republicans want to give the other side and advantage, which is why it is so difficult to get reform or change on the campaign finance and passed into law. --end passed into law. host: always appreciate your time on "the washington journal." guest: thank you. host: that is our show. see you back here tomorrow morning at 7 a.m. eastern, 4 a.m. pacific. have a great day. 202-748-8003[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. 2015] ♪ ♪ >> the cuban government will officially open its empathy to the united states later on today as the two countries normalize

relations for the first time in decades. we are expecting remarks from the cuban foreign minister as the cuban flag is raised for the first time since the early 1960's. live coverage gets underway in just about a half hour on c-span. we expect white house spokesman josh earnest to talk during today's briefing. lots of discussion expected on the united nations vote to approve the around nuclear agreement. that vote happening within the last hour. we have a light briefing with josh earnest here at 12:30. secretary of john state -- secretary of state john kerry talks about the around deal. we expect that about 1:45 here today on c-span. >> tonight on the communicators we will speak with the communication ages on why this

is a danger. >> if you go back to earlier technologies like railroads and the telephone monopoly. those are regulated as common carriers. regulators set prices, set terms, set rules. we all know what happened. there was very little innovation and railroads and in tracking. and in telephones until they were all the regulated -- all the regulated. those commentary or statutes were undone by congress when it was so clear that innovation was being suppressed and that the u.s. was falling behind in its competitiveness. i was the backdrop for the bipartisan consensus in the 1990's that the internet was going to be different. this was during the clinton administration. a clear consensus. democrat and republican -- unlike those earlier technologies, the internet would be largely unregulated.

>> tonight at 8:00 eastern on the communicators on c-span two. >> we are looking right now at a live picture of the outdoors -- the outside of the cuban and busy on 16th street on washington dc. the official reopening is coming up in about a half hour. you can see the dignitaries arriving and folks making their way inside on a warm morning here in washington. until that gets underway, here is a portion of the program we produced back in 2007 that looked at the cuban embargo. we will show you as much as we can until the other you are seeing now gets underway in about a half hour. >> gary marx, longtime latin american correspondent for the chicago tribune, do you agree with anthony bodo about the legal situation in cuba? >> i do. i think that most humans want

change, some sort of major economic change. their lives are incredibly difficult and very precarious. the issue with democracy is more complex. cubans are clearly looking for a signal from fidel castro to improve the economic situation on the island. >> why or how are their life so difficult? >> it amounts to money and government services. in cuba, the government provides a basket of subsidized food free education, free health care service, the average salary on the island is $15 a month. that does not go far enough. it is not by much on the island. the primary concern for cubans is transportation, housing, and food. as i said, they live very precarious lives. they want those problems taking care of. >> you mentioned raul castro, not fidel castro. >> fidel khosrow -- fidel castro

is obviously gravely ill. we do not know when he will die. he has clearly stepped back in the last year or so. i don't believe he will return to power. power has passed to row will now, and it is his responsibility. people in cuba are looking past fidel for raul to make serious improvement in their daily life. fidel is looked upon as being an elderly statesmen at this point. power, to me, is passed on to raul and the generals. they are now in charge of the country. >> fidel castro, last tv appearance, since 21st. where is the? >> he is obviously an havana somewhere. from the beginning when they announced his illness, he has been out of sight. he has not appeared in public. he has only appeared in brief video clips. he has made his presence felt by these. these are essays that he writes

once or twice every week from subjects ranging from the evils of free trade to the evils of ethanol to the benefits and social advances of the revolution. he is sort of, as i said, an elder statesman at this point. he is out of the picture. power has passed to raul. host: in september, we went to havana and got a lot of video. they talked to a lot of people on the street. here is a little bit of what they heard from people on the street about fidel and the local situation. >> we love fidel. we love fidel castro. our commander-in-chief. you love him too? >> yes. >> for the rest of the world he is a god -- not a god. a very good person.

for the poor people. the thing is that we do not have what we need to have a better life. they are selling refrigerators pressure cooker's, washing machines, tv sets, everything. you can pay in installments little by little. they are very good to i love them. the cuban people love him. i come from the place where we fought. i helped a lot. i have nothing, you see? i helped the government to come to power. i love the government. before castro, there was a bad man. what about the government?

the ones before castro had people killed. in the morning, you would find the bodies all over the place. in the parks cemeteries trucks. they would take people out of their houses and put them in the back of the truck, kill them and take them to the cemetery. what do you think is going to happen after fidel castro dies? oh my goodness. listen. the brother, his brother, his brother will take over. that is what we think. we love him. are you in favor of his brother? >> of course. >> we don't know what is going to happen.

>> do you think that cap -- castro has done well by cuba? >> decidedly. most of me. -- most certainly. a person like fidel started the revolution as a young man. he did not sell out. he has not still in any money. he will die here with his people. he is not ambitious. he is not dreaming of money. had he been ambitious, he would have bought an island and left. old as he is, he is still here. host: those were people in havana talking to foreign journalist. as that allowed? guest: absolutely. people can talk to foreign journalist. they will not necessarily tell you the truth. people can talk to foreign journalists. host: what you heard there, where those people being honest? guest: i would say this.

for a foreign reporter to go there and stick a camera in a stranger's face in havana, that is not the way i would do journalism. that is not the best gauge of someone's opinion. the only way to work and havana the only way to find out what people are thinking is to spend time on the ground, to make friendships, to build trust. then, after a long period of time, they will tell you closer to the truth. host: did you have inside sources in the cuban government when you are living art deco guest: i did not, because i do not believe there are inside sources in the cuban government. or is too much at risk for cubans working in the government at any high level to talk to a foreign journalist without authorization. for example. at one point, i was doing a story last year about the sugar industry. i went to interview someone who used to work at the sugar ministry and i spoke to him on

one or two different occasions. then he called me up and said i need to meet with you. after a certain period of time we met again. he said don't call me again, i can't talk to you. state security visited my house. i have never been in the situation before. imf rate afraid for my family. i am afraid for my kids. they want me to turn you in as an informant. don't call me again. those sources don't exist in cuba. it is not a journalism here and united states. host: gary mark's is a correspondent for the chicago tribune june 2002 and 2007. you lived in havana. was there a strong dissident community in a country echo guest: there is a dissident community and cuba, but it is not strong. it grew in the 1990's with a economic opening. a huge crackdown 2003. 2. -- 75 activists and journalists were arrested. since then, the dissident

community has been decimated. it is a nonfactor at this point. host: you mentioned the economics of cuba. i would like to talk about that. one of the things we all hear about his cigar manufacturing. what is the state about that industry echo guest: it is a mixed end -- mixed enterprise. it has grown immensely in recent years. they export a lot the cigars to europe and south america. the biggest market in the world is the united states. because of the embargo, they are not allowed to export the united states. it is an important export, an important source of income. host: what is the most import and source of cuba? guest: copper and nickel. tourism is important for income

for the cuban government. the most important source of income is venezuela. the venezuelan president has given billions of dollars a year in aid to the cuban economy. that is one reason why the cuban economy has grown in the last couple of years. host: go back to tourism. how many tourists come to cuba every year and where do they come from? guest: i don't know the exact number, but the number one sources canada followed by spain. most of these individuals, on package doors. they are inexpensive, especially from canada. they go to resorts. they are separated from the cuban population. cubans are not allowed to enter these resorts. only the workers are allowed to stay in these resorts. people stay for four or five days. maybe they make a trip into havana, but most of the time is spent on each -- on the beach. host: what about private is this? guest: you are not allowed to own a business in cuba without a government license.

