seneca, nancy grace, charleston, richard cash, anderson, spartanburg, dead bowers, and benjamin done. somee we begin tonight, brief ground rules. each candidate will have one minute to respond to the uighur names when the candidates arrived for the order in which we will start. that first question will do to mr. connor and then all of the rest of you in turn. this has been a contentious race by most assessments. we have a two-term incumbent and six aspirants to replace him. what i would like to know and what the voters would like to know is if this is a referendum on lindsey graham, why do you have a target on your back and why specifically, candidates, is this the j campaign against

senator graham? >> first of all, thank you senator graham for being here and thank you, to the rest of the candidates. 20 years is too long and senator graham, i think when you first came in with newt gingrich, a lot of great ideas. but after things like voting for justice sotomayor or, justice kagan, the tarp ale out, a number of these things, it has come time quite frankly for someone else to come in and stop it not personal. i think you are a good man, but the issue is we need new blood. i've already said i'm staying for only two terms. 12 years is long enough to get what i need done. george washington took eight years and set the country on its course. will go through various specific points, but i think all of us have gotten tired overtime of the various things we have seen where a lot of conservative rhetoric, but in the five years

leading up to it, not much in the way of action. >> senator graham, the order puts you up now. lex we are electing a senator to serve in the next six years. ladies and children, think of the best qualified to represent our state and i say that humbly. it means to charleston if we don't get it right. we are in trouble because one in 10 jobs are at risk. when my state needed me to fight the unions, i was there. i was against the effort to shut down boeing and i'm proud of my record. i have been endorsed by the chamber of commerce and i have a fiscally conservative record and a wondered how -- what hundred percent pro-life record. our country is at risk. barack obama's foreign policy is failing. radical islam, contrary to what he will tell you, is on the rise all stop those who have fought so bravely since 9/11, there's nobody in the senate will have their backs better than i will.

i understand the threats we face and if i go back to the senate, it is with a purpose to rebuild the party and take care of those who have had our back and make havethat in south carolina the voice people will listen to and respect. to thankof all, i want you all for having us here in this first debate senator graham will stop i first want to say i'm not a politician. i'm a wife, mother, and a successful small business owner. in fact, six years ago, i started my own company doing technology and marketing consulting. small worked with businesses, startup companies and entrepreneurs and larger companies as well. i believe career politicians are the problem, not the solution. i have spent months over the course of this campaign listening to the people of south carolina and i firmly believe they are ready for someone new, they are ready for a principal eater, they are ready for a new voice and i am here tonight

because i am ready and willing to step up to the plate and serve the people of south carolina. i will be a conservative voice every year, not just in an election year. senator graham, you often say you are a conservative leader who gets things done. and the of my challenge reason for being in this raises it doesn't matter if you're getting something done if it is the wrong thing will stop in 2007, you championed immigration reform and it became known as amnesty. the senators of south carolina soundly rejected it and you have rotted back this year because you feel like it is what you think is best for south carolina . you are not listening to south carolina. you do not show what your corporate goals are. no one knows what your principles are, how you make these decisions. i have campaigned for a year and i believe the american heritage is built on the principles of christianity, capitalism and the

constitution all stop those are my guiding principles. i made that clear and run. i believe it not enough to say you are someone who can get things done. i present myself as a principled leader who will get his right to stop >> i think many of us on the stage and probably say they would much rather senator graham had done a good job all stop him would much rather have lead the fight against soto mayor and kagan will stop john mccain took the floor against fighting the supreme court nominees senator graham voted for. andould like someone to go fight for south carolina principles and believes and not run so hard to work with the other side, were with democrats. they are trying to get them crept out to vote in this primary that ought to be closed will stop if you stood for republican principles, you would not have to resort to this type of tactics, making phone calls to democrats to turn out for the

primary. if you did not support amnesty, if you did not support much of obama's agenda, we would not be here. we would much rather be out here supporting you but you haven't done the job all stop you might have the money, but we've got the message and we hope to see you in the runoff in two weeks. in 1775, there was a shot that was hurled around the world that began lexington and then it was in kings mountain, 96, camden and trust in. we know the shot to be heard around the world. andve five granddaughters their light is being taken away from them. i'm in this race because i have an awareness of the duty placed on us for the next generation. there are those who greatest interest is in the next election. or the special interests or special-interest groups. that is not my interest. i do have a special interest.

