. when will you not compromise when will you go to the wall what are those topics where the next president should say there is no other alternative? this is the way it is going to be. mr. graham: i will not compromise when fighting against radical islam, because you get nothing for second place. [applause] mr. graham: we are in a religious war, don't you think? they would kill everybody in this room if they could. frank: how many think that we are in a religious war? [applause] mr. graham: so i would never

compromise our national security, without that everything else is just talk. i would never come from eyes the american dream, because without that we are just another nation. what is the american dream? picking your own leader, criticizing your government, raising your children the way that you would like. working hard and making something of yourself, that is worth dying for. we are as a nation better get our act together quickly. we are becoming greece. somebody better do something about it. [applause] mr. graham: for the 100%ers out there, how do you save things

without getting a democrat to help you? how about social security? how many of you are on social security? how many of you want to be? what would i do to save social security, whatever it took. when i was younger, my mother died, then my father died, we owned a restaurant and a pool room. my mother had hodgkin's disease. we were underinsured, so i don't need a lecture from a democrat about health care. if it were not for my aunt and uncle helping the raise my sister, if it was not for my family and friends and faith, i would not be sitting here today. without social security to help my family because my sister was a minor, we would not have made off. -- made it. i'm 60 years old, i'm not married, i do not have any kids. what would i do to save social

security? almost anything. i have already given up my benefits for those who need it more. i work with democrats to save social security, because if we do not, we are all going down together. [applause] remember ronald reagan and tip o'neill? they adjusted in the 1980's to save social security. barack obama has done nothing but talk. he had a chance to do something about our national debt, simpson-bowles. he threw it in the garbage can . he cannot solve the left something they do not want to hear. i guarantee you, i will tell the right what i think is best, and i will get in the middle if that is what it takes to save the country. [a frank: you raise it and i have not done it as much as i would have liked to, you lost your parents at a very early age. they would have been sitting right there and they would have seen that their son is a united

states senator and a candidate for the president of the united states. what would you tell them? mr. graham: that darlene turned out really good. [applause] mr. graham: and i tried hard and thanks to you, i have come a long way. love is not the size of the house. it is what happens inside the house. i was well loved. for all those kids who are not well loved, i feel sorry for you. this is a leadership council. we are all one car wreck away from needing somebody's help.

i'm a republican but there is a time and place for government. i am glad that i had college loans for my sister. i'm glad that social security was there. if i got to be president of the united states, i would make sure that we did the right thing and the hard thing, because the country needs a leader and barack obama has been a miserable failure as president. [applause] mr. graham: i feel like i am on oprah. i'm sorry. [laughter] frank: what does that make me? mr. graham: i will get back on that with you. makes you a billionaire. frank: we are looking at what happened in the v.a. hospitals how does it get this bad? mr. graham: monopolies are bad.

do you agree? a monopoly is bad. when you are in a monopoly, you get what ever they decide to give to you. there are people in the v.a. who work hard. let's not slam everybody in the v.a. but let's admit that the system is a monopoly. this is what america will look like if we keep going on obamacare. this is where we are heading. the number one job for the next president and the one after that, if you do not take care of your veterans, how can you do it? for every veteran out there, here is the deal i would have with you. i would give you a card to go to any doctor, any hospital you would like to. anytime you needed to go. and if the v.a. serves you well, you keep going there. if you did not like the v.a., we'll shut that facility down. i give you choice. competition is the only way to make the v.a. better. what ever it costs, it costs. [applause]

frank: so why not pass it , through the house and senate and have the president sign it? mr. graham: it is hard to convince people to give up government hospitals. there is some choice if you choose a hospital within certain -- miles of the clinic. 40 and you have to wait 30 days. what you need is a president of the u.s. who will say, we are going to change the system and i dare you to get in my way. [applause] mr. graham: speaking of veterans, john mccain was one of the guys who pushed the system that we have today. he is the chairman of the armed services committee. i am glad that he is. he is my friend. he has served our country in a unique way. through senator mccain, i met

some incredible people, his fellow pow's. [applause] did you ever hear of -- he was captured, but i don't think he was a loser. [applause] mr. graham: so we have had a , discussion today about being captured and about service. if you really want to be commander in chief and you are serious about that job, the last thing you would ever do is say anything that would show disrespect for anybody who served. [applause] mr. graham: i just retired from the air force after 30 years and let me tell you, who i think is an american hero. the family that stays behind.

