mr. cruz: hey, you want to have been, to? will do all of us. in, to? nt to hop

us.l do all of [indiscernible]

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mr. cruz: i had two daughters, and my oldest is in second grade. she started yesterday. [indiscernible] what's the best? what should i try? [indiscernible]

mr. cruz: urine kindergarten? that's awesome. i have two little girls at home, caroline, who is seven. she's just getting going into second grade. and then katherine, who is four. she's going to start kindergarten next year.

i think those are awesome ages. they are with their mommy right now. their mommy is back in houston with both girls. caroline, she started taking grade on wednesday, just two days ago. she's in school right now. so you start monday? what grade are you in? ? urth well, that's awesome. is it fun having a little brother or sister or kind of annoying sometimes? >> both. that's the way it goes. you guys want to get a picture together? you can stand up, and i'll come down. [indiscernible]

>> how are you going to help change some of this where we can actually make some money out there? that is absolutely right, and there's no doubt that farmers are the back tone of our country. i represent texas where we have a huge farming and ranching community. one of the real challenges is for six and a half years, we've had economic stagnation, and a hammers everybody, and it is the consequence of out-of-control taxes and regulations from washington. if you look for example at farmers getting hit by escalating taxes, getting hit by the death tax, which, as you farms,evastates family we need fundamental tax reform. i'm campaigning on a simple flat tax that would dramatically simplify the tax code. on regulatory reforms, you look at what the epa is doing. the rules they are imposing

significant costs. we need a president who will take on the regulations that are hammering farmers and ranchers and small businesses. >> how are we going to bring in more money we can put in our crops sense off? this year has been a trough year -- a tough year. been, but thats is as a direct consequence of the taxes and regulations coming from the federal government that are driving up the cost of everything. if you look at the last time when we had this kind of economic stagnation, historically, since world war ii, the economy has grown about 3.3% a year, and there are two 4-year periods, 1970 to 1982 coming out of the carter and ministration, and 20 -- 2008 through 2012. if you look at how we turned it around, reagan came in in 1981 and pursue tax reform and regulatory reform, and the result was incredible economic

, which benefits -- by the fourth year of reagan's presidency, the economy was growing 7.2% a year. you want to turn things around for farmers, we need robust economic growth. with the reduction of regulations and taxes, that will drive down the cost of input, and with booming economic growth, that will drive up demand on the other side. you've got to reduce cost and increase demand, and the way to do that is to bring back jobs and opportunities. >> i hope that you can get us there then. mr. cruz: we are going to do it. [indiscernible] >> it took me 62 years. this is my first state fair. mr. cruz: fantastic.

[indiscernible] mr. cruz: my mother is a breast cancer survivor. it's amazing how more and more people are beating the disease. i hope you're having fun at the state fair. i'm glad you're here. [indiscernible]

[indiscernible] thank you for serving. thank you for your sacrifice. [indiscernible]

>> you talked about sanctuary cities. minneapolis is one of those. can you talk about your plan to and actuary cities? most of: unfortunately, those big cities are governed by democrats. cities runt of the by democrats have become sanctuary cities where they defy federal law, and they become and we see the consequences of it. we saw everything in san francisco with the murder where the leaders of san francisco

essentially invited illegal aliens to come to their city, the violentadly, criminals who murdered k diamond. we need to hand x where he cities, and when he to cut off federal funding to any city that declares itself a city that defies hetero immigration law. we cannot give federal dollars to a city that is actively frustrating federal laws. >> you also mentioned the flat tax but not a rate. we will in the coming months. what i said at this point is that it's to be a simple flat tax where every american can fill out his or her tax form, and when we do that, we should abolish the irs. >> there's a large group of

minnesotans coming to your event tonight. do you have a plan to turn our blue state red? mr. cruz: there are commonsense values, and we need to get back to be free market principles and constitutional liberties. there are a lot of political observers who say the way you in a purple state or blue state is you effectively run as democrat light. for me, that does not work. think about the last 50 years. who has ae republican group of democrats named after him -- reagan democrats. .e did not turn those votes he gave a clear, bold, optimistic vision and attracted millions of fdr democrats to come over. one of the incredible things about our campaign -- everywhere we go with minute women coming up to us to say, "i and a democrat my whole life and him coming over to vote for you -- i

had been a democrat my whole life and i'm coming over to vote for you." religious liberty cuts across racial lines, ethnic lines, party lines, economic lines. the sharedl to values of all of us in america, that's how we win, not just in red states and not just in purple states, but lou states as well. >> thank you very much. -- blue states as well. >> thank you very much. [indiscernible]

visituz: we're going to with the voters. we done a couple of media events. [indiscernible] careful, your finger is blocking the lens. there you go. [indiscernible] mr. cruz: it's good to meet you. thank you for being here.

thank you for being here. how you doing, sir? it's good to's eu. very good to see you. -- it's good to see you. very good to see you. [indiscernible] >> new jersey governor chris christie also paid a visit to the iowa state fair. a short time ago, he sent out this tweet thanking those who stopped by the des moines register candidates soapbox to hear him speak. it was there he took questions

from the audience that focused on issues like border security, energy policy, and foreign affairs. this is 20 minutes. [applause] right.istie: all good morning. no speech for me this morning. i want all 20 minutes to be your questions. let's get to your questions. the lady in the cubs hat. >> my question is how would you secure the border? mr. christie: question is how what i secure the border when i become president. or things we need to do -- first in urban areas around the border, we need to build a wall areense because they heavily populated, and that is the best way to do it. reckon, we need to put fbi agents, dea agents in with border patrol agents to interdict the drugs and guns coming across our border. we need to use electronic surveillance. we are using drones all over the world. we should use them on the southern border with cameras and

other surveillance to make sure we put our human resources, border patrol officers, and others in the right places. they are difficult to patrol on foot. fourth and most importantly is every employer in america has to verify.-verify -- e- the reason these folks are coming across the border is to work, and if they know you cannot be employed in this country if you are not here legally, they will not come because they are only coming for a job. here is what we need to do to employers the cousin are part of the problem, too -- they need to be find double whatever their profit is from hiring cheaper illegal labor. if we do those things, that will secure the border, and then we can move forward and grow our economy. be careful, do not go for just one easy answer. this is a tough problem. we have not solved it for 30 years. let's use those tools to do it effectively and efficiently. for seven the law years as u.s. attorney a newly six as governor.