myspace wonders is the interest of the founding fathers and those who come after us. the next generation is critical and i hope that all we give them, we cannot afford to be taken away what has been given away down through the ages and i'm here to fight for that help. graham,erms of senator few are truly a conservative, it's not necessary to spend several million dollars in advertisements to approve it. i'd like to go to washington to decrease spending across the board, to do best power from the federal government acted state where it belongs and do everything i can to advance conservative principles. that's why i'm running and that's why i would appreciate your support. lex next question will come from beth paget that she will start with senator graham. i will tweak it just a little bit for the rest of the panel. senator graham, one of the main criticisms we have heard from you in this election as you are too eager to compromise with

democrats any rush across the aisle to forge a compromise. in doing so, you weaken the republican party's position. how do you deal with that christendom? >> at the end of the day, my job is to represent my state's interest and that my nation at a party. i love the republican party. to win thei'm going primary, overwhelmingly i hope, is because i'm a ronald reagan republican. i like ron paul, but i'm not a ron paul republican. i'm a reagan republican who believes it's not good to get to the left. foreign policy. immigration is a problem is not going to get fixed by yelling about it. tosident bush led the effort fix immigration and i wish we had been successful. having 11 million illegal immigrants coming to get jobs -- you need to control the gets the job and secure the border. i've got that. we've increased border patrol agent by 20000 and technology on the border but they keep coming here to work. overrun bybeing

illegal canadians. you've got to sit down with the other party on occasion. ronald reagan and tip o'neill saved social security from going bankrupt. i'm a good conservative, but i'm also problem solver. this country needs to solve columns. wrong forit so like-minded democrats and republicans to occasionally try to find common ground on the big issues such as the federal debt, immigration, social security reform will stop how does anything it done on these big issues of each side just exhume their heels? >> certainly, we need to see change, but we don't need to fundamentally transform america. we need to transform washington, d.c.. in limiting the size and scope of our republican stop i believe in less taxes, i believe in the core foundation that we all do as republicans.

senator graham has had 20 years to go up there and get the job done. it's time to allow somebody else another term. time, we need a principled leader. we need someone who will reach across the aisle to negotiate and bring others to our side and not just walk across the aisle to democrats and stay there. we need someone who's going to be strong. we need to stand up to what you believe in. we need lower taxes in order to create jobs and move this country forward. graham, you are describing yourself as a ronald reagan republican, but i believe a lot of us on this age really believe you are a john mccain republican, that you seem to be doing john mccain's bidding, that he is your mentor and not ronald reagan will stop i find it interesting john mccain has not been in the state to campaign for you when you went all around the country to

campaign for him in 2008. as to the question of can we have compromise with democrats, certainly we can have compromise within certain parameters. theif we are talking about national deficit of $17.5 trillion, we have to have parameters about where the compromise takes place in. it has to take place in the parameter we actually have structural reforms lace before we raise the debt ceiling again. you can't just keep raising the debt ceiling and not hitting anything in return. when we compromise, we are always giving them brats what they want will stop it seems like senator ram said he gets to go in front of the press and we have to take the fight to the democrats. this fight, they did not say god bless america, they said.

