With four months until the first votes are cast in the Iowa caucus, the gloves are coming off in the Republican presidential race.
On Monday, the eight leading contenders for the Republican presidential nomination flocked to the Florida State Fairgrounds in Tampa to square off in a debate sponsored by CNN and the Tea Party Express -- and Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who is leading in the national polls, came under heavy fire from his rivals.
Wolf Blitzer from CNN moderated the debate, which opened with introductions from the candidates -- before heading to Social Security.
The first question came from a First Coast tea party activist who asked how the candidates could reform Social Security and Medicaid and get votes. U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota called for these programs to be saved and argued that the Obama administration was defunding Medicaid to fund the new health-care law.
Blitzer turned the question to Perry, asking the candidate about his labeling Social Security a Ponzi scheme.
Perry defended his comments.
No ones had the courage to say, 'heres how were going to reform it,'" he said.
Pointing out an op-ed in Monday's USA Today by the Texas governor that backed off his earlier comments, former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts fired away at Perry, calling his use of the term Ponzi scheme as frightful, arguing that tens of millions of people have received Social Security benefits over the last 70 years.
Does Governor Perry continue to believe that Social Security should be ended as a federal program and returned to the states? Romney demanded, insisting Perry thought Social Security was unconstitutional.
Its time for us to get back to the Constitution, replied Perry, who accused Romney of trying to scare seniors.
The term Ponzi scheme is what scares seniors, responded Romney, who called it an essential program.
Texas Congressman Ron Paul said Social Security is broke and the federal government is to blame for spending money that should have been kept in the program, including military actions overseas. Paul and businessman Herman Cain called for allowing younger workers to opt out of Social Security.
Former Gov. Jon Huntsman of Utah slammed Romney and Perry for causing drama.
Were frightening the American people who just want solutions, Huntsman said. We dont have leadership, thats the problem.
Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich insisted that President Barack Obama is trying to frighten seniors on the issue. Gingrich agreed with the other candidates that younger workers need to have access to individual accounts.
Former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania pointed to his experience. He said he has been fighting to reform Social Security since 1994, when he defeated Democratic incumbent U.S. Sen. Harris Wofford.
Ive got a track record of courage and a track record of proposals, said Santorum.
FEDERAL SPENDING
The next question regarded a balanced budget and cutting federal spending. Gingrich pointed to an enormous volume of waste that could be cut and pointed to his record in the 1990s fighting for balanced budgets. The former congressional leader slammed the new congressional supercommittee set up to cut $1.2 trillion from the federal government over the next 10 years and called for making major cuts to the government.
Asked about federal prescription drug benefits for seniors under Medicare, Santorum called for choice in Medicare and offered strong words of praise for the budget plan backed by U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and congressional Republicans. Saying he would not repeal the prescription drug law, Perry pointed to his record in Texas cutting waste and state government.
Romney took aim at the other candidates, insisting that cutting waste would not do enough to balance the budget.
We have to cut spending, said Romney. We have to stop the growth of the federal government and start the growth of the private sector.
Paul attacked American involvement overseas, noting that it cost $1.5 trillion. He then called for cutting the federal departments of Energy and Education. Asked about cutting the federal government, Bachmann called for an ownership society to embrace personal responsibility.
THE ECONOMY
The debate then turned to economic recovery. Huntsman offered the first answer, calling the economic situation a human tragedy. He pointed to his economic plan, which backed tax reform and ending corporate welfare. Huntsman called for ending Obamacare and the Dodd-Frank bill regulating financial practices. He also called for energy independence.
Perry slammed Obamas record, attacking the federal stimulus plan and insisting the Democrat would raise taxes. He called for freeing up the small-business men, who he insisted were being restrained by Obamas policies.
Bachmann pointed to her record in Washington, noting she had fought efforts to raise the federal debt ceiling. She called for increased repatriation and passing stalled free-trade agreements with Panama, Colombia and South Korea. Bachmann also called for the repeal of Dodd-Frank and the health-care laws. Cain called for a bold solution and scrapping the tax code for his plan with lower tax rates.
