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 -- this new 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] senator rubio: 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 abandoned it in both political parties. 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]

senator rubio: and, so, to move forward in a better direction, it does me be embracing a nd following the first amendment. it is not just the right to believe anything you want, but the right to live out the teachings of your faith in everything aspect of your life. -- every single 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 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? because free enterprise 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 conservativism means a strong national defense, not because we love war but because we love , peace. history has taught us that weakness invites violence, weakness invites war. [applause] senator rubio: so, conservatism believes that the u.s. military should always be the most powerful one on earth because the world is a safer place. it is a safer place when america strongest military in the world. conservatives believe we stand by our allies, especially allies in 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 terrorists, and if we catch them alive, a president that will send these terrorists to where 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 those values would be to ignore our future. americans are not the most generous people on earth because .ur laws make us generous people do not contribute to charity in this country and record amounts because we have a 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] senator rubio: we believe in traditional values because without them, without the belief in 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? other than what the leaders decide they are. you do not understand america, aged not understand our history, if you don't understand the role the faith community has played in making us the greatest nation

in history. [applause] senator rubio: i'm preaching to 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 that conservativism is not built on personalities. conservatism is not something built on how angry you might seem from time to time. conservatism is built on a set of principles and ideas that are our 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

it bitterly changed the history -- literally 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 us confronted and solved problems. they embraced opportunity. americans have never had it easy. this was a nation founded by declaring independence from the most harmful nation in the 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 it easy. but each generation before us confronted challenges and assault problems and that is why they left the country better off then before them. 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 planet that 100 years ago where ere 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. we have to give them the chance.

on the campaign trail, unless you are under 25, nobody knows how to use these phones. we have to give them that chance, but they will not have the chance if 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] senator rubio: and so, i'm already over time, so let me close with this. i have to answer questions. let me close with this. i know that all the news today sounds bad. the one thing that is always true is every generation believes the next generation is really messed up. i want you to believe, and know, i want you to know what history will say about you, about us, if we make the right choice now. it will say that this generation lived in a difficult time, the world was changing and we struggled to keep pace with it. it will say the truth, we almost got it wrong. after eight years of barack

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. and our children became the most prosperous that ever lived. and because we did what we needed to be done the american , dream did not just survive, it reached more people and changed more lives. it became a new american century. the greatest era in our history. 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. [laughter] ms. bash: that was the first time i've ever been introduced

by a presidential candidate. i have a whole list of questions. one think you were just talking me.t struck i came through the 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 personal. my parents were incredibly successful people. the american dream is not about how much money you make, or how many buildings have your name on it. [applause] the american: dream -- 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 bartender at a hotel, and a maid , after arriving with nothing.

the first words my dad learned, i need a job. my parents retired with dignity, and left all four children better off than themselves. [applause] senator rubio: that is the american dream. 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 here 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] senator rubio: look, either the ideas behind conservativism matter, or they do not. i believe they do. if they do not it is fine.

it is not, vote for me because i'm angry and more over-the-top -- i get that anger and frustration, i really do. let me tell you something. i have said this before. it is not a coincidence that there is a plethora of young conservative leaders in this country, in their 40's and 50's -- myself, ted cruz, rand paul, susana martinez, why? [applause] senator rubio: why are there so many young conservatives serving our country? because we grew up in the era of reagan. reagan looked and acted nothing like donald trump. [applause] senator rubio: and look at the democrats. who is the young up-and-coming democrat? bernie sanders. [laughter] ms. bash: i asked ted cruz about this as well. you are stepping up your rhetoric big time on donald trump, whether or not he is a

conservative. 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. that takes a little bit of time. i did not get into this to beat up on other candidates. i really didn't. if you had told me a year ago that the front runner in the campaign would be a supporter of planned parenthood, who says he does not stand with israel, who the healthports care, 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? people have voted for him. senator rubio: i don't mean to take you on this, but i 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] ms. bash: that is fair, but he is the front runner. ms. bash: that is fair, but he is the front runner. and you have been making your point about donald trump. 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. of course he is going to get attention. 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-embrace the constitution, re-embrace free enterprise, and re-embrace strong national defense. [applause] ms. bash: we have some questions from twitter. lisa asks this question, how are your children responding to your

campaign? do they understand how important and serious this is? before you answer that, i want to put my mom hat on. 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 act 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 real 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 decide what the country will look like when they are my age, a little younger. god has blessed my family. he has protected us. they have handled it extremely well.

