GOP hopefuls trade jabs over immigration, taxes
ST. PETERSBURG, Florida (CNN) — The acrimony from the Republican campaign trail carried over quickly into the CNN/YouTube GOP presidential debate Wednesday.
Immigration, a divisive issue in the Republican presidential race, dominated almost the first half hour of the debate.
Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney traded jabs over illegal immigration, something they have been arguing about on the trail for the past month.
Romney attacked Giuliani’s record as mayor of promoting illegal immigration, and Giuliani shot back, accusing Romney of having a sanctuary mansion at his own home.
In his case, there were six sanctuary cities. He did nothing about them. There was a sanctuary mansion — at his own home, illegal immigrants were being employed, Giuliani said.
Romney denied Giuliani’s allegation and the two raised their voices as they tried to talk over each other.
Rep. Tom Tancredo, who has anchored his candidacy on securing the borders and cracking down on illegal immigration, seemed delighted with the give and take, saying the other candidates were trying to out-Tancredo him.
Romney and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee fought over if, when and how the children of illegal immigrants should be educated. Huckabee said children should not be punished for the acts of their parents, while Romney insisted that would amount to illegal immigrant students getting preferential treatment.
Romney responded, Mike, that’s not your money, that’s the taxpayers’ money. Illegals are not going to get better breaks than our own citizens.
Sen. John McCain, freshly back from a visit to Iraq over Thanksgiving, challenged Rep. Ron Paul, the most anti-war of the Republican candidates, over his suggestion to bring troops home from Iraq and save at trillion dollars.
McCain said, it’s that kind of isolationism that caused World War II, which drew some hoots from the crowd.
Paul replied, The real question you have to ask is why do I get the most money from active duty officers and military personnel?
On the issue of gun control, Rep. Duncan Hunter said, You have to be safe with guns.. but the right to keep and bear arms is an important element of community security, home security and national security.
The candidates are fielding video questions submitted by the public via the YouTube Web site, just as Democratic White House candidates did in July.
The debate marks the first time the GOP candidates have faced off on the same stage in over a month.
CNN’s political team viewed nearly 5,000 videos for the GOP debate — about 2,000 more than they saw for the Democrats’ debate.
The issues on the minds of the YouTube voters in this debate are vastly different from what came in for the Democrats, said Sam Feist, CNN’s political director.
The topics that came up most often for the GOP debate included immigration, conservative values, economic issues and taxes, according to David Bohrman, Washington bureau chief and senior vice president for CNN. Watch what to expect in Wednesday night’s debate
About 40 questions will be asked by the end of the debate. Viewers can expect to see divisive questions, controversial questions, and questions that will set the candidates apart.
This debate is to let Republican voters pick from among their eight candidates, Bohrman said. We are trying to focus mostly on questions where there are differences among these candidates.
In recent weeks, the tough talk between Giuliani and Romney has intensified. The campaigns of former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee have continued pushing their way into the picture.
The debate Wednesday night will be a three-ring circus. In the center ring, Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney continue their smackdown, said CNN senior political analyst Bill Schneider.
In the second ring, Mike Huckabee tries to duck as his competitors throw brickbats at him, trying to expose his record in Arkansas as un-conservative.
In ring three: Fred Thompson and [Arizona Sen.] John McCain try to grab the spotlight with some daring moves on the trapeze. There is also a sideshow: [Texas Rep.] Ron Paul. Step right up, folks, said Schneider.
The format of this debate is new to the candidates, and the White House hopefuls and their campaigns have no idea exactly what to expect.
There is some sense of the unknown, and so they’re going to be a little bit out of their normal comfort zone, which is a good thing, Bohrman said.
The user-generated format marks a major step toward involving people in the process of selecting a nominee. It’s also changed the way people view presidential debates, Bohrman said.
Questions asked during the Democratic CNN/YouTube debate continue to resonate on the campaign trail, Feist said.
Producers wonder if any stars will be born during this week’s debate, like when Billiam the Snowman made a guest appearance during the Democratic debate. Will Jackie Broyles and Dunlap be back with the Red State update?
There are plenty of animated figures out there, there are certainly some funny questions, but more importantly, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of really, really good, solid questions from real people on real issues, Feist said.
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