CNN 2011-10-23

 Each Republican candidate is trying to convince voters that he or she should be the party's presidential nominee 1. On Tuesday, seven of them faced off during a debate in Los Vegas. You haven't heard about debates among Democrats 2 because president Obama is expected to get his party's nomination 3, and the Republican candidates, they want to stand out. They're taking part in these debates and getting ready for primary season which starts earlier next year. Nevada holds one of the nation's first primaries, and it hosted this week's debate. Taxes, illegal immigration, the economy, healthcare, all of those came up. And things got tense between the candidates when they took aim at each other's plans. Jim Coster wraps up the event.I'm speaking ...

...the newspaper..
Time for you to get ..
You get 30 seconds, this is the way the rules work here. Is that I get 60 seconds?
Well, no, but American people wants the truth.
And you get, and you get 30 seconds response.
It was a wild west shootout on the Las Vegas strip, and at time, it felt like Rick Perry's last stand with an urgent strategy that take down Mitt 4 Romney.
You hired illegals in your home, and you knew for it about it for a year. And the idea that you stand here before us and talk about your're strong on immigration is on its face the height of hypocrisy 5.
Mitt Romney wasn't laughing for long.
Are you just going to keep talking? These are a tough couple of debates for Rick.
Civil discourse 6 was out the window, this was first GOP debate to get personal.
We hired a lawn, a lawn company to mow 7 our lawn. And they had illegal immigrants that were working there. You have a problem with allowing someone to finish speaking. And I suggest that if you want to become president of the United States, you got to let both people speak.
Unlike past debates, the night was also Romney's first real test as a front runner as the candidates took aim at his healthcare plan in Massachusetts. Rick S. pointed 8 out some of Romney's own advisers 9 help draft president Obama's healthcare law.
You just don't have credibility, Mitt, when it comes to repealing 10 Obama care.
Your plan was the basis for Obama care. Your consultants 11 helped Obama craft Obama care.
At issue, New G. says is the individual mandate 12 in both Romney care and Obama care. 
That is a lot of big government behind Romney care, not as much as Obama care. But a heck of a lot more than your campaign is admitting.
Romney responded he got the idea from G.
Actually, we got the idea of an individual mandate from you, you did support an individual mandate.
Yes, sir.
Rising Republicans Star Herman Kein also found himself on the defensive 13 over his 999 plan. Independent studies have found the the plan's individual, business and national sales taxes all set at 9% would raise taxes on millions of Americans.
Herman, I love you, brother, but let me take something, you don't have to have a big analysis to figure this thing out. It's not going to fly.
Romney pointed out the new national sales tax would be combined with existing state sales taxes.
Will the people in Nevada not have to pay Nevada sales tax and in addition pay the 9% tax?
Governor Romney, you're doing the same thing that they are doing, you're mixing apples and oranges.
I'm gonna to be getting a bushel basket that has apples and oranges in it because I'm gonna to pay both taxes.
For Perry, it was a night to take campaign full of lemons and make lemonade, giving Republicans of bitter taste of more combative 14 campaign to come.