army. he was a judge advocate general of the army. figure in theng virginia house of delegates. and probably the indispensable man in the ratification debates because he was the guy who really persuaded the majority of virginian delegates to go along with ratifying the constitution. without virginia it would not have been a constitution. he was an important diplomat with negotiations with france, and he was secretary of state. all those other contributions he has made as a founding father kind of get forgotten because of the significance of his one decision in marbury versus madison. sunday night aton q&a.eastern on c-span's >> now to san antonio, texas for the second debate between republican senator, ted cruz and democratic representative,

beto o'rourke. political politics has the senate race listed as "leans republican." this is less coverage on the c-span, your primary source for campaign 2018. >> two different visions for the on. texas wants to be >> i am not running against anyone, not against another party, i am running for this party. >> republican ted cruz, asking texas voters for six more years in the senate. betcha o'rourke, hoping to be the state's first democratic senator in 25 years. now, live from san antonio. both candidates. , face-to-face in the texas debate. >> good evening, thank you for joining us tonight, i am news

anchor at san antonio. >> and i am host of wfaa in dallas, fort worth. we welcome all people watching the debate live tonight from all corners of texas. >> both campaigns have agreed to rules. for each question, the candidate will get 90 seconds to answer and his opponent, 90 seconds for response. we will turn back for a final rebuttal of 60 seconds. >> let us first turn to dallas where we have a social media response team. as he watched the debate on television tonight, join the conversation online using the # texasdebate. >> we also have a live audience here in the studio and we ask you to please hold your applause during the debate. except for now, as we welcome the two candidates running! for united states senate in texas! [cheers and applause]

[applause] moderator: gentlemen, welcome tonight. senator cruz, he won the coin toss. we start with you, congressman o'rourke. welcome. 21 days away from the election and there is still insecurity about ballot boxes. several attacks were reported against several states, but misinformation online can be just as dangerous, as men people know. the question is, can congress make a legislation to protect voters? mr. o'rourke: thank you for posting the debate and thanks to the people of san antonio for helping us being here, and for the people in texas watching and participating in one of the most important decision of our lifetime.

of our ballotrity boxes, 240 two years into this experiment. the american democracy, the exception and not the role in world history, is sacred. tois essential we continue protect it. attacks, like any other time, thus it is under attack, more than any other time in history. the intelligence committee has which the conclusion that the russian government sought to undermine our democracy. there were indictments of 12 russian nationals who compromised voting data and we know that they will attack us again in this election and in the next, unless we stand up to them now. so yes, the as protect the integrity of our ballot box. which is why i am a bit surprised senator cruz voted against funding to protect access to the ballot boxes, to ensure your boat most of the candidate of your choice. we must also ensure that on social media, where many of us have become a product of twitter

and facebook, that we are not manipulated and that the opinions we hold are not shaped others. i want to work with our colleagues on both sides of the isle and the administration, to make sure we do that. so that every single voter can make an informed decision on correct information. course, we should do more. i am proud to have supported federal funding from the government to the state. a week ago, the senate judiciary committee passed legislation that i cosponsored, called the for punishing anyone who undermines our elections. we need to mature our elections are safe and secure. your question was should congress be legislating social media companies and what they allowed to be said? i believe in the first amendment, and i don't believe congress should be in the

business of regulating conduct. it is not the governments job to regulate conduct online. being said, i am very concerned as millions of texas are, about the political bias of big trch, tech, facebook and google. testified facebook before the senate and i asked him a series of rigorous questions about facebook's political bias. even though congress should not regular content, there are two things you should think about doing. #1, right now, big tech enjoys immunity from regulation on the assumption that they will be fair.l and we should repeal the entity from liability so they should be liable like the rest of us. number two, tech companies by any measure are bigger than at&t was what it was broken up under antitrust laws, bigger than .tandard

moderator: oil. antitrust laws should be enforced congressman, to be clear, he said that congress should enact legislation on social media. yes or no, for regulations on social media? mr. o'rourke: yes, i think we regulationoughtful to ensure we are making informed decisions, based on facts and the truth, and not the money ,,mmitted by foreign powers but it is interesting that ted cruz invested in his of dollars in image analytic outcome of the same company that helps to undermine our democracy. the company that wished to manipulate the world's greatest democracy. $30 million, that ted cruz put into that. he voted against safeguarding the integrity of our ballot boxes. our junior senator will not stand up to president trump, somebody who apologizes for russia, defense that country. vladimir putin, the leader of stopped.ry, who

to undermine our democracy he will not stand up against him and he will not stand up for us to mature the our elections and free and that your vote goes to the intended candidate. this is beyond party politics, it is getting our politics back on track and we need a senator .rom texas who will do that moderator: senator cruz, brett kavanaugh was sworn in 11 days ago. the u.s. supreme court now has five justices who have either directly stated or suggested that roe v. wade was wrongly suggests -- roe versus wade was wrongly decided. should we prepare for the abolition -- review of the law?ion mr. cruz:? mr. cruz: i believe every? mr. cruz: human life is a precious gift from god and should be protected and cherished. i am pro-life. happenstion of what will at the supreme court on roe v. wade and anything else, we will have to see when cases are

