Michael P. Tremoglie: The Right Choice

Take one-part Abraham Lincoln, one-part Teddy Roosevelt, one-part Dwight Eisenhower, and one-part Ronald Reagan, combine them together, and you have Duncan Hunter, Republican candidate for president.

Like Lincoln, if elected, Hunter's political career would take him directly from the House of Representatives to the White House.

Like Roosevelt, Hunter is willing to oppose the special interests' foreign trade and illegal immigration policies.

Like Reagan, Hunter is for a strong national defense, strict law enforcement, secure borders, and is pro-life.

Although he has not been credited as such, Hunter is also receiving the endorsement of the rank and file Republican. He won the Maricopa County Arizona straw poll, being preferred by Arizonans instead of John McCain.

He was third in the South Carolina straw poll by six votes. McCain received 164 votes, Giuliani received 162, and Hunter received 158 - each receiving 24 percent of the vote.

This is very significant. Hunter accomplished this with an extremely small fraction of the financial resources of Giuliani, McCain, and Romney - and even less of the mainstream media publicity and adoration afforded the Big Three.

It is obvious that Hunter's message of peace through strