TheEvilDetector
12-09-2007, 10:40 PM
Source (entire debate transcript):
http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/debate_transcript120907.pdf
(If I have made errors with Paul's answers below, please post corrections).
You can watch Paul's responses at the debates (with spanish translator speaking over the top)
here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5phHKuKmyg
---
MODERATOR: Senator Paul, the same question: The Republican
Party lost some ground. Only 23 percent support their party. What
are you going to do to recover the lost ground?
PAUL: You know, if anybody votes for the Republican Party,
they're voting for conservative values. They're voting for less
government, not more government.
In the last seven years, we've gotten a lot more government.
You know, in the year 2000, we ran on a pro-peace policy. We
were condemning Clinton for warmongering, for nation-building and
policing the world.
And we did exactly the opposite.
PAUL: Now we're mired down in the Middle East.
And Hispanics, like all Americans, are tired of it. They're propeace.
America should be pro-peace, not pro-war.
The war has created so much expenditures. We're spending our
money overseas instead of here. We're neglecting our needs here.
We're bombing and building bridges overseas and we're neglecting our
bridges here at home.
Hispanics, like everybody else, want change in our foreign
policy. They want change with our budget. We're support to be the
fiscal conservatives. We're not.
So they leave the party, just like everybody else. This is why
we lost the election last year, is because we didn't stand by our
principles of pro-peace and pro-liberty and pro-America.
(APPLAUSE)
---
MODERATOR: Congressman Paul, what would be the practical value
of English as an official language?
PAUL: Well, it's practical because we can all understand each
other. I sometimes think that those who attack bilingualism sometimes
are jealous, and we feel inferior, because we're not capable.
But we should have one language.
But we, as federal officials, as a congressman or a president, we
only have authority over the federal government. So I think all
federal things should be in English.
But when it comes to bilingualism in schools or the states, under
our Constitution, it really is permissible.
PAUL: And the states can decide that. But under the conditions
that we have today, I think it is good and proper to have one
language, which would be English, for all legal matters at the
national level. But this doesn't preclude bilingualism or whatever in
private use or in education or in local government.
(APPLAUSE)
---
MODERATOR: The vast majority of Hispanics, four out of five, are
either legal residents or American citizens. Many of them feel
affected by the negative tone of the immigration debate. How would
you -- what would you do to curb this anti-Hispanic sentiment?
...[other candidates responding]...
MODERATOR: Thank you. Representative Paul?
PAUL: On a negative tone -- well, one thing is, if we want to
prevent more negative tone, we won't be working on a tamper-proof ID.
PAUL: Because how can you have a tamper...
(APPLAUSE)
How can you have a tamper-proof ID for illegals or immigrants,
without doing it to everybody else?
That's going to lead to a national ID card, which I absolutely
oppose.
(APPLAUSE)
But we have to realize where the resentment comes from. I
believe it's related to our economy. When the economy is weakening
and there's resentment because of our welfare system; jobs are going
overseas; our good jobs -- pay is going down.
There's a lot of resentments because the welfare system is based
on mandates from the federal government to put pressure on states like
Florida and Texas to provide services which the local taxpayers
resent.
Some of our hospitals are closing. So it's an economic issue,
too.
If we deal with the welfare state and a healthy economy and a
sound -- money and all this wasteful spending overseas, we would have
a healthy economy; I think this problem would be greatly reduced.
(APPLAUSE)
MODERATOR: Thank you, Congressman. Thank you.
---
MODERATOR: It's the presidential forum, the Republican one.
We're going to talk about something else. Now we're going to talk
about Latin America. A week ago, exactly a week ago, Venezuela
rejected changes to the constitution, but the president, Hugo
Chavez...
(APPLAUSE)
President Hugo Chavez has insisted that he's going to propose
them again. Many consider him a threat to democracy in the region.
If you were elected president, how would you deal with Chavez? Let's
start with Congressman John Paul -- Ron Paul, sorry.
PAUL: Well, he's not the easiest person to deal with, but we
should deal with everybody around the world the same way: with
friendship and opportunity to talk and try to trade with people.
(AUDIENCE BOOING)
PAUL: We talked to -- we talked to Stalin, we talked to
Khrushchev, we've talked to Mao, and we've talked to the world, and we
get along with people.
PAUL: Actually, I believe we're at a time where we even ought to
talk to Cuba and trade and travel to Cuba.
(AUDIENCE BOOING)
(APPLAUSE)
But let me -- let me tell you -- let me tell you why -- let me
tell you why we have a problem in South America and Central America:
because we've been involved in their internal affairs for so long. We
have been meddling in their business.
(APPLAUSE)
We create the Chavezes of the world, we create the Castros of the
world by interfering and creating chaos in their countries, and they
respond by throwing out their leader.
(AUDIENCE BOOING)
(APPLAUSE)
MODERATOR: Thank you, Congressman.
---
The next question, of course, if regarding Iraq.
Congressman Hunter, surveys show that two out of three Hispanics
think that the United States should withdraw its troops from Iraq.
How would you convince them of the fact that they should stay there --
the troops should stay there?
...[other candidates responding]...
Congressman Paul, you have a different point of view among all of
them, don't you?
PAUL: I do.
(APPLAUSE)
I definitely have a different point of view, because we weren't
justified in going over there. We did not declare the war. And I
would say to the Hispanics that believe we ought to come home, I would
say: Let's come home as soon as possible.
(APPLAUSE)
You might ask the question, why is it that I have a different
view point on foreign policy. Because I adhere to the Constitution
and the advice of the founders to stay out of the entangling
alliances, the internal affairs of other nations.
Why is it then that I get the most money as a candidate for the
presidency from active military personnel? They're tired of it too.
(APPLAUSE)
We already have a de facto draft. These men who have fought
valiantly are called up time and time again. Their services are
extended from 12 months to 15 months. They've been over there two and
three times, and they don't see an end in sight.
PAUL: This whole idea, we're going through the same argument,
the light at the end of the tunnel. We did this in the '60s when I
was in the service. And we finally left Vietnam, tragically.
But we do much better in peace with Vietnam. We trade with them.
They have become Westernized.
What we achieved in peace we couldn't achieve in war.
(APPLAUSE)
MODERATOR: Thank you, Congressman. Thank you.
---
(Thank you to mavtek for pointing out that I missed the last question in my original post,
it is now shown below)
MODERATOR: Thank you.
Well, we have the last question for all of you. Hispanics are
the biggest minority in the United States, and by 2050, we're going to
be 25 percent of the population. Three months ago, I asked the same
thing to the Democratic candidates.
What would you think would be the biggest contribution from
Hispanics, but we want to ask you what is the role -- what role do you
think Hispanics will play in the development of our nation and our
society?
...[other candidates responding]...
MODERATOR: Congressman Paul?
PAUL: The most important thing Hispanics can do is what all
Americans do: Join us in our effort to restore our Constitution and
our great country. We have lost our way. We have lost our way. We
have deserted our traditions on our foreign policy, on our economic
policy, our education policy, our monetary policy, and this country is
looking for help.
And people are joining us now to restore this.
PAUL: And this is not a Hispanic issue, it's an American issue.
What we want is the rule of law so we all have opportunity once
again. But we have to not only restore the Constitution, we have to
first read it and understand it and what it means to be free in this
country once again.
(APPLAUSE)
http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/debate_transcript120907.pdf
(If I have made errors with Paul's answers below, please post corrections).
You can watch Paul's responses at the debates (with spanish translator speaking over the top)
here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5phHKuKmyg
---
MODERATOR: Senator Paul, the same question: The Republican
Party lost some ground. Only 23 percent support their party. What
are you going to do to recover the lost ground?
PAUL: You know, if anybody votes for the Republican Party,
they're voting for conservative values. They're voting for less
government, not more government.
In the last seven years, we've gotten a lot more government.
You know, in the year 2000, we ran on a pro-peace policy. We
were condemning Clinton for warmongering, for nation-building and
policing the world.
And we did exactly the opposite.
PAUL: Now we're mired down in the Middle East.
And Hispanics, like all Americans, are tired of it. They're propeace.
America should be pro-peace, not pro-war.
The war has created so much expenditures. We're spending our
money overseas instead of here. We're neglecting our needs here.
We're bombing and building bridges overseas and we're neglecting our
bridges here at home.
Hispanics, like everybody else, want change in our foreign
policy. They want change with our budget. We're support to be the
fiscal conservatives. We're not.
So they leave the party, just like everybody else. This is why
we lost the election last year, is because we didn't stand by our
principles of pro-peace and pro-liberty and pro-America.
(APPLAUSE)
---
MODERATOR: Congressman Paul, what would be the practical value
of English as an official language?
PAUL: Well, it's practical because we can all understand each
other. I sometimes think that those who attack bilingualism sometimes
are jealous, and we feel inferior, because we're not capable.
But we should have one language.
But we, as federal officials, as a congressman or a president, we
only have authority over the federal government. So I think all
federal things should be in English.
But when it comes to bilingualism in schools or the states, under
our Constitution, it really is permissible.
PAUL: And the states can decide that. But under the conditions
that we have today, I think it is good and proper to have one
language, which would be English, for all legal matters at the
national level. But this doesn't preclude bilingualism or whatever in
private use or in education or in local government.
(APPLAUSE)
---
MODERATOR: The vast majority of Hispanics, four out of five, are
either legal residents or American citizens. Many of them feel
affected by the negative tone of the immigration debate. How would
you -- what would you do to curb this anti-Hispanic sentiment?
...[other candidates responding]...
MODERATOR: Thank you. Representative Paul?
PAUL: On a negative tone -- well, one thing is, if we want to
prevent more negative tone, we won't be working on a tamper-proof ID.