i do not think that we have had a negative moment on the campaign with them. but i believe that is because god has protected and shielded us. he has done that for us, and for others as well. [applause] senator rubio: for me it is a , daily reminder that what we are fighting for is deciding what america will look like in 10 years. yes, i don't want us to have a president that would constantly -- president that we would constantly have to be explaining to our kids, 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. it was really bad. 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, i cannot explain to my kids

talking about hand and things like that -- [booing] senator rubio: i will be more than happy to answer another donald 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. it is on the supreme court. do you think president obama should appoint a justice to scotus? senator rubio: no, absolutely not. i agree with joe biden when he said in 1992, we should not be nominating justices in an election year. the supreme court can have a 8 justices.

there is no magic number nine. and this president is completely unaccountable. he will be nominating someone for basically 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 -- scalia, then the kind of nominees we have gotten out of this president. [applause] ms. bash: you 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. you cannot, unless this person who gets elected murder someone, it will be very difficult to

remove them from the court. bottom line, when the balance of the court is at stake -- barack obama will not be held accountable for it by the electorate. [applause] 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. he says, he understands the united states is bound by laws and treaties and will not allow officials to disobey those laws. what you think is the most important position of a president on the issue of torture? senator rubio: the most important issue -- the most 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 violate the rules of war. but i want to be clear about interrogation. we have to understand, this is not about torture. no one is asking for torture. but you cannot use the same

interrogation techniques on a terrorist than on the criminal. , when you are interrogating a criminal, you try to gather information to try them. when you are interrogating a terrorist, you are trying to prevent a future terrorist attack. and so, i don't talk about interrogation techniques. when you do talk about interrogation techniques, evadeists practice how to telling the truth. 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. who will be interrogate? when i president, they are going to guantanamo, and we will find out everything they know. ms. bash: this is another twitter question. this is from steve. he wants to know, how will your faith figure into your presidency? senator rubio: my faith is the biggest influence on my life.

[applause] senator rubio: by the way, 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 to serve others. democrats would say, the only way to care about people is more government. i believe in free enterprise. and the reason why, i know that free enterprise allows people who are struggling to find a better job in better life. does the 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]

ms. bash: 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 ohio,n his home state of he will drop out. what do you think? senator rubio: i will win my state. you will find out march 15 in florida. i have experience of beating people who bridger themselves as one thing, and find out they are someone else. ms. bash: one person who will not be on the ballot is jeb bush. i know you two have spoken. have you asked him for an endorsement? 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. no matter what happens in the campaign i said throughout the , campaign repeatedly that i had tremendous admiration for jeb bush, that i believe he was the greatest governor in florida history though rick scott is a , great governor too. and i will always have respect for him. quirk ofme court -- faith, we were running 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 question from twitter -- to all candidates, the best answer gets his vote. senator rubio: no pressure. 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 among the finest people in the country. they are. the other day we were reminded. in 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. so we have tremendous admiration and respect for our police officers. i thank god every day for what they do for our families. i also think, in this country, putting aside the police department issue, yes, there are a significant amount of americans who live in a majority minority community, and feel like they are logged out of the locked out of the american dream. it's a significant amount of the population that feels like they are being left behind, we will confront it. we 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. that is not who we have been and who we will be. i think that this is best for all americans, irrespective of background. in the 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 been the most surprising part of 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 the surprising parts. i could have never 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.

america is not a government, 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. [applause] senator rubio: 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. these people every day are saving lives. young people are coming into this crisis center scared to death, thinking of ending i got, life, 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. -- we arecoming learning that ted cruz has won poll with 40%. marco rubio with 30%. donald trump with 15%. john kasich with 8%. ben carson who has dropped out of the race got 2%. there are a number of primaries held around the country today. kansas republicans and democrats are holding caucuses. maine and kentucky republicans, as well. in nebraska, caucuses today.

