work in this building and are in this audience now, but among the press generally on isil and on brand ission of its remarkable. it rivals and is as good as anything we have access to. we owe a debt of gratitude to this profession for that. secondly, i think what that reporting tells us is isil is, for a variety of reasons, to include the pressure they are under in syria, but also because of the chaos in a place like libya, is looking to expand. we are eyes light up and about that. -- we are eyes wide open about that. what this president has said is we will exercise all the elements of our power to protect our interests where we need to, to include the use of force. he saw that last november in

libya. that led to the demise of the leader at that time isil in libya. that brings me to the last point. i am not telling you we are at a point of dramatic expansion or arelation, but i think we at a point where we need to be eyes wide open. and the president is paris -- pressing his entire national security council to be eyes wide open about where isil is trying to manifest, as al qaeda tried to manifest and franchise into from places, as it was under landure in next above along the afghanistan-pakistan border. they sought to move out. i have every belief isil will do the same, and we won't let up as they do that. mr. robinson: since we are in a room full of journalists, that brings me to my next subject. relations between the obama

administration and the press and media have at times been scratchy. mr. mcdonough: really? mr. robinson: i don't know if you noticed. [laughter] mr. robinson: you have heard it. you have heard people say this is a closed administration that overzealously guards information and is locked down and does not tell us what we need to know. how do you respond to that? mr. mcdonough: you and i had a nice beginning of the conversation on this backstage. this is something i have thought a lot about. i think if there is not a degree of friction between any white house and any press corps, then somebody is not doing its job, either us or the press. ishink that friction something tom daschle used to

call the music of democracy. that music is sometimes not very melodious. but without the music, there is no democracy. i think that friction, we need it. that is the most important point. in terms of access to the president, access to policymakers, i think this is something we, as any administration, have struggled with. i think there are things about our record i'm very proud of in terms of access to the president. i think there are certain things as the media environment changes and our obligation is to make ase the american people have complete an understanding of the president's policies as possible, that we have to use every channel we can to get that thought out. on my run today, i was struck iowathere are families in

who are convinced the president wants to take their guns. proposal, andicy we have never indicated an interest in a policy proposal that takes guns from our abiding citizens. -- law-abiding citizens. nevertheless, that is an understanding. the question is when that understanding develops either because of misinformation or otherwise, it is incumbent on us to make sure people don't have a misimpression. some of the friction between us and the white house press corps also stems from our effort to use all sorts of new media channels to get a more complete picture of our policies out there. that in the main, we

commitmentup to our to the american people to be a transparent administration, to be an open administration. in as you all will not grant that fact, i think that is evidence of the needed friction we should continue to operate under. i have every expectation we will continue to operate under it throughout some of these scratchy characters generating some of that friction. mr. robinson: i promised to be respectful of denis' time. we have time for a couple of questions. so, anybody? yell. the main goal of terrorists is to frighten people.

it is my perception that under the obama administration, americans have become more afraid. what can obama due to ally the terrorism in perspective? mcdonough: i think the principal challenge we have is to be successful against an because theyther are successful even when they are not have very low barrier to entry, very low barrier to success, and i think in the main we have done that. i'm very proud of the work we have done across our government in terms of stopping attacks, making sure we are partnered with our friends and allied nations around the world to address attacks there as well. the first thing the president needs to do and that the administration needs to do, and

i think we have done a pretty good job of, is stopping the threats that do materialize because there are very real threats. it is a very real dangerous world, and we are working that. the second thing is i think we have to underscore to the american people extraordinary changes that have taken place since 9/11. notwithstanding the fact this threat has gotten that much given a flatter world, a more globalized marketplace. we are much more capable at countering these threats. that does not just mean we are much better at surveillance or anything like that. many timest debate overshadows the other things we have gotten much better at. sharing information across the government, sharing information among governments, sharing

information even through international organizations such that it is easier to identify the various actors -- nefarious actors matter what the nature of their criminality. i think the third thing we have to do is underscore to the american people that this is the principal priority we are focused on every day. that they needn't have the responsibility to be worried about this every day because that is what our job is. sometimes i think the politicalization of this topic colors that effort. i think that is a shame. at some point, we will get back to kind of the waters edge mentality that had traditionally colored foreign policy this country. but i think that is a ways from now. fourth and last, we have to be much better at getting out and

contesting these ideas in the spaces where these ideas are propagating. ability of some of the most heinous actors on the face of the earth to get some unbelievably hateful propaganda onto the phone of any individual anywhere on the face of their is a huge challenge -- face of the earth is a huge challenge. it makes what is in some ways a distant threat very personal and very close. until we are as effective in ast space as we can be leaders in that technological venue, then we are going to continue to confront greater unease among the american people. so, this is the area where in my view i have failed the president most erratically -- dramatically

since i've been in these jobs over the course of the last several years. we are bound and determined to leave the next president a much more effective infrastructure to allow us to confront that stuff. mr. robinson: we might have time for one more. back in the back. >> hello. you mentioned leaving to the next president. rise ofou explain the outsiders like bernie sanders and donald trump? how do you think president obama would feel about bernie sanders or donald trump becoming president? mr. robinson: -- [laughter] mr. mcdonough: i will let the president share his feelings. part of my answer will reflect back to the last part of my last answer, which is --and i

think the president's speech at the state of the union address some of this. i think we are at this moment where ironically super dynamic global economy and a dynamic economy benefits the most. united states is by far the most on emmett layer -- dynamic player. the strength of us in this economy or the threat to us in this economy are kind of like the threats to us in national security group that is to say, not our weakness in economically or otherwise, but the weakness of other states, players, and actors. right now, the weakness of china is a big drop on us. notwithstanding very strong recovery from the depth of the recession. notwithstanding all those trends, or maybe perhaps because of those trends, people feel on the outside.