decided. judge kavanagh like his predecessors and justice ginsburg and the justice kagan, declined to answer that question, which has been the standard of the supreme court for many years. there is an enormous difference between me and congressman o'rourke. on the question of life, congressman o'rourke is that the side.e pro-abortion he has repeatedly voted in favor of late-term abortions, in favor of taxpayer funding for abortions. that is not consistent with the texas.f the people of i will say, especially the hispanic community of texas, we don't want to see taxpayer-funded, medicaid funding abortions and late-term abortions. i think it is extreme and disconnected. on the question of judges, judges are in massive divide between congressman or rourke me. i was proud to help lead the effort to confirm neil gorsuch to the supreme court, to help lead the effort took him firm justice kavanaugh to the supreme court. congress mayor rourke would have voted against both of them. left-wingo see

judicial activists who impose their own policy preferences from the bench. i don't think that is what the people of texas want. moderator: thank you. congressman, you have 90 seconds to respond. senator cruz has a turbo record when it comes to judicial nominations and confirmations. he supported a judge who described transgender children as devilish. he supported someone to be a judge who had never tried a case before, and another potential judge who could never tell us whether brown v. board of education was correctly decided. in a state where you can be fired for being gay, i want justices. who believe in civil rights from the perspective of a state that ranks 50th in border turnout by design, some people -- i want a justice -- from a state that ranks 50th in voter turnout, by

design, i want a state that supports it. losing people faster than 80 other states, in almost every developed country in the world. i will only vote to confirm a supreme court justice who believes in a woman's right to make her own decisions about her own body, and who has a health care access to be in which to do so. we should be able, the next junior senator, to work with our toleagues, our legislation, work with justices who will rule in favor of people and our needs, not corporations, special interest or political action committees. have are the interests we in texas right now, not represented by justice kavanaugh. that is a decision i am concerned about. moderator: senator, in your 62nd rebuttal, what does abortion law like?as look

mr. cruz: it is striking, congressman o'rourke did not support of abortion, supporting taxpayer funding for abortions, late-term, even for aliens. . he has voted for that, on extreme position fewer than 9% of texas agree with him. he also did not dispute that he opposed justice gorsuch, justice kavanaugh. if you listen to what he said, he said he wants justices who agree with his own left-wing policy views. that is not the job of the court. the jump of the court is to follow the law. if you want to change the law, you do it through elections. the constitution gives the power to the people, not five unelected lawyers in washington. the same judges congressman or rourke wants to see would also undermine the first amendment and free speech. undermine religious liberty. promised toton appoint justices who would undermine the second amendment and congressman or rourke

enthusiastically supported her. cruz,tor: senator president trump said on sunday that something is changing with regards to the climate. you are on record for years saying that there is no evidence to lack back that up -- to back that up. many companies, including exxon mobil say that the risk of climate change is clear and warrants action. their own words. would you tell texas companies who think this is really a problem? mr. cruz: the climate has been changing from the dawn of time and it will change as long as we have a planet earth. i am the son of two mathematicians and computer programmers. i believe in science and a chair --t ryan's committee and chair the science committee. we look at the science and data behind global warming. we heard testimony and data. far too many democrats approach the issue not as a matter of science.

i think we should follow the science and evidence. instead, they approach it as a matter of government power. they want the government to control the economy. that has led congressman or rourke to cast votes that i think are really harmful to the people of texas. congressman o'rourke voted in favor of a $10 per barrel tax on all barrels of oil produced in the state of texas. it would have been an absolutely never stating thing to texas. $10 a barrel works out to about $.24 a gallon that everyone of us would a when you go to fill up your car or truck. let me point out, a robust energy sector is good for all of texas. there are millions of jobs that depend on a robust oil and gas sector. 's recordan or rourke voting against energy, oil and gas, that hurts the economy and jobs, is not right for texas. all the oil and gas workers buy trucks, they give to

churches and the university of texas a&m gets hundreds of millions of dollars from our energy sector. moderator: let us move on to a 92nd response from congressman or rourke. mr. o'rourke: senator cruz will not be honest with you in this debate, he will make up positions and votes that have never held or taken. he is dishonest. it is why the president called ted." and it is why the name stuck. we should be able to listen to scientists and follow their advice and guidance. they tell us that we still have time, at the window is closing. commitmentmake our to the generations that follow and not just think about the next election or our political career and pursuit of the white house, we can make that right decision now. we can be the leaders in oil and

gas, but also in renewable energy. we leave the country in the generation of renewable wind power. we are number five and move it up quick, when it comes to solar. the 2 fastest jobs in america today are wind and solar jobs. we can make sure that we produce and refine and transport and use our energy resources more responsibly. this is not a one political party thing, it is people of both parties and every single in -- every single country in texas. we have had a chance to listen to people who work in the energy industry. they may and i listened to people who work in these professions and what they want is consistency in the regulations, then they will perform to them. moderator: mr. cruz, does exxon mobil have it wrong here? it is clear that congressman or more's pollsters have told him to come of the attack. if he was to call me a liar,