[applause] mr. graham: the spouse who is raising the children while the mom or dad is deployed. i have been a military lawyer. i know exactly what families go through. when the phone rings at night, you jump out of your skin. when a car comes up the driveway you do not expect, your heart skips a beat. john mccain and every other p.o.w. deserves our respect and our admiration. [applause] frank: i have to ask you a direct question. if he does not apologize to senator mccain, does that disqualify, in your mind, donald trump from being a candidate? mr. graham: i believe in democracy, don't you?

let me tell you how this works frank. the good people of iowa, the good people of new hampshire and the good people of south carolina are going to figure this out. and here is what i think they are going to say. donald trump, you are fired. [laughter] [applause] frank: there is no way to follow up that question. audience, go to microphone three in the back left. >> i think when we look in the mirror, the enemy is us, because we buy the oil from the middle east countries that give them the money to buy guns and train isis. we have enough oil in the upper midwest of our country. why in the world can we not get the keystone deal done? let's pass it until the

president's veto inc. does drive. let's get this country moving again. [applause] mr. graham: i am tired of borrowing money from a communist dictatorship to run our government. that is why i want to get us out of debt. the 80 million baby boomers are going to retire in the next 20 years, of which i am one. we will want security checks and medicare bills paid. the bottom line is, we will wipe out those and become greece because we are down to two workers for every retiree and about 20 years. by 2030, all taxes you pay will pay for medicare and medicaid and interest on the debt. if we do not reform entitlements like ronald reagan and tip o'neill, if we do not flatten it out and get money, we will lose

the american dream. i am not going to let that happen as i am president. as to energy, i would build a pipeline and so it every other republican. i would explore oil and gas off the coast, because there is a lot to be found. if we got it, i want it. [applause] but you asked the question, why doesn't she, hillary clinton want to build a pipeline? you have 16 people to choose from, here is the test. can we beat hillary? if we can't, it's all talk. i can beat her. let me tell you why. why in the world do you know what to build the pipeline? i have been to the oilsands. tell the environmentalists

whatever. if you are looking for something new, she is not it. if you liked the last six and a half years, soon be eight, you are going to love the next four years with her. and let me tell you something else. her definition of flat broke and mine are a bit different. [laughter] [applause] mr. graham: i can show you flat broke and after two terms in the white house, that is not it. we need to beat her. i think i can beat her. i think at the end of the day she has been the architect for the failed foreign policy. getting a straight answer out of her about iran is like pulling teeth. it is easier to talk to the leader of north korea than it is for her. she cannot hide forever. i will ask her about the

pipeline, but i will also ask her about benghazi. the hell were you? how could you allow it to become a death trap? how could you not know? why did your people say five times, no two additional security, and whitey you --why did you and susan rice lie to the american people about how they died? [applause] mr. graham: then we will talk about obamacare. she sold it better than he did. sorry, go ahead. frank: that was a good answer on the pipeline, i thought. i just want to let you know there have only been five standing ovations today. mr. graham: that's all right. were not counting. it only matters what happens at

the end. i only hope we are cheering in 2016. >> good afternoon, i'm here with my friend julie, because we are leaders of the health club at i will university. mr. graham: go cyclones. >> we know that one of the greatest pushes was the emergency plan for aids relief that has saved lives. under the obama administration, that program has been cut and last week the committee that you lead sales give funding keep our program on track and we are wondering if you are wondering -- wondering if you will live up to your promises of giving millions dollars by the end of the year? mr. graham: i don't know if i can close that gap, but i will try. sequestration is killing this account. do you understand what she is talking about? do you remember george w. bush? i miss him. i do not know about y'all.