institutions are not keeping pace with the change, whether those institutions are congress, collegesistration, or which are getting more expensive even as they get to be more and more baseline requirements. so people are feeling cut out of the dream in a way they have not in a long time. i think the challenge for us as effort, asn this people running the government, is that we have to figure out how to make the government responsive to people's concerns again. we are answering questions people are not asking, i think. at the moment, i think in the lottical debate you have a of emotion and energy around the questions. similar amountre

of energy and emotion around the answers, which are quite limited. mr. robinson: denis, thank you so much. [applause] he really is the busiest man in washington. and now, our publisher and c.e.o. fred ryan is going to come up and say a few words. fred? mr. ryan: thank you, denis and gene. and thank you to everybody who is part of the great panel discussion that got us started. when the puts her committee accepted our invitation to come to the centennial, we were thrilled. in almost any endeavor, there is a recognition for excellence. for the kind of work that represents the very best that can be achieved.

in sports, you have the heisman trophy. in entertainment, there are the academy awards. in journalism, publishing, composing, the pulitzer prize is the definition of excellence. at this time in the media industry, there are many sites and platforms that seek to rather than to inform and did the way journalism should. it is more important than ever that we rise to the decisions -- standards of our profession and the standards set by the pulitzer prize. we strive to win it not just only for bragging rights, marty mentioned we have 61, but we know those awards mean you have contributed something meaningful to society. they have done something that has impact. i have prepared some remarks to elaborate more on that and about humility and honor we feel at "post" to have those awards.

i want to set those aside for another occasion. yesterday, was a big day for us. we inaugurated this headquarters. it was a much bigger day for jason and his family and all of us because he is a free man now. [applause] mr. ryan: i think it is a bigger day than that of a single man. i think jason would agree with this. it was a victory for everyone who has chosen the brave course of journalism knowing a comes with risks. sometimes risks that include imprisonment and even losing one's life. we all know the terrifying stories of journalists around the world being imprisoned simply for doing their jobs. others lose their lives in war zones as collateral damage or sometimes now as direct targets. we had a great dinner two nights , jeffason and his wife

and mackenzie bezos, and others. jason shared this remarkable story. he talked about the flight back with jeff from germany. they entered the port to the united states in bangor, maine. she had her papers taken away. they took everything away from her when she left iran. her phone, her documents, everything. jason did not have anything either. they were not sure what would happen when they arrived in the united states. jason tells us this big, burly t.s.a. guy walks up to us and said, they need to know when they mess with one of us, they mess with all of us. that was a powerful statement about how we stick together as americans. i just wanted to use my moments you forsay thank you to standing together as fellow journalists and members of the creative community in jason's cause. thank you for locking arms and

uniting behind a global effort to secure jason's release. from the great work the national press club did, the terrific editorial pieces in the "new york times" and other publications, and the terrific coverage, we felt in places near and far journalists and artists around the world made it clear. if you mess with any of us, you mess with all of us. i think that played an enormous part in contributing to the efforts to secure jason's freedom. i can tell you at the "washington post," we know there are more jasons out there who sit in prisons now. there are sadly future jasons doing their jobs today, and they may be in prison tomorrow. i would say for everyone on the "washington post," thank you for your role in jason's safe return. know that we will stand together with you and your colleagues who take these risks to perform the essential role of media in society today.

while we all hope it never happens, when the time does come to unite with yours and other news organizations to work on behalf of imprisoned journalists, we will be there with you. i wanted to take one other while he is here to personally thank someone who played a very important and personal role in securing jason's release. yesterday, we were able to thank secretary kerry for serving as the point man in the negotiations that secure jason's release. the secretary was steadfast and determined to bring jason home. we are deeply grateful to him and his team at the state department. but our gratitude also goes to someone else who played a very important role. that is our special guest today, denis mcdonough. [applause] mr. ryan: from my own perspective, denis made this a personal mission. he was engaged, proactive, always willing to spend long

days and nights to explore any and all options to get jason's release. like the honorable public servant he is, denis was discreet. he kept confidential information confidential. to hearas successful our views and think creatively about how we might get jason back. the job description they have to white house chief of staff is you have to have the ability to drink out of multiple firehouses at once because of the unlimited number of issues and crises that come your way. denis always found time to make this a a priority and i know put in an enormous amount of effort to bring jason and all the american prisoners back. denis, on behalf of the "washington post," thank you for your leadership on that. [applause] to the pulitzer committee and all the support of journalists and creators today -- here today whose work reflects on excellence in your

profession, thank you for letting us have this as the first event at "washington post live." we do have a new facility. we would invite you to take a look at it, walk around while you are here. one thing i hope you will notice on your way out. it is temporary now but there will be a permanent plaque on the entrance of this space honoring the legacy of the pulitzer prize on the occasion of its centennial. it will be a statement about the importance of the pulitzer for all who come here to see. thank you for coming. we look forward to hosting you again soon. [applause] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2016] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

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announcer: a reminder, if you have missed any of this discussion, you'll find it at www.c-span.org. att wrapping up across town the white house, president obama speaking on the seventh anniversary of the lilly ledbetter fair pay act. just finished that event. you can see that at www.c-span.org. "the new york times" reports the administration moving today to require companies to report to the federal government with a pay employees by race, gender, and ethnicity. part of an effort to crack down on firms who pay women less for

the same work as men. they write mr. obama will use these executive actions to implement these new rules. that is from the "new york times." ur all-politics weekend cranking up with coverage of the i'm a caucuses on monday and coverage throughout the day. just couple of minutes away, new jersey governor chris christie is speaking at a brewery in iowa. that will be on c-span2. on c-span, jeb bush campaigning in carroll, iowa. later this afternoon, ben carson traveling with iowa's senator chuck grassley meeting voters in iowa city at 3:00 eastern on c-span2. announcer: the c-span bus is in iowa ahead of monday's caucuses to spread the word about c-span. here is a tweak showing some of our resources on the ground.

all hands on deck as we prepare for our coverage of the iowa caucuses. democratic candidate martin o'malley stopped by and met simpson college students who tweeted this. outents and professor hang in the c-span buswell martin o'malley is interviewed. mike huckabee visited the best. marco rubio supporters tweeted this. traveling with the c-span bus. announcer: senator rand paul spoke to voters last night at drake university in des moines and asked him to caucus for him. afterwards, he answered questions from the audience and met with some of them before boarding the c-span bus and taking your phone calls and answering more questions. this is about one hour. [applause]