something else america. this man has been trying to dismantle the public ever since. is this decide importance. if you don't get it right, if you don't let the right man man for the u.s. senate seat, there could be catastrophe around this nation. the rest of the country is looking to us. if you are alks principled conservative that will hold a line when it comes do inservatives, i will washington like i've done in columbia. one of the distinctions between those who hold their principles dear and those who do not is what the moderate does if he carries his principal to the point of personal sacrifice will

at the point of personal sacrifice, he drops the principal. all of us are reasonable people. we have had very, secondary, and tertiary principles in our life stop for example, for me, fidelity in marriage is a principal i will never compromise. but there are other issues where we will address them differently. we will negotiate. as a parent for 20 years, i have i have always done with a client wanted. at this point, the constitution is the united states and the state of south carolina. unless we represent them well, we should not be there for a long. compromise is an innately conservative and small. but over the last couple of decades, more often in practice, compromise has been democrats trying to grow the government as fast as they can and republicans

growing the government as fast as they can get away with. the reason for that is increasing the power of the federal government supports the status quo and career politician. isrefore, what we need to do to change up our course, to get someone new who will fight for conservative and schools and that's why i am in this race. ago, i swore to protect and defend this document, the constitution of the united states. the same document you swore to protect and defend. when you talk about a foreign policy -- i believe in a foreign notcy that threatens us, some guy would cut our trip down to almost nothing. conservative,agan here is the thing. people have fought and died for this document and we have compromise this document and that is what has led it live -- that is what has led us to where we are.

back to that.us i want to abolish the national department of education because there's no constitutional mandate for it stop i want to propose it. it may seem to some people to be bizarre, but it's not. democrats will come along when they see what is going to bring our country. >> i think you would all agree that the current immigration policy is not working and has led to more than 11 million undocumented immigrants now living in the united states. on whetheru disagree giving them a pathway to citizenship must be part of the solution. plan forour specific dealing with the 11 million people already here illegally and does that plan include asking them to leave the country voluntarily?

amnesty in 1986. it's almost as if the federal government and it just ration and career politicians in washington dc are stuck on repeat. we tried it before and it didn't work. i believe we first need to secure our border. secondly, congress and only congress should have the authority to approve when the border is secure and not another federal bureaucracy. third, if you are here illegally, you should not have oress to welfare benefits entitlements. if you come legally speaking lish, you work hard and eight taxes and work like every other hard-working american, then citizenship can be earned. ultimately, i feel personally on don't get that they or understand our values. i want to be the voice for the people of south carolina.

illegal immigration is a hot topic. it's something senator graham proposed in 2007 that took on his name. it has come back in 2014. it's not going away. south carolinians care because we are a country based on the will law. from the chief executive to the lowest person in the nation, we believe in the rule of law and providing a pathway to citizenship for those who have roped in the law to enter this country is undermining our own foundation. 1980 six isin create a further incentive for the next wave of illegal immigrants and i believe if senator graham's bill is passed that five or 10 years from now, we will be having the same conversation about what we are going to do with the next 5 million or 10 million immigrants who have been incentivized to come here. those who are here illegally, you need to go home and apply legally like others have and

come here on lawful terms. rule ofed to have the law served. if you are here illegally, you need to go vote. we've got a president right now who is ignoring laws that have and passed by congress creating his own laws by executive fiat and ignoring his signature bees of legislation that the on affordable care act -- he likes to call it the affordable care act, he has ignored the signature piece and modified the law without consulting congress. he has done with the dream act. the president is absolutely out of control and now that he has traded one deserter for five terrorists, maybe we need to talk about impeachment. this president is a dress and he's got to be stopped. what he wants to do is ring in these immigrants and he said he was going to tell the bigots to shut up. by bigots, he meant us who wanted to stop folks from staying here who are staying here legally. people need to be heard.

this is our opportunity to be heard. graham that lindsey we need to tell illegal immigrants to go home all stop >> we live in the greatest country in the history of this world. most of the people in the world want to come here. we don't hear about people trying to get into china. they come here because you are the most exceptional people god has ever lace them up he -- the face of this planet. our culture is special. i'll -- all cultures are not equal. anyone who thinks they are, just ask someone who risks to come here illegally. that person knows they are not equal. we need to remove the magnets for those who come. we have three sons and when they the only rule my wife and i had was ever reward lawless conduct. it works with child rearing, it

works with nationbuilding, it works with immigration. for cannot support amnesty illegal immigrants. you don't earn some sort of benefit because you break the law for some time. cheapens the value of the very citizenship they are here to get. i support expanding the eve verify program. like senator graham, i don't believe the federal government has any business keeping tabs on individual citizens. i don't support a kind of program under which the federal government would issue some sort of national id card. we do have an interest in knowing who these folks are and what their plans are. the ee verify system, the enforcement is on the employer and, so once you drive that