about 10 years ago, i cannot remember exactly when it was early on in his presidency he invested $40 billion over time to fight aids. do any of you go to church? do any of you support mission work in africa? don't you think that god blesses you when you are helping the least of among us? let me tell you about lindsey graham, africa, and helping people. that $40 billion that we spent saved an entire generation of african children and now we are dealing with malaria. 75% reduction in mothers to children transfer of aids, babies are alive today because you helped them.

they were going to die without your help. rick warren and all the ngo's, faith-based organizations on the , ground in africa, god bless you. if i am president we will restore that funding, but if you do not deal with the entitlement problem where all the money goes to pay medicare and social security, there will not be a dime left for the military. a dime left to help people in africa. the reason i want to help people in africa, it makes us safer here. i want customers for our products. i think america is best when she is leading the world. foreign assistance is 1% of the budget. when it comes to radical islam here is my policy. what ever it takes as long as it takes to beat these guys. how do you defeat them?

you keep them from preying on the poor. you build a small schoolhouse for a poor young girl in a remote village, which is a bigger threat to radical islam than any bomb you can drop on their heads. this is a generational struggle. these are religious nazis. they have to be degraded and eventually destroyed and the way we will do it is partner with people in the region. we will help them help themselves and build those defenses between ourselves and radical islam. if i am president, they are not coming here again. we will rebuild our defenses. we will go after these bastards and kill every one of them --

and we are going to do it. [applause] sorry for the bad word. [laughter] frank: that was one of the words bob gave me that i was not allowed to use today. so i'm glad that you did. mr. graham: cannot wait to be the leader of the free world i'm tired of leading from behind. we are cutting our military to the bone. you ought to be worried about the army. we have the smallest army since 1940. does that make sense to you? we have the smallest maybe since 1916. if i am president of the united states, we are going to to rebuild the military, send them back over to partner with other people and we are going to take the gloves off. and if i am president, to the ayatollah, we will set this iran deal aside. to our friends in israel, you will have a partner in the white house, not an enemy in the white

house. todd blesses those who bless the state of israel. -- god blesses those who bless the state of israel. to the ayatollah, you will not get a penny unless you change your behavior. when it comes to a nuclear program, you will not have a bomb, and if you choose to go down that path and you want a war with the u.s., you will lose it. frank: ladies and gentlemen senator lindsey graham. , there is no way i can close better than that. [applause] >> please welcome back frank lines. and welcome to iowa and the family leadership summit louisiana governor bobby jindal. [applause] governor jindal: thank you. thank you very much. frank: this is the first candidate i have not had a

chance to sit with before we begin. i have to warn the people filming this, i am suffering from laryngitis and there might be a moment in the next 20 minutes when i will depart, and has nothing to do with him, i just do not want to mess this up this very nice floor right here. my question to you all is -- i know that you are frustrated with the courts, with the congress with the legislative , branch, and that you are frustrated with the president. which of those three branches do you feel best represents what you think and the one that you feel is closest to you? you have to choose one. you don't get to choose none. the executive branch, not

president obama, but of the three branches, who says the executive branch? [laughter] frank: it is mrs. obama, i guess. who feels closest to the legislative branch? [applause] frank: and the judiciary? [laughter] [applause] frank: you used to be a member of congress. as governor, you have thought about these issues. what is the proper role, or the relationship between the three branches, because the next president is going to have to set a new tone? governor jindal: i think that is a tough question, we have a president who has made it a consistent practice to ignore

laws and as a conservative, we cannot say it is ok for a republican president to do that. we cannot set that president. my first day as president, i will go back to the rule of law. secondly -- [applause] frank: i want you to say it -- people who have been watching all day know this. i want you to say this in terms of the next president. this is not a campaign appearance. nobody was to get sued. governor jindal: the greatest violation we have seen is that in one week, they couldn't be bothered to read a dictionary or a constitution. [applause] i said, we might as well get rid of the courts to save money. hillary clinton did not like that.