Romney pointed to his record in the private sector and called for energy independence. He called for lower taxes, regulations, and for a balanced budget. Romney offered qualified praise for Perrys record, but noted that the states job growth was better under two previous governors -- Democrat Ann Richards and Republican George W. Bush. Perry took exception, noting that his fight for tort reform helped propel job growth during a rough economic time.
Paul hammered Perry for increasing taxes and the number of state jobs during his decade in Austin.
Our taxes have doubled since hes been in office, Paul said.
We have cut taxes by $14 billion, Perry fired back. Theres still a land of freedom in America ... and its called Texas.
Gingrich fired at Perry, Romney and Huntsman.
The American people create jobs, not government, Gingrich said.
Huntsman responded to Paul, pointing to his record as governor of Utah and insisting the job growth he led was higher than Perrys record in Texas and Romneys in Massachusetts.
The next question concerned the Federal Reserve. Santorum called for auditing the Fed and revising its charter -- and then turned back to the economy, attacking Obamas record and pushing his own plan to push manufacturing and cut the corporate tax rate. Cain, who was chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank in Kansas City, said it needed to be audited but not ended.
Blitzer asked Bachmann if she agreed with Perry that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's policies could be considered "treason." Bachmann avoided answering the question directly, though she said she would not reappoint him. She instead took aim at the federal government's bank bailouts and called for auditing the Fed.
Perry tried to clarify his comments, saying the Federal Reserve should not be used for political purposes.
Romney insisted the Fed had a purpose in the economy but called for auditing it.
If we dont have a Fed, who would run the currency? Congress? Romney asked.
The debate then returned to taxes. Huntsman called for a competitive tax code and said he backed lower income and corporate tax rates. Calling for energy independence and lower taxes on individuals, Gingrich ripped the Obama administration for giving green tax credits which he called loopholes. Blitzer followed up, asking if that was increasing taxes. We have a problem of overspending, not under-taxing, insisted Gingrich. I dont want to raise any taxes on any level.
The next question concerned the Fair Tax, a national sales tax proposal. While noting there were some interesting aspects to it, Romney said he opposed the Fair Tax, insisting itwould raise taxes on the middle class.
The debate then turned to executive orders.
Paul said there have been too many in recent years.
The executive order should never be used to legislate, he said.
Perry was then asked about an executive order for a vaccine against cervical cancer for 11- and 12-year-old girls. The governor called it a mistake, saying he should have gone to the Texas Legislature.
Bachmann took aim at Perry for backing a government injection against little girls who were exposed to a potentially dangerous drug. The congresswoman then ripped into Obama for the federal health-care law which she said made companies insure the morning-after abortion bill.
Perry defended his record.
I will always err on the side of life, he replied.
Bachmann continued to hammer Perry, saying a drug company that had hired a former Perry staffer as a lobbyist also donated thousands to Perry's campaign treasury.
It was a $5,000 contribution I received from them, Perry said.
But Santorum didn't let the issue drop.
Your policy was wrong, he told Perry. This is big government run amok. It is bad policy and it should not have been done.
Perry then offered a response about how Texas was trying to protect life and find a cure for cancer.
HEALTH CARE
The debate continued to focus on health care. Cain called for repeal of the federal health-care plan.
Asked about backing an individual mandate for a state health-care law he signed, Romney called for lower costs and private accounts. Romney also called for repealing the federal law.
Its unconstitutional and Ill get rid of it, said Romney.
Perry looked to score points off an earlier health-care law Romney signed while in office in Massachussetts.
That was the plan that President Obama said himself was the model for Obamacare, said Perry, who called for the states to decide health-care plans for themselves.
Romney said the law he signed had nothing to do with what Obama backed.
What the president did is simply wrong ... its not what we did in Massachusetts, Romney said.
Bachmann jumped in, attacking the individual mandate at the state and federal levels. She argued that the 2012 election will determine if socialized medicine would stay in the United States.
