BOULDER — The main event threatened to overshadow four low-polling GOP presidential hopefuls who took part in the “undercard debate” Wednesday at the University of Colorado, but each approached it as though he were a top contender.
Stuck at , each all but ignored who would take the stage later in the evening, with barely a mention of Donald Trump.
Instead, they repeatedly brandished their knives for President Barack Obama and Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton. They also illustrated divides within the GOP at large.
Lindsey Graham, a U.S. senator from South Carolina, delivered one of the debate’s most memorable lines when he vowed to take a hard line on foreign dictators, offering countries such as China an open hand or a closed fist.
“Make me commander in chief,” he said, “and this crap stops.”
Each of the four — the others were Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, former New York Gov. George Pataki and former Pennsylvania U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum — . The Boulder platform in the “Your Money, Your Vote” debate, sponsored by CNBC, offered a new chance.
Among the moments that stood out for each:
Santorum, defending the need for large-scale deportations of immigrants in the country illegally, put the focus on American workers: “We need to get better training (and) better skills, including vocational education and training in community colleges. But the bottom line is, we have to make sure that we are not flooding this country with (immigrants here illegally).
Graham rebutted him, arguing that more moderate positions on immigration reform and acceptance of human-caused climate change were key to the GOP’s survival.
“At the end of the day, folks, I am trying to solve the problem and win an election,” he said. “I’m tired of (Republicans) losing. Good God, look who we’re running against,” he added, referring to Clinton and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist from Vermont.
Jindal repeatedly focused on his plans to slash government spending as a way to grow the economy.
“We’ve got a choice,” he said. “Do we grow the government economy or the American economy? So I say get rid of the corporate tax. Bring those jobs and investments here to the United States, stop sending jobs and investment overseas.”
Pataki, who echoed Graham on support for immigration reform and his belief in climate change, argued that Obama had squandered the chance to improve the economy more forcefully.
“No question Barack Obama inherited an economic disaster in 2009,” he said. “But what did he do? Instead of focusing on pro-growth policies and the economy, he ran through Obamacare — the worst law of my lifetime — that hurt small businesses, hurt companies, raised taxes and almost completely eliminated one industry because of its taxes.”
Jon Murray: 303-954-1405, jmurray@denverpost.com or @JonMurray
