Transcripts For CSPAN Key Capitol Hill Hearings 20160130 : c

Next, republican president ial candidate governor Chris Christie of new jersey at a town hall gathering in owe tumway, iowa. Among the issues he discussed immigration, financial regulations, the u. S. Role in the middle east, and what he would do to keep Social Security and medicare solvent. Iowas first in the nation caucuses will be held monday. This is about an hour and 20 minutes. How are you . I am super. Good to see you. Great to see you, too. Thanks for having me. My pleasure. Nice to see you. Great. Welcome. Appreciate it very much. Thanks for coming. Thanks very much. Very much. Thank you. Hi. Tim ware. Nice to have you here today. Appreciate it very much. Absolutely. My pleasure. Super. I had fun. Really did. Okay. Great to see you again. Happy to be back. Thank you. Good morning, guys. Good to see you. Doing well. How are you . Great. Hi. Hi . How are you . Good. How are you . Hello. I. Hi. How are you . Thank you. Thank you ve for being here and welcoming what i hope to be the next president of the United States to ottumwa, iowa. Thanks for being here. Im craig paulson, former speaker of the iowa house of representatives and also the chair for the christie for President Campaign here in iowa. I know you didnt come to hear me speak but i just wanted to take this opportunity to say what a how proud i am, how proud my wife is to support governor christie in this endeavor. We look at our country right now and washington, d. C. Is an absolute mess. I probably dont need to justify that statement. Were probably all on the same page there and were also going through the middle of worst recovery following a recession in modern history. So who is the right person to lead us through that . It seems to me as i evaluated the candidates and got to know governor christie over the last couple years there is a man here who is able to do things in new jersey with a, probably contentious democratic Led Legislature and yet was still able to stand on his principles and pass conservative policies where new jersey has grown its economy. More employees in the state of new jersey than any time is what i remember. Let me point this out. He didnt do it with Government Employees because there are actually fewer state Government Employees in new jersey today than there were when he took over. Lower unemployment, lower spending. Great leader. Governor Chris Christie. Thank you all so much for coming. I appreciate it very much and appreciate the warm welcome. Time now t is serious because were caucusing monday night. The way you know it is serious for me is i have brought with me to iowa the first lady of the state of new jersey my wife mary pat is here. Mary pat . [applause] so happy to be here. Happy to participate in the debate last night in des moines. It was a lot of fun. I enjoyed myself. Seemed like a few of the other guys didnt enjoy themselves as much as i did but thats okay. We had a good time. I had a good time because i got asked questions and i answered the questions. Thats what youre supposed to do i think not only in these debates but when youre a leader. People bring you problems, concerns, opportunities. Answer them directly. Look them in the eye. Listen to them. And answer them. And it seems elementary, right, what Human Interaction is supposed to be. Were not talking about Human Interaction but washington, d. C. , everybody. Much different set of circumstances down there. It is tragic what is going on in washington right now. We have a president who doesnt Like Congress and a president that doesnt like the president. That means republicans and democrats. Dont have a relationship with the president of the United States. We have a world around us that has less and less respect every day for our country. I read just this morning that iran is now reporting it flew a drone over one of our naval vessels and took pictures. How is that happening . W is it that iran believes that it has the ability, the authority to mess around with the United States that way . I will tell you there is only one reason why. They think they have a president of the United States they can walk on and thats whats happening. They are walking on the United States of america testing Ballistic Missiles to try to get them far enough so they can reach us. Taking our sailors. And getting them on their knees with their hands over their heads. Taking pictures of it. Drones over our naval vessels and taking pictures of that. It is all just to embarrass our country and make us seem less than who we are. That is unacceptable to me. Forget about as a leader. That is unacceptable as an mesh. Like many of you, not all of you, but many of you are old enough to remember 1979. When the iranians took our hostages at our embassy in tehran. I am old enough to remember them walking them out with blind folds and mocking them. I am old enough to remember the images of them burning our flag day after day and chanting death to america. Im old enough to remember how humiliated we were when we tried to go and rescue them. And the president , the commanderinchief couldnt put together a plan to get us off the ground in the desert. Im old enough to remember how humiliating that felt as a country. And now what changed that . We got rid of a weak, handwringing president and replaced that president with a strong, outspoken, no nonsense. Vernor we got rid of jimmy carter and we replaced him with Ronald Reagan. Is it any coincidence that on the minute Ronald Reagan took his hand off the bible to take the oath of office on january 20 of 1981 that the iranians released those hostages immediately . Id say it is no coincidence. They knew that they were dealing with a different character. Someone who said what he meant and meant what he said. Someone who had run one of the biggest and most complicated states in the world. Someone who knew exactly, exactly what he believed and was willing to fight for it and someone who knew how to inspire the American People to fight with him for the things that we believe in, the strength and freedom of our country, and the. Ture of our children Ronald Reagan turned this country around. At a time when people said it couldnt be turned around. Interest rates, double digit. Nemployment double digits. People told we couldnt even heat our homes anymore. Told us to turn the thermostat down and put on a sweater. Told us that america had to settle for where we were. I remember this time so well because it was such a formative time in my youth. 1979 into 1980 was my senior year in high school. I was getting ready to go off to college. Its that really exciting time in your life when you feel like youre about to become an adult even though youre not and your whole life is right before you. And every dream and aspiration and hope that you have is right there just quite a little bit out of your reach. When you feel like youre getting closer. And i had a president of the United States who told me i had to settle. Had to settle for less. My first vote when i turned 18 in september of 1980 while i was sitting in my dorm room at the university of delaware was by absentee ballot for Ronald Reagan. And when my oldest son asked me, we talked about this years ago, why did i vote for Ronald Reagan . I said, because he made me believe i could be anything i wanted to be if i worked hard enough and believed in this country. And thats what i wanted to do. And he made me believe that was possible. So i voted for him. We are in the same times now, everybody. A weak, hammering president , who makes america believe they have to settle for less. Who undercuts our longtime values. Who detrays our longtime friends. Who is being made a mockery of by the same country that made a mockery of us 36 years ago. So what do we do . We dont need to reinvent the wheel. We do the same darn thing we did 36 years ago. We elect a strong, no nonsense governor who has governed a complex and what i love to call lovingly an unruly state fraught with difficulties and challenges but also opportunities who knows exactly what he believes and what he is willing to fight for and you know it, too, because youve watched me fight for it. We need someone who knows what theyre doing here. We cannot afford another mistake. Seven years ago we elected a firstterm United States senator who had never run anything bigger than a 30person senate staff, and we put him in charge of the most complex government the world has ever known and were wondering why it doesnt work. Well, guys, he never ran a thing in his life. He never had to make a responsible decision. He was held accountable for based upon the safety and security of others. Lets not do the same thing again. Just because we may agree with that persons philosophy more than we agree with president obama, heck, i agree with ted cruz and marco rubio. Nine times out of 10 over barack obama. Right . Thats easy. Right . But, that doesnt mean ted cruz or marco rubio is ready to be president of the United States. Thats different. When i sit in that chair the first day youre going to know im ready. Youre going to know ive been there. Ive made decisions. Ive dealt with crises. Ive helped people to be safe and secure. Both as a prosecutor and as a governor. Ive been doing it for the last 13 years. Seven years as a federal prosecutor. Six years as governor of new jersey making decisions every day and being held accountable for them. My favorite part of the debate last night, the part that showed you the biggest difference between me and senator cruz and senator rubio. You watched as two of them argue with each other about immigration. You watched fox news, hardly a liberal outlet, put up on the screen those two men in their own voice saying their positions previously on immigration. And you heard them say, despite the words you saw coming right out of their mouths that what they said then and now is the same. Thats why i finally interrupted the argument and said, i feel like you need a washingtontoenglish dictionary. One that would actually help me, right . One that would help me understand how these creatures of washington, d. C. Speak one way that sounds like english to us, but obviously it isnt. Listen, i have no problem with ted cruz changing his position on immigration. I have no problem if marco rubio had changed his position on immigration now twice. He is a thinking, breathing human being and hes allowed to change his mind. You all changed your minds about things sometimes. I change my mind about things. Heres what i resent. Tell the truth. Just tell us you changed your mind. Its not a mortal sin. Tell us you changed your mind and tell us why. Thats okay. Well move on. But dont insult our intelligence. Dont say to us you believe me or your lying eyes and ears . We heard it last night. I stood there and watched it and so did you. And then they said, oh, no. Thats not what i mean. Its not . What language was that exactly then . Thats the difference between being a senator and being a governor. A governor can never get away with that. The people who elected you say, no, we elected you to do something. Tell us what youre going to do and get it done. In the senate its like being in school, isnt it . Really, its like being in school. At school youre told where to be and what time. In the United States senate they tell you when to show up in washington and what time. In school they say where to sit. In the United States senate they tell you where to sit. You sit in that one. You sit in that one. In school they give you a list of questions to answer. In the senate, you dont get different questions. You get they give you the list. Here is what your questions will be today. This is what were voting on. In the senate they tell you when recess is. Just like in school. And in