in the 1990's after the fall of the soviet union, thousands of these licenses were given. after the fall of the soviet union, the cuban economy class. fidel castro had to institute limited free-market economic reforms including foreign investment and restarting the tourist industry. it also included giving some private businesses licenses. everything from a tire repairman to opening private restaurants to giving rooms for rent. the top figure 10 years ago was 200,000 licenses. in the recent years as the economy has recovered, the licenses have fallen dramatically. host: our c-span crew visited a local market in havana and talked about the cost of food. >> grapefruit, how much echo

one. 20 in town. -- 1.20 a a pound. >> what is inside the rum bottles? >> concentrated lemon juice. >> four pesos. >> you don't like it? >> no. >> three more grapefruit. >> four pesos. >> no, that is too much. >> how much should it cost, do you think in your view? >> a peso each. >> three grapefruit, or pesos no. one peso each. small grapefruit. no way.

everything is very expensive here. and then you can't eat. >> are you going somewhere else? are you going somewhere else? >> yes. to see and i can find something cheaper. this is too expensive. those of small grapefruit. four pesos each? no way. that is abusive. >> the cuban people -- most of the people have enough money to be able to buy what they want or need. i think so.

workers have a salary. they can come without money to the market and buy food. to buy food, you always have money. nobody starts here. nobody starves. host: that market that we saw is a privately owned or state run? guest: that is state run. it is very interesting. these are one of the markets that was opened in the 1990's after the collapse of the soviet union setting the human economy into a tells them. there was a lot of hunger at that time. they opened these markets in which food producers could sell the products to these markets. this is one of the major ways cubans get food. host: that gentleman said nobody starts here. guest: that is correct. that doesn't mean that food is not one of the top concerns of cubans. it absolutely is.

the cubans provide a monthly food ration card which they provide with sugar, beans, rice, cooking oil. very subsidized prices. it costs next to nothing. these subsidized foods only last 10 days, two weeks at the most. cubans have to go out and look for other income in order to buy the other things they need. host: this market that we are watching right now. is this an open market for all cubans, tours, etc.? guest: cubans can shop there. you can tell right here. host: are there shortages of food? guest: there are no shortages of food. the problem is money. in the 1990's, there was a shortage of food but they did not have money. now, humans --there is a lot of food but they don't have enough money. host: is there a black market for food? guest: there is a black market for everything and cuba. in cuba, it is illegal to sell

lobster tails or shrimp because the state controls these trades and the expert goes overseas. if you want to buy lobster tails or shrimp, you have to go to the black market. there is a flourishing black moth -- like market of walter jones and trim. host: where is it? guest: it is everywhere. in our house in havana, five times a day we had people reading our doorbell. do you want or just? do you want potatoes? do you want oranges? do you want support? you can buy anything you want on the black market, you just need money. host: did you listen really from cubans or did you live in havana? guest: 41st few years we lived in the renovated part of old havana. we were in the main section of the van we were in a foreigner's building. they charged as rent.

we had to live in a building owned by the cuban government. we were surrounded by cubans. the last couple years, we moved out to the suburbs. old havana is incredibly congested. there are issues about our wealth compared to the cubans we were living with. we have young kids at the time. they would go downstairs with baseball bats, balls, toys. the cuban kids who were very poor obviously want to these things. it created a weird dynamic. we felt uncomfortable about that so we moved out to the suburbs. host: where your kids friends with cuban kids? guest: sure. they were friends with cuban kids. it created a weird dynamic. they were finding out our kids were from the united states. my kids of the time were three and six years old. often, kids would say they are the bad people. because the cuban education system is so politicized, these

kids would repeat this to our kids. our kids had just arrived in cuba. they were trying to figure out where we were living now. are we bad? is our government that? things like that. that was a heavy burden to put on them. host: when they were down there, they went and visited people at their homes. here's a bit of the video. >> can we shoot your room? we are filming a documentary to see how cubans live. would you mind? you are a musician?

>> you are a musician? where do you play? do you play every day at the hotel. you have a group, a band. on october 21, we had a concert at the fine arts museum. >> could you lower the volume a bit? how long have you been living here? >> forever. 36 years. >> and/or family? your parents? >> might mother died. my father lives upstairs with all of us. my sister.

>> you have a sister? >> yes, upstairs. right there. she was born here too. >> thank you so much. >> do you pay rent here? >> no. >> this was given to us by the state. the people who came here came from condemned housing unsanitary living quarters. they were given places with a better quality of life. that was 1959, 1960, more or

less. >> thank you for letting us in. let's see if we can have a look at something else. host: that is brandon tilman of c-span. you can see he is fluent in spanish and he did a lot of the interpreting. the producer is holding the camera. gary marx, what do you see when you watch this video at this house? guest: it is such a familiar sign in central havana especially. this looks like one of these old buildings that was basically a mansion before the revolution and it has been chopped up. there are dozens and dozens of families living in this huge building. host: what kind of condition is this building and? guest: you can see the conditions are that nothing has happened in the last 50 years to renovate the place. host: cuba likes to say there is nobody on the street. that is absolutely true. guest: there are not very many

homers people. they are not walking around. at the same time obviously housing remains a huge problem in cuba. the lack of housing -- two or three generations living under the same roof. 12 people sometimes living in a two room apartment. it is a major problem. host: our camera crew walking in and out of these apartment. the seams open. guest: right. host: i am curious. if someone walked into my house with a camera -- guest: cubans are very open, very gregarious. like i said earlier. they won't necessarily tell you the truth. they have tremendous manners. the idea of not allowing you to come and it does not even cross their minds. host: that gentleman says he pays no rent. that it was given to him by the state. guest: if anyone pays rent, it is very small. a lot of people pay no rent at all. they own their houses.

especially if they are in the countryside. rent is, again, one of those things that is highly subsidized by the government. it is not a concern for most cubans. there is a black market for housing. then you have to pay in the hard currency called cuc. for the most part, rent is not a concern for most people. host: you mentioned earlier that transportation is one of the biggest concerns. guest: there is not enough transportation. the transportation, roads, buses are completely antiquated and inadequate. that is one thing that raul castro put his fingers on. in recent months he has fought and is starting to bring online hundreds of chinese buses that in the past year are being brought into havana. it is a huge problem. tebow could wait an hour just to get a bus to go to work. it is a major problem.

most people don't own cars. that is one thing that raul castro in the past year has put his finger on and wants to improve. host: we want to show you this video about cars in cuba. >> excuse me, sir. sir? what is wrong with the car? >> looked down. >> is a difficult to keep it running? what make is it? >> russian. from russia. >> is it hard to get parts?