that is fine. if you want to see the vote he cast for a $10 a barrel tax on oil, go to our website, z.org, you will see the vote that he cast. if you work in energy or oil and gas, congressman or more's record on this is extreme. you did not just vote for a tax on oil, he voted for aggressive regulations on fracking, exporting liquefied natural gas. he is a prominent supporter of president obama's paris climate deal, which would have killed dozens of jobs -- thousands of jobs in texas. congressman o'rourke sides over and over again with liberal extremists on a national level, instead with the people and jobs of texas. -- representative, this question is about

immigration policy. we know your position and passion for the d.r.e.a.m.e.r.s. and we know that you are adamantly against extending the existing border fence. this question is specifically about border security. if we don't need a border wall, can you please look at the people of texas and tell them what we need? mr. o'rourke: i would be happy to. i don't know if there is another person who has a greater stake in the issue than i do. amy and i are raising our children in el paso, texas. one half of the largest defining border community in our state. i care about the safety of every single person in the state of texas. el paso is one of the safest if not the safest city in the united states, because we have world-class law enforcement, police and sheriff deputies, but also because we are a city of immigrants. a quarter of those ever-present

were born in another country and by their very presence came here and beat it better. no wall is going to solve legitimate security concerns about policy will. let me describe one of those to you. senator john cornyn and i, he is a republican from the senate and i am a democrat in a hot south -- in the house, we worked on a to create better border security. having an idea of who comes into our country demonstrably makes it safer. time, customs offices are able to legitimate -- facilitate better trade and travel. the home know, here, of toyota, trade is the lifeblood of the state of texas. if we can make our communities secure as this bill did, we'd have really figure something out. i think john cornyn and i have been able to do that, republicans and democrats

working together on the issue and making things better. 90erator: senator, you have seconds to respond. mr. cruz: everyone should note, he wanted to talk about trade and customs, everything except border security. country no place in the national race in the country with a stalker divide on border security than this one here. happy to receive the support of the union of the men and women who risk their lives keeping our nation safe. i will know that i am pleased to have brendan judge, and paul paris, both from the national border patrol council. the reason they support me is because i led the fight to secure the building of a border wall, using boots on the ground. we can keep our communities safe. congressman or more could not only opposes the wall, but he has said that we have too many borders and walls. el paso is across from words,

one of the most dangerous -- uarez,across from j one of the most dangerous cities in the world. let me give you an example of how extreme congressman or rourke is on immigration. an overwhelming majority of texans support the case law in the senate that says, violence, criminal illegal aliens, if they are deported he would it be, should face a mandatory prison sentence. votedssman rourke has against that. we should not be releasing violent criminals to our community. moderator: congressman, can you tell us your specific plan to secure the border? mr. o'rourke: as i just told you, senator john cornyn and i have worked to invest in our ports of entry, stefan customs officer, infrastructure in our bridges which connect us with mexico, where 90% of everyone crosses, and technology that ensures we do a better, martyr

job, screening those who come into our country. that will make us safer. it also means that we support local law enforcement, police officers and sheriffs deputies who keep this country safe. we cannot use this idea of border security to be an impediment to moving forward on those issues that are also demanding our action. texas newsletter than any other state -- texans know better than almost any other people of any other state about immigration reform. when the senate voted to move forward on debate on the d.r.e.a.m.e.r.s., 98 senators showed up and 97 voted to move forward. no, ted of them voted cruz. he put his career above the interests and priorities of texans. ted cruz is for ted cruz. ,r. cruz: let me respond please. i know that the congressman says we should support law enforcement, striking that he says that now, because his

career has been one of consistently opposing the enforcement. is ane else here today detective who leads the san antonio police officers association and he has endorsed me. sheriffslected texas - moderat moderator: senator, you have both agreed to the rules. we need to move on to the next. mr. cruz: a rebuttal is necessary and i want to make a point on law enforcement. moderator: we need to move on. moderator: gentlemen, you are looking at a live picture of the victory park studios in dallas where the social media response team is listening to our viewers. the overwhelming conversation online is about health care. one poster asks you directly, congressman, if universal health care will cost trillions of dollars, what would you cut from the federal budget or how much

are you going to raise my taxes to pay for that? mr. cruz: let us start with what it is we're trying to achieve. we want to make sure everyone can see a doctor, afford prescription medications, take their child to a therapist and live long enough and well enough. we went to mature working families pay less for health care costs than they pay today. this is something we can do to get to your answer. we could expand medicaid. this is a state that left $100 billion on the table. we could expand medicaid. more working texans are able to be well enough to go back to work. we could introduce medicare as an option, to drive down the increase in premium costs and expand selection and choice. we could take the lead as the state that is the least in short in the united states, who better understands the consequences of failing to be there, why and for one another, and guaranteeing high-quality universal health care. tore are many ways