school they tell you when to go home for the day. Just like in the senate. Let me tell you thats not what it is like to be a governor. Thats not what its like to be an executive. When youre an executive the call comes in the middle of the night. When youre an executive the storm comes off the atlantic ocean. And there is no answer key. When youre an executive, a murder occurs and you have to help people to solve the crime. When youre an executive a terrorist attack comes and you have to protect people and deploy people to make sure that lives are saved. There is no answer key. And there is none for the presidency of the United States, either. Thats the difference. And thats what i was trying to say last night when i said, lets get this washingtontoenglish dictionary and convert what the heck these guys are saying. Thats why i said, stop the washington bull. Now everybody thought because i was from new jersey i might finish that word. They had their hands on the button ready to push the sevensecond delay on me. Ive grown up. Im older. I just stopped right at the two ls and that was it. So i appreciate you coming today. We have a lot of work to do between now and monday. Youre my second town hall today. I have two more after this. Doing 17 events in the next three days. We are going to be in every part of iowa to answer your questions the same way i answered the questions of those moderators last night. One last thing. You deserve better than to have somebody go and take a little hisy fit and walk away and not show up at the debate. Okay. You deserve better than that. [applause] i mean, that was really quite a performance wasnt it . And going my marbles home. When youre president you dont do that. If you do it is going to cost american lives and american fortune and american reputation. So you invite me, i show up. You give me a microphone, i talk. And you raise your hand and ask me a question, i answer. Thats what leaders are supposed to do because we work for you not the other way around. So one rule for my town hall meetings, you raise your hand i call on you, you ask a question, i answer. Thats the rule. So lets do it. Whos got their hands up . Sir. Right on the back on the aisle. Governor, my wife and i were privileged to attend the meeting last night. I was very proud that you didnt turn tail and run. You actually stood your ground against that little blonde girl. Shes tough. She is mean. She is. Shes tough. The other question that i would like to ask, your position on the right to own and have arms, Second Amendment. Here in iowa there is nobody that doesnt carry or at least have the right to carry as long as theyre not a criminal or a felon. Thats the way it should be. Thats the way it should be. Lets start right there. The fact is youre a law abiding citizen. You should have the right to exercise your Second Amendment rights. Are we allowed to place restrictions on that . Only in the most extreme of circumstances. Like if youre a felon. Have you committed a Violent Crime . Then you foisted your right to be able to hold that fireman. If youre a terrorist you forfeited your right to buy a fire arm in this country. If you have severe Mental Illness we dont want you to be able to carry a fire arm in this country but otherwise we should be able to exercise your Second Amendment right. I dont think the founders put the bill of rights in random order. I dont think they dumped these rights in and pulled it out randomly and said okay here is the order. Look at the first amendment. Freedom of speech. Freedom of religion. Prevention of the establishment of religion. Freedom of association. Freed osm the press. Bedrock things that help define who we are as a democracy. The next one is the right to bear arms. The Second Amendment. They put it there for a reason. The reason they put it there i believe from all the history ive read is they were afraid of a big government. They had just finished getting out from under one and fighting a war against all odds to get out from under it and they wanted to remind the American People, this is your country not the governments. There may be a moment when you may need to rise up as we did to take back your country. And they wanted you to have the right to bear arms not only to protect yourself against criminals but to protect yourself against your own government. And so that principle is a bedrock principle, too, one of the things that helps to ensure the future of freedom and liberty in our country. So i fought hard in new jersey against further restrictions on gun rights. My state is one of the worst gun rights states in america. Now, all of those laws got passed before i became governor. So what ive had to do is play defense. So they tried to ban the 50 caliber rifle. I vetoed it. They tried to lower the magazine size from 15 to 10. I vetoed it. They tried to institute a statewide i. D. , required i. D. System for all gun owners. I vetoed it. And for folks, six different folks who traveled into my state from out of state who legally owned a fire arm in the state where they came from they got pulled over for a traffic infraction and wound up being against the law in new jersey to carry the fire arm they had and faced criminal charges including jail. Starting back in 2010, all six people that happened to ive pardoned. And given a full and complete pardon so they never have to Face Criminal Charges or the possibility of jail. The folks in my state who are Second Amendment advocates, the new jersey pistol club, will tell you that there would be no Second Amendment in new jersey if it was for governor christie. I just vetoed more bills this last session in the same way. As president of the United States i will be released off defense and go back on offense and thats what ill do on the Chris Christie<\/a> of new jersey at a town hall gathering in owe tumway, iowa. Among the issues he discussed immigration, financial regulations, the u. S. Role in the middle east, and what he would do to keep Social Security<\/a> and medicare solvent. Iowas first in the nation caucuses will be held monday. This is about an hour and 20 minutes. How are you . I am super. Good to see you. Great to see you, too. Thanks for having me. My pleasure. Nice to see you. Great. Welcome. Appreciate it very much. Thanks for coming. Thanks very much. Very much. Thank you. Hi. Tim ware. Nice to have you here today. Appreciate it very much. Absolutely. My pleasure. Super. I had fun. Really did. Okay. Great to see you again. Happy to be back. Thank you. Good morning, guys. Good to see you. Doing well. How are you . Great. Hi. Hi . How are you . Good. How are you . Hello. I. Hi. How are you . Thank you. Thank you ve for being here and welcoming what i hope to be the next president of the United States<\/a> to ottumwa, iowa. Thanks for being here. Im craig paulson, former speaker of the iowa house of representatives and also the chair for the christie for President Campaign<\/a> here in iowa. I know you didnt come to hear me speak but i just wanted to take this opportunity to say what a how proud i am, how proud my wife is to support governor christie in this endeavor. We look at our country right now and washington, d. C. Is an absolute mess. I probably dont need to justify that statement. Were probably all on the same page there and were also going through the middle of worst recovery following a recession in modern history. So who is the right person to lead us through that . It seems to me as i evaluated the candidates and got to know governor christie over the last couple years there is a man here who is able to do things in new jersey with a, probably contentious democratic Led Legislature<\/a> and yet was still able to stand on his principles and pass conservative policies where new jersey has grown its economy. More employees in the state of new jersey than any time is what i remember. Let me point this out. He didnt do it with Government Employees<\/a> because there are actually fewer state Government Employees<\/a> in new jersey today than there were when he took over. Lower unemployment, lower spending. Great leader. Governor Chris Christie<\/a>. Thank you all so much for coming. I appreciate it very much and appreciate the warm welcome. Time now t is serious because were caucusing monday night. The way you know it is serious for me is i have brought with me to iowa the first lady of the state of new jersey my wife mary pat is here. Mary pat . [applause] so happy to be here. Happy to participate in the debate last night in des moines. It was a lot of fun. I enjoyed myself. Seemed like a few of the other guys didnt enjoy themselves as much as i did but thats okay. We had a good time. I had a good time because i got asked questions and i answered the questions. Thats what youre supposed to do i think not only in these debates but when youre a leader. People bring you problems, concerns, opportunities. Answer them directly. Look them in the eye. Listen to them. And answer them. And it seems elementary, right, what Human Interaction<\/a> is supposed to be. Were not talking about Human Interaction<\/a> but washington, d. C. , everybody. Much different set of circumstances down there. It is tragic what is going on in washington right now. We have a president who doesnt Like Congress<\/a> and a president that doesnt like the president. That means republicans and democrats. Dont have a relationship with the president of the United States<\/a>. We have a world around us that has less and less respect every day for our country. I read just this morning that iran is now reporting it flew a drone over one of our naval vessels and took pictures. How is that happening . W is it that iran believes that it has the ability, the authority to mess around with the United States<\/a> that way . I will tell you there is only one reason why. They think they have a president of the United States<\/a> they can walk on and thats whats happening. They are walking on the United States<\/a> of america testing Ballistic Missiles<\/a> to try to get them far enough so they can reach us. Taking our sailors. And getting them on their knees with their hands over their heads. Taking pictures of it. Drones over our naval vessels and taking pictures of that. It is all just to embarrass our country and make us seem less than who we are. That is unacceptable to me. Forget about as a leader. That is unacceptable as an mesh. Like many of you, not all of you, but many of you are old enough to remember 1979. When the iranians took our hostages at our embassy in tehran. I am old enough to remember them walking them out with blind folds and mocking them. I am old enough to remember the images of them burning our flag day after day and chanting death to america. Im old enough to remember how humiliated we were when we tried to go and rescue them. And the president , the commanderinchief couldnt put together a plan to get us off the ground in the desert. Im old enough to remember how humiliating that felt as a country. And now what changed that . We got rid of a weak, handwringing president and replaced that president with a strong, outspoken, no nonsense. Vernor we got rid of jimmy carter and we replaced him with Ronald Reagan<\/a>. Is it any coincidence that on the minute Ronald Reagan<\/a> took his hand off the bible to take the oath of office on january 20 of 1981 that the iranians released those hostages immediately . Id say it is no coincidence. They knew that they were dealing with a different character. Someone who said what he meant and meant what he said. Someone who had run one of the biggest and most complicated states in the world. Someone who knew exactly, exactly what he believed and was willing to fight for it and someone who knew how to inspire the American People<\/a> to fight with him for the things that we believe in, the strength and freedom of our country, and the. Ture of our children Ronald Reagan<\/a> turned this country around. At a time when people said it couldnt be turned around. Interest rates, double digit. Nemployment double digits. People told we couldnt even heat our homes anymore. Told us to turn the thermostat down and put on a sweater. Told us that america had to settle for where we were. I remember this time so well because it was such a formative time in my youth. 