labor pool, that largely takes care of the problem. percent solution to the problem that we already have in place. quite you go to different countries and you see if immigration is not control, countries fall apart. not just the illegal part. there's a constitutional mandate to set rules but i'm going to go somewhere and our legal side is out of control. we use a diversity lottery and since the 70's, it was about quarter million a year. controls of a few system that makes no sense whatsoever. 30's to be all-around change to fix the immigration system. we are the greatest nation on earth. people have to become american

it takes the same ideals and same constitution. children right now and i worry for their future if our nation will stay the nation we are given. >> one principle i have that i try not to abandon is not to worry so much about me but my country and my party. i don't take the path of least resistance. why? for a republican in south carolina to be talking about this issue? not much. george w. bush brought up illegal immigration and god bless you, president bush, it's a national security problem at an economic problem a cultural problem. amnesty is doing nothing. here, butno democrats were i work, there are 55 of them. not doing what our friend ronald reagan did, not secure your border and control it is the not being overrun by

illegal canadians. we are being overrun by people in poor and corrupt countries. control who gets the job by e verify. nobody stays without learning the english language. get in line, pay taxes, wait 10 years for a green card. let's take care of immigration. i initially asked if this was brandrendum on senator but i want to know if it's a referendum on the tea party. in various states, we have seen where some of the mainstream republicans if you choose to call them that have rebuffed some of those who have been supported by the tea party. help us gauge where you are on the spectrum. are you a member of the tea party? are you sympathetic to the tea party? are you online with the tea party?

influenced by the tea party movement touché or shift your views. >> i first got involved in politics running for congress in 2009 and 2000 and. i made my decision to run before the tea party began, which if you remember from 2009, was a result from the stimulus honey all stop people said we can't keep spending $800 billion there , it's not going to work. the first principle of the tea party was fiscal responsibility. the demand we can't keep spending $.40 on the dollar we are borrowing. that's just not owing to work. the second is that it hears to the constitution. it's not just a piece of paper we can conveniently ignore. i think sometimes, senator graham, that's what you are

willing to do -- you are willing to ignore the constitution like the liberals do. countryyself a. an candidate but i love the tea party and i'm glad to have their support. been rated with a hundred score by all the tea party scorecards. the media has done a traffic job .n demonizing folks they constantly try to demoralize them but you look at the way these elections are taking place and if you read the comments from one of the senator graham's own supporters, they co-opted the tea party. say that's taxed enough already we are taxed enough already, government spends too much. we have to hold these people in government accountable. i'm hoping they stay rejuvenated and common vote on june 10.

forefathers thought when they are being trampled by a to radical regime by a king that was running over them, we have a president's i hope the tea party comes out june 10. >> i think most of us appear reppert -- recognize with the tea party stands for and we appreciate what they stand for. findnk we are going to differences in every area of life with all reasonable people and we are going to address issues from our own perspective and from the perspective of the generations to come. our sponsor ability is to bring people together and what we find in so any areas of life is everyone is trying to divide. , if you asked god what party you are a part of, he said i'm a party of i am my brother's keeper.

together bring people if we cannot look for ways to divide. butre reasonable people, what our responsibility is is to be the adult in the room and bring people together so we can move forward. that's the only way it will happen. >> the tea party came into being because conservatives could no longer tolerate what they were seeing coming out of washington. to keep in mind is as long as why are you conservative? in my case, is for two principal reasons. key,christian, i have a fundamental and moral and religious elites i'm not going to alter from. that is the root of my conservatism. in addition, i'm a conservative because it's practical. stuff that comes from liberals and progressives makes for fantastic soaring rhetoric.

