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MANCHESTER, N.H. — Ten Republican presidential candidates were split on the future of the Iraq war and recent legislation to give citizenship to millions of illegal immigrants Tuesday night at a primary debate at Saint Anselm College, two days after Democrats sparred over similar issues in an almost identical forum.
Undeterred by a lightning storm that disrupted broadcast of the debate several times, candidates quickly delved into current immigration law, former President Bill Clinton’s “don’t ask don’t tell” policy and the handling of troops in Iraq — which overshadowed all other conversation. While candidates almost unanimously agreed that the invasion of the country was initially justified, they were divided over the next steps to be taken the violent region.
Rep. Ron Paul (Texas), who argued “the sooner we come home, the better,” said troops should leave the battered nation if no substantial progress has been made by September.
“If we make the wrong diagnosis, we should change the treatment,” he told a perpetually imposing Wolf Blitzer, the CNN anchor who moderated the discussion. “It was a mistake to go, so it’s a mistake to stay — the weapons weren’t there, and we went in under U.N. resolutions.”
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), two of the GOP’s early frontrunners, disagreed and said the key to resolution in Iraq is achieving success with the current plan.
“I think this strategy needs to be given a chance to succeed,” McCain said. “All of the [other] options I could run through with you — my friend, none of them are good. That’s why we must succeed.”
McCain also criticized Democratic candidate Sen. Hillary Clinton’s (N.Y.) characterization of the infiltration of Iraq as “President Bush’s war.”
“Presidents don’t lose wars,” he said. “Political parties don’t lose wars. Nations lose wars, and nations have the consequences of failure.”
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney was one of several candidates who said the tactical use of nuclear weapons against Iran as a last resort should not be out ruled.
“You don’t take options off the table,” he said.
In the midst of discussion over English as the official U.S. language, investment into alternative energy sources and debate over religion and creationism versus evolution, concerns surrounding immigration policies repeatedly surfaced.
The recent Senate Immigration Reform Compromise divided candidates. The plan, which would ease the transition from status as an illegal immigrant to U.S. citizen for many of the nation’s undocumented workers, was called “the worst piece of legislation to come down the pike in a long time” by Rep. Tom Tancredo (Colo.). Giuliani said it does not regulate the identification of each worker in the country, something he deemed necessary.
“It has no real unifying purpose,” Giuliani said. “It’s a typical Washington mess. The organizing purpose should be that our immigration laws should allow us to identify everyone who is in this country that comes here from a foreign country.
“We can do that,” he added. “Credit card companies take care of data that is greater than that.”
McCain defended the legislation, however, which he co-wrote, challenging, “If someone else has a better idea, I’d love to have them give it to us.” In response, several of his opponents raised their hands on stage.
Romney said the current law is enough to handle the 12 million illegal immigrants who, according to Blitzer, are currently in the country, but that the problem is a lack of enforcement.
According to the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, a secured border and an employment verification system should be maintained, Romney said.
Through their own cuts and bruises, candidates upheld a consistent disapproval of the Bush administration throughout the debate, blaming the president for difficulties with the military, foreign relations and a generally faltering trust in the GOP. Former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson went as far as to say, “I would certainly not send him to the United Nations.”
Romney campaign spokesman Sen. Jim Talent (R-Mo.) and candidate Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) agreed after the debate that violence in Darfur, Sudan is worth more attention in politics and should have been discussed in the debate.
“The Sudan in the future is not going to look like it has in the past,” said Brownback, who pledged to send more troops to the country’s grounds if elected.
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, however, took the post-debate media blitz opportunity to express a different dissatisfaction — Blitzer’s speedy and unpredictable method.
“You can’t rush us like that,” he said, “or we look like crazy people. It’s the responsibility of the moderator to give the viewer the opportunity to see which candidate is capable of talking about the morality of real issues.”