1979 into 1980 was my senior year in high school. I was getting ready to go off to college. Its that really exciting time in your life when you feel like youre about to become an adult even though youre not and your whole life is right before you. And every dream and aspiration and hope that you have is right there just quite a little bit out of your reach. When you feel like youre getting closer. And i had a president of the United States<\/a> who told me i had to settle. Had to settle for less. My first vote when i turned 18 in september of 1980 while i was sitting in my dorm room at the university of delaware was by absentee ballot for Ronald Reagan<\/a>. And when my oldest son asked me, we talked about this years ago, why did i vote for Ronald Reagan<\/a> . I said, because he made me believe i could be anything i wanted to be if i worked hard enough and believed in this country. And thats what i wanted to do. And he made me believe that was possible. So i voted for him. We are in the same times now, everybody. A weak, hammering president , who makes america believe they have to settle for less. Who undercuts our longtime values. Who detrays our longtime friends. Who is being made a mockery of by the same country that made a mockery of us 36 years ago. So what do we do . We dont need to reinvent the wheel. We do the same darn thing we did 36 years ago. We elect a strong, no nonsense governor who has governed a complex and what i love to call lovingly an unruly state fraught with difficulties and challenges but also opportunities who knows exactly what he believes and what he is willing to fight for and you know it, too, because youve watched me fight for it. We need someone who knows what theyre doing here. We cannot afford another mistake. Seven years ago we elected a firstterm United States<\/a> senator who had never run anything bigger than a 30person senate staff, and we put him in charge of the most complex government the world has ever known and were wondering why it doesnt work. Well, guys, he never ran a thing in his life. He never had to make a responsible decision. He was held accountable for based upon the safety and security of others. Lets not do the same thing again. Just because we may agree with that persons philosophy more than we agree with president obama, heck, i agree with ted cruz and marco rubio. Nine times out of 10 over barack obama. Right . Thats easy. Right . But, that doesnt mean ted cruz or marco rubio is ready to be president of the United States<\/a>. Thats different. When i sit in that chair the first day youre going to know im ready. Youre going to know ive been there. Ive made decisions. Ive dealt with crises. Ive helped people to be safe and secure. Both as a prosecutor and as a governor. Ive been doing it for the last 13 years. Seven years as a federal prosecutor. Six years as governor of new jersey making decisions every day and being held accountable for them. My favorite part of the debate last night, the part that showed you the biggest difference between me and senator cruz and senator rubio. You watched as two of them argue with each other about immigration. You watched fox news, hardly a liberal outlet, put up on the screen those two men in their own voice saying their positions previously on immigration. And you heard them say, despite the words you saw coming right out of their mouths that what they said then and now is the same. Thats why i finally interrupted the argument and said, i feel like you need a washingtontoenglish dictionary. One that would actually help me, right . One that would help me understand how these creatures of washington, d. C. Speak one way that sounds like english to us, but obviously it isnt. Listen, i have no problem with ted cruz changing his position on immigration. I have no problem if marco rubio had changed his position on immigration now twice. He is a thinking, breathing human being and hes allowed to change his mind. You all changed your minds about things sometimes. I change my mind about things. Heres what i resent. Tell the truth. Just tell us you changed your mind. Its not a mortal sin. Tell us you changed your mind and tell us why. Thats okay. Well move on. But dont insult our intelligence. Dont say to us you believe me or your lying eyes and ears . We heard it last night. I stood there and watched it and so did you. And then they said, oh, no. Thats not what i mean. Its not . What language was that exactly then . Thats the difference between being a senator and being a governor. A governor can never get away with that. The people who elected you say, no, we elected you to do something. Tell us what youre going to do and get it done. In the senate its like being in school, isnt it . Really, its like being in school. At school youre told where to be and what time. In the United States<\/a> senate they tell you when to show up in washington and what time. In school they say where to sit. In the United States<\/a> senate they tell you where to sit. You sit in that one. You sit in that one. In school they give you a list of questions to answer. In the senate, you dont get different questions. You get they give you the list. Here is what your questions will be today. This is what were voting on. In the senate they tell you when recess is. Just like in school. And in school they tell you when to go home for the day. Just like in the senate. Let me tell you thats not what it is like to be a governor. Thats not what its like to be an executive. When youre an executive the call comes in the middle of the night. When youre an executive the storm comes off the atlantic ocean. And there is no answer key. When youre an executive, a murder occurs and you have to help people to solve the crime. When youre an executive a terrorist attack comes and you have to protect people and deploy people to make sure that lives are saved. There is no answer key. And there is none for the presidency of the United States<\/a>, either. Thats the difference. And thats what i was trying to say last night when i said, lets get this washingtontoenglish dictionary and convert what the heck these guys are saying. Thats why i said, stop the washington bull. Now everybody thought because i was from new jersey i might finish that word. They had their hands on the button ready to push the sevensecond delay on me. Ive grown up. Im older. I just stopped right at the two ls and that was it. So i appreciate you coming today. We have a lot of work to do between now and monday. Youre my second town hall today. I have two more after this. Doing 17 events in the next three days. We are going to be in every part of iowa to answer your questions the same way i answered the questions of those moderators last night. One last thing. You deserve better than to have somebody go and take a little hisy fit and walk away and not show up at the debate. Okay. You deserve better than that. [applause] i mean, that was really quite a performance wasnt it . And going my marbles home. When youre president you dont do that. If you do it is going to cost american lives and american fortune and american reputation. So you invite me, i show up. You give me a microphone, i talk. And you raise your hand and ask me a question, i answer. Thats what leaders are supposed to do because we work for you not the other way around. So one rule for my town hall meetings, you raise your hand i call on you, you ask a question, i answer. Thats the rule. So lets do it. Whos got their hands up . Sir. Right on the back on the aisle. Governor, my wife and i were privileged to attend the meeting last night. I was very proud that you didnt turn tail and run. You actually stood your ground against that little blonde girl. Shes tough. She is mean. She is. Shes tough. The other question that i would like to ask, your position on the right to own and have arms, Second Amendment<\/a>. Here in iowa there is nobody that doesnt carry or at least have the right to carry as long as theyre not a criminal or a felon. Thats the way it should be. Thats the way it should be. Lets start right there. The fact is youre a law abiding citizen. You should have the right to exercise your Second Amendment<\/a> rights. Are we allowed to place restrictions on that . Only in the most extreme of circumstances. Like if youre a felon. Have you committed a Violent Crime<\/a> . Then you foisted your right to be able to hold that fireman. If youre a terrorist you forfeited your right to buy a fire arm in this country. If you have severe Mental Illness<\/a> we dont want you to be able to carry a fire arm in this country but otherwise we should be able to exercise your Second Amendment<\/a> right. I dont think the founders put the bill of rights in random order. I dont think they dumped these rights in and pulled it out randomly and said okay here is the order. Look at the first amendment. Freedom of speech. Freedom of religion. Prevention of the establishment of religion. Freedom of association. Freed osm the press. Bedrock things that help define who we are as a democracy. The next one is the right to bear arms. The Second Amendment<\/a>. They put it there for a reason. The reason they put it there i believe from all the history ive read is they were afraid of a big government. They had just finished getting out from under one and fighting a war against all odds to get out from under it and they wanted to remind the American People<\/a>, this is your country not the governments. There may be a moment when you may need to rise up as we did to take back your country. And they wanted you to have the right to bear arms not only to protect yourself against criminals but to protect yourself against your own government. And so that principle is a bedrock principle, too, one of the things that helps to ensure the future of freedom and liberty in our country. So i fought hard in new jersey against further restrictions on gun rights. My state is one of the worst gun rights states in america. Now, all of those laws got passed before i became governor. So what ive had to do is play defense. So they tried to ban the 50 caliber rifle. I vetoed it. They tried to lower the magazine size from 15 to 10. I vetoed it. They tried to institute a statewide i. D. , required i. D. System for all gun owners. I vetoed it. And for folks, six different folks who traveled into my state from out of state who legally owned a fire arm in the state where they came from they got pulled over for a traffic infraction and wound up being against the law in new jersey to carry the fire arm they had and faced criminal charges including jail. Starting back in 2010, all six people that happened to ive pardoned. And given a full and complete pardon so they never have to Face Criminal Charges<\/a> or the possibility of jail. The folks in my state who are Second Amendment<\/a> advocates, the new jersey pistol club, will tell you that there would be no Second Amendment<\/a> in new jersey if it was for governor christie. I just vetoed more bills this last session in the same way. As president of the United States<\/a> i will be released off defense and go back on offense and thats what ill do on the Second Amendment<\/a>. Thank you, sir. Sir . Thank you, governor. What are your plans to update and keep the promise of Social Security<\/a> for those generations