but as we have seen him practice , as with the affordable care act, it is a train wreck. that's why i would like to go to washington. >> mr. connor. >> i am the first person to get involved in politics. here is the thing. when people came in -- i got back from overseas and saw the tarp act. i realized in addition to everything else, our country was going away from the constitution. i spoke at the first tea party in the history of the state. it is not a party. it is a bunch of people that saw the stimulus package -- it was something that barack obama pointed back at john mccain -- for a lot of us, it was, the party needs to be reformed. that is what it is all about. there are some groups that are

trying to co-opt it. it is about small government in the constitution. >> one thing i would say is we have given away for seats over the past four years because we nominated people that could not withstand scrutiny. if you nominate me, that will not happen. they will not spend $.15 here. the tea party is -- but what good is in a party if they cannot take care of our country? if they cannot solve the immigration problem? when it comes to the nsa, i understand constitutional checks and balances. if these al qaeda sympathizers are calling back to our country, i want to know who they are talking to. i will get it want and make sure the judge oversees the phone call. but radical islam is in our backyard. we will not put our head in the

sand and go to the left of barack obama. the constitution is not a republican or emma craddick document. how do we get all of our judges in we never get there's -- the only room voted twice. >> you have the last response on this question. >> this is not a referendum on any corner of the republican party. this is a referendum on washington. this seat has been held for 60 years. by 60 best buy to people. senator graham has been in washington for 20 years. many people i have talked to have lost trust, not only in president obama, but also in our government at every level.

if the build why -- if the beltway insiders were serious about turning our economy around, they would have done it. but they are not. this is about big government versus small. if you trust this government and administration and career politicians, i am not your gal. >> next question is from jamie. >> on the campaign trail, we hear a lot about out-of-control spending in washington. the $17 trillion deficit. how we need conservative principles. we cannot change washington until we change who we send there. tell the viewers or voters, if you are elected, what specific federal program or service should south carolinians be willing to cut or live without to reduce deficits in a

meaningful way question mark how deep will those cuts be? ask we will have to make some tough decisions. we have bowling. -- boeing. they are a $95 billion market company. that is a tough decision. my home state -- when i ran for the first time in 2004, i made this comment on the campaign trail. i was able to win an election. i said, i am not going to columbia to get a piece of the pie, i am trying to shut down the bakery. the wasteful spending is out of control. corporate and personal welfare. we have to get back to the constitution. i agree with bill connor. i have been talking about getting rid of the department of education. i make the argument that when the governor of texas had

trouble -- the three federal agencies who want to keep and name them. but thank you. >> the way you balance the budget, when you come back to a commonsensical address -- you repeal the affordable care act. obamacare is unacceptable. you illuminate the department of education. you illuminate -- elimnate the department of energy. you reduce the budget of the health and human services department and epa. you take away regulations that are strangling small businesses. i was with a gentleman, at a republican gathering. i asked him how regulations are affecting you. he said, i have 100 employees. next year this time, i don't think i will have 22-20 eight of

them because we cannot comply and keep my business going. profits are what make businesses work. >> mr. dodd? >> we must appeal -- repeal obama care. it is destroying the health delivery system. departments such as the department of education, energy, commerce, and labor -- much of their spending can be eliminated or merged into other departments. the real cost that is going to cost us is the entitlement programs. social security, medicare and medicaid. the only thing we can do with them is cut spending in the out years. especially with social security and medicare, you have senior citizens who have paid into those programs their entire

career. dependent on those benefits, can get by. but for folks my age, we are going to have to look at serious reductions in some of those benefits over time. >> i will take a few minutes to mention something the senator talked about. radical islam. he went to egypt and supported the muslim brotherhood. i want to make that point. i appreciate what you have done in other areas. but that was not a good decision. when it comes to cuts, i have talked about the department of education and white. it comes -- it the department of education and why. it is not been here forever. we can put things like the higher education reform program and put it in the treasury. we have two/entitlements. not just medicare or social security. we have doubled the number of

people on food stamps. we can't keep doing that. our nation will not sustain it to read we will become greece. >> let's be honest with the public. by 2042, the entire revenue goes to paying for medicare and social security. 80 million baby boomers are going to retire. we are living longer, like strom thurmond. the average life expectancy in 1935 was 60. now we are living into our 70's and 80's. check out my solution with rand paul and mike lee. we mean tested benefits for medicare and social security. my parents die. if it weren't for social security survivors benefits, we wouldn't have made it. that check matter to me and my aunt and uncle. i make enough now i can give up some of my benefits.

