good evening, and welcome to a special edition of "the kelly file." face to face with the candidates. i'm megyn kelly. we're coming to you from queenbury theater in houston, texas. very nice. you can feel the enthusiasm, where less than a week from now voters will take place in the biggest prize so far, super tuesday. that is when 12 states will hold primaries and caucuses. up for grabs, 590 delegates.

about half of what is needed to win the nomination. and the state with the biggest delegate prize? right here, texas. so far, so far four states have had their say in this primary. iowa, new hampshire, south carolina and nevada. businessman donald trump swept three of those four contests. but if history can be a guide keep this in mind, when former governor ronald reagan ran for office, he lost four of those states, and bill clinton lost all four of the first four contests. both went on to secure the nomination of their respective party and eventually won the white house. so before the candidates spread out across the states to deliver their message to super tuesday voters, some of them are here tonight to answer questions from texans. joining us tonight will be senator ted cruz, senator marco

rubio, governor john kasich, and dr. ben carson, businessman donald trump has a conflicting campaign event, we did offer to let him join us by satellite, but his campaign said his schedule would not allow it. they were very polite and cordial. here is how it will work, i will be joined by each candidate one at a time. we asked the members of the audience to come up with one question to make sure there was nothing untoward in there, and there will be a range of topics, without further delay, joining me first on stage, ted cruz, senator from the great state of texas.

hi, there. >> how are you doing? welcome to texas. >> thank you very much for having me there. you feel right at home? >> it is great to be home. >> you said last night you were looking forward to being home. >> last night was the first time i slept in my own bed in a month, i woke up with my daughter catherine coming and jumping on my lap and that is about as good a way to wake up as there is. >> that is perfect, congratulations on that. let's talk about last night. nevada did not work out exactly the way you would have hoped but you came out and said in your view, this is a two-man race. because you said no one has ever won the nomination without winning one of the first three primaries. the converse to that, though, no one who has won both new hampshire and south carolina like donald trump has, has ever gone on to lose the nomination. so is history our guide here, or isn't it? >> well, listen, there has never been a candidate like donald

trump. so in a whole lot of ways -- and so i think some of the rules historically go out the window. listen, i think fairly speaking there are three major candidates in this field. donald trump, marco, and me. donald trump has a lot of momentum, he has won three primaries. that is a significant accomplishment. but what i think those results show is that the only campaign that can beat donald trump and the only campaign that has beaten donald trump is our campaign. and in my view, you look nationally anywhere from 60% to 70% of republicans don't think donald trump is the right person to go up against hillary clinton. the polling shows donald trump loses. and the folks here don't want to lose this general election and see our country stuck on this same wrong choice. and so if you're among the 65 or 70% republicans who think donald trump is the wrong choice, then super tuesday is the right time

to coalesce for our campaign, to beat him, to win the nomination and go on to win. >> if you look at the results in south carolina where they had nearly 70% of evangelicals, this should have been a sweet spot for you. nevada had evangelicals, and libertarians, as well. and yet he won handily. >> listen, donald trump is formidable. people are ticked off about washington and parties who have been lying to them. donald trump's support is a manifestation of that. but head to head, donald trump against me we beat him handily, 55 points, 60-40. donald trump has a relatively high floor of about 25 to 20% that will be with him almost no matter what. if he said he could walk out on madison avenue, shoot someone and the supporters would still be with him.

that may still be true. but he still has a low ceiling. if you look nationally for the head to head polls donald trump loses to hillary clinton. i consistently beat hillary clinton. so the question now is how do we prevent nominating a candidate who loses the general election or for that matter if donald wins the general election who the heck knows what he would do as president? you know, we need a president we can trust. >> let's talk about marco rubio and you for a moment, because some of your top supporters have come out and questioned your strategy of going after marco rubio saying you're not focused on the right guy. you know? a couple of these states he has been behind you. and the question is whether you're going to change tactics at all going forward. >> well, let me be clear, the right guy to be focused on, i think, are the american people. it's the working man and woman. >> but you have been doing that.

>> that is my focus is talking about how we fix these problems and talking about how to repeal obamacare. talking about adopting a simple flat tax and abolishing the irs. look, if you look at the economy -- >> they love the irs. >> you know, there is an old pace picante ad if you remember it. talking about where this picante sauce comes from, and they look at the can and say new york city, new york city? get a rope. now, texans feel the same way -- >> is there some mocking going on here -- >> well, texans feel the same way about income taxes. we don't have an income tax in texas, we don't want an income tax in texas and padlocking the irs would be a very good thing. >> all right, enough for me. let's get to the texas vote rs.

because we want to start off with one of the top stories of the day, the new developments in the battle over choosing the successor for the late supreme court justice antonin scalia. now, "the washington post" is reporting that the white house vetted centrist nevada governor, sandoval, as a nominee. a republican, by the way. republicans on the judiciary committee yesterday said they want to wait on any hearings until after this election. well, bob came here tonight with his son. and the court is his top concern. so bob, tell us your question. >> mr. cruz, during the past seven years we have witnessed an unprecedented disrespect, disregard of the constitution. >> yes. >> with the passing of judge scalia recently a lot of folks are worried about the

fundamental principle of our countries, that it was founded on, being in jeopardy. what would you do to restore faith in the high court's ability to uphold our constitutional rights? >> well, bob, thank you for that question. you know, justice scalia's passing, i think really underscored the stakes of this election. three days ago i was up in d.c. at justice scalia's funeral. he was someone i was blessed to know for 20 years. i knew him personally, he was brilliant and principle d and strongly devoted to the constitution and the bill of rights. and his passing leaves the court very much in balance. we are one liberal justice away from seeing just about every one of our fundamental rights in ups jeopardy. as you know, before i was in the senate, i was the solicitor general of the state of texas, the supreme court, i held that post for five and a half years

defending the constitution and bill of rights. if you look at some of our biggest victories we defended the monument on the capitol. we went to the supreme court and won 5-4. we're one justice away from the court ordering the monuments be torn down all over this country. we defended the second amendment, the right to keep and bear arms, the biggest opinion on just scalia on the court was the heller case, i represented them, and we won 5-4, we are won liberal justice away from the court essentially erasing the second amendment from the constitution, concluding not a one of us has any individual right to keep and bear arms whatsoever. if you care about the right to life, marriage, or the religious liberty or the second amendment or privacy every one of those is hanging in the balance with this court. now, i believe that justice

scalia's passing is really emphasizing to the voters, that it is not one, but two votes. i agreed with the decision of the senate, indeed i called for the senate to do what republican leadership says we're going to do, which is not confirm any nominee whoever it is because for 80 years the supreme court has not confirmed a nominee during an election year. instead we should take it to the peop people. let the people decide. i have to tell you, bob, i can't wait to stand on that debate stage with hillary clinton or bernie sanders and make the case to the american people if they want to put another left wing justice on the court. if they want to take away our religious liberty and undermine our right to keep and bear arms let them make the case to the american people because i don't think that is our values. i am happy to defend our values. i give you my word, bob, from a lifetime of defending the

constitution that every justice i appoint will be a constitutionalist, who will be faithful and will defend your religious rights and mine. >> very good. >> all right, next question comes from wanda, who lives here in houston. she is wavering between senator marco rubio and cruz and is concerned about the mess we've seen in washington for years. what is your question, wanda. >> thank you, i guess donald trump loves everyone but texas. and thank you senator cruz for going to washington on behalf of our state to shake things up. i truly admire and respect you for being a true constitutional conservative. however, sometimes your hard line stance on the issues comes across as polarizing and uncompromising. and i'm just worried if you were elected that we would get four

more years of nothing substantial getting accomplished in washington again. so are you willing to compromise and reach across the aisle to get things done? >> uh-huh. >> because frankly, i do respect marco rubio trying to at least get something done with immigration and the gang of 8. >> well, wanda, thank you for that question. and i appreciate it. listen, i understand where that question is coming from. we have huge challenges in this country and we have got to fix them. every one of us is not interested in talk, we want to fix the problems. i'm not willing to compromise on core principles or fundamental beliefs. i'm not willing to compromise on the promises that i made to the men and women who elected me. but my view is also -- you know, my view is also -- reagan said what do you do if someone offers you half a loaf?

