AMES, Iowa — Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann and former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty tore into each other Thursday in the Republican presidential debate, assailing each other as they struggled to portray themselves as most viable alternative to frontrunner Mitt Romney.
“It’s an indisputable fact that in Congress [Bachmann’s] record of accomplishments and results is nonexistent,” Pawlenty said in a raucous debate, sponsored by Fox News and The Washington Examiner, that featured all eight of the current candidates.
In the most free-wheeling of the three debates, Bachmann compared Pawlenty to President Obama, accusing her fellow Minnesotan of supporting big government, raising cigarette taxes and backing health care reforms similar to those imposed by Obama while Pawlenty was governor.
Defending her congressional record, Bachmann cited her opposition to raising the debt ceiling and health care reform. Pawlenty said Bachmann has a record of misstating and falsifying facts.
“If that’s your record, please stop, because you’re killing us,” he said.
Outside of the Minnesotans’ punchy exchanges, the candidates remain focused largely on Obama, who Republicans believe can be defeated if the GOP can put up a credible contender against him.
Candidates berated Obama for the nation’s downgraded credit rating, criticized his health care reforms as unconstitutional and accused him of failing to lead.
“The most important thing we’re talking about tonight is making sure that President Obama gets replaced with somebody who knows how to get this economy going again,” Romney said, who repeatedly emphasized his experience in the private sector as something that sets him apart from Obama and most of the other Republican candidates.
“If you spend your life in the private sector … you understand how jobs come and how they go,” Romney said.
Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, making his first appearance in a presidential debate, had a weak start, opening with the admission that he still doesn’t have a detailed plan for the economy. But he quickly assured voters that he is a “conservative problem-solver” committed to cutting taxes and repealing regulations on the private sector.
On immigration reform, Texas Rep. Ron Paul drew applause when he said the U.S. needs to pay less attention to the problems of other countries and more attention to its own border with Mexico.
Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, who is still struggling in a crowded field, frequently took shots at nearly every candidate on the stage — but few of them felt the need to return the punches.
None of the candidates took the bait either when given a chance to respond to Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s decision to announce on Saturday that he will enter the race or Tea Party darling Sarah Palin’s decision to relaunch her bus tour on Thursday in Iowa.
“I like Sarah Palin a lot, we are very good friends,” Bachmann said.
Huntsman called Perry’s candidacy a “net plus” and businessman Herman Cain said, “It doesn’t bother us or my campaign.”
In her closing statement, Bachmann called on Iowans to send a message to Obama that his presidency is over by attending the Ames straw poll on Saturday. Bachmann is counting on a strong showing at the straw poll to back up her frontrunner status in Iowa.