>> any fans of freedom in the house tonight? [applause] here to hearre not from me, but i have a few announcements. one awesome announcement. we are planning on turning out 10,000 college students for rand paul! [applause] >> right here at drake, we do have a meet up location this monday at 6:00 p.m. we are expecting tons of folks to come out. if you are a drake student, grab one of our cards. if you are not a student, we are trying to build a big coalition. we have volunteer cards. if you're interested in speaking at your caucus or helping out making phone calls leading up to monday, fill this out. we will get you set up. if you're willing to speak at your caucus, we can get you set up with that. who is ready to hear from the next president of the united states? [applause]

>> ladies and gentlemen, please join me in welcoming the next president, senator rand paul! [applause] thank you, thank you. are there any liberty lovers in the house? thank you. welcome to the home stretch. i want to tell you i america needs to hear your voice. world dealing with

our ancestors and separated from a beautiful notion of right and wrong. questions elude us because we let the analogy become accepted. and full garrity accepted as the norm. beautiful emotion we can experience is the mysterious. this motion no longer runner and stand rapt in is as good as dead. to sense that behind anything there is something that our mind beautygrasp, whose reaches us only indirectly. order to embrace the mystery we must be free. without liberty our senses are rules ordumped down by regulations.

of question we face is not the moment but at such a magnitude that we choose today survive.iberty can can a civilization who chooses to transfer the fruits of labor from one group to another, can they enter? they inevitably run out of other people's money? senator paul: the american experiment with liberty is not totally won, today, tomorrow and the day after, we must fight to restrain big brother. [cheers and applause] will you stand together against the rising tied of government

excess that threatens to trap us in the clutch of big brother. will you stand with me? [cheers and applause] [crowd chanting] senator paul: liberty is under assault like never before. in washington and on the campaign trail, republicans and democrats alike call out for bigger government. only a president who understands the corrupting influence of big government can stop it. on the right, the call is for enlarging the military state. on the left, the call is for enlarging the welfare state. in -- and the dirty little secret, the dirty little secret is that the right and the left get what they want, more

spending, and you, you get stuck with the bill. the loudest voices in washington for more spending are actually coming from republicans. recently, cruz and rubio -- [crowd booing] senator paul: they put forward an amendment to increase military spend spending $200 billion. this would add $200 billion to the debt. when i countered them with an amendment that would have cut domestic spending in order to pay for it, they refused to support the cut. the inconvenient truth is that you cannot be a conservative if you are liberal with military spending. \[cheers and applause] senator paul: we do not become a stronger or a safer nation if we borrow from china to inflate our military budget. we spend more on our military

budget than russia, plus china, plus the next eight countries combined. there's waste everywhere from $43 million for a natural gas gas station in afghanistan, to $1 million for a tell advised afghanistan cricket league. they don't even have televisions in afghanistan. the only problem is that this unholy compromise, the republicans, they get more republican, they get more military spending, but only if they trade democrats a whopping dose of increased domestic spending. if we want to balance the budget and truly believe what we say we believe in, all spending must be restrained. \[cheers and applause] senator paul: every republican says we are balancing the budget but no one has introduced it. i have introduced three balanced budget by cutting spending across the board.

the national taxpayers union has recognized this and named me the most frugal lawmaker in washington because i'm willing to look for waste everywhere across the board. right and left spend too much money, but they also are carelessly infringing on our civil liberties. both parties are contributing to an assault on your bill of rights. the left attacks your second amendment, the right to bear arms. the right attacks your fourth amendment, the right to be left alone. i'm the only candidate that stands for the entire bill of rights. [cheers and applause] [crowd chanting president paul] [cheers and applause]

senator paul: since the terrorist attack in san bernandino, the left calls out for more gun control, while the right calls out for more people control. the left calls for bans on gun sales and the right clammers for the government to gather up all of our records. i don't know about you, but i say that our phone records are none of their damn business. [cheers and applause] senator paul: they claim we can't be safe without letting the government inspect everything, collect all of our records, but there's no evidence that these actions have made us any safer. two bipartisan commissions investigated the government's bulk collection of data and found absolutely zero terrorist

plots. the circuit court, the court just below the supreme court ruled that the bulk collection of your phone records is illegal and yet still some want to bring it back. rubio says we can't be safe. i say it's wrong and i say it has to end. we need to protect your privacy. \[cheers and applause] senator paul: now cruz he claims he was with us on reforming the n.s.a. but i think he talks out of both side of his mouth. \[cheers and applause] senator paul: did you hear his explanation in the debate? he said he voted for the bill to reform the n.s.a. because he wants to allow the government to

collect 100% of your cell phone records. [crowd booing] senator paul: if his goal is to collect 100% of your cell phone records, he greatly misunderstands the liberty movement. [cheers and applause] senator paul: i have a better idea, how about we collect zero percent of your cell phone records? \[cheers and applause] senator paul: when i'm president we will once again respect the fourth amendment with as much vigor as we defend the second amendment. [cheers and applause] senator paul: when i'm president we will once again defend the entire bill of rights from top

to bottom. [cheers and applause] senator paul: ted cruz, donald trump, marco rubio -- \[crowd booing] senator paul: they all tell you that they want to carpet bomb the middle east. cruz tells you he wants to make the sand glow. trump says the problem is we haven't been willing enough to use our nuclear weapons. i'm the only candidate that asks will indiscriminate bombing of civilians create more terrorists than it actually kills? [cheers and applause] senator paul: i'm the only one willing to point out that every time we have used our military might to topple secular dictators from hussein to gaddafi, and the void has not been filled with jeffersonian democracy but with radical islam.