answer, you take it and then you come back for more. and so i'm perfectly happy to compromise with anyone, republican, democrat, libertarian, heck, i'll even compromise with martians if they're interested in reducing the debt, reducing the spending. the problem with washington the deals always go backwards, you get this offer all the time of compromise. i wrote a book last year called "a time for truth." and the opening chapter of the book talks about the fight with the debt ceiling. it was a knock down drag out fight. president obama demanded what is called a clean debt ceiling. he wanted trillions in debt with no spending reforms whatsoever. it was not shocking he asked that. it was audacious, what is shocking is the house leadership decided to give it to him. so house leadership joined with

what i think was 192 democrats to pass a clean debt ceiling with no spending reforms whatsoever. they overruled about 200 republicans. it then went to the senate. now, in the senate the ordinary rules are to take up a debt ceiling takes 60 votes. that is the way the senate has operated for years. but any ruling can be changed by unanimous consent. well, the we can we took it up, the republican leadership said we want to ask you to consent to lower the threshold for harry reid to take up the debt ceiling. from 60 votes to 50 votes. and leadership told us, every one of you, all 45 republicans, this is when we were in the minority should agree to this for two reasons. number one, because if we do it it will happen. and hallelujah, hallelujah, that is what we want. we're afraid of this issue. kick the can down the road we're not prepared to fight. but number two if we lower the

threshold to 50 the democrats will have the votes to do it on their own so we can all vote no and can tell our constituents we opposed the thing we just allowed to happen. now, i'm sitting there listening to that. and i raised my hand, and i said listen there is no universe in which i can agree to that. i spent two years traveling the state of texas telling texans if you elect me i will fight with every breath in my body to stop the out of control debt that is going to affect our kids and grandkids. i said listen, i'm happy to work on the debt ceiling to use leverage to solve the problems. but if i were to agree to just make it easier for barack obama and harry reid to add trillions of debt with no spending reforms i think it would be both dishonest and unfaithful to the people who elected me. >> got to leave it at that right

now. we are not done by a long shot. we'll take a quick commercial break, but don't go with. because our one-on-one with senator ted cruz will continue. and we'll take a poll from our republicans when we come right back.

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welcome back to a special two-hour edition of the kelly file. we're coming to you tonight from houston, texas, from the queensbury theater. and still to come, governor marco rubio, and ben carson and john kasich. on the stage right now, texas senator ted cruz, we want to talk about women in the military. a hot-button topic, especially

from the south carolina vote. this question comes from a woman deployed in iraq on the front lines of the fight. i want to mention she is also a volunteer with the texans for rubio group. so this is a chance to convert her. >> thank you, senator cruz, for being here and taking my question. at several rallies you stated you would be against requiring young women to register for selective service. there has been a lot of discussion about lowering standards or setting standards to accommodate women in combat roles. i believe this is a different issue. as an army veteran, a medic and paratrooper who deployed to iraq and served on the front lines in combat, i would like to know why you think young women are less capable or owe less of a debt to this country than young men are. >> well, roseanne, i want to say thank you for your service and for stepping up.

you know, listen, i fully agree with you that women are capable of doing incredible things. i'm the father of two young daughters who i think can accomplish whatever they set their heart's desire to. but i also think when it comes to the military we should not be governed by political correctness. the question of the draft, it's one thing to say look, we have had many, many women who were courageous and served in the military. that is their choice. i don't think we ought to be forced to be in a position to draft women and particularly put in a combat position. if women want to step up and serve voluntarily i think it's perfectly appropriate and it's a wonderful thing. but it doesn't make sense to be drafting women in combat, and i would note we had a debate a couple of weeks back where three of the candidates including marco, came out in favor of drafting women. the next week, marco joined mike lee in me in legislation prohibiting women from being

forced from being in the draft. so he backed away from that position. >> can i just follow up on her? why don't you think it makes sense? >> because i think it risks putting women in an unfair situation. you know, you have got -- if you're looking at close combat, for example. if you're dealing with a 200-pound jihadist, the idea that we'll forcibly take our daughters and put them in a position to be in close combat, i don't think it makes sense. the marines did a study saying putting women in that position increased casualties, both among the women and men. it decreases the effectiveness. the job is to defeat the enemy. not to be this cauldron for social experiments and political correctness, it is to keep america safe. >> all right, i want to get to our next question, the next

question is really interesting. less than a month ago a grand jury here in houston, texas was investigating criminal allegations of misconduct against planned parenthood captured in a series of undercover videos. instead of indicting planned parenthood for anything in those videos they decided to indict two of the pro life activists who shot the footage. the founder of the medical center for progress was handed felony charges of handling a criminal record and acting the part of purchasing human organs, lauren day is a big backer of religious freedom. she just drove two hours to stand here and ask this question. lauren, you have the floor. >> thank you, as david deladeon's case became a formally one would you pardon him some. >> thank you for asking that question, the answer is yes. and let me flesh it out a little

more, as a texan from houston, i was deeply disappointed to see the harris county district attorney bringing criminal charges against someone who went undercover to expose what appears to be vast criminal conduct by planned parenthood. i think he performed an incredible public service. and i'll tell you this. i pledged that if i'm elected president on the very first day in office i intend to instruct the u.s. department of justice to open an investigation into planned parenthood and to prosecute any and all criminal conduct by that organization. >> what do you make of the donald trump assertion that planned parenthood does some wonderful things, and that while we should not pay for abortion services it does provide a lot of services to women? >> you know, there are a lot of things that donald has said that i disagree with. that is very near the top. planned parenthood is the nation's largest abortionist. millions of unborn boys and

girls have never breathed a breath of air because of planned parenthood. it is a multi-million dollar organization. these videos show it is a federal criminal offense, a felony to sell the body parts of unborn children for profit. these videos showed planned parenthood by all appearances doing that. it appears planned parenthood is a national criminal enterprise committing multiple felonies. now, the obama administration is so partisan and biassed that it will not investigate it. i have to say on national television they discuss how wonderful they think planned parenthood is. we have to respectfully disagree, i don't think a planned parenthood organization taking the lives of unborn children in any way, shape or form, is correct and i think they should not get funding for it. >> we want to see if we have time for one more.

