Fiorina: After Tonight It Is Clear, Ted Cruz Has Substance, Donald Trump Does Not

‘Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are not going to reform the system ... because they are the system’

RUSH TRANSCRIPT:

FIORINA: “...Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are two sides of the same coin. They are the system. Hillary Clinton has made millions selling access and influence from inside that system. And Donald Trump has made billions buying people like Hillary Clinton off. Donald trump and Hillary Clinton are not going to reform the system. They are not going to challenge the system, they are the system. But Ted Cruz will challenge that system. And it needs to be challenged. Because the system right now benefits the big, the powerful, the wealthy and well connected and it crushes the small and the powerless.”
MATTHEWS: “If it’s based on money just to get — you’re a business person. It’s based on money, this model we have now, you run for office, you raise a lot of money or you have a lot of money. Most have to raise a lot of money. How do you keep that system from being run by those who contribute, the donors?”
FIORINA: “Well, you know, here’s the thing, of course, Chris, that’s right. Politics is about money. But governing is about money too. That’s the shame of it all. Let’s just look at ObamaCare. Who helped write ObamaCare? The drug companies, the hospitals, the pharmaceuticals, all the industries who are going to benefit from ObamaCare helped write it. Let’s look at Dodd-Frank, who wrote that? The Wall Street banks. Instead of ten Wall Street banks to fail we have five and almost 2,000 community banks and 20 percent of the credit union industry has gone under. Because they’re not big enough to handle it. So, see, money in fact affects politics and not just governing and democrats and republicans have been part of that corrupt system. Government has become incompetent and corrupt and the only way to level the playing field is to move power and money out of Washington and back to the citizens and the states of this nation, which is where our founders intended it to be.”
MATTHEWS: “Well said. One of the reasons why I think lobbyists have power is members of these committees that write tax law and they write banking law have no idea what they’re dealing with so they bring in the experts who all come in with an interest.” 
FIORINA: “Sure.”
MATTHEWS: “It’s a big part of the problem and they write the bills with the interests of their people in mind but because the people who are elected to write the bills have no idea how to fathom what wall street is all about high world of finance don’t get it because they’re afraid of making mistakes bring in those people and that’s a big part of it. I know — you know what I know.”
FIORINA: “That’s part of it, yeah. No, no, no you’re absolutely right but here’s the other part of it. See, all that complexity, it keep nast system going. And it’s why simplicity is the antidote. That’s why a complicated tax code that is 27,000 pages long benefits the system and that’s why you got to get it down to a very simple tax code which is why when Ted Cruz says people are going to mail in their taxes on a postcard or a phone app he’s absolutely right. It’s not just about lowering the level of taxation, his plan calls for 10% on individual, 16% on business. It’s the simplicity of the tax code that levels the playing field between the big and the powerful and the wealthy and the small and the powerless and not so wealthy.”
MATTHEWS: “You’re actually right from my perspective because I met people who make a living on complexity, lawyers who love the intricacies of tax law.”
FIORINA: “Of course.”
MATTHEWS: “And love the intricacies of legislation that makes them necessary. Someday when we’re alone one-on-one with no microphones i’ll tell you my favorite lawyer joke. Thank you, Carly Fiorina.”
FIORINA: “OK.” 
MATTHEWS: “You’re still very much in the game.”

Video files
Full
Compact
Audio files
Full
Compact