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Mike Huckabee

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, making a pitch for his "fair tax" proposal at Thursday night's Republican presidential debate, said the tax on consumption would save Social Security and Medicare. On this point, he clashed with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who said that the Social Security system was broken.

"The money paid in consumption is paid by everybody," said Huckabee, "including illegals, prostitutes, pimps, drug dealers, all the people that are freeloading off the system now."

Participants in the debate, held in Cleveland and televised on Fox News, were Huckabee, Christie, real estate mogul Donald Trump, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, and Ohio Gov. John Kasich.