be there, we could use a mix of employer-based insurance and the ability for people to pay into medicare. it could come at a cost of around $1.6 trillion over the next 10 years. if you look at the tax cuts senator cruz just voted for, 2 trillion dollars, adding 221 trillion dollars in debt, with a disproportionate benefits going to operations and the wealthiest. you could moved -- you could move the corporate tax rate and that would generate the money necessary to pay for access to health care, so that everyone lives to their full potential. time for: mr. cruz, your 92nd response. mr. cruz: he did not want to answer how to pay for it. or work is proposing socialized medicine. the federal government in charge of your health care and your doctor. it every place where that happens, you have waiting lists and rationing. if you go to the united kingdom, if you need a hip replacement, it takes 90 days.

in canada, it takes 120 days. number two, the cost would be immense. or work supports that bernie sanders plan of socialized medicine. a left-leaning institute scored it as costing $32 trillion over 10 years, that is 2.5 trillion dollars in the first year. right now, the total that we raise from all of our income taxes is $1.5 trillion. congresswoman or rourke's plan would require trip and your taxes. if he says that he could do it with five points on the corporate rate, that is not -- it doesn't pass elementary school math. his next answer, likely, will be "tax the rich." if you took every person in america making $1 million or more and took 100% of their income, it would pay for five months of his socialized medicine. we cannot afford it. third, he was to put everyone who hasn't paid into medicare on

medicare. it would bankrupt medicare and hurt seniors who have paid into medicare and rely on it. loading 200 million people including illegal immigrants on it could bankrupt medicare. moderator: mr. or more, if in a 62nd rebuttal, how would you let that pass? campaign is. cruz's a campaign based on fear. he shut down the united states government because he thought too many people had access to health care. he has vowed to repeal conditions best protection for pre-existing conditions. i want people to be well enough to finish their education, to bring people of texas together, republicans and democrats alike. to make sure we lead on an issue that we understand more than anyone else. largestte where the

provider of mental health care services is the county jail system, where people are dying of the flu and diabetes in the wealthiest country in 2018, surely we can do better. and i will outline steps to help us do that, including expanding medicaid, introducing medicare as an option on the exchanges and describing the goal we want to get to. ensuring that republicans and democrats alike come to the table. says trucks produced here in san antonio would increase in cost by $3000 next year because of rising tariffs and auto parts. two nights ago on 60 minutes, president trump did not rule out increasing tariffs again. do tariffs threaten texas growth, and if so, is it time for the senate to step in and stop it? mr. cruz: i am against tariffs and the trade war. i am against both of them. i have made the case repeatedly to president trump that in

trade, we should be expanding our access to foreign markets, expanding the ability of texas farmers and ranchers and manufacturers and energy to export our goods and services. if we are reducing the barriers, whether it is to mexico and canada or china and anywhere else, and selling more, that is a good thing. if we are erecting barriers and shutting down trade, that is a bad thing. that is an issue on which he and i have some common ground, we held spoken out in favor of trade. the differences i am able to work with president trump, and we have seen for example, the president has negotiated a new trade deal that has benefits that should benefit the state of texas, and san antonio. ableessman or work is not to work with president trump and indeed, congressman or more is it only know many in the country whose it is us who has exquisitely come out for impeaching president trump.

that is extreme, and it means workif congressman over has his way, he mentioned a shutdown -- you want to talk about a shutdown, with congressman over work leading partisanwould be a circus, shutting down the federal government in a witchhunt of the president, not good for the state of texas and not good for the country. moderator: 92nd response, mr. o'rourke. o'rourke: interesting to hear you talking about a partisan circus. have a special relationship with president trump, then where is the result of that? and no action.lk the tariffs the president has levied and the trade wars he has entered into are hurting our state more than it is hurting texas. our farmers, ranchers, manufacturers and exporters here in san antonio, where in me i

purchased our tundra and met the folks who make it, yes, we have problems with other countries like china manipulating our currency, and i want to mature we stand up to china, but whenever we have gone to war including a trade war, without any allies, exactly what the president with senator cruz's havewould help us do, we alienated the eu, canada and mexico. alienated all other potential partners and going on our own against china, and it is not working. i know you haven't had a chance to visit every county, but i have listened to our farmers they are hurting,. the anxiety of not knowing whether trade wars will end, and when they will end, those other countries will find other people from whom to purchase from, and it will no longer be coming to texas to buy what we grow, phrase or export and manufacture. , export andse manufacture. we must stand up to the

president. moderator:. 60 seconds for your rebuttal, mr. cruz should the senate step in and stop this? mr. cruz: we should keep working with the president, which is what we have been doing. he said, where are the results? and i were o'rourke both elected to the congress six years ago in november of 2012 and we have served exactly the same among of time in congress. haveose six years, authored and pass legislation that is major victories for the american people. taxave passed the historic cut, which i spent thousands of hours, bringing sanders together and getting past. where are the results? the state of texas is booming. we have the lowest unemployment in 49 euros. african-american unemployment is at its lowest ever recorded. hispanic unemployment, the lowest ever reported. the lowestloyment is