the iraq war cost us $1 trillion and lost 5,000 of our men and women, thousands more live on with catastrophic industries. as commander in chief, i will never, never ignore the human cost of war. [cheers and applause] [crowd chanting no more war] senator paul: the other candidates offer you more of the same, macho rhetoric, fear mongering and perpetual war. rubio says we should putin. christie says he is ready to shoot down russian planes currently flying over syria and

iraq and no one asked what next. alone on the stage, i call for a reasonable, a realist foreign policy where we stand strong enough to deter any attack, but not eager to start world war ii. [cheers and applause] -- not eager to start world war iii. [cheers and applause] senator paul: i will adhere to the reagan doctrine -- \[cheers and applause] senator paul: that war should be the last resort, not the first. [cheers and applause] senator paul: and when i am president we will only fight wars that are constitutionally

declared by congress. [cheers and applause] senator paul: when i am president we will only fight wars to defend america, not for regime change and not for nation building. [cheers and applause] senator paul: now, one candidate in particular wants you to give him power. he tells you he is so rich, he must be smart. if you give him power, he will fix america. but you know, there is another tradition in america, a tradition that believes that power corrupts and that our

goals should not be to gain power but to contain power and to limit presidential power. [cheers and applause] senator paul: our founding fathers feared centralization of power. as madison wrote, where an excess of power prevails, no man is safe in his opinions, his person or his possessions. our founders wrote the constitution to restrain the accumulation of power by government. trump is ignorant of this tradition. and in many cases, he is overtly opposed to the limited philosophy of government. he believes the government has the right to seize your property and give it to a rich crony

through eminent domain. anyone who champions the rights of the individual. he supported the government bailing out the big banks. he has used the government to get rich and bully his competition and now he asks you to give him power. this race should not be about which candidate or this race should be about which candidate will protect you from an overbearing government not about which candidate will grab the ring of power. electing gollum should not be our objective. [cheers and applause] senator paul: i'm the only one in this race who doesn't want power or dominion over you. i want to set you free and leave you alone and i want a

government so small, you can barely see it. [cheers and applause] [chanting president paul] senator paul: for several years now, you know i have been fighting against indefinite detention. this allows american citizens to be in prison. this was a law signed by president obama a few years ago. my fear is that one day, a president might use indefinite detention the same way president f.d.r. did to detain african-americans like they did

in the old south. power corrupts as we have seen with an out of control i.r.s. using its power to harass. the i.r.s. presumes you are guilting until proven innocent. imagine being detained without a trial because your own government deems you suspect but does not to prove it. when i think of the terrible possibilities of indefinite detentions, i'm reminded from "to kill a mockingbird." advocates stares down the mob that has come to lynch tom robinson. scout comes to the rescue. and recognizes the leader of the mob of the father of the boy from her class. i go to school with your son walter. he is in my grade and does right well. i beat him up once, but he was real nice about it. tell him hey for me, won't you. the little girl broke the angry move of the mob by personalizings it.

scout found the inner humanity that exists even in a mob hell bent on violence. when there is a mob intent on indiscriminate government searches and mob intent on detention without trial, then someone must stand and shout down that mob. as president, i will not only shout down the mob, i will indefinite detention once and for all. [cheers and applause] senator paul: when anyone says we must give up our liberty for a false sense of security, i can't think of atticus when he took the case of defending tom robinson.

in washington, that sentiment is often true. after my filibuster for the right to be left alone, some said i was the most unpopular man in washington. it felt that way. \[laughter] senator paul: but i thought of what atticus said, before i can live with other folks, i have to live with myself. the one thing that doesn't abide with majority rule is conscience. the majority is not always right. in fact, the majority is quite often wrong. an idea whose time has come, it is stronger than all armies. for a republican to win again,

because this isn't just about the primaries. we get caught up, which means winning iowa, which hasn't been easy, for us to win again, we need to be brave enough, braveb enough to believe that ideas are powerful, maybe even stronger than armies. [cheers and applause] senator paul: to win, we will need to be a bigger, better, bolder party. we need to welcome all parties of all walks of life, black, brown, white, tattoos, without tattoos, with earrings and without earrings. we need to become a bigger diverse party. as my dad always says, liberty. as my dad always says liberty always brings people together. [cheers and applause] senator paul: it's the common desire to be left alone that

binds us all as unique individuals. after all, big government hurts people from all walks of life, rich and poor. the woman in detroit who wants to run a hair braiding business and run out of her apartment and shut down by big government, the developer moving dirt on his own land who is jailed by armed e.p.a. agents. the small business that can't compete with corporations and their armies of compliance officers, the elderly woman use -- losing her home to eminent domain, also known as donald trump, the teenager from a poor family facing jail time for marijuana, what do these individuals have in common? they are losing their liberty to big government.

your big government has 48 agencies from the i.r.s. to the department of education that all have their own swat teams. is that freedom? when i am president, these attacks on your liberty will stop once and for all. \[cheers and applause] \[chanting president paul] senator paul: the g.o.p. has been the party of emancipation. we are the party of civil rights. we need to be the party of justice.

justice begins when the war on drugs ends. [applause] senator paul: a generation of young black men have been incarcerated and permanently lost the privilege of voting and the opportunity of work. the war on drugs has disproportionately incarcerated those who live in poverty in our cities. though blacks and whites use drugs at similar rates, three out of four people in prison are black or brown. we must begin to treat addiction as a health problem, not an incarceration problem. [cheers and applause] senator paul: for five years, i fought for a vote on auditing the fed. [crowd chanting] senator paul: when i finally got the vote, ted cruz was nowhere to be found.

in fact -- [laughter] senator paul: in fact, ted was the only republican to miss the vote. but even worse, ted maintains that the correct response to the great recession was to have the fed more aggressively lower interest rates, when we all know that artificially low interest rates are the problem, not the solution. [cheers and applause] senator paul: when i'm president, the federal reserve will learn that their days of unlimited power are over. [crowd chanting]

senator paul: america has much greatness left in her. we are still exceptional and still a beacon for the world. we'll thrive when we believe in ourselves again. i see an america strong enough to deter foreign aggression, yet wise enough to avoid unnecessary intervention. i see an america where criminal justice is applied equally and any law that disproportionately incarcerates people of color is repealed. [cheers and applause] senator paul: i see an america with a restrained i.r.s. and cannot target people for their political or religious beliefs.