when i get to the white house, i will know how to enforce the law at the southern border. yes, ma'am, back there in the purple shirt. mr. christie: she set all-time assist the most expensive disease in america. this is part of the reason i put an entitlement reform program to save over $1.2 trillion. the national is toots of health, their budget only went up .1 2% -- .1%. we're not spending money on what we need to spend to improve the quality of people's lives. we need to partner with the private sector and the government to save it we can find a treatment and a cure for all summers, extend people's lives to make the quality of life that are, but that will only happen if the government toest, but also, we need protect the pharmaceutical companies in this country as well. they are spending a lot of their private money to try to come up with cures and treatments as well, and then we let people

steal their intellectual property. we cannot let that happen. i will protect our pharmaceutical companies and a hard work that they are doing and then increase the budget for the national is the toots of health and the national science foundation so we can get these great doctors and scientists in the united states to have all service be the next place where we bring an effective treatment and cure. we need that for our loved ones and we need that to make our country a better, more productive place. >> [indiscernible] mr. christie: first off, new jersey has already sent an our objection to the clean power plan the president has put forward. the president regulates things in a way that makes no sense, kills jobs in america and kills technology and advancement of america. what we need to do -- this is what we do in new jersey. i think each state should be

able to do the thing that works best for them. i drive throughout iowa and see wind power all over the state. it makes sense in a big wide-open state to be able to have wind power be part of what we do, to have a cleaner footprint in terms of our energy and lower-cost electricity as well. in new jersey, though, we are the most densely populated state in america. eight point 9 billion people in that little space -- 8.9 million in that little space. here's what we're going to do -- go sit upon a bar and say to someone to name the top re-states in america in solar energy production. they will get the first two because the first hit of our california and arizona, but you're going to win on number three because number three is the garden state of new jersey. solar power works in our state. you don't need as much space for it. we use natural gas, and we are the third largest the blueprints are in america.

you know what that means? we have reached our 2020 clean air goals already without this intervention run the obama epa that is killing jobs and killing in our country. as president, i will take the same approach. if it's best for iowans, it's good for the rest of the country as well. let new jersey do what they do and all the other states do what they do as well. in the back, the lady with the blue hat. if i'm president of the united states, i don't think anybody who knowingly came here illegally should become a citizen. i just don't think they should become a citizen. i think american citizenship -- i think american citizenship is an enormous gifts, and if you came here by breaking the law, i don't and you should get it is and should. we'll have to figure out what we

do. americans do not want us adding to the number. but by the same token, we do not want people to be rewarded for knowing illegal conduct. .t does not make sense you're just encouraging that conduct even more. that's what i would do as president, and we would work to make sure that the folks that are here are treated fairly. >> [indiscernible] mr. christie: the question is on national service, americorps in particular. they were an enormous help during hurricane sandy. forre certainly grateful it. i want to expand national service even more, as part of the way to deal with the student debt crisis we have in this country. students are graduating with six

figures of student debt to go to college, and they have a mortgage. they cannot buy a home or get married or have children. one of the options i want to give to students is national service to our country to help pay off their student loans. they can help make their communities, states, countries a better place. everybody wins and it helps to lower debt. that's what i would do as president. yes, sir, superman. >> [indiscernible] mr. christie: the question was fuel standards, and i've been clear on this. it goes in coordination with this lady's question -- we need more options, not less. we need more options make energy more informal, which will help us to build more manufacturing jobs -- we need options to make energy more affordable. on renewable fuel standards, we

should enforce the laws on the books now. the law is there. it's the obama administration enforceld -- refuses to the law. what i say to other candidates -- make up your mind. one thing and something different in new hampshire and different in south carolina. you have a position, tell the people of the country what your position is. when i'm president, we will enforce the law that is on the books and all the laws that are on the books. [applause] question is what is the plan to curb the .nfluence of money we tried every different law and every different way, the problem's lawyers write these laws, and then we hire lawyers to figure out how to get around the laws they just wrote. what i would do is let anybody donate any amount of money they want to donate to any candidate, but they have to reveal that. who is giving me

money and who is giving every other candidate money. there's a lot of money being given with no transparency at all. you do not know who is giving us the money. what you're really getting at is how we are influenced by the money. it's if we change our policies. if you see someone gives me a lot of money and 24 hours later i reveal in antietam weeks later, i change a position i had before to be in line with the person who gave me money, you can make the conclusion you want to make. we will always end up having money involved in politics. 330 million people in this country, we got to communicate to them effectively to try to get elected, so let's take all the curtains away from it and make me responsible, too. if i get the money, i have to spend the money. you should be able to hold us responsible, and that's the way i would exit.

-- fix it. >> [indiscernible] mr. christie: we have a system of laws in this country, and those laws need to be followed. other businesses who want to do business should have to do business. my oath of office is to enforce the laws of the state of new jersey, not the ones i like or agree with, but all the laws. religious organizations absolutely should be protected. everyone should be able to freely practice the way they see fit, but businesses should not be allowed to discriminate, no.

i could only hear part of what you said. i think it was about scientific research and marijuana. i have a clear position on marijuana in general -- it's illegal in the united states of america except in specific instances where it's used for medical purposes. the president is allowing certain states to go ahead and use it recreationally. in my opinion that's wrong. marijuanaant to make

legal, go to congress and change the law, but we should not have ad hoc one state at a time changing laws. i will tell you, it creates lawlessness in this country. that's how we get sanctuary cities, also. because certain mayors do not want to enforce immigration laws. we should enforce the laws that are on the books. if you want to change those laws, go to congress and change them. when i'm president, we will enforce the laws that are on the books and enforce them aggressively. >> [indiscernible] mr. christie: that's a really interesting thought. [indiscernible] good day. yes, sir, in the back.

