MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – The Republican candidates were returning to the campaign trail Tuesday slightly bruised but unbowed after a raucous debate that left Mitt Romney fielding attacks from the get-go and all five candidates earning wild reception from a fired-up audience that will be casting votes alongside fellow South Carolinians on Saturday.
Romney was put on defense out of the box at the Fox News/Wall Street Journal/South Carolina GOP debate — answering questions about his record at private venture firm, Bain Capital; distancing himself from super PAC ads against fellow candidates; defending his record as Massachusetts governor, and dodging demands that he release his tax records.
But Romney held his ground against the onslaught, saying he is proud of his record in business and as governor.
“We were fortunate to have an unemployment rate by the time I left office of 4.7 percent. Sounds pretty good today,” Romney said of his one-term leading Massachusetts. “And I was also proud of the fact that we balanced the budget every year I was in office. We reduced taxes 19 times, put in place a rainy day fund of over $2 billion by the time I left.”
Still, with his rivals running out of time to make the case they are a viable and “conservative” alternative to the front-runner, the attacks were fast and furious.
Rick Perry accused Bain of sweeping into Georgetown, S.C., and closing a steel mill.
“They picked that company over, and a lot of people lost jobs there,” Perry said.
Romney replied that Bain actually invested in two steel mills and invested for seven or eight years, but the mills closed because of actions beyond Bain’s control.
“Ultimately, what happened from abroad, dumping steel into this country, led to some 40 different steel mills being closed,” Romney said. “I understand what happens when China cheats, or when others cheat and dump products into this country. That’s one of the reasons I’m running, is to make sure we crack down on cheaters.”