>> no. >> you have never seen a car like this one,? >> how old is the car. >> 18 years old. >> you tighten that, and then we will see if it starts. >> what is the problem? >> we are fixing it. >> is it the starter? >> no. the solenoid. >> where is this car from? what country?

where was it made? the car. >> i think it is korean. in korea. >> did it start all right? how can you get a car? >> you can't. you can't get a car. >> why? >> because cars are not sold here. they are sold only -- i don't know. cars are very collocated. you have to get an authorization. it has to be through an authorization. not just having the money. that is not all. you have to have the money and the authorization. the government doesn't get just

anybody an authorization. what you have to do -- i don't know. i can't explain that really. >> it belongs to a friend. the komi to take care of it and look after it are a >> it is a friend of yours? >> yes. he is back there. >> what kind of car is a? >> it is a ford. >> what you're? >> 1955. it belongs to a friend of mine who is in there. it is a ford the eighth four-cylinder car. >> how do you take care of it? how does he take care of it? >> he has money. he has to fix it a lot. bodywork, mainly. it is the original engine.

>> oh, the original engine? >> yes. >> are there many cars with russian engines? >> many have petroleum-based engines. like a six-cylinder perkins. >> some have mercedes-benz engines. that is an american car. >> what you're? -- what year? >> 1954 willie. >> are you going to park? >> this is the original car. every single piece. ♪

host: gary marx, cars in cuba? guest: i could never manage to buy one. wouldn't it be nice to have one of those old cars? host: what about cars and cuba? the woman said you are not allowed to? guest: that is true. there is a black market in cars. you can sort of trade cars. that takes place. cuba is a collective society. everything or most things are controlled by the government. there are no individual rights. it is collective rights. cuba is a poor, impoverished country with limited resources. their view is that these resources should not going to individuals buying cars. it should go into buying the

public -- improving the transportation system for everybody. you need government authorization to buy a car. one way you can get permission is to do a mission overseas. to do -- to work as a doctor overseas, a teacher overseas. if you put in work overseas, you can come back and often get permission to buy a car. host: the cars and trucks, are those valuable commodities? guest: absolutely. that is why they keep them together. a car from 50 years ago. if this car breaks down, they can't get another car. they are ingenious in keeping these old cars running. you can't buy new cars. host: what are these old american cars used for? guest: most of them are used as taxis. host: who ride in a taxi? guest: cubans can ride in a taxi. it is one alternative to the public presentation system. the bus system -- there are not enough buses. they are way overcrowded. you can pay a little bit more

and go into one of these old cars used as taxis to get around havana. host: did you have a car when you were there? guest: yes. we had a toyota. >> we are going to break away from this recorded program. you can see it at any time on c-span.org. we are going to go live to 16th street and washington dc. the reopening of the cuban embassy, the ceremony just underway. live coverage on c-span. ♪ ♪

[applause] ♪ [trumpets] ♪

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[cuban national anthem] [indiscernible]

>> if you missed any of this you can catch it anytime on our website at www.c-span.org. the cuban and busy being reopened officially in downtown washington dc. the cubans planned an elaborate ceremony. we saw that this morning. they repave the driveway repainted the dance, and reinstalled a new flat low -- flagpole getting ready for this certainly. secretary kerry will be meeting today with the human foreign minister. later on, we are not quite sure when, he will be in havana where there will be an official reopening of the american embassy there. that is what the new york times reports this mine. -- this morning.

>> we expect josh earnest, white house spokesperson, to answer questions about this. also, the you -- the u.n. vote to approve the nuclear iran agreement. you can watch the right here at 12:30 eastern on c-span. we expect to hear from the secretary of state about cuba and other matters when he is joined by his cuban counterpart following their meetings. we expect that at about 1:45 eastern. we will have that here as well. more later programs later, the cato institute hosting a discussion looking at u.s. drug policy. panelists expected to become the rise of synthetic or designer drugs. we will have that at noon eastern on c-span3. later today, talk on the financial regulation and a keynote address before the markets group which supports public interest and thinking law.

the third anniversary of the dodd frank law signed by president obama and an effort to closely regulate wall street in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. the primary authors of that law were chris dodd and barney frank, both democrats come also expected to speak. we will have that life for you at 2:30 this afternoon on c-span two. >> tonight on the communicators we will speak with the wall street journal's information age correspondent. why he things washington is a danger zone for innovation. >> if you go back to earlier technologies like railroads and the telephone monopoly, those were regulated as common carriers. regulators set prices. they set terms. they set rules. we all know what happened. there was very little innovation and railroads and in tracking --

trucking and telephones until they were deregulated. those common carrier statutes were undone by congress when it was so clear that innovation was being suppressed and that the u.s. was falling behind in its competitiveness. that was the backdrop for the bipartisan consensus in the 1990's that the internet would be different. this was during the clinton administration. it clear consensus -- democrats and republicans -- that unlike those earlier technologies, the internet would be largely unregulated. >> tonight at 8:00 eastern on the communicators on c-span2. >> most of the republican candidates for president attended the family leadership summit in ames iowa over the weekend. right now, we will show you some of those beaches. worst of this senator -- first of december marco rubio followed

by ben carson and ted cruz. >> please welcome to the 2015 family leadership summit florida senator marco rubio. [applause] ♪ >> you get the better seat. not only in il, but the senator from florida is ill as well. you will hear it in his voice. the thing you should do is count the number of times he and i cough. [laughter] i am supposed to do the job here. part of what will make a special

is that every speaker will begin with a question from the audience. i want the camera to turn on you all. i want to ask you to very simple questions. how many of you, by show of hands, are better off today than your parents were when they were your age shekel who believes you are better off than your parents, raise your hands. almost everybody. now be honest with me. how many of you truly believe not that you want, but you believe that your children will be better off than you when they get to be your age. raise your hands. if the reporters here can look around you, almost no hands are up. we have lost faith in the future. it is all very pessimistic. the most optimistic people on the face of the earth are first-generation immigrants. you know something about immigration policy. you were put through the ringer for over a year. what did you learn from that experience, and what advice would you give them now? senator rubio: a couple points.

i think the american people believe in immigration and wanted work for america. i do not think we can make any progress on it until we make illegal immigration under control. that is the biggest lesson of the last three years. a lot of people are willing to be reasonable about it and modernize our system. they want to make sure the problem we have right now of rancid -- illegal immigration is not under control. they don't believe it is and i don't trust this president to do it. ask what is the first that? senator rubio: there are two steps. we need to secure our borders. we need to secure our the subsystem. 40% of people who come here illegally stay here -- come here legally and stay here illegally. another thing we need is an electronic verification system for employers. the magnet that draws many people here is jobs. when you to create a system where employers can be reasonably expected and demanded

to check to make sure the people they hire are not illegally here. if you do those two things, you will bring legal immigration under control. back to you guys agree with an? [applause] senator rubio: i don't want to -- >> louder. senator rubio: ok, we heard you the first time. by the way, the gentleman who was screaming, i would do anything for your voice. >> i want to invite you, if there is something that you strongly agree with, it is ok to apply. i don't want to silence that. i want to make sure we are respectful of people while we are up. my follow-up question is, is washington capable of solving it, or is washington's so broken? senator rubio: that is up to the leaders we elect. people have to be committed to a the idea that our job is to solve problems and not just give