in louisiana, casting ballots in the primary for voters. and on sunday, maine democrats will be holding caucuses. and those in puerto rico will be voting in the primary. we have some early returns from caucuses today in kansas and made. here in kansas, the republican caucuses with 40% reporting, senator ted cruz i just over 49% of the vote. donald trump at 24.5%. and marco rubio at just under 15%. in maine, the republican caucuses with 5% reporting. 40% -- 48%.front, donald trump with 35%. senator marco rubio with 8.6%. we will continue to watch results as they become available

tonight and tomorrow and pass along that information as the road to the white house coverage continues on c-span. ♪ >> ime teacher. i am looking at the candidates closely for their programs in education. i have not been happy with all of the core standards and common core that has been happening, so i would like to see that changed. i will vote for either bernie sanders or hillary clinton. i am interested to see whether plans with her not to be. -- would turn out to be. >> i have decided that i will vote for ted cruz, because he is a scholar, eloquent, and he is principal, out of all the candidates so far. ♪ republican presidential

candidate, senator ted cruz, spoke yesterday at the annual conservative political action conference. his remarks are about 40 minutes. ♪ [applause] senator cruz: god bless cpac. trump is a skipping cpac.

[booing] senator cruz: i think somebody told him that megyn kelly was going to be here. or even worse, he was told there were conservatives who would be here. [applause] senator cruz: even worse, he was told there were libertarians who would be here. or even worse, they told him young people would be here. [applause] senator cruz: none of you all have a degree from trump university? [applause] [chanting trump] [booing] senator cruz: the men and women here are a grassroots army. the men and women here love liberty. let me tell you, as dire as

things are, people are waking up all over this country. [applause] and help is on the way. this election will be about three things, jobs, liberty and security. we will start with jobs. talk about making america great again. you can even print that on a baseball cap. but do you understand the principles that made america great in the first place? [applause] senator cruz: the heart of the economy is not washington dc, not new york city. it is small businesses all over this country.

you want to crush the economy, hammer small businesses likely have over the past seven years. list of the boot -- lift the bill of the american government -- lif tht the boot of the amern government off the next -- necks of small businesses. if i am elected president, we will repeal every word of obamacare. [applause] we will makeedsenator cruz: health insurance personal, affordable, and keeping government from getting in between us and our doctors. simple flatpass a

tax. american can fill out the taxes on a postcard. and when we do that, we should abolish the irs. [applause] i understand that a lot of people are angry. i am angry, as well, for far too long politicians in both parties have lied to us. they make promises on the trail and they go to washington and to they do not do what they say. no issue captures that better than immigration. immigration is a law enforcement matter, a national security matter, but at its heart, this is an economic matter. when you allow 12 million people to come to this country illegally, you take away millions of jobs from u.s.

citizens and to drive down wages for everybody. [applause] senator cruz: now, in a republican primary, everybody says they oppose illegal immigration. in 2013,ion to ask, when the battle over the amnesty bill was raised, where did you stand? did you stand as far too many establishment republicans it did with the democrats pushing amnesty on millions of americans? [booing] senator cruz: mortgages stand with millions of americans, saying no, we will not have amnesty. [applause] i am told that

donald trump talks a fair amount about immigration. there is a question to ask here -- gang a gang of eight of eight battle, where was donald? he was funding the gang of eight. he gave over $50 million to five of the members. and last night, donald trump on stage thomas all of us to be flexible. all of use, promised to be flexible. he said how flexible he was. flexible is code word in washington for the get ready to stick it to you. [applause] have you noticed every time they are flexible in washington, it benefits giant corporations, it benefits washington and wall street and

the working men and women get left in the cold. do, is what we are going to if i am elected we are passing a flat tax, abolishing the irs, stopping amnesty, we are securing the borders and here is what will happen -- millions and millions of high paying jobs, wages coming up for everybody, young people getting 2-5 job offers. morning in america. the second critical issue in this election, freedom. scalia'sf us, justice passing underscored the stakes

of this election. to know justice scalia for 20 years, i started my career at the core and litigated in front of the court for over a decade. justice scalia was a lion of the law and a ferociously -- and he ferociously protective the bill of rights for all of us. [applause] his passing: underscores that this election is not about just one branch of government, it is about two branches. we are one liberal justice away from the supreme court ruling that government can take our religious liberty away and force everyone of us to violate our faith on penalty of prison or finds. -- fines. we are one liberal justice away from ordering the 10 all overnts torn down 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 religious symbols, torn down all over this country. and we are one liberal justice away from the supreme court making a subject to the world court of the united nations, and international law, giving away u.s. sovereigns. in the debate last week, there was a moment of clarity on this issue. hugh hewitt asked a question about religious liberty in the supreme court said and donald trump -- supreme court. and donald trump turned to me and said ted, i have known a lot more politicians than you have. that is correct. he has been supporting liberal