we don't. one more, one more. okay, we do, jorge, he is here. jorge villarreal, you have a question for senator cruz about the hispanic vote. >> yes, senator cruz, so i'm mainly interested in the republican party growing to latinos, especially mexicans and puerto ricans, so my question for you, what is your message to those latino conservative voters who are undecided and may be confused by the promises of your fellow republican primary opponents? >> well, jorge, thank you for that question, it is incredibly important. as you know texas is a majority/minority state. and one thing i was very proud of when i ran for the senate in 2012 was receiving the votes of 40% of hispanic voters here in texas, at the same time mitt romney was getting clobbered with 20% of the hispanic vote. it is very clear the republicans have to do a much better job with the hispanic vote in the

community. i don't think it's that you pander, a great many of hispanics don't favor open borders. it's their jobs often that are being taken away by people who are coming here illegally. i think the way you earn the votes of the hispanic community, the way i earned the votes here in texas is make the case to the conservative principles work. if you look at what do we believe in the hispanic community? faith, family, patriotism. love of god. if you look beyond an opportunity, you know, i told many times my dad's story coming from cuba with nothing. he was in prison and tortured. he had had $100 in his underwear and washed dishes for 50 cents an hour. i think of the perspective of my dad, that teenage kid washing dishes. you know, if he was still washing dishes today the odds he would have lost his job because of obamacare, obamacare is

costing the jobs of millions of teenage immigrants like him. if he had lost his job, he would have been reduced to 30 hours a week, i intend to fight to lift the burdens on small businesses so people like my dad, people in the hispanic community washing dishes on the bottom rungs of the american ladder who want to achieve it, i believe they can do it. it resonates powerfully in the hispanic community. >> we're going to have to wrap it up with senator cruz. i want to get this in before you go, mitt romney said that every candidate should release his tax returns, will you do so? and how many years? >> absolutely, i'll release the remainder of what we have had already. i released 5 already, the nice thing is i have not made that much money that it will not be that interesting. it's not all that complicated.

i recognize that donald's tax returns are a little more complicated. you know, an awful lot of people speculate he has not made as much money as he said he did, who knows, because he has not released his tax returns. i do think that is a good point to release the tax returns, if there is anything in there the democrats will go to town on this. to be honest, an awful lot of the mainstream media is using kid gloves on donald right now. because they want him to be the nominee, and then they will unleash the can. we can't lose. we will lose the supreme court, we can't let that happen. >> thank you so much. thank you. thank you again. up next, ohio governor john

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well, ohio governor john kasich had a strong showing two weeks ago in new hampshire, capturing second place with roughly 16% of the vote there. today, he is fighting calls for him to bow out of the race, after the struggle in south carolina and the fifth place showing in the caucus last night. his message to his critics at a campaign rally? chill out. thank you for joining us, governor. >> thank you, wish i could be with you. >> well, listen, we appreciate you doing it at all, thank you for joining us. let me ask you something you said in on the campaign trail yesterday that you said, being

president may not be my purpose. and my question to you is if you are not sure, why should the voters be? >> no, megyn, my purpose is to be president, that is why i put one foot in front of the other. we have good news, i beat hillary clinton more than any other candidate, by the way. for those who wonder by donald trump, i go head to head with him in ohio i beat him by 18 points. i'm running even with him right now, we'll win ohio. what i was trying to tell people we all have to find our god-given purpose. we can't measure one of them. in the eyes of the lord, he doesn't think because you're doing something to take care of somebody in the hospital that somehow that is not as important as somebody running for president. but you know, in this life we have to always pursue what we think we're supposed to do, what

is in our gut. and for me, it's obviously to be elected president. i intend to go all the way. i intend to be the nominee. and i intend to beat hillary clinton by more than 11 points when we get into the fall election. so make no mistake about it, this is what i'm supposed to do and i'm doing it all out. >> let's talk about the situation in particular there in ohio, because the latest quinnipiac poll shows you are trailing donald trump, it shows he has 31, you have 26, here in texas the latest poll shows he has a 15 point lead over donald trump and cruz is in the number one position. your quote is winning the nomination requires a candidate who is in a strong state that knows him best. in your own words, wouldn't that be ted cruz? >> you mean in ohio -- i'm not sure what the question is, megyn. >> in this state -- your campaign suggested you should

vote for the candidate whose state is behind him. well, texas is behind ted cruz as of now and right now the latest poll in ohio says they're ready to vote for donald trump. >> the poll came out today sponsored by baldwin wallace that puts us even with everybody in the race. and we have not really put the effort in there. we have been in other parts of the country. we will win ohio but if you take other people out of the race and this consolidates down to two of us i beat donald trump by 18 points. so the fact is at this point we're targeting our resources. and we've put a lot of time now into vermont and massachusetts, in virginia, i was in mississippi today. i'm now in louisiana, we're in the ballot on over 40 states. and look, against hillary clinton in the usa poll that came out just within the last week i beat hillary clinton by more than anybody. by 11 points. >> but you have so many people to get through before you can get to her. and that is the question,

listen, i'm not trying to give you a hard time about your candidacy, i'm just raising concerns because at tthey see y even though they like you, struggling to get up above the bottom rung. and -- >> well, let me -- well, first of all i'm not sure who those people are. okay. i am not sure who those people are, because again, when we head north it's going to be interesting to see who can perform up north. now we've spent very little money and other people have spent lots of money. and we're holding our own. i never said that i would go to iowa in the caucuses there. i got in at the end of july. i did not have big name identification. people counted me out. they said you know, he will never get to new hampshire, he will never get in the race. and by the way, he will never be in the debate. and we went to new hampshire and

finished second and then people said he would not perform in south carolina, we were about 1% in the polls and in about four or five days we jumped to eight. i didn't go to nevada because i'm husbanding my resources. we're on the air in vermont and in massachusetts. we have a strong organization in vermont. i mean, in virginia. and we're working in states in the south. we will perform better in mississippi than what people will expect. now, i expect for the next couple of weeks we're going to probably see donald trump continue to win. but it's a matter of accumulating delegates. and it's continuing to put one foot in front of the other. we have had a number of people who have signed on in the last three days. today it was governor butch otter, just a couple of days ago it was tom ridge, the former homeland security chief for george bush. we have a number of financial people who have signed on. because you see, megyn, the people that are calling for me to get out many of them are people that are inside the

beltway. they're the lobbyists who i had to beat 25 years ago to get the budget balanced. and i build my organizations with the grass roots, not with people inside the beltway and not with the people who call the tune on k street. i don't do that. but you just hang on, because you know what a lot of people say? if i were to get out donald trump would win ohio and that would be the end of it. and now articles are being written saying well, maybe john kasich can get the field consolidated, beat donald trump and is most electable in terms of beating hillary clinton. so we intend to get going. we're not stopping, that is just not the end of it. i'm not listening to a lot of people in washington, finally, by the way, i think we are in this to pick the most qualified person for president. now, i walled the federal budget in washington something no one else can say along with pete did

he men domenici -- >> you are going to get a chance to talk -- >> megyn. i'm going to finish this in 30 seconds, in ohio -- >> all right, you got 15, because i want to get to my voters. >> we turned ohio around. but you ask me questions, i got to answer them. >> but you're going on kind of long. >> in surpluses. okay, megyn. have it your way. let's go to the question. >> thank you, you talk to my husband, teach him that line. all right, here is our first question to you from our voters. it involves an issue you talk about a lot, from travis walker who describes himself as a grass roots republican activist. hi, travis. >> hi, governor john kasich, as you know health care costs are a big cost in this country, a big part of state and federal

