karin agness of the network of enlightened women to talk about the cpac. our show begins at 7:00 eastern, 4:00 pacific. in the meantime, have a great saturday. ♪ [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2015] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] >> next, from the annual conservative political action conference, we will hear from republican presidential candidates, including governor john kasich and texas senator ted cruz. by that 11:35, florida senator marco rubio.

>> the republican presidential candidates have been speaking at this year's conservative political action conference, being held here in washington, d.c. donald trump was scheduled to speak this morning, but announced yesterday he will be campaigning in kansas instead. we hope to bring you that event later today. while we wait for marco rubio to 11:35,ies at -- live at we will show you some of friday's beaches with john speechesnd ted cruz -- with john kasich and ted cruz. ♪ kasich: thank you. [applause] i have always loved to come to

cpac. it is great to be here today. i want to tell you. we have a lot of young people here. i want to make sure i have a few words for all of you. you are sitting here, and wondering, this guy is on the stage because maybe someday, it could be me. any young man or woman here today, of course, just have big dreams.d i have been very lucky in my life. in 1976, there was almost a brokered convention. it was at that time i got to meet ronald reagan. i want to tell you about it.

he came back six years later, kicked down the door -- you have to understand, the establishment never liked reagan. and they don't like me. why? change.to bring we're here to change the country . .n 1982, i ran for congress reagan philosophy.

withe wanted to appear .onald reagan iran on reagan -- i ran on reagan principles. i was the only republican in eat an incumbent democrat running on a conservative message. [applause] kasich: i also shared, of course, reagan's philosophy on building a strong defense. i want you to know, when i'm president, and i sent across the chair, or the table, from vladimir putin, when he looks into my eyes, into my soul, you

know what he will see? a freedom fighter. [applause] so, i went toh: congress, and participated in the military buildup. and abusend waste inside the department of defense. . thought it -- i fought it you know why? we cannot waste resources. we have to make sure resources get to the men and women on the front line and are not squandered on contractors were not playing fair. six years into my term as a congressman, i got on the budget committee. there were people who said we can manage this budget. but the to the republican budget, the democrat budget, and i didn't think either of them are worth the paper they were

printed on. a guy walked around the corner, and said, if you don't like what is going on in washington, what will you do about it? i flew to washington, and said, we are going to write a budget for the united states of america. he said, there are people writing budgets, and we only have six people. i said, i know we are overstaffed, but if we stay out of each other's way, we can get it done. there was a bush budget, a black kasich budget, and a budget. there was 30 yes. they thought we got killed, and i said there were 29 other people who thought we could run america. you're after year, i fought the yearlishment -- year after , i fought the establishment. they wanted the status quo.

i was building a team of people. in 1993, when bill clinton wanted to propose a tax increase, i said, we should have an alternative. the said, no, let's just criticize. i didn't come to washington to criticize. i came to build something. we had a meeting. there were 36 people who spoke in the republican conference, 34 said we should not have an two saidive, and t we should. i walked to the back of the t, how do sent to news you think we are doing, and he said, better than i expected. there was a fight going on to balance the budget. we swept the victory in 1994, and took control, for the first time in 40 years, in 1995 with a

conservative agenda. [applause] we went through the ups and downs in the clinton a administration. clinton never wanted to balance the budget. uy if the kind of thg mob is coming at him, he gets in the front, and calls it a parade. balancing budgets and cutting regulation and reducing taxes are about economic opportunity and job creation. in the budget agreement we made with the clinton administration, , and theyorce them were for nothing real, and for higher taxes, we provided a family tax credit and achieve the first outs balanced budget since man walked on the moon. guess what? america's economy was booming.

people had jobs, wages were growing, then, it was time for me to leave this place. frankly, i'm glad we are in d.c. because every time i go there, i break into a cold sweat. i stepped out of politics, would never go back. my state was in so much trouble. our credit was about to be downgraded. 20% of our operating budget was hole.e w iran on the campaign saying not only would we balance the budget, we would cut taxes. people said they could not be done. it is amazing what you can get done. guess where we are today. instead of being a billion dollars in the whole, we are $2 billion in the black. we are up over 400,000 jobs. our wagesns are safe,

are growing faster than the national average. people have hope in ohio. [applause] kasich: let me tell you all something else. there are always a lot of sich aons -- is caska conservative? i only cut taxes, promoted more charterhoice with schools. we are performing welfare again. we have shrunken unemployment the lowest in 30 years. get over it. let me tell you this. you see, i come from the reagan andkemp school. we have the opportunity to reach in the shadows, to give them the opportunity to achieve their god-given potential. the mentally ill should not be

sleeping under a bridge or living in our prisons. they have a right to be treated and put on their feet and assume their god-given purpose. the drug addicted to be rehabbed . in our state, we have an 80% success rate in treating people in the prisons and putting them in the community, where we give them the responsibility to get on their feet and the working people, the working poor in this country -- isn't it time we reward them for working hard and getting a pay raise rather than having them turn it down because they lose more benefits than they gain? let's get back to what makes sense to give everybody a chance to rise. we want our developmentally disabled to be fully integrated, and we are working towards that. our friends in the minority community, we want them to develop entrepreneurship. we want them to believe they are as a part of america as anybody else who lives in this country.

so, i ran for election in ohio, one of the toughest states to win. i won 26% of the african-american vote, 60% of women, and 51% of union households, and i won by 30 points in ohio. bringing people together works. [applause] now, a message for everyone, but particularly to the young people who are here today. here's what it is. you should all know -- this is my present to you. you are all made special. no one has ever been made like you. and no one ever will. i believe that the lord makes us special for a special purpose. do you understand that, young lady?

you have gifts that no one has. no one is quite like you because you were made special. your job is to find those gifts and to live a life bigger than yourself and change the world in which you live. you see, the lord doesn't care whether you are running for president or whether you are helping someone in the hospital with the family who is depressed or making sure that no one gets bullied, or making sure you are there to listen to one of your friends who may be having a hard time -- the lord does not measure us one against the other. one big task, the other little -- we are all equal in his eyes. you are made special to come together as part of a giant mosaic. and when you lose that sight or when you never find it, the mosaic remains incomplete. but when we as a society decide

that we can use those tools, and let me tell you -- the strength of our country and the spirit of our country does not rest in washington. the big wigs -- listen, i can get our budget balanced. i can do those things. i know how to do them. but you see, it's a two-part issue. it's not just what happens up here, but the strength of our country, the vitality of our country, the spirit of our country rests in our families, our neighborhoods, our communities, and our states. don't wait for somebody to show up to fix the problems where you are. fix them yourselves. [applause] i'm counting on you too, guys.

for some reason, we think we have to wait for somebody in the government to come in on a big white charger to solve our problems. it will not happen. i'm going to give you your power. send education, welfare, infrastructure, health care for the poor, job training, all of that back to where we live. and you will have more power. we are going to cut taxes because we have to run america from the bottom up. that's what we have to do. that's what works. the greatness of our country is not waiting for another government program. some of them are important. you know how we really fix things in america? when we put our shoulder to the wheel to make our schools work better, when we fight drug abuse in our communities, you've got to tell a kid, don't you be doing those drugs. you've got to stand up and fight against poverty in your community and get businesses in to work with people on welfare to get them trained so they can get work.

we need to encourage young people, you adults out here. join a mentoring program. get kids to see their future. don't leave them behind. these things don't take government. they take us believing in ourselves. [applause] in a little town where i came from, we did not wait for the president. we did not wait for anybody. we were neighbors and we took care of one another. and we do it again. we will fix the programs up here that the federal officials need to fix without regard to politics, with good conservative principles. but when that power comes back, you take care of your job. if i need you to help me break through these problems in washington, i will give you a call. if you need me, i will come running to your neighborhood. let's make a deal, ok?

and we will rebuild america and its spirit and make it the best it has ever been. we can do it, and we will do it. thank you all. [applause] now, i have a friend that is going to come out here. here's an old buddy of mine. [laughter] >> hello, cpac! [applause] >> this is the first time i've been on the left my whole life. [laughter] >> how are you?

governor kasich: this is exciting. the young people having hopes and dreams and goals and not becoming cynical and not becoming some political hack, and believing the world can be just what you think it can be -- it's fantastic. >> isn't it great to see all these young people -- this is why the election is so important. it's about their future. governor kasich absolutely : correct. >> you had the big debate last night. i have a few process questions. through the only on the stage one who did not get a nickname from donald trump. are you ok with that? governor kasich: i'm fine. who knows what nickname he would give me, you know? >> i think it's on the minds of many of us here -- we had a speech by mitt romney yesterday. how many people in this room supported mitt romney? everybody. i was a little disappointed because what it sounded like was

a strategy to me -- i thought he would have been a great president. sounded like a strategy. rubio wins florida, ted cruz wins the states that he can't. seems like they are trying to create as much chaos, rather than let the system work out on its own. how does that make you feel? in that sense, you are part of their strategy to make that come about and have a floor fight at the convention. gov. kasich: you have to leave it to the voters to decide what they want. i don't take any strategy from anybody. my wife, i get strategy from her. not so much about politics, but that's where i get my orders from. i would say let me say something , about donald trump. you will not beat him by smearing him. you will beat him by having a vision and showing people the -- who are frustrated. who are they? >> i'm one. i'm frustrated. gov. kasich: i'm talking about the underemployed.

the ones who think they will lose their job. college, and go to they're living in the basement because they can't get a good job. there are so many insecurities out there, and i get it. i grew up in that town. you grew up there, right? the key is, who's got the record and the vision, and not just political gibberish like, i'm going to do this, i'm going to do that. i've already done these things. i want to go back and do them again to get the country moving. [applause] >> i want to talk about your record. governor kasich you like a : positive campaign instead of negative? [applause] i'm frustrated for two reasons. >> a lot of kids are doing the right thing to get their education, they go home and live in mom and dad's basement because there's no jobs available. 50 million americans in poverty. here is why i'm even more

frustrated. republicans in washington. i'm not talking about republican governors. i know your record in ohio. republicans in washington have been weak and ineffective. governors. they have sought to keep their own power. they would not use the power of the purse to stop obamacare. they wouldn't defund executive amnesty. are you all frustrated about that like i am? that's part of the frustration. i think people want to hear from you about why people feel as angry as they do. gov. kasich: they keep electing people and they're not getting what's promised. i have to be careful to not make big promises i can't keep. here's what i believe. the reason why we have a poor economy is we over regulate, we are choking small business, we are raising taxes, and we are blowing up the budget. what do you do to fix it? commonsense regulations with an

eye on rewarding small businesses. secondly, cut the taxes for businesses. cut individual rates. make it simpler, like reagan had. i basically have the reagan plan. and, have a path to a balanced budget. when special interests come yelling and screaming, say we are going to get this budget moving. if we don't do these three things and work on workforce, we will fall short. here's what the congress needs. it needs a dose of leadership from the white house. paul ryan will be a good one. i can't wait to get there. if you don't have a seat belt in the first 100 days, i will give a plan to freeze federal regulations, reduce taxes on businesses and individuals, we are going to fix social security, we are going to fix the border, we are going to have immigration taken care of, we are going to restore relations

with our allies. that's what we're going to do. buy a seatbelt. [applause] we need shock and awe. we need to say to congress, this is where we are going. by the way, when i talk about working with democrats, i work with the blue dogs. they are more conservative than a bunch of republicans. any of those blue dog types that want to come and bring a conservative side to support us to fix these problems, they are welcome. but they're not going to call the tune. >> we had 15 contests. walk the people in the audience through your path you see that will get us the nomination to 1237 delegates. gov. kasich: i don't think anybody's going to get that. i'm going to win ohio. >> you think it will be a brokered convention?