in 54 years. texas is seeing the benefit of low taxes and low regulation. the congressman is always in favor of higher taxes. he said higher taxes. that is not good. moderator: representative supported $50 billion to help victims of hurricane harvey, but two weeks after that, you voted against a bill that would have also given them tax relief. what do you tell victims who are still struggling financially today, one year later? o'rourke: i have been with many of those affected by harvey, in the immediate aftermath, going to places like beaumont, port arthur and houston and we continue to come back again and again to see what we can do to be helpful. i have voted for more than $136 billion in aid for those communities hit by national disasters, including hurricane harvey. the specific bill you asked

about, the tax relief was not as great as we have seen for those who lived through other natural disasters and i thought we could get a better deal. i am there for those communities every day, i continue to go back to places like ashley or gardens in houston, texas, which is still not fully rebuilt a year later. i continue to wonder why senator cruz floated against what than $12 billion in fema preparedness, knowing full well that we would see more disasters like harvey going forward,. we know that there will be more of these floods coming and i want to make sure that people in texas, especially southeast texas are prepared for the next one. the $12 billion also included hundreds of millions of dollars in support for volunteer fire departments, like the one i manyed in word, where volunteer firefighters, more than half of them, lost their worldview possessions and were sleeping on the floor as they responded to emergencies in their communities.

so yes, i will work with anyone, anytime and anywhere to make sure that those who need help to rebuild get it. moderator: that is your time. thank you. senator? mr. cruz: hurricane harvey hit texas unlike any other disaster we have seen, it was devastating. i was home with heidi and my girls during the hurricane and for months thereafter, spend time in virtually every company dr along the gulf coast, four or five times, working with state and local officials. as i mentioneds earlier, has endorsed my campaign, including 10 democrats. one of the reasons why the overwhelming majority of elected sheriffs have endorsed me is because any of them, i worked with hand-in-hand after harvey's stop in the senate, i helped lead the effort to pass three disaster-related relief bills, where we improved and expanded on those bills and the emergency

tax relief he just referenced, was legislation i authored. i offered to introduce the law, jointly with john cornyn and rubio. the emergency tax relief give over $5 billion in emergency tax relief for families impacted by hurricane harvey. ofpassed both houses congress overwhelmingly and signed into law, providing immediate relief for those impacted by harvey. on the numeral for texas democrats voted no on the legislation. one of them was congressman o' rourke, the congressman. there was a reason for that. he gives the answer now saying that it did not provide tax relief. that is know what he said at the time he voted. he said that the reason he voted no was that he wanted to focus on illegal immigrants is that of hurricane relief. that was his answer at the time. you, senator.nk representative, 60 seconds for a rebuttal. vote?u regret the

mr. cruz: i don't. i will always see what i can do to work with anyone anywhere to do better for texas. senator cruz mentioned, listening to and working with local leaders in houston. i have listened to and worked with the mayor and come to judge, democrat and republican, each of whom is still waiting for $1.1 billion awarded to local governments in committee development block grant funding that has still not made its way into the streets, homes and businesses to rebuild. they need a full-time senator, not somebody running for president, who will focus for their needs. they need a full-time student or who would have been at best for them, before the storm, on infrastructure projects they had identified, needed funding, but they needed a senator who would work for them. theects totaling in hundreds of millions of dollars, who did not have an advocate because there senator was not in texas or houston, he was in iowa , running for office, is that of taking care of the concerns and the needs of people there.

moderator: senator cruz, a year ago this week, you tweeted the following said statement. -- it is immoral the debt we have, we have to turn it around. later, you voted for the republican tax plan that the joint committee on taxation, the congressional budget office and many other non-partisans say it would add one than $1 trillion to the deficit. some people see it as hypocritical. they not? mr. cruz: i am proud to support the tax cut, it is producing enormous benefits for the state of texas on the country. we are seeing record growth, record low unemployment, 4 million new jobs in the last local years. when think the democrats don't seem to understand is that if you want to pay down deficit and debt, and it care passionately about the deficit and debt, if you want to do it, the only way that is strong to do that is economic growth.