speeches about them. these are solvable problems not just on immigration but the economy, national security. the bad news is that america is not the filling its potential as a country. we could be even greater than we are today. that is the good news. the bad news is that we are not doing it. these are self inflicted wounds. we are a nation with a government that refuses to solve its problems or has been unable to solve its problems for longer than a decade. the question that you just asked the audience? if our children are not better off it is because we do not do what it took. >> you are part of the government. senator rubio: i agree and it is frustrating. it was frustrating for four years in the senate while harry reid chose to do nothing. the senate basically did nothing. even now, we are in a situation where even if we make progress, we have a president who will veto things. there are consequences to electing someone to the highest office in the land who is more committed to doing things by executive order them through the

channels of the constitution gives us. [applause] senator rubio: that is why the election is so important. >> i would be remiss if i did not ask you, what do you do with the 11 million who are here now? senator rubio: i don't think you can begin to have a debate about it until you do two things. one is to secure the border. another one is to modernize a legal immigration. people don't realize. every year the people admits permanently one million people to the united states. they come here primarily on the basis of whether or not they have a relative living here. any 21st century, it cannot be on that basis. it has to be on what you contribute to the country. are you coming to be an american or lead and america? [applause] senator rubio: i think that if we do those two things, the vast majority of americans will be very reasonable with someone who has been here for 15 years hasn't otherwise violated the law, will start paying taxes

pay a fine, and all they want is a work permit. i do not think we can get to that point until we have done the other two things. i don't think we can to -- i don't think we can get to that point, i know we can't having gone through the last couple of years. >> something we need to get to. if people want to ask a question for marco rubio, there are microphones all over the place. now's your chance to go to the microphone and you want to ask a question. something will happen any and 60 days, and that is the iranian treaty. obviously, you are against it. what likelihood do you have of being able to prevent it? senator rubio: it all depends on whether we are able to convince 13 or 14 democrats to vote against it. there are plenty of reasons. you will learn about it over the next few days. i will give you three. the first the inspection requirements are a complete sham. it sounds like an arbitration panel between a contract or two companies. it specifically says that no

american rest -- inspectors are allowed into a run. it also says it we want to inspect a facility and a run, we have to ask for permission. if they say no, we go through a 24 day appeal process before ap -- group of people in a council -- and that doesn't work, it is moved to foreign ministers -- at that doesn't work, it goes to the un security council. when you add up the days, it can be over 50 days. after 50 days, they probably have cleaned up the site you want to do see in the first place. the worst part is that if they refuse to allow you to inspect the consequences are that around walks away from the deal. it better be a very big violation for these countries in europe to go along with demanding they allow us to inspect. here is the most outrageous thing. it says we have to help iran develop technical abilities, economic, trade, manufacturing. we basically have to help a run become more powerful.

-- help iran become more powerful. it requires us to do that. it requires us to help around fight against sabotage that might exist against the nuclear program. the only evil trying to sabotage it are our allies. for the first time in a long time, we are required to work against countries like israel on behalf of a run. -- iran. american hostages are completely untouched and his whole deal. they get to build long-range rockets. sanctions get removed. other than that, i guess it is good. >> why is this president supporting it? if it is that not, why would the president do this? senator rubio: because he wants a legacy. he wants to build out exhibits for his presidential library. barack obama created these in our times and the next president blew it. it is absurd. our allies know it is absurd. [applause]

we live in a world where we treat the ayatollah and a run -- iran with more respect than the democracy in the middle east, the state of israel. [applause] >> go to microphone one over there. >> hi. i was wondering if you will would be willing to call the terrorism in our country islamic terrorism, and how will you keep it from conducting our youth? senator rubio: that is what it is. it is not radical presbyterian terrorism. it is radical islamic terrorism. [applause] i want you to know why it is fair for us to call it that. it is not fair for the non-radical muslims to call it radical as long.

the first thing is we have to defeat that ideology. we have to defeat an online. we have the capability in this country to go after them. why do they have a twitter account up? why do we allow prices to have these online social media networks? we have the ability to take them down, let's do it. [applause] we have to target them militarily. isis does not exist and as they have a place to operate from. that is why we need to increase airstrikes. we have to increase working with allies in the region with more logistical support, special ops to take away from radical jihadists the safe havens they need to exist and prosper. we have to show the world and these youngsters that isis is not some unbeatable, and never low-power. isis is someone we can unite you and we need to. we need to subject them to high-profile, humiliating defeats that we broadcast to the world. we have one propaganda wars before.

we wanted during the cold war, the second world war, and we can win it against radical jihadists, that we are not doing it now. [applause] >> microphone to. >> thank you for coming senator rubio. regarding global warming climate change, the epa, how do you feel the obama admin attrition has handled this? does this hurt our manufacturing competitiveness? senator rubio: they are absolutely hurting us. the epa wants to write doing everything. every waterway in the country they want to get their claws in. number two it is important for us to protect our natural environment. i know of no one who wants water to be poisoned. that wants air to be unreadable. nobody wants to go back to a third world economy. no one wants to see single mothers pay $100 month more in your toady does. i don't know of anyone who wants to make food more expensive

because it costs more money to holidays from iowa to summer else. that is what we will go with if we go for a radical environment or gender. i believe it is possible to fully utilize energy resources in this country and protect the environment. the job of policymakers is to do that. that is what the table do. that is what my administration is about. [applause] >> let's go to microphone number four. >> senator rubio, my question is our national debt is over 18 trillion and will be higher next year. what steps would you take to reduce at? senator rubio: the first step is to expand to people why we have a national debt. why we don't have it is not foreign aid. less than 1% of our budget. it is not food stamps and well -- welfare. abuse in these programs is to be brought under control, but the drive of our debt is military spending. -- it is not military spending. [applause]

the driver is the way social security and medicare are currently structured for future generations. i am from florida. millions of people in florida are on medicare and social security. one of them is my mother. i would never want anything bad for my mother. i can't ideology is because she gets mad, but she has been alive for a decade plus four years. [laughter] i recognize that in order for us to save medicare and social security, it will be able to work the same way for me as it did for her. my generation and people younger than me that if we balance our budgets, leave medicare and social security executive way it is now and save the program for the future, we will have to retire later than our parents. our benefits when i grow as fast as our parent social security group. our medicare may not be a plan from the government. it may be money we get every

month that we can use to buy a plan for ourselves from the private market, some way medicare works right now which my mother has. that is not too much to ask of americans my age in order to save medicare and social security the way it is for parents, balance our budget, and prevent a debt crisis for our nation. [applause] >> one second, hold on. how old are you? senator rubio: i am 44, but i feel 45 today. [laughter] >> you have been in the senate for one term. you are very articulate. you know the issues pretty well. people have compared you to other individuals. this is the biggest knock on you. those who have talked about you have compared you to other conservative leaders that have suggested that you have not been around long enough. senator rubio: here is the truth. i have not lived as long as some of the others running.