budgets and continue to grow. obamacare has done very little to address that. in your mind, what would be a conservative free market way to reduce the price of care without cutting benefits or introducing price control like we see in a lot of other countries? >> first of all, it's a complicated question, i would repeal obamacare but i would take some federal resources free it up with medicaid which i would block grant to the states within a budget within the first 100 days then states could have their own -- they could always be able to advertise the various policies that they have with insurance inside the state with an exchange run by a state. and then people can choose what they want. and -- but beyond that i think we need to get to another place. and we in ohio are launching a program, we already launched it, that is going to pay people who actually provide quality at lower prices. we know there are some that charge a lot, hospitals and doctors and some that charge a less. the mid-point is the area

between the high charges and the low cards. what we'll say is if you provide high quality at a lower price below the mid point we're actually going to pay you a financial reward. we're going to use the market to drive down or at least begin to limit the increases in health care. and the fact is we're beginning to do this in the state. and i'm also a governor that took medicaid from a 10.5% growth to 2.5% growth in a year. we have very qualified people who understand this process. northbou number one, we're going to pay people in the private sector. the hospitals and insurance companies are getting together on episodes to make sure we can pay people a reward if they keep us healthy and they give us good quality below the mid-point. and that will result in a transformation using the free market. we're going to begin to use the payments next year and i think it is something that could be

and should be implemented across the country to guarantee quality at lower prices. >> all right, very good, travis. thank you. we have many more questioners lined up. don't go anywhere because we'll get to them, and more with governor john kasich right after this break. don't go away. ♪ ♪ ♪ (vo) making the most out of every mile. that's why i got a subaru impreza. love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru. frodoers don't stop. wake up, every day is a chance to do something great. and for the ones they love, they'd do anything. sears optical has

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and welcome back to our kelly file special live from houston, texas tonight. back with us now, republican presidential candidate governor john kasich. governor, great to see you again. want to get to this issue, which a lot of our voters here raised.

ever since rand paul left the race, the voters are looking at the issues. rusty kochimba is still undecided and would like to hear from all the candidates. >> yes, hello, governor john kasich. thank you for taking my question, there doesn't seem to be a champion of liberty in the race left, in some of our minds. why should the libertarians vote for you in the primary and also the general? >> well, look, the first thing is i have always believed in small government, i was talking about balancing the federal budget where we shrunk the government. i have had the lowest number of. i believe we need to transfer the power back to the states and frankly i believe we need to

transactions the power from the states to exactly where we are, because the strength of this country is from the bottom up in our neighborhoods, communities and families. so i believe in shrinking the government, modernizing the government and limiting the government. and frankly, i think we ought to uberize the government, i have a plan to do that. on the issue that rand paul is concerned about, my belief is that there has to be a balance. i'm pleased we inserted a judge in terms of the ability of government to collect data. and in the battle between apple and the government itself my sense on that is that the president should get people together, get them in the room. that is what a leader does. and i've done that in my state. get them in the room and say the government needs some information in regards to this one particular situation. we're not going to turn the key over to the government so they can just go out and do what they want. but it's critical that our government works with the

intelligence community so they can get the information they need when it relates to terrorism. while we have to make sure we get the information to stop att time, we have to safeguard the privacy of americans. those are the two things i would tell you. whether it's welfare, infrastructure, job training, education, get it out of there, get it into if states. and secondly, the concerns about privacy but national security are critical and it takes a leader to get people in a room and fix it. >> rusty, thank you. throughout the republican primary there has been a lot of talk about getting back to the constitution and rose mary joins us tonight with a simple question that is a popular with a lot of conservative voters. >> my question is very simple. who is the founding father you look up to the most and why? >> i love george washington because he didn't want to be

king. he had a chance to be in forever and george washington, you know, went, did his work and then he would go away and come back. i'm sort of a believer that you don't make a whole life time in government. i've been in government a long time as a reformer, but then i left for ten years. when we got the budget balanced and when we reform welfare and rebuild our defense. you know, he decided he didn't need it. frankly, the ten years that i was out being in the private sector and learning so much about the private sector in a real way has made me a much more effective governor. that's how we've been able to solve many of the problems that we have in ohio. the other thing that you should know is he was a come passionate man. i've always believed that economic growth is not an end unto ourself. what we tugt do in the country is to make sure those who are the mentally ill, drug addicted, working poor have an opportunity. washington had compassion in the old days. i have compassion today.

at the end of the day, what i admire most about him is he knew when to walk away and say it was somebody else's turn and he was able to say it's not about my ego or my way. >> rose mary, thanks. governor, i also hear that george washington was a hugger. he was a hugger. so you have that in common. our next guest is lisa mos car relly. she describes herself as undecided and is worried about the divide she sees within herself now, one with most of our guests would be familiar. >> governor, thank you for joining us even if it is from louisiana. no shame. no shame. we've had eight years almost of a divider in chief. we have division and ranker in this republican primary. where and what would you do to bring this country together

racially -- what can we do? we need someone to lead us. what would you do? >> well, i would remind everybody that we're americans before we're republicans and democrats. and i've been a united throughout my career. when we balanced the federal budget, i negotiated with the clinton administration. we did get what we want, lower taxes, a government that was more effective and, in fact, economic growth. and the state of ohio, i've been able to work with everybody. i mean, in terms of the racial issue, that's a very serious one. we've been able to create a coalition of both african-americans, law enforcement, community activists, pastors and we've had tough -- some tough cases in ohio, but we haven't seen violence in some of the cities that we've seen other places by bringing people together. i've worked with democrats in terms of reforming schools in cleveland. we've worked on the issue of fighting the problems of drugs. you see, what it really gets down to is somebody who can unit, somebody that doesn't get -- want to knock all the pieces off the chess board if

they get frustrated. what you have to understand is having been a congressman and being in that role and understanding how to get along with people of the other party and people with other philosophies, then taking that to ohio and being able to bring that state together, by reminding people that we have a bigger purpose. you know, the purpose is not to be just somebody that represents your party. your purpose, when you were in public life is to solve problems, create jobs and give everybody a chance to be lifted. so, look, i was at a republican fundraiser today for me at 12:00 p.m. and took an old democratic into this fundraiser. when i walked -- he didn't want to go. when he walked in the door, they cheered him. i want people to know that we can find areas of agreement. if we don't, we will not fix our security, the border, we will not balance the budget and we will continue to be able to divide ours and the problems keep getting kicked down the road. if i'm president, within the

first 100 days i will have conservative ideas, i will unit the republicans but i'll set the tune but we're going to let some democrats come and play in the orchestra because we are americans and we can do it together. >> governor, last question for you. last question for you. governor mitt romney said today that he will not endorse any candidate who has not yet released their tax returns. will you release yours? when and how many years? >> sure. sure. that's not going to be an issue for me. we would be glad to release tax returns. i don't know, we'll figure out what the right years are, but we don't have anything to hide there. i just want to conclude by saying that one of the things we need to do in this election is not just look at resume but look at accomplishments. who can lead this country if who is actually achieved things? you know, it's not just about promises. it's about what you delivered in the past. what you delivered in the past gives you a sense of what we can deliver in the future.

we better make sure we have people with deep experience who know how to get things done in that town. have a tough backbone and know how to get it done. that's what's really important because america can't continue to drift. we have to have somebody that can go there immediately and make the impact we want to improve our economy and to give all americans a sense they will have opportunity. megyn, thank you for allowing me to dpoit. i'm sorry i'm here. i'm going to be winging to texas tonight and i'll see you all there tomorrow. >> no worries. thank you so much for talking to us tonight. great to see you, governor. >> you're welcome. >> thanks for your time. and we've got much more to come on this essential "the kelly file" two hours face to face with the gop candidates here in texas. next hour senator marco rubio and dr. ben carson are in the hot seat. our lone star state voters have a lot more questions to ask of the presidential hopefuls. all that when we come back. hen .