she criticizes that yesterday. i'm a reasonable person. let's get rid of 2/3 of the court. there are three of them i do not mind keeping. we need justices that do not look to international law or opinion polls. if they want to make law, they need to run for congress. they need to apply the united states constitution, not anything else. [applause] and by the way, no earthly court can change the definition for me -- the definition of marriage. it is between a man and a woman. we need structural changes, we need term limits, and we need to stop them from becoming lobbyists. [applause] frank: what happens when the court makes a decision that you do not like? the court decided what a

marriage is. are you going to ignore that as president? governor jindal: i like the way that you asked the first time. you broke your own rule. that's all right. the next president -- i will get better. the next president should do what we did in louisiana, issue an executive order immediately. it's a that the federal government will not take action against any individual or business that has a traditional view of marriage. we are not going to threaten their tax rights, we are not going to fire them. [applause] the next president will appoint as many as four supreme justices. here is my frustration. how many was wondering how the democratic justices were going to rule. nobody. we are here because of roberts and kennedy. the democrats, when they nominate justices, they nominate liberals and make no apologies for it. and a bunch of city -- senate

republicans confirm them. when republicans nominate justices, we -- our presidents pretend, we will find somebody who has never made a ruling and we will pretend that we have no idea what they believe. why not instead say you know what, i am nominating a conservative. i will find something from the federal society -- [applause] i want a scalia, a thomas. i certainly do not want any of the other four. frank: we will start questions in a moment. i want to be clear that you are saying even if the supreme court says this is the law of the land, you are prepared if you are the next president, it should say -- you should say to the supreme court you are , wrong.

governor jindal: clearly, they are wrong, they cannot change what god has instituted. gives us our 10th amendment rights back, i am for what defines marriage being between a man and a woman. frank: for the whole constitution? governor jindal that is why i am : an executive order and a law that reinforces -- this is not a new law. we have religious liberty rights. the government should not be able to fire me, they should not be able to discriminate against me for being a christian and wanting to live my life recorded my beliefs. that is what is happening today. [applause] frank: that is number six. governor jindal: thank you.

[applause] frank: i want to erase something -- i want to raise something that might be a little difficult. i am familiar with your political career. i have known you for a while. i know that early in your career you faced some discrimination. and some believe that you did not get one of the offices that you sought, because the people voted based on your ethnicity, rather than your ideas and record. what -- can you explain what it is like to go through that, to know that you deserve that job but because of your ethnicity, you are being denied it? governor jindal: a couple of things. i have never believed i was discriminated against. the democrats tried. they attacked me for being a christian.

they tried to say false things about me. as americans, we need to stop with the hyphenated divisions. we are not african-americans or asian-americans. we are all americans. and this is important for me and i say this to my children as well. i say this not only as a governor, but a father. we are not all victims. we have too many victims in this country. i think i am the best candidate. i wouldn't run if i did not. i will win not based on the color of my skin, but on my experience and the fact that i want to take on the establishment, both parties, to get us off the path of socialism. [applause] frank: you're supposed to say

the next president will. governor jindal: oh, sorry sorry, sorry. at [applause] frank: we will go to questions. someone in the front left. >> welcome to iowa. it is paradise here. governor jindal: thank you, it's warm, but it's paradise. >> this is a question related to the existing culture. what should the next president do to restore, take back, and continue to maintain my freedoms and my liberties and that of everybody else in this auditorium? governor jindal: that's a great question. in terms of restoring liberties, there are at least three things the next president has to do. number one, right now, the left is trying to take god out of the public square. they are trying to secularize

our country. i have said this before and i will keep saying this until hillary clinton actually understands it. america did not create religious liberty. religious liberty created the united states of america. [applause] the next president has to be ready to fight the new york times, the aclu, the washington post and whoever gets in our way so we don't give up our first amendment rights. secondly, we've got to rein in the irs. we need a lower and flatter tax code so they don't run our lives. [applause] third, we need to explicitly tell these bureaucracies what they are not allowed to do. the federal department of

education has no business with trying to push common core in our classrooms. [applause] the epa has no business trying to regulate water in your backyard. [applause] the doj has no right to take away your second amendment rights to own firearms. [applause] i am so sick and tired of all these scandals. i'm ready for these bureaucrats to lose their jobs and their benefits and go to prison. [applause]