democrats for decades. when it comes to the supreme court, you need to be willing to cut a deal with the democrats, he said. let me be clear to every man and woman here, i will not come from eyes your religious -- compromise your religious liberties. [applause] and i will not compromise away your second amendment rights to keep and bear arms. [applause] because if any president does what donald trump is saying he will do, to cut a

replacement of justice scalia, then we know that that replacement will be a left-wing activist that will strip away our rights. i will give you my commitment that every justice i put on the supreme court will be a faithful person to the law, vigorously protecting the bill of rights for everyone. [applause] the third key issue in this election is about is security. for seven years, america has abandoned friends and allies and we have shown weakness and appeasement to our enemies. the world is much more dangerous because of it. in the debate last week, there is a moment of clarity in this choice. donald trump said that he would be neutral between israel and

the palestinians. [booing] senator cruz: as president, i have no intention of being neutral. america will stand unapologetically with the nation of israel. [applause] senator cruz: and if you cannot tell the difference between terrorists who walk into shopping malls with dynamite to blow up women and children and to the soldiers protecting innocents, if you buy into the media and the left wing narrative of moral equivalency, then that draws into question the judgment any individual

would have as commander and chief. [applause] senator cruz: over the last seven years, we have seen the u.s. military weaken, we have seen readiness degraded and morale plummets. . we have seen this happen before. we have seen a left-wing democrat do it. and then ronald reagan came into the white house. what did reagan do? he cut taxes, past reform -- passed reform, millions of small businesses grew, he used revenue to rebuild the military and we bankrupted the soviet union and won the cold war. [applause] i intend to do the same thing with radical islamic

terrorism. [applause] senator cruz: we are going to unleash incredible economic growth and rebuild the military so it remains the world's mightiest fighting force. [applause] no longer will the military be governed by political correctness. no longer will it be a top priority of the pentagon to provide gluten-free nra's -- mre's. [applause] [laughter] senator cruz: instead, we will have a commander in chief who says to the world, we will defeat radical islamic terrorists. we will have a president willing to utter the words, radical

islamic terrorists. [applause] and one of the most disgraceful things we have seen over the last seven years, is sending our fighting men and women into combat with rules of engagement that make it impossible for them to win or defeat the enemy and protected themselves -- protect themselves. that is wrong, it is a moral -- immoral, and ungenerous 17, it 17, it and on january will end. [applause] senator cruz: america has always been reluctant to use military force. we are slow to anger. but if and when military force is required, we should use

overwhelming force, kill the enemy, they get the heck out-- then give the heck out. [applause] senator cruz: and it is the men and women gathered here, the young people, the lovers of liberty, the lovers of the constitution, that will lead that fight. [applause] senator cruz: it took jimmy carter to give us ronald reagan. and i am convinced the most long-lasting legacy of barack obama is going to be a new generation of leaders in the republican party who stand and fight for liberty. who stand and fight for the constitution. and who stand and fight for the judeo-christian values that

built this great nation. thank you and god bless you. [applause] [cheering] senator cruz: wow. they always film fox from the waist up. he is always in jeans. mr. hannity: look at this place. how are you all doing? footballsbring in last night. did you all enjoy the debate?

