CNN 2015 GOP primary debate: on Principles & Values
Ben Carson:
I was a radical Democrat but then I listened to Reagan
I was a radical Democrat before I started listening to Ronald Reagan. And he didn't sound like what they said Republicans were. He sounded logical. And I hope that I sound logical also. I see a lot of things that are not logical.I see us allowing
people to divide us, when in fact our strength is in our unity. I see people exercising the most irresponsible fiscal habits that anyone could possibly do. And hiding it from the American people, so that the majority of people have no idea what our
financial situation is.
So, when someone comes along and says, "free college, free phones," free this and that, they say, "wow, that's nice," having no idea that they're destabilizing our position.
Reagan was also a master at understanding that a
pinnacle nation has to be a nation that leads. If we learn to lead in the Middle East right now, a coalition will form behind us, but never they do it if we just sit there and talk about it. Real leadership is what I would hopefully bring to America.
Source: 2015 Republican two-tiered primary debate on CNN
Sep 16, 2015
Ben Carson:
I will not lick the boots of billionaires
When I entered this race, all the political pundits said it's impossible; you can't do it because you're not connected with the money. And there's no way that you can raise what you need in order to compete successfully.
I in no way am willing to get in the bed with special interest group or lick the boots of billionaires. And we now have over 500,000 donations, and the money is coming in.
Source: 2015 Republican two-tiered primary debate on CNN
Sep 16, 2015
Bobby Jindal:
Reagan's 11th commandment only applies to real conservatives
Q: You have said that the front runner, Donald Trump, is an "unstable, narcissistic, ego maniac." Reagan made famous the so-called 11th Commandment, "Thou shalt not speak ill of thy fellow Republican."JINDAL: I'm in compliance with the
11th Commandment: let's stop treating Donald Trump like a Republican. If he were really a conservative and 30 points ahead, I would endorse him. He's not a conservative. He's not a liberal. He's not a Democrat. He's not a Republican. He believes in
Donald Trump.
SANTORUM: I think personal attacks, [should be limited to just one person], Hillary Clinton. I don't think it helps when Republicans attack Republicans personally.
JINDAL: Hillary Clinton is gift-wrapping this election to us.
They are running their weakest candidate. The best way for us to give this election back would be to nominate a Donald Trump. He'll implode in the general election. You can't just attack him on policy. He doesn't care about policy. He's not serious.
Source: 2015 Republican two-tiered primary undercard debate on CNN
Sep 16, 2015
Bobby Jindal:
Don't turn the American dream into the European nightmare
I don't have a famous last name. My daddy didn't run for president. I don't have a reality TV show. I'll tell you what I do have, I've got the backbone,
I've got the bandwidth, I've got the experience to get us through these tough times, to make sure that we don't turn the American dream into the European nightmare.
Source: 2015 Republican two-tiered primary undercard debate on CNN
Sep 16, 2015
Bobby Jindal:
Get rid of Republican Party and create a party with backbone
You heard a Senate Republican say, "We can't defund Planned Parenthood, despite these barbaric videos." I wish the Senate Republicans had half the fight in them the Senate Democrats did. If we can't defund
Planned Parenthood now, if we can't stand for innocent human life after these barbaric videos, it is time to be done with the Republican Party. It's time to have Republican with a backbone in DC.
Source: 2015 Republican two-tiered primary undercard debate on CNN
Sep 16, 2015
Carly Fiorina:
Look to Lady Liberty and Lady Justice
What this nation can be is symbolized by Lady Liberty and Lady Justice. Lady Liberty doesn't shield her eyes from the realities of the world -- she faces outward, as we always must. Lady Justice holds a sword because she is a warrior for the
values and the principles that have made this nation great. She holds a scale in her other hand. With that scale she says all of us are equal in the eyes of God. All of us must be equal in the eyes of the law and the government.
Source: 2015 Republican two-tiered primary debate on CNN
Sep 16, 2015
George Pataki:
Need judges and courts that support the rule of law
I will appoint judges who understand their role. They're not going to be making the law; they're going to be interpreting law that the elected officials passed.
But when you are an elected official and you take an oath of office to uphold the law, all the laws, you cannot pick and choose or you no longer have a society that depends on the rule of law.
Source: 2015 Republican two-tiered primary undercard debate on CNN
Sep 16, 2015
John Kasich:
Battle radicals by showing greatness of west
You win the bigger war with the battle of ideas. You wonder why young people, educated people, and rich people have tried to join ISIS. We need to wake up to the fact that those murderers and rapists need to be called out, and in
Western civilization we need to make it clear that our faith in the Jewish and Christian principals force us to live a life bigger than ourselves. Make sure that all of our people feel fulfilled in living in Western civilization.