you throw some of these irs or other bureaucrats in jail, you won't have the scandals again. they are all getting bonuses. nobody is getting fired. those are the three things. we have to shrink government to restore our freedom. [applause] frank: you are critical of the press. they are sitting right in front of you. he's right there. governor jindal: which one? frank: i'm not choosing. it's your right to choose. what are you critical of? governor jindal: i am critical when the mainstream media don't -- when they don't apply the same standards to this president they apply to the rest of us. [applause]

frank: ok. that is the first question i asked you that i think i should not have asked. [laughter] in my normal role, i would actually then give the people a chance to respond and i don't have that opportunity. governor jindal: they will respond, don't worry. i know what the stories will say tomorrow. let me say this. if we nominate a republican that wants to be liked by the media and wants to be liked by the establishment and wants to go to the cool cocktail parties, we are done. [applause] the smart people in d.c. say you cannot do term limits and you

can't balance the budget and cannot repeal obamacare. they will say you cannot be smart and conservative. you cannot be smart and religious. my message is you need to get out more, get out of d.c. and go into the real world and meet some real americans. [applause] frank: i want to look at his copy tomorrow to see what it is. [laughter] i want to remind you because you -- we are heading towards the end of this, and i want everyone who wants to speak to get a chance to ask a question. if you have asked a question already, you should give someone else the opportunity. we have someone over here who wants to ask a question. >> governor jindal, since we are a nation of laws, as the new president comes in, what would the president due to enforce the laws such as sanctuary cities. they say you cannot harbor

illegal aliens, yet if you pick and choose which law you want to enforce, how can we enforce the laws and live by the laws? governor jindal: that is a great question. [applause] absolutely. so, you have got today, you've got the president saying he will pick and choose which immigration law he will enforce. here is the irony. they are violating federal law but they are getting federal grants for the very purpose of the law they are not enforcing. they are getting federal dollars to lock up people illegally and detain them but they are not doing that and they are still getting those grants. you've got the supreme court rewriting the law. the next president needs to not only overturn those executive orders but make it very clear -- this president says he has the power of the pen and the phone. if he has that, secure the border. don't talk about it. [applause] we don't need 1000 page bill. the only good of that is you can stack up against the wall of the border, it might help.

that's the only reason you get 1000 pages. [applause] when it comes to the sanctuary cities, cut off their federal funding. make sure ice is getting the folks when they detain them. they are not doing that today. there was a law that i support. you may have seen this. it was the response to a horrific murder in san francisco. someone has been deported and a calm back illegally, they should be convicted and it should be a five-year sentence. it should be a felony. there needs to be real consequences. we cannot have people picking and choosing the law. the left loves to say you have to follow the law except when they don't want to when it comes to immigration or obamacare. when it comes to laws they don't like. [applause] frank: the next president has to be able to work with democrats. it cannot just be your way or the highway. you've done a very good job of describing what is wrong with them. how are you going to work with them? why would they ever work with you?

governor jindal: it's a great question. three things. president reagan got tax cuts, reinvested in the pentagon, and won the cold war even though there was a democratic majority in congress. how did he do it question mark he did not compromise his principles. he went around congress to the american people and convince d them he was right. you've got to make structural changes in congress. not just democrats, i have trouble with some republicans, too. [applause] they will have trouble with me. i will not have trouble with them. i am not real worried about that. i think you need term limits. you do not need a permanent governing class and then they become lobbyists after they serve. we need a part-time legislature. what the founding fathers intended, they left their jobs left their factories to work part-time and came up back home to the same rules and regulations that apply for the rest of us. [applause]

frank: i'm going to ask you again -- can you name three issues where you will find it relatively easy to get something done with the democrats? governor jindal: in louisiana, and this is my third point -- in louisiana we did school choice , reform where the dollars follow the child instead of the child following the dollars. we trust parents. [applause] whether it's homeschooling or public schools, we trust parents. 50% of the senate democrats voted for that. a lot of children who are in the worst public schools today are in the poorest zip codes and that's not right. a lot of democrats understand that the teacher unions are standing in the way of those kids getting a great education. they will work with us on school choice. [applause] the next president has to stand with us and stop iran from becoming a nuclear power and has

to declare war on radical islamic terrorism by name. [applause] there are democrats that want to stand with israel. there are democrats, national security democrats that are america's first before we are democrats or republicans that will work with that. [applause] third, we've got to grow our private sector economy. this president has turned his back on energy and the keystone pipeline. there are private-sector unions that want good paying manufacturing and energy-related jobs in our country. there are democrats it will work with me or the next president to bring good paying jobs back to america by reining in the epa and cutting and lowering taxes. the last time we had central tax reform was back in the late 80's with ronald reagan. it was bipartisan. both parties have to give up their carveouts and special interests. that means republicans and democrats.