[cheers and applause] senator paul: i see a simplified flat tax that unburdens our citizens from the fear and intimidation of the i.r.s. code. [cheers and applause] senator paul: i would eliminate the entire tax code, the i.r.s. and unleash the engine of capitalization to create jobs and opportunity like never before. [cheers and applause] senator paul: we have the highest corporate taxes in the world. is it any wonder that our companies are leaving our shores. money goes where it's welcome. i would bring corporate

investment back by cutting our corporate tax and pleadly bringing home $2 trillion in american profit. [cheers and applause] senator paul: i see our big cities, i see our big cities once again shining and beckoning with creativity and ingenuity with american companies offering american jobs. i have a vision for an america beyond partisan squabling and beyond petty divisions. with your help, this mess iege will ring from coast to coast. a message of liberty, justice and personal responsibility. a message that can gain support from across the political

spectrum. a message that can prevail and win the white house. [cheers and applause] senator paul: the journey to take back america will not be easy. it will not be without obstacles, but together, we can do what others say is not possible. stand with me now as together we seek a new vision for america. i ask for your vote today for the presidency of the united states. thank you. and god bless. [cheers and applause] [chanting president paul] senator paul: thank you. thank you. thank you. thank you.

>> five minutes to tell you about the campaign and what happens in four days. so on your chairs, you saw these cards when you came in. my name is steve grubbs and chief strategist here in iowa. we know what we have to do to win. there has been a lot of money spent on television and phone calls made. let me give you a quick update. we have over 1,000 precinct captains helping us out statewide but there are 1,700 precincts and still looking for a few more people who will stand up in their caucus who can speak from the heart or read a statement from rand paul. we want you to fill out this

card. if you are in state or out of state. in state is first preference. if we have a precinct that is unfilled, there are tables over here and want to plug you into a pri sink. fill out this card and we have seven laptops over here. let's say you don't want to speak at your caucus. can i -- raise your hand if you have never been to an iowa caucus before. maybe a third of the room. you are who is going to make the difference in this caucus right there. here's the tricky thing and what throws a lot of people off. a lot of people think that they go to their caucus where they go to vote in a school board election.

not where you go. the state republican party has set up locations in schools and in fire houses and all sorts of crazy places across the state. and so, do one of two things. either go to www.your caucus.com and put in your address or before you leave here today, fill out this card and drop it off with our team and we will call you or email you to verify your -- the location of your caucus. we want to make it easy so you don't miss it. be at your caucus at 6:30 p.m. maybe you are not registered to

vote. doesn't matter. you can register to vote at the caucus. so especially show up at 6:30. maybe you are 17 or you know somebody who is 17 or somebody who lives with you is 17, as long as they are 18 by the general election this fall, they can vote. take them with you. my mother took me to my first caucus at 16 and still doing it 10 years later. [laughter] we are going to leave it at this. we have a chance, very few people in the state of iowa have a chance to make a big difference, not just in the united states, but we have a greater impact in electing the most powerful position in the world than any other group of people. we have four days to make a dramatic difference for freedom, for liberty, for our children and for the united states of america. thank you for coming.

fill these cards out. and let's go, rand paul! [cheers and applause]

how are you? >> do you mind if i take a picture with you? >> inside or outside?

>> thank you. president paul] >> going straight to the bus. >> we are going to do one quick snap chat. >> you were here earlier this year?

>> we will get you set up. >> joining us from the 2016 bus

is senator rand paul. we appreciate it. senator paul: thank you for having me. am i you are on the main stage tonight. town. trump across what is your strategy for this evening's debate? >> also the uniqueness of my message. i am the only fiscal conservative on stage. i'm the only one who holds the line across the board. and -- it is outrageous outrageous in domestic spending. they have higher military spending, but they and up trading with democrats and end up giving higher domestic spending. the debt actually doubled under george w bush. and then again under president obama. what is happening is the right left want to continue to

spending -- want to continue spending. we are currently borrowing $1 million per minute. >> you are live here on the c-span network. thank you for doing that. steve is joining us from iowa. are you going to the caucuses? >> i certainly am. i will be supporting ron paul. -- rand paul. >> why? >> i followed his father for the last 20 years and i thought he was probably by far the best person to help our country, not just to happen -- not just to help our financial goals but to preserve liberty. it has been proven over the past eight years and 16 that

liberties have been taken from us. i think they may have pushed the overall debt. having to renegotiate our debt or do something with that that. >> thank you for the call. senator paul. a lot of our supporters are very concerned about losing our liberties, particularly where there is a time where fears being promulgated. terrorists wanted -- want to call it fear and terror come of we shouldn't let it cause us to be verbal. our people don't want the government collecting our phone records for all our credit card statements. tothink there is a right privacy that is important.

we think our foreign policies can be one. we go off the last resort, not the first resort. get involved don't with nationbuilding or regime change. someghout the middle east, have this naive notion that thomas jefferson is going to win the next election over there. -- the radical rise of islam. our people on to question our foreign policy. has the intervention worked? has it made us safer? think the resounding answer is it hasn't. we need to try a new foreign policy. on the phoneis with columbia, kentucky.

>> i want to thank what he has done for the people. they shouldn't be all over the world. we can come in, i just want to tell him i appreciate what he is doing. >> the interesting thing is we have people who are republicans, people who are democrats. frankly the candidate that is most likely to take us back to the middle east is hillary clinton. is ank hillary clinton democrat. they are most likely to get us back involved in a massive war. a growing number of americans say we can have a strong national of defense?

we have to think of getting involved. my fear is isis takes over all of syria. thinking before we act is incredibly important. >> joining us in salem virginia. >> what i want to say is the most articulate about problems and resolutions. publicds of the general that believes our federal government is going to save us. a smaller government is the way and means to getting back on track.

free economy, supply and demand. whether you are republican or liberal. it is quite clear there is nothing getting done. rand paul is exploiting that and doing a great job of making people understand. you stop spending. if you thought you would be at this campaign at this level, based on a message from the viewer you are hearing today and the message you have on the campaign trail. >> it was a small town i surge.