i could not hit the rest of it. move up a little. >> [indiscernible] mr. christie: he asked about russia and china slowly getting more influence in the world and what i would do to change it. this president has been the weakest resident on or in policy that we have had in my lifetime. he makes jimmy carter look strong. and the fact is here is what i do -- first thing is we need to make sure we do more military exercises in eastern europe. we need to put missile defense back and pulling to make sure the russians understand they have taken crimea, they are in ukraine now -- no further. no further for russia than what they have done already, and mr. putin needs to understand there will be a president who will not

put up with his adventurism around the world. and china, they are building these artificial islands in the south china sea to try to make sure they restrict shipping lanes. those are free, open international waters. we need to rebuild our military. this president has weakened our military in a way that has made america less influential in the world, so we need to rebuild our army to 500,000 active duty soldiers. i would rebuild our military, send a clear signal to russia and china that we don't want a war, but we are not going to allow them to tread on the united states of america.

>> [indiscernible] mr. christie: he asked about the economy, the drop in the stock market this week. the devaluation of the chinese currency. to strengthen our economy, we don't need to worry about china. about what isry happening in the united states of america. our taxes are too high. the taxes are rigged for the rich. we need to get rid of all these entitlements -- not entitlements, rather, loopholes, and these exceptions, and we 2 -- homest keep mortgage deduction and the charitable contribution deduction, and lower our rates 28% of the high-end and 8% in the low-end. let people keep their money, lower corporate tax rates as well so we can start creating jobs again, and there are $2 trillion offshore.

i give them a one-time chance to come and bring that money back in as long as they will invest in american jobs, get jobs growing until our kids get out of school and can be employed and works hard. >> i live at home with a dog. i regard him as a member of my own family. he jumps in my lap any time i sit down. he likes to play tag. i share food with him. he always wants to have some of my food. not unlike many americans, i regard this dog as a member of my family, and yet, other had happened dog to be born a pig, you would want to torture and kill this animal. this is a question about hog -- [indiscernible]

mr. christie: let me be really clear about that. when something like that happens and i'm here in iowa, man, i deal right at home. in jersey i'm back for a couple of minutes. thank you, iowa, for doing that. second, let me be really clear. should bethat farmers able to make the decision about how best to raise their livestock, not government be a across. -- not government bureaucrats. is the single worst thing the president has done in seven years as president, and that is a high bar. we cannot permit israel to be threatened by nuclear weapons.

we cannot permit the united states to be threatened by iranian nuclear weapons. if i were president of the united states, i would have walked away from that table and told the iranians when they were serious, and come back to talk to me, and when i am president, the iranians will know there is a new sheriff in the oval office. i mean what i say and what i mean, and the ayatollah would know that, too. [applause] >> [indiscernible] the gentleman from aarp shockingly wants to know about social security. let's remember something -- a study was just done this had in seven to eight years, social security will be broke. we cannot allow that to happen. social security is there to make sure that our elderly who pay into the system played by the rules, work hard, do not grow old in poverty, do not have to choose a between heat and rent and food. we are all living longer. we are all living longer. women lived to 83 years old in

america on average. men live to 79. i see this lady smiling. we're catching up. we need to raise the retirement age to dev years, but we can save it in over 25 years. that's one month a year. it will help our kids and grandkids have social security be there for them. the wealthiest americans do not need to get a social security check. the alternative is to raise taxes on everyone. why would we want to give more money to the government for social security with a already lied to us and stole from the trust fund? fix the benefits and make those security's secure. >> [indiscernible] we need a larger military. [indiscernible] mr. christie: national debt is out of control. that's why i've said that $1.2 trillion can be saved by making those reforms to entitlements. in new jersey as governor, i cut over 800 programs out of the budget and vetoed more spending

-- line-item veto more spending than any governor in new jersey history. i will take the same approach as president. we will control spending on entitlements, control spending and other areas and invest more in research to make us the economic power of the world and military power of the world. where we are now's the way we should be for the next iteration of come. they are telling me my time is up. i'm going to be all around. ask me questions all day today. state fair.owa i love all of you. appreciate it. [applause] >> louisiana governor bobby jindal was the last presidential candidate to be heard at the des moines register's candidate iowa.x in he used his time to speak about a number of issues including immigration and border security. that was also a topic he would later talk about one-on-one with those in the crowd, as you can see here in a tweet from the

governor. his remarks from the soapbox are 20 minutes. [applause] ndal: thank you very, very much, and thank you for having me. what i think this election is all about is saving the american dream and the idea of america. every time president obama speaks, it's all about redistribution, government spending, government dependence. i don't know about you, but that is not the american dream that our parents taught us. i want to briefly tell you my parents' story and tell you what we've got to do to fight and save the american dream. my parents -- they have lived the american dream. my dad is one of nine children. first and the only one in the family to get past the fifth grade. grew up in a house without electricity and running water. i know because we heard those

stories every single day growing up. almost 45 years ago the first time i parents got on a plane they came halfway across the world to baton rouge louisiana. they had never visited. they didn't anybody who had been here and have gone back and could tell you what it is like. families, their friends, my mom was pregnant with me. you couldn't google back then. they were coming to an idea as much as they were coming to a place. to the idea ofg freedom and opportunity. they were coming to the american dream. dad -- that's right. my dad didn't compute to be dependent on the government, he came here to get a job.

got his first job calling through the yellow pages. i was born with a pre-existing condition. no obamacare, no local contracts. went to the doctor, shook sendand, and promised to him a check every month until he paid that bill in full area and that is exactly what he did. that's what we used to do in this country. i asked my dad how does it work to pay for a baby on layaway. back?y take the baby he said we would have sent you back. reason i tell you that story, my parents came here to change the american dream. they lived the american dream. i want my children and

grandchildren to live that same dream. came to thists country they came to this country legally. folks in emigration policy can either make a country stronger or weaker. a dump immigration policy makes a country weaker and that is what we have today. we need to stop talking about it. -- we't need that we bill,need it in 1000 page we need to secure the border once and for all. we could get it done in six months if we were serious. you have big interest in d.c. who doesn't want the border secure. they try to silence free speech.