we are not going to save the country unless you deal with medicare and social security. 67% of the budget. you eliminate the department of defense and would still not have a drop to balance the budget. >> thank you. with regards to spending and the debt, john adams said there are two ways to capture and enslave a nation. one by the sword and one by the debt. i believe we need to pass cap and balance. we have to pass a balanced budget amendment. the establishment in washington, they are not serious about making the difficult decisions we need to. they are serious about kicking the can down the road. their policies are literally

choking the life out of small businesses. i have talked to many small business owners are over the course of the campaign. it doesn't matter what industry it is. i hear about tax policies, health care. government getting in the way of their growth. to grow the economy, government has to retract. we have to cut regulatory burdens, texas. we have to cut spending. we have to get serious. it's you or last to respond. >> i agree you -- i agree with most of what has been said. we have to repeal obama care. there are agencies we could live without, the department of education being a prime example. we will have to have structural reforms to the major programs. we will have to raise the retirement age sort reflects the advances in modern technology. i'm concerned about the idea of

means testing benefits. that sounds like democratic rhetoric about paying your fair share where we will penalize people who have done well. people should keep the money that is entitled to them. if they want to give it away, they can do a better job than the government. there are things that can be done. we have to look at programs that have unintentional consequences. we have got used -- we have gone to 47 million people on food stamps. we have to get back to everybody works in america. >> republicans have rallied around the idea of repealing the affordable care act. if you have the votes to repeal the affordable care act, what would you replace it with? other parts of obamacare that are good, that you would like to keep, such as denying insurance companies the ability to kick

people off the rolls with pre-existing conditions? or even requiring companies to keep children on their parents insurance until they are 26? >> there are a number of plans that have been proposed. one that i would single out is by senators coburn and hatch. they address some of the same issues. the existing conditions. -- pre-existing conditions. the us possibility has to fall on the person that is affected. the patient. we need transparency in everything we do. there needs to be negotiation in the prices we accept. we have to have tax-free hsa's. look at dr. carson's clan -- plan. we need the premium is to be tax-deductible for corporations and individuals.

we need to incite people to buy the insurance. we don't need individual mandate. we pride ourselves on our freedoms and liberties. that takes away. that is unacceptable to americans and south carolinians. >> there are a host of conservative principles and policies we can implement. that would help contain the inflation of health care costs. we could expand the use of health savings accounts. the thing i love about those is they give individuals responsibility and choice in managing their own health care. in addition, we could either repeal or at least modified -- modify the act that allows insurance to compete across state lines. that brings the cost down, particularly for those with pre-existing conditions. remember that obamacare -- it is

also the result of or republican failing. the 108 and 109 congress, republicans did not implement conservative principles. we ended up with a lot of care instead. >> -- we ended up with obamacare. >> my wife is an ob/gyn. we have seen the effects. we took the wrong direction with obamacare, but there were a bunch of problems going back to the 1960's any decision for the government to get involved. they get involved but only reimbursed a small portion of the prices. doctors and hospitals ahad -- had to raise the prices. then you had the electronic records act. that was voted on by a number of republicans.

that caused problems with in private practices, including not like my wife's. we need to repeal obama care and go back to free market principles. a number of things we can do. the problem is government. >> senator graham. >> the democratic party owns obamacare. obamacare is not about the uninsured. it is about driving the private sector out of health care. getting the private sector to drop coverage and hurting us all in these exchanges. you will have the government run health care from cradle to grave. all the people that signed up on the exchanges and south carolina, 90% get a subsidy. the idea is to put us in government run health care.

