tuesday and cap tour intensity of the fight for iowa when we go on the trail, all right now on "fox news sunday." >> chris: hello again and happy new year from the iowa state capitol in des moines. we are broadcasting today from the or nate house chamber inside the capitol building and joining us live are three candidates who have a lot at stake in the caucuses here tuesday night. congressman ron paul, congresswoman michele bachmann and governor rick perry. with just two days until we hear from the voters the race here in iowa is still up for grabs. take a look at the final poll out today from the des moines register. over four days of polling, mitt romney leads with 24% with ron paul close behind and rick santorum in third with 15%. newt gingrich, rick perry and michele bachmann round out the field. but if you look at the final two days of polling there is a big change. romney holds on to his lead but rick santorum jumps into second with 21% and ron paul slips to third. for more on this final weekend of campaigning let's get the latest from fox news is chief political correspondent carl cameron. carl? >> good morning, chris and happy new year. with two and a half days left of caucus campaign time left for the candidates and up to 41% of likely caucus goers still likely to change their minds according to the des moines register and many other polls it is indisputable the iowa caucuses once again are coming right down to the wire and anybody could pull off a victory here. after only nine trips to iowa in all of the last year a confident mitt romney's position for the iowa caucus wen he was denied four years ago. his organization is well respected and for months he has been in first or second place in dozens of iowa and national polls. ron paul has the iowa republican establishment rattled. he has led some polls in recent weeks and has a strong get out the vote operation. yet, paul has been under withering attack for a foreign policy they say is dangerous and out of step with the gop mainstream. rick santorum is poised to far exceed them with a come from behind groundwell of support in the final weeks from religion conservatives. newt gingrich after millions of dollars of attack eds against him could place fourth. he is already looking past iowa and new hampshire and planning for his comeback in south carolina. rick perry has spent more money on tv ads than any other candidates and a properry super pack has spent more than it any other group. michele bachmann's final campaign week in iowa has been rough. here state chairman defected to paul. then she fired another top iowa deputy. she could become the first republican ever to win the big ames, iowa, straw poll and then come in dead last in the caucuses. and on this sunday new year's day there is likely to be another are crucial series of developments across the hawkeye state. as we said burks half of all iowa likely republican caucus goers self-described christian conservatives and today pastors at pull pits all over iowa talking to their parishonners and if they decide to get loud behind any one particular candidate it could have a profound impact on the results tuesday night. chris? >> chris: car lam l, thanks for that. now, congressman ron paul who comes to us from texas. congressman, happy new year and welcome back to "fox news sunday." >> tank you, same to you, chris. >> chris: four years ago you were returning for president and got 10% of the vote in the iowa caucuses. in the latest des moines register poll you are at 22%. why do you think you are getting so much more traction here in iowa? >> it wasn't because i have changed my message. the world has changed. the economy has changed. i have talked about financial bubbles and the connection that was coming and that arrived and people are saying the economy is a big deal. spending is a big deal. the debt is a big deal. this is what i worked my whole career on trying to warn people about. also in foreign policy i get tremendous support on my position which the other candidates say it is dangerous believing in the constitution war you shouldn't go to unless unless you declare the war. 70% of the american people want us out of afghanistan. it is bankrupting us. we spent $4 trillion and went into debt in the last ten years. i'm deeply concerned about civil liberties injuries issues strike a chord with the people and that is the reason. more so now than even 20 years ago, because right now the evidence is loud and clear that government is failing in what they pretend they are going to do for us and that is why the people are looking for different answers. >> chris: on the other hand, congressman, in the latest des moines register poll it shows some evidence of a slide and in fact santorum passes you and you you fall into third. what can you do about that slide, sir? >> well, i think the dye has been cast and the ups and downs of the other candidates has been characteristic. they come and they go and they all belong to the status quo. the one thing is the people who make a commitment to the campaign for liberty and constitution and limited government and going after the fed, once they put this all together how liberty and free markets and a sound foreign policy come together they don't dessert. so our numbers aren't going to go down. a number of people aren't going to leave us as they have on the other ones they come and they go, i think our numbers will grow the next couple of days. the real test is going to be on tuesday night so we will have to wait and see how it turns out. >> chris: with the new strong standing in the polls has come new strut any especially about nuce letters that came out under your name in the '80s and '90s in which there were comments made that were quite frankly racist and homophobic. i want to ask you about a book you wrote in 1987 called "freedom under siege." you wrote this, the individual suffering from aids certainly is a victim of his own lifestyle but the same individual victimizes innocent citizens by forcing testimony to pay for this is care. question, congressman, do you still feel that same way? >> i don't know how you can change science. sexually transmitted diseases are caused by sexual activity and when it is procue with us it spreads diseases. if a fault comes to people because of their personal behavior and in a free society people do dumb things but it isn't to be placed as a burden on innocent people. why should they have to pay for the consequences. that is a sort of a nationalistic or socialistic attitude but in a free society people are allowed to act the way they want but they are responsible