Source: 2015 Republican two-tiered primary debate on CNN
Sep 16, 2015
John Kasich:
America is great because it's run from the bottom up
America was never great because we ran America from the top down. America is great because we have run America from the bottom up, where we all live in the neighborhoods.
One more time in America, we need to revive the concept of citizenship, where everybody's actions make a huge difference in changing the world.
Source: 2015 Republican two-tiered primary debate on CNN
Sep 16, 2015
Lindsey Graham:
Experienced leader for libertarians,vegetarians, you name it
Q: In this election season, do Republican voters see your service in government as a liability and not an asset?GRAHAM: Well, what I hope Republican voters, libertarian, vegetarians, Democrats, you name it, will look for somebody to lead us in a new
direction, domestically, but particularly on the foreign policy front. President Obama is making a mess of the world. What I'm trying to tell you here tonight, that Syria is hell on Earth. I've been there 35 times to Iraq and Afghanistan.
I am ready to be commander-in-chief on day one. I've been in the military 33 years, 140 days on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan. I am so ready to get on with winning a war that we can't afford to lose. I hope you believe that experience matters.
When you vote for commander-in-chief, they are stuck with your choice. We've had one novice being commander-in- chief. Let's don't replace one novice with another.
Source: 2015 Republican two-tiered primary undercard debate on CNN
Sep 16, 2015
Lindsey Graham:
Reagan drank with opponents; let's drink more like that
Q: Senator Graham has praised Secretary of State Clinton as a great choice to be the secretary of state. Can anyone from inside of Washington win this election cycle, having said nice things that way?JINDAL: No. And they shouldn't win this election
cycle. We have got the majority; what good has it done us? They are not willing to stand up to fight for the issues that count.
GRAHAM: Ronald Reagan did a couple of really big things that we should all remember. He sat down with Tip O'Neill, the
most liberal guy in the entire House. They started drinking together. That's the first thing I'm going to do as president. We're going to drink more. And what did these two great Irishmen do? They found a way to save Social Security from bankruptcy by
adjusting the age of retirement from 65 to 67. So, yes, I will say nice things at times about Democrats. Yes, I will work them.
I will put the country ahead of party. Absolutely I want to work with them.
Source: 2015 Republican two-tiered primary undercard debate on CNN
Sep 16, 2015
Lindsey Graham:
My dad ran a pool room; I'm not elite
I've been called a lot of things but never elite before. My dad owned a liquor store, a bar and a poolroom.
So only in America can you go from the back of a liquor store to being an elite.
Source: 2015 Republican two-tiered primary undercard debate on CNN
Sep 16, 2015
Marco Rubio:
America is based on freedom of choice
Q: How will the world look different once your Air Force One is parked in the hangar of your presidential library, like Reagan's here?A: Reagan understood that America was a unique nation. He knew it was founded on the dignity of all people,
human rights, the rights of all to live in freedom and liberty, and choose their own path in life. I hope that my Air Force One, if I become president, will one day land in a free Cuba, where its people can choose its leaders and its own destiny.
Source: 2015 Republican two-tiered primary debate on CNN
Sep 16, 2015
Rand Paul:
I spend my days defending the Bill of Rights
I spend my days defending the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. I think there's nothing more important than understanding that the Constitution restrains government, not the people.- [On immigration], the original author of the
14th Amendment said on the Senate floor that this was applying to slaves, and did not specifically apply to others.
- [On states legalizing pot]: We say we like the 10th Amendment [reserving rights to the states],
until we start talking about [the War on Drugs]. And I think the federal government has gone too far.
- [On Syria and ISIL]:
When we go to war, we go to war in a constitutional way, which means that we have to vote on it, that war is initiated by congress, not by the president, that we go to war electively
Source: 2015 Republican two-tiered primary debate on CNN
Sep 16, 2015
Rick Santorum:
Pass a 1st Amendment Defense Act
16 years ago, this country was inspired by a young woman who faced a gunman in Columbine and was challenged about her faith and refused to deny God. Today, someone who defies a judge's unconstitutional verdict is chastised. That is a huge difference
in 16 years. People have a fundamental right in the First Amendment. I believe we have to pass the First Amendment Defense Act, which provides that room for people who do not want to be complicit in what they believe is against their faith.
Source: 2015 Republican two-tiered primary undercard debate on CNN
Sep 16, 2015
Page last updated: Dec 07, 2018