jim demint has a hell of an area. -- heck of a an idea. will allow individuals to have deductions for their duchesses. they can buy policies all over the country. let purchases go everywhere. at the end of the day, if you don't have the white house, you will not get there. it is about winning elections and turning around this country before it is too late. >> we need to repeal obamacare. i believe in the free market. competition. under obamacare, there is not even competition across county lines let alone state lines. we have to have competition. portability, whereby if you have insurance with your employer and you changed jobs, you are able to take that plan with you. these tweaks will be able to drive down the costs of health care.

and increase the quality of care. so more people have access to better care at less price. i know i sound like a broken record, but i spent a lot of time listening to the people of south carolina and business owners. i believe small businesses are the background of the economy. i talked to one small business owner. this scenario is similar to others. they were able to pay the health care premiums for their employees. today, because they are seeing a 36% increase, they are no longer able to afford to do so. he don't know how is a -- how his employees well, either. >> we have to begin with the first principle. help insurance is not the government' ability -- health insurance is not the government's responsibility. anymore that it is the government's responsibility to feed me or house me. obamacare is not going to work. the v.a. scandal is a

foreshadowing of what is coming for all of us. we have to get rid of obamacare. we have to get -- have portability. the ability for your insurance to follow you from one job to the next. i don't think insurance companies need to be forced to cover people with pre-existing conditions as that they did not have them. that is a distortion of free-market principles. we need tort reform. medical malpractice reform. senator graham, you voted against that. >> the last response. >> obamacare is a job destroyer. it a disaster. china, people are paying for health care. cash. they have adductor under the table cash. -- they have paid the doctor cash under the table. selling across state lines is a wonderful idea.

the started with fdr when he had wage controls. this was a backdoor through the union. the employer started providing benefits. let's remember the genesis of this. the government got involved and created a problem. the solution is a single-payer system. i take issue with the fact that senator graham -- senator graham, you voted against ted cruz when he was -- >> we have about 10 mins left for this. i would like each of my colleagues to ask one question. we will pick up the pace and i will ask for 32nd responses. >> -- 30 second responses.

>> they voted against a $1 trillion spending plan. supporters say the project is ask the dust vital to expanding the port of charleston. the move was criticized. if these no votes would have surveilled, we are stuck. the authority's vice-chairman said, we look to our elected thistles -- officials to watch out for the state. do you agree that your responsibility is to watch out for south carolina? does that involve owning in support of budgets that support projects at home. >> what you have to understand that well senators and members of congress cannot take account of the interest of their state, that comes at a cost.

if you constantly try to bring money back home, the cost of that is we will have to pay for the money going to the other 49 states. therefore we have to be very judicious. the port of charleston is a legitimate project. >> we should take he -- care of the people of south carolina. if we take ourselves to greece, that is not taking care of anybody. the debt increased. that is not right. i understand it is very important. i have seen the opening. the big ships will calm, and i will fight for that tooth and nail. i will also fight for reducing size of government. >> the bill which i help write, it was a fiscally responsible budget. it had money for charleston and other ports. our economy will die in south

carolina if we don't get the port deepened. it was a spending reduction of 2008 levels. it had money for charleston. i understand if we don't get this issue right, our economy is dead. i would rather lose my job then the port of charleston. >> that budget, congress was given 40 hours to read a 1600 page budget. mandatory spending is going to increase by 80% over the next 10 years. i support the port of charleston. i believe infrastructure is a function of government. i believe when it comes to earmarks and special project spending, we have to have a up or down vote. the project needs to win or fail on merit separately. >> i am a jim demint fiscal

conservative republican. i believe we need the port deepened. i believe that is a function of the government. we have to go about of a certain way. demand was able to -- demint was able to get away from me your mark -- get away from the earmark process. the money needs to be allocated with the states having more say. >> i would not have supported that budget. we have to some -- fight against the spending. the $17 trillion deficit will break our country. i mentioned the bank. if you are going to vote like jim demint, i am your guy. i will not be held hostage. we will take the cake's -- make our case in washington. fund the priorities and constitutional obligations.