senator, it is good to see you. i know that you got a lot of sleep last night. senator cruz: not much. mr. hannity: 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. [applause] is now mitt there romney, he gave a speech yesterday, what did you think of it? senator cruz: i think that mitt romney is a citizen and he is entitled to express his views. he is concerned about donald trump. i come from a different place than mitt. the concern he is expressing is a concern that people have all over the country. , if you, if you look at look at republicans across the country, 55% of them recognize

that donald trump is not the best candidate to go head-to-head with hillary clinton. [applause] senator cruz: that if donald trump is the nominee, in all likelihood, hillary clinton will win and we lose the supreme court for a generation and we are buried in debt and the jihadists continue to rise across the globe. i will say, if you're one of those 65% of republicans that recognize, cap is not the best recognizeto win -- that donald trump is not the best candidate to win, then it is critical that we come together. last night was critical. super tuesday made clear that only one campaign has repeatedly beaten donald trump and only one campaign can and will beat

donald trump. mr. hannity: i want the crowd to answer with me, do you not see contestshe 14 or 15 that have happened, that the establishment has lost 14 of the 15. did you see that? the only question i have, there seems to be an organized, well-funded effort to push this to the convention in the hopes, maybe i am reading into it, to prevent you or mr. trump from getting the nomination, because the establishment is angry you are winning? is that true? senator cruz: anytime you hear somebody talking about a brokered convention, it is the washington establishment in a frenzy. they are really frustrated because all of their candidates, all of the golden children, the voters keep rejecting. [applause] they haveuz: and so

seized on this master plan, we go to a brokered convention and the d.c. powerbrokers will drop somebody in who is exactly to the liking of the establishment. if that would happen, we would have a manifest revolt on our hands across this country. [applause] senator cruz: and so, if you want to beat donald trump, here is how you do it. you beat him with the voters. [applause] senator cruz: and the key that -- to that, listen, we started with 17 candidates, so there are a lot of folks in this room that started off supporting other people. i understand that, i respect that. but the field has narrowed and now we have had this teen races, and our campaign has been donald trump in five states. we beat him in iowa, texas, oklahoma, alaska, and minnesota.

[applause] -- tor cruz: that plany: i think israel. i think that the establishment is paying money to do it, but i want to move on to other topics. the voters have something to say about that. the one thing that have not factored in, they cannot decide for you and you will have the power to pick the people you want to be the next leader of this country and in god it is going to be you and not them, or else we would have another john mccain. senator cruz: that is exactly right. let me make a pitch to folks. if you started with another candidate, maybe you were originally with rand paul. [applause] senator cruz: maybe you are with jeb bush or chris christie, or mike huckabee or rick santorum, or maybe you have been with marco rubio, or with john kasich.

or maybe you are with carly fiorina. all of them are good, honorable people. i respect every one of them. or maybe you were with ben carson. are good,of them honorable people. everyone of them is 1000 times better than hillary clinton or bernie sanders. [applause] question.y: here is a would you put those people in your cabinet if you get elected? senator cruz: absolutely. any person i mentioned would be a natural in the cabinet or as part of the leadership, if we win this race. [applause] senator cruz: let me speak to the supporters of each of those candidates, those good and honorable people, but i do not believe they had a path to beat donald trump aired if you do not want donald trump to be the nominee, join us.

we welcome you. we are building a broad and welcoming coalition of lovers of liberty, who believe in the constitution. [applause] -- tor cruz: mr. hannity: i want to get your legal background, you are from the great state of texas. you have your boots on. hillary clinton has now had somebody who pled the fifth, turning in state evidence, the person who built the server in the mom and pop shop that hillary should not have been using. from your legal expertise, do jury,lieve that the grand do you think she violated the law and a do you think that she will be the candidate? senator cruz: it is an ominous development for hillary clinton. how many of you have watched things like, "goodfellas."

goes to thelips and feds, it is not good for fat tony. [laughter] [applause] and, i will get in so much trouble -- you know, you have a bad effect on me. mr. hannity: i know. i notice i get blamed for all of this. senator cruz: the fact that immunity has been granted for that server -- for that person who has set up the server, but now they have to spill the beans, they are asking what did secretary clinton know and when did she know it. i will say this, in the general election, we have never had a general election debate convened at leavenworth. this year might be the first. [no audio] [applause] mr. hannity: i hope she likes

orange pantsuits. i can say it. i can say it, i am a talkshow host. i can say anything i want. sen. cruz: orange these the new democratic blue. [laughter] [applause] fun?annity: isn't this i will give everyone the democratic playbook. republicans are racist, sexist, homophobic. the want of poison the water and the air and every grandmother in a wheelchair paul ryan and ted cruz want to throw over a cliff, how do you deal with the predictable lies that are coming ? sen. cruz: there is a

