'Let them die!' Tea Party fanatics in debate audience shout at GOP candidates to leave uninsured ill people to fight for themselves



Tea Party debate host asked Ron Paul if uninsured man should be 'left to die'

Before he could answer host Wolf Blitzer, audience members shouted 'yeah'

Shouts provoked outrage and comparisons to 'Roman gladiatorial combat'

Meanwhile Barack Obama has extended his lead over Rick Perry in the polls



Tea Party members in a boisterous crowd have provoked outrage and comparisons to 'Roman gladitorial combat' after suggesting people who can't fund their own healthcare should be left to die.

Republican contenders were facing off at a CNN/Tea Party in Tampa, Florida, on Monday night when the most liberal of all the candidates, Ron Paul, was asked the question by host Wolf Blitzer.

Mr Paul, a physician and opponent of federal healthcare, disagreed with just letting sick people die, but the calls from members of the audience suggest some Tea Party members think it’s a good idea.

Scroll down for video



Debate: Texas Representative Ron Paul speaks during the CNN/Tea Party head-to-head on Monday in Florida

Meanwhile, Rick Perry’s ratings have slipped in three weeks as Barack Obama extended his lead to 11 points, beating the Texas governor 52 per cent to 41 per cent, a Public Policy Polling poll said.

This follows his suggestion last week that Social Security is a ‘Ponzi scheme’. Meanwhile, Mitt Romney fares better as he is behind President Obama 49 per cent to 45 per cent.

In the debate, Mr Blitzer suggested an uninsured young man could fall into a coma. Mr Paul said in return that he should ‘take responsibility for himself’ and people should be ‘taking your own risks’.

It was then that Mr Blitzer asked him: ‘Congressman, are you saying that society should just let him die?’. This was followed by shouts of ‘yeah’ from the audience, reported the Los Angeles Times.

Scroll down for a video from the debate, which shows the exchange and the audience's reponse.



Many conservative Christian voters agree with Mr Paul’s idea that individuals and churches should have authority over healthcare, as many are worried about federal funding directed to birth control.

Face off: Republican presidential candidates former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney (L) and Texas Governor Rick Perry (R) gesture during the debate

‘We've given up on this whole concept that we might take care of ourselves and assume responsibility for ourselves, our neighbours, our friends, our churches would do it,’ he said.

'None of the Republican candidates on stage expressed a word of disapproval as the tea party audience literally clapped for blood. This was a spectacle one would have expected back in the gladiatorial combat of ancient Rome, not at a presidential debate' Eddie Vale, Protect Your Care group

‘The cost is so high because we dump it on the government. It becomes a bureaucracy. It becomes special interests. It kowtows to the insurance companies, then the drug companies.’

Eddie Vale, of the Protect Your Care group, told the Los Angeles Times he was outraged by the audience’s ‘disturbing’ reaction.

‘None of the Republican candidates on stage expressed a word of disapproval as the tea party audience literally clapped for blood,’ he said.

‘This was a spectacle one would have expected back in the gladiatorial combat of ancient Rome, not at a presidential debate.’

Census data released on Tuesday showed that the number of uninsured people in the U.S. went up to almost 50 million last year.

Fighting back: U.S. Representative Michele Bachmann waves as she is introduced during a GOP presidential debate sponsored by CNN and The Tea Party Express at the Florida State fairgrounds in Tampa, Florida

In the debate on Monday night, Michele Bachmann came out fighting in the Republican presidential debate tonight to put herself right back in the race with frontrunner Governor Perry.

The Tea Party darling was all but written off before the Florida showdown after being overshadowed by Governor Perry’s dramatic rise in recent weeks.

'The cost (of healthcare) is so high because we dump it on the government. It becomes a bureaucracy. It becomes special interests. It kowtows to the insurance companies, then the drug companies' GOP presidential candidate Ron Paul

But in what was seen as a make-or-break opportunity for the Minnesota Congresswoman, she roared back into contention with outspoken attacks on two main targets, President Obama - and Governor Perry.