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welcome back to a special edition of "the kelly file." that us to face with the candidates from houston, texas. every time. last hour, you heard from texas senator ted cruz and ohio governor john kasich. this hour, a chance to ask the questions to florida senator marco rubio and dr. ben carson. rubio last night fin initialled second and the message today, majority of gop voters still don't want trump as their

nominee. joining me now by satellite, senator marco rubio. thank you for joining us tonight. >> thank you, thank you. >> great to see you. so you believe -- >> great the see you. >> you believe the majority of voters don't want donald trump but at this point in the contest you have yet to win a single race. with the understanding that past is prologue, what are you going to change to get a different result? >> well, first of all, admit he's the front-runner and i'm an underdog but i have been my entire life. from where i grew up and how i came to the senate running against the republican establishment to this race. when i've been hit by over $40 million of negative ads by establishment money but this is a country of underdogs, a nation of people that scratch and claw to move ahead and improve their laws and an important election. we won't allow the conservative movement to be defined by a nominee who isn't a conservative and need to elect someone prepared to be president in a thoughtful and serious and important way given the thoughts

this country faces. so that's why a majority of republican voters are not supporting donald trump and once this race begins to narrow a little bit, you will see more of that support consolidating. we are in this situation that we're facing and going to keep working hard and picking up as many delegates as we can. >> but i didn't hear anything in there talking about a change. an enthe question is whether you like being second because if you don't change anything, what are the odds that that number's going to start changing for you? >> well, we're not going to change our message. this is why i'm running, because i understand we have real challenges. i know people are angry. >> what tactics? >> that's why i ran in 2010. the tactics are the following. every state is different. we want to go in with the resources we have and try to move numbers an endo that. so our tactics are not going to dramatically change. the biggest change in the campaign is when the people not named donald trump choices narrow and give the republican voters a clearer choice of who

they want to get behind. i'm as conservative as anyone running in the race. record of 15 years of turning conservative ideas into conservative solutions up against anyone running but i can win. i can unify this party, grow the party and i will win this election. the democrats desperately don't want to run against me and attack me more than anyone else in the race and if we lose that means bernie sanders who's a socialist or hillary clinton who's under fbi investigation becomes the next president of the united states. so, it's going to take a longer than people want but i feel good about it and no one will outwork us. that's for sure. >> all right. let's get some voters in here. this next issue is getting a lot of attention in the democratic race, a hot item with young republican voters, as well. this is from tanya sue, she's here with her mom lydia and describe s herself as undecided and wants to ask about the cost of college today. what is your question for senator rubio? >> good evening.

thank you so much for allowing me to be here tonight. i'm a student and first in my family to further my collection. what would you do to provide opportunities for students to further their education while making it affordable and decreasing the student debt that's crushing america's youth. >> yeah. thank you, tanya, for the question. that's an important one. i'm the only republican running talking about student loan debt. i have a plan to deal with all of it and one of the reasons i'm passionate about it is because four years ago becoming a u.s. senator until 2012 i still had over $100,000 in student loan debt. we have a comprehensive way to deal with it. the first is we're going to provide more information. when i'm president, you will know how much people make graduating from the school you're going to with a degree you're seeking to make an informed decision of whether it's worth borrowing thousands of dollars for a degree that may not lead to a job. we preel vid alternative ways for college credit without paying for sitting in a

classroom and 21st century, through alternatively acredited methods, you should be allowed to get credits without paying for it and shorten the time in school and it's also going to open the door for higher education for nontraditional students. third is to make income-based repayment the automatic method of repayment. rather collect $20 from man than default and ruin the credit and unable to buy home or start a business or whatever and the fourth thing to do in the -- provide alternative to student loans called the student investment plan and it would allow students, especially graduate students, to go to a private investment group and get them to pay for your tuition instead of a loan. if you make a lot of money, they make their money back like invested in a small business that was successful. if you don't make a lot of money, they lose their investment. but it's better than a loan and doesn't sit on the credit report and all the risk is on the investment group so we have developed this straenl and

because i feel passionately about it because i can tell you -- >> all right. the audience -- they wrapped you for me. they wrapped you for me. thank you for that. i want to get to the questioner who's carrie, a small business owner hearing from tonight. as a businessman, he say that is he has a number of concerns and one in person is a big deal for him. kerry, tell us your question. >> thank you so much for taking time to listen to us tonight. >> thank you. >> as a small business owner, we have a number of concerns. taxes, excess regulation and health insurance. as a small business, we have a tough time affording health insurance for employees. i don't think that's fair. but the health system is currently broken. what are you as president going to do to fix the broken health care system? we need more than repealing obamacare or breaking state lines. >> right. we are going to repeal obamacare and replace it. i don't want do go back to the old system. that wasn't working well either. substantial number of americans

uninsured. by the way, only one running for president did anything about obamacare. i got rid of the bailout fund to use with your money to bail out private insurance companies. i led the effort to do that. part is allowing everyone to control their own health care spending. under my plan, you would be allowed to provide to your employees if you can't find insurance, you would be able to provide medical money, the equivalent of paying on their behalf to receive that money, only used for medical care but it would be tax free and not treated as income and they would be able to use it to fund health insurance any way they want, a health savings account, a combination of a health savings account and buying insurance of the kind they want from any company in america. you would be able to pool your resources with other similarly situated businesses for a coverage group. again, it would give you more options. so what i want to do is provide more choices because that leads to more competition in the health insurance marketplace and it is through competition for better coverage, lower prices

and better networks and that's a much better approach than we have now where the cost of the health care exchanges where the companies are losing money, all being passed to the commercial plans and why the premiums keep going up. >> very good, senator. thank you. well, the issue of prison reform is starting to bubble up in the campaign trail, as well. on both sides of the aisle. and as an interesting point of preference, it is one issue where the obama administration and the very conservative koch brothers find themselves in agreement and working together. you got president obama, van jones and charles koch agreeing on the same issue. like your head is going to explode. our next question from jake and he's a young student at baylor university. welcome, jake. and your question? >> thank you. my question is about prison reform. currently there are several bills in the house and senate co-signed by democrats and republicans alike, all trying to

fix the issue of mass incarceration. what would you do with the united front as president to solve this issue? >> well, first of all, thank you for the question. it's an important issue but i think largely misunderstood. federal crimes, vast majority of people not in jail for a small thing. the growth incarceration in the country largely of mandatory minimum sentences for violent offenders. up until 1980s we had huge crime rates in america and then minimum mandatories kicked in around the '90s and you saw that people once quickly released returned back to the streets an committing crimes, much of the crime in america committed by recidivist and now being locked up and suddenly a plunge in crime rates. that's the bulk of people incarcerated are. i won't undo that. i believe in mandatory norman mineta mum sentences. i'm hoping to diverting people out of the system first-time

offenders and not a danger to society. i believe that's especially important for juveniles and young people who made a bad mistake or did something dumb and don't want them with the criminal justice system business that stigma oftentimes leads to criminalization later on. the vast majority of people commit crimes as users are addicted or dependent. i don't want to see them in jail. i'm hope to that. coming to violent and dangerous criminals and drug dealers, i support minimum mandatory sentences because it worked to reduce the crime rate in america in the last 25 years. [ applause ] >> all right. we will have much more on the opposite side of this break. opposite side of this break. yes.