psychological term that ted cruz talk -- that sigmund freud talked about called projection. the democratic party is unwilling to say the words "all lives matter." when did it become controversial to say that every human being is a precious gift from god and we value everybody. want to talk about black lives matter ring -- and black lives mattering. in 1990 there were 22 homicides in new york city. lester there were 300. roughly 2000 murders per year presented -- prevented by

the nypd. let me tell you. blue lives matter. we stand with the men and women who protect them. >> i take from your answer that ?ou fight and take the case sen. cruz: i cannot wait to stand on that general debate stage with hillary clinton. she will very likely prattle on about income inequality. i will say, i'm glad that you raise that because it has increased dramatically under

your policies. i will say a sentence that has never before been said at cpac. i am not donald trump, so it will not be x-rated. i agree with bernie sanders. bernie sanders talks all the time -- mr. hannity: the liberal media is back there. net will be the quote of the day. sen. cruz: bernie sanders talks all the time about the corruption and politician how both parties get an fed with giant corporations and lobbyists and special interests is how the game is rigged. bernie is right. when he is defining the problem he is exactly right that washington is fundamentally corrupt. here is where i disagree. thate problem is government is corrupt, and the

answer isn't, let's have more government. [applause] mr. hannity: senator, one of the reasons i love coming back to therevery year is that are so many young people here. they are our future. i am not trying to be repetitive, but want to go through it because this is how profound and deep the problems are. you have kids that graduate school and have to live with mom and dad. millions are out of the labor force, more than when barack obama became president. 50 million americans are in poverty, -- millions more than when obama can president. we have doubled the national debt. median income has gone down. is, for all of these

young people who want a future, how fast can you help them? we can turn thingsz: around overnight. young people are told, accept misery, accept coming out of school drowning in student loans with no hope of a good job. malaise. demi carter -- democrat jimmy carter told us, this is as good as it gets. history told us that was an utter lie. we told you how as conservatives that we get young people. there is substance and style. design an down to agenda to hammer the daylights out of young people, it would be harder -- hard to come up with another agenda. people come out of school with

staycation and cannot find jobs. obamacare is a massive wealth transfer from young, healthy people to everybody else. $18 trillion in national debt. who is going to pay for that? we have to make the case. people, it's like your parents went to vegas, took out a credit card in your name, had a party, and stuck you with the bill. we have to speak the truth that this economic agenda is hammering young people. if republicans are fuddy-duddies with sticks. yeah. [laughter] i thought we were going back to last night's debate about body parts. i'm kidding. sen. cruz: would it kill

republicans to crack a joke? bill clinton] i make fun of bill clinton over time. there are a lot of hot chicks over there. mr. hannity: sean, i will give an example. a couple years ago, i was traveling to california. the week before, these posters begin appearing all over town. there were posters of my town on a shirtless body. it was ripped. covered intent to's -- covered in tattoos. a giant eagle on my chest. -- two six on my abs

shooters on my abs. winston churchill on my bicep. and above it, lack listed and blacklisted and loving it. sean, we had nothing to do with this. this was a local street artist. we put up a facebook post and said, for whatever reason, these posters are appearing all over hollywood. i have to notice a glaring error. i do not smoke cigarettes. people laughed. they had fun. they shared them. one interesting thing the media has not reported, we have had 15 states so far. exit polls, have but the one that did, our campaign won young people in the state of iowa. and south carolina.

mr. hannity: my last question, there might be something that you and donald trump can put together. sen. cruz: i am terrified. is evil in ouris time. you agree and everybody in this audience understands. we have got to stop this evil in its tracks. you have stated that we should carpet bomb the islamic state. he has said we should bomb the living -- out of them. is that ok?

funnier when i did it backstage. [laughter] isis -- every militant on the face of the planet if they join isis, if they wage jihad against the united states of america, they will understand that they are signing their death warrant. [applause] it is interesting, a lot of people characterize strength against our enemies as being a warmonger. i believe like ronald reagan in peace through strength. i think the weakness of barack obama invites military conflict and encourages our enemies. let me point out that the nation 1981 released our

hostages the day that ronald reagan was sworn into office. that a the difference strong commander in chief can make. the ayatollah khomeini realized that this reagan was not jimmy carter, he was not bluffing. let me tell you, i do not bluff either. when your enemies understand not, youe often than do not need to use military power. the biggest country ronald reagan invaded was granada. that is what happens when your enemies are strong -- when you are strong and your enemies understand it. i want to finally say, i ask you to stand with us. this is a grassroots army. terrified of.c. is

everybody gathered here. if we come together now and tonight, we will win this primary. we will defeat hillary clinton in november and we will turn this country around. i have spent my entire life fighting to defend the constitution and the bill of rights and i give you my solemn promise that when i take that both to preserve, protect and defend the constitution that i will faithfully execute that oath everything will day. -- every single day. mr. hannity: give it up for senator ted cruz. [applause] ♪