to me it has been an amazing journey to be on the national stage. believer of wanting the government to be very small. believe in that vision, let's keep government restrained. saying exactly what i believe, our government should be restrained. >> likely to challenge you -- some gop strategists are urging -- to not bet

focused on your reelection in kentucky. >> i always think it is funny when unnamed people tell you what to do. how are you supposed to respond to people telling you what you need to be doing? i try very hard to be a good u.s. senator. i have given back to million dollars of the legislative budget to the taxpayer. we continue to have a loud voice across the nation for kentucky. i oppose the president's war on coal and tried to defend our native interests. comes time for reelection kentucky voters will look at how hard i've tried to protect them from the president over bell me -- overbearing and overzealous government. i will continue to do my best and continue to show up for my day job. do the best i can for the people

in kentucky. >> good afternoon. my question is i agree with you in not going to war in the middle east. on how we can protect them and all our friends over there. the more so concerned with them taking american hostages and how to become about giving them back. >> i think if you are concerned about the safety of israel, we should want a more stable region. hussein,opple saddam that made more of a threat. aligned.ow

we want israel to be safe, i know the first thing you can want to stability in the region. i think those get worse as well. -- allowingllow people to choose something, a better way of life and a better way of government. to defending american interests. to not fund isis or their allies for last several years the arabia, ands, saudi cutter have been pouring arms into that civil war. giving arms to the allies of isis. i said that was a mistake and foolhardy from the beginning.

isis now has $1 billion worth of u.s. humvees. if you want to find something insulting, isis pays soldiers with our money. we have to have a foreign policy that protects american interest. doesn't always think toppling dictators can make things better. >> your longtime communication aid hanging with the paul family. my question is what is this experience life -- experience like? i know he is with you today in des moines iowa as well. >> it is exciting to have family with me. going to appear with

me sunday night at the university of iowa. politics is a family affair in the paul household. several nieces and nephews will speak for me. kelly will speak in a caucus in des moines. >> a few more minutes in time. >> i graduated from drake university several years ago. i am also a fiscal conservative. i'm wondering how you plan to bring down our national deficit. rather than create a zero deficit. >> we don't have a great connection.

this may have to be the last question because we have to move on to get ready for the debate. >> the question is how do you the national debt? >> the thing you have to do is quit adding to the debt. years,e last eight president obama has added $10 trillion to the debt. right now we have the reverse compromise. on the right to military spending. you get stuck with the bill. what you have to do is make a rule. bring in about $3 trillion of revenue.

the american people are for it. congress hasn't been very good at balancing their books. you have to balance the annual budget before you can even begin to tackle the national debt did if you make the national debt smaller, as you hold the line on the debt you could be paying back some of it if you are running surpluses. if you hold the line, you don't add to the debt as the economy grows. the debt becomes a smaller percentage of our overall gdp. the overall debt, 19 trillion dollars, is actually approaching 100% of gdp. the first thing you have to do is quit adding to the debt.

i would send that many powers from the federal government to the state. i would veto bills. if you don't send me spending bills that lead to a balanced budget i would veto those. i would be running for office. thanks for having me. >> do these issues receive the attention -- all the attention donald trump has been getting in this campaign. >> i think we get a decent amount of airtime. i think donald trump gets as much as all of the candidates multiplied by 25.

think the media succumbs to a celebrity fad. it is harder for other candidates to compete on equal footing. i do think the american people will wake up and discover donald trump is not a conservative. voted in ar republican primary before. he uses eminent domain to take property from people. single-payer health care system, you name it. race has been somewhat skewed by the coverage. i don't get to make the decisions on that. we will see what the voters decide. >> thank you for being with us.

>> on the c-span bus in des moines iowa at drake university. if you are in the greater des moines area cash m a can find it online. to iowa, wheree jeb bush's meeting with potential caucus-goers ahead of the monday caucus.

>> are you guys fired up? i am too. i am congressman adam king zynga her. .- adam it is great to be here. there are republicans from illinois. and we have a republican governor. quickly, i was a

military pilot. i remember in may of 2009 i made the decision and saw president obama has been elected. nationalized health care. all these things were going on. i knew we would have to go through some very tough years. come out on the other side even stronger. that is why iran for congress. i was taking a look personally at who was talking about running for president in the united states. mind is no doubt in my

this is the most important election cycle. one of the people that really stood out to me was a man named jeb bush. we were excited about it. -- theng that struck thing that struck me about governor bush, i am optimistic. i believe they can lift themselves and be as successful as everybody wants to be because this is the greatest country in the world. jimmy carter was president. i realized in this dark time we need a leader who is not going to reflect our anger back at us and make us even angrier. way outcan show us the and show us the way ahead and -- how how people

people's kids and grandkids are areer in a country where we able -- i found one with the message of optimism and the message of hope . i was one of the first people to endorsing before he even announced for president. it is a good thing he ran or else i would have looked stupid. [laughter] as a guy who works for the military, and works with rave men and women, the thing that strikes me is that for 250 years this country has put blood and sweat into what makes america great today. are some that would have you believe that that 250 years of american history, and that dream that has been fulfilled somehow dies now. that america's best days are behind us. everybody is stupid, everybody is down, and we might as well except we are a nation that is

no longer great. that is not true. in 1979 people who heard the message of a shining when the hill, russians were more powerful than reagan guy named ronald came along and compelled the american people to a vision of what they could achieve. he could compel people to that. as he did his farewell address to the nation, everybody realizes one thing. he says, to paraphrase, what he meant was a kid graduated from high school or college and being able to provide for his family. being able to buy a house. living behind the iron curtain of poverty, and communism, and to us as what they can achieve.

, in just eight years we accomplished everything he set out to accomplish. time in ourtough country right now, and you deserve way better than what we have been dealt for the last seven years and there is one man in this race that i believe in strong enough, that i believe in -- but i believe has the optimism and the understanding of what is going on at needs to be done. i am proud to endorse and i'm proud to introduce the next president of the united states, governor jeb bush. [applause] governor bush: thank you. thank you. thank you, adam. thank you. thank you very much. thank you so much. thank you congressman, thank you for campaigning with the all across this country. do themain job is to morning shows after the debates. [laughter]

today was a little easier for him than in the previous debate i think. [laughter] [applause] thank you for your service. myanted to recognize two of three children that i love more than i can describe to you. we callor, or 2.0 as them and my daughter is also back there. [applause] you to store his command and open it up. these are stories about leadership. announced my campaign, i wanted to talk about the things that are broken, and how we can fix them so people can rise up again. look at the attacks on our country. national security has become more and more of an issue. it is something important for us to talk about because we cannot restore economic growth unless you're secure as a nation. and today we see what happens if we pull back. theary clinton believes

third term of the for policy of barack obama is ok. that we have ice is right where we want them. that the reset button with russia's going to work out. that russia is just a regional power, not to worry, and then they invaded craig -- ukraine. our friends no longer believe we have their back and our enemies no longer fear us. we are in a world that is far more interested in the day barack obama was inaugurated. i got to give a speech at a military school in charleston south carolina. vision for how we can restore america's presence in the world. it was a bus going to this place because the great majority of the students are going to serve in the military. airmarines, the force, the coast guard. they love their country, they are patriots. this required to go with

elite group of cadets at 6:00 a.m. for a little pt, physical inrapy and i am 62, i am pretty good shape, but they are 21 years old. situps, and 25 push-ups, i thought we were finished. and then we did for calisthenics, and then they said we are going to run in unison for three miles. finished, i was collapsing, but i thought it was no big deal. , and theyed around said you want to be commander-in-chief, will you have my back? what is america's role in the world? will you defend and support the military? you expectquestions of someone about to serve in the military. atold him i will be commander-in-chief that will respect the military. i will not impose political considerations on top of the war fighters.