on it and the generations to come . I am shocked given the shirt he has on. Hes asking me a Social Security<\/a> question. We need to take a stand. Theyre here at every one of my meetings. It is like an open book test. Its great. You know whats coming. Listen, here is the thing you should know. [audio difficulty stand by] i am the only candidate in this race with an entitlement reform plan. Imagine how crazy that is. 71 of all federal spending today are entitlements 71 cents of every dollar you send to washington and we borrow from the chinese gets spent on entitlements and debt service. It is bankrupting Social Security<\/a> and it is bankrupting our nation. Yet 12 republican candidates, three Democratic Candidates<\/a> still in the race, im the only one with a plan. Why . Because theyre afraid. Theyre afraid of getting you angry. Here is the difference. Im from new jersey. Anger is a part of our every day life. Im not afraid of it. What i want you to do is respect me. Because i will confront the issues that need to be confronted. Heres our plan. First off you need to know on all entitlements which includes medicare, medicaid, Social Security<\/a> disability i have a 12point plan to deal with that. It is on my website at Chris Christie<\/a>. Com. Im not going over all 12 points now. Ill go over four. You need to go look at that. It is scored by the Congressional Budget Office<\/a> and it will save over a trillion dollars over the next 10 years. This is a real plan. Its going do real good things to see Social Security<\/a>. Heres what it will do. On Social Security<\/a> two main points. One we have to raise the retirement age. This is for good reason. Were all living longer. The average Life Expectancy<\/a> of a woman in america now is 83. The average Life Expectancy<\/a> of a man is 79. When these programs were designed we died in our mid 60s. So were now drawing out 15 to 20 years after retirement in order to continue paying, getting paid for as long as we live. Its not sustainable that way. So i say we raise the retirement age two years and we phase it in over 25 years. So when i run against Hillary Clinton<\/a> in the fall, she says im throwing grandma off the cliff, just remind her, that it takes 25 years for grandma to hit the ground. Thats a high cliff, everybody. A very high cliff. 25 years. So that means eligibility age goes up one month a year every year for 25 years. If youre on Social Security<\/a> now it does not affect you at all. If you are close to receiving Social Security<\/a> it will affect you just a little. A month or two or three. But what it will do for your age is it is going to make it much more sound. It will deal with the tables and the increase in Life Expectancy<\/a>. Have to go up again after that. But that will all be for good reason. Because were living longer. Because of medical science and pharmacology, were living better lives and longer lives. Second, we need to means test Social Security<\/a>. Now i know that a lot of people dont like that idea but let me tell you what it is. If you make 200,000 a year or more in retirement income, that means you got four to five Million Dollars<\/a> in the bank. If you have that in the bank when you retire god bless you. Good job. You raised your family. You worked hard and you were able to save four or five Million Dollars<\/a> god bless you and god bless america. Because it is the only place in the world you could have done it. Let me ask you a question. You make 400,000 a year in retirement do you need the 1200 a month Social Security<\/a> check . Will it change your lifestyle one bit . Of course it isnt. I know the argument because ive gotten it both here in iowa and over in New Hampshire<\/a> as well. I put my money in. I want my money back. I understand that. Heres the bad news for you. The government lied to you and they stole from you. Your money is gone. It is gone. They go in and spend it now. You know this. Take a stand people know this. They spend your money now. You know whats in the trust fund . A pile of i. O. U. s from the federal government. Tans unconscionable. They just did it again a couple months ago. You folks know this. The republican congress. The democratic president. Stole 150 billion from the Social Security<\/a> Retirement Fund<\/a> and put it in the Social Security<\/a> Disability Fund<\/a> because they dont want to reform the disability program. This is going to put a bandaid on it and the bandaid they took from the Social Security<\/a> account. Its wrong. Theyve done it for years. Starting back with Lyndon Johnson<\/a> and the vietnam war. He started stealing from the Social Security<\/a> fund. And they havent stopped since. So we got an imbalance problem. More money going out. Less money coming in. When you have an imbalance problem in your checkbook you have to deal with it. Bring more money in or spend less money. This is where Hillary Clinton<\/a> and i differ on this. Hillary clinton says take the cap off the Social Security<\/a> tax. Have everybody pay on every dollar they make. She says that gets at the rich. Shes right. But so does my plan. My plan gets at the people who are the most privileged and well off because if you make over 200,000 a year on retirement and you dont get a check thats getting at those folks too. Here is why my plan is better. Lets say someone opens up a new bavenlg here in ottumwa. You went and put your money in that bank and a year later it went belly up and you lost some of your money. Then six months later you get a knock on the front door. A guy at the front door says, hey. Im opening up a new bank in ottumwa and id love you to consider giving me your deposits. You look at him and you go, you know, you look strangely like the guy who opened up this bank a year ago in ottumwa and i put my money in that bank and i lost all my money. Are you that same guy . Yes i am. Now listen. Iowans are very nice people. Ive learned that over the last nine months. Youre welcoming, warm, very nice folks. I guarantee you something. He aint leaving your front porch with any of your money. There is no chance after he blew it the first time. Why would we treat the overnment any differently . They stole your money. Now theyre asking you for more. Why would you give it to them . My plan is safe. You dont have to pay any more money in but the people who do best dont get money out. And we balance the books that way so that the folks who depend upon Social Security<\/a> for heat and rent and food will get their Social Security<\/a>. Because we dont want anyone growing old in this country in poverty who has worked hard and played by the rules. But that means there has to be sacrifice and the reason there has to be sacrifice is because we got stolen from. So we can complain about being stolen from but as my mother use today say all the time, christopher, life isnt fair. All right . Its not fair. But it is the fact. And thats what we need to do to fix it. On medicare id do the same thing by the way. Raise the eligibility age two years and phase it in over 25. And for those people making 200,000 a year or more instead of subsidizing their medicare premiums 75 which is what we do today, i subsidize it 10 . So you still get some subsidy for the money they put in but less. And i know thats not popular. But Social Security<\/a> could go in insolvent. I remember when our son got his first job. We got his first job in college. He got his first taste of. He showed it to me. What is this fica thing . Learn. You will we dont want to make that number bigger. The bigger we make that number the more money we take out of the economy. So, that is the plan. Other pointsht that go to medicaid, Social Security<\/a>, disability insurance. They all have numbers next to them. They are not my numbers. I will tell you one less thing about the difference between us. The debate before, the fox Business News<\/a> channel asked senator rubio what you would do about entitlements. He gave a 92nd answer on tax reform. Ok. Enator cruz raised his hand he gave a 62nd answer on tax reform. Senator rubio raised his hand again to argue with senator cruz. Said can i interrupt this argument to actually answer the question that maria asked, which was on entitlement reform . They dont have a plan. They are afraid if they tell you you will get mad. Betweenthe difference me and you. You know Social Security<\/a> is going insolvent. You know medicare is going insolvent. Im not bringing you a newsflash. Im telling you how we are going to fix it together. I trust the American People<\/a> to tell the truth. They are trying to hide the truth from the American People<\/a>. They will have to fix it when they get into office. When they get into office you know what they will do. They will have to deal with it. They are going to have to deal with in the next president ial term. What you rather know what the plan is and take it on rather than take it on faith . Put your hand on your wallet. It is coming. That is what i would do on Social Security<\/a> and medicare. We need to address this. If we dont we will not be able to grow and prosper as a nation. The one i have the honor of caring for our Senior Citizens<\/a> who have worked and earned the right to be cared for. That is what i would do. [applause] governor christie. Thank you for your nononsense approach. That makes president us a sanctuary country, and what are your plans for current illegals in the u. S. . I will not make us a sanctuary country. In my first weeks in office i will make sure we send a notice to the 200 mayors who now run sanctuary cities that they have a time to enforce immigration laws or i will move to cut off federal aid that has a sanctuary city name. Here is what i think about this. Im a prosecutor. I believe in enforcing the law. It is what i have done. They laws are on the books to deal with whatever you are concerned with. The president doesnt like them. I remember the elf i took as governor. His is similar. I will enforce the laws of the state of new jersey. The laws of enforce the state of new jersey that i like. Hat is the oath i take i put my hand on the bible and take that oath. This president says dont enforce them. He signed executive orders overriding them. He lets colorado and washington stay and others legalize marijuana even though it is illegal under federal law. It sends an awful message to our children and a lack of productivity in our economy from people who go to work in colorado high. Kids are getting high and the colorado schools as we speak. That thearticle colorado teachers now say the single largest challenge in the School System<\/a> is marijuana. The kids are coming with edibles to school. Brownies and gummy bears. Marijuana gummy bears. Let me say this when i was in school math and fitness physics was hard enough when i there. When he to enforce the laws of this country. That is what i will do. You will not have to wonder about it. You have seen me do it. Equally, the law fairly, justly. Equal justice under the law. Immigration laws in this country need to be respected and enforced. When you have a prosecutor is the president of the United States<\/a> you can count on the fact the level be enforced. Thank you. Yes . Governor, i manage a Large Financial Institution<\/a> in southeastern central iowa. I wanted to assure everyone your money is safe and sound. Despite the example you gave earlier. Do you have any thoughts on dodd cank and the others you share with us . Gov. Christie dodd frank was passed in 2008 in 2009. As usual with congress, they fixd a problem they could with a scalpel with a meat ax. I dont defend anyone in here who wields a good meat ax but he scalpel is more precise. Here is what i see. Our local Community Banks<\/a> are getting crushed. They are closing, they are merging. The regulatory requirements under dodd frank are so onerous a few things are happening. It costs a fortune to comply with them. They have to hire more lawyers and consultants to make sure they dont step one foot over the line. This is interesting. The banking industry, he wants to put in more loss. Immigration, no thanks. Marijuana, no thanks. Against these guys, he has regulators in their shorts. Every day. It costs a lot of money. It is making local bankers hesitant to make loans. Every one of those loans will be scrutinized with a microscope by a federal regulator has the ability to levy a big enough fine he can put you out of business. What that means for the Small Business<\/a> owners in iowa, or in new jersey, it means they are not getting loans. It means they cannot expand their business. They cannot add jobs. They cannot meet their obligations. Either they downsize or they close. We need to exempt local small Community Banks<\/a> from dodd frank. Itave no problem with applying to big banks. They are big boys. They are the ones who caused the problem to begin with. It wasnt guys here who caused the meltdown. It was fannie mae and freddie mac in the big banks. Who gave Mortgage Loans<\/a> to people who had no business ever getting a mortgage. They gave away money like it was candy on halloween. They they came to you, the taxpayer to back that up after they screwed up. That is what i would change. Local Community Banks<\/a> need to be exempted from dodd frank. Let the state regulate your banks. There is no need for the federal government to be involved in regulating your bank. If we do that it will free up and you know in normas capital can be invested in local communities. 