governor kasich: i do. let me put you in my shoes. nobody covered me. no one knew who i was. i had to fight for every second. i have not raised a lot of money. i'm not doing a lot better. could not get any attention. they thought, he will never get on the stage for a debate. then they said, he'll never make it to new hampshire. then they said he would not survive super tuesday. i'm the last governor standing, there's only 4 of us and we are the little engine that can. believe in us. [applause] and now finally, finally, finally the country is beginning to get a little bit of who i am. i will take this every day as compared to one of those debates. this is the way we ought to run it. come out and talk to people. [applause] mr. hannity: do you think it is going to be a brokered convention? mr. kasich: i do. mr. hannity: let's say you get to the convention and candidate a does not get there, and

candidate b is significantly behind. with a brokered convention, do you think candidate a supporters will be angry if another candidate gets the nomination? mr. kasich: it has to be done fairly. i was there as a young man in 1976 when reagan tried to derail jerry ford. in the end, everybody got together. as crazy as this year is, and there is nobody who would not say this is nuts, can you think anything cooler that a convention when we learn how america works and our kids will learn more about american politics than they are from the kardashians? not that i have anything against

the kardashians. you cannot have a bunch of people in the smoke-filled rooms, who are the establishment, and you and i have never been the establishment, ok? my only fear of the convention is that these connected interests would dominate, and we are going to have to prevent that. mr. hannity: you think your only path to the nomination -- mr. kasich: i have to win ohio. i have to win 68 of the remaining delegates. ted is around 59 or 60. it is unlikely. if nobody goes to the convention with enough delegates, we are going to have to meet -- they told me that convention will be held in cleveland. that is interesting. [applause] mr. hannity: what about your background? i think there is some truth to what you say, a lot of people

didn't know you. maybe i am showing my age, but i remember you and bill clinton was president and newt gingrich became the speaker of the house, and you guys took on a sitting president, you did get to a balanced budget, you did get to a surplus, but now we have $20 trillion in debt, and the numbers are much bigger. how do you duplicate that? mr. kasich: let me remind you of something that is sad. when i left washington, we had a projected $5 trillion surplus. we could have had private accounts for young, which would have given them to grow with the ability of the strength of the congress. who controlled congress? a republican house, a republican senate, and a republican president. they blew $5 trillion.

we have to think about this. at the end of the day, if we cannot control this fiscal policy, if we cannot reduce the taxes or control regulations, we will drift and we will have a lousy economy, and these young people who want to realize their purpose will be denied it. what politicians worry about to much is being popular. if that is your goal and you worry about the next election, get out, go away, do something else. you are there to raise everybody and make hard choices. this is not rhetoric. check my record. a lot of people run away from their record. please go check my record and you will see it is true. if we stand together, we will have victory in this country. mr. hannity: chris christie said there is no way to balance the budget without dealing with entitlements. he said to me, he goes,

politicians are already stealing your social security. it was never put in a lockbox. do you raise the eligibility age to one day before i die? does that mean you will means-test it and the government gets to confiscate all the money that you said they would give you back in later in your life? is that the only way to do it? mr. kasich: there is no third rail. if you think there is a third rail, do not run. you go in there to do something, and can we fix social security? yes. it will mean you if you are wealthy throughout your life, you will still get social security, but not as much. those who depend on it, will get. mr. hannity: and you legalize the government will be stealing money from some people? mr. kasich: i had a plan 17 years ago that would have fixed this plan for 75 years and they did not deal with it. and i do not want to get the details, but there are iou's.

the problem is we have a lot of retirees live longer, and fewer workers. this is a demographic issue. let's be as fair as we can. medicare and medicaid, i believe we can have a system that gives us better quality care at lower prices. i took medicaid in ohio from a 10.5% to 2.5% growth, and we did not take one person off the rolls. everything in america, give me that smartphone here, ok? when my kids were about 10 or 11, they said, what is that box over there? that is where superman changes his clothes and mom and dad used to put coins in that thing. let's uberize the federal government. let's have some guts.

to give you a good example, uber doing a great job? we all like uber. you realize in cities that politicians are lining up to snuff it out? we need to welcome innovation and change. [applause] mr. hannity: i want to talk about homeland security. we have people chopping off people's heads, burning them alive. they are saying convert or die, and it raises questions about the safety and security of every american. isis is the modern-day evil in our time. is this an ongoing war and we have the ability to work without boots on the ground? mr. kasich: no. just like we did to push saddam

hussein out of kuwait. you get the arabs and egypt and jordan and saudi arabia, and bring our western allies, who are sitting there. we got to go in the air, on the ground, and destroy isis. mr. hannity: we're going in back on the ground? mr. kasich: win it, destroy them, settle it, and come home. let them do their job. mr. hannity: why are they not doing it on their own? mr. kasich: because they won't. isis will grow in deeper. the fbi heads the counterterrorism task force along with homeland security, state, and local officials, and that is good. they do a great job of disrupting. for everybody, if you see something, call somebody, please. we got this big fight going on between apple and our intelligence community.

if i were president, i would take apple and the intelligence community, lock them in the room, and say you are not coming out until you figure it out, and when you will not talk to the press, and we will not put on the front page of the paper, we will just make sure we are secure. [applause] i might put hannity in the room there with them. mr. hannity: what i would like to see, we all watched ramadi, and it is now in the hands of isis, because just like vietnam, the way we politicize a war the way this president has, our sons and daughters died there, and i worry that i think we have got to advance and develop a technology where we do not have to send men and women over to fight and win wars. are we on the verge of cutting-edge technology that will allow us to fight wars

without going door to door to door and dealing with -- mr. kasich: you're right about that, because technology can play a good role, but there's not going to be a substitute for people at least in our lifetime having to be on the battlefield. i served in defense for 18 years, and rumsfeld called me and after 9/11, and i helped out there. i have to tell you the reality of it, and i think people are prepared for this because we looked the other way. no negotiation with isis. they hate our existence. the key is to not be a nation builder and do not think you can convert these people to our way of life. it is not going to happen. mr. hannity: are we fighting wars too politically correct? donald trump wants to bomb the living -- out of them. if america is too concerned -- we care about human life, we are pro life, but are we overly

concerned about collateral damage to the point where we have tied our hands? mr. kasich: you do not fool around with it, and unfortunately, you cannot win this from the air. [applause] you have to take ground. it is the way has to be. mr. hannity: we got to wrap up. mr. kasich: the united states should never get involved in a civil war. we also really fouled up in libya. when you think about hillary's time as secretary, the whole world -- the whole world started doubting america. now she wants to be that commander in chief. give me a break. it is an absurd consideration. mr. hannity: do you think she will survive what is going on with the fbi and all the news -- state's evidence was just turned in, that the guy who built the server was offered the fifth. do you think she is in legal

trouble? mr. kasich: i would not like to be in her position. mr. hannity: i would not want to be married to bill either. really hot chicks over there. that is my bill clinton imitation. mr. kasich: i just wondered if hannity had lost his mind. i know your wife. i will have to give her a call, if she just gets part of this. mr. hannity: you have done a good job when you were on house budget committee. what was your deficit when you took over in ohio? mr. kasich: 20% in the whole of our operating budget. a deficit of $8 billion. we created over 400,000 jobs, cut taxes more than anybody in the country.

and we killed the death tax. we still have not made a lot of progress. [applause] mr. hannity: republican governors have governed conservatively. if washington republicans could learn something, it would be good for our country and help these kids that we care about. give it up for governor john kasich. [applause] ♪

[applause] senator cruz: god bless cpac. donald trump is skipping cpac. i think someone told him megyn kelly was going to be here. or even worse, he was told conservatives would be here. [cheering] or libertarians. or young people. the men and women here are a grassroots army. as dire as things are, people are waking up all over this country. [applause] and help is on the way. this election is going to be about three things. jobs, liberty, and security.

let's start with jobs. you know, it is easy to talk about making america great again. you can even print that on a baseball cap. but the question is, do you understand the principles that made america great in the first place? [applause] the harder the economy -- the heart of the economy is not washington dc, it is a small businesses all over this country.

[applause] you wanted to crush the economy, hammer small businesses like we have done the last seven years. anyone to unchaining the economy, lift the government off the back of the neck of small businesses. [applause] if i am elected president -- [applause] we will repeal every word obamacare. [applause] we will pass commonsense health care reform to make health insurance personal and affordable and keep government from getting it between us and our doctors.

and we won't pass a simple flat tax -- and we will pass a simple flat tax. where every american can fill out their taxes on a postcard. and when we do that, we should abolish the irs. [applause] now i understand a lot of people in this country are a great. i get being angry. i angry too. for far too long they have lied to us. they make promises on the trail, and the go to washington and don't do what they say. no issue captures that better than immigration. immigration is a law enforcement matter, but at its heart is an economic matter. you take away millions of jobs from u.s. citizens from illegal immigrants, and you drive down wages for everybody.

now, in a republican primary everybody says they oppose illegal immigration. the question to ask, was in 2013, when the battle over the gang of eight amnesty bill was being waged, where did you stand? did you stand as far too many, with barack obama, the democrats pushing amnesty on millions of americans? or did you stand him as i was out to stand with millions of americans saying we will not have amnesty?

and you know, i am told that it donald trump talks a fair amount about immigration. there is a natural question to ask. during the gain of eight battle, where was donald? sadly worse than nowhere. he was funding the gang of a. he gave over $50,000 to five of the eight members of the gain of eight. and last night, on stage for he promised all of us to be

flexible. these it over and over how flexible he was. flexible is code word for the gets ready to stick it to you. have you noticed every time there flexible, it benefits the giant corporations, benefits wall street from benefits the special interests, and working men and women of this country get left in the cold? here is what we're going to do. if i am elected, we are passing a flat tax, we are pulling back the federal regulators can we are stopping amnesty. we are securing the borders. millions and millions of high-paying jobs, young people coming out of school, getting five job offers. it will be mourning in america. -- morning in america. [applause] the second critical issue in this election is freedom. him for all of us, justice scalia's passing just two weeks ago underscored the stakes of

this election. i was blessed to know justice scalia personally for 20 years. justice scalia was a lion of the law, and he ferociously protected the bill of rights for all of us. [applause] his passing underscores that this election is not about one branch of government, it is about two. we are one liberal justice away from the supreme court ruling that government can take our religious liberty away force everyone of us to violate our faith on penalty of prison. we are one liberal justice away from the supreme court ordering 10 commandments monuments torn down all over this country. we are one liberal justice away from the supreme court erasing

the second amendment from the bill of rights. we are one liberal justice away from the supreme court ordering veterans memorials torn down if they have any religious symbols torn down all over this country. we are one justice away from the supreme court making us subject to the world court and united nations and international law and giving away u.s. sovereignty. in the debate last week, there was a moment of clarity on this issue. there was a question about religious liberty and the supreme court. donald trump turned to me and said, ted, i've known a lot more politicians in my life than you have. he has been celebrated --

supporting liberal politicians for four decades. he said, ted, when it comes to the supreme court, you got to be prepared to compromise. you got to be willing to cut a deal with the democrats. let me be very clear to every man and woman here at cpac. i will not compromise away your religious liberty. [cheering] [applause] i will not compromise away your second amendment right to keep and bear arms. [applause] because if any president does what donald is promising to do, cut a deal with harry reid and chuck schumer to agree on justice scalia's replacement,

then we know that replacement will be a left wing judicial activist who will strip away our rights. i give you my solemn commitment that every justice i put on the supreme court will be a principled constitutionalist, faithful to the law, who will vigorously protect the bill of rights for each and every one of us. [applause] the third key issue, this election is about security. for seven years america has abandoned our friends and allies and has shown weakness and appeasement to our enemies. the world is much more dangerous because of it. once again, in the debate last week there was a moment of clarity in this choice. donald trump told us he will be neutral between israel and the palestinians.