a we are going to stand up to the big is this interest. the big bid sniffs test big business interests can buy as many t-shirts as they want. we are a nation of laws. [applause] the republican party is not the party of big government, we should not become the party of big business either. it is time to put an end to sanctuary sittings. it is find it -- it is fine if congress wants to defund it. i'll hold him criminally at -- camilla responsible as accessories by the crimes committed by people who shouldn't be here in the first place, let's lock them up.

they think it is politically incorrect to say if you want to heat -- want to come here you should be an american. come legally. learn english. [applause] values, roll up your sleeves and get to work. i am tired of the hyphenated americans. we are not african-americans, we are not asian americans, we are not rich americans, we are not poor americans. we are all americans. it is time to stand up. he wants us to continue. it is politically incorrect. i think it is foolish.

if you want to come to this country, you should want to be an american. nobody's forcing you to come here in the first place. let's be clear, immigration without a simulation, that is not immigration. immigration without assimilation will not letnd we that happen in america. do you want to see the contrast, second and third generation immigrants don't consider themselves part of those countries. we should give anyone freedom to come here and use those freedoms to undermine the freedoms for other people. it's time to say if you want to come here, be an american. get to work.

the big business interests, they can send them on as many junkets they want, they can buy as many t-shirts they want, it is time to stand up to big businesses and with -- and say we are taking our country back. we should be willing to lose the primary in order to win the general election. i disagree with the bad. is the establishment telling us to hide our beliefs. to -- i'm here to tell you that never works. if we do that again we will lose again and we will lose -- and we will deserve to lose again.

it is time for us to embrace our own principles. when did this conservative society give up fighting for our beliefs? when did we decide to quit on the american dream? conservativism is not dead in america, it is simply dead in washington dc. they took the majority last year, what changed? nothing. they told us they would repeal obama care. nothing has changed. the leaders in d.c. were happy the supreme court ruled against us on obama care. they are afraid of winning. only d.c. is losing a good thing. they are scared to fight for freedom. they are scared to find against a new government. they are afraid to fight against universal coverage.

they are afraid to fight for less government dependence. it is time to stand up and take our party back. it is time for us to put an end to this nonsense of lifetime permanent politicians. think how different our country would be if they have to live under the same rule applied by the rest of us. we need to shrink our government. i want to say something that is politically incorrect, the idea that america is slipping away. the idea of america is slipping away right in front of us. that is manyy americans are tempted to take americans for granted. my parents would never take

america for granted. gave thanks, they were blessed to be born in the greatest country in the world. obama, clinton, barack they are trying to turn the american dream into a european nightmare. give bernie sanders credit, at least he is honest enough to call himself a socialist. these other two aren't any better, they just won't admit it. the idea of america is slipping away from us. planned parenthood using our tear apartllars to babies and sell their organs, and entitlement program will he can do for the ones we got today. our presence is made more on trans fat and truce and i ran as the greatest sponsor of terrorism in the world. our president is so politically correct he cannot even say radical islamic terrorism. our enemies ift

he can't define our enemies. a president who time and time had the epa regulating our water. we have a more expense of and more expensive and more intrusive federal government than ever before. the idea of america is slipping away. it is time to stand up and take it back. going to let the idea of america slip away as long as i have breath. i will do everything i can to get the idea of america back. the idea of america has generated more wealth than any civilization in the world. more for freedom that any other civilization in the world. we must not let it -- shame on

those fools in d.c. who are giving it away. there are a lot of great speakers running for president. i'm not the best looking candidate. my daddy wasn't president. i don't have a reality tv show. the backbone, i have the bandwidth, i have the experience to get this job done. the next commander will be across the table. he better not need a teleprompter, talking points, or great staff. we can -- we need a president who can do this job on the first day. i'm asking you to fight with me with god's grace. we can rescue the idea before america slips away. i'm asking you to believe again and join up again today.

those folks sent out here by these big interests, if you want freedom follow the laws. do what my parents did. we are the greatest country in the history of the world. a president who doesn't follow the law, the supreme court who doesn't follow the constitution. hillary thinks the laws don't apply to her. you want freedom, if you love america, follow the law, learn english. get to work. god bless you all and thank you all very much. [applause] we have time for questions, yes sir?

>> [indiscernible] jindal: we have to have solar, we have to have ethanol, we have to have wind, oil, gas, clean coal, nuclear, we have to get it all, and get the epa out of the way. they want energy to be scarce and expensive. it is like the rooster taking credit for the sun coming up. production is going down on federal lands in production is up on private lands and waters. we can start by getting the epa out of the way. good jobs are jobs that pay well. , wee you create more jobs have the highest tax rate in the world. secondly you have to shrink the government. either grow the government economy or the american economy, they are mutually exclusive.

every governor talks about cutting government, i'm the only one who has done it. 26%, we haveet 30,000 fewer state bureaucrats since my dad took office. i have an energy independence plan. not only do you bring exploration jumps but you bring manufacturing jobs back as well. obamao need to repeal care, all the uncertainty and regulations. finally we have to rollback the regulatory state. congress needs to do its job. it needs to vote on these regulations. century,minate this but we have to get government out of the way for you want good paying jobs. yes sir?