kennedy,60's, john f. a democrat, campaigned on tax cuts. heading the corporate tax rate. he said that a rising tide would lift all boats, and he passed it and the economy boomed. 1980's, ronald reagan campaigned on cutting taxes to get the economy growing. he passed it and federal tax revenues went up. we did the same thing this time. with the tax cut, we are seeing the results and to date, federal tax revenues have gone up. federal tax revenues are higher this year than they were last year without the tax cuts. mr. o'rourke: respectfully, senator, i have heard you on the campaign trail in iowa saying how bad the deficit is. this would add to the deficit. mr. cruz: jason, it wouldn't. that is wrong. the reason we have deficit and debt is not because we cut taxes and order the economy, the

reason is because congress keeps spending. that is why we need term limits, we need to pass a balanced budget and we need to -- moderator: senator, that is your time. second response, congressman o' rourke. mr. o'rourke: speaking of balanced budgets, only one of us metstarted a business, zero every week, balanced our books and mature we delivered for clients. on the one of us has served in that local government, balancing the budget, working as a councilmember entrusted with the fiduciary responsibly to deliver for the taxpayers of el paso every single year. for senator cruz to say that this will not bust the budget at a time of $21 trillion of debt, and on track to a deficit passing $2 trillion a year, he voted to add tax cuts which would slow to corporations who were already sitting on record

piles of cash and in a country that has risen with income inequality last seen since the last gilded age. $120,000ruz accepted before the vote from political action committees who represent the corporate interests that benefited from these tax cuts. why does he vote for internet companies? to sell your private browsing data to the highest bidder without your consent? why does he vote -- why does he not vote for universal background checks in a country where people lose thousands of lives every year to guns? it helps to explain the reasons for his vote and how corrupt congress has become. action take political committee money, not a dime. moderator: congressman, that is your time. 60 second rebuttal, senator. mr. cruz: a rapidly anti-israel

raised thousands of dollars for congressman o' rourke because of his many votes against the nation of israel. another super pac based in dallas has spent thousands of dollars on as a attacking me and my family. when he says he doesn't take pac money, he just lets others do it for him. the reason care about this is they care about who you are fighting for. when you look at congressman o' rourke's record, anytime there is a choice between left-wing national activist and the people of texas, he goes with the left the national activists and left-wing national donors. for example, we were talking earlier about his ford for a $10 a barrel tax on oil. -- a greate vote vote if you are raising money in san francisco, but a terrible vote if you care about jobs in texas. moderator: senator, let me ask you a next question.

70% of americans in a poll said civility is a major problem in america. let us talk about the tone of the campaign and what is happened here in the last half hour or 45 minutes. we all watched as activists chased you and your wife out of a restaurant in washington dc. some said you cannot even give a compliment to your opposing candidate in dallas. what would you do to bring back civility and respect to country? mr. cruz: that is something i have endeavored to do in politics, to focus on substance, issues and record. the personal attacks, going to the gutter, so, and politics, i try not to engage it. if you look at my disagreements with congressman o' rourke, they have not been personal attacks. they have been based on his voting record in congress. out of step with the people in texas. you are bright that there is a loss of civility, a rage on the far left that is frightening. -- do notwer -- let

interrupt me, jason. the images of a left-wing mob beating on the doors of the supreme court, that is not good for our country. we can disagree while treating each other with respect, with civility. i think that is important. we can discuss our tax cuts. that is a discussion we ought to have that is should not be personal or go down the gutter, it should focus on actual substance. i think the lowest point we have seen is the confirmation hearings for justice kavanaugh. bere we saw senate democrats willing to smear judge kavanagh and his family, be willing to repeat unsupported, uncorroborated allegations and go after him in a way that i thought was shameful. i thought it was important that the process be fair, that dr. ford be treated with respect, and she was. but it was important that he be treated with respect as well,

and he was not. moderator: congressman o' rourke? mr. o'rourke: every year, allegheny college presents an award for civility in american politics. one of the first years, it was awarded to senator john mccain and vice president biden. another year, it was awarded to the family of the late justice antonin scalia, and justice ruth bader ginsburg. last year, i was fortunate enough to receive the award, along with feel hurt. our ability to travel across the country as republican and democrat in a car and facebook livestream the whole thing, then get to work in congress, enjoying one another's legislation to do better for congress, regardless of party differences, was recognized. it is the same kind of approach i take to just about everything i do in congress, everything i do in life. when we found out veterans were on them access mental health care services, half a million veterans were denied the ability to go to the v.a., i worked with

my colleague from colorado, mike coffman. he is a republican and i am democrat but we were able to compromise, a four letter word among some in the, to provide legislation that passed the house of representatives, 435-0, passed the senate as well, and was signed into law by the president. president trump is someone that i don't agree with him everything, but where we can make things better for veterans, we did. they put a side differences and put these countries interest -- these countries interests with before us. moderator: i was going to ask you, doesn't the inflammatory rhetoric exacerbate the situation? mr. cruz: absolutely. i think we should focus on substance and not inflammatory rhetoric. it was striking, at this rest conference in washington about civility, congressman o' rourke again repeated his call for impeaching president trump. the very essence of

non-civility. if we had impeachment, we would see an end to the repeal of the building regulations feeling or economic growth, and and to the progress for our military, washington would be consumed partisann -- by investigations. it is interesting the congressman o' rourke points to a bill that another congressman wrote and he was a cosponsor of. have you noticed in his campaign and debate, he doesn't talk about what he has accomplished in congress, because he has scored political points, rather than a compass in victories for the people of texas. we talked about emergency tax relief for the people of texas after hurricane harvey. moderator: that is your time, senator. when it comes to the me too movement, the president said it is a scary time for young men. congressman, you are raising sons. what do you tell them?

