What began as a disagreement over child tax credits between Sens. Rand Paul, Ky., and Marco Rubio, Fla., Tuesday evening quickly turned into a heated battle over what is necessary to ensure America’s strength and security.
The nearly five-minute exchange during the fourth GOP debate began when Paul sharply criticized Rubio’s call for an increase in the child tax credit, calling it a “welfare transfer payment.”
“Yes, I have a child tax credit increase and I’m proud of it,” Rubio told the crowd in Milwaukee minutes after he declared American families “the most important institution in the country.”
“When we set out to do tax reform, we endeavored to have a pro-family tax code. And we endeavored to do it because we know how expensive it is for families in the 21st century to afford the cost of living,” he added.
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Paul, who described himself as the “only fiscal conservative on stage” during the third Republican debate, interjected with a question about fiscal conservatism.
“Is it fiscally conservative to have a trillion-dollar expenditure?” he asked the audience. “[Rubio’s] talking about giving people money they didn’t pay. It’s a welfare transfer payment.”
“Add that to Marco’s plan for a trillion dollars in new military spending and you can get something that looks to me, not very conservative,” he added.
“First of all, this is their money, they do pay it,” Rubio retorted. “It is refundable not just against the taxes they pay to the government, but to the federal income tax, it’s refundable against the payroll tax. Everyone pays payroll tax. This is their money.”
He continued, “And yes, I do want to rebuild the American military. I know that Rand is a committed isolationist. I am not. I believe the world is a stronger and a better place when the U.S. is the strongest military power in the world.”
“Marco, how is it conservative to add a trillion dollars in military expenditures?” Paul asked the Florida senator.
Rubio responded swiftly, telling Paul: “We can’t even have an economy if we’re not safe. There are radical jihadists that are beheading people and crucifying Christians, a radical Shia cleric in Iran trying to get a nuclear weapon, the Chinese taking over the South China sea.”
“I know the world is a safer and better place when America is the strongest military power in the world,” he stated.
Claiming the last word, Paul said the discussion over defense spending would be “the most important thing we’re going to talk about tonight.”
“Can you be a conservative and be for liberal military spending? I want a strong national defense, but I also don’t want to be bankrupt,” he said.
Rubio holds the No. 1 spot in the Washington Examiner’s presidential power rankings while Paul ranks tenth.
