Texas Governor and Republican presidential front-runner Rick Perry traded blows with his main rival on Wednesday in a closely-watched debate debut.
Perry, who only joined the race last month, touted his job-creating record as he tussled with former front-runner Mitt Romney on how to kick-start the economy and kick US President Barack Obama out of the White House next year.
However, Perry’s first debate also raised questions about some of his more hardline views, including his firm skepticism about climate change and his view that Social Security is nothing but a “Ponzi scheme.”
Photo: AFP
Within minutes of the debate starting in the Ronald Reagan presidential library in California, Perry and Romney came to blows over the central issue of jobs, trading jabs about their records as state governors.
“What Americans are looking for is someone who can get this country working again,” Perry said, taking aim at Romney’s claim to have created tens of thousands of jobs in businesses he backed as an investment fund manager.
Former Massachusetts governor Romney shot back, lampooning Perry’s claim to have created more jobs in three months than Romney had in four years by pointing out Texas rare assets, including vast oil and gas reserves.
Perry’s claiming responsibility for these was a bit “like Al Gore claiming to have invented the Internet,” Romney said, drawing laughter by evoking a famous line by the former Democratic US vice president.
Jobs and the struggling US economy were always going to feature high on the agenda of the debate, ahead of a keynote speech by Obama on Thursday aimed at tackling zero US job growth and reviving his own political fortunes.
Perry only joined the Republican field for the White House in the middle of last month, energizing a lackluster race and leapfrogging into the lead ahead of Romney.
Two new polls this week put Perry in a commanding lead: an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll gave him 38 percent against 23 percent for Romney, while a Washington Post/ABC News poll put them at 27 percent and 22 percent.
As well as the struggling economy — seen as a key area of vulnerability for Obama — the debate touched on homeland security, immigration, foreign policy, welfare reform and climate change.
Michele Bachmann, a Tea Party favorite whose poll surge was stemmed by Perry’s entry into the race, drew applause, but some skepticism from her colleagues for saying she would reduce gas prices to US$2 a gallon.
On Social Security, Perry was blunt, saying the current system simply would not be able to pay for the retirement of younger generations.
“It is a Ponzi scheme to tell our kids that are 25 or 30 years old today, you’re paying into a program that’s going to be there. Anybody that’s for the status quo ... is involved with a monstrous lie to our kids,” he said.
And on climate change, Perry reiterated his view that scientists have not proven a link to human activity.
Some analysts said the more extreme rhetoric — including the Social Security comments and his calling the president a liar — could prove problematic in the longer term if Perry wins the Republican nomination.
“All of these things may not necessarily have a negative reaction in a Republican primary, but all that is very problematic in the context of a general election when you’re trying to win in swing states,” Republican strategist Steve Schmidt said.
Peter Brown of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute agreed.
“Romney obviously is smoother, he’s been doing these longer,” he said, noting Perry’s “halting style.”
In addition, “history says that running against Social Security is often very hazardous to a politician’s health ... One would assume that the Democrats will be happy to bring it up should Mr Perry become the nominee,” Schmidt said.
“On the other hand, he didn’t make any obvious mistakes,” he added.
The Republican debate is the first of three over the next two weeks. Cable news channel CNN is to host a “Tea Party Republican Debate” on Monday, followed by a Fox News-organized event on Sept. 22, both in Florida.
PARLIAMENT CHAOS: Police forcibly removed Brazilian Deputy Glauber Braga after he called the legislation part of a ‘coup offensive’ and occupied the speaker’s chair Brazil’s lower house of Congress early yesterday approved a bill that could slash former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro’s prison sentence for plotting a coup, after efforts by a lawmaker to disrupt the proceedings sparked chaos in parliament. Bolsonaro has been serving a 27-year term since last month after his conviction for a scheme to stop Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from taking office after the 2022 election. Lawmakers had been discussing a bill that would significantly reduce sentences for several crimes, including attempting a coup d’etat — opening up the prospect that Bolsonaro, 70, could have his sentence cut to
A plan by Switzerland’s right-wing People’s Party to cap the population at 10 million has the backing of almost half the country, according to a poll before an expected vote next year. The party, which has long campaigned against immigration, argues that too-fast population growth is overwhelming housing, transport and public services. The level of support comes despite the government urging voters to reject it, warning that strict curbs would damage the economy and prosperity, as Swiss companies depend on foreign workers. The poll by newspaper group Tamedia/20 Minuten and released yesterday showed that 48 percent of the population plan to vote
A powerful magnitude 7.6 earthquake shook Japan’s northeast region late on Monday, prompting tsunami warnings and orders for residents to evacuate. A tsunami as high as three metres (10 feet) could hit Japan’s northeastern coast after an earthquake with an estimated magnitude of 7.6 occurred offshore at 11:15 p.m. (1415 GMT), the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said. Tsunami warnings were issued for the prefectures of Hokkaido, Aomori and Iwate, and a tsunami of 40cm had been observed at Aomori’s Mutsu Ogawara and Hokkaido’s Urakawa ports before midnight, JMA said. The epicentre of the quake was 80 km (50 miles) off the coast of
Brazilian Senator Flavio Bolsonaro on Friday said that his father, jailed former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, has chosen him to lead the country’s powerful conservative movement, shaking up next year’s election race. The 44-year-old senator said on social media that he will carry forward the political legacy that reshaped Brazilian politics. His announcement makes him an instant contender for the presidency. Jair Bolsonaro, 70, is unlikely to run after being sentenced to 27 years for plotting a coup and banned from public office. He is appealing and seeking a legislative pardon. The former president also faces serious health issues, including complications from a
RSS