[applause] by the way, i say we should pay them on a perdiem basis. let me be clear. you pay them every day they stay outside of d.c., not when they go to d.c. [applause] the republicans are not going to like that either. frank: in the very back, back left, microphone three. >> hello, i want to thank you for being the first person to investigate planned parenthood louisiana. [applause] governor jindal: thank you. >> the question is not about that. it's about welfare abuse. i have been the recipient of that as a minor and it is helped me and helped feed my family and feed me as a child. nowadays, there is more people on welfare than ever and there is a lot of abuse. i wonder how you would handle that and handle people abusing the system? governor jindal: that's a great question. my wife says if you ask me what

i want for dinner, there's always three parts. i know i do a lot of that. there are three things i want to say in response to that. one one of the most, successful reforms in the 90's, bipartisan, was welfare reform. the idea was welfare should be temporary and help people get back on their feet and they should go to work or get an education. they need accountability there. [applause] this president has systematically worked to undermine those reforms by his actions which have weakened the reforms. we've got to get back to the work requirements and eligibility enforcement and we have got to stop -- this brings me to my second point -- we've got to change our culture. we've got to move away from a culture of dependency where we celebrate dependence and seven -- instead of celebrating getting good paying private sector jobs. [applause] give bernie sanders credit.

at least he is honest. at least he admits he's a socialist. [applause] hillary clinton and barack obama are no better. they are just not honest. they celebrate record high food stamps and record low participation rates in the workforce. they are changing the american dream. the most dangerous thing they are trying to do is changing the definition of america and we have to stop that or we will be europe. the third thing is i trust states. whether it's medicaid or other aspects of welfare, give global grants to the states and give them flexibility and give them accountability. i bet you if you secretly , surveyed democratic governors and said we will give you $.85 on the dollar for these programs and give you freedom from the red tape and bureaucracy, not just the republicans would take that. i bet there are democrats that would anonymously say absolutely. we can do a better job because the federal government wastes so much money in these programs. there are legal reforms we can get back to the spirit of the

1990's with bipartisan welfare reform. we have got to fight to get our culture back. the american dream is about growth and opportunity. it's not about redistribution envy, or government dependence. and that is what is at stake. [applause] frank: ladies and gentlemen, governor jindal. that was a better ending. [indiscernible] governor jindal: thank you. i am sorry you are not feeling well. god bless you all and thank you very much. ♪ >> ladies and gentlemen, please welcome back frank luntz and welcome to iowa and the 2015 family leadership summit, former pennsylvania u.s. senator rick santorum.

frank: now i have to ask you all a personal question. how many in this room would define your life as living paycheck to paycheck? applaud. it's probably 1/3 of the people in this room. you would not expect that from republicans. we have done surveys between 50 and 55%. still in 2015, living paycheck to paycheck. one of your focal points has been working for blue-collar because you have felt that republicans have forgotten them. mr. santorum: yeah. frank: what answer do you have for those who are at middle or slightly below middle income so that they can get their vision of the american dream? mr. santorum: the bottom line is, if we're going to restore the american dream, we have to start making things in america again. that is the most important thing

we can do is to bring manufacturing back to this country. [applause] it created middle america. if you think about it, over the decade of the 1900's, america's middle income was robust and strong. when manufacturing declined in the 1970's and 1980's, so did the hollowing out of the middle of this country. you go and look -- travel around iowa. you go to the small towns in iowa and what you find is a lot of the towns that are struggling are the towns that had the small manufacturing plants and in some cases big manufacturing plants that have left. and that is because america became uncompetitive because our tax rate is the highest corporate tax rate in the world. i am going to put forth a proposal that will get rid of the irs, number one. [applause] and replace it with a simple flat tax that will apply a flat