75 of all jobs in this country are created by Small Business<\/a>. You better get to it and let the Small Business<\/a>es grow. Your Community Banker<\/a> is the person who is willing to take a chance on you. They probably frequent your business. They drive by it. They see. They talk to people who frequent your business. They go by a field. They are invested in your community. They say this is a good person. I will invest in them and take a chance. Everybody in this room is going to need someone to take a chance on them. Banks want our community to be able to do that. Financial institutions, my friend. Excellent. And . Been in many places. I was in the radiation field most of my life. Im 80 years old. I live off what i get from the government. I can tell you all about it. Im 83 years old. I walk the streets. I know almost all these guys. I got the guys that are in a halfway house. We have 80 people coming in on the street that i have a business on. Our lady here had a business on. Ok. You have to get those guys off the street. I didnt know you were coming to town. But i have quite a resume. I was up at the hospital and hit my head. First time i use my medicare. I still have been paying in. Dad,ughter said to me youre probably helping somebody else. I could get an extra hundred dollars a month. Pages andout 80 alzheimers. I have been writing since i was in high school. In a house where my dad made lieutenant colonel. He died but he was over there with agent orange. He didnt have wings. That is the way we were raised. Of mount saintot helens the day before it blew notuse the babysitter had been there. [indiscernible] , [inaudible]ng is gov. Christie that is why these people are wearing the shirts they are wearing. They care about folks like you and others who have worked hard, paid into the system, depending on that system to help them in their senior years. This is not something you were given. This is something you arent. The flip side of the reality is some people have stolen the money you put in. Now we have to make good on that. That is our job. I believe the way to make good on is to make sure people who are not in your position, who dont need this check, dont take it. If they do, i were member talking about this with my friend mark zuckerberg. He says entitlement reform is it if you if the issue. What does it mean for me . It says it means you get nothing. You are worth 38 billion. You are not getting Social Security<\/a> or anything else. That is a great problem to have in this country. That you dont need it. You were not successful by yourself. It was this country that gave us the opportunities that we exploited and made the most out. That is what we have to continue to do. Absolutely not. You are done. I let you talk for a while and i want to get to a few more young people. You can ask me a few things on the way out. That is what im talking about. You know how to wonder what im thinking ever. My name is paul finney. I came from kansas. One of the reasons some candidates have been so high in the polls is the country is angry. They are angry at have through having their wealth hollowed out. A lot of it is changing the way colas were adjusted in the 1990s which was designed to balance the budget and reduce Social Security<\/a>. But unwittingly all the private employers think there was no inflation this year. If i give my people 2 i will be a generous guy. That is the case of the government lying to us. Is it not . What did they do . The price of steak went up. They assume the average housewife will buy that steak. They put hamburger in the basket. F what is purchased it is the government moving numbers around which is deceiving the people and cheating them. What would you do about it . Gov. Christie its about telling the people the truth. But then, but so we train that problem out. That is the government deceiving us. All these numbers are crazy. Unemployment numbers. When unemployment averages, they are on the front page of the newspaper. Everybody goes wild one way or the other. What i know is there is almost no relationship to reality in a unemployment numbers the same way there is little relationship to reality on the inflation numbers. We can fix that. We can start time people the truth but when we do it is going to cost more money. The question becomes how are we going to pay for it . That is a conversation i want to have. We can make these things work but it is going to mean sacrifice by someone. In the first debate i was asked about entitlement reform. So, i get asked with this first debate in cleveland. They say governor huckabee disagrees with you. I like governor huckabee. He is an honest man. On this we have a disagreement. He says you should do nothing about this. Stolen so their money they shouldnt have to pay it back. I said i dont have problem with the argument except where we getting the money from then . It is like when my mom asked me to go shopping for her. A young boy. Who wanted to go shopping . I would go because i was the oldest son and i was supposed to do what i was told so i did. I always thought i could take it as an opportunity. If i saw something i particularly liked i would get a chance to ask for it. Maybe i get a little help. Id asked for something. Can i have that. Sure you can. Absolutely. Heres what you need to do. Go home, going the backyard. Pick the money off the money tree and bring that money back and you can buy it. Well have a money tree. Exactly. Governor huckabee sometimes thinks there is a money tree. These are his words. Not mine. He said the way we are going to do this, i will have a new tax system and we make up this problem in Social Security<\/a> because we will tax them sent pimps andes prostitutes. I never thought i would hear the phrase pimps and prostitutes will be the salvation of Social Security<\/a>. Ive been in 49 of the 50 states. I have seen a lot. There are not enough. [laughter] to solve this problem. Im telling you. Going to have enough to fix Social Security<\/a>. This is the stuff people tell you. I like mike. He is a smart guy. He was a good governor. He is a good man. They are so scared to talk to about this stuff that is the stuff they say. They say maybe though by that and i can find the next problem. You have to tell them the truth. Im giving you the truth. In return we have to have a conversation with who is going to make the sacrifice to pay for the truth. Not dog to do it it. If its going to cost money, who we getting the money from and how we going to do it . That is the conversation we have to have. I can answer to more questions. I want my staff to understand im still the boss [laughter]. [laughter] you ask, im telling you. Some day one of them may run for president. Probably not both. Maybe they will flip a coin or draw straws. You are surrounded every day by people who wore younger than you. They tell you where to go and what to do every minute every minute of the day. Its like having parents except they are younger. The only place where i am free of this tyranny of the young is when i stand here with the microphone. I will answer to questions to show everyone i am still the boss. She is going to bring a microphone. F someone is if someone is collecting welfare benefits, should they be required to take and pass a drug test to receive them . Gov. Christie they should have to try to find a job. If you are an ablebodied person on food stamps, we dont want you to go hungry. This is a generous and compassionate nation. We dont want people to starve. If you have no disability you need to show us you are going to find a job. The Obama Administration<\/a> has waived this during the recession. I understand that. Unemployment is down to 5 . It is time to make those folks go back to find a job. We pushed people back into having to make the choice to work. Not the choice to stay home. It is not just that. They should be looking for a job. Not only to help bring some money into the house that contribute to your soul. It feels good for the soul to go out and interact with people and know that your labor is valued. And you have something to come home and tell your spouse but what you did. You didnt just sit on the couch and just watch dr. Phil all day. Is he still on . I dont watch a lot of tv anymore. Sometimes i think i will be dated. That is what we are doing in new jersey. You believe as a world power we should police the middle east to maintain World Security<\/a> or are you more for the get in and get out strategy. Good question. We are not the world policeman. We are the world leader. There is a difference. The world policeman is on duty all the time no matter what. , they are force here patrolling the streets, working out of headquarters to keep you safe. Be ona doesnt have to watch 24 7. When i believe as we need to put iher in the middle east assume youre talking about not only syria and libya and iraq, but isis as well. We need to put together an alliance around the world to have folks fight with us. America should not have to carry this burden on our own. American leadership is a burden and responsibility. It is not a choice. We have to leave. When we dont, bad people do. We dont want them leading the world. It leads to violence and injustice. That comes back on us. We need to go to the other countries of the world who believe in the same things we do. This isis threat is a threat to all of us. We all need to fight together to eliminate them. America will lead. We are the most powerful nation on the world. That is not good or fair to the American People<\/a>. Its not a most effective way to do it either. The isis folks will say we are having a war against the great satan. It will help recruit more members. Dont forget this. They are attempting to oppose religious beliefs on you. That is what this is about. They want everyone to follow their beliefs and their culture. Everyone should be will to believe what is in their heart. Im roman catholic. I believe in that. There are people in this room of many other faiths. You believe deeply in your interpretation of the bible or whatever book it is that governs your religion. You are someone