Im committed to repealing Obamacare, she said, insisting that Romney and Perry are not, due to their reliance on individual mandates.
IMMIGRATION POLICIES
The debate then turned to illegal immigration. Santorum attacked Perry for not backing border security, particularly a wall. Perry ripped the federal government for doing nothing on the issue.
You need boots on the ground, Perry said, pointing to National Guard and law enforcement efforts to protect the border.
Noting that his father and grandfather came to the United States without speaking a word of English, Santorum bashed Perry for offering lower college tuition for illegal immigrants and called for English to be the national language.
Perry defended his record, saying the tuition breaks are for students working toward being legal immigrants. This led to another attack from Bachmann who ripped Perrys plan.
Thats not the American way, she said, arguing such benefits undermine immigrants who enter legally.
Its a states' rights issue, said Perry, who replied it was not like the federal DREAM Act which he labeled amnesty.
Another candidate looked to tee off on the Texas governor as Huntsman said Perry insisting the border could not be secured was almost a treasonous comment.
Next up was Romney.
Of course we build a fence, Romney said, before firing at Perry for offering in-state tuition for illegal aliens and jabbing Huntsman for backing drivers' permits for them.
Perry repeated his comment about it being a states' rights issue that was necessary because of the Lone Star states proximity to Mexico. Huntsman fired back at Romney, hinting he changed positions on issues and called for reforming the national security process.
The debate then turned to energy independence. Cain called for reining in the EPA.
NATIONAL SECURITY
The candidates turned to national security and the defense budget. Gingrich called for more focus on security, arguing that the world remained dangerous. Paul responded, arguing there are differences between military spending and defense spending.
There is a lot of room to cut on military spending but not defense spending, said Paul, noting there were 900 American military bases around the world.
Santorum fired away at Paul, insisting the congressman blamed America for 9/11. The former senator accused Paul of parroting what Osama bin Laden said. Santorum defended American exceptionalism.
Paul replied that Santorum's attacks were just not true and maintained that the 9/11 attacks occurred due to American policies.
The debate stayed on foreign policy with a question on protecting women's rights in Afghanistan. Huntsman said it was time for America to get out of that nation. While insisting that America needed to remain active in the Middle East, Perry agreed with Huntsman that it is time to start bringing the troops home.
The debate then ended with a question about what the candidates would bring to the White House if they were elected.
The Democrats fired away even before the debate began, with U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the South Florida congresswoman who chairs the Democratic National Committee, and Florida Democratic Chairman Rod Smith speaking at a media event at the fairgrounds.
"This week, we saw two leading Republicans running for president who would do great harm to Social Security, if not dismantle it entirely, said Wasserman Schultz. One candidate, Rick Perry, was honest about his hostility toward Social Security, while the other, Mitt Romney, was not. Mitt Romney's support for privatizing Social Security is as dangerous to the future of the program as Rick Perry's attitude and over-the-top rhetoric.
"The truth is, Republicans like Mitt Romney, Rick Perry and George Bush before them have had their sights set on dismantling Social Security and the American people have emphatically said, 'no.' Now, these candidates are coming to Florida -- a state with a heavy senior and retiree population, she continued. Seniors don't want either Rick Perry or Mitt Romney's approach to dismantling Social Security -- and they have already expressed opposition to this field's support for the Ryan Republican plan to end Medicare as we know it.
"Ending Medicare and dismantling Social Security are curious positions for candidates campaigning in Florida -- but that's exactly what these Republicans support and believe," Wasserman Schultz concluded. At this debate, and for the entirety of this campaign, we'll make sure voters know it."
The Republican candidates on stage tonight, once again offered no solutions to help Floridas seniors and middle-class families, said Smith in a statement as the debate closed. Instead, they continued running hard to the right, embracing the Tea Party agenda in pandering to the most extreme wing of their party.
The Republicans will be returning to Florida later in the month when they square off in a debate in Orlando on Thursday, Sept. 22 as part of the Presidency 5 event hosted by the Republican Party of Florida RPOF.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.