let me be very clear. as president i have no intention of being neutral. america will stand unapologetically with the nation of israel. [applause] and if you cannot tell the difference between terrorists who walk into shopping malls with dynamite strapped around their chests to blow up women and children and the soldiers protecting innocence, if you buy into the media and the left wing's narrative of moral equivalency, then that draws into question the judgment any individual would have as

commander in chief. [applause] over the last seven years we've seen the united states military weakened. we've seen our readiness degraded. we've seen morale plummet. now, america has seen this happen before. we've seen a left wing democratic president weaken the military as jimmy carter did and in 1981 ronald reagan came into the white house. [applause] what did reagan do? he cut taxes. he passed regulatory reform. the economy took off. millions of small businesses grew. trillions of dollars of government revenue. he used that revenue to rebuild the military and we bankrupted the soviet union and won the cold war. [applause]

i intend to do the exact same s.ing with radical terrorist we are going to unleash incredible economic growth, and rebuild the military. no longer well the military be governed by political correctness. [applause] no longer will it be a top priority of the pentagon to provide gluten-free mre's. instead, we will have a commander-in-chief who says to the world we will defeat radical islamic terrorists. [applause] we will have a president willing

to utter the words radical islamic terrorists. [applause] and one of the most this graceful things we have seen over the last seven years is sending our people into combat with rules of engagement to have their arms by their backs and they cannot that be defeat the enemy. it is wrong, immoral, and january 2017, it will end. [applause] america has always been reluctant to use military force. we are slow to anger. if and when military force is required. we will use overwhelming force, kill the enemy and get the heck

out! it is the men and women of cpac, the young people, the lovers of the constitution that will lead that fight. carter to give us ronald reagan. i am convinced, the most long -- those whoy stand and fight for the constitution, who stand and fight for the judeo-christian

values. thank you, and god bless you. [cheering] [applause] >> wow. it is as packed as it has been. how are you doing cpac? for me, to get a bigger crowd, i need 1000th of the players tonight. did you hear senator cruz last

night? [applause] it is good to see you. >> it is great to be here. >> i know you didn't get much sleep last night. i want to talk about process and where we are with the campaign. you are second in the delegate count. it is not that big of a disparity. you have a path to the nomination. [applause] mitt romney gave a speech yesterday. what do you think? senator cruz: i think he is entitled to express his views. i come from a different place. i will tell you the concern it is expressing, it is a concern people have all over the country. [applause] if you look at, if you look at republicans across the country they recognize he is not the

best candidate against hillary clinton. him and the bill of rights is lost and we're buried in debt and jihadists rise across the g -- the globe. [applause] i will say if you're one of those 65% to 70% of people don job is not the best candidate to win -- donald trump is not the best candidate to win then, what is critical is we come together. i think super tuesday was a clarifying moment this election because super tuesday made clear that only one campaign has repeatedly beaten donald trump and only one campaign can and will beat donald trump.

>> do you not see that the of the 14 of 15 contests happening -- i think it is true -- the establishment has lost 14 of 15. do you see that? the only question i have is it seems to be an organized well-funded, effort to push this to the convention and the host , maybe i'mopes reading into it, to prevent you or mr. trump getting the nomination because the establishment is angry your winning. is that true? mr. cruz: you're right. anytime you here about a brokered convention, it is the washington establishment in a fever frenzy. they are frustrated because all of their chosen candidates, the golden children, the voters reject. [applause]

they seized on this master plan they go to the powerbrokers. then, the d.c. powerbrokers dropped someone in is to the liking of the washington establishment. if that happens, we will have a manifest revolt across the country. if you want to beat donald trump, you do it with the voters. listen, key to that -- we started off with 17 candidates, which means there are a lot of folks in this room start off supporting other people. there were a lot of good people in this race, i understand that. the field has narrowed and we now have 15. we have beaten them in five states. resoundingly in iowa, in texas, oklahoma, alaska, minnesota. [applause]

i think that plan is real. i think the establishment is paying all this money to do it. >> i want to move on presenting the voters have something to say. the one thing they have not buytored in is they cannot your vote they cannot decide for , you and you have the power to the people you want to be the next leader of this country and thank god it will be you and not been otherwise we will have a bob dole or john mccain. >> that is right. let me make a pitch to folks. if you started out with another candidate, maybe you were originally with rand paul. [applause] maybe you were with jeb bush or chris christie or maybe mike huckabee or rick santorum. maybe you are with marco rubio

or john kasich. [applause] or maybe you were with carly fiorina. all of them are good honorable , people. i respect anyone of them. or maybe you were with dr. ben carson. every one of them is a thousand times better than hillary clinton or bernie sanders. >> here is a question. would you put those people in your account if you were elected president? >> absolutely. every name i listed would be a natural in the leadership if we win the race. let me speak to the supporters of each of those candidates, good and honorable people, but i don't think they have a path to beat donald trump. if you don't want donald to be our nominee, i ask you join us. we welcome you on our team.

we are building a broad and welcoming coalition of lovers of liberty who believe in the constitution. >> i want to get to your legal background. you are former attorney general of the great state of texas. he has proven his worth. hillary clinton has now had somebody to plead the fifth that is now turning states evidence. the person that built the server in the mom-and-pop shop that hillary clinton should not be using. from your legal expertise, you do you think she violated the law and do you think she will be the candidate? ator cruz: it is ominous for hillary clinton. how many of y'all watched "good fellas?"

when polly flips, it is not good for fat tony. [laughter] i will get into so much trouble. you have a bad effect on me. >> i know. senator cruz: the fact immunity has been granted means he cannot plead the fifth anymore than he has to spill the beans and i guarantee they are asking. i will say this. in the general election -- we never had a general election debate convened at leavenworth. this year might be the first. >> i hope she likes orange pantsuits. [laughter]

i'm a talkshow host. i can get away with anything. >> orange is the new democratic blue. [laughter] >> isn't this fun? i want you to tell the audience. republicans are racist, sexist, homophobic, they want to poison the air and water want to kill , children and every grandmother in the country it will share -- paul ryan and ted cruz wants to for over a cliff -- how do you deal with the predictable lies that are coming? ator cruz: there is a

psychological term called projection. racist -- the democratic party is unwilling to say the words all lives matter. [applause] when did it become controversial to say every human being is precious? [applause] by the way, you want to talk about black lives matter -- in 1990, there were 2200 homicides in new york city. last year, there were 300. that is over 2000 a year. roughly 2000 year. murders that were prevented by the brave men and women of the nypd. you want to talk about thousands of black lives that have been

saved because of the bravery of our police officers. let me tell you, blue lives matter. we stand with the men and women who protect us. [applause] answer, youom your go and fight, and make the case. senator cruz: listen, i have to tell you, i cannot wait to stand on that general election debate stage with hillary clinton. [laughter] [applause] she will inevitably stand up, and like barack obama prattle on , about income inequality and i would be ready to say, misses -- secretary clinton, it has increased under your policy. it has never been said at cpac.

>> oh, boy. cruz: i agree with bernie sanders. bernie sanders talks about the liberal media -- >> that will be the quote of the day. senator cruz: bernie sanders talks about corruption in washington and a lobbyist and special interests and how the game is rigged. bernie is right. when he is defined the problem, he is right that washington is fundamentally corrupt. here is why disagree. -- where i disagree. the answer is not let's have more government. [applause]

>> one of the reasons i love coming back here is that there are so many young people here. they are our future. i have asked this before but i want to go through it because this is how keep the problems -- how deep the problems are. you have kids graduating school going back to mom and dad, not a -- million citizens are out of 94.5 the labor force. americans in poverty, millions more than when obama became president. 46 million americans are in food stamps. we have doubled the national debt. the last seven years -- median income has come down. my question is for all be some -- for all the young people, who

career, and a ladder up, how fast can you help them? senator cruz: we can turn things around overnight. young people are told this is as , good as it gets. expect stagnation, misery, coming at school, in student loans with no hope of a good job. malaise, we have heard that before. history teaches that is alive. -- a lie. [applause] let me tell you how as conservatives we get young people. substance and style. if you set down, and tried to have an agenda to hammer the daylights out of young people, it will be hard to come up with a more effective agenda in the obama economic agenda. for seven years, young people come out of school with stagnation and cannot find jobs.

obamacare is a massive wealth transfer from young healthy people to everybody else. [applause] $18 trillion in national debt, who do you think is going to pay for that? we have go and make the case -- your parents went to vegas, took out a credit card in your name, partied it up and you have to -- stuck you with the bill. we have to speak the truth of this economic agenda hammering young people. some of it is style. if republicans are a bunch of fuddy-duddies -- [laughter] with sticks, yeah? >> i thought we were going back to last night's debate. [laughter] senator cruz: would it kill republicans to crack a joke?