the port of constitution -- port of charleston is a federal government issue. >> my responsibility as a senator is to uphold the constitution. that comes first. second is to represent the people of south carolina. there are no conflicts because our people are constitutionalists. the difficult i have with your marks -- your marks -- earmarks is the political class lacks the will to do what is right. that is not appropriate conduct for trusted officials. >> we are not going to have time for that one. the next and probably last time. >> my next question is, why should the next republican president of the u.s. not be shown some degree of deference?

a large degree of difference on his judicial nominations? when storm thurmond adopted the same principle? >> 30 seconds again, please. >> i love the constitution. i studied the constitution. it says advise and consent for the senate to read -- senate. justice sotomayor and justice kagan more radically liberal. part of the qualification is you understand the constitution. two of the justices who dissented against prayer in public bodies were the ones you nominated. >> if you want conservative judges, let's elect a conservative president. the constitution was not set up

to make sure they never get any of theirs. i broke the filibuster. they represented a pro-life clinic. they represented big companies against environmental groups. they were qualified. elections have consequences. strom thurmond voted for 23. if you want conservative judges, let's win the white house. but don't tell the people we are going to washington and lose elections that the supreme court will not change. >> thank you so much. your role is to advise and consent. i believe, and you are determining those individuals, they should have a believe and understanding of the

constitution and the bill of rights. these are rights that are god-given. these are rights that all of us are allowed. what those in washington dc do not understand is they are out of touch with our values. you're right, senator graham. elections have consequences. the primaries on june 10 and you have a decision to make. >> a judge is not qualified if they do not believe the constitution should be interpreted quitting to original intent. -- according to original intent. their track records proved otherwise. soto mayor was caught on tape -- justice sotomayor was caught on tape saying if you want to make policy, you should be on the appeals court. she is going to vote against a traditional understanding of marriage.

>> advise and consent does not mean automatically approve. i would like to take this opportunity to see if senator graham would repudiate his decision to call secretary of state hillary clinton one of the greatest secretary of state's? >> i will move on. the senator can answer you later. >> for the past 20 years, i have been a pastor. i have been in the room with the leg when she made the decision. i have been in the hospital when he tiled was born. a litmus test for a supreme court justice is a right to life. if we don't uphold that, we have lost our republic.

>> and mr. dunn. >> there is a political aspect to this. conservatives can only support justices who understand that having -- otherwise, we are giving away the republic. i am concerned that the v.a. scandal has not come up at all. i am the only candidate that has afforded a plan to fix the veterans administration. i would officiate -- appreciate folks checking that out. >> our time is up. thank you to all of our candidates. to see the debate and any of the previous debates, visit sctv.org. for a complete wrap -- and don't forget to vote on tuesday. good night. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014]

[captioning performed by national captioning institute] >> both the house and senate are in session -- houses and session for general speeches and at 2:00, they will consider suspension bills before beginning to bait him bills to authorize spending for 315 transportation and housing programs. votes can occur later in the evening. for generalavels in speeches. at 5:00, senators will vote to move forward on district judge emanations for virginia, massachusetts, and nevada. white house live on c-span, the senate on c-span2. includes's new book financial journalist gretchen morgan some. >> what roles did the government

lay in housing finance? if you want to subsidize housing in this country and we want to talk about it and the populists agree it is something we should subsidize, then put it on the balance sheet and make it clear and make it evident and make everybody aware of how much it is costing. but when you deliver it through these third-party enterprises, fannie mae and freddie mac, when you deliver the subsidy through a public company with private shareholders and executives who can extract a lot of that subsidy for themselves, that is not a very good way of subsidizing homeownership. >> read more of the conversation with gretchen morgan some from our book notes and "q and a" programs. from public affairs books, now available for a father's day gift at your favorite bookseller. >> coming next, "newsmakers"

with senator john barrasso. that is held by president obama anniversary in france. >> this week on "newsmakers," joining us from capitol hill, john barrasso. thank you for being with us. >> thanks for having me. >> in studio with us we have bob sack of the hill, and the national journal. >> the big news this week this of course was the prisoner swap for bowe bergdahl. dave administration first said that that's helped was a concern, but now there are reports that there is a different reason, and a death threat involved. is that a credible excuse?