Most of the candidates took potshots at Mr Perry, hoping to sabotage his hopes of cementing his position at the top of the standings, with former Massachusetts governor Mr Romney tangling with him on Social Security just minutes into the debate.

But it was Mrs Bachmann who set the favourite back on his heels with a thinly-veiled attack on the motives behind one of his most controversial decisions as Texas governor.

Until then, Mr Perry got the biggest cheers from the staunchly conservative crowd, refusing to back down from jibes made by Mr Romney and former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman.

Pledge of Allegiance: Republican presidential candidates (L-R) U.S. Representative Michele Bachmann, Mitt Romney and Texas Governor Rick Perry stand on stage before the start of the presidential debate this evening

But he was first cornered into apologising over a mandate he pushed through in Texas enforcing a cervical cancer jab for young girls as young as 12.

'What was driving me obviously was making a difference in young people's lives,' said the governor. 'Cervical cancer is a terrible way to die.'

Mrs Bachmann would have none of it, saying: 'Little girls don't get a mulligan. They don't get a do over.'

She then launched on the offensive, questioning Mr Perry's motives for ordering the injections and calling the human papillomavirus vaccination order 'flat out wrong.'

'We cannot forget that in the midst of this executive order there's a big drug company that made millions of dollars because of this mandate,' she said, adding that a former top aide to the governor was a lobbyist for the drug company.

'The question is, was it about lives or was it about millions and potentially billions of dollars for a drug company,' she added.

In the running: Republican presidential candidates (L-R) Jon Huntsman, Herman Cain, Michele Bachmann, Mitt Romney, Rick Perry, Ron Paul, Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum

Mr Perry, taken aback by the allegation, said the company, Merck, made a $5,000 donation to his campaign while he raised over $30 million. 'If you're saying I can be bought, I'm offended,' he said.

'I am offended for the little girls and their parents who didn't have a choice. That's why I am offended,' shot back Mrs Bachmann.

The only woman candidate also went after Mr Perry for signing the Texas DREAM Act in 2001, which granted in state tuition for some children of illegal immigrants, saying: 'That's not the American way.'

The audience seemed to agree. The loud cheers greeting his earlier remarks turned to boos from some in the Tea Party-dominated crowd.

In a recurring theme that played out through the evening, she also lashed out at 'Obamacare' and said that if she wins through to the White House she would 'pull it out by root and branch'.

'This is the election that's going to decide if we have socialized medicine in this country or not,' she added.

The Texas governor came out better in skirmishes with some of the other six candidates on the panel.

He stood by his earlier claims that the Social Security is a 'Ponzi scheme' and that it was a 'monstrous lie' to tell young workers that the pension system would still be there as a safety net when they retire.

Candidates: Republicans Ron Paul, left, Newt Gingrich, centre, and Rick Santorum, right, debate during the CNN Tea Party Republican show in Tampa, Florida, on Monday

And he sparred over job creation with Mr Romney, who conceded Mr Perry's advantages in Texas with no income tax, lots of oil and a Republican legislature, but added: 'If you're dealt four aces, that doesn't necessarily make you a great poker player.'

Both men, until last night regarded as the most likely rivals for the nomination, exchanged bitter glances as they argued back and forth over Social Security and other issues.

'The real question,' said Mr Romney, 'is does Governor Perry continue to believe that Social Security should not be a federal program, that it's unconstitutional and it should be returned to the states?'

Mr Perry hit back claiming Mr Romney was 'trying to scare seniors' over the issue.

Mr Huntsman and former Pennsylvania lawmaker Rick Santorum also clashed over immigration with Mr Perry, whose insistence that a fence along the Texan border with Mexico was impractical was unpopular with the other candidates.

Libertarian Ron Paul got the loudest boos of the night for his argument to slash military funding. He was blasted by Mr Santorum for claiming America's actions around the world had prompted al Qaeda's 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington.

The debate was the fifth involving the Republican candidates, but the first forum to feature questions from members of the Tea Party, which co-sponsored the event with CNN.

See video here