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GOP Candidates Agree On 1 Word In Debate: Cuts

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By LIZ SIDOTI, The Associated Press

Published: January 11, 2008

Updated: 01/11/2008 01:11 am

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. - Republican presidential rivals backed a blend of tax and spending cuts Thursday night to head off an election-year recession they generally agreed is avoidable.

"We should reduce taxes on middle-income Americans immediately," former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney said during a debate in the run-up to presidential primaries in Michigan and South Carolina, two states with jobless rates above the national average.

"The first thing is not to raise taxes," former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee said. "Cut the marginal tax rate, if anything, and eventually go to a fair tax," he added, referring to his plan for a national sales tax to replace the income tax.

Arizona Sen. John McCain stressed spending cuts to get the budget deficit under control, although he also said it was important not to let Bush administration-era tax cuts expire. He pledged to "wield the veto pen" and block pork barrel spending bills.

Although the debate was held in South Carolina, the next contest is the Michigan primary, in which Romney, Huckabee and McCain are the key antagonists. It's unlikely all of them can survive a defeat there.

South Carolina's Jan. 19 primary has drawn a different group of competitors. Former Sen. Fred Thompson of Tennessee has made it clear he needs a victory or something close to it, while McCain and Huckabee also are counting on a strong showing.

Thompson underscored the urgency of a strong South Carolina showing when he launched an attack on Huckabee, standing a few feet away on the debate stage.

"This is a battle for the heart and soul of the Republican Party and its future. On the one hand you have the Reagan Revolution ... on the other hand you have the direction that Governor Huckabee would take us ... liberal economic policies, liberal foreign policies," he said.

Huckabee seemed unruffled, saying, "The Air Force has a saying that if you're not catching flak you're not over the target. I'm catching the flak. I must be over the target."

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