again, jack kemp, a rising tide lifts all boats. we need all the boats to be pulling. >> that's right. >> i want to ask you, is governor romney going to pull back now? because in two of his victory speeches, he said if you expect a bidding war for government benefits, i'm not your man. and we are spending a fortune, 35%, $600 billion increase in the last three years on transfer payments, which many believe created poverty trap, in other words, on an after-tax basis the benefits are worth more than if they go to work. can you fix that? seems to me that's really the issue. >> absolutely. and you know he's got a very detailed and bold plan for reforming entitlements, including having medicare remain as one option, not kicking anybody else off, but moving that to a market-base system and have it be one of many options in a marketplace. he also has proposals to fix and reform social security for the people on the program but the ones coming up. and if you look at mitt's proposals in that regard, they're very strong, very bold and go a lo

starting with jack kemp and others who said it's not that we don't care about the poor.n't think that the big federal bureaucracy does. >> they fear he's a anyone come pop. he's going to keep doing this. he'll keep talking like this. >> he does some things politically very well. he has run a disciplined campaign. he's had a smart campaign. but he clearly has a lot of problems in kind of the guts of politicking. which is meeting people, talking to them, making them feel like he hears them. he has to tune it up a bit. >> i don't know why you're so kind today. newt gingrich tried to score political points. let's watch newt when he said when he said. >> i really believe that we should care about the very poor, unlike governor romney. but i believe we should care differently than barack obama. both governor romney and barack obama seem to believe that a safety net is all the poor need. >> you know, that's smart. once again, i jump to newt's defense. but you do it. he made a great point. jack kemp would say, don't skip the poor. get them out of poverty. don't throw life vests

it is not me it is jack kemp. they are working on these ideas for 25 years and charles said. mitt romney's comments are designed and he doesn't understand conservative philosophy. >> that is important for the conservatives to think about. nominating a moderate when they lost in 1996 . 2008 when we lost badly. that is not a good future for the republican party. i don't think it is a good future for the country. >> yes, sir. >> i am sorry, jeff, you had a follow up. >> [inaudible] >> i was surprised. i never had a person stand next to me in a civil engagement and be dishonest. look at what he said. larry sabato tweeted that romney was being factual false. i didn't have good mechanism but i will. in the next debate. but as a candidate for president f. you can't tell the truth as a candidate for president which is a charge that is made by mccain. fred thompson, by huckabee. if you can't tell the truth as a candidate for president. how can the country expect you to lead as president. i was stund. i make no bones about this. in the second florida debate i had nothing to say because

jack kemp, of course, not the greatest debater on the planet in '96 either.o -- how does it help the very poor? how does it help the middle class? how does it help the working class? >> and then there is the "wall street journal" talking about it this morning. >> they write an editorial attempting to defend mitt romney on this. they write that mr. romney's failures to commune are common among businessmen and other normal people who have the right instincts, stul his business is politics and he has an obligation to explain how conservative principles and policies can address america's current problems. they go on to say, it's probably time to stop pretending that you can relate to people who have trouble troubles. embrace who you are. you are a wealthy guy. this deal about going out and reaching out and showing can you relate to the problems of the people comes across as inauthentic because it is. >> you know, in 1988 when george h.w. bush was running with a million different problems, sort of being painted as this sort of caricature. he let everybody know he

this is a fight we had in 1984 when we put in the know tax increase platform that i worked with jack kempnd trent loath against the establishment. our principle is simple -- we're not the tax collectors for the welfare state. we're not assigned to go out and raising extra money so liberals can give it away. we're interested in a tax code that creates job, maximizes freedom, gives you a chance to take care of your family, neighborhood, your charities, your church or synagogue, that's a fundamentally different model than the establishment model oriented towards government. we will not tax the american people for barack obama's credit card. now, how do you get to the balanced budget then? you cut spending, you cut taxes to maximize economic growth, you reform government, you use american energy. at 4.2% unemployment, the rate when i left office, social security is safe for a generation. a huge increase in revenue and a big decline in costs. you take people off of food stamps, off of medicaid, you take them off of public housing, off of unemployment, off of welfare. you put them to work payin

i guarantee you if mitt romney were channelling jack kemp right now and he was obsessing over how freekets and free enterprise have freed more people across the world from poverty than any other form of economic system, if he were obsessing on how we freed the very poor, the truly disadvantaged from their situation by using markets instead of big government, well, this wouldn't be an issue. but that is, i think -- i think here we have that old saying that mark knows very well in washington -- a gaffe in washington is when you accidentally say something that you mean. i really do think mitt romney is not focused on the very poor because he's been isolated from the very poor his entire life. and he doesn't understand what conservatives understood, which is you want to help the truly disadvantaged in the long run, then you support freedom, support free enterprise, you support free trade. et cetera, et cetera -- but he doesn't talk this way because in the end he doesn't understand it, he doesn't believe it. as i was joking last night with larry kudlow, this guy probably thinks hayek is a f

