Dec. 12 Republican debate transcript

Washburn: Congressman?

Hunter: First, you got to strengthen the U.S. military. You know, we have to look at the horizon past Iraq and Afghanistan and see the emergence of North Korea with nuclear capability; Iran proceeding on that path, despite what the NIE says; and also the emergence of communist China as the new superpower stepping into the shoes of the Soviet Union.

So strengthening the military and meeting those horizon threats, and also strengthening our border, enforcing the U.S. border, that means building the border fence and making sure that we know who is coming into this country, what they're bringing with them.

Lastly, bringing back the industrial base of the United States that right now is fragmenting and being sent off to China and to other places around the world, which also is a security threat -- bringing back high-paying manufacturing jobs to this country that will serve this next generation well.

Washburn: Thank you. That's a tall order for a year.

Congressman Paul, what about you?

Paul: Well, there's a limit what you can do in one year, and at home it's more difficult. You would have to work with the Congress. But a commander in chief could end the war. We could bring our troops home. That would be a major event. It would be very valuable.

We could be diplomatically -- we could become diplomatically credible once again around the world. Right now, today, we're not. Even our allies resent what we do.

We would have no more preemptive war, we would threaten nobody. We would not threaten Iran.

Now it is proven once again, Iraq didn't have the nuclear weapon, had nothing to do with 9/11. The Iranians have no nuclear weapon, according to our CIA. There's no need for us to threaten the Iranians. We could immediately turn the Navy around and bring them home.

Washburn: Thank you.

Paul: And I think this would be a major step toward peace.

Washburn: Thank you.

Congressman?

Tancredo: The first five minutes after taking office, I would free Ramos and Compean, that's for sure.

Tancredo: Then the second thing I would do is to make sure that we begin the process of securing those borders and enforcing the law inside the United States against hiring people who are here illegally.

Then I would use that bully pulpit that the governor talked, and is absolutely accurate in terms of the importance of it for a president of the United States for this reason: to explain that it is, in fact, a war -- not -- a war is not going on in Iraq; that's a battle.

We are fighting a war against radical Islam. It is a threat to our existence as a nation. It's a threat to Western civilization.

It will take someone who's willing to say that...

Washburn: Thank you.

Tancredo: ... and lead Western civilization in this clash.

Washburn: Thank you.

Senator Thompson, your first year?

Thompson: Well, it wouldn't take me a year. I'd go before the American people and tell them the truth, and try to establish my credibility, and tell them that we haven't come to terms yet with the nature of the threat that we're facing or what we're going to have to do to defend ourselves over the years.

I'd tell them that, if they didn't already know it, we're bankrupting the next generation, and nobody even wants to talk about it, much less do anything about it.

I'd tell them that judges are setting our social policy now in this country, and that's going to stop.

And then I'd bring in members of Congress and say, look. I just got a mandate. We can work and cooperate together, or I'll go over your head to the American people.

Washburn: Governor Romney?

Romney: I want to do more than talk in my first year. There's a lot of things I want to get done.

First of all, I want to establish a strategy to help us overwhelm global jihad and keep the world safe. I want to end illegal immigration. We can get that done.

I want to end the growth -- the expansion growth of entitlements, rein them in.

I want to end the extraordinary growth in federal spending. And I want to keep our tax burden down and reduce our tax burden on middle-income families.

I want to get us on a track to become energy independent. I want to get our schools on a track so that they can become competitive globally. And I want to get health insurance for every citizen in America. It's going to take four years for that to happen, but I'll get us on track on that.

We'll have a stronger military, a stronger economy and stronger values with stronger families after my first year in office.