[laughter] i do not think anyone living for presidents understands what life is like today than i do. you want to talk to people living paycheck to paycheck -- i am glad that hillary clinton talks about people who live paycheck to paycheck. i know people like that. my parents live paycheck to paycheck. i was visiting the press last night at cedar rapids. i am sure none of you went. i watched a little bit of it last night. >> all you were there. senator rubio: i never trusted him anyway. [laughter] it is a joke. i learned a new word. comrad. i am glad they are focusing on student loan debt. i have had student loan debt until four years ago. the other point i would make is it is true. there are people running to have more experience than i do on the issues we faced 18 years ago. no one running has more a strange than the issues we face

right now today in the 21st century with a world that is more dangerous than ever and an economy that is changing faster than his seen since the industrial revolution. [applause] >> microphone one. >> thank you senator. if you were elected president today, what specifically would you do to move our country forward? senator rubio: there are a number of things we need to do but i will focus on three. >> of a you understand, this is a summit rather than a traditional political partisan event. if the next president should do is a better approach. senator rubio: is that for the lawyers? who is a larger. razor and if you're a lawyer. -- raise your hand if you are a lawyer. get out. [laughter]

senator rubio: next president needs to do three things. we have to be the best place in the world. we have to compete with dozens of other countries. we need a tax code, limited regulations that will allow us to become the best country. we have to revolutionize what higher education mean. it will still need for your degrees for a lot of people but we cannot afford to graduate people with a mountain of loans with a degree that will not amount to a job. we should not be requiring people to borrow money. we have to have flexible higher education programs available for people stuck in low-wage jobs but have to work full-time and raise a family. we have to remain the most powerful nation on earth. militarily, morally, and politically. [applause] senator rubio: and that is why

we have to rebuild our defenses, our foreign policy, and strengthen family life in america. you cannot have a strong family life without strong families. i hope our president will lead us in that endeavor. [applause] >> this program, the two sponsors, the family leader, and he said strengthen families. do you think there is a role in washington, d.c. strengthening families? senator rubio: not the primary role, that is on each one of us. we should not have a government that discourages family formation. >> do we now? senator rubio: we have a tax code that discourages marriage. we deny parents the right to put their children in the school of their choice. [applause] senator rubio: and we have an

attorney general and supreme court that will not stand up for the rights of every american family to instill traditional values without being discriminated against by the government or society. [applause] senator rubio: microphone 2 -- >> microphone two. >> recently there has been controversy about methods we have used in cia interrogation in regard to al qaeda. how do you feel about that in regard to obama terminating that within 48 hours of residence? -- presidency? senator rubio: we are going to go back to those methods but let me say this. there are dangerous people on this planet that every single day plot to kill as many americans as possible. they work actively to do it. if we get our hands on people like that and are able to gather intelligence from them that

allows us to prevent another attack, we should do everything within our legal power to access the information, not through the american criminal justice system but treat them as an enemy combatant. [applause] senator rubio: the one thing we should not do is advertise what our interrogation methods are. do you know why? let me explain why. let me tell you why. because then you allow these terrorist to practice and prepare on how to resist it. really right now it is not an issue because this president is not arresting any terrorist anymore. he wants to close guantanamo. senator rubio: that is a pretty's -- >> that is a pretty strong statement. senator rubio: which one? they want to close guantanamo, there is no place to take them. >> are you saying this

administration has gone soft on terrorism? senator rubio: no, they just kill them with a drone as opposed to trying to capture as many people as you can and gathering intelligence from them. we do not do that nearly as much as we once did and we have lost intelligence in the process. there will always be able to play on the battlefield but we need to find the ability to remove people from the battlefield and gather intelligence. if you are talking about closing guantanamo, it means we never again have the intention of trying to gather actionable intelligence to prevent future attacks. >> is barack obama soft on terror? senator rubio: he is confused about global terrorism. he will not call it that number one. i am sure he is against it. i know he is, but he will not call it what it is or confronted in a meaningful way.

we are conducting airstrikes against isis. that is not american power. that is not an effective way to confront the challenges that we face. he told us years ago that isis was a jv team and it was nothing to worry about. we are now threatening the sinai, they blew up and egyptian ship yesterday. the are increasingly active in lebanon, probably deeply embedded in refugee camps in syria, and are popping up in places like afghanistan and pakistan. they are growing, and somehow our tactics remain the same as ice plan to confront them and no consensus moving forward. >> i want to give you one sentence to close. senator rubio: can i rely on this? it is a bible. i think they know. [applause] senator rubio: chapter 12, verse

48 talks about our obligation. it says "for everyone who has been given much, much will be required. of him they will ask all the more." i think that speaks to us in our individual life. it certainly does to me. america does not only anything. i have a debt to this country i will never repay. it literally changed the history of my family. when my father was nine years old and lost his mother he had to work. the mission of his life was to give us everything he could not do, and that was only possible because of america. much has been given to this country. we have vast, fertile land with the most creative, hard-working people and mankind. with all these blessings come responsibility, to lead the world politically economically,

and morally. there are a lot of people out there bank who talk bad about america but they inspire -- we inspire them. that is the country i want to leave for my children. i hope that is what this election will be about in 2016. >> senator marco rubio. thank you very much. [applause] >> thank you. >> please welcome back frank luntz and welcome to iowa, and the 2015 family leadership summit, neurosurgeon dr. ben carson. [applause]

>> before we begin, there are going to be people walking up the rose there and handing out a sheet. if you have wanted to participate in this focus groups that you have seen on cbs or fox news, this is your chance to do it. i urge you, as the sheets get sent out send them down the rose -- rows. this is your chance to be heard by america, not just today, but for the next eight months. ladies and gentlemen, dr. ben carson. [applause] >> we always begin with an audience question and the question from you all is this. this time i want you to do it by applause, because your applause will determine what his first

question is. we face many threats today across the globe but which is the number one threat? is it iran, isn't russia, or is it isis? iran russia, were isis? who believes it is iran? please applaud. who believes it is russia? and who believes it is isis? so i preface this -- ok. who believes it is china? returning to isis they know of your expertise on health care and that would be what they would expect, but leadership

requires you to know a lot more issues than just the one in your expertise you'd is 3:00 a.m. in that phone call comes and it is about a challenge to america's safety and security, and the threat is isis. what does the next president need to do now so that phone call never comes? mr. carson: that is a very good question. what exactly is going on in the world right now is quite different than what was going on before. in 2003, for instance, when we invaded iraq and al qaeda was a big deal, there are many people who were not totally on board with that because they did not see where that was a significant threat to our national security. i could be one of those people, because i was not very enthusiastic. however, we are facing now a completely different situation. we have radical islamic

jihadists who want to destroy us and they want to destroy our way of life. their existence is a threat to us. we cannot the in that mindset that says, we made a mistake and spent a bunch of money and caused a lot of strife so therefore, let's just get into our cocoon, and that is a problem for somebody else. that is not going to work. the fact of the matter is they want to destroy us and we have two choices. we can sit here, ignore them, obama a desert, -- bomb the desert and think we are doing something, or we can destroy them first. i choose the latter. [applause] mr. carson: i would use every resource available to us. i think that our offense of

capabilities and defensive capabilities militarily are good. they have been degraded because they have been neglected but they are extremely good. >> what about ground troops? mr. carson: i would send them if i needed them in order to take the land. >> you have an idea what the threat is. is it a likelihood that ground troops would be necessary to succeed? mr. carson: i think it is a strong likelihood, the reason being, in order for them to develop their caliphate, they need land. if we really want to break their backs, we take the land. you are not going to take the land without troops. we made this mistake in vietnam. we would go in, clear out the viet cong, declare victory, and they would come right back. that does not do any good. the reason that crisis arose was because we vacated iraq after we

had secured the victory there. >> people who are signing up today for the military, the next president should tell them that you may be sent to the middle east and be on the ground, american troops on the ground to fight isis? mr. carson: i think they should know that. we are going to use every other mechanism available to us, including economic sanctions. that we are going to take land including their oil wells and anything they use to finance themselves. [applause] mr. carson: when that person is enlisting, we also ought to tell them that we will have resources in place to take care of them, because 22 to 23 veterans commit suicide every day in america. that is the tip of the iceberg. we are giving them some aid that is just for when they

enlist, we should have a support system as they go through. a year before they are discharged, we should have placement people ready to transition the into society. [applause] >> i have not thought of asking this question, and i do not know how to do it anyway, and you have been asked it reform. i want to ask it in a way that is respectful and appreciative. it is very easy for many people in this room to call themselves conservatives. if you look around this room there are not many people of color. if you look around the room of conservatives in the northeast california, there are not many people of color. why are you here? and i mean that in the deepest spiritual way.

