South Carolina Congressional Candidate Tim Scott Defends Cutting Spending

This is a rush transcript from "Your World With Neil Cavuto," June 22, 2010. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

NEIL CAVUTO, HOST: Reject spending and bring on a recession? Labor Secretary Hilda Solis saying that is what Republicans by doing killing a bill that would have extended unemployment benefits.

My next guest doesn't buy it. Tim Scott just winning the GOP nomination in South Carolina for the U.S. House race there, the state representative joining me right now. We did put a call in to Mr. Scott's opponent, Ben Frasier, has not gotten a response as yet.

Representative, congratulations to you first off.

TIM SCOTT, R-SOUTH CAROLINA CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE: Thank you very much.

CAVUTO: Your concern about whether Republicans could get hit with this image of being heartless, you know how that goes.

SCOTT: Yes. The challenge is that there's nothing compassionate about spending someone else's money. We're going to add $33 billion to this deficit through the extenders bill. That's something that we cannot do.

The question of compassion has to do with can you live within your means? If we can find a way to provide benefits without increasing the deficit, that's one question, that's one thought, but if we cannot, then we should not, because we cannot afford to do what two out of every three Americans say is bad, which is to not deal with these deficits.

CAVUTO: Do you worry, though, that maybe your opponent, sir, and that Democrats in general, Harry Reid already today, Nancy Pelosi today, using this as sort of a jumping board to say, see, this is really the heart and soul of Republicans; they have no heart and they have no soul?

SCOTT: Well, absolutely not.

I think what the Democrats should be concerned with are the Blue Dog Democrats who are joining sides with the Republicans saying that two out of three Americans are more concerned with the deficit than they are the economy. That's a very important point.

When you look to our future, the question is, are we going to continue to spend money of unborn Americans? Our deficit this year, this fiscal year, could hit $14 trillion. We have yet to address the $76 trillion of unfunded entitlement programs, unfunded liabilities on entitlement programs. We have serious issues about the future...

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: You're talking about the accumulated debt, right? That's what you're talking about.

SCOTT: Yes. Yes, sir.

CAVUTO: OK.

Could I ask you — I know this isn't your race, sir, so I apologize up front. I just want to pick your brain on it. This Alvin Greene situation, this guy the Democrats have to deal with, he's their candidate for Senate to take on Jim DeMint, hugely popular in your fine state.

Do you think Greene — I know the Democrats have said he's their guy, grudgingly so, but he's an embarrassment, clearly, to them and to many others. Do you think he just should step down. Do you think he should be forced down? What?

SCOTT: Well, I think if he received the most votes in the Democratic primary — and he did — then Jim DeMint has an opponent and that race should go on.

I certainly believe that Jim DeMint has — Senator DeMint has represented our state extremely well and will continue to do so throughout this election and will be successful in November. The election process has worked. The Democrats may or may not like the choice that they have made, but in the end, Senator DeMint is a fine representation of the Republican Party.

CAVUTO: Representative, thank you very much. We will be watching your race quite closely. It could be very historic. We will watch it.

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