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welcome back, everybody. a special two-hour edition of "the kelly file." on the stage with us now, senator marco rubio. via remote. thank you for being back with us. >> thank you. >> former president george w. bush said one of the toughest issues he struggled with as a president had to do with stem cell research and an issue first used the presidential veto. and our next question on this issue comes from sarah who's a science professor at lamar university saying she likes governor kasich and you, sir. what is your ke? >> senator rubio, you oof been criticized by right to rise being too pro-life to be president. what are your positions on stem cell research? as president will you veto legislation to help save a life at the cost of someone else's life? >> well, first of all, i don't

view it as that couple of choice. there's all kinds of stem cell research going on, including umbilical cord blood and all of that. what i do not support anything that leads to the creation of an industry of embryos for the purpose of cultivating stem cells because i'm pro-life. i believe all human life is worthy of protection of the laws. it's a difficult issue. largely comes up in the context of abortion. this is a hard issue. i get it. it puts two competing rights against each other, the right to choose what you do your body and the right of an unborn child to live. i have to make a choice which side will i be on? i have chosen the side of life. it's a human rights issue. i believe deeply all human life is worthy of the protection of our laws and we are a society headed in the wrong direction fast and so that's my view. i feel passionate and deeply about it.

i understand and respect americans that have a different view on it and i certainly believe we make advances on research without creating an industry where embryos are cultivated for purposes of accessing stem cells. >> so cord blood fine but embryo research absolutely not? is that your position, senator? >> yeah. especially embryos for that purpose. yes, absolutely. >> what about discarded embryos of ivf procedures? >> that's a harder issue but it's difficult -- what's hard about policing that, anyone can claim they're discarded already and not for purposes of life. i just -- >> just to clarify -- >> very concerned about the industry. >> just to clarify -- >> worried about an industry -- yeah. >> no. understood. just to clarify on the abortion issue, we talked about this at the first debate in august, you state now that you are -- you

are against abortion even in the cases of rape or incest. is that your position tonight? >> yeah. what i said, i don't require those exceptions to support a law. i have supported laws with those exceptions because i'm interested in saving lives. i support the 20-week abortion ban and has those exceptions. if i'm president, even though i don't personally require exemptions for those two things, i will support a law that has them because i am interested in saving as many lives as we can. >> understood. okay. our next voter came here tonight hoping to put the question to donald trump. since he could not be here, we have asked her to put the question to you, sir. >> okay. >> an issue of a lot of emotion on the campaign trail and here's alison with a story and a question. >> thank you. senator rubio, recently a muslim american army reservist denied access to a gun rage range in oklahoma and sign and saying it's a muslim free facility.

what is your opinion on this and do you think the rhetoric of the campaign season especially the anti-muslim rhetoric increased the sentiment? >> yeah. the story you just told me is wrong. it's immoral. we should not be doing that to people. bottom line is millions of patriotic muslim americans. and if you go do a national cemetery where we bury veterans of the service of our country you will see stars of davids and a cross and also crescent moons, muslim americans who have died in the service of this country. and so, our issue is not with patriotic muslim americans and islam but radical jihadis. it's a radical ideology. threatens islam and the west. isis, wants to kill all shia and all sunnis who do not agree with that you are own version of islam so we recognize the contributions that muslim americans make in this country

and no one should be discriminated against in america because of religion or faith. i also think we have to recognize and i think the muslim american community does that radical islam poses a threat. >> what did you make of the question of the rhetoric in the campaign putting some muslims in this position? you know, muslim american who is are worrying about their sons and their daughters walking the streets and going to gun ranges and so on? >> that's important. as president of the united states you have a mega phone and set the agenda and the tone for the country. we have a president that's divisive. we should not pit and divide americans against each other. a weak -- i we we are camible of recognizing the threat of radical islam without demonizing a religion. many don the uniform and die on behar of our freedoms and liberties. >> all right. we'll get on to the next question, which is on the plan

announced by president obama on tuesday to close the u.s. military prison in guantanamo bay, cuba. transfer the detainees to a facility inside the united states. carolyn, what is your question for the senator? >> senator rubio, president obama announced to close gitmo. would you close gitmo and if so what would become of the facility and transfer the hardened war criminals to the u.s. soil without having u.s. civil rights? >> yeah. a couple points. great question. it is not just a prison for radical terrorists but a naval facility and we are keeping it. number two, we shouldn't be transferring people out of there. a substantial number of them released rejoining the battlefield against them. spanish police arrested a former gitmo detainee plotting terrorism. when i'm president we'll be taking people there, not taking

people out. when i'm president we are going to have a real war on terror and means the armed forces will destroy them. and if we capture any of these terrorists alive, we are taking them to guantanamo and that's where they belong. they're enemy combat abatants i war against america. >> let me follow up on that with you, senator, though. what about interrogation of terrorists who we capture on the battlefield? back during the bush administration they didn't necessarily go to gitmo. they were subjected in some limited cases to enhanced interrogation techniques. what would a president rubio administration look like? >> well, first of all, i never talk about interrogation techniques because it gives the terrorists the opportunity to train to evade them. number two, let me say this, though, i believe we are capable of -- we have the capability of

gathering information without having to do some of the things people feel offended by and interrogating a terrorist is not the same as a law enforcement interrogation. in a law enforcement interrogation, you're trying to acquire evidence to use at trial. in a terrorism interrogation, you are trying to acquire information to prevent a terrorist attack in the future and can't use the same tactics. this is not about evidence to put someone in jail. this is about evidence and information to prevent a future terrorist attack. [ applause ] >> now we selected this next voter because her issue is the issue for a lot of republican voters in this cycle and concerns the decision of supporting the person you like and supporting the person you think can win and this is from michelle. go ahead. >> hi, thank you. thank you, senator rubio. >> thank you. >> i'm starting with my decision of who to vote for because senator cruz shares similar values as me but i think you're

more electable. what would you say to a voter like myself comparing electability to values? >> first i would say, you don't have to compromise those voting for me. i have a 15-year record of turning conservative ideas into action. >> let's just -- forgive me for the interruption, please pardon me. michelle, is there something about senator rubio that's giving you pause? >> one thing i really like about senator cruz is this idea of limited government and i -- sometimes the policies that senator rubio, you know, he puts those -- he puts out there i don't necessarily believe they line up with what i believe is limited gft. >> go ahead, senator. >> i have as i said a record of limiting government. i didn't just talk about it. i was in the state legislature in florida, a paurt time job but i was the speaker of the house. we balanced a budget two years i was speaker without raising taxes. we cut taxes. we actually reformed the school

curriculum without common core at the state level where it belongs. i have clear ideas about limiting government. i have a regulatory budget proposal which would reduce regulations. that shrinks agencies. but i believe i am the conservative that can unite this party. i'm as conservative as anyone. i encourage you to examine my voting record in washington. it is up there with anyone in washington but i believe i unite this party as i have proven this week with more and more people coming on board and grow it. i believe i give us the idea to take conservatism to people that haven't voted for us in the past and instead of watering down the principles, convincing them our principles are the right way forward. that's a better future for america. [ applause ] >> senator, i have one final question for you. same one i'm asking the other candidates. today governor mitt romney suggested that the gop voters

should not choose a nominee until they have seen the tax returns of said nominees. will you release yours? when and how many years? >> yes. yes, i think, in fact, we were planning today, tomorrow the next few days. number two, a lot of them are out there and released them in the senate campaign. because of my this them is senate financial disclosures every year. but i'll release them. they're not complicated. they're just not very exotic. we'll release them. sure. >> the exotic tax return. we should all be so lucky. senator, great to see you. thank you so much for being here. >> thank you. >> stay tuned because we have got one more candidate to go. dr. ben carson joins our gop r forum here in texas next. (dad) ah! greetings, neighbor. neighbor boy.