why did you choose to be in this room and not in cedar rapids last night question mark -- last night? mr. carson: i grew up in detroit, strong democratic stronghold. went to yale university, very liberal. came back, baltimore maryland, one of the bluest states possible. early on during my career, i started noticing that there were a lot of people, particularly a lot of people of color, who were coming in with social services their lives were going nowhere and they were perfectly capable individuals. in recognizing what the system was doing to them. then i started listening to ronald reagan, because i had always been told that republicans were horrible, mean, racist people, and that you should never have anything to do with them.

i started listening to him and said, he does not sound like that. he sounds like somebody with common sense. that really started the transition. [applause] mr. carson: and there are a lot of people who have been fed the propaganda just the way i was fed the propaganda, so i do not blame them for being there because they had not had the experience i have had. i think there are a lot of people waking up. i met with a group of black pastors yesterday. people are waking up in droves and recognizing what -- [applause] mr. carson: i think they are starting to recognize what has been happening here because you start out in the 1960's, lyndon johnson's war on poverty and a great new society, and how we

will eradicate poverty. have we done it? we have spent $19 trillion since then but we have 10 times more people on food stamps, on welfare, more out of wedlock births, or crime. everything that was supposed to be better is not only worse but much worse. i do not want to demonize the people who started this programs, but we do have brains. brains tell you when something is not working, you look at a different way to get it done. [applause] >> if you have a question for ben carson, line up. one last question -- i am someone who focuses on language. you called them black pastors not african-american pastors. why did you use the word "black

"? i do not have any trouble anyone using african-american. if you go to the museum on ellis island and look at the pictures on the walls of people who came from every place in the world many with only the things they could carry, people who worked 8, 10, 12 hours a day, people who worked not five days a week but six or seven, for their sons and daughters that they might have freedom and prosperity in this land. hundreds of years before that, other immigrants came in the bottom of slave ships, worked longer and harder for less but they had a dream to, that their great grandsons and granddaughters might pursue freedom. of all the land in the world this one, the united states of america was the only one big enough and great enough to allow all those people from different backgrounds to realize their dreams. that means that every single one

of us is relevant to every single one of us. there is something known as america and the american dream and the american psyche, and it is known all over the world. it has nothing to do with where your ancestors came from. it has everything to do with who we are today. [applause] >> go to the back, microphone for. >> new york representative michael graham recently was sent to prison for tax evasion but representative al sharpton is still walking free. >> thank god he is not a representative. >> thank you. what would a president do to

address the issue of corruption and fraud that is going on in washington, d.c.? mr. carson: it is a very corrupt place. i have lifted the hood of the engine that runs washington, and your immediate response is to shut it back down. [laughter] mr. carson: it is pretty horrible. there is a lot of interrelationships and historical things that were going on. it is amazing to me the relationships that exist between different people. some people said to me, you could not possibly function in that environment because you do not know all the intricacies of washington d.c.. i will tell you what i do now. i do know the constitution of the united states and i know how things are supposed to work. what i would do is obviously

get some people who do understand all of that garbage so that they can help disassemble it. i have spent does it -- decades in the private sector in corporate america sitting on boards, national, international corporations, and finding out and figuring out and learning how things that work efficiently work. the united states government is not one of those things, however, we can change it and make it run like a business. american people deserve to have their money spent the right way. [applause] >> you have a row of journalists sitting in front of you. what would you cut? everyone says spend the money

the right way. what would be the two or three programs you would cut? i am going to rephrase that -- mr. carson: what would a person cut who was in such a situation? >> i am not going to get myself sued when this is done. mr. carson: i am a surgeon, so i know how to cut. [applause] mr. carson: one of the things that has always created conflict in washington is pet programs and projects. you are always going to get into an issue, if you say i am cutting this but not this. therefore, i would propose an across-the-board cut in everything. you do it incrementally.

i define anybody to tell me that there is not 1%, 2%, 3%, 5% of excess fat in every single program. [applause] >> let's go to microphone two. >> good afternoon, dr. carson. do you believe all active members of our military should be armed to protect themselves? mr. carson: certainly considering what happened in chattanooga, of course they should be armed. are you kidding me? [applause] mr. carson: but it brings up a larger issue, the military. what is going on? our navy has the smallest number of vessels that we have had since 1917.

recent congressional testimony the commandant green corps said half of the deployed units are not ready. the air force, look at the size of how much wrong. how we only have one carrier group in the persian gulf. we had to move it where it was over to yemen not long ago because we do not have the kind of support that we used to have, and soon that is being removed. what kind of message is that sending to iran right now at this time? all of this is absolute craziness. our military is shrinking while our enemies are growing and metastasizing. it seems like we are trying to destroy ourselves. what is going on? we have to do better than that. [applause] >> i have got to ask the follow-up question, because it says -- because you said it

seems like we are trying to destroy ourselves. why is this happening in washington? who is responsible? mr. carson: i believe what has happened in washington is symptomatic of what has happened in our country, and that is, we have become republicans and democrats instead of americans. [applause] mr. carson: therefore, when stupid things are proposed, we get behind the stupid person based on what our party is, rather than looking at what is happening to our nation. [applause] >> i am not asking you whether you think he is stupid. but is what president obama is

doing with the run and with our middle -- with iran and with our military, is what he is doing stupid question mark -- stupid? mr. carson: let's not even talk about him. let's talk about general principles. when you go into some type of a negotiation like that. there are certain things that have to be done. you have to be able to verify. verification is very important. and you look at this agreement, where is it? accountability, how can you be able to have accountability if you cannot verify and you must be able to enforce? if the first two do not happen, you cannot do the last. basically in terms of international negotiations, is a wasteland. it is not going to work. you have to understand the basic principles of negotiation in

order to come up with something that actually works. we have not disassemble their nuclear infrastructure. we are lifting the economic sanctions which will pop tens of aliens of dollars into -- pump tens of billions of dollars into the world exporter of terrorism. yes, we can demand inspections 24/seven but all that does is start the process with this 4-tier panel that includes iranians and russians. i think a third grader could come up with a better negotiation. [applause] >> going again to the back phone four. mr. carson: i was told i could

not ask whether he had read any of your books but aside from that -- >> when somebody is running for arguably the most important job in the entire world, what did download of eight somebody to take on that challenge -- what deep down motivates someone to take on the challenge? mr. carson: i can only answer that question for myself. i cannot answer it for anybody else. is that permissible in this setting? >> but you are still speaking of what a president should have or think about. mr. carson: it was not something that would be on my bucket list and i had a long, arduous career in narrow surgery, 15,000 cases. i was looking forward to retirement, i must say. but that whole career surrounded children and saving their lives

and improving the quality of their lives. when you look out there right now and you see a nation that is being divided on every level, a war on women, racial wars, income wars, age wars, religious wars, a house divided itself cannot stand. jesus christ himself said that. [applause] mr. carson: we are leaving that to the next generation. that motivates me to see what we are doing to their financial future. we all hear about the $18.4 trillion national debt, and that is a problem. if you try to pay that back at a rate of $10 million a day it would take 5000 years, and we are putting that on their backs. it is worse than that, a fiscal gap.