>> i make fun of bill clinton all the time. there are a lot of hot chicks over there. senator cruz: we put out a meme. reaganomics. you start a business and your parents garage. obamanomics, you move into your parent's garage. [applause] i will give another example. a couple of years ago, i was in california and the week before, these posters appeared all over town. they were posters of my head on a shirtless body. it was ripped, covered in tattoos. a giant eagle on my test. -- my chest. two six shooters on my abs which were a perfect eight-pack. winston churchill, which was massive, and a cigarette out of

theouth, and above it, legend, blacklisted and loving it. [applause] sean, we had nothing to do with it. this was a local, street artist. we decided to have fun with it so we did a facebook post and we said, for whatever reason, these posters have begun appearing all over hollywood. i have to say i noticed a glaring error. i don't smoke cigarettes. [laughter] [applause] and people laughed, they had fun, they shared it. an interesting thing -- many of them did not have acted polls -- exit polls, but the ones that did, our campaign won people in iowa. we won people in south carolina

and we won young people in oklahoma. we won young people in arkansas and the great state of texas. [applause] >> my last question, and i will play off your humor. there is something you could put together with donald trump. senator cruz: i'm terrified. >> you might like this. isis is evil. you agree, i think everybody in this audience agrees. we have to stop this evil in the tracks. you have stated that you think we should carpet bomb the islamic state which is islamic -- president obama -- he said we should bomb the living out of them. i'm thinking we should carpet bomb the living out of them and i think that is a perfect plan. is that ok? senator cruz: it was funnier

when i didn't backstage. isis -- every militant on the face of the planet, if they join isis, and they wage jihad against the united states of america, they will understand they are signing the death warrant. [applause] it is interesting, a lot of people in the media characterize strength against our enemies as somehow being a warmonger. i think it is the opposite. i believe like ronald reagan. i think the weakness of barack obama is inviting -- encouraging our enemy. let me point out that the nation of iran in 1981 released our hostages the day ronald reagan was sworn into office. that is the difference a strong

commander-in-chief to commit because the ayatollah realized this reagan was not jimmy carter. he was not bluffing. i don't bluff either. [applause] when your enemies understand that, more often than not, you don't need to use military power. the biggest country ronald reagan invaded was grenada. that is what happens when strong and your enemy .nderstand it that is who we are and i want to finally say to everyone here -- i asked you to stand with us. this is a grassroots army. washington, d.c., they are terrified if everyone gathered

here. [applause] if we come together right now, if we unite, we will win this primary. we will defeat hillary clinton in november. [applause] and we will turn this country around and i've spent my entire life fighting to defend the constitution and bill of rights and i give you my solemn promise. when i take that oath to preserve and protect the constitution that i will faithfully execute it every day. >> cpac, give it up for senator ted cruz! [applause] ♪

>> in about 20 minutes, we will be continuing our live coverage of cpac. marco rubio will speak at the conservative political action conference, being held outside of washington, d.c. donald trump was scheduled to speak to a group this morning, but canceled on friday. we will show you some of yesterday's discussion on the makeup of the 2016 electorate. ♪

>> all right. thank you, everyone. you will be surprised at what the topic of this panel is. there's something going on called the present election. -- presidential election. dab in right smack the middle of one of the most interesting primary campaigns we have seen. i will start by introducing someone who is the hero of mine -- not you, charlie -- fred barnes. fred barnes's executive editor of the weekly standard, which he .ofounded in 1985 next a fred, we have britney kaiser.

britney is the director of program development at cambridge analytica. it is wonderful to have you here today. is next person on the panel a cpac board member, kelly m kellyann conway. i think you call yourself a correct?s, finally, someone you see on tv art, ae time, charlie he columnist for "the washington times." matt, you arear, my hero. >> let's jump right into this. let's not hold anything back.

i will start with fred. have you ever seen an election like this one? back tot to cover them 1976. certainly, i've not seen anything like this in my lifetime, at least in journalism. it is remarkable. somedebate last night -- aucus. it ru it is a brutal election. there is one poll number that i always pay attention to. feeluestion is do you betrayed by republican politicians? in all the states, about half of either ars say, yes --

little below 50%, or little above. to meet, that is -- to me, that is the divide in the republican party. those who feel the trade are more likely to vote for donald trump and ted cruz. those who don't feel the trade are more likely to vote for kasich, and john others. it shows you the really hard divide in the republican party that does not exist in the democratic party. >> make sure to vote in the .traw poll i don't know what will happen. there is such a wide open question of where conservatives will be. should voters feel like they are betrayed? is it fair? without a doubt.

if you look at at the past two or three elections, with the tea itrty -- whatever that is -- is obviously not a single entity like the way the media tries to portray. very, very elected conservative people. yet, we still have obamacare. defundpromised we would obamacare. we still have obamacare. i think it is a legitimate thing. i think the republican party has to figure out how to start listing to people, start speaking there language. has come in, and intuitively figured out how to speak to them. the issues he has picked up on our crucial to them, starting

with illegal immigration. debate last night, i .nuck out into the audience i think it was the moment when donald trump was not just going to do waterboarding, but waterboarding plus. you had a row of people there over -- and then to rows going, -- yeah! int is the republican party 2016. it is diverse. until someone can find the common ground between those two groups of people, the republican party is kind of screwed. >> no one knows more about the numbers than you. what is going on? atthank you for having me

seatac. thank you for being conservatives all year long. if you are conservative, this is the presidential race you have dreamed up for years. in, haveof drinking it done it a lot. winle who were supposed to and were electable are off the stage. they are not even running for president anymore. if you look at 2010 and 2018, onere conservatives wi everything by running as fiscally conservative conservatives, and winning statewide, 2016 should be the presidential year where that manifests itself on the present jewel platform.

nominating people who are just a little bit different than democrats is like asking 1%rica, do you want to drink milk or 2% milk? we want choices. electricity has replaced electability in this process. to conservatives have been created -- two conservatives have been created. the easy answer is that a lot of people are voting. the turnout in these caucuses is historic. people are lining up across the river in virginia, double the number of people turning out. double the number when say, mitt romney was on the ballot. you have many more excited people who are willing to stand in line, and cast the vote in the republican primary and caucused.

with the enthusiasm level where does this year, voter engagement is high, people are paying attention. starting out with 17 candidates, or five,t about four, people are saying, they are going to tell me who to vote for , i have plenty of time and plenty of choices. i'm going to make my decision after i have seen and heard from the candidates time and again. other thing i want to point out is demographically, in the democratic primary, it is hugely female -- 57% female. maleepublican side is more than female. project into the fall -- i'm not afraid of hillary clinton, she wakes up as the second-most popular person in a two-person

household. i'm not afraid of hillary .linton in a two-person race hillary clinton key is trouble within her own party where you 56% of the electorate in that is 57% in 2012 female. men don't like hillary, they don't trust her, and they don't want her to be commander in chief. a year from now, let's have a panel called, "the new gender >> and it does work the other way. >> you never hear about it though. >> brittany, you spend your days going through the numbers and the trends. we have put charlie and others are saying, a whole new group of voters getting involved and others say, no, just the same

old voters but separating into different camps and feeling energized. what is going on? brittany: what is interesting is that traditional wisdom is being completely shattered. candidates would rely on specific demographics and always say they will turn out those voters, but this time we see large percentages of normal witharty voters evangelicals going for new candidates they have never voted for before. as well as establishment candidates, where they would normally be rallied behind someone like rocco rubio, instead, they are interested in people not involved in politics before. that is huge and really important in the way that candidates need to think from now until november and how they will connect with people. we cannot really be targeting people on their traditional demographics, that we need to be 'nderstanding people persuasion, how we message voters so they can understand

what the candidates are standing for? how do you persuade them on issues and how do you connect with people in some ways candidates have failed to do this time? >> how do we connect to them, fred? take social conservative issues -- it seems like what would have motivated those issues and what candidate they would end up with is not following the same model this time. how do you explain that dynamic? social think on most issues, that is one of the things the republican party is an agreement on -- opposed to abortion, opposed to same-sex marriage, and that is not something that really divides the candidates. there are other things that do divide the candidates, particularly, donald trump. kelly and hinted that something -- and she said she could talk about it and i hope she does, and it donald trump is the nominee, and we agree he is the most likely, at the moment, he --the head, there will be

among a huge part of the republican party, there will be a position. practically everybody i talk to says i will not go for trump and they will either not vote or vote for hillary or they will want a third-party or not a third-party but independent conservative candidate if donald trump is the nominee and i think there will be one. >> but nobody here will vote for hillary. fred: i'm not going to vote. >> if you launch of their party candidate, you are voting for hillary. >> exactly. fred: i agree. it would make it easier for hillary to win. kellyanne: bill clinton juan with far less than the vote. mr. perot received 19% of the vote nationwide and he did not first seat was

named. win any30%, he did not stay, but you become a spoiler. i would say in no uncertain terms that if mr. trump is the cruz ---- i support ted i run his biggest super pac. [applause] but i know mr. trump well and he has done a remarkable thing in terms of getting more people to listen and vote and be part of direct democracy. the nominee and hillary the democratic nominee and you get a third-party challenge from within the republican orbit, you are handing the election to hillary clinton. [applause] >> amen. am tasha line mr. schlapp: i am a moderate -- mr. schlapp: i am a moderator, come on, go after each other. mr. hurt: i am not going to go

after kelleyanne. i would lose. but we have seen this in the last two debates, at one point, we had donald trump being donald trump, and in the last two debates, we have had two more people. just insulting donald trump's manhood -- it is unpresidential, frankly. [applause] mr. hurt: i honestly think it is -- he because marco rubio attempted don nichols routine and it does not work as well and it has kind of hurt him. ms. conway: not in minnesota. he won minnesota. mr. hurt: people get so upset about the tone of donald trump and i understand that. i have parents. they really do not like him. i think it is wrong to throw the the bathwater because the reason he is doing so well is because of his tone.

it is sort of ugly to behold at times. anne was saying, if donald trump -- and i think he has told him to to sort of moderate the harshness of his tone -- when you listen to hillary clinton, seriously, sit down some time. if you are going to have to root canal surgery and want something to get your mind off of it -- something worse then that -- listen to hillary clinton for literally five minutes and try to find a single complete sentence in which she does not lie. she lies about everything. [applause] you take that and you compare it to donald trump. i get it. he can be maddening and course, bombasttake the sort of

and that sounds like harsh honesty out of him and you compare it to her, i don't know, i do not think that will do so badly in the general election. perhaps, i am wrong. [applause] i think another thing we need to recognize is the polarizing statements being made and they won't hamper donald trump going back to the business world. he will not see a backlash as the rest of the candidates who are looking toward the future and politics for the rest of their lives cannot come out with these very polarizing statements, which sometimes could affect their future. mr. barnes: it is not just the harshness of what he says, it is that he does not know much, he cannot explain how he would replace obamacare. on foreign policy, he is completely at sea. he wants to be vladimir putin's pal.

he was to be neutral between israel and the palestinians, on, and on, and on. there are so many issues on ofch trump finds a ton objections by people in the conservative orbit and the republican party. are are just -- look, these the people i spend my life with. they are just not going to support donald trump. them, a lot of them are people who are active in the republican party and active in campaigns. i think they're just will not let themselves sit on the sidelines. that is one of the reasons i be anthere will independent candidate. they will find someone who will run. probably someone everyone in the room knows. i have no idea who it will be and i agree with kellyanne. mr. schlapp: your friend's point of view, to the downside of a trump candidacy, this is something conservatives like to get the benefit

out of everything and pull it together, so for those folks would not think trump is the right candidate, but they cannot deny the fact that the kenexa -- let's say the nominee is not donald trump, it is john kasich, or go be a, ted cruz, can they get the benefit of the new forces as they move forward or is it a dealbreaker or are they fired if donald trump is not the nominee? ms. conway: i think -- ms. kaiser: i think by analyzing what is turning out voters in which personality types are coming out of the woodwork to turn out for the first time, how trump is motivating apathetic voters to come out, candidates can understand what they need to talk more about. watch policies to stress to make sure the people can rally behind them. ms. conway: in looking at the general election, i do think that many of the trump voters would support the republican nominee, depending on who it is. if it is on senator cruz, much

of the trump voters would go to cruz. mr. schlapp: is that true? absolutely. especially as a get down to four candidates or five candidates and about one third or two thirds or so of the delegates have to be awarded. a is ironic, but think for moment that even to mr. trump's are whatr rhetoric people are down on him for in the republican movement, his message is optimistic -- make america great again. win, we are winners and we need to be winners. hillary's message is -- what do all their signs a? fighting for us. i am fighting to break down barriers, fighting for women -- mr. schlapp: fighting for the fbi. [laughter] [applause] ms. conway: exactly -- i am fighting, fighting.