i will get the lawyers off the back of the war fighters. and when we find them into the arrow national security interests that we do it. whoar this band of a sniper died in afghanistan to remind me that this is not a video game. the next president has to be , has to have a steady hand, and achieve peace through strength. not to be a warmongering nation, or to be the world's policeman. but to create security for our own people, and get back to the business of high sustained economic growth where people can rise up again. that means we cannot talk about it, we have to rebuild the military. we have seen through sequester, the so-called victory of having automatic cuts, the sequester continued on will make the army 420,000 troops. it will not send a signal of

seriousness to the world would we need to get back to 490,000. we need to build the marines back up to the levels of readiness. half of the marines that are stationed in the united states right now do not need the evolution of readiness. , the planesir force are older than the pilots. the b-52 was launched during the era of harry truman. we have to modernize our equipment. we need to increase the training. we need to be serious about making our national security our first priority. that means we need to deal with the new threats as well. there is a threat to the president thinks needs to be dealt with as a law-enforcement exercise. declared war on us, but we cannot even call it for what it is. it is islamic radical terrorism. theirre designing activities to destroy western takeization, and

away our freedom by attacking our vulnerabilities. vigilant, and stronger magic of the caliphate rather than playing defense here at home. there is a strategy there as well. i hope you want a leader who has a steady hand, that knows what he doesn't know. during these debates you hear people talk like it is a game. we're going to carpet bomb. really? a population of 800,000? -- you using isis is out there where we can just carpet bomb them? i know how to do this. frankly, i have had a front row seat on how it is done right. that myt of the fact dad was president of the united states, and my brother was president of the united states. they knew how to keep us safe. [applause] the second story, and we will

open it up, is a story of leadership. it is the story of being a governor. governors have an interesting job, it is not like the president, but it is kind of like it. you have to make tough decisions. when i was governor we balanced budget eight years in a row, without question. it was requirement. we did not argue, we did not game, we artificial balanced the budget and we live within our means. i was one of two states to go from aa to aaa bond rating because we apply conservative rants polls every day. we fully funded pensions. we did not take nonrecurring revenue to spend on obligations. it was the budgeting process, and how we went about our business was a kitchen table budget. it was a simple thing. we will take as much money as we needed to fund our civil obligations. we would cut taxes to give it back to the rest.

cuts.llion of tax i vetoed 2500 different line items in the budget. not because i wanted to be the big dog on the state, because there was a principle behind this. you cannot spend money you don't have. you have to live within the means of the people you are serving. as governor i also learned that you cannot just excuse away and talk away things when there is a challenge. life doesn't work out as it is always planned. sometimes you have a hurricanes and four tropical storm xina 16 months. that is what i had. in insured billion and uninsured losses. we had over 1,200,000 homes that were uninhabited. who were living paycheck to paycheck that no longer had anything. i will never forget i've met a woman at the largest mobile home park in the world, barefoot bay

it is called in east central florida. this place was devastated. the store went right through there. this woman was wearing a salvation army sweatshirt, and she came and gave me a health. she did not let go. she was crying, and i was consoling her, and i said what happened? she says i volunteered for the i loston army, everything, i felt it was the best way to give back. there are should do it is in the veterans administration. when i am president of the united states, has will roll out of that apartment until you get a ride. veterans deserve far better care than they are getting today. [applause] so if you are looking for someone who has a proven record,

a proven, consistent, conservative record across the board, whether it is the issues of life, which are not political to me. this is informed by my faith. verted to catholicism in 1995. it was one of the great moments of my life to join the faith of my wife. the bill of rights, attracting our constitution. if you're looking for someone who believes in cutting taxes, ever forming the things that are broken, applying conservative , if you are looking for someone who is that record and who can apply those same for both -- same principles for detailed plans, and someone who has a servant's heart and a backbone for people, i hope you .ill caucus for me at 7:00 p.m on monday. et you down -- i will not let you down.

fulfill what every generation has been able to fulfill, which is to provide opportunities for the next generation that are greater than what they had. we are on the verge of doing this, but we have to change the direction of this country. i think i can do it with you, and i hope you will join me. thank you very much. [applause] there is a mic. one back there. here is a question appear. >> as president he will have some openings on the u.s. supreme court. will you consider barack obama as a nominee? [laughter] you have been watching the democratic debates. i was pretty breathtaking. i would put that in the hand or category. -- pander category. no. >> what is your plan for

providing safe, reliable, affordable energy in the future? governor bush: we need to have a diversity of the supply of energy. we need to let market decide this more than anything else. we drove through here from des moines, iowa, and there were warned turbines all over the place. you can build wind capacity at a rate that is competitive without a tax credit. think ethanol will see reductions. we should not protect any source of energy because of the tax code, including the oil and gas are, where my tax led eliminates depletion allowances and all the special carveouts and treatment for any source of energy. i trust people sitting in a , someone ishere going to figure out how to have

a sustainable, renewable source of energy that will defy the world. my dad is it will be an american, and i think it will be the freest possible government than one where you have a venture capital arm inside the department of energy. that worked out really well, didn't it? [laughter] governor of the state of florida, which has a very fragile environment, it is important to balance the we shouldnterest of harming the're not

environment. i have a friend here from florida who was born in iowa, who served in the florida senate. is probably the premier environmentalist in the public sector when i was serving. yet something to say? >> i loved iowa in 1967 to go to tallahassee. i have watched, and i got elected to the legislature 10 years in the state house, 10 years in the state senate. i watched all the political leadership from 1960's to today. for some people to think that you could prepare our review with jeb bush is a joke. i am telling you that the things that jeff did and he talks about, that happened. exaggerate one bit of his records.