medicare medicaid, the departmental programs, all that we go going forward projecting versus what we can expect to come in in terms of revenues from taxes and other sources those should be close together. the big gap sits at about $211 trillion. i mentioned that in my announcement speech and the next day a bunch of liberal media came out and said, see, we told you he was crazy, he does not know anything about the economic. and then the next day, forbes came out and said 17 mobile laureate in economics agree with carson. [applause] mr. carson: the fact of the matter is that this can destroy us. the only reason we can do it is because we are the reserve currency of the world, we have

the ability to print money, we are doing it inappropriately our money is not tied to anything. it does not have to the gold standard that we need to put personal responsibility back into our government as well as in our own lives. [applause] >> so what final thought would you like to leave them with? mr. carson: the final thought i would like to leave people with is that we, the american people are not each other's enemies. the real enemies are those who are trying to make us into enemies. if someone does not agree with you, they are your mortal enemy. you can call them names, try to destroy their livelihood, try to destroy their life. where did that kind of thinking come from? as far as i am concerned, that is fewer unadulterated evil and we should not tolerate that in

our society. [applause] >> that is the gentleman ben carson. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, the senator from the great state of texas, ted cruz. [applause] senator cruz: you did not see it, but the standing ovation they gave me the first time was a lot better than that one.

-- >> by applause, how many of you supported the government shutdown two years ago? [applause] and by applause, how many of you thought it was successful? [applause] >> they supported it but they are not convinced it was successful. what did you learn from it? you were one of the leaders, and what should a president do if they are having trouble cooperating with congress? senator cruz: the answer to that first question, in washington d.c. would be markedly different. i have got to say, there are a lot of people in iowa and across the country who are fed up with politicians who promise something on the campaign trail and do not actually do what they said they would do. [applause]

just about every republican in congress campaigned, saying they would do everything humanly possible to stop obamacare. when i promised 27 million texans i meant it and i am proud of standing and fighting to honor that promise. [applause] senator cruz: now in terms of success -- >> this is the part that challenges them, but it is part of my responsibility. obamacare is still the law of the land. it has worked its way up to the courts and now has been, the supreme court has rejected the appeal. there is not much that you can point to in the senate that has been successful. there is a reason -- and i want to show you this. would you rather have a governor or senator as your next president? candidates alone, would you

rather have governor or senator? who would rather have senator? [applause] >> who would rather have a governor?[applause] senator cruz: actually, frank let me jump in and ask one question. how many of you would like to have a conservative as your next resident? [applause] >> how does the next president actually get something done? senator cruz: let's talk about success and obamacare. number one, in the midst of that fight to defund obamacare just about every graybeard in washington went on television to say, this is a disaster, you are dooming the republican party as

a result of fighting to stop this law. harry reid will be get -- will get reelected. a funny thing happened on the way to the election booth. now i guarantee you, if that had happened if we had gotten clobbered in the 2014 election, every republican graybeard would have gone on television saying, you see, it is crusz's fault we got killed. we won a historic hideaway victory, the biggest win since the 1920's in the house. we picked up nine seats in the senate, including retiring harry reid as majority leader. and the number one issue in the country, if you look at the ads and messages republicans use the number one issue was a obamacare. i think mobilizing and

energizing conservatives against the train brake -- train wreck that is obamacare was a main part of winning in 2014. >> is more than just politics, it is result. senator cruz: let's make one final point. most wars are not one in a single skirmish. as a result of elevating that they -- that debate, millions of americans acknowledged how millions were caused their health care, doctors, driving up their premiums. obama's approval plummeted obamacare approval plummeted. 2016 will be a referendum on repealing obama care. if i am elected president, in 2017 a republican president will draft legislation repealing every part of that law.

[applause] >> you have not heard some of the conversation. you cannot actually say "if i am elected." the next president will hopefully. senator cruz: i certainly hope that. >> i want to raise with you one other issue, and i want to remind people to get in line for question. there has been an uproar over planned parenthood over the last 48 hours. by the way, it is clear that we should not have alcohol for lunch. [laughter] >> what do we do, what is the right philosophy and strategy for dealing with land parenthood? -- planned parenthood? senator cruz: the video that surfaced of a planned parenthood

leader describing selling body part of unborn children with no emotion, was gruesome and disgusting, and every american should watch that video and simply say, are those my values? what should we do? number one, on tape it appears the senior planned parenthood official is admitting to multiple federal felonies and to multiple felonies of the state and local level. the u.s. department of justice if it were not simply a parmesan -- a partisan arm, they should open an investigation and prosecute planned hair and hood. -- parenthood. [applause] senator cruz: local prosecutors attorneys general, and das should investigate the planned parenthood officials in their district congress should have

hearings, and we should cut off every penny of taxpayer funds. [applause] >> i do not know what broadcast is at home, but this is the first standing ovation. you should understand how significant your comments were to them. let's go to microphone number one. >> i feel like the gay marriage decision has drawn a bull's-eye on every single christian ministry in the country that opposes gay marriage. i am rather surprised that there

has not been much talk about how to protect those ministries from government intrusion and annihilation. what do you think we can do about that? senator cruz: sir, your absolutely right. the supreme court's decision on married -- on marriage was naked judicial activism and was fundamentally illegitimate. it was sad to see more than a few republicans, including more than a few 2016 candidates publicly saying, it is the law of the land, settle, surrender and move on. [booing] senator cruz: there is something profoundly wrong when republicans running for president are reading from barack obama's book. [applause] senator cruz: i have been proud

to defend traditional marriage as the union of one man and one woman i entire life. -- my entire life. [applause] senator cruz: sir, you're exactly right, the next in the crosshairs is religious liberty. i have spent three decades fighting for religious liberty defending the 10 commandments, defending the pledge of allegiance. it is the first amendment and liberty of the bill of rights and i will never, ever shy away from defending delivery -- the religious liberty of every american. [applause] senator cruz: on august 21 in iowa, we are hosting a religious liberty rally, including a wonderful couple that were persecuted for following their christian beliefs that marriage

is a union between one man and one woman. i will tell you what my prayer is. in the face of this disgraceful lawless decision from the court that it will spark an awakening that it will awaken the body of christ and lift us up to rise up for the 54 million evangelicals who are staying home to say, we will take this country back for our values. [applause] >> you are a powerful speaker. with powerful ideas. senator cruz: and with respect, it is the ideas that have power. it is the truth that has power.