if you do the split screen with bernie sanders signs -- you have fighting for us and then bernie sanders says -- the future we can believe in, much more like obama and voters like optimism, with the exception of 1972, this country has always collected for president the candidates they thought who were more optimistic or more positive, or projecting joy and hope and all of that in of that.and all we usually go for the person who is optimistic. that usually is not hillary clinton. with charlie. -- i agree with charlie. you listen to a sentence and it is like -- i know, like, i know. it is like texting with a teenager. it is not presidential. the trump voters, if you are not the nominee for some reason --

if he were not the nominee for some reason, they would go because he has made the clintons an issue. one of the things that has helped donald trump stay where he is is he was the one willing to go first and farthest in putting bill and hillary clinton on the defense a few months ago. when he pivoted to the general election, a lot of rank-and-file voters appreciated it to require should we be afraid of hillary clinton? if she was elected, she would make history, but not as the first woman. because this country has never elected the president of the united states for over whom 50% is not trustworthy and dishonest. in addition to the tone thing donald trump is tapped into, we have stopped talking about this because it has been six months and he is with us, but when everyone was amazed at how politically incorrect he was and how he would say things -- you cannot believe he would save them and his campaign was not over, and

it kept helping him. i think that, perhaps as much as the tone, explains the support for him because a lot of people -- thatat politicians they are all lying, including republicans and they think republicans are full of bs. to have this guy who decided say, i am going to throw the ball broke away and go after hillary clinton on women and attack her husband for being an accused rapist -- no republican would touch that and he grabs it and runs with it. and is very successful at putting her on defense. my back to the thing that fred said, i think this is the biggest frustration a lot of people have with the republican party right now. yes, they might come up with a third person now that we all i don't know who it would be that would unify everybody, but the question i have is -- where were they six

months ago? why weren't they running back then? mr. schlapp: because they could not imagine in their wildest dreams that we would be where we are today. ms. kaiser: that it -- mr. hurt: that is a problem. the day donald trump descendent the glass escalator and everyone is laughing at him, people should have realized when he listened to his speech -- people should have realized or republicans should have realized that he hit on all the topics and it may not have been the weight we are used to hearing it, but thousand good thing. mr. schlapp: the moderator is not going to say something -- isn't it fair to say that is in it for unique thing that we have two senators? how many are from florida? there we go. texas? think about it. i love texas. -- we have two senators running for president who have been in the senate less than one term? it is not just a trump

phenomenon, people want -- it does not have to be a young voice, it is a fresh and outside voice. is that right, fred? sure.rnes: that is what they want. the fact that trump is an outsider, helps. the fact that ted cruz has inght with the leadership the republican party in the senate, i think that helps as well. [applause] i don't agree with them on that, but it has helped him. mr. schlapp: they weren't cheering for you on that. mr. barnes: i realize that. [laughter] remember, the conventional wisdom was the governors have an advantage because they have been executives, and they have actually done things and not talked about things. that is not helping john kasich and all. helped himself the last couple of debates because he is the nice guy, not fighting -- what? that gets a 15% of the vote and

it does not give him delegates and it will not bring the nomination for sure. mr. schlapp: last night, a lot if you were here in this room at the townhall media debate watch party which was a wild success, at least you would think it was wild success if you could check the barcode. one thing that happened at the debate that i thought was a highlight was at the end. all the candidates said they would support the eventual republican nominee and i think those important. mr. barnes: it was not credible. mr. schlapp: you don't believe them? mr. barnes: they will nominally, but after trashing trump for two hours and say, i will support him. they are not going to do anything to help him. mr. schlapp: that was a pretty big headline out of that. >> [indiscernible] mr. schlapp: that is good. [laughter] go to this: let's question of collectibility perry is that even if their term to use from this point forward?

do you think when people are saying, -- this person is more collectible or not -- do you think all the candidates who are in the race now are electable in a general election most likely against hillary clinton? ms. conway: i don't dissent from that. they are electable because she is a weak democratic nominee. terms ofr seriously in she will have all the kings men, all the money, all the men who have been propping up her career are helping her. she is stuck between running for this third term of bill clinton but needing or to be forced to run for the third term of barack obama, which joe biden did not even want to run in the third term, which tells you something. is a gift to the republican party in a two-person race. you have to look at it that way. it is difficult to get that third term for an incumbent party. it has been difficult traditionally and this year looks the same.

i do think and he could beat hillary clinton, but as it was set on the debate stage last night, according to most of the polling, rubio and cruz have a better shot right now. that is something. [applause] that is something, but i think what we have learned about the word electability is it is fiction. the democrats never talk about it, by the way. they elect and young, transformational and generation of people who are told, you cannot win and they go win. jfk, barack obama, bill clinton and even jimmy carter. these are young people. we are told -- our guys are told, you cannot win, wait your turn. this time, nobody is waiting. there is no forcing to nominate the person no loss to the person, who lost to the person who won. it is not a consolation prize to be able to be the nominee next time. that is not the way this should

work. that is not free market competitive principles at work. i think hillary clinton is readable, but we have to be unified, smart -- is readable, but we had to be in a fight, it was extreme. is it the party or the movement that believes that life is precious from birth to natural death, that a woman who has been unplanned pregnancy deserves compassion and not come to nation, or is it the party whose platform allows any abortion ,ith no restrictions taxpayer-funded abortion, heartbeat abortion, fetal pain abortion -- she is running in an extreme leftist democratic party that her husband could never have survived in. the party has gone so far to the left. we can beat that party in a two-person race, but it takes everybody to be unified. get over yourself, get over your ego's and keep the clintons out of the white house. [applause]

mr. hurt: i think the people should have stood for that. that is awesome. mr. schlapp: we talk about the question of electability. one of the things that press tells us to do or commentators, hey, republicans, tone it down. be a little calmer, more appealing, move a little bit to the center -- it seems like the model after both parties is -- hillary is going left and left fast. she is grabbing that socialism banner, without using the term, so why isn't it there for the republican party to get right back acquainted with the conservative values that make it great? say it is: i would completely fair because right now, the cycle has taught us that no matter how strong the opinions are that a coming out of our candidates, they are resonating with large portions of the population. i think those strong messages and keeping the lines of those consistent and conservative

strong messages is what will be turning people out and making sure any of our candidates now are collectible in november. mr. schlapp: fred, it is a new model because for years, the republican party would nominate some and conservative -- remember mr. nexen said, you have to move left to win the general election? it is a new model because obama never got close to the middle. he stayed in left field. you buy the new model? in hurt: if you remember 2008, -- mr. barnes: if you remember 2008, he did not say he was more liberal than the other had mores or he experience. he said he could solve the washington problem and he could and polarization. he would be bipartisan and hope and change, too. as we not run to the left knew by 2012 or he was, but he was running as an incumbent president and they are very powerful. i think there is something to be

said in distinguishing among the republican candidates and electability. i do not think donald trump is collectible. he has alienated too many people. [applause] he has alienated such a variety of people, , many, many conservatives, i do not know how you do that, but he certainly managed to alienate a lot of people. , i think it will be difficult for him but achievable to move to the center. you have to have the center-right if you are going to be elected president from senate, that includes the senator, remember that? you do have to appeal there. at the moment, i don't think ted cruz does very much at that, but potential he he can. marco rubio, who i cannot agree more with telling anne that he has lived in presidential in the

last two debates will attacking trump, i think is probably more electable if he wins the nomination, which is unlikely. gee, i don't know. john kasich -- it is hard to judge of because i think he is so far from winning the nomination, but some candidates are more electable and i think we can tell that now than others. you are right that donald trump has ruffled a lot of feathers, but i also think you cannot take away from the act that he has brought out level of enthusiasm on the republican side that we have not seen in a long time, which i think is a good thing, no matter who ends up as the nominee. [applause] seehurt: each of them, i problems going head-to-head with anybody in a general election, but the one thing we have learned from all of this entire cannot -- that you

nothing is expected, so if ted cruz is the nominee, i could see him beating hillary. if rubio is the nominee, i could see it. even if trump is the nominee, i could see him. ms. conway: very quickly, i think the whole conversation -- rememberbility this electability establishment ladder -- electability is a conversation that tries to rob the voters of the rifle say as to whom the nominee should be, being told them the beginning who can win, who cannot win and it is unfair. come what may, this is the election where the people spoke in a spoke in big numbers. yanne, you havell been candid, and we are lucky to have you, but i went to ask you a question. i will put you on the spot on who will get the nomination, but cleveland is going to be an important city -- where i was

born, should be important -- great city and it could be an interesting time for all of us politically. fred, to have a republican nominee before cleveland or at cleveland? mr. barnes: probably at cleveland, but the candidate going into the convention, and i think it will be donald trump, close to the majority of delegates will easily get enough to be the nominee. mr. schlapp: before or after? mr. barnes: i'm sorry? mr. schlapp: wrapped up by cleveland? mr. barnes: not close, but quite. britney?pp: ms. kaiser: on the way to cleveland, i think they will bems. kaiser: to close contenders and i think there will be a variety of races that will not make that much of a difference between now and then. i think that what the candidates stand for and what they decide to rally around issue wise is going to be more important than the actual candidates. kellyanne?:

ms. conway: yes, we will, and it will not be somebody totally from the outside to cannot win fair and square and inserted into the blank at the last minute. it will be someone to a masten of delegates. i think if rubio drops out to endorse cruz, it could be cruz. ?r. schlapp: charlie mr. hurt: you should never look to me for question about mathmr. hurt: alex, but i think we will have a nominee by cleveland. mr. schlapp: i don't think we will. mr. hurt: well, you are a dope. [laughter] is setlapp: everything as it should be. i hope you enjoyed the panel. we appreciate you being at cpac. thank you very much. [applause] ♪

[applause] >> now, our live cpac coverage continues on c-span. florida senator marco rubio will be addressing the conservative political action conference in a few minutes. after that, we will be taking your calls on the presidential campaign. the senator running a few minutes late and remarks right now from talkshow host liz wheeler. it began just a few minutes ago with live coverage. allwheeler: they are different and that is what makes the american dream you need to america. in america, we, the people, are higher on the food chain than the government. [applause] went tothe government do, not the other way around. on my show "tipping point," and you should check it out, it is great, the slogan of the show is -- if you say something stupid, we will call you out.

with hillary clinton and bernie sanders representing the democratic party, i don't have too much trouble finding stupid to call out. [applause] that is our choice this year, you and me, between the american isam, where anything possible because individual potential is unlimited and then what the democrats offer us. conservatives do not communicate this well to other people, especially in election years. instead of standing up at the podium and saying, this is how obamacare affects our lives, this is out relinquishing some of our second amendment rights affects your life, this is how raising taxes, even if the welfare programs sound like a good idea, will affect your life. conservatives are get most people don't care about the nitty-gritty details or the philosophy behind policies. they just want to know how it will affect them. it is likely need a translator from conservative political

speak to plain english. for instance, when conservative politicians say they want to champion small government -- what does that mean? for everyday americans, it means understanding minimum wage hike will not help people after the first couple of months because companies will not be able to afford paying them the higher wage. [applause] and employees will either lose their jobs, the companies will not hire them in the first place or the employee will have to shut down altogether. you know who that affects the most? young people. my generation, the millennials sitting here. we are the least experienced in the workplace and that makes us the most expendable. plus, the costs get passed on to consumers and we cannot have it both ways. we cannot have $15 minimum wage and a two dollar hamburger. [applause]

when conservative politicians say, give health care to the free markets, what does that mean? it means instead of a book -- obamacare's rules upon rules and costing us a boatload of money, we can decide we might want an insurance plan that covers less if we are young and healthy. [applause] or if we know a doctor who we trust, we don't have to worry if he is outside of our network or pay a bunch. we went to pay for the services we want, and that choice will force the market to price health care affordably. conservatives are not all or hateful,bigoted we just do not want government in our business. [applause] that is what republicans are offering us this year, even if

they don't translate it smoothly into how it affects our daily lives. policies like lower taxes that says decide what we do with that money and help those in need, not just with money but time. a strong national defense, including a secure border, does not exclude immigrants from our nation. we are a nation of immigrants, and we are proud of that. [applause] it recognizes the threat of radical islamic terrorism, and 38,000 isis terrorist around the world who want to kill us. it has nothing to do with peaceful muslims here, or anywhere around the world. this is our choice this year. we want another president who believes isis is not a threat to our nation? another president who thinks citizens don't need to own certain types of weapons?

