Seven Republican presidential candidates lagging in the polls debated in the undercard match-up on Thursday, generally avoiding attacking each other while firing away on President Barack Obama and former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clitnton -- and throwing a few jabs at businessman Donald Trump who is leading the polls on the Republican side.
Fox News carried the debate from Cleveland. Later on Thursday, the 10 leading Republican candidates based on polling averages are scheduled to take part in another debate on Fox News.
The seven Republican hopefuls -- businesswoman Carly Fiorinia, former Gov. Jim Gilmore of Virginia, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, former Gov. George Pataki of New York, former Gov. Rick Perry of Texas and former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania -- took part in a generally amiable debate, ignoring each other and focusing their fire on more prominent targets.
The debate started with questions about experience and electability. Perry noted he was not ready to be president when he ran back in 2012 but now things were different as he led one of the largest economies in the world. Fiorina noted her business experience, rising up the ladder from starting as a secretary. Santorum insisted he could fight for average Americans and had a “track record in Washington, D.C., on getting things done.” Jindal focused on his record on school choice and cutting government in Louisiana. Graham talked about his experience fighting for the environment and tying it to Middle East policy. Pataki focused on calling for new blood, while Gilmore took aim at the Obama administration and showcased his experience.
The candidates then turned to Trump who is leading the Republican polls at the national level and in key states.
“I’ve had my issues with Donald Trump,” Perry said, trashing the businessman for focusing more on “celebrity” than “conservatism” and saying he was tougher on immigration. Fiorina jabbed Trump for backing the Clintons before and accused him of “changing his mind on amnesty, health care and abortion.”
The debate then turned to foreign policy, with Jindal bashing Obama’s handling of Middle Eastern affairs. Graham went beyond Jindal in calling for more forces in the Middle East. “If we don’t stop them over there, they are coming here,” Graham said, calling for more ground troops in Iraq and in Syria to fight Islamic State (IS) terrorists.
After a commercial break, Pataki was asked about IS terrorists based in the United States and the measures he would take against them. The former New York governor insisted religious liberty did not include terrorist activity and said he was open to monitoring mosques. Noting two of his sons served in the military and he was governor during 9/11, Pataki agreed with Graham. “We have to destroy their training camps over there before they attack us over here.”
Fiorina then talked about government and the private sector teaming up on domestic terrorism and called to “tear down cyber walls” that Islamic terrorists use to “recruit those who murder American citizens.” She also said she would crack down on China’s and Russia’s use of cyber attacks. Gilmore then showcased his record as governor of Virginia during the 9/11 attacks and his background in military intelligence and national security.
Moving to immigration, Santorum noted his father was born in Italy and spent time in fascist Italy while trying to return to the United States. “We have a nation of laws,” Santorum said, before hitting Obama’s executive action on immigration. “Our compassion is in our laws.” The former Pennsylvania senator said he had a strong immigration policy that was tough on illegals and protected working Americans.
Perry took a jab at federal immigration policy and showcased his 14 years of experience in leading Texas. “Americans are never going to trust Washington, D.C., and for good reason," Perry said. “The border is still porous.”
Turning to the economy, Graham was asked about the rising number of people outside the workforce and on welfare. Graham turned to Clinton, the leading Democratic presidential candidate, and he hit her on domestic issues and foreign policy.
“To all the Americans who want a better life, don’t vote for Hillary Clinton,” Graham said, insisting she represented a third term for Obama.
Santorum said America needed “better paying jobs” and insisted he would return the nation’s manufacturing sector. He said he would soon unveil a flat tax plan that would help bring back a manufacturing base, while noting he led efforts to reform welfare back in the 1990s.
Gilmore said welfare could be cut if they had “better opportunities.” The former Virginia governor also called for tax reform, reforming the federal tax brackets and lowering the rates and ending the death tax.
Asked about Gov. John Kasich, R-Ohio, accepting federal tax dollars to expand Medicare, Jindal passed on attacking his fellow Republican presidential candidate and pegged Obama and Clinton as “socialists” for backing government growth before hitting Obama as too weak against China. Jindal refused to condemn Kasich by name but insisted it was wrong to expand Medicaid.
Pataki also bashed Medicaid expansion and highlighted his record on welfare reform. The former governor also called for the repeal of Obama’s health-care law.
The debate then turned to Obama’s deal with Iran over its nuclear program. Perry insisted Iran should not be allowed to have a nuclear weapon and called for “coalitions” in the Middle East to crack down on IS terrorism. The former Texas governor tipped his cap to two of his fellow Republicans on the stage, praising Fiorina as a negotiator and Graham’s work in the Senate. Fiorina promised to stand with Israel and called for tougher inspections against Iran while saying she opposed the deal.
“This is a bad deal,” Fiorina said. “Obama broke all the rules of negotiating.”
The debate then moved to the Supreme Court and Santorum stressed his conservative credentials, hitting the recent legalization of same-sex marriage as a “rogue Supreme Court decision.” Santorum also ripped Planned Parenthood and the Supreme Court for backing partial-birth abortion.
Gilmore was asked about whether he would back a litmus test on abortion. “The Supreme Court is being converted into a political body,” he said, saying he did not back litmus tests on any issue while stressing he would appoint justices who would uphold the Constitution. Gilmore then wandered into foreign policy to call for more action against IS.
Pataki was asked about being pro-choice. The former New York governor said he is “appalled by abortion” but noted Roe v. Wade has been the law for more than 40 years and called for a “permanent ban” on public funding of abortion, including Planned Parenthood. Pataki also noted he backed banning abortion at 20 weeks.
Jindal said he also backed defunding Planned Parenthood and hit the Democrats on the issue. The Louisiana governor said he also backed repealing Obamacare.
Graham said he also opposed funding Planned Parenthood and insisted the true “war on women” was being waged by Islamic terrorists in the Middle East.
The debate then turned to executive orders and Gilmore bashed Obama’s executive order on immigration. Graham said he would use executive orders to help the NSA and defund Planned Parenthood. Jindal took aim at sanctuary cities and said he would use executive orders to repeal Obama’s. Perry said he also would repeal Obama’s executive orders as did Santorum. Fiorina agreed, focusing on Obama’s action on immigration and making the case against liberalism. Pataki noted he beat Gov. Mario Cuomo, D-N.Y., and repealed that Democrat’s executive orders at the start of his time in Albany. The former New York governor also called for freezing the number of federal employees outside the military and homeland security branches.
The candidates ended the debates by going after Clinton, with Perry jabbing at her use of private emails at the State Department while Fiorina went after her record and ethics. Santorum and Gilmore hit Clinton, saying she wasn’t trustworthy. Jindal labeled her a “socialist.” Pataki said she was “divisive,” while Graham said she could not change Washington.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