mr. o'rourke: i am raising two sons and a daughter and i tell each of them that it is critically important that they are treated with respect and that they demand that from everyone in their life, and that they treat one another and everyone in their life with respect. i am very grateful for the leadership we have seen across this country in positions of public trust in congress, and people at the neighborhood level. meeting the challenge of this moment. congress members like jackie speier from california, who authored legislation that i cosponsored that ensures members of congress are held to a higher standard. that there is transparency in their conduct. that there is a important training to make sure everyone in their offices and their lives is treated with respect and dignity that they deserve. i also support the violence against women act, to make sure we have the resources and training to protect the women in our lives come in this

state and around the country. senator cruz, maybe he will have an information -- he voted against the violence against women act. we have to make sure we are more than just talk. we have to make sure we have, for example, when talking about women, we are talking about equal a for equal work. ensuring that they can make their own decisions about their own bodies, and have access to the health care that allows him to do that. or rhetoric has to be followed up with our actions, and with senator cruz, we don't have that today. moderator: in response, senator, what do you tell your daughter? mr. cruz: i think the me too movement has done an incredible amount of good for our country. sexual assault and sexual harassment is wrong. we have seen powerful and less powerful men in politics, hollywood, journalism and business called to account. i believe everyone, women, men

cometh girls and boys, need to be protected and treated with dignity. i am a father of 2 daughters and i want their rights to be valued and protected. i am also the son of a mother who graduated in 1956 and went to work at shell is a computer programmer. in the 1950's, she faced a very heavy political climate. my wife heidi, works in the financial sector and again, always a difficult climate. we need to protect everyone's rights. when it comes to stopping sexual assault and dealing with those who commit them, before i was in the senate, i was solicitor general. the chief lawyer for the state in front of the supreme court. i handled over and over again, cases dealing with those who had committed sexual assault and child predators. it has been a passion of mine. congressman o' rourke mentioned sexual harassment in congress, i joined with democrat kirsten julie brand, leading in

legislation -- democrat kirsten gillibrand to create legislation to stop members of congress who were harassing their staff. it is important that we have accountability. mr. o'rourke: i pointed out the local specific opportunities for senator cruz to do the right thing. when of them being the violence against women act. i did not hear a good reason why he failed to support that. you have somebody, as i mentioned earlier, who is all talk and no action. somebody who left the state of texas within a year of being elected to represent all of us, to run for other office. he has not been to all the counties of texas, but he has been to all 99 counties in iowa. he missed a quarter of the votes almost half of them in 2016.

the only senator in the past 25 years who has the worst record on bipartisanship. in other words, he has a harder time working with members across the aisle that almost everyone else, to get anything done. if he is not showing up in texas or in washington to vote, who is he showing up for. i want to make sure, we have a senator who shows up every single day for every single one of us. moderator: let us go to something different. we want you to tell us something you have done in the last year that has nothing to do with politics that would give texans aside of full you are as a person. can go -- in the last year that has nothing to do with we are as a person. say, the i will hardest thing about being in this job is being a dad. my girls are here, to the left of me. congressman o' rourke talked about that, both of us are dad's

two young kids, and it is tough. 10.girls are 7 and monday morning, leaving, it is really hard. last year, i was -- i helped coach caroline's girls best will team, the basketball practices were sunday afternoon. as caroline will point out many times, in the course of the whole season, i made it to one game. that is not ok with her. one of the games i thought i would make it too was a friday night game, the night of the vote on the tax cut. i was in the senate and i had to go home and say carolyn, i am sorry, i have to be here to vote on this. for a fourth grader, the fact that you are voting to cut taxes is not on a solution for why dad cannot make it to the game. being a dad, part of what we do is we call on facetime and we try to carve out every sunday for the family, but that is

hard, and i take being a dad really seriously. moderator: congressman o' rourke, 60 seconds1? mr. o'rourke: i think much of what senator cruz just said? resonates with me. we spent the better part of the last 21 months on the word campaigning and every single county of texas, and i don't get to see my kids as much as i would like to. amy takes on the lions share of the burden. i have a child in six great, another in fifth and another in second. we get time in the basement where i have a drum kit that was ostensibly purchased for henry, but really was for me, an amplifier, and me and the kids will rock out and amy allows us to do that for a little while. we go to ulysses's travel lastall tournaments, the one was in las cruces. i just went with molly, who is nursing back to life a blind squirrel that was picked up in east texas, dropped off in el

paso at a wildlife animal rescue run by miss julie. meet the blind squirrel, slowly regaining its site. henry, one of the best parts of my day is when i am at home and i get to walking to school, talking about what he dreamed about the night before and what he is into this day. with very little time outside the campaign or my official job, i spend it with my children. moderator: thank you for sharing that. now, we want you to let you address texas voters directly. you get two minutes for closing statements here. congresswoman over, you are up first. mr. o'rourke: elected thank you each for moderating the debate, everyone who has been here to witness it and all those who made the campaign and the election of our lifetime possible. to a meet him at this moment that stayed with me after the first time i met the secretary of defense, jim it matters. met with members of the armed