conservative who says why don't we rethink the entire safety net so it becomes a trampoline, not me, it is jack kemp, a range of people working the idea for 25 years. romney's comments were a sign that he doesn't quite understand conservative philosophy. i think that is important for the country, for republicans, for conservatives to think about. nominating one more moderate like 1996 when we lost badly and 2008 when we lost badly, i don't think that is a very good future for the republican party. and because it is vital to beat barack obama i don't think it is very good for the country. >> [inaudible] >> much, yes. i was surprised. go back and look at the second debate. i have never had a person stand next to me in a civil engagement and be as substantially dishonest as he was. look at what he said. you had larry sabbato tweeting that romney was being factually false. i didn't have any good mechanisms -- i will by the next debate -- i didn't have any mechanism to turn to somebody who was being blatantly dishonest. if you can't tell the truth as a candidate for president, which by the way a charge t

it is not me it is jack kemp. they are working on these ideas for 25 years and charles said. mitt romney's comments are designed and he doesn't understand conservative philosophy. >> that is important for the conservatives to think about. nominating a moderate when they lost in 1996 . 2008 when we lost badly. that is not a good future for the republican party. i don't think it is a good future for the country. >> yes, sir. >> i am sorry, jeff, you had a follow up. >> [inaudible] >> i was surprised. i never had a person stand next to me in a civil engagement and be dishonest. look at what he said. larry sabato tweeted that romney was being factual false. i didn't have good mechanism but i will. in the next debate. but as a candidate for president f. you can't tell the truth as a candidate for president which is a charge that is made by mccain. fred thompson, by huckabee. if you can't tell the truth as a candidate for president. how can the country expect you to lead as president. i was stund. i make no bones about this. in the second florida debate i had nothing to say because

and what the republicans have tried to do over the last generation, with people like the late jack kempthers, is to argue that they, meaning the republicans, and the conservatives and the free market have a better answer for the problems of the poor than the democrats do, this is what rush limbaugh was partly upset about, he was defending newt, also upset about the idea that mitt romney is accepting the safety net. he's sort of saying, well, for the poor people, we have the the democratic policies and let them have their thing, so it couldn't have been worse in any conceivable direction for romney, and the romney people are quite defensive about it, justifiably tonight. >> i want to you listen to another clip from rush limb baurks which is sounds we've never heard before from him, listen to this. >> our team -- our team, not all that good. you know it, and i know it. they're just not. >> howard dean, honesty, breaking out on the rush limbaugh show today, that's how bad it's gotten for republicans. >> that's not something you hear very often. look, these guys have a problem, because the

like jack kemp, the great republican congressman from upstate new york who seemed to be able to do that by making a case that would help working americans, get reagan democrats. and it worked politically. but they were able to make that case convince league. now we have a guy who is a 1 percenter. talks like a 1 percenter. has policies that favor the 1 percenters and he wants to sell that as being good for you auto workers when i wasn't for the bailout? there's a gap between policy and who is selling it. that's where he's going to keep tripping over himself time and time again. i don't see how he escapes that in this year where 1% is really not the place to be if you are trying to get the 99% of america to vote for you and to accept your policies as good for them. not just good for you. >> david corn and tad devine, thank you both for your time tonight. >> thanks, al. >>> ahead -- rolling back the clock. the birth control debate goes front and center again. and it's dividing the republican party. >>> plus -- more signs the economy is getting stronger, but the other side just can't handl

it's jack kemp. it's a whole range of people who have been working on these ideas for 25 years. as charles krauthammer said, romney's comments were a sign that he doesn't quite understand conservative philosophy. i think that's important for the country, for republicans, for conservatives to think about. nominating one more moderate, like in 2008 when we lost badly, i don't think that's a very good future for the republican party. and because it's vital to beat barack obama, it's not a very good future for the country. yes, sir? [ inaudible question ] >> i was surprised. go back and look at the second debate. go look at what he said. you had larry in the middle of the debate tweeting that romney was being factually false. i didn't have any good mechanism s to turn to somebody who was being dishonest to the entire country as a candidate to the president. if you can't tell the truth as a candidate for the president, which is a charge that's been made by mccain, fred thompson, by huckabee, if you can't tell the truth as a candidate for president, how can the country possibly expect

jack kemp and art laffer came up with the urban empowerment zones.ow do we stimulate urban growth and get people to reinvest in the communitys? how do we get individuals to invest in those who want this establish -- >> greta: how do we do that? >> we have to provide a sentence. when you look at -- provide incentives. look at small business, how do we give tax credit. we don't want to double up capital gains stat to dry up investment, something that the president talked about. i want to see and bob johnson and i, former head of b.e.t. talked about this. how do we incentivize people to invest in those who want to take business opportunities in the inner city? because then they will hire the people from that community. that is how you break that cycle. >> greta: how do we i insent vise it? why would someone want to open a business in the inner city communitys? most people are terrified of the inner city? >> the security aspect has to be a part of it. the same as if you are in a combat zone. you can't have nation building until you have a secure environm

