Dec. 12 Republican debate transcript

Washburn: Mayor?

Hunter: That's a second tax.

Giuliani: A flatter tax, a simpler tax that you could file on one page as an option would be a good idea.

Reducing the corporate taxes I suggested, reducing income tax rates across the board, which would mostly benefit the middle class, that's where the focus should be.

But we've got to reduce taxes across the board. And we should give the death penalty to the death tax. That really is a very unfair tax.

Washburn: Thank you.

Periodically throughout the debate we'll give each of the candidates 30 seconds to make a free statement. The candidates drew for the order. We'll hear from the first two candidates now: Senator McCain followed by Congressman Hunter.

McCain: Thank you.

I've devoted my life in uniform and in public office to keeping this nation safe. I've been involved in every major national security issue of our time.

That kind of experience is what's given me judgment, the judgment to oppose a failed strategy in Iraq, a judgment to call for the strategy that's succeeding now. And I wasn't very popular because of it.

I have the judgment and the experience. And I believe that I can ask every American to serve.

I have one guiding principle, one ambition, and that is to keep America safe and to achieve and maintain our greatness.

Washburn: Congressman Hunter?

Hunter: I stand for a strong national defense, enforceable borders, and bringing back high-paying manufacturing jobs to this country that we've pushed offshore with bad trade deals.

I've been a member of the Armed Services Committee for 26 years now, and I've chaired that committee for four years, and I'm one of the few guys up here who's worn the uniform of the United States, and my own son has done now three tours in the Middle East, coming back on Thanksgiving.

I know what it takes to secure this country.

And I also built that border fence in San Diego that works so well, and I wrote the law that takes it across Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. And as president I will finish that border fence in six months.

Washburn: Thank you.

Want to come back to some issues that affect the economy. You'll have 30 seconds again. The longer you go on, the shorter we'll have to go. Thirty seconds to answer these questions, and we're going to start with Congressman Paul.

One in five jobs in Iowa depends on exports to foreign countries, but we're also exporting a lot of high-wage manufacturing jobs.

What's your plan for keeping foreign markets open while protecting good-paying American jobs?

Paul: Well, we need to adopt free trade agreements with other countries.

Today, we inhibit the export of, say, farm products to countries like Cuba. It's time we changed our attitude about Cuba. We should be looking to open these markets.

But our markets get closed for monetary reasons, because our chief export is our dollar, because we have the reserve currency of the world. People take these dollars, and our jobs go overseas. You can't solve any of these problems if you don't look at the monetary system and how it contributes to these job losses in order to provide the prosperity for our people here at home.

Washburn: Governor Romney, would you answer that?

Romney: You know, I've spent the last -- as I've told you -- 25 years in the private sector. I understand why jobs come and why jobs go. I've done business in over 20 countries around the world.

And I understand how we can build more strength in our own economy, and that's by investing in education, investing in technology, in innovation, getting ourselves off of foreign oil, and making sure that the playing field we play on around the world is level.

It's not right now.

We're going to have to renegotiate deals with people like those in China that manipulate their currency to put their products in advantage over ours.

We want to make sure that we do not have a circumstance where people close down their markets to our goods, because we can compete anywhere in the world.

One out of three agricultural acres is planted to go offshore. So don't put up barriers that keep us from being able to trade. America can compete anywhere in the world. And to remain a superpower, we must compete around the world.

Washburn: Governor Huckabee?

Huckabee: Well, job migration is the result of three things.

When you have excessive taxation that penalizes the productivity of a company. You add to that excessive regulation, which means that you've got more red tape than is possible to get through.

And I would say that as president, one of my goals would be, I can't part the Red Sea, but I believe I can part the red tape.

And the third thing is we've got too much litigation. When a company goes into business -- particularly small business, from which 80 percent of all American jobs come -- most small-business people can't fight off the potential liabilities that they come, from all of the lawsuits and litigation.

Take care of those three things, we won't see the incredible level of job migration that we see today.