a great question about the rising influence and -- influence of china and russia, we have to stop hollowing out our military. our president thinks weakness is the key to peace. it never works. in easterntin ukraine. in asia you have ice is across the middle east. reagan understood peace through strength actually works. i never want our military in a fair fight, i want our military to dominate any fight we send them into. and it is unfair to send them into a fight without the resources they need. the question is how do we send the republican message to the youth? voterings i would ask any , are you really better off than

one president obama got elected? your premiums to go down $2500. he these things he said, said the world would be safer. he says he cannot beat isis in a generation. ask is areuestion you better off. you or the government? smart enough to buy your own insurance. they think you're not smart enough to have first amendment religious liberty rights. they don't think you're smart enough to have second amendment gun rights, they don't think you are smart enough to decide how your kitchen the educated, they don't think you're smart enough to know how many big golds you should be drinking. i would ask who you trust to live your lives? children frommy

popcorn, orioles, and deep-fried he does his job and ends us from radical islamic terrorist's. i'm not for discrimination against anybody. i don't think the government should be intruding on the matters. an all-out assault against christian business owners. i think there are christian musicians and caterers that are being forced to true -- forced to choose between their content business. the real discrimination is against individuals who want to with marriage being between a man and a woman. i don't think court can redefine the definition of marriage. i found an executive order in louisiana saying we won't discriminate against this this owners and individuals who have a traditional view of marriage.

they were for religious freedom before they were against it. in god.ll created equal i think the discrimination is against christian business owners and individuals who want to follow their conscience. i was in iowa. they came out with a decision on marriage the same out -- the same week they came up with the decision on obama care, i was asked what we should do about the court. if the court can't be bothered to read the constitution, according to meaning, theyno

are going to become a public opinion poll instead of following the constitution, maybe we can save a couple of bugs and get rid of the court altogether. i'm willing to get rid of two thirds of the court and keep three of them. there are three that actually follow the constitution. this is the last question. she says a lot of people she worked with says every politician is a liar. she asked me am i good one? this, i think there's a reason the folks you talk about site every politician is a liar. we are tired of politicians who say one thing and do another. just want to would like them to

fight for what they believe in. they rolled over on amnesty, they rolled over on obamacare ndc. they better take a stand against funding planned parenthood. cannot go for these barbaric activities -- i think there is right. this is him. i think the best thing i can tell you is i do what i say. i said i'm going to support the rule of law. i said i was going to cut my state government without raising taxes. clearly we have done it. traditional marriage. we have a woman who disagrees with that. you what i believe, i will do what i say. and i'm willing to give everything i got to fight to protect the idea of america. if you are looking for something to manage the slow decline of this country, go for somebody else. if you want somebody who is going to fight to save the idea of america, to rescue the

american dream from becoming the european nightmare and take us off the path of socialism, believe again. we are building a movement. there going to win in national election, we are going to take our country back and we are going to secure our border and enforce our laws. thank you all very much. >> one of the five deadliest storms in u.s. history. c-span special coverage begins life monday at 10 a.m. eastern magazine's conference in new orleans, and an all-day event featuring officials and community leaders. more from the atlantic conference with poets -- with poets, activists, and others.

c-span's 2006 tour of new orleans. at 9:30, a 2005 house hearing featuring new orleans citizens describing their experience during and after the storm. >> they load a set -- they loaded us up on these military trucks. the native the city of new orleans a war zone. it still didn't sink in we were the privilege of war. >> at st. bernard parish in louisiana. >> that is your whole life gone. nothing left. not only your house but your whole community. your friends, family, everybody is gone. is a year later and you don't see her family or friends

anymore as you used to. hell of a feeling. >> followed at nine with a 2005 town hall meeting. >> i rely on you. it state level, federal level, and all other levels. you to represent me on a local level. i don't know where else to go, i don't know what else to do. >> more from the atlantic conference in new orleans with craig few gate and eating the cayenne family. show you president obama's trip to the region, as well as remarks on the recovery effort 10 years after katrina. hurricane katrina anniversary coverage all this week on c-span.

>> next a town hall event with chris christie in austin new hampshire. the new jersey governor outlined proposals on entitlement programs and addressed topics like education, health care, and immigration. speakingpends time with those one-on-one gathered at the event. this is about two hours. he's going to explain himself. ira member the first time i ever heard him speak and i thought this is refreshing. it is.s it like and he is using that as his campaign motto. believe me this is the third

time i have seen him. the bostonair of republican committee. if you have never been to our please comment cs. -- come and see us. i'm going to turn this over to governor christie. >> thank you -- gov. christie: thank you. it is great to be here tonight. i first want to introduce the best thing that happened to me during my four years at the university of delaware. i came out with a bachelors degree of political science and a wife, the first lady of new

jersey, mary pat christie. and tell you, one of the things i have enjoyed the most so far about this campaign is the fact that mary pat and i have been able to meet so many extraordinary people. and when i go back to new jersey, people ask me all the time, what is it like to campaign for president of the united states in places like new hampshire, iowa, and south carolina. i tell people all the time it will renew your confidence in american democracy. that was the first thing i thought about when i came around the corner from the car and saw all of you down here at the bottom of that little incline. and america should see this, and i hope they do, because here we are, on an august evening, on a

wednesday night, and so many folks from new hampshire are out here tonight to listen to a candidate for president of the united states, and to try to help make your decision about who the republican nominee should be and who the next president of the united states should be. people get cynical about our government, we all do sometimes, and man, we earn it. but this is what they should see. how engaged americans are in the way they are going to be governed. i wish my oldest son andrew was here tonight. he continues, when i come home, to ask me questions about what it is like to run for president. he should see this tonight. this is what it is like to run for president. thank you for being here. thank you for being here. there is a little guy in a yellow shirt waving at me. don't want to disappoint him. thank you, buddy. i want to leave the rest of the time for you to ask me questions.