PAUL: Because how can you have a tamper...
(APPLAUSE)
How can you have a tamper-proof ID for illegals or immigrants,
without doing it to everybody else?
That's going to lead to a national ID card, which I absolutely
oppose.
(APPLAUSE)
But we have to realize where the resentment comes from. I
believe it's related to our economy. When the economy is weakening
and there's resentment because of our welfare system; jobs are going
overseas; our good jobs -- pay is going down.
There's a lot of resentments because the welfare system is based
on mandates from the federal government to put pressure on states like
Florida and Texas to provide services which the local taxpayers
resent.
Some of our hospitals are closing. So it's an economic issue,
too.
If we deal with the welfare state and a healthy economy and a
sound -- money and all this wasteful spending overseas, we would have
a healthy economy; I think this problem would be greatly reduced.
(APPLAUSE)
MODERATOR: Thank you, Congressman. Thank you.
---
MODERATOR: It's the presidential forum, the Republican one.
We're going to talk about something else. Now we're going to talk
about Latin America. A week ago, exactly a week ago, Venezuela
rejected changes to the constitution, but the president, Hugo
Chavez...
(APPLAUSE)
President Hugo Chavez has insisted that he's going to propose
them again. Many consider him a threat to democracy in the region.
If you were elected president, how would you deal with Chavez? Let's
start with Congressman John Paul -- Ron Paul, sorry.
PAUL: Well, he's not the easiest person to deal with, but we
should deal with everybody around the world the same way: with
friendship and opportunity to talk and try to trade with people.
(AUDIENCE BOOING)
PAUL: We talked to -- we talked to Stalin, we talked to
Khrushchev, we've talked to Mao, and we've talked to the world, and we
get along with people.
PAUL: Actually, I believe we're at a time where we even ought to
talk to Cuba and trade and travel to Cuba.
(AUDIENCE BOOING)
(APPLAUSE)
But let me -- let me tell you -- let me tell you why -- let me
tell you why we have a problem in South America and Central America:
because we've been involved in their internal affairs for so long. We
have been meddling in their business.
(APPLAUSE)
We create the Chavezes of the world, we create the Castros of the
world by interfering and creating chaos in their countries, and they
respond by throwing out their leader.
(AUDIENCE BOOING)
(APPLAUSE)
MODERATOR: Thank you, Congressman.
---
The next question, of course, if regarding Iraq.
Congressman Hunter, surveys show that two out of three Hispanics
think that the United States should withdraw its troops from Iraq.
How would you convince them of the fact that they should stay there --
the troops should stay there?
...[other candidates responding]...
Congressman Paul, you have a different point of view among all of
them, don't you?
PAUL: I do.
(APPLAUSE)
I definitely have a different point of view, because we weren't
justified in going over there. We did not declare the war. And I
would say to the Hispanics that believe we ought to come home, I would
say: Let's come home as soon as possible.
(APPLAUSE)
You might ask the question, why is it that I have a different
view point on foreign policy. Because I adhere to the Constitution
and the advice of the founders to stay out of the entangling
alliances, the internal affairs of other nations.
Why is it then that I get the most money as a candidate for the
presidency from active military personnel? They're tired of it too.
(APPLAUSE)
We already have a de facto draft. These men who have fought
valiantly are called up time and time again. Their services are
extended from 12 months to 15 months. They've been over there two and
three times, and they don't see an end in sight.
PAUL: This whole idea, we're going through the same argument,
the light at the end of the tunnel. We did this in the '60s when I
was in the service. And we finally left Vietnam, tragically.
But we do much better in peace with Vietnam. We trade with them.
They have become Westernized.
What we achieved in peace we couldn't achieve in war.
(APPLAUSE)
MODERATOR: Thank you, Congressman. Thank you.
---
(Thank you to mavtek for pointing out that I missed the last question in my original post,
it is now shown below)
MODERATOR: Thank you.
Well, we have the last question for all of you. Hispanics are
the biggest minority in the United States, and by 2050, we're going to
be 25 percent of the population. Three months ago, I asked the same
thing to the Democratic candidates.
What would you think would be the biggest contribution from
Hispanics, but we want to ask you what is the role -- what role do you
think Hispanics will play in the development of our nation and our
society?
...[other candidates responding]...
MODERATOR: Congressman Paul?
PAUL: The most important thing Hispanics can do is what all
Americans do: Join us in our effort to restore our Constitution and
our great country. We have lost our way. We have lost our way. We
have deserted our traditions on our foreign policy, on our economic
policy, our education policy, our monetary policy, and this country is
looking for help.
And people are joining us now to restore this.
PAUL: And this is not a Hispanic issue, it's an American issue.
What we want is the rule of law so we all have opportunity once
again. But we have to not only restore the Constitution, we have to
first read it and understand it and what it means to be free in this
country once again.
(APPLAUSE)