Oct. 9 Republican debate transcript

Bartiromo: Gerry.

Seib: Governor Romney, as you well know, health costs are a huge issue for the automakers in this city. Do you think the Republican Party should take the lead in ending the employer-based health care system we have now and replace it with something else? And if so, what would that be?

Romney: Well, I don't believe in replacing what we have, but I believe in improving it. And the way we improve something is not by putting more government into it -- of course that's what Hillary Clinton wants to do; Hillary care is government gets in and tells people what to do from the federal government standpoint. In my view, instead, the right way for us to go is to bring in place the kind of market dynamics that make the rest of the economy so successful.

So my plan gets everybody in America insured, takes the burden of free riders off of our auto companies and everybody else, and says let's get everybody in the system.

And to do that, we say, look, we're going to have states create their own plans. We did it in our state, and it's working. We're not going to have the federal government tell them how to do it.

Number two, we're not going to spend more money. Hillary Clinton's plan costs $110 billion. Mine says, let's use the money we're already spending a little more wisely.

And number three, instead of having the federal government give you government insurance, Medicare and federal employee insurance, let's have private insurance. Our solutions as Republicans have to be able to deal with the big issue of our time economically for the American family, and that's health care. Get the cost of health care down. Get everybody insured, but not in a government takeover, but by using the dynamics that have always made our other markets so successful.

And one more thing, and that is, our health care system right now really penalizes individuals that might want to buy their own insurance, as opposed to buying it through their company. And that's why I propose that people should be able to get their insurance individually, and it should be -- and get the same tax treatment as to whether the company buys it for them, or they buy it for themself. And all medical expenses would be tax deductible.

This issue, health care, is not a Democratic issue. It's a Republican issue. It's a Democratic fundraising opportunity. They go out and use it to raise money. But the right thing for health care is for us to apply market dynamics to get people insured, and to bring the cost of health care down. The plan that we put in place is doing just that.

Matthews: Thank you, Governor.

This is a 30-second answer.

And the question is, are unions good for America? And please act like you're a member of a union and limit it to 30 seconds. (Laughter.) Okay?

I'll start with Congressman Paul. Please, we have limited time.

Paul: The right to unionize should be a basic right of any group. You should be able to organize. You should have no privileges, no special benefits legislated to benefit the unions, but you should never deny any working group to organize and negotiate for the best set of standards of working conditions.

Matthews: Governor?

Huckabee: The real fact is, unions are going to take a more prominent role in the future for one simple reason: A lot of American workers are finding that their wages continue to get strapped lower and lower while CEO salaries are higher and higher. And the reality is that when you have the average CEO salary 500 times the average worker, and you have the hedge fund manager making 2,200 times that of the average worker, you're going to create a level of discontent that's going to create a huge appetite for unions.

So unions are the natural result of workers finally saying, "Look, I can't go from a 70,000 (dollar)-a-year job to a $15,000-a- year job and feed by family of four." That's when unions are going to come back in roaring form.

Matthews: Senator McCain.

McCain: I think the unions have played a very important role in the history of this country to improve the plight and conditions of laboring Americans.

I think that like many other monopolies, in some cases they have then serious excesses.
I come from a right-to-work state. If someone wants to join a union in my state, they're free to do so, but they are not compelled to do so.

I think the key to unions is that any American has the right and privilege to join a union but should never be forced to do so. And this latest ploy of the Democrats of signing people up in the most willy-nilly fashion is something that needs to be rejected, because it will not protect the rights of workers who do not wish to join a union.

Matthews: Governor?

Romney: Senator McCain is sure right on that point. With regards to unions overall, there are some good ones and some not so good. The good ones are those that say, "How can we do a better and better job helping our members have better and better skills, and making sure that the enterprises they work in are more and more" --

Matthews: Can you name a few "good" unions?

Romney: Yeah, like the Carpenters Union, for instance, does a great job training their members and making them more effective and more efficient, and they get higher compensation as a result of it.

There are also bad unions. I'm probably not going to name specific bad unions, but there are -- (laughter) -- but there are bad unions as well, which -- who go too far and who forget that in order for them to be successful, the enterprise that they're involved with has to also be successful.

And -- I mean, I remember my dad had a conversation long ago --

Matthews: Okay, we have to get --

Romney: I'm just going to tell a story --

Matthews: These are 30 seconds. I'm sorry, Governor.

Romney: (Inaudible) -- okay.