for their actions and in addition they should be rewarded -- they should be -- >> chris: congressman, do you think that someone who suffers from aids should not be entitled to health insurance as opposed to let's say somebody who has a heterosexually transmitted disease? >> no, no, i never said that. i'm just saying that people -- >> chris: when you talk about they victimize other people by making us pay for them, what do you mean, sir? >> depends on what the insurance company does. they are the ones who determine that. there shouldn't be a law that says they are denyd that, no way. the market should handle this. people who are pregnant nine months can't go in and buy insurance. insurance is supposed to be insurance. if people are smokers don't they have to pay more. sometimes you get your insurance cheaper if you are a nonsmoker, that is all i'm talking about and let the market and insurance sort this out. but not having dictates by the government and saying thou must do this and your behavior doesn't matter. if you drink too much and you you go out and do harm to somebody you have to suffer the consequences. the same way with health matters you don't have a right to demand that somebody take care of you because of your habits. that doesn't mean that you don't have laws. >> chris: let me interrupt. i'm sorry but we have limited time and we want to get to the other two candidates as well. i want to ask you about one other thing that you wrote in your book in 1987 about sexual harassment in the work place. you wrote this. this is about the victims of sexual harassment why don't they quit once the so called harassment start. obviously the morals of the harasser can't be defended but how county harassee escape some responsibility for the problem. you said that sexual harassment should not be a violation of someone's employment rights. >> the whole thing is you have to get a better definition of sexual harassment. if it is just because somebody told a joke and supersonics was offended they don't have a right to go to the federal government and have a policeman come in and put penalties on the individuals. theyster to say maybe this is not a very good environment and they have the right to work there or not work there. if sexual harassment involves violence as libertarians we are very opposed to any violence so if there is nivea lens any p. e involved you still don't knee a federal law against harassment, you need to call a policeman and say there has been an assault or attempted rape. because people are are insulted by, you know, rude behavior i don't think we should make a federal case out of it. i don't think we need federal laws to deal with that and people should deal with that at home. >> chris: congressman, you have an ambitious agenda. you say you could cut $1 trillion in spending in the first year. you would shut down five cabinet level departments. i want to look at your record of effectiveness as a member of congress for more than 20 years. the washington post found you have sponsored 620 measures over your 20 years in congress. just four made it to the house floor for a vote and only one of the 620 measures only one was signed into law to sell the galveston custom house to a historical society. with that record why are you suddenly going to become so effective as a president. >> you made my point. people are sick and tired of washington and the people in charge have been passing all of the bills and i have been voting no all the time against these appropriation pills. i am the individual that has pointed this out. now, the people are saying the government doesn't work. to elect me the country has to change and have to go back to believing in the constitution and personal liberties and a different foreign policy which means that congress will change. just the fact that you can elect a president like myself, the pressure is on the current congress. congress doesn't have strong beliefs and as long as the pressure from the people are in the right direction and this is where the campaign is accelling. whether the tea party movement or discussed among the american people. why would they pass my laws? i wanted to stop this is a long time ago. that is what i went to washington for. the tide is changed and now the opportunity is there and now i'm a serious contender and this is why there is optimism in my camp and so much excitement. >> chris: i want to ask you one question. you and congresswoman bachmann is about to be on got into a flap when her state chair jumped ship from her campaign to your campaign. she alleges that he said that your campaign was paying him to jump ship. simple question. did your campaign or any one connected with your campaign or any one speaking on behalf of it, offer money to kent sorenson to come onboard your campaign? >> no, and if she has the evidence she should bring it forth. no, that did not happen. >> chris: she will get an opportunity right now. congressman paul thank you so much for talking with us today. happy new year again. we'll see you back here in iowa tomorrow. thank you, sir. >> thank you very much. >> chris: congresswoman michele bachmann won the ames straw poll here in august and just finished campaigning in all of iowa's 99 counties. congresswoman welcome back to you. >> thank you, chris. >> i want to ask you about the des moines register poll which has you quite frankly 7% running last among the six candidates seriously contesting iowa. do you have any hard evidence that the poll is wrong and that you will do much better than that on tuesday night? >> the evidence that we have is of the 99 county tour that we just completed was very ambitious. we would have huge crowds, 250 or 300 people come out at a stop. we saw literally thousands of people making conversions on the soft and it was frankly after the fox debate in sioux city. people were very grateful. i think they saw in me someone who can take it to barack obama in the debate, hold him accountable and whistling particular when i was questioning ron paul on his dangerous policies on allowing a nuclear iran, that turned a light switch on for a lot of voters across iowa and people who weren't decided decided. and we have a lot of people who are going to come on tuesday night who are undecided and what they have seen in me is a champion who is stand up for them. in particular, they see that of all of the candidates in the race i'm the only one with current national security experience. our next president will be tested almost immediately. look at what it happening in the strait of hormuz right now with iran. i'm prepared to be able to