Slugfest at GOP CNN/YouTube Debate
By Michael F. Haverluck
CBNNews.com
November 29, 2007
CBNNews.com - Immigration took center stage at what turned out to be a sparring match between poll-leading candidates at the CNN/YouTube Republican debate in St. Petersburg, Fla.
Click on the video player for CBN News Washington Sr. Correspondent Paul Strand's coverage of the explosive debate and Pat Robertson's comments that follow.
All eight contenders had to put on their boxing gloves during the high-tech bout, which broke out after a volatile question on immigration posed by a YouTuber.
Fueling the skirmish were approximately 40 YouTube video questions, which were screened by CNN from nearly 5,000 submissions -- more than twice the amount received for the previous Democratic YouTube debate.
Tonight's Main Event: Mitt vs. Rudy
Major punches were delivered between leading rivals Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney, who were at each other's throats throughout the evening.
A heated exchange erupted after Romney accused Giuliani of running a metropolis sanctuary for illegal immigrants when he was mayor of New York City.
A counterpunch was thrown when Giuliani called Romney's home in Belmont, Mass. a "sanctuary mansion," based on an accusation that the former Massachusetts governor employed illegal immigrants to do landscaping.
In an attempt to dodge the blow, Romney quickly retorted that it would "not be American" to inquire about the immigrant status of his contractor's workers just because they had a "funny accent."
Giuliani was quick to his feet though, shooting back by saying Romney was sporting a "holier than thou" attitude.
He persisted in his verbal assault by saying "Mitt usually criticizes people when he usually has the far worse record."
But the crowd had enough of Giuliani's offensive by hurling boos at his seemingly unending attack.
In the Other Corner...
Fred Thompson dashed between the ropes to enter the ring with another jab at Romney's immigration record.
The Law and Order star targeted Romney's support of President Bush's plan to give amnesty to existing illegal immigrants.
But this was no tag-team effort against Romney, as Thompson quickly rerouted his assault toward Giuliani.
"I think we've all had people who we've hired who, in retrospect, was a bad decision," said the former U.S. Senator, apparently coming to Romney's defense after dealing him a previous blow.
Thompson was referring to the indictment of a police commissioner who was under Giuliani.
Shadow Boxing?
Some candidates had to fight off their shaky immigration records from the past.
Sen. John McCain had no time to let his guard down. He had to defend his failed immigration legislation, which would have offered some illegals citizenship and work.
"We must recognize these are God's children as well," said the Arizona senator. "They need our love and compassion, and I want to ensure that I will enforce the borders first, but we won't demagogue it."
Huckabee appeared to be shielding himself from the get-go.
Romney wasted no time to get Huckabee stirring over plans he had to give illegal immigrants' children benefits, including college scholarships.
"Are we going to say kids who are here illegally are going to get a special deal?" inquired Romney.
"We are a better country than to punish children for what their parents did," countered the Arkansas governor, who noted that the benefits he introduced were performance-based.
Tom Tancredo felt like the heavyweight champ when it was his turn to speak on his tough immigration policy, saying the other candidates attempt to "out-Tancredo" him.
Adjusting the Bible Belt
Contenders were also drilled on their belief in God's Word, as one YouTube question asked candidates whether they believed in every word of the Bible.
"Do you believe every word of this book?" a man asked with Bible in hand.
"Sure I believe the Bible is exactly what it is," answered Huckabee, a Baptist minister.
"Yeah, the Bible is the word of God," stammered Romney over the question. "I might interpret the word differently than you interpret the word, but I read the Bible and believe the Bible is the word of God."
The Later Rounds
After the first and second bells, the battle took a new course.
Abortion, the war on terror, gays in the military, capital punishment and gun control were other issues that took root on fight night.
Flashbacks of Kerry's flip-flopping crept into the ring when Romney had to address his inconsistent stance on abortion and stem cell research in his political career.
"I was wrong, I was effectively pro-choice," Romney admitted. "On abortion, I was wrong."
Ron Paul was pulled into the political scuffle, as well.
McCain delivered the Texas congressman a one-two punch by attacking his "isolationist" libertarian ideology and his anti-war stance.
"We allowed Hitler to come to power with that attitude of isolation," McCain jabbed at Paul. "It's that kind of isolationism that caused World War II."
"I don't want to send troops overseas using force to tell them how to live," countered Paul, who said his position was one of nonintervention -- not isolationism.
The "don't ask, don't tell policy" about gays in the military was also thrown onto the mat by a YouTube patron.
McCain, Romney, Huckabee and Duncan Hunter were quick to rally behind the highly debated policy.
"I believe in what Colin Powell said when he said that having openly homosexual people serving in the ranks would be bad for unit cohesion," Duncan Hunter said while standing his ground.
Huckabee was asked "What Jesus would do" about capital punishment and said without flinching, "I believe there is a place for a death penalty."
When gun control was thrown into the ring, only Giuliani, McCain and Romney admitted to not owning guns.
"I own a couple of guns -- but I'm not going to tell you what they are or where they are," said Thompson.
Even though many early polls have shown Giuliani as the front-runner, Romney, McCain, and Huckabee have shown promise lately in crucial states such as Iowa and New Hampshire. Thompson is trying to rebound from a late start and is looking for an upset.
Needless to say, underdogs Tancredo, Hunter and Paul haven't thrown in the towel yet.
Sources: CNN, You Tube, The Associated Press, CBN News, World Net Daily
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