we all know bernie sanders would be a disastrous president. think waiting minds at the dmv, but for everything -- health care, taxes. snipe will politely, and our paychecks and half -- in half. two attackers second minute rights, to divide our nation with racially charged rhetoric, to ignore veteran's health care when they come back t from wars. to force christians betwe violating their consciences or violating the law. [applause]

refuse to secure our border, even when the states volunteered to do it themselves. tted refugees into our nation, some of which want to kill us, should i go on? inre is a third candidate the race, i don't want to be sexist, and described her by gender, so i will say, this is the only candidate in the race who barks like a dog. [applause] hillary clinton tells us we should vote for her because she is a woman, shaming women like itself who dare to folk for a male candidate, when she is a woman. the reality is real equality for by telling us who to vote for. it is insulting to all the women in this room.

it is the most narrowminded idea in the world that women only care about quote women's issues, that we are more interested in birth control and man hating of isis.re the threat or, an unemployment rate that has been simply terrible for women under obama. arehealth-care costs that rising as our choices for going down. or that americans are on the their of losing liberty. that is the picture that democrats are offering us. deeper and deeper debt maintain the -- maintaining the illusion that they are taking care of us. does atomic the american dream to you? know, to me either. what that sounds like is big anvernment loving,

agenda of liberal politicians who to line their pockets and purses, and who will not hesitate to exploit racial device to advance their liberal agenda. this is our chance. democrats care more about their day-to-day lives here this is our chance to save america from the future must different from the past that we lived, and the present we are living now. this is our chance to have a back own, to pray to god for the strength and eloquence to communicate our conservative values and the courage to fight for what we know is right, no matter what names are opponents call us. to elected president of the united states who will respect the constitution, and the very fabric of our lives in america. [applause]

this is our responsibility. it is our duty and it is our honor. it is our country. god bless you and about god bless america. [applause] ♪ ♪

a boarde welcome

member. >> senator marco rubio has a very distinguished career in the conservative movement. [cheering] [applause] > he is> one of the all-time most conservative members of the united states senate, scoring an impressive 98% on the congressional rating. what you probably don't know is chairman and markci oco rubio have worked together for a long time, since they crist.to defeat charlie thank god for marco rubio. please join me in giving a warm, cpac welcome to senator marco rubio.

[cheering] [applause] senator rubio: thank you. thank you. thank you very much. thank you. thank you. >> marco! marco! marco! senator rubio: thank you. this is the seventh straight year that i get to speak at cpac. it reminds me of the first year i was here. the year was 2010. an underdogme, was candidate for the united states senate. my opponent was a sitting governor of florida, his name

was charlie crist. [booing] senator rubio: that is what i said at the time too. no one would listen. it was in the aftermath of 2008. n.rack obama had wo we were told only path forward was to become like them, to conservative.ess i never believe that at that time, and i chose to run. it was a difficult race. the only people who thought i have a chance to win all lives in my home, and four of them were under the age of 10. the entire republican leadership in washington, d.c. was with him. everything i know that politics that there was no path forward. it didn't matter to me at the time. i believe deeply that if america continue on the road the new president have put us on, we

would lose the things that made it a special country. you fast-forward seven years, to this moment, and things have only gotten worse. we have only gone further and further away from the principles that made america the greatest nation in all of human history. it brings us to this moment in our history now. the election of 2016 is no longer a choice between political parties or even ideologies. the fundamental question before america right now is what kind of country is this going to be in the 21st century? [applause] senator rubio: the thing i always enjoy about cpac is the incredible number of young people who come to these. younger americans. [applause] by younger i mean anyone under 44. [laughter] senator rubio: although, i feel 45 this week, because i have had

the flu. thank you. ourselves in this campaign is what is this country going to look like? what will look like when my 16-year-old daughter graduates from college? what will look like when my 13 your old daughter starts her first business or my tenure on sunday starts is family, or my eight-year-old son buys his first home? they will be the first americans -- you will be the first americans -- that inherent, from a previous generation, a country that was worse off than your parents. that is the road we are headed on now. if we remain on that role, we have to explain why our children and grandchildren did not inherit what we did. to get off this road, we must embrace the principles that made us the greatest nation to begin with. that is why the theme of this gathering -- our time is now --

forces us to ask the question, what does it mean to be a conservative in the 21st century? it can never be simply about an attitude. being a conservative cannot be simply about how angry you are willing to be or how many names you are willing to call people. [applause] senator rubio: conservatism has never been about fear or anger, not at its best. do people have a right to be fearful of the future right now? yes. for over two decades, leaders in neither party have solved the problems before us. people have the right to be angry about every institution in society, absolutely. neither anger nor fear will solve our problems. it will serve to motivate us, but will not solve our

problems. what will solve our problems are a specific set of ideas that made america the greatest nation to begin with, and applying those principles to the unique challenges of this waiver century. those principles are not complicated. it begins with the notion that this country was founded on a powerful spiritual principle that our rights do not come from government, our rights do not come from laws, our rights do not come from leaders, our rights come from god. [applause] our government does not exist to decide these rights, nor to grant them. our government exists to protect them. that is why we have a constitution that limits the power of the government to a few specific things. we have abandoned that. we have reached a moment in our history where we think every problem in america has to have a

federal government solution. every problem in america does not have to have a federal government solution. in fact, most problems in america do not have a federal government solution, as most problems are created by the government to begin with. [applause] and, so, to move forward in a better direction, it does me be embracing a following the first amendment. it is not just the right to believe anything you want, but the right to leav live out the teachings of your faith in everything aspect of your life. it means understanding that the second amendment was not a nice suggestion, it is a constitutional right to protect yourself and your families from terrorists. [applause] senator rubio: it means adhering to the 10th amendment, in which power is reserved for the

states, not because we don't care about problems, but we know when the government tries to fix the problems, it often makes them worse, not better. let's return power to the state. [applause] senator rubio: conservatism means be embracing -- re-embracing true free enterprise. not because my parents are wealthy or i inherited millions of dollars, because i did not, but because i met people and shook the hands of people doing the jobs that my parents once did. [applause] senator rubio: you know why they had a job? you know why my parents had a job? enterprisee works. somebody created those jobs. with those jobs, they were able to raise their kids, buy a house

, and have a future. free enterprise is the only system where you can make poor people richer, and you don't have to make rich people poorer. [applause] senator rubio: it means ism means a strong national defense, not because we love more, but because we love peace. history has taught us that weakness invites violence, weakness invites mwawar. [applause] senator rubio: so, conservatism believes that the u.s. military should always be the most one on earth because

the world is a safer place. conservatives believe we stand by our allies, especially allies might israel. there are the only pro-american free enterprise democracy in the middle east. [applause] senator rubio: conservatives believe we need to defeat radical islam, not because we want more, but because isis and other radical islamists are enemies of peace. that is why we need a president, under whom the best military in the world will destroy and if we catch them alive, a president that will to wheree terrorists they belong, guantanamo bay, cuba. [applause] [cheering] senator rubio: conservatives

believe we take care of our veterans because we have a sacred obligation to take care of them, after they have taken care of us. it is something that is not happening now. [applause] senator rubio: yes, conservatives believe in traditional values, not because we want to impose their views on anyone, but because to abandon ignorealues would be to our future. americans are not the most generous people on earth as part of laws make us generous. people do not contribute to charity in this country and acord amounts because we have tax break from it. we do so because this country has been shaped by judeo-christian principles that teach us we have an obligation to care for one another. [applause] we believe in traditional values because without them, without the

believe an all-powerful government, the very founding of this country was meaningless. it was founded on the principle that our rights come from god. if there is no god, where do our rights come from? you do not understand america, aged not understand our history, if you don't understand the role the faith community has played in making is the greatest nation in the history. [applause] preaching to: i'm the proverbial choir on this issue. why? i think there is a growing amount of confusion about what conservatism is. it is time for us to understand the conservatism is not built on personalities. conservatism is not something built on how angry you might seem from time to time. conservatism is built on the set -- a set of principles and ideas that are nation desperately

needs. for over 200 years, this has been an exceptional country. i know this personally, as do many of you. for me, america is not just the country that i was born in, a litter the changed the history of my family. we have to believe what made that possible -- we have to remember, what made that possible was not by accident. it did not happen on its own. it happened because for over 200 years, generations before us did what needed to be done. for over two generations, americans before as confronted and solved problems. they embraced opportunity. americans have never had it easy. this was a nation founded by declaring independence from the the harmful nation in world. the 1960's were difficult to this country, the civil rights

movement divided us regionally, the vietnam war divided us generationally. americans have never had a easy. confronted before us challenges and solved problems. my fellow conservatives, the time has come for this generation to do its part. the moment has arrived for us to do our part now. the stakes could not be higher because the future of the greatest nation on earth is at stake. i want to speak specifically to the younger people here today. i know that times are difficult. i want you to know that i believe something with all my heart. i believe that all young americans are on the verge and have the chance to become the next greatest generation in american history. [applause] senator rubio: i believe that

the 21st century, the joint first century is tailor-made for america. there are now hundreds of millions of people in this where that 100 years ago starving. now they want to trade with you, collaborate with you. these young americans are the greatest collaborators of all time, the most advanced americans. these young americans have the chance to fulfill an incredible destiny. .e have to give them the chance they will not have the chance is hillary clinton or bernie sanders is elected. [applause] senator rubio: they won't have the chance if the conservative movement is hijacked by someone who is not a conservative. [cheering] [applause]

senator rubio: and so -- [cheering] and so, i'mo: already over time, so let me close with this. i have to answer questions. let me close with this. today that all the news sounds bad. the one thing that is always true is every generation believes the next generation is really messed up. noknow,ou to believe, and

i want you to know what history will say about as if we make the right decision now. the world was changing, and we struggled to keep pace with it, and we almost got it wrong. of barackt years obama and one crazy election, we almost got it wrong, we came this close, but then we remembered who we were. we remembered what america was. we confronted our challenges and embraced opportunity. we did what needed to be done. we did what needed to be done. the american dream did not just survive, it reached more people and changed more lives. new american century. this is what we have the chance

to do together, and the time to do it is now. thank you. [applause] [cheering] senator rubio: now, i'm going to answer some questions from a journalist that we respect very much. i look forward to answering the questions. [applause] >> rubio! [cheering] senator rubio: i don't want to get you sick. >> thank you for that. senator rubio: hold on.