1998 the florida legislature for the first times in the civil war and republican. we have have republican speakers of the house and president of the senate ever since since 1998. marco rubio was one of those speakers. every single one of those republican speakers, except --io have all enforced endorsed jeb bush. he is the only one in that whole group, who is for himself. you look at the number of legislators who are in office , about two thirds of all republican legislators have in jars jeb bush over marco rubio. they have seen firsthand jeb bush's record. [applause] i thought is: going to talk about environmental policy, but that is ok too. [laughter] >> never let the question get in the way of your answer. [laughter] governor bush: we learning this in the debate as well.

i am a newlywed. governor bush: congratulations. >> thank you. my wife and i just got out of college. right now we are struggling to be able to pay back the student paying for aen house. what will you do to help people in my situation? governor bush: how much do you have is to let -- in student loans? >> $80,000. governor bush: this is one of the tragedies. this is part of the legacy of obamacare. the nationalization of the student loan program happened with obamacare. it has doubled in size $1.2 trillion of debt.

the forbearance rates, the default rates are growing, and this is recourse debt. that has to be paid off before you make your carload or anything else. it is important on young people that is extraordinary. end ofago i outlined an the student loan program going forward. think it is the proper place for government to act. ending the student loan program and replacing it with an income repayment plan where everybody who graduates from college would get a $50,000 line of credit. if they borrowed it for a four year degree or masters degree, but also for certificates. thatan get a certification you can work on oracle and admit we get a job as an information technologists.

if you have a certificate as a welder, you can get a job just like that. psychology is the number one degree program for a four year degree and the university and this country. it is a fine degree, but there are not any openings for psychology and psychologists. you often have to get a masters that people can make the decisions about what they want to do. you would pay it back with 1% for $10,000 borrowed right out of your tax return. no filling out of those crazy forms. none of the complex bureaucracy. that is number one, the first part of this great this would

force universities to lower the prices rather than raise the prices because they are financing their higher costs on your back. who said that is a great idea? lack of accountability on the backs of the people that trying to get an education. third, there should be a total transparency of the benefits of the degree you are pursuing. some understanding of what it takes to get that degree. universities need to open up classrooms, and they need to teach more. completion rate in six years. call it a six year degree or do it in four years and be real. is, ifal part of this

universities don't fulfill the part of the bargain, if you cannot get a drill for the ,egree that you were expecting and it cost you $70,000 as a couple, they are going to have to pay some of that money back to the tune is that borrowed this money. they should have skin in this game. those things with lower tuition costs. this?ow how i know you can go to fsu or the university 40 and not pay tuition at all. rightttery goes to the futures scholarship program. we have a florida prepaid program that is the largest in the country. invest to allow their children and grandchildren to go to college. we have accountability are hair education.

they have to be for the dollars that accountable for the dollars they provide. accountability around universities and not having all of this fast on the backs of young people has to be the first priority. an apparition, that question. i get that question in every two orll meeting, three times. it is a disgrace that we've allowed our government to run wild on this at the expense of students. anyone back there? yes? >> in iowa, we know that bush as well. how would you say your most similar to your father and votedr, who many of us for, and how are you most different from the? m? governor bush: i am much better looking than my brother. [laughter] no?

[applause] i will tell you what. when i was in my mid-20's, the two things that have really mynsform my life is marrying wife. i met her when i was 17, when i loven mexico, and it was at first sight. in two years,ol and i have worked, and she has been my inspiration and motivation. the other inspiration my life has been my dad. he is 91 years old. he is near perfect in my mind. so how can i compare myself to the person i consider to be my hero and the greatest man alive? i'm going to get emotional about this. it is just not possible. [applause] guydo i compare myself to a

who joined the navy, and was the youngest navy pilot in world war ii history? was shot down in the pacific and barely escaped being picked up by the garrison? have you been negative, he would have been in a war cap where the commander of that camp was executed for war crimes for cannibalism with prisoners. is -- lives experience life experience is so full. he never cursed, he never rate ised his hand to me. normally get to try to be like your father, if i configured like half of him, it was a perfect decision on my part, because that lower expectation allowed me to live my own life. my life is different.

girl for mexico. i moved to florida, away from texas. we started having the children were young. i got married when i was 21. i lived in venezuela. i have lived a very different life for my brother, and my life experiences are different. we are different because of that. , moremore disciplined focused, i'm a little more cerebral, which i'm trying to work on. i love policy. i love ideas. i love my mother. admired his fortitude, that he went against opinion to leave iraq in

a secure place, fragile but secure, because of his dogged determination to finish what was started. i admire that as well. i've learned by having a front row seat, watching them work. the final thing i would say is that 2017 is going to be a lot different than 1989. adam talked about the age of reagan. you were one year old. [laughter] speaking so eloquently of both the time of 1980. every circumstances differ. but we can always learn from the lessons of history. we can learn from successes. my best lessons for me personally have been the ones where i didn't 60's, where i had -- i did not succeed and i had to dust myself off. or trial and life

error, through being active and engaged, you do a lot better on that journey by taken the time to listen to yourself and challenge yourself along the way. i think you want a president that has had adversity in their life as well. a fuller, deeper understanding of how people are challenged today. i think you have your guy in that regard. bush, proud to be a bush. [applause] sir? >> i think we are pretty cool another bush in the white house most of us are not: another clinton in the white house. what makes you best prepared to accomplish that? governor bush: very good question. to have someone who can actually serve, that is important. you want to have someone who can

wion. i believe having someone who has been thoroughly vetted, 34 years of tax returns, because of my circumstance i can promise you everything i have done has been vetted. everything. i was governor of a big state, went back to the bush thing, a lot of ways that you try to hurt my dad would be to expose i might have done or something like that. i have been thoroughly vetted and i've been totally open. i gave out 330,000 e-mails as my time of governor related to my work. everyoneee