meet that challenge. that is what our next president will have to do. >> chris: but don't you have a business disadvantage. your rivals are spending millions in campaign. you have not run a single tv commercial since iowa in ames back in august until today when you will run commercials the last two days before the caucuses. isn't your campaign running on fumes? >> what we are doing is running on the power of meeting with iowans directly. we made a smart decision. we he put 6900 miles on the campaign bus and met with people across iowa. living rooms including the dinky cafe in. we have been iowa. people told us no other candidate that's come here here. you are the only candidate. that is not reflected in polls and that is what people are going to see on tuesday night. we saw a lot of enthusiasm. >> chris: talk about something that is reflected in the polls. you and governor perry and former senator rick santorum all going after some of the same voters, evangelicals and social conservatives. specifically, why would you make a better nominee and better president than rick santorum who as we see in the des moines register poll is making a big late move? >> i have very strong support among evangelicals. of all of the candidates i have more pastor endorsement than any other candidate and we had a caravan of pastors going across iowa making the case. i have a record of protecting marriage. i was the only person who stood up this last summer and said no, we can't allow barack obama to increase the debt ceiling. in other words, increase the amount that we are putting on the credit card of our nation. >> chris: why does that make you better than santorum who is strong on those issues, too? >> take a look at senator santorum. he lost his last election by a wider margin than any other sitting republican senator. he lost that race. i won four races in the last four years in the toughest years for republicans in a liberal state like, minnesota, i won. also if you look at the spending issue, senator santorum voted for the bridge to no, no where. he defended ear marks. he is spending which is the number one issue, he has been a big spender in washington, d.c. that is not what the american people are lookingor. they want someone who is a fiscal conservative. i'm a tax lawyer who has gone to washington to fight the out of control spending. my record is one of being a fiscal conservative as opposed to -- and i'm not trashing the candidates. it is just a point of clarity. senator santorum as stood for ear marks and stood for spending. that is not what we want. we have to look at our records. >> chris: since you came to congress you have gotten almost $4 million in ear marks for your district and when republicans the republican leadership wanted a moratorium on ear marks you were one of the few who said no, i want an exception for transportation projects. aren't your hands clean? that is not true. >> chris: aren't you hands also a little dirty when it comes to ear marks. >> that is not true. i took an ear mark pledgemy first year in office and i have been ear mark free. >> chris: you haven't gotten almost $4 million in ear marks. >> the first year i came in i put the request in and then i found out what the ear mark system is about and took a pledge in the first term i never requested another ear mark since and i want. the bigger issue is are we going to continue to increase the credit card limit in washington and i'm the only voice in washington that has said no to increasing the credit card limit. >> chris: several, iowa pastors appealed to you and to governor perry and to rick santorum one or two of you to drop out so that all of the social conservative vote could coalesce around one candidate. now, you all have your rights and you all decided no, you wanted to pursue your campaigns. will it be a big defeat for social conservatives and their issues on tuesday if as a result of the splintering of this vote a mitt romney or ron paul ends up winning, iowa. >> i think we will see a coming together of people on issues. they want not just a single issue candidate. they want the full complement of the candidate. if of all many asocial fiscal conservative. i'm a private business woman and i have a ne federal tax lar and have a proven record in congress. the strongest candidate on international security. i started the tea party caucus in washington and led 40,000 americans to washington to object to obama care. i have the best record of any candidate on fighting illegal immigration and its effects. i'm the full complement candidate and that is what people want, someone with a firm resolve and that is what i have brought to washington. i'm proven, i'm tested and they want someone in a legacy of regan and i proved that in washington. >> chris: i don't mean to interrupt but i want to give governor perry some time and ask you about the issue i talked to congrean about. your chair jumped ship, went to work last wednesday for ron paul. you claim that he told you it was about money. when your deputy campaign manager said that is not true, it wasn't about money, he was let go. is your campaign in disarray? >> absolutely not. the other part that you failed to report is that there are other people outside the campaign who said that he also told them that he had received money. this is clear. the bigger issue in all of this is the fact that after the fox debate we had tremendous momentum which continues to this day because people saw how dangerous ron paul's policy is. if he would allow iran to have a nuclear weapon that would put the american people at risk. we saw thousands jump ship and come aboard my campaign and that is what we will see reflected on tuesday night. >> chris: thank you very much for coming in on this first day of 2012. >> happy new year to you and all the fox viewers. governor perry holding over 75 events. welcome back to "fox news sunday." >> happy new year. >> chris: same to you. the des moines register poll has you at 11%. how you do you think you will do tuesday night? >> the momentum is headed in the right direction. we have traveled 44 cities in a ten day bus tour. we are seeing great crowds. again, people who are excited about an outsider coming in to washington d.c. as we rock at all of the candidates they are either, washington insiders or wall street insiders, that is their choices and we tell them you got a choice. you have a choice of a governing executive who for 11 years has operated 13th largest economy in the world and created more jobs than any other state in the nation while america lost two million we were creating a million. so they ar