who believes in your interpretation of what you , that god isheart leading you to do. You should have the right to do that without violence. What they want to do is impose their beliefs on you and me. America has to stand up against that. This country was founded by people who were escaping not only political tyranny of religious tyranny. That is the basis of our foundation, the constitution. That is what i would do. We do need to be the worlds leader. Violence in yemen. The chinese building artificial islands in the South China Sea<\/a> to set up and intimidate korea and japan. World weot the kind of like. It doesnt provide it alone. The job of the american president is to create those alliances. You have to spend the time to do it. Byng any fresher creating any friendship, you have to invest time. You have to listen. You have to be clear about what your expectations of friendship is. If that person knows then you know what to expect. We have great friends around the world. Has morere friends than in the United States<\/a>. We are not trying to conquer them. We justt than the want and operate in peace. We dont want to conquer them. We want to live the way they want to live. Sometimes it would mean the use of force. I hope that it wouldnt. Thank you. Good question. I will end with two things. Thank you. Middle of the day on a friday. Three days before the caucuses. Folks here taking the time to listen to me. I appreciate you taking the time. I tell people if you get cynical about democracy come to iowa and New Hampshire<\/a>. The people of iowa and New Hampshire<\/a> have spent countless hours listening to all of us, meeting us. Looking us in the eye. Looking at our plans for the future. That is an incredible endorsement for our democracy. The fact is we cannot give up. The folks in iowa and New Hampshire<\/a> so the rest of the area you have not given up. You will make a difference monday night. The second thing is this. This campaign has been an enormous entertaining. I have been entertained. You have probably been entertained when youre watching tv, going through your mailbox, picking up the countless phone calls you are getting. Think about it. Weve had senators and former senators in this race. Business people. We have had it all in this race. Ntertainment is fine showtime is fine. Everyone likes to watch a good show. Being enjoy laughing and amused and entertained. There is a difference but showtime and game time. Showtime is what has happened up until now. 72 hours from now it is gametime. You have a decision to make. We are not taking the entertainer in chief. We are picking the commanderinchief. We are not looking for the person who can make us laugh the most. We are looking for the person that we want to represent us to the rest of the world. We are looking for the person who we believe not only can burn washington down but who can rebuild it after you burn it down. The easiest thing in the world is to burn something down. Sometimes it needs to be burn down. The hard thing is how do you rebuild it to make it work . We dont have an option in this country to not have a federal government. We need someone to protect our homeland security. We dont have an option on that. Who do you think is best prepared to do it . Who do you want with their finger on the Nuclear Button<\/a> . Who do you believe has the temperament, the judgment, the experience to do this the right way and tell you the truth. That to ponder over the next 72 hours and make your decisions. Some polls say that you are not doing as well here. What i be wasting your vote . I said to them great question. Let me tell you how i feel about voting. Voting is a privilege and responsibility. The fact is, if you vote for someone who you believe in your heart to make the best difference for your country your vote is never wasted. A wasted vote is when you vote for the person you just think would win. This, youe betting on get some good odds and you see what you want to do and make some money. A vote is an investment. It is an investment in the person you think is the best person to help lead our country. Dont let anything dissuade you from voting for the person you like and appreciate, that you think is the best person to do this job. The best person to beat Hillary Clinton<\/a>. I say this over and over. There is no silver medal in this. I mean, eight years of Public Housing<\/a> for those two should be enough. We dont need them back in the white house again. We dont want them within 10 miles. Not only vote for someone who you think and do the job but who can win the job. I have won elections in a state that is tougher than anybody on that stage has won elections in. We had an on and not elected. Ny public and in 12 years not only did i beat an incumbent 31,rat who outspent me 33 million to 11 million in 2009 but i got reelected in 2013 with 61 of the vote. In a democrat state where they told me i was going to be a one termer. But i governed as a prolife conservative republican. A higher percentage than barack obama had gotten in my state the year before for president. You want someone who will prosecute the case against her . She knew tsipras get by somebody. Im not waiting for the Justice Department<\/a> to do it. You want someone who is tough enough to stand up to her and the clinton machine and get our country back on the right track . Im the guy to do it. Thank you very much. [applause] [indiscernible conversations] [no audio] [indiscernible conversations] you will you will and in and innd all or a [indiscernible conversations] [indiscernible conversations] i have a serious question. Who would play your inauguration . Springsteen . Bon jovi. Would he do it . Yes. You did a hillary fundraiser last night. Thank you. [indiscernible conversations] we are old friends. Get in here. [indiscernible conversations] thank you. [indiscernible conversations] cspan is live in iowa. They have 25,000 residents. Joining us after the Chris Christie<\/a> event is trudy, the chair of the Republican Party<\/a> here in this county. This has been a busy season. It is so great to have the opportunity to meet with people and people to meet with them. Have you endorsed or do you go to the republican events . I go to all the republican events. For. Ay i can say who i am is it trending democratic or republican . Voterar as registration, much more democratic. We have people who really look at our candidates and make their decisions. Even though Voter Registration<\/a> may not report that. What did you think of today . It was a great event. He looks them straight in the eye and was able to give them the message. This is going to be so important to tell people the truth. 1681 caucus locations in iowa. How many in while below county . We have 22. The caucus is run by volunteers. We have 5000 or more people volunteers working these caucuses. How many do you expect . Votes forexpecting the republican total. 1000. Looking closer to that will actually vote. We will have children. We tried to make this a family event. It is important for the children to know the democratic process. How better than to come to our caucuses. This is facetoface retail. It is. Trudy, the largest employer, gbs meatpacking. Sittings a group here in the front row and these ladies got here early wearing matching shirts. Im not sure if it is a dance crew. It is not a dance crew. They are supporting Social Security<\/a>. Your jackets and tshirts say what is your name . My name is maryland. What is the stand you want to take . My only grandson is 18 years old. She is in college. Im lobbying basically because i would like to see that he along with my daughters age, 53 years old, that it is not for me but for all of the young generation, the ones coming up like 52, 53 years old, will they ever see it . I am taking a stand for them. Do you attend a lot of events . Right now there has been five. I missed one. I was not able to come. Some have done all of that. To make threats and republicans . Yes. We have done well over 50. Will you be caucusing at different locations or have you decided . Were here for the take a stand. We say Social Security<\/a> is our candidate. That is why we are at the event. Say wenot at liberty to are caucusing for one or another. We are just here to talk about Social Security<\/a>. What brought you out today . Socialsecurity security. I look at these two small girls and kept thinking are they really going to have Social Security<\/a> . Fornted to remain solvent my children and greatgrandchildren. That is my stand. These are the take a stand group. This is cspans road to the white house live coverage. We just had a Chris Christie<\/a> event here in downtown tom iowa. We learned earlier the last president to visit was bill clinton, last night. We are being joined by a Chris Christie<\/a> supporter. Where you from . I am seeking answers. The time is short. There are so many good choices. I want to look them in the eyes, get a feel for them, see if they are their character. How it is. Were you excited . I am undecided. I like what he had to say. He seems very genuine to me. Is it important to look them in the eye . I think so. You get a different flavor when you see them in person. Then you do on the television set. To you feel responsibility to do what you do . Very much. ,eople have to be proactive have to get involved more. This is an important election. Have you gone to a caucus before . Who did you vote for . I have not gone to a caucus before. I have voted before but i have not been quite as involved. I think things are at a turning point and i think it is time for the people that are getting involved to get involved. G or know where your caucus location is . I do. Will we see you there monday night . Yes. Thank you for joining us. Owner of the brewing company. Did you learn Chris Christie<\/a> wanted to hold an event here . A week to 10 days ago. He called again from new jersey. We set it up and said absolutely. Have you had these events often . No. Business. In we have only had one election cycle since we were established. We appreciate him coming. What do you have to do . Not much. Talk to the campaign. I talked to the campaign. They took care of it. They came in early this morning. They got everything arranged. Cspan also has been fantastic. We didnt have to do anything but provide a little bit of coffee. We appreciate that. Another campaign called would you allow the men . I absolutely would. Were respectful of all views. Are you caucusing monday night . Most likely. I hopefully will caucus again this monday. Per did the name come from . Long story but outside the windows here is a river. There were rapids. Named them. Ago he outside of our window are those rapids. The Des Moines River<\/a> runs through. We are 85 miles southeast of des moines. That is going to wrap up our coverage from Chris Christie<\/a>. Road to the white house is on every day between now and New Hampshire<\/a>. We will be live monday night at a Republican Caucus<\/a> and a democratic caucus. ,verything we have covered here going down through the campaign you can watch it cspan. Org. Our event covered Chris Christie<\/a> in iowa and many candidates ahead of the Iowa Caucuses<\/a> on monday. We will take you there live. You can watch all of our coverage. We will have plenty for you. Since took a look at the events with Chris Christie<\/a>, i want to show you this talking about what his plan is to win the nomination. Taking a look here, saying that he believes he is starting to resonate with voters. They are confident he can improve his standing with the republican primary because his opponents are not as deep as he is. Isyou go further down, it going to go down to four or five people. Christie will be one of those. That is going to be great because the field narrows, debates