i have done a bunch of these town hall meetings in new jersey. over 130 in the time i have been governor. some of you have seen those on youtube or on the computer. they tend to be somewhat raucous affairs at times. i am much more couple answering your questions and finding out what is on your mind. here are two things i want to talk about. if you watch the debate almost two weeks ago now, and i assume that if you are here you probably watched the debate -- only 24 million of our fellow americans were tuned in that night. if you remember the interaction i had with evan or huckabee, i want to read the -- governor huckabee, i want to revisit that for a second. it was a civilized its agreement and exchange. i thought that was great. we have differing opinions on this issue. governor huckabee came up to me on the commercial -- that is the

stuff you really wanted to see, by the way. you are watching fox make a lot of money from commercials. they should have given you an option to pay a little more and watch what we are doing. governor huckabee came up to me and said, thanks for such a civilized exchange. i said to him, i have known mike for a while. mike, you are civilized to me, and i will be civilized to you. that is how it should be. we were an hour and five minutes or so into that debate. here is why it is a problem. 71% of the federal budget today, 71% is being spent by entitlements and debt service. we spend the overwhelming amount of time except for that question on the other 29%. why is that? politicians are scared to talk to you about it. we have to reform the

entitlement system because the government has failed you on entitlements. the government told you if you paid into the system, they keep it in a trust fund and that money would be kept there for you until it was time for you to retire and then it would be paid back to you with interest. you could help to support your retirement. here is some bad news, everybody, that you already know. there is no trust. there is no trust fund. the trust fund is filled with a stack of iou's from the federal government. since we fund the government, it is iou's from ourselves to ourselves. those are the worst.

you have to pay yourself back. my disagreement with governor huckabee is he said we can't change entitlements because if we do, that will be absolutely lying and stealing by the government. i said to governor huckabee, here is the best new -- bad news. the line of stealing has occurred. this is a classic closing the barn door after the horse ran out. we have to get the horse back into the barn. it is unacceptable to allow what is happening to social security and medicare. i suggested the most detailed program, in fact the only program anyone has offered on entitlement program. this is hard to say you are the only person who has offered a plan when there are 16 other candidates in the rate, not in cloud -- not counting the five democrats. there is only one, and you are looking at him, who has put this forward. it is too scary to put for her other people because they are afraid you will get upset. i feel differently.

i trust you. i think you already know the truth about this already. you know what needs to be done. you need to have a leader that says let's move in this direction and it and be trustful enough to tell you the truth. we need to raise the retirement age. when those programs were developed, people's life expectancy was in the mid to late 60's. the average life expectancy of a woman in america is 83 years old. the average life expectancy in a man in america is 79 years old. a couple of ladies smiling. [laughter] a decade ago you had a six-year lead on us. a decade later, it is down to a four-yearly. we are gaining on you. that for your vacation you were counting on, you may not get it. you may have to put up with us your entire life. the good news is we are living longer lies and better lies. it is a blessing that we have

more time on this earth to share with our family and friends and to do so in good health. what it means for the systems is we are taking moneys out of these systems 15-20 years longer than they were intended to have. it can't work. what do we need to do? here's what i propose. we raise it two years and phase it in over the next five years. eligibility would go up one month a year for the next 25 years. one month a year for the next 25 years. it means that people who were on social security now are not affected now. people who are not affected by

social security -- who are close to social security may be affected by a month or two. that is all. it will help the solvency of the system for the young people who are here who maybe now are in their teens or early 20's. it will make the system available for them. i remember a young man coming up to me after a town hall meeting, he was 23 years old, fully me he had just got his first job out of college and he said i'm glad you are given with entitlements because i said that blanket deduction in my paycheck and i think, what a joke. social security will not be there for me. we want him to feel confident in the fact that he is paying into a system that he will get something back in return if he needs it. that is the second point. i do the same thing with medicare. to your increase over 25 years.

i said to a group of folks at a fundraiser of mine -- they said, what you mean by means testing for social security? it means none of you will get it. [laughter] if you are rich enough to be at this fundraiser, you are probably not going to get social security if i have my way. here's what i mean. let's be very specific. if you make over $200,000 a year in retirement income, and that means you have 4 million or $5 million, not counting your home, $4 million invested and thrown off income of $200,000 a year or more, the first thing i said he was congratulations. you have done a great job in your life. you have lived your life and had that kind of money saved. it is a great thing. i want to remind you that in this greatest country of the world that gave you the opportunity to do that. no place else in the world have you had as free and an unfettered opportunity to pick

you mean like that wealth than you have in the united states. here is the last part. if you are making that kind of money, that social security check make any difference in your lifestyle? it won't. here is what social security is supposed to be about and the reason it was started. security. it was supposed to be a supplement or people's other plans of retirement or a safety net for people who worked hard and played by the rules and paid into the system. because of the twists and turns that our lives sometimes take, they were going to grow old in poverty. we don't want anyone in the united states of america to grow

old in poverty and have to choose between heat and food and rest. so security -- social security can provide that for those people who need to have a safety net underneath them. if we do not make these changes, that safety net may not be there for these folks. harvard did a study that said social security will be broke in 7-8 years. we are not talking way off into the future. let's contrast that with what secretary clinton says she wants to do. she wants to take the cap off of social security tax. she wants to say that you will pay fica tax on every nickel you make. it right now it is cap that $118,000 a year. you make more than that, you don't pay any more fica tax. the you really want to give the government, who lied to you install for you, more money -- and stole from you, more money? we are having this discussion because the government was in at and dishonest in the waiting it dealt with social security. clinton's solution is get it more. if you want to do that, let's take money away from companies rather than giving more money to government.

i think that is a commonsense idea and i think it is the way conservative republicans think. we don't want to give the government more money. it does not make any sense. we will figure out a way washington, d.c. to spend it on something else and they will come back again and do you know the next thing mrs. clinton will do? when she becomes president she will raise the tax rate as well, guaranteed. we just need a little more. it is only little if you are receiving, not if you are giving it. then it is a lot more than a little. on medicare, same thing, $200,000 or more a year in income. right now we subsidize your medicare premium 75%. for those folks come say we subsidize the premium 10%. it will save tens of billions of

dollars a year if we give them a lower subsidy. they have the money to pay for it. let's make those folks pay a little more for their health care so that medicare is there, fully subsidized, for those who really need it. who otherwise would have to go to the emergency room to get their treatment, and we know that is the most ineffective and costly way for us to deliver health care. either way, we will be paying for that, too, but at a much higher rate than what we paid with metal care. i talk about entitlement reform not because i want to, but because i'm a politician and i like to get votes and be elected and i know that it's risky. i also know that if you aren't running for the most important job in the world during a time when you are within seven or eight years of this long-standing, successful, anti-poverty program from going broke, you had better talk about it or you have no business running for president of the

united states. i hope you get more people in new boston who are in our primary, ask them. don't let them get away with the old we will study it and looked at it. we looked at it plenty. now it is time to dig your heels in and take a position. tell the american people where you are at. that is what we need to do. [applause] thing i want to talk about is lawlessness. i have a different point of view than some on this because i'm a former federal prosecutor. before i became governor for seven years, i was a united states attorney in new jersey. i was named u.s. attorney by george w. bush on september 10, 2001. a job i said yes to on september 10, 2001, changed a whole lot 24 hours later. 24 hours later, my wife did what she had been doing for many years. she drove to the train station.