ms. bash: that never gets old, does it? senator rubio: my running mate, right here. bash: that was the first time i've ever been introduced by a presidential candidate. one think you were just talking about that what you to talk thet is i too came through back, through the kitchen. that is how you address a lot of these events. for you, it is personal. senator rubio: for me, it is arsenal. my parents were incredibly successful people. the american dream is not about how much money you make, or having a building with your name on it -- i was not talking about

anybody in particular, i was just saying -- the american dream is about achieving happiness. when you become a firefighter, police officer, teacher, nurse, you know you will not become a billionaire. what you want is what my parents achieved. what they achieved being a hotel, and a ma retired withnts dignity, and left all four children better off than themselves. [applause] ms. bash: i know you weren't talking about any particular person. senator rubio: i probably was, but you know -- ms. bash: let's go there. donald trump was supposed to be her this morning, he backed out. [booing] ms. bash: i sense that the crowd has an opinion on that, do you? senator rubio: this is the american conservative union, it is usually reserved for

conservatives. [cheering] [applause] look, either the ismas behind conservative matter, or they do not. i believe they do. it is not, vote for me because i'm angry and more over-the-top -- i get that anger and frustration, i really do. i have said this before. that not a coincidence there is a plethora of young conservative people in this country, in their 40's and 50's paul,elf, ted cruz, rand susana martinez, why? why are they now serving our country? because we grew up in the era of reagan. reagan looked and acted nothing like donald trump. look at the democrats.

who is the young up-and-coming democrat? bernie sanders. ms. bash: i asked ted cruz about this as well. you are stepping up your rhetoric a time against donald trump. you're calling him a con artist and a fraud. if you believe those things, why did you wait until february 2016 to say so? senator rubio: a couple of reasons. i have been busy fighting off other people attacking me. i did not get into this to beat up on other candidates. if you told me a year ago that the front runner of the republican campaign would be a supporter of planned parenthood, who does not stand with israel -- i would say, on what planet with that be the republican front runner? it has happened. we have to ask yourself, why

have we allow that to happen? ms. bash: why is that? him.e have voted for toator rubio: i don't mean take you on this, by want to be clear. i have been sitting here for five minutes, and the questions have all been about donald trump. that is the reason why. [cheering] [applause] fair, but that is he is the front runner. senator rubio: even before he was the front runner, donald would offend someone personally, would make fun of a disabled reporter, or attack a woman journalist, and would dominate the news coverage. i'm not complaining about it. the reason we're talking about is -- the other night at the debate, over half the questions i was asked were about my opinion of donald trump -- i'm

running for president because i think the country needs to re-embraced the constitution, re-embraced free enterprise, and re-embraced strong national defense. [applause] ms. bash: we have some questions from twitter. lisa asks this question, how are you children responding to your campaign? do they understand how important and serious this is? before you answer that, i want on.ut my mom hadt you are the proud father of four. i'm the mother of a four-year-old son. i'm having a hard time letting him watch the news because things have gotten so vulgar, i don't want him to think it is ok to ask like that. how do you feel as a father and a presence of candidate about how low things have gone? senator rubio: this is related to the question. i'm glad you asked. my kids are on the campaign

trail with me a lot. every day i woke up, i was glad they were there. not just because they are my kids, but they remind me, this is what this is about. you are literally trying to the country will look like. god has blessed my family. he has protected us. they have handled it extremely well. we have not had a negative omen during the campaign, and that is because god has protected and shielded us. he has done that for us, and for others as well. for me, it is a daily reminder that what we are fighting for what americading will look like in 10 years. yes, i don't want us to have a president that would constantly have to be explained targets, look, that is what the president did, but you should not. i don't want that. [applause] senator rubio: we actually had a president like that not long ago

. ms. bash: i will leave that one alone. the rhetoric has been -- i understand you are saying that you are trying to answer him and some of the things he is saying, by cap is going to make it about talking about hands, and things like that -- [booing] senator rubio: i'm more than happy to answer another trump question. donald trump may have grown up the way he did, with a lot of money, and going to boarding school. where i grew up, if someone is punching someone in the face, eventually someone will have to stand up and punch them back. [applause] ms. bash: i want to ask you another question from twitter. .t is on the supreme court do you think president

obama should appoint a justice to scottus? senator rubio: i agree with joe biden when he said in 19 night nominatinguld not be justices in an election year. the supreme court can have a justices. nominating there is no magic number nine. this president is completely unaccountable. he will be nominating someone who is a lifetime appointment, and we cannot hold it against him. there will be an election in november. god willing, we will nominate and elect a conservative. that conservative will elect, i hope, someone more like justice scalia that the nominees we have gotten out of this president. [applause] ms. bash: to think all candidates now, republican and democrats, should pledge to not

nominate a supreme court justice in the last year of their term? senator rubio: i would do that now. that has been the practice for the last 80 years in our country. it goes back to the point i made. this is a lifetime appointment. unless the person who gets elected murder someone, it will be very difficult to remove them from the court. when the balance of the court is barack obama will not be held accountable for it by the electorate. ms. bash: it is about something that donald trump said, but about an important issue, torture. you were standing next to him in the debate, when he reversed his opinion. what you think is the most important position of a president on the issue of torture? senator rubio: the most the mostt issue --

important job of president is to be commander in chief. a commander-in-chief will never ask the armed forces of the united states to do something that would finally the rules of four. i want to be clear about interrogation. we have to understand, this is not about torture. no one is asking for torture. you cannot use the same interrogation to on a terrorist than on the criminal. aen you are interrogating criminal, you try to gather information to i try them. when you are interrogating a terrorist, you are trying to prevent a future terrorist attack. i don't talk about interrogation techniques. when you do talk about interrogation techniques, terrorist track this. we are going to interrogate terrorists. right now, that is not even an

issue because president obama does not send them anywhere. he is releasing them from guantanamo. when i president, they are going to guantanamo, and we will find out everything they know. ms. bash: this is another twitter question. he wants to know, how will your faith figure into your presidency? senator rubio: my faith is the biggest influence on my life. i think that is something that people should be proud of. i'm a christian. i cannot impose my faith on anyone. my faith is the free gift of salvation. my faith teaches me this, in order to serve the lord, i have others. democrats would say, the only is moreare about people government. . believe in free enterprise

this government have a role to play? yes. not as a lifestyle, but as a way to get people back on their feet so they can find a good job and never depend on the government again. my faith influences me to believe that all human life is worthy of the protection of our laws. [applause] a political question. in a week and a half, as you know, is the florida primary. a crucial test to your campaign. governor kasich said if he does his day, he will job out. win my rubio: i will state.

you will find out march 15 in florida. one person who will not be on the ballot is jeb bush. i know you two have spoken. would you like to have his endorsement? senator rubio: i would like to have as many endorsements as i can get because i would like to unify the party. i don't discuss private conversations. i said throughout the campaign repeatedly that i had tremendous admiration for jeb bush, the ipo he was the greatest governor in florida history, though rick too. is a great governor we entered up running for the same office at the same time. i did not run for president to stop jeb bush. i ran for president because i believe america's greatest days lie ahead, if we do what needs to be done right now in 2016. [applause] ms. bash: this is another

--estion from twitter to all candidates, the best vote. gets his senator rubio: where does he live? [laughter] ms. bash: what is your plan to unite the country as president? i.e. racial police trust. senator rubio: the police in our country are the finest police. they are. virginia, a week ago, three police officers were shot. one of them was a marine reserve . she was on her first day on the job, and she died. we have to miss admiration and respect for our police officers. i think god every day for what they do for our families. i also think, in this country, putting aside the police arertment issue, yes, there a significant amount of americans who live in a majority minority community, and feel

like they are logged out of the american dream. it's a significant amount of the population feels like they are being left behind, we will confront it. be will confront it with free enterprise. i believe free enterprise works because i have lived it. my parents would have never been able to achieve, for our family, what they achieved in america anywhere else on the planet. almost anywhere else in the world, your future is decided by whether or not your parents are the right people, connected to the right people. not in america. end, all of this hyphenation stuff, that's fine, but we are all americans. if i am president of the united states, i will be president for all americans. [applause] ms. bash: one final question. on a personal level, what has part of most surprising this campaign. it is grueling. you are sitting here with the

flu. how have you embraced this in a way that maybe you didn't think you would? senator rubio: i told you one of them, i never could have imagined that the front runner of the republican nomination would be someone who refuses to stand with israel, support planned parenthood. that aside, i knew this already, but this campaign reminded me. government,ot a america is a nation at the people. this very morning, people went to work, opened their business, volunteered in the community, they are going about their lives irrespective of who the president will be. our government is messed up, but the american people are greater than they have ever been. what they need is a chance. this campaign has confirmed that. i was in south carolina, and i went to a pregnancy crisis center. you have never heard of this place. it is not in a magazine, they don't have movies made about

them. they are saving lives. young people are coming into this crisis center scared to death, thinking of ending i got, and these people, through ministry, the word of god, are changing their decisions, saving lives. that is america. [applause] ms. bash: senator, thank you. thank you so much. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2015] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

>> senator marco rubio, the last of the republican presidential theidates speaking at cpac, conservative political action conference. donald trump was scheduled to appear this morning, but yesterday, canceled his appearance. right now, your opportunity to weigh in on the candidates you have seen at cpac, and the presence of race in general. ce ine presidential general. republicans, 202-748-8921. democrats, 202-748-8920. .ndependents, 202-748-8922

alice joins us from new jersey on the line for democrats. caller: hello. , bible notcrat today be a democrat in the primary. i have been a democrat all my life, but not anymore. this government has taken everything away from what i know. i'm going to be voting for a republican. as you say, abc, anybody but clinton. anyone who runs for the republican side is going to get my vote. host: it doesn't matter who the nominee is? caller: it doesn't matter. host: thanks for your call. marco rubio heads to puerto rico , campaigning there. the republican caucus in puerto rico taking place tomorrow. let's go to carry now on the republican line. caller: i just want to say that

i think marco rubio exemplifies the best of what we are as americans. donald trump started his campaign in the gutter, and has dragged the entire campaign process into the gutter. marco captures america's essence, history, and it's .rilliant and enduring future i'm 100% for marco rubio, and have no doubt that he will win in florida. host: things for calling. to miami, florida, marco rubio's home state. caller: i've always been a democrat, but i believe i'm changing my attitude. i believe in rubio, and he will be the next president of the united states. host: thanks for calling. some tweets coming in from people who watched marco rubio at cpac. this one from ronnie who says

that rubio will lose florida, he weak, light weight and he memorizes lines from his backers. this one says, marco rubio makes a really powerful closing speech .nd gets huge cheers stephen writes, has there ever been election that wasn't the most important in our lifetime? some tweets coming in. you can tweet us at @cspanwj. you can also leave a facebook on our facebook page. a number of caucuses and primaries being held around the country this weekend. today, kansas republicans and democrats are holding caucuses, kentuckyaine in republicans. nebraska democrats holding their caucus today. louisiana voters casting their ballots in the primary. all of that today. on sunday, the puerto rico

republicans are caucusing, as maine democrats. we will have more broached the white house coverage today -- road to the white househou coverage today. donald trump will be in florida kansas. 2:30 eastern time will be the rally in orlando, florida. we plan to coverage his reaction to primaries and caucuses in palm beach, florida. we are also covering bernie sanders in michigan today and on sunday at 2:30, governor john kasich will be back in his home state of ohio, joined by arnold schwarzenegger. back to your calls.