get more substantial. Other people get as exposed get exposed and that will be good for us. Just a look inside the Chris Christie<\/a> campaign. We show the democrats. Let us know what you saying. If you have any thoughts friday night, 9 23 eastern time. The couple of tweaks here from there he is news outlets. This is from the daily caller. Emails coming out from Hillary Clinton<\/a> are too damaging to release. Another one talking about ted cruz who is being dogged by the birther issue days away from the Iowa Caucuses<\/a>. The berniee from brothers. You can read more at buzz feed. Com. We have a caller on the line. Hello. How are you . Host im not sure if we are able to hear you. Caller all right. Sorry about that. We have you on the air. Ok. All right. Anything. Ar me . An you hear i can hear you. All right. Host you have your television up to loud if you want to turn it down. Ok. Er host what are your thoughts . Caller i like Chris Christie<\/a>. He tells it like it is. That is what we need. , what is her name host Carly Fiorina<\/a> . Yes. R i think she would get a lot of things done. She doesnt have any experience. And donald trump, he is a joke. He puts on a show. That is what he is doing. He is really scary. Kelly from fox, what is going to happen if a diplomat from a foreign country, he doesnt like them . Im not one to talk to him . He acts like a child sometimes. I like donald trump. Scary. Would i think be host on the republican line, tony. Caller i would like to ask a question or have the question asked to one of the candidates the cap on Social Security<\/a>. I feel that Social Security<\/a> is one of the best programs this country ever had. I dont know what people would do without it. I dont hear any of the about the cap on Social Security<\/a>. Host if you go on cspan. Org and browse around in the video library, some candidates did actually talk about Social Security<\/a> and some ideas for making it solvent into the future. Are you still with us . I dont hear them talking about the cap of these rich much as paying as people who make 120,000. Persons that are making millions or the same as two people one person going out and making 110,000, both entitled to Social Security<\/a>. That neede for people it. Not people who dont. It is a socialistic program and i dont know what this country would do without it. [indiscernible conversations] any of i would like to hear more about the Social Security<\/a> and i dont hear it. I think i heard one of the candidates. Im not sure which one. They didnt make too much of it. Bernie sanders said he would take the cap off. Host we do have a lot of coverage from the campaigns we have been covering. I encourage you to check it out. Dayton ohio democrats. Caller how are you doing . Host good. Caller i was listening to Hillary Clinton<\/a>, Bernie Sanders<\/a> and omalley. I think im going to choose Hillary Clinton<\/a> because i remember in the 1990s her husband under his administration, there was over 23 million jobs. Bernie sanders promised several toes that he was not going play nasty attack ads. He has not only made attack ads for Hillary Clinton<\/a> but on her husband. He did it in a sly way were most people who wouldnt see what he was doing. That is what turned me away from him. This inu have seen ohio . Caller i think that is a dishonorable thing to talk about another persons spouse. Host did it come from him or ai pac . Caller it doesnt matter. He should straighten it out. Host thank you for the call. Ryan is on the line. Chris christie. I was impressed with the town hall. By and large, honestly, i am ready for a trump presidency. I think he would be a great option. Trump is the emotional leader and christie would keep him grounded if they ran together, and i think they would be very aggressive in addressing some of the harsh realities in our country. With christie on that . The airthat is up in but i think the writing is on the wall. Take a look at this article. It is from the new york times. They are trying to track the candidates on how they are doing. This is an upshot in the new york times. You can see donald trump with ,1 , ted cruz at wifi percent and you can see over time how some of these roles have really, really reversed. 25 is ats that 25 . Howyou can see over time some of these roles have really, really reversed. Taking your calls. I want to hear what you think. Illinois, am republican. How are you . Caller we are holding together. Just barely. It is fun. I saw some people at a rally tonight. It was sort of fun. What are your thoughts ahead of the caucuses . Caller i will tell you. I went to the trump announcement and i wasthe summer going to give him a shot and i sort of did but he is putting everybody down. If you doesnt like you all of a sudden, i mean, he sort of like you one day and the next day he is sort of mad at you and says you are not a nice guy. I dont you know. There are people that i know who are nice guys, but according to donald trump, they are not nice guys anymore. The more i learn about donald trump, the less i like him. Have you caucused before . Caller yes, i have been caucusing since 1984. After 1984, i went republican. I heard some potential bad weather might keep some people at home . There is some bad weather expected, but the people i dont know, you will see me at home. [laughter] who are you going to be caucusing for . Caller ted cruz. All right, why . Cruzr it wasnt always i learn about ted cruz, he is just he is a conservative, i am a beenrvative, and he has consistent from day one. I will admit that he didnt have a bad debate last night, he wasnt good, but he started off not really good. He started off with a joke, but his next joke wasnt too good. Issues, im an issue guy, and on issues, he is great and the thing i like about cruisz rubio rubio i kind of like rubio, too. But he got schooled on politics on this gang of eight thing, the democrats schooled him. To win, they are very good, but they dont play to win. Publicans do republicans do. Out,nk if he works his way he will be ok. Going to leave it there. I appreciate your perspective from iowa. I am a democrat and i was going to vote democrat this year but i have listened to all of the caucus talks and speeches, both republican and democrat, and i was just listening to bill christie, and i think he was awesome. I know a lot about bill christie Chris Christie<\/a>, yes . I voted for obama, i voted for obama twice, but i was just very impressed, he could just answer all of the questions intelligently and i might consider voting republican again one day. Linel right, ted is on the from pittsburgh. A democrat. Hi, ted. Caller this Chris Christie<\/a> is an interesting fellow. I am democrat and i am pro union. I didnt hear much of a stand on that. Im a businessman and a former businessman since 1978, but , i think to christie thehe Trump Campaign<\/a> fails, next notch down on the holster, a gunter, although i dont own a gun, is Chris Christie<\/a> because he can talk tough and he is reasonable. I know all of the stuff with that bridge thing is all negative towards him but he has got programs lined up. He has got several programs lined up and he is not afraid to talk to you. He is not like, shut up, vote like that. D stuff im a democrat and i am pro mostly rightm also to life. Right to life. You toright, thank pittsburgh there. Apologies if we did not get to your phone call. We will have more phone calls tomorrow morning. We will be hearing from marco from ames, iowa, and former president bill clinton and his daughter, chelsea, will be campaigning on behalf of Hillary Clinton<\/a> in cedars rapid in cedar rapids, iowa. That all starts tomorrow on saturday at 8 15 p. M. Here on cspan. Steve what we are going to be looking for in both events is really to give you a sense of what it is like to campaign for the caucuses. Keep in mind that the key is the campaigns. We want to make sure that the people who support you will get to the caucuses. It is interesting to see how the candidates close the deal, seller messages, and convince people who might be on the fence to go for candidate a or candidate b. We are essentially seeing walltowall coverage here on cspan. Live coverage of the president ial candidates in iowa here on cspan. Next, republican president ial candidate and former Florida Governor<\/a> jeb bush is campaigning iowa. Ol, iowa caroll, isis,ks about combating making health care affordable, and other issues. This is about one hour and 20 minutes. Congress can configure hello,man ca everybody. I am congressman kinzinger. Let me just tell you how i got into politics. I was a military man. I used to fly for the national guard. I went to iraq and i made the decision and i saw president obama and he had been elected and i made the decision is that where we were in this situation where we were all me. Imistic, including i came back and i decided to run for congress, not because i was very in pessimism, but ultimately because america will done,t america has always which is to come out on the other side Even Stronger<\/a> than where we started. That is why i served for my country, that is why i ran for congress, and that is why i do what i do today. We were talking about running for president of the United States<\/a> because there is no doubt in my mind that this is the most important part of the election cycle, and one of the people that really stood out to me was a man named jeb bush. We all knew him, we had already about him, and we were excited about him. But i started looking at what the candidates were saying and what i liked about governor bush is that he was saying, i am going to tell you all the truth. I am optimistic. I believe the people born into poverty can find their way out and lift themselves and be as successful as anybody wants to be because this is the greatest country in the world. And it struck me because there is a time of dark pessimism in this country, similar to the time in 1979, by the way, when jimmy carter was president and all of this dark stuff was going needed a leader who is not going to reflect all of this dark stuff back at us, but we need a leader who will show us the way out and show us the way ahead but show us that we blessed with this country. That man was governor bush. I fell in love with the message of optimism and the message of hope. Toas one of the first people announce my support for him. He works with very brave, honorable young men and women. Has250 years, this country put blood, sweat, and toil to give this country the goals that it has. The thing that strikes me is that we have this 250 years of American History<\/a> and we have that godgiven purpose that it would be strange that it would dry that this would all die now. People think that we are dominant that we are just good now and not great. That is not true. Aboutn 1979 people heard a shining city on the hill, it gave them purpose. Had just left vietnam, the russians were more powerful than ever, sounds kind of familiar, doesnt it . And a guy named Ronald Reagan<\/a> came along. Had acause he said he amazing talents but because he could compel people to that. In 1989 as he was giving his farewell address to the nation, i am going to paraphrase, i dont know what i meant by a shining city on the hill, that what i meant was a kid could graduate from college and be able to buy a house in an america where people could look at us as an inspirational hope of what they could achieve and see that in other countries. In eightmazing is that years, he set out to accomplish everything and he did it. We are in a tough time right now and we deserve better than what we have been given in the last seven years. Race is one man in this that i believe in Strong Enough<\/a> and i believe he has the optimism and the understanding of what is going on and what needs to be done. Ladies and gentlemen, i am proud to endorse and proud to introduce the next president of the United States<\/a>, governor jeb bush. Mr. Bush thank you. Thank you. Thank you, adam. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you, congressman, for campaigning with me across the country. Adams main job is to do the morning shows after the debates. Today was a little easier for him at than the previous debates i think, for him. [applause] mr. Bush thank you for your service. I wanted to recognize two of my jeb, jr. Ldren, and my daughter, noelle. I want to tell you two stories and then i will open it up. These are stories of leadership. When i started my campaign, i wanted to talk about the things that were broken and help people to rise up again. Our National Security<\/a> has become more and more of an issue. Something i think is important for us to talk about. Restore Economic Growth<\/a> unless we are strong as a nation. Hillary clinton believes that just a third term of the Foreign Policy<\/a> of barack obama is ok, that we have got isis where we want them, that the reset button with russia is going to work out. That russia was just a regional power, not to worry, and 30 days ukraine ourinvade enemies no longer fear us ukraine, and our enemies no longer fear us. On a military school in South Carolina<\/a> and i laid out a vision for how we could restore americas presence in the world. It was a blast going to this place because these students are serve in the military. They are patriots. This required to go to vets withlite physical therapy. I am 62 and i am in good physical shape but they were all 21. 50 situps and 20 pushups, we did more callous nx did more exercises and then they said we were going to go do more exercises and run three miles. , was collapsing and they said you want to be commander in chief, do you have are back . Will you defend and support the military . All of the questions you would expect for somebody who is going to go serve in the military. Here is what i told them. I will be a commanderinchief who will respect the military. I wont impose a lyrical considerations. Impose political considerations. Band of chris horton, i got it from his wife, to remind me that we are not talking about a videogame here. The next president has to be serious. He has to have a steady hand. We have to achieve peace through strength, not to be a war but to createon security for our own people and therefore get back to the business of creating high sustaining economic. Growth Economic Growth<\/a>. Which means we cant talk about it. We have to rebuild the military. We have seen through the come of the military cuts, the sequester has continued on and it will not send a signal of seriousness for the world. Build the military, the marines, backup to the levels of readiness. Half of the marines who are stationed in the United States<\/a> right now dont meet the definition of readiness. The marines. We have an air force pilot who is fantastic, but the air force, the planes are older than the pilots. The b52 was launched during the era of harry truman. Modernize our equipment, we got to increase the training, we need to be serious about making National Security<\/a> our first priority. There is a threat that the president thinks that needs to be dealt with as a lawenforcement exercise, that they have declared war on us but we cant even call it for what it is. It is Islamic Radical<\/a> terrorism. Theyre are making their activities to destroy western freedom. Vigilant and strong and we needed takeout isis and the caliphate that exists. That is what we need to do. That is a strategy. You want a leader who knows what he doesnt know. At these debates, people talk like this is a game. We are going to carpet bomb. Really . Youre going to carpet bomb mosul . We have to have a strategy. Idaho to do this. I know how to do this. Of the fact that my dad was the president of the United States<\/a> and my brother was the president of the United States<\/a>. They knew how to keep us safe. [applause] the second story, and then we will open it up, is a story of leadership. It is a story of being a governor. Governors have an interesting job. It is kind of like being a president , but it is not like it. I balance the budget for eight years in a row. We didnt create some artificial game. We balanced the budget. We live within our means. Lived within our means. I was one of two states that went from aa to aaa bond ratings. We didnt take nonrecurring revenue to spend on obligations. About our went business was a Kitchen Table<\/a> budget. Not all of this weird stuff that people dont understand with language they dont get. Principalake in the obligations of government, we would cut taxes and give back the rest. When i left, there were 9 billion in reserves. When i left, they called me michael corleone. Not because i wanted to be the the stage, but because there was a principle behind this. You have to live within the means of the people you are serving. In that time as governor, i learned that you cannot just excuse when there is a challenge. Life doesnt work out the way it is planned, does it . Have eightou hurricanes and four tropical storms in six months. Thats what i had. We had 150 billion in insured and uninsured losses. We had homes that were uninhabited. We had people who were living paycheck to paycheck who no longer had anything. I will never forget, i had a largest Mobile Home Park<\/a> in the world in east Central Florida<\/a> and this place was devastated. These were manufactured homes and the storm went right through there and this woman was wearing a Salvation Army<\/a> sweatshirt and she came over and she just gave me a hug. And she didnt let go. And ist gave me a hug pressed her back and i was the to her crying and i consoled her and she said she was volunteering for the Salvation Army<\/a>. I said, why . She said she felt like it was the best way to give back. Man. There are thousands and thousands of stories from my time as governor when i lead. I didnt talk about it i just did it. It is like filing an amendment and calling it a success. Leader, you have a focus on moving towards the fire to take it out, to solve the problems, and that is what we need in washington, d. C. Right now. Eight hurricanes and four tropical storms hot me that you have to be all in onthejob. I had a countdown clock and it went backwards all the way to zero. I spent my last four years with the same passion and conviction that i had in my first four years and we are called pushed a law. When and we accomplished a lot. I didnt blame benghazi on a videographer and then line to to theily then lie family members. Will acceptader who personal responsibility and the first place we should do it is in the veterans administration. I am promising you, heads will roll until we get it right. Veterans deserve far better than what they are getting today. [applause] mr. Bush so if you are looking for someone who has got a proven record, a proven, consistent, conservative record across the board, where there are issues of life, which are not political to me, it is informed by my faith. Ononverted to catholicism easter sabbath in 1995. It was one of the greatest moments to join the faith of my life. Or the Second Amendment<\/a> or all of the mms because it is all a package deal as far as i am concerned, or all of the amendments because it is all a package deal as far as i am concerned, the bill of rights. For someoneooking who has that record and who can apply those same principles with detailed plans to fix things and if you are looking for someone who has a backbone and a heart for people, i hope you will 7 00 a. M. ,me at seven 00 p. M. , excuse me dont go at 7 00 a. M. [laughter] running foram president because i believe we are on the verge of the greatest time to be alive. I want to provide opportunities for the next generation. We are on the verge of doing this and we are going to change the direction of this country and i think i can do it with you and i think you can join me. Thank you all very much. [applause] mic, one here is a mic, two mics, and one back there. Here is a question writer. Here is a question right here. Would you consider barack obama as a nominee . For the Supreme Court<\/a> . Mr. Bush you have obviously watched the democratic debate. That was pretty breathtaking. I would put that in the pander category. No. Lieutenantgovernor, what is your plan for providing safe, Affordable Energy<\/a> in the future . Thebush i think we let markets decide this more than anything else that we drove from des moines and there are Wind Turbines<\/a> all over through here from des moines and there are Wind Turbines<\/a> all over the place. My guess is that ethanol would be reductions would have reductions. My tax plan eliminates depletion i trust people sitting in a garage somewhere, probably a kid, hopefully living in miami because the Health Effects<\/a> of these things are pretty extraordinary, someone is going to figure out how to have a sustainable, renewable source of energy that is going to change the world. My bet is that it will be an american and my bet is that it will happen in the freest possible kind of environment and one where you have a venture capitalist arm inside of the government. Here is the other point i can make. I as the governor of the state of florida which has a very fragile environment, it is important to balance the state in the country with the environment. The question to me is that we need to be stewards of the environment. It is not just a political statement, it is a religious statement. I think we can achieve this. This is an extraordinary country. We should find the next disruptive technologies. I have a friend here from florida who was born in iowa who served in the Florida Senate<\/a> and who was also the premier environmentalist in the Public Sector<\/a> when i was serving and, kurt kaiser, do you have something to say . We moved to tallahassee, and that is where we wanted to live, was florida, so i got years inegislature, 10 the statehouse and 10 years in the state senate, and i have watched all of the Political Leadership<\/a> from the 1960s to cancurrent day, and if you compare marco rubio to jab, that is a joke. Joke. , that is a the things that jeb bush was talking about, he is not exaggerating one hit on what he it on what he is talking about. We have had republican speakers marco was onend of those speakers. Every single one of those republican speakers except rubio have all endorsed jeb bush. He is the only one in the whole group. If you look at the number of legislators in the office today, about two thirds of all republican legislators have endorsed jeb bush over marco. That is because they have seen firsthand jeb bushs record. [applause] mr. Bush yes, sir. I thought you were going to talk about environmental policy, but that is ok, too. [laughter] mr. Bush we are learning this in the debates. [laughter] i am a newlywed. Mr. Bush 4 congratulations mr. Bush congratulations. Just got out of school, college, that is, and right now we are struggling to be able to pay back, obviously, the school loans and the American Dream<\/a> to own a house. If you get elected, when you get elected, what will you do to help in my situation, kn","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"archive.org","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","width":"800","height":"600","url":"\/\/ia802209.us.archive.org\/9\/items\/CSPAN_20160130_010000_Key_Capitol_Hill_Hearings\/CSPAN_20160130_010000_Key_Capitol_Hill_Hearings.thumbs\/CSPAN_20160130_010000_Key_Capitol_Hill_Hearings_000001.jpg"}},"autauthor":{"@type":"Organization"},"author":{"sameAs":"archive.org","name":"archive.org"}}],"coverageEndTime":"20240623T12:35:10+00:00"}