she took two train stations and made her way through the world trade center in lower manhattan and walked to her jobs. her job was two blocks from the world trade center. my younger brother did what he has been doing since a late 1980's. got in a car, took a couple of trains, walked into the world trade center and walked to the floor do new york stock exchange where he had been working since he got out of college. when the first plane hit, mary pat said she could see out her window. don't worry about it. they said it was a small commuter plane. you remember. while we were on the phone, the second plane hit the second building. she told me that the people in her office said to evacuate to the basement and that she would call me later. at that moment we had three children in our lives. our son andrew, who was eight at the time, our daughter sarah, who was five at the time, and

our son patrick. patrick had just turned one year old. those five and a half hours were the longest five and a half hours of my life, because 45 and a half hours i did not hear from her. one building fell, the other building fell, and there were reports of explosions and bombs that all turned out to be wrong, but i did not know that. i kept calling. i could not get her on the phone. finally, five and a half hours later i got a phone call from a bar payphone telling me that she had made her way out of lower manhattan further uptown and was figuring out a way to get home. we figured out a way to get her home and think god, t my brother,oo. our whole lives were changed -- and thank god, my brother, too. our whole lives were changed that day. lawlessness. the lack of respect for the laws of our country started in earnest that day. people so disregarded the law that they thought they could

hijack airliners, fly them into buildings, kill thousands of people, and that they did so in the name of religion. my job from that moment forward was to make sure that lawlessness was ended. was to enforce the law and to prevent any acts of terrorism on our watch again that would kill americans. i want to make sure you all understand. let's remember for a second the gravity of the losses that day. if we gave a moment of silence for every lost soul on 9/11, just one minute, we know now it has been nearly 14 years since those attack. those families have gone 14 years without their loved ones, husband or wife, son or daughter, brother or sister. if we gave one minute -- we

would be more than willing to give a moment of silence. here's what would happen. if we have a moment of silent for each and every one of those lost souls that day, we would be sitting here in silence until 9:45 p.m. on friday. straight. if we gave each lost soul one minute. the families have had in years of silence from loved ones. see, i got into a spat with senator paul on the debate stage -- a little less civilized than my back and forth with governor huckabee, but only because senator paul decided to be uncivilized.

that's ok. we guys from new jersey are versatile. [laughter] we can be civilized if we need to be, and we can be less so if we need to be as well. the reason i was so direct with him is because i almost lost my loved ones that day. we lost a good friend of ours in our parish that day. he died in the world trade center. our oldest son's best friend's dad was killed that day and we have watched that young man grow up. every year on his father's birthday he puts his father's picture as his cover picture on his facebook page and he writes underneath it, "dad, we will never forget you." we can't forget his father, either. we can have other people in our country. we cannot have other people in

our country who have to suffer the same fate these folks did. i care about civil liberties very much and i treasure our constitution, but we can protect our homeland and protect our civil liberties at the same time. what they did in washington dc to stop the nsa from collecting phone records has made the usa more vulnerable. understand what they were doing. they were collecting phone records. they were not monitoring your e-mail. none of that was happening. if you listen to senator paul, he would make you believe that was happening. none of it was happening. do you know what happened? they collect these phone records, they match them up on a computer. if your phone number either called the number of a known terrorist or received a call from the number of a known terrorist, then, and only event, did someone like me and attorney goes to a court and ask for a war.

then, and only that -- ask for a warrant. then, and only then, could we ask for a wiretap. that is because you are receiving calls from a known terrorist. with senator paul says get a warrant, that is how you do it -- that is what an ophthalmologist says about someone who knows nothing about the law. [applause] i don't blame him. they did not teach and that in ophthalmology school. they taught me that in law school. it is easy to say this stuff when you don't have responsibility of protecting the lives of the american people. i had that responsibility for seven years in my state. there was not a day when i didn't think about the fact that one of those airplanes took off from an airport in my state, and that is the most ethnically

diverse state in america. our state is a great way to hide, because you can find someone who looks and sounds like you anywhere in new jersey. believe me. we had to take this seriously. this lawlessness, everybody, it extended to other things. we now have sanctuary cities in this country where people who are here illegally can commit crimes with impunity and hide because the president of the united states refuses to enforce the law. we have states in this country where despite the fact that marijuana is illegal drug, people are allowed to buy it, sell it, smoke it with impunity, even though the federal books still say that is against the law, because this president refuses to enforce the law. the fact is that the oath matters. the oath i took as governor of new jersey said i will enforce the laws of state of new jersey.

not the ones i like. all the laws. this president does not have the right to enforce the laws he likes and not the ones he doesn't. that is why we have people getting killed in sanctuary cities, because he has refused to enforce the law. that is why we have lawlessness. you heard the governor of colorado talk about the loss of productivity. of course, man. [laughter] are we shocked? it is so -- you know, the fact is that laws matter. you want to change the law you don't like? that is fine. change the law. go to congress. go to your state legislature. i don't want to be a dictator. i want to be a loyal servant of the law. in the end, that is what matters the most. we are a government of laws, not of men and women.

you do not want us to become a government of men and women. you heard it said when bush was rampant in dictatorship is ok when you are the dictator. i will talk a lot about enforcing the law. enforcing the law would solve our problems with immigration. enforcing the law will solve our problems with productivity. enforcing the law will give everyone in this group tonight the comfort of knowing that you live under the blanket of a republic that has a president who will enforce the laws strictly and directly. all the laws. that will extend around the world as well. order in the world, shown through american leadership, can help make it a safer place. we are going to talk about that a lot. a lot.

