GOP DEBATE DOSSIER: SMALLER LINE-UP, SAME POINTS: OVERZEALOUS, OUT OF TOUCH, AND OH-SO EXTREME

“During an interview Wednesday with the New Hampshire Union Leader in Manchester, Mr. Bush was asked whether he supported a pathway to full citizenship. He replied, ‘No.’ ‘What do we do with the 11 million people here? I think the answer is earned legal status,’ he said.” [Washington Times, 7/8/15]

“Donald Trump would reverse President Obama’s executive orders on immigration and deport all undocumented immigrants from the U.S. as president, he said in an exclusive interview with NBC’s Chuck Todd. ‘We’re going to keep the families together, but they have to go,’ he said in the interview, which aired in full on NBC’s ‘Meet the Press’ Sunday. Pressed on what he’d do if the immigrants in question had nowhere to return to, Trump reiterated: ‘They have to go.’ ‘We will work with them. They have to go. Chuck, we either have a country, or we don’t have a country,’ he said.” [NBC News, 8/16/15]

“CARSON: You also turn off the spigot that dispenses the goodies… DICKERSON: Right. CARSON: … so that people don’t have any incentive to come here. And then those who are here, you know, we have to recognize that we can’t just round them up, but we can give them an opportunity to register. I would give them a six-month period. And if they register and they have a pristine record, they haven’t been causing problems, I would give them an opportunity to become guest workers, not citizens, not voting people, not people who get goodies.” [CBS’s Face the Nation, 9/13/15]

“In response to a question by Sean Hannity about his views on gay marriage, Ben Carson said, ‘Well, my thoughts are that marriage is between a man and a woman. It’s a well-established, fundamental pillar of society and no group, be they gays, be they NAMBLA, be they people who believe in bestiality. It doesn’t matter what they are. They don’t get to change the definition.’” [Slate, 3/28/13]

“It doesn’t exist. There is no federal constitutional right to same sex marriage. There isn’t such a right. You have to have a ridiculous and absurd reading of the U.S. constitution to reach the conclusion that people have a right to marry someone of the same sex.” [The Brody File, 4/26/15]

“Cruz warned of the dangers of gay marriage a month after the Supreme Court decision in a July 2013 interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network. ‘If you look at other nations that have gone down the road towards gay marriage, that’s the next step where it gets enforced,’ he said. ‘It gets enforced against Christian pastors who decline to perform gay marriages, who speak out and preach biblical truths on marriage.’” [Huffington Post, 2/3/14]

“CUOMO: You said I’m going to be great for women. I will do the most that can be done for women. Will you pass an equal pay? You know the statistics. You know, they don’t get paid what men do? TRUMP: I’m looking into that very strongly. I was asked that question yesterday. I’m looking into it very strongly. I will have a position on it in the not too distant future. One of the problems you have is you get to have an economy where it’s no longer free enterprise economy. You know, everybody gets the saying whether the — the concept of it is good. It’s a very complicated. The whole issue is a very complicated issue.” [CNN’s New Day, 8/11/15]

“‘What’s the Paycheck Fairness Act?’ Bush asked, in an exchange captured by the liberal opposition research outfit American Bridge. Once the man he was speaking with defined it as a bill that would ensure that women get ‘equal pay for equal work,’ Bush took issue with his phrasing. ‘Equal pay for the same work, not for equal work — I think that’s the problem with it. I think there’s a definition issue,’ he said, before declining to say whether or not he thought Land should support the legislation.” [The Hill,10/15/14]

When challenged on the income gap in his home state: “’Well, a lot of it is based on experience,’ Kasich replied. ‘A lot of different factors go into it. It’s all tied up in skills. Do you not have the skills to be able to compete?’” [Think Progress, 10/7/15]

“I do not support expanding background checks. The current background checks do not work. They make it more difficult for law abiding citizens to acquire firearms while consistently failing to stop criminals from getting guns. We should re-examine our policy to make sure that these prohibitions do not impede law abiding citizens from exercising their Second Amendment rights.” [Ammoland, 7/7/15]

“For a minute, the former Florida governor almost sounded like he supported expanding background checks to more gun purchases, agreeing with Colbert that the National Rifle Association’s opposition to mental health checks can be defeated. But then he continued, proving how little he understands about preventing gunviolence in the United States. ‘Why would you want to impose national gun laws on top of every circumstance of this country?’ he asked. When Colbert pointed out that the Second Amendment is applied nationally, so gun control should also be a national issue, Bush disagreed, saying that Florida is different from New York or Vermont.” [Think Progress, 9/9/15]

“In an appearance on Wednesday at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., Dr. Ben Carson, author of the new book ‘One Nation: What We Can All Do to Save America’s Future’ discussed his views on the Second Amendment of the Constitution. Carson stated that in high-crime areas, ‘We should be able to engage in conversations about [the Second Amendment],’ and the discussion should center around ‘what can we agree on that doesn’t violate the Second Amendment?’ Carson did say that ‘the Second Amendment is the essential part of our Constitution,’ and clarified afterwards that expanded background checks and an assault weapons ban would be off the table in any discussions on the Second Amendment.” [Breitbart, 5/28/14]

“Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump wants to bar all Muslims from entering the United States. In a statement from his campaign, Trump called for a ‘total and complete shutdown’ of Muslims entering the United States until elected leaders can ‘figure out what is going on.’ When asked by The Hill whether that would include Muslim-American citizens currently abroad, Trump spokeswoman Hope Hicks replied over email: ‘Mr. Trump says, ‘everyone.’’” [The Hill, 12/7/15]

“Sen. Ted Cruz Sunday continued to call for Muslim refugees from Syria to be barred from entering the United States but opening the borders to displaced Christians, arguing there is not a ‘meaningful risk’ that Christians will commit terrorist acts. ‘There is no meaningful risk of Christians committing acts of terror. If there were a group of radical Christians pledging to murder anyone who had a different religious view than they, we would have a different national security situation,’ Cruz (R-Tex.) told reporters in a middle school gym here.” [Washington Post, 11/15/15]

“Ben Carson says the United States should not elect a Muslim president. ‘I would not advocate that we put a Muslim in charge of this nation. I absolutely would not agree with that,’ the retired neurosurgeon and Republican presidential candidate said Sunday on NBC’s ‘Meet the Press.’” [CNN,9/21/15]