services committee and reminded us that united states, historically, has enjoyed two powers that distant wish us from the rest of the world. one is the power of intimidation, the most awesome military force the world has ever known. the other -- he thought maybe the greater power -- the power of inspiration. to continue to be the inspiration that lives up to the promise and potential of our founders. a nation that not only leaders look up to. whether we will remain an inspiration to the world is in question right now. taking kidsm bands, away from their parents after they have survived a horrifying 2000 mile journey, seeking asylum here in this country. bitterness, the partisanship, the pettiness, the dishonesty that defines so much of the national conversation, we are in desperate need right now of inspiration. but traveling the state after

access, meeting people, regardless of their background, party affiliation, you have is fired me. to transcend the obstacles -- you have inspired me. transcend the obstacles, on any issue that challenges us. in texas, where nearly half the school teachers work a second jobs to make ends meet, mickey sure we are being there for them and paying them a living wage. in this state of immigrants making sure we leave the national conversation. and the least in short state in the country, can take the lead on guaranteeing high-quality, universal health care. chanceateful to have the to be in this race. moderator: senator cruz, two .inutes mr. cruz: the classic question in politics, are you better off now than you were two years ago? is texas? elections are about choices. the we continue on the path we are on or do we turn back?

the records of congressman o' rourke and myself could not be more different. cut your i want to taxes, congressman o' rourke was to raise them. on job killing regulations, i want to repeal them and the congressman was to increase them. on obama care, i want to repeal obama care and reduce williams come a protect the existing ,onditions -- reduce premiums protect pre-existing conditions. congressman o' rourke would threaten to bankrupt medicare. i want to keep the economic boom we are experiencing right now going and moving forward. the congressman wants the next >> years to be drawn in a partisan circus of impeachment proceedings against president trump. -- the next two years to be drawn in a partisan circus of impeachment proceedings against trumbull. elections are about who we are. do we choose fear or hope? i believe in hope.

theother was a first one in family to go to college and she was a pioneer professional woman. my father came from cuba was nothing, washing dishes, seeking the american dream. if somebody had approached him in a 1957 and said 50 years hence, your son would be representing the state of texas as a senator, he would have never believed it. yet as i stood on the floor in the senate with my hand on my father's bible, there was my dad in the gallery with tears running down his eyes. on the in america. this is a choice about keeping the boom going. we have the lowest hispanic unemployment ever recorded. the lowest african-american unemployment ever recorded. , defendto defend jobs the constitution. moderator: we appreciate your time. thank you for sharing tonight, mr. cruz. and congressman o' rourke. [cheers and applause]

♪ announcer: with 21 days until the election, there is more debate coverage tomorrow on c-span. started at 7 p.m., the governor's race in massachusetts, where republican incumbent charlie baker and democrats j gonzalez are meeting for the second time this month. that is followed at 8:00 by a debate in delaware between democratic senator tom carper and republican lob arlette. then, at 10:00, democrat shyer and republican rossi challenge each other in the race for washington state's eighth emotional district. that is all live tomorrow live on c-span -- washington state's eighth congressional district.

that is all live tomorrow on c-span. >> c-span's student competition is in full swing. this year's question is what does it mean to be american. students and teachers have posted from across the country.

this year for studentcam, we are asking middle and high school students to produce a five or six-minute documentary. we're awarding $100,000 in cash prizes including a grand prize of $500,000. for more information, go to our website, studentcam.org. >> here's a look at our live coverage wednesday. on c-span, the senate judiciary committee meets at 10:00 a.m. eastern to consider nominations for the fourth circuit court of appeals and judicial district in florida and alabama followed by an event marking the 20th anniversary of the children's online privacy protection act with massachusetts senator ed markey among the speakers. at 5:30, there's a discussion from the center for strategic and international studies about free speech and national

security. on c-span two, hhs senior advisor jim parker talks about the future of medicaid and prescription drug prices. that's followed by deputy attorney general rod rosenstein discussing ways to address the opioid epidemic. at 7:00, a look at how democrats and republicans are campaigning with less than a month to go before the 2018 midterm elections. "afteray night on "don' the book "sick -- author." >> i started to hear that so much of the crime in our communities was a drug fueled, mostly by methamphetamine and , and sure enough, it was,

and i did not understand at the time how heroine and oxycontin and other opioid pills were connected. i did not understand that they were chemical cousins and that if people were initially addicted to prescribed opioids, orit oxycontin or percocet whatever, once they are addicted and get cut off, they get dope sick and have to get more and when the pills got expensive and hard to get around the time oxycontin was reformulated in 2010 and in the early teens, drove cartel's started bringing cartels started bringing heroin in. >> up