[applause] i'm going to stop now and go to your questions. in new jersey we have to have lots of rules that a townhall meeting. we have four of them. i found in new hampshire we only need one role. you just raise your hand and i call on you. don't yell out questions. i don't answer yelled out questions. it's not because i'm governor of new jersey or candidate for president of the united states freedom i am a father of four. [laughter] as a father of four i have developed an acute ability to ignore things that are yelled at me. given that we are just coming off of five days of family vacation, we are all six of us together. that sense right now is very finely honed after that. you raise your hands, as questions, and i am happy to

answer them. yes, sir. there is a microphone coming for you. >> thank you, governor christie, for coming out tonight. as a resident of manchester i believe that every job, regardless of where they are born, should be an opportunity -- should be given opportunity to grow to their full potential. when we joined the country and private sector we can build the foundation for strong, independent people and independent nations. if elected, will you launch a presidential initiative on early global, early childhood development that focuses on non-nutrition and early childhood education so every child not only survives but thrives? these children were someone's sister, brother, nice, nephews, sons and daughters, and every parent wants the best for the children.

gov. christie: i was just at an education summit today. we had it in new hampshire. a number of us went and spoke. what i said is that the single most important economic security and national security issue of our time. right now we are ranked 20th in science, 27th in man's around the world. -- in math around the world. you cannot be at that level and expect to be the number one economic and military power in the world. especially in our areas of great need, where our educational system is not doing well. we want to get children into the educational system as quickly as we can. we do it aggressively. each state has to look into their own. they have to set their priorities. what i would say as president is

listen to you can invest now or invest later. if we don't invest now, if we do not invest now and we had children who fail, it is going to cost us a lot more later on to do it. i would be encouraged for everyone to do it. on a global basis, listen. america needs to be a leader in every way we can be. the president's role in that function is to be persuasive. is to speak to leaders of other countries and attempt to lead by example and persuade, and i think it is a very important thing to do. the last thing is nutrition. it is a sin that we have children and adults in america every day i go to bed hungry -- every day that go to bed hungry in a country that has more than any other country in the world.

there are ways for us to partner, as you suggested, with the government and private sector and charities to lessen the amount of hunger in our country. we know that children who are not well fed, it is almost impossible for them to learn. on that portion we have a lot of work to do at home before we do more work around the world. we will continue to help around the world that i think we have more work to do on the nutrition front at home and in partnership with private sector and with charities to be able to make sure we fill that gap of people who are hungry. when folks go to bed hungry in this country they become less productive citizens and quite frankly, i think it is a sin that is allowed to happen in a country with so much. we should not have that happening. thanks for raising the issue. [applause]

>> thank you. gov. christie: come on over. >> i know that you have said that you believe climate change israel. i was wondering if you think it is a real threat to our country and if you have any plans to fight it. -- climate change is real. i was wondering if you think it is a real threat to our country and if you have any plans to fight it. gov. christie: i believe climate change is happening and that humans are contributing to it. i believe that we are not the only ones contributing to it. climate changing is all the time. what do we do to make sure it does not change into a way that does not benefit us? i do not believe in the apocalypse of open quote an inconvenient truth." [applause] the me give you a hint -- let me give you a him. i think we need to reach clean air goals. there are people in china who cannot walk around without

surgical masks. we don't want to have that situation in the united states. we shouldn't. in new jersey, we have met our clean air goals for the year 2020 and we get it while pulling out of something that you are still in here in new hampshire, called the regional gas house -- regional greenhouse gas initiative program, which is a tax. new jersey pulled out of it. pennsylvania never joined. we pulled out because i thought we could do without the tax. 53% of new jersey's electricity is generated by luke here -- by nuclear. we have to look at nuclear again. we need to keep looking at nuclear. we can do it safely. if you stay on top of it and regulate, it can be done safely. 53% of new jersey's electricity is nuclear. you go to a bar and come back

here maybe this weekend. you can win a bet with anybody. i guarantee. ask them to name the top three states in america in solar energy production. the good thing is that everybody gets california and arizona. you are right. who is number three? the great garden state of new jersey. yes. no one will guess it. new jersey is number three in the country and the production of solar energy. we partnered with the private sector with tax credits and incentives to put in a program on solar energy. we believe solar energy was the best alternative energy for us to invest in that people would buy and support and could be affected. we partnered with energy companies. we partnered with private business. now new jersey is the third largest source of solar energy in america.

that is helping with our clean energy goals as well. we are now in the process of building three new gas-fired electricity plants. a cleaner burning fossil fuel. available to us is marcellus shale in pennsylvania. it has become less expensive. energy costs have gone down in new jersey 9% because we rely on natural gas. there are ways to reach clean air goals without making us noncomparative. it is going to make us more competitive in jobs where energy is a cost bribery we reached our clean air quotas. -- in jobs where energy is a cost. we reached our clean air quotas. you can do this without having to do things that a radical and without having to tax people even more. i think you can be republican that says i want a republican solution to this problem. the democratic solution to this

problem is cap and trade, taxed more about more investment in failed clean energy alternatives. failed -- as the obama administration has done -- failed clean energy alternatives. let's do the ones that work. that we know work. wind works on lands. i of been driving along iowa. there are a lot of windmills in iowa. you could not put a windmill in new jersey. i mean, we are in the most densely populated state in america. people about 8.8 million in a state that is about that big. you put a windmill up in new jersey, it's going to be a major problem. let's acknowledge we steward this planet. this is a gift to us from god and we are temporary stewards for the next generation and the next generation after that. let'no