GOP candidates forced to challenge Reagan on taxes

The Republican presidential candidates were put in a difficult position tonight: debating Ronald Reagan.

Debate moderator Charlie Rose introduced a video clip of the former president advocating a compromise plan that might raise taxes on those who had not paid their “fair share,” in order to reduce the deficits. Rose asked the candidates how they would answer the most revered man in Republican politics.

“I think we’re certainly talking about different times,” was Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s initial response.

He also referred to Reagan’s diary, in which the president noted the tax increase ultimately came without the spending cuts the compromise called for.

“That’s one of the problems we’ve got in Washington, D.C.,” Perry said. “They always hear the siren song, ‘If you’ll allow us to raise taxes then we’ll make these reductions here.’ ... We need to have a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution.”

Mitt Romney argued that simply cutting spending and raising taxes was not enough.

“Nothing works as well as getting the economy going,” he said.

Asked about the choice facing a special congressional “super-committee” ? to slash more than $1 trillion from the deficit or trigger steep cuts in defense spending ? Romney avoided a specific recommendation.

“I want to see that super-committee take responsibility for getting the economy going again by reining in the scale of the federal government and saying we’re going to pull back on some of the programs we have and reform our entitlements so they’re sustainable,” he said.

Newt Gingrich, battling for face time at every turn, called the super-committee a stupid mechanism for dealing with deficits.

“The bill basically says, we’re either going to shoot ourselves in the head or cut off our right leg,” he said.