[applause] >> but there is something powerful in redemption something powerful in acknowledging that we made a mistake in seeking forgiveness. be candid. when have you been, with these deep convictions, and have you gotten it wrong? senator cruz: there are mistakes one makes over and over again. i just came out with a new book where i describe many mistakes i have made, and i tried to be very candid. >> you share with them what it taught you both emotionally and spiritually? senator cruz: one story i describe in the book is when i was in law school. my parents got divorced. and that was very hard. i was raised in a christian home. i was raised the taught that marriage was a sacrament. my parents got divorced in law

school and i found that very difficult and i argued with my parents. i sent my parents scripture after scripture on the sanctity of marriage. i argued, this is wrong. frankly, i was very judgmental to my parents. i did not agree with their decision to get divorced. it hurt me personally. but i will tell you afterwards i asked god for forgiveness at the pride on my part to judge them. that all of us in our faith's journeys, we encounter struggles and obstacles. one thing that all of us learns is that parents are people and people are entitled to make mistakes, entitled to stumble entitled to sin, and that is part of who we are. it was not my role to sit in judgment on them so that is something i have asked for

forgiveness and i was wrong. [applause] >> so you were wrong in sitting in judgment of your parents. what about in sitting in judgment of colleagues in the u.s. senate? senator cruz: it is interesting frank. i have endeavored not to do so. to the best of my knowledge in my time in the senate, i have not spoken ill of any of my colleagues, republicans or democrats. >> are you sure you want to make that declarative statement? senator cruz: i am sure i do, and indeed, my standard response -- >> you have the whole -- senator cruz: i have the whole press corps here and what they 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] senator 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 that you will not differ on policy. i think we have an obligation to speak the truth. [applause] senator cruz: i think it is the bread and butter of politics and should be the heart of a political debate. where i differ with other candidates on amnesty, common core, religious liberty, i will endeavor to tell the truth about my beliefs, my record and their record, and have the election be

on substance, not on personal vitriol and attacks. >> by the way, when he says "candidates," he means leaders. we are going to go with microphone three. >> a question for you about medicare and some current happenings with med tech. currently medpac is working on recommendations to congress regarding site neutral payments in health care. specifically between inpatient rehab facilities and skilled nursing facilities. this will mean that individuals with rain injuries, 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 that is based on

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

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 a cardiologist in private practice, we should empower them to have choices. [applause] senator cruz: and finally, on medicare, we need to honor the commitments we made to our seniors and in particular, what we need in washington is leadership to stand up and preserve and reform medicare and social security so we can take care of our seniors and follow through on those commitments for generations to calm. i am campaigning on entitlement reform and strengthen those fundamental bulwarks of our society. [applause] >> microphone two.

>> thank you. i follow you and i want to thank you for fighting on the senate floor on many issues including obamacare. i am from wisconsin. i am one of the millions of americans paying, and it seems my work hours go below 29. i have colleagues who have lost their homes over this, have had to move over state. i am in iowa looking for work. i believe you would fight it if you became president of the united states, that you would appeal this. time this into that we need a two thirds majority to override what obama likes to call his pen and phone, tying this into the iran deal, what are we going to do if we do not get the two thirds majority ? this is serious. we have hostages sitting in iran. look what happened to our

marines last year sitting in mexico. what do we do russian mark -- what do we do? thank you for being a fighter. [applause] senator cruz: ma'am, thank you for the question. you're right. that barack obama is fond of saying that he has a pen and he has a phone. where if you live by the pen you die by the pen. and i have said that if i am elected president, the very first thing i intend to do -- >> next president. senator cruz: is revoke every single on const to chanel executive -- unconstitutional executive action that barack obama has taken. [applause] senator cruz: but let me get to

iran, because that 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, they are allowed to keep all 19,000 centrifuges and keep spinning many of those. it is allowed to keep much of its enriched uranium. it is allowed to keep developing its icbm program which exists for one purpose and one only, to carry a nuclear warhead to the united states of america. you do not need an icbm to reach israel. you need an icbm to get across the atlantic and attacked the great satan which they call the united states of america. billions of dollars will flow into iran. those billions of dollars go to has blood hamas, to the ho

uthis. if this goes through, the obama administration will become literally the world's leading financier michael islamic terrorism. american dollars will fund jihadists seeking to murder us. >> why would you do it? why was the candidate -- why would the president do this? senator cruz: ben rose said that an iranian nuclear deal would be the obamacare of the second term. i think he meant that as a compliment. [laughter] senator cruz: the reason is simple -- they view this purely as a domestic political legacy and agenda. you cannot fight and defeat radical islamic terrorism when you have a president and administration who refuses to utter the words "radical islamic terrorism." [applause]

senator cruz: and let me say two issues are into correct -- interconnected. iran the profoundly endangers israel and america, is interconnected with the terrorist act in chattanooga where four u.s. marines and one sailor were murdered. president obama inexplicably referred to that as a lone gunman. it was not a lone gunman anymore than the $ in fort hood was workplace violence -- nadal hassan in fort hood was workplace violence. and there is no issue more important than as the next president in january, 2017, the one who will stand up in the world's stage and say

unequivocally under no circumstances will you run led by an ayatollah who leads chance of death to america, under no circumstances will iran be allowed to acquire a nuclear weapon. >> ladies and gentlemen, senator ted cruz. [applause] >> please welcome back frank luntz, and welcome to iowa in the 2015 family leadership summit. to businessman and entrepreneur donald trump.

applause] >> hello. that was a very good reception. we always begin with an audience question for each candidate. so i want to ask you, how many of you, by a show of hands believe that the vast majority of politicians in washington, vast majority, play by their own set of rules and do not tell the truth? raise your hands. does anyone trust anyone in washington? second question, this is appropriate to you.

what is more important to the next president, political experience or business experience? who says political, raise your hand. who says business experience raise your hand. >> i think both. i need to ask you, the most important attribute of a successful work force is their education and training. there a major issue out there -- and i know how focused you are on getting the best employees. common core has been very controversial. the president has had to step back on it. what should the next president do with common core and with education so that you can hire the employees that you want to hire? mr. trump: a great question. common core has to be ended, it is a disaster. [applause] mr. trump: it is a way of taking care of people in washington

that frankly i do not even think they give a dam about education, half of them. >> you will use that word in this forum. mr. trump: people want to hear the truth. exactly what frank says is what is wrong with our country. we are so politically correct that we cannot move anymore. [applause] and frank, we have to be able to express ourselves. >> but don't we go too far westmark don't you fail -- don't you feel you went to bank far westmark -- too far? mr. trump: not at all. two things, i am so proud of the fact that i got dialogue started on illegal immigration.

people in the media, they were very rough on me that first week and then many of them have now apologized to me because it turned out i was right. beautiful kate in san francisco was shot by an illegal who was here five times and they could not do anything about it. believe me, mexico cap pushing them back as they do not want them. everyone is saying trump was right. i took a lot of abuse. i had disloyal people like macy's and all your controversial, we are going to have to drop you. [applause] i never liked them that much because they were made in china. it didn't matter that much. it is a great applause line. obviously, they appreciated. referring to people --