>> our road to the white house coverage continues at 9:00 p.m. eastern when donald trump holds the campaign event in west palm beach, florida. tomorrow, we will have live coverage of john kasich at a rally in his home state of ohio. p.m. eastern30 time on c-span. some results from the caucuses and primaries being held this weekend. ing, senator ted

cruz has been declared the winner with 51.1% of the vote. donald trump and 24.3% and senator marco rubio in third place. and in the main republican 5% reporting, 48% for ted cruz, donald trump in second at 35% and senator marco rubio at 8.6%. just 5% reporting in maine. to follow theue primaries as of our road to the white house coverage continues on c-span. this weekend, the c-span cities tour takes you to anaheim, california to explore the literary culture on "book tv." >> the idea for the mexican came to us -- i wasn't offended by it, but i didn't want to do it

at first because i did not think anybody would care. in journalism, you want stories that people will care about. i thought who would want to read an advice column about mexicans, it seems so silly for the kept asisting and we need to fill space in the paper that week and they said it will only be one time, a satirical column, totally jokey. some people went nuts for it. more importantly, people were caring and even crazier, at the very bottom it was supposed to be a joke column i said you have this question about mexicans, ask me. people called me on my bluff. >> john and his partner go to san francisco which is where a lot of the german immigrants are and i find it shocking,

but they are able to convince 50 people, of whom no one was a farmer and only one person had any back rent in winemaking to give up their businesses and so, their first action after they form what is known as the los angeles vineyard society was to hire george hanson to be there superintendent. job was to bring the irrigation, lay out the town sites and plant hundreds of thousands of rent finds before the family would come down here. >> watch the c-span cities to her throughout the day and sunday afternoon at 2:00 on c-span3. working with our cable affiliates in visiting with affiliates across the country. >> in his weekly address present obama talks about integrating new technologies to improve government operations.

senator kelly ayotte has the republican address. she talks about the prescription opioid abuse problem facing new hampshire and other communities in the u.s.. pres. obama: hello everybody. one of the things that makes america so strong is our spirit of innovation. our drive to invent and tackle our greatest challenges. tois how we won the race invent the lightbulb and the internet. it is why i keep models of american inventions like the telegraph in the oval office. it is the daily reminder of a genius embedded in our dna, the way we have always shaped the future through our ideas and discovery. that's truer than ever today with a constant screw of new apps, tools and data still changing the way that we live from paying our bills to

developing smarter ways to combat climate change. that's why next week will travel sxsw ann texas to visit annual gathering of some of our coders,ative thinkers, and entrepreneurs from across the country. while there i will ask everyone for ideas and technologies helped update our government and democracy to be as modern and dynamic as america itself. this has been a goal of mine. in 2008 we saw how technology could help engage citizens in their own communities. so i came to the white house and wanted to apply that experience of the federal government. it hasn't always been easy, but we have also made good progress. few years we have done something that the government never has. some of the sharpest minds from silicon valley and across the country to help us

modernize the federal government from the way we live today and they came ready to serve tackling some of our biggest challenges. these teams are partnering with the existing policy and technical experts to reimagine the way that we do business and reduce services that work better and cost less. for veterans to access medical records and after an initial false start we made it much easier for tens of millions of americans to compare and buy health insurance in the peace of mind that goes with it. >> that's what this is all about, making sure that our government of the people and by for thele works better people in the 21st century. the easiest thing to do is blame government for our problems. some people have made a career out of that.

