Gov. Christie on Tuesday sought to make the case that he was the best choice in the GOP presidential field to defeat Hillary Rodham Clinton, while he also swatted back attacks that he was a “big government Republican” who wouldn’t rein in spending.
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During the debate, Huckabee was targeted by Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.
All scored at least 1 percent in four recent polls by Fox News, The Wall Street Journal, Investor’s Business Daily and Quinnipiac, but scored under the 2.5 percent minimum for the Prime Time debate that followed.
“Are we willing to cut the government economy so we can grow the American economy?” asked Jindal, who painted a harsh picture of the country’s possible future path under Hillary Clinton. Jindal repeatedly zinged Christie, calling him a “big-government Republican”, and at one point said he should get a “juice box” for participation in the conservative movement. “But in the real world, it’s about getting results”, Jindal said a few minutes later. We need to cut government, cut spending.
Santorum seemed frustrated to be left out of a back-and-forth between Christie and Jindal over how conservative their records were. He focused on attacking Clinton, and called for smaller government.
Also participating in the debate were Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor, and former Pennsylvania Sen.
Christie slams President Obama for his economic policies and says Hillary Clinton would mean a continuation of them. She is the real adversary. In all that he said, Chris Christie is merely being realistic and he is telling it like it is.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie then picked up the baton and whacked both Jindal and Huckabee by arguing their energy should be spent going after presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. Christie said that the first thing he would do as president would be to fly Air Force One over disputed Pacific territories where China claims to own the airspace and the surrounding waters. He said the party’s primary focus should be choosing a candidate who can beat Clinton, and said that he is uniquely qualified for the job as a “pro-life Republican” governor from a Democratic state.
The hour-long confrontation revealed agreement on a number of issues. “But they have kept those rates artificially low for one reason and one reason only – because they are trying to politically support Obama and his agenda and it’s been wrong”.
He pushed his plan for a “fair tax” or national sales tax that would eliminate income taxes and instead levy a tax on goods and services that people buy. Santorum offered his 20-percent flat tax that would apply equally to earned income and investments.
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“Christie scores an anemic 8 percent, way behind Donald Trump, Dr. Ben Carson and Sen”.