kentucky., caller: i'm a registered democrat, by called this morning to see if i had to change my affiliation to be able to flow in the kentucky caucus -- to vote in the kentucky caucus. most people in kentucky don't know that kentucky is a caucus state. i didn't, until today. when i went to the caucus location, there were other people there. they know about the caucus, but our facility did not know anything about us. most of the people in kentucky don't know they are a caucus state. even the republicans can't vote for a nominee. in may,have our primary as usual, but we only get to who

has been selected for us. we don't have a chance. i understand, from doing the research, the caucus was instigated by rand paul, i guess before he dropped out, i don't know. was aemocrat, and if i republican, i would be upset about this caucus, and no one in kentucky knowing about it. host: thanks for the information. donald in ohio, republican caller. caller: yes. i'm a registered republican. i have been a registered republican since the george bush beyond that. i'm a 75-year-old male. i have voted democrat, independent, and i have voted republican. , in my area,ipated

.ith republicans i have seen, over the years, the democrats shift so far left that they are not the same democrat party that i grew up with in my childhood and young adult years. the republicans, i believe, have democrats when the shifted left, i think the republican shifted left also. i believe the republican party now is about what it was when i was 20 years old. c-span, cnn,ching fox. i tried to give them all free time. i want to make an informed decision. i have it narrowed down to the three candidates now. ul trump completely

out, by looking ate kasich, rubio, and also cruz. we have our primary here march 15. thanks for calling. ohio, on the line for independents. go ahead. caller: i've been watching and listening to talk radio, watching everything on tv with ted cruz, marco rubio, donald trump, and john kasich, our governor here in ohio. i'm still between trump and cruz . one thing that has me leaning is, towards donald trump for me, personally, i'm tired of soring religion brought up much, and that we should believe aboutse hard core values

gay rights, marriage, and all that stuff because the bible says it's bad. you don't hear donald trump saying those things. i guess you can call me a liberal republican. i wish that if ted cruz and donald trump would get down to summitlans, to me, they the same person talking in different sentences. thing,th want the same but they are taking different roads to get there. is ad trump, to me, run-of-the-mill blue-collar guy. he explains in a way that i understand it. ted cruz says so much political stuff -- i really wish the two , would, at least cruz work will harder to convince me ,hat he is who he says he is

and talk to most of us millennials that are not as deep in the faith as they are, and may be explained to us that he is not going to let god guide him in everything, and he needs to bend in a way that society is going and except gays, lesbians, transgender's, and not condemn them for who they are. one of theruz, candidates who spoke at the conservative political action conference, held just outside of washington, d.c. ted cruz campaigning today in kansas. the last caller mentioned donald trump. a reminder again that donald trump will be live here on c-span. at did not appear o cpac. he canceled his appearance

today. he will be live in florida. we will be covering him in orlando lives. back to your cause. from florida, jaclyn joins us. caller: hello. i just want to say -- this is kind of strange. hello? host: you are on the air. go ahead. turn your tv down. caller: tv is down, all the way down. host: go ahead with your comment. asler: all i have to say is a democrat, i'm all for donald trump. host: why? caller: he is the future. cuban immigrant. what he is doing is everything.

if empowerment -- it is empowerment for our people. host: roger, indiana. go ahead. to talki'm calling about -- to all the christian people, we all need to stand .ogether and believe in god here whowo republicans also believe in god. we have a responsibility to make this country great. host: who are those republicans you are talking about? caller: everybody from every state. host: you talked about candidates, who are the candidates you are referring to? caller: and talking about cruz and rubio, even john kasich.

have hearts of gold. .hey mean what they say all christian people to stand up for what they really .elieve in their hearts this is what we need to do. stand up together and fight. that is all i have to say. host: thanks for calling. let's go to edwin next in puerto rico, line for democrats. republicans there are caucusing tomorrow. what are your thoughts on the contest? i'm a united states disabled veteran from the air force. i still associate with myself democrats because i

think barack obama has done a good job with the veterans. they have taken good care of us. i live here on the island. a political side, on democrats and republicans, 90% of the island is democrat. the republicans, just 10%. it.'s about this afternoon will be the rally here in puerto rico. i'm in san juan. we will be seeing that through c-span tonight. host: who are you supporting on the democratic side? beler: hillary -- i used to a letter carrier, and the national association is clintonng hillary

because the postal issues, on capitolg uion up hill. hillary will win 7-3 to bernie sanders. here, marco rubio is being forced to win the republicans and put a rico. rico.puerto caucus. is the we will be having results tomorrow night. i would say, i think hillary is going to take many republican her -- es because i see donald trump may be hard, but hillary will pull in all the minorities, latin or black

.otes, hispanic she will pick. she will pick up all these groups. she will win the presidency. you have to add the rest and these's.as on take my word for it, she will be president of the united states. a number of primaries and caucuses this weekend. maine and kentucky republicans, nebraska democrats holding their caucus today. todayana having a primary . republicans caucusing as our main democrats. our live coverage continues. we are covering candidates

through this weekend. back to a donald trump rally in florida at 2:30 today. covering him tonight at 9:00. following bernie sanders and hope to have that for you during the overnight schedule tonight. joined by a former california governor, arnold schwarzenegger. this story from usa today, ben carson, the retired euro surgeon who rose from political obscurity to a position in the early polls dropped out of the republican race friday after a string of disappointing finishes on super tuesday. we are going to show you his , whens on cpac yesterday he talked about what is next for him after the republican presidential campaign.

[applause] ben carson: thank you very much, thank you. delighted to be here. my sons and their wives are there. i want to thank all the people who have worked so incredibly hard on my campaign, the volunteers.

one young man who lost his life for something he believed with in such fervor. it is an experience i will never forget. interestingly enough, people said in order to make it in this cycle, you have to be loud and boisterous and you have to be willing to attack people. i used to be like that. there was a time when i was, particularly in junior high school and high school -- i could come up with some stuff that would really embarrass people. and the people who are running today, i could come up with some stuff, let me tell you. you know what -- i left that stuff in high school.

the things that affect us now are so incredibly important. and one of the things that is going on in our nation i have noticed as i have traveled around, wonderful americans, every place, every part of our country, but so many of them are angry and are afraid. and the problem when you are angry and afraid is you tend to make bad decisions when you are angry and you are afraid. and what we have to do now is just sort of calm down and use the amazing intellect that god has given us, the human brain, billions and billions of neurons, hundreds of

billions of interconnections. it remembers everything you have ever seen or heard. it can process over 2 million bits of information in one second. there is a reason he gave a something like that -- so that we can extract information from the past in the present and process it and project it into the future and think rationally and logically instead of reacting. you do not need to have much of a developed brain to simply react. anoles, lizards can do that. we are human beings, so we need to start to think in america what we need is leadership. [applause] mr. carson: and many people have said, who are you going to endorse? well, let me tell you exactly, let me tell you exactly the criteria that one should use when utilizing that brain.

if we are talking about somebody who is going to lead america and the world, you need somebody who has demonstrated significant accomplishment in their life, number one. you also need somebody whose ideas and policies are clear and easy to find so that with your intellect you can evaluate them. you need to look at how they treat others and how they treat their family, because that is how they are going to treat the american people. we need to see what have they done for america. someone who wants to lead this nation should have in fact demonstrated in their life that they are trying to improve life for people in america. and we should also look at the people that they work with, who are those people, what do those people have to say, and how have they been able to collaborate

with other people to get things done. all of those are very important factors. somebody who can check a box on all of those is going to make an incredible leader. also, somebody who is ethical, because what we need in america right now is triple-down ethics. very important that we get that. [applause] mr. carson: and conservatives should not be ashamed of capitalism. we have had those who have tried to make it sound like a bad word. it is not a bad word. it has produced the highest standard of living that anybody has ever known. but what we must do as conservatives is to make sure

that we couple capitalism with compassion, and that will be a winning formula for us. recognize that in this country we have 330 million people. and it sounds like a lot of people, but compare that with china, 1.4 billion, india, 1.1 billion. it means we need to develop all of our people. we cannot afford to have 20%-plus not graduating from high school in the technological age. we cannot afford to have 5% of the world's population and 25% of the inmates, and we do need to have a government with policies that pulls families together because you need a family unit to strengthen america.

our pillars of strength, our faith, and our family, and as those things are being eroded, you see what is happening to our nation. we the people have to be the ones who really push these things. the government is not pushing it. the government -- they do not understand what compassion is. they think having somebody pat you on the head and saying, you poor little thing, i am going to take care of your needs is compassion. that is just the opposite of compassion. that is making people dependent on the system. that is the worst thing you can do to anybody. so what we must concentrate on is the past, the bridge that allows people to move out of the state of dependency and become part of the strength and fabric of this country. that is how we become strong as a nation.

the fewer people we have to pull along and the more people who become part of the productive side of america, the better life will be for everybody. that is what we have to keep in mind. we also must recognize that we, the american people, are not each other's enemies. i think it is a nefarious group of individuals who are making every attempt to divide us as americans. and what we must begin to concentrate on is having conversations with each other and talking through our differences and finding resolution. there is a reason we have these amazing brains. if we are fighting each other all the time, then it makes it excessively easy for those who really are our enemies, the radical islamist terrorists who want to destroy us.

we need to understand that. and why would we make their job easier for them by trying to destroy ourselves? and we need to identify those people in our society who are always trying to splinter us, because they are not our friends either. they also need to be thinking about our future generations, and this is an area that has concerned me immensely. thomas jefferson said it is immoral to borrow from the next generation. think about that. here we are in a situation -- $19 trillion? and it is going to be $20 trillion next year? think about the impact of that. the fed has to suppress the

interest rates. they do not necessarily want income to rise either because we are in such a difficult economic situation. but think what happens to the american dream, when joe the butcher cannot go every friday like he used to do the bank and put 5%, 10% of his check in the savings account and watch it grow, because there is no growth, there is no incentive to do that. same thing with the bond markets. only place money can be made is the stock market? who invests in the stock market? well-to-do people. and hence, the income gap grows. along come sanders and clinton talking about income gap. it is the government that keeps driving the debt up.

that is causing the problem. and we must be able to identify where the true culprits lie. the government keeps growing because it feels it is the one who can solve our problems. that is a mistake. it started like in the 1920's with the wilson administration, kept multiplying by the time we got to the johnson administration. we are talking, we the government are going to eliminate poverty. remember that? the war on poverty. how did that work out? $19 trillion later, we have 10 times more people on food

stamps, more poverty, broken homes, everything is not only worse, it is much worse. and that is what happens when the government starts doing things that it is not supposed to do. they need to read the constitution. that is not their job. taking care of the indigent, that is our job. that is our job, we the people, not the government. and maybe the government did read it, they got confused when they read the preamble where it says one of their jobs is to promote the general welfare. they thought that means put everybody on general welfare. that is not what it means. that is what happens when you have a government that is way too big. and i am hopeful that maybe some people, now that i am leaving the campaign trail --

>> oh! mr. carson: yeah. i know this -- i know there is a lot -- [applause] thank you. thank you very much. thank you. there are a lot of people who love me, they just won't vote for me. that's ok.