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welcome back to a special edition of "the kelly file." last night after finishing fourth in the nevada caucuses, dr. ben carson told his supporters his campaign was, quote, just beginning. here to make his pitch to the voters in when audience to help him and viewers at home, retired neurosurgeon, dr. ben carson. welcome, dr. carson. great to see you. >> thank you. thank you. great to see you. >> let's start with this. really? just beginning? >> absolutely. you know, 5% of the delegates have been selected already. we got a long to way to go.

like a baseball game. everybody wants to call the game after the first inning. i think we have a ways to go yet. and the good thing is with fewer candidates, i think maybe there's a possibility -- i'm not sure it's going to happen, but there's a possibility people may get interested in the real solutions to the problems. and not so much the gladiatorial spectacle. >> now i know that you're a christian. your faith is important to you. you've spoken openly about that on the campaign trail. i want to ask you about a piece in "national review" by david french in which he wrote the following, he was addressing you and addressing governor kasich. and what he wrote was being a christian candidate for spth more than life and liberty and the family. it means being humble and self aware enough to know when your vanity is hurting the country. it's time to deny self, admit

defeat and leave the race. he and so many other republicans while they like you, they have concerns that you're a spoiler in effect at this point and that a vote from you is effectively what he said was a vote to destroy the republican party. your thoughts? >> my thoughts are that the political establishment, the pundits like to think that they're in control. and it's really we the people who should be in control. and -- i believe there's still a possibility that we can sort of break the spell that they have over the people. you know, bear in mind that, you know, it's sort of like, you know, why do i stay here? it's like losing a child. if you have ever known someone when's lost a child, it's a horrendous thing, you would do

anything to keep it from happening. i feel like we're in the process of losing our country. it is in critical condition right now and i don't see anybody else who really is going to do anything about it. one of the real reasons that we are in critical condition is because we've had so many people who are controlled, you know, they either are on a puppet end of the string or the puppetmaster end of the string. and as a result of that, things that are done are not necessarily the things that are the most beneficial things for we the people. and that's one of the reasons that i totally refuse to accept money from special interests and billionaires who want to control things. they are the problem. and anybody who is associated with them is going to continue to do their bidding. and we are going to continue to go down the same road and can't afford that. >> want to ask you about a controversial comment that you made yesterday about president

obama suggesting that he was, quote, raised white. in contrast to yourself. in response to which many people came out, some well-known african-american commentators suggested that that plays into a narrative there's a correct or legitimate way of doing blackness, of being black. your response? >> my response is that that's hogwash. you know, basically, in the conversation and the transcript is available, i said that his experience in growing up is valy different than most african-americans. and i don't know who could really argue with that. you know? he was raised by his white grandparents in hawaii in a very affluent area in a private school. >> he -- but he looks black. >> let me finish. and he formative years were spent in indonesia. >> four years of his young life.

>> from. from 10 to 14. those are formative years with his white mother. for anybody to tell me that's a typical black experience -- you know, it's -- it's basically the media doing what they always do. you know? they take a simple statement that i made and they say so therefore he's saying that, you know, it's bad to be raised white. so that's a racist statement and he's saying that there's some other racism against blacks and, you know on and on they go with their, you know, just ridiculous analysis. which is only for one purpose and that's to try to ridicule me and to drive wedges. people ought to be used to it by now. >> let's move on to the voters who have good questions for you. our first one from landon, a

young republican worried about whether there is place for a young voter under the gop tent. landon, take it away. >> many republicans under 40 fiscally conservative and lean socially libertarian compared to the older over 40 crowd. is there room in the gop for this younger than 40 crowd when there's a strong contrast on social issues? >> there should be room for them because, you know, one of the reasons that i've joined this race is because as a surgeon i was very concerned about the next generation and the welfare. now, we look at how our fiscal policies are affecting young people, the millennials and the next generation, we're talking $19 trillion. thomas jefferson said it is immoral to pass debt to the next generation. if you tried to pay off $19 trillion at $10 million a day,

365 days a year, it would take you over 5,000 years. so we're not talking about the next generation, we are talking about generations as far as the eye can see. and that's the good news because, in fact, the fiscal gap which is all the unfunded liabilities, medicare, medicaid, social security, all the governmental programs, agencies, versus the money we have coming in from taxes and other revenue sources, should be even if we're fiscally responsible and if not there's a gap. bring it forward to today's dollars. fiscal gap over $200 trillion. so if somebody came today and said, america, i've got a gift for you. i'll give you $19 trillion to pay off the national debt, everybody would be dancing in the streets. we wouldn't even be close to being out of trouble. and that's what young people need to understand. so when people like bernie sanders come along saying free college for everybody, we need to understand what he's talking

about. this is -- that's going to accelerate our fall off the cliff. and so young people need to recognize that at least in my case we're looking at people who are going to be looking for ways to ameliorate that financial deteriorati deterioration. >> all right. next question on an important issue. we get so many of the viewers writing in about this issue and asking us to ask you the candidates about the v.a. nearly two years since the scandal over wait times to put it mildly erupted and while the department's chief watchdog yet to release the findings of the investigations into 73 facilities across the u.s., this issue is shaping up to be a big one in 2016 and leads us to the next voter, melody. take it away. >> thank you. good evening, dr. carson. as megyn introduced, we want to hear about the v.a. and your solution, action plan for what you plan to do to improve the

v.a. >> okay. i have had an opportunity to work in a number of vas and wonderful patients and staff and a mountain of bureaucracy in between them. it was ridiculous the situation. one of the things that -- first, let me put a couple of things in perspective. first of all, our veterans are incredibly important to our freedom. we have in some kind of conflict on the average every 15 to 20 years. so we're only talking about 1% of the population. we have every obligation to take care of them as they have taken care of us. now, what i would do is when a person enlists in the military, i would attach them with an external support group who would be with them throughout their entire military career, particularly when they're in combat and for three to five years afterwards and when ptsd

shows up. a year before they're scheduled to be discharged, that group would start working on the integration back into society. so, they would quit the military on friday and start their new job on monday. they would have health empowerment accounts subsidized to go to any health care facility in the country and we would be delighted to take care of them. and then they could go to a v.a. facility if they wanted to. that creates competition. competition is the only thing that will, you know, improve the situation. it works in all parts of our society. and if the v.a. has to compete for the patients, they will improve, no question about it. >> our next questioner is r.w. a director of african-american engagement for the texas gop. r.w.? >> how are you doing? good to see you here. >> you, too. >> considering the importance of

the african-american vote here of late we have seen the democratic candidates posturing their campaigns toward the black community in order to win their candidacy. when it comes through republican party, blacks are concerned about number one likability and relatible. the character of the president, relatability, meaning relating to the issues of the community. so my question is, what is your campaign doing in order to secure and win the african-american vote but not only that but secure and win it for the republican party? >> okay. well, i don't change my message just because i'm in front of one group versus another group. you know, i was -- but by the same token, i believe the right kinds of policies lift all the votes. you know, policies that our government has had has been extremely detrimental,

particularly in the african-american community. in terms of destroying families. and, you know, our faith and our families are the two strong pillars, particularly in african-american community that got us through slavery and jim crow and segregation and racism and as those things are broken down, it's problematic. so republicans and particularly me very, very interested in finding ways to heal those families, put those families back together. and you think about something like out of wedlock birth, 73% of african-american babies born out of wedlock. well, usually this means the end of education for that woman. and it means that baby is four times as likely to grow up in poverty. that's very problematic. what we should be doing, i think, is supporting and creating groups that support that woman through that pregnancy so that she's not going off to get an abortion and then helping her to be able to

get her ged or her associate's degree or bachelor's degree or master's degree providing adequate child care so that she can learn to take care of herself and her child so you can break the cycle of poverty. that's the only way it will ever be broken. i think, also, you know, one of the things that i have proposed in my tax plan, please go to bencarson.com and read about it, i got a lot of policy. i said we would have a six-month hiatus on the corporate tax rate. zero taxes so we could bring back the money, repatriot the money overseas, $1.2 trillion. only stipulation being that 10% has to be used in enterprise zones and create jobs for people who are unemployed, underemployed or on welfare.

you want to talk about a stimulus, that would be the biggest stimulus since fdr's new deal and not cost the taxpayers one penny. those are the kind of things we have to do. and also, that once again gets corporate america used to the idea of investing in the people around them because whose job to take care of the indigent in the society? it is our job. it is we the people. it is not the job of the government. government does a terrible job of it. you know? lynd lyndon johnson declared a war on poverty. how did that work out? you know? $19 trillion later, 10 times more people on food stamps. more people on welfare, broken homes. crime, incarceration, out of wedlock birth. everything is much worse than it was before. and the government needs to read the constitution.

i think that's the problem. >> we'll let them do that during the commercial break. we have more to get to after this quick break. live in houston, texas. stay with us. i didn't really know anything about my family history. went to ancestry, i put in the names of my grandparents first. i got a leaf right away. a leaf is a hint that is connected to each person in your family tree. i learned that my ten times great grandmother is george washington's aunt. within a few days i went from knowing almost nothing to holy crow, i'm related to george washington. this is my cousin george. discover your story. start searching for free now at ancestry.com ♪

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welcome back, everybody. more now with dr. ben carson. once of the most frequent criticisms about you, dr. carson, you in your admittedly astonishing skills as a pediatric neurosurgeon maybe don't translate to being commanders in chief like foreign policy or terrorism and greg who

says he's likely deciding on you as a candidate has a question for you along those lines. go ahead, greg. >> thank you for coming out, dr. carson. how do you respond to the claims gnat foreign policy views are weak? >> well, i would respond to that saying last week when i was in south carolina i did a one-hour foreign policy town hall. and, you know, there are a lot of press there and i think only one of them wrote a story and their story was how astonished they were at my foreign policy knowledge. the other ones didn't write anything because they couldn't find anything bad to say. you know? i just say, you know, to any reporter who asked me that, ask me a foreign policy question. and find out what i know about it. i know more than i think a lot of people very good at giving canned 60-second answers. you know, i go into great depth about islam where it came from

-- >> i got one. >> what jihadism is. >> what's did difference of shia and sunni? >> well, there are two different branches of islam. one is much more fundamental and one is much more secular. the sunnis are much more fundamental. the shia much more secular. and it is a relevant question because the deal that we made with iran, which is mainly sunni, stabbed a lot -- it was just shia, stabbed a lot of sunni friends in the back throughout the arabian we flans and then the nerve to come to them and say you be the boots on the ground and we'll be the air power. it makes no sense. these are the kinds of foolish things that happen when i don't think you fully understand what's going on. >> you feel like you're up to the job now? because that was something you said a while back that you were studying up, reading. >> that was, that was a couple of years ago. i have --

[ laughter ] [ applause ] let me put it this way. i'm ready for the quiz now. but also, do bear in mind that i think it's very important to put the right people around you because will never be the world expert on russian affairs but i can get access to those kinds of people. but you do have to have a basic fundamental knowledge to know who you need to get and solomon said in numbers there is safety. and this next question, whether or not syrian refugees should be allowed into the united states. >> my question is should religious test be used as a factor of risk to allow those into our great country?

>> i would not use a religious test, but i would use common sense. that is sometimes they don't do. they ask questions, are you a terrorist? have you been planning any terrorism? give me a break this, is ridiculous stuff. we should tighten up the process. and most of the syrian refugees don't want to come here, i've been there and talked to them. they want to be resettled in their own country. it would be so easy to do that in the northeast section of syria, that area is controlled by sunnis and christians and kurds. we'd have to put a international protective force. and the fact that canada is

bringing tens of thousands of them over here, of course they're going to be infiltrated with terrorists and jihadists. i said it would be jihadist malpractice not to put people in there. of course, you get this vehicle. are you kidding me? >> did you just say jihadist malpractice? that is a first. that is a first. all right. let's get to our next questioner, william green. he says he has never been and will never be a member on any political party. his focus is on one thing, the u.s. constitution. william, go ahead. >> amen. >> besides voting or urging our representatives to take action, short of another revolution, what can we, the people do to help restore our constitution? >> you're going to be surprised

at what i'm going to tell you. you can stop listening to the pundits and you can think for yourself. and you can begin by looking at the candidates who are running for president and you can find out what they believe. you can read their position papers. those who have them, such as myself, and you can dissect them and we're not going to have to go through a revolution if we choose somebody who is a member of we, the people. the problem is we've been taking people who are members of they, the politicians, who are controlled by the political class, and they continue to manipulate us. and that is the reason i'm still here. i feel deep, in my heart, that what thomas jefferson said was

true. he said the people of america would become less vigilant ant and not paying attention and as a result, the government will grow, infiltrate and dominate. he said just before we turn to another form of government, the people would rise up and retake control. i believe now is the time to do that. >> i want to get one more in. we've got a little time left. some voters here tonight hail from a variety of college campuses where conservative ideals are welcomed and promoted, no. they're not. thank you for getting it. this student says her school is no different. go ahead. >> hi, dr. carson. i was wondering how you would explain to college students

would be better for their futures than policies that are liberal, like bernie sanders. >> i would help them understand what socialism is. i think young people think socialism being concerned about social issues. it's a utopian dream, where the government takes care of you from cradle to grave. that is the goal. they end up looking the same, but the small group of elites at the top, but i would begin to demonstrate that to them, boy also show them, the united states of america, which declared it's independence in 1776 and less than 100 years was the number one economic power in the world by creating a

environment that encouraged entrepreneurial risk taking and what happens to regulations? it costs money and passed over to the consumer. it's the most regressive taxation there is. >> speaking of taxes, before i let you go, got to ask you. mitt romney thinks g.o.p. candidates should release their taxes. will you release yours? >> i'd be happy to. i have nothing to hide. i -- i will release them for how many years will satisfy people. you got nothing to hide, not a problem. one thing i can guarantee people about me, there are no scandals. there are no scandals. >> great to see you. >> thank you so much. >> thank you. >> pleasure. >> and thank you all for watching our special two-our kelly file, here in houston,

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