rate tax and the tax rate will be the same on individual income, corporate income capital gains, dividends interest -- everybody pays the same rate of tax. no monkeying around from one group to another. [applause] you create a low tax rate and create expensing for businesses, you create a fair trade system -- i'm a free trader that i voted against trade bills and for trade bills. if the next president -- the next president should be someone who is willing to enforce our trade laws to make sure china is not dumping product into this country and we are able to trade fairly with other countries. [applause] frank: there is one aspect of your candidacy that is unique. you support, to some degree, in an increase in the minimum wage.

why? mr. santorum: all of my ideas are centered around what we can do to help those who have been left behind by both political parties. if you look at the fact that wages have stagnated, not just over the last few years, but really for 74% of americans that don't have a college degree, wages have been flat for 20 years. you look at what has happened and i talk about manufacturing as being a key and energy is another big key. the bottom line is we have to , grow this economy and grow wages. what i propose in a minimum wage is $.50 per hour over the next -- our increase over the next three years. people ask why i do that. what percentage of americans make the federal minimum wage? less than 1%, nobody. nobody makes the minimum wage anymore. my feeling was if you are -- this was talking to folks earlier -- if you're going to get bipartisan support, and you will need bipartisan support. bobby jindal was just talking

about welfare reform. we've got 70 votes in the united state senate. did we get everything we wanted? we gave some things that the other side wanted that they thought were important but we got things we thought were more important. what we got was a work requirement for welfare benefits. that was the number one thing we wanted and we got it and it cut welfare rolls in half within five years. [applause] if you want to get bipartisan bills, you have to have things that will be supported by both sides. what i am putting forward is i will put forward a modest increase in the minimum wage and you give us any rid of the irs and cutting taxes and give us regulatory reform that we need to get that and you give us immigration reform. this is another separating out what everybody else is talking about. i know there are some people talking tough on immigration. but if you look at the numbers

at the numbers usa which is the only pro-worker group out there that measures how people are doing on immigration what their policies are -- there is only one candidate in this race who has an a rating with numbers usa and he is on stage right now in ames, iowa. [applause] what i talk about there is it's not just tough on the border. i introduced the border security bill back in 2006 to put up fencing and the folks on the border to make sure the border will be safe and secure. it's also about legal immigration. over the last 20 years, we have seen 35 million people come into this country legally and illegally combined. over 10% of the population of this country has come in over the last 20 years. we have more people living in this country who are -- were not born here than any time in history this country. you can say that's a good or bad thing. it can be good or bad but we have to look at what is in the best interest of american workers? what will we do to get those salaries up? we see the vast majority of the people coming into this country are unskilled workers competing to keep wages down. what i'm proposing is we need to hold the line and stop illegal immigration but also reduce

illegal immigration of unskilled workers by 25% so we can bring wages up in this country and that will make a change. [applause] frank: we will go to questions for senator santorum in a moment. why is it that working-class americans seem to oppose conservatism in every single election? they seem to be hostile to the republican party. there is a problem there. what is it? mr. santorum: i wrote a book called "blue collar conservative " last year. one of the reasons i wrote the book is at the end of the last campaign, i ran four years ago you may remember -- at the in of the last campaign i was showed a survey by one of the mitt romney pollsters. he should me a survey from the last state that was supposed to be running and before i dropped out in they said we saw this in april 2012.

every single state -- we started to ask the question because we saw the exit polls always had you running way lower than what the final number was. he showed me the survey and he said, i started asking question not only who you will vote for but when are you planning to vote. this state happened to be pennsylvania and if you're going to go before noon, i was winning before 5:00. if you voted between noon and 5:00 i was trailing by four. if you voted after 5:00, i was up by 21. who votes after 5:00? we were connected to working men and women because we were talking about them. we're not just talking about them like people come up on stage and they say we will help the working class. we had policies and plans. when you paint a picture of the future of our country and talk about back to work, they are concrete ideas that people can say, oh, i see me in that picture. oh, i see me in that picture. the problem with the republican party -- i will give you an example during the convention in 2