but our founders trusted us with .he keys to self-government it is only as good as we make it. that's why i'm going to austin, to keep asking everyone from all walks of life to help make this democracy even stronger. i hope that you join us. thank you, everybody. have a great weekend. >> hello, i am kelly ayotte. for the past few years i have been working to bring attention to the heroine and prescription opioid abuse epidemic that is impacting my stay in communities nationwide. this is a life or death issue. 2015, 420 new hampshire residents lost their lives to a drug overdose, more than the number of people killed in traffic accidents. in february alone there were 14 suspected opioid overdose

deaths. a record high in our city. we are seeing similar trends that only in new england but in west virginia ohio and across the country. behind every statistic and behind every headline is a life that has been lost. and mother, a daughter, a son, a brother a neighbor, a friend. this is not a republican or democrat issue it affects all of us. as i have traveled around new hampshire i have heard directly from our public safety community, treatment providers, addiction experts, families, and individuals in recovery about strategies to address this urgent problem. on right along's, i have seen firsthand what they are facing on the front lines and a have witnessed their incredible efforts to save lives. treatment facilities in new hampshire are working tirelessly to help individuals struggling

with addiction need our support. i've had the opportunity to visit these facilities and hear directly from the talented people who work there. they do such important work. drought new hampshire people are coming together to raise awareness about this epidemic in every way they can. from 5k races and rallies to roundtables and community forums. for some, this epidemic hits especially close to home. like the mother from greenville new hampshire who wrote to me saying, that she spends her days helping people living with substance use disorders only to come home and see her own son struggling with heroine addiction. as i try to come for those affected by the strategy i think my son will be next or the high school student from manchester who told me how concerned he is about the negative impact this epidemic is having on his city. when he walks home from school he sometimes sees discarded

needles on the sidewalk. lost his best friend to an overdose or the grandmother who told me that she lost her granddaughter to heroine. reversing the tide of addiction will take a comprehensive and thoughtful approach and must include strategies for treatment, prevention, education, support for individuals in recovery and increased prediction. that's why it is so important this week of the senate took up a strong bipartisan bill to address this crisis. i first helped introduce the copperheads of addiction recovery act in 2014. and it has broad support across the aisle. it will be a significant step forward in the federal response to this epidemic and will support local efforts to tackle this problem. it will provide additional support to first responders in law enforcement like expanding availability of the life-saving

overdose reversal tool, narcan. it will strengthen prescription drug monitoring programs to help prevent dr. shopping and expand drug take back sites to promote fake disposal of unused or unwanted prescription medications. it will increase access to treatment for individuals struggling with addiction. the bill would also expand prevention and education efforts in our schools and launch a specific opioid and heroine treatment intervention expert. it would establish a campaign to bring greater awareness to the association between the misuse painkillers and heroin use and it would educate the public about the dangers of using fentanyl, a deadly drug increasingly mixed with heroine or sold in the streets on its own. over 130 stakeholder groups across the country have endorsed

the bill and called for its switched -- swift passage. it has strong support from law enforcement putting the natural order of police, the major county sheriff's association, the new england association of the chief of police chief home i had the privilege of working with when i was attorney general. 42 senators on both sides of the aisle have come together to cosponsor this legislation. residentnew hampshire recently broke to me about this issue and said, we need action and we need it now. we have an opportunity to act right now to save lives in new hampshire and across the country and for the first responders, treatment providers and those struggling with addiction in recovery and their loved ones, we await to them to pass the bill and we will. thank you.

>> c-span, created by america's cable companies 35 years ago and brought to you as a public service by your local cable or satellite provider. >> it has been 20 years since congress has passed major telecom legislation and here to discuss the 1996 telecom act or two members answer mental in its passing. first off, ted fields. he was chairman when the telecom act was passed and now senator ed markey that -- democrat of massachusetts was the ranking never of that committee at the time. gentlemen, thanks for being on "the communicators. senator, what did you get right in 1996. >> we reinvented the world that we live in.

for all intents and purposes, not one bill in america had broadband. girl, for a 12 ural boy or in america, they believe it is a constitutional right to have a 58 inch hd screen in their living room and that they would be left behind. before it passed, we lived in an analog world, a dial-up world. we had to move to broadband and digital. so we created a digital freefall in that bill where every company could do everything. so that telescoped the timeframe that it took to deploy fiber across our country, to create the capacity so that all of these new companies could get created. hulu, andike google, youtube are part of the culture todayut