about with the poor, but i have always said, i think one of the strongest arguments, and it's a jack kemp argument, that the party should be taking in this type of economy, even with this upswing, is the poor. talk about how we create wealth from the bottom up. how we empower people who are caught between the crosshairs. and you know this, reverend. you've been out here over the last few years especially talking about the educational component. how that has a drag on your ability to get jobs and how there's a drag on your ability to move up in a job when you don't have that educational opportunity. that is the twin pillar, i think, that the party, given its historic position on these issues, can go out into communities across this country and neighborhoods that don't look like typical republicans and have a conversation, a difficult one, about how we transform the economy from the bottom up, including the poor. where we show direct concern for them because they are the future of this country. you just can't say, well, there's a safety net. there's got to be more than a safety net for peop

it is jack kemp. a range of people who have been working on these ideas.ative philosophy. that is important for republicans and conservatives to think about. nominating one more moderate like 1996, like 2008, i do not think that is a good future for the republican party. because it is vital to bet oba -- to besat -- geat -- to beat obama, i do not think -- i do not think it is a good future for the country. >> [inaudible] >> go back and look at the second debate. i have never had a person stand next to me and be as dishonest as he was. look at what he said. false. i did not have any mechanisms to turn to somebody who is being dishonest as a candidate for president. if you cannot tell the truth, a s a candidtate -- depict a candidate for president, which is a charge that has been made by mccain, fred thompson, huckabee. how can the country expect you to leave as president? i make no bones about this. in the second floor debate i had nothing to say because i had never seen a person who i thought of a serious candidate be that fundamentally dishonest. it was

. >> a little jack kemp.ntrepreneurial -- >> why -- don't pick up the individual boats. >> it's not about the individual classes. it's about all the classes -- >> a job. >> 243,000 americans have that had month that they didn't before. romney's got a major problem. he's got to change his playbook because the economy is growing. it's been growing for 20-plus months. it's going to continue -- >> but you're going to have to dial down this -- the obama boom a little bit. dial it down. >> the numbers do not lie. confidence is coming back -- >> you know what? >> you know what i tweeted this morning? does the economy know something that we don't? >> is that his biggest hurdle? do people trust mitt romney to make it better? >> i think he's got to get that across -- they know he's got a solid record as a turnaround artist. they know obama inherited this bad economy from his first three years. so -- >> a turnaround artist? >> romney's got to reset the button on his budget plan. you're exactly right. bernard whitman, th

this is a fight we had in 1984 whether we put in the no tax increase platform, which i worked with jack kemp, trent lost, against, by the way, the establishment. our principle was simple. we are not the tax collectors for the welfare state. we are notice -- so liberals can give it away. we are in fact interested in a tax code that creates jobs, that maximizes freedom, that gives you a chance to take care of your family, your neighborhood, your charities, your church or synagogue, and that's a fundamentally different model than the establishment model. we will not tax the american people for barack obama's credit card. how do you get to a balanced budget then? you reformed government, and you use american energy. social security is safe for a generation. a huge increase in revenue and big decline in cost. you take people off food stamps, off medication off unemployment, off welfare, you put them to work paying taxes, the government gets more revenue without a tax increase, the government spends less. it's the first big step to balance the budget. but let's talk about cutting spending. this is

it is jack kemp. a range of people who have been working on these ideas.nie's comments are a sign he does not understand conservative philosophy. that is important for republicans and conservatives to think about. nominating one more moderate like 1996, like 2008, i do not think that is a good future for the republican party. i do not think it is a good future for the country. >> [inaudible] >> go back and look at the second debate. i have never had a person stand next to me and be as dishonest as he was. look at what he said. you had larry sabato writing romney was being factually false. i did not have any mechanisms to turn to somebody who is being dishonest as a candidate for president. if you cannot tell the truth, which is a charge that has been made by mccain, fred thompson, huckabee. how can the country expect you to leave as president? i was stunned. i make no bones about this. in the second floor debate i had nothing to say because i had never seen a person who i thought of a serious candidate be that fundamentally dishonest. it was blatant and de

is driving me crazy, and i looked at ronald reagan's autobiography and he is not mentioned and, jack kemp and writes a few words, a few sentences and newt gingrich is mentioned one time and clearly ronald reagan had no idea who he was and a congressman named newt gingrich and, then... >> clayton: he said they passed -- mitt romney passed the torch to newt gingrich. i think, push back on a lot of that. >> i don't think so. a, he retracted that and, b, these are nice things you say to politicians. >> dave: you somehow do support romney-care, a surprise to a lot of people. look, i mean, it is a surprise to to a lot of people and newt gingrich said there wouldn't be obamacare if there weren't romney care. >> it is exactly the opposite. if more, say had done what romney care did there would be no obamacare, the main points of the column, i highly recommend it, it is just this week on anncoulter.com and a million other web sites, and the basic point is, health care was wrecked by congress, wrecked from the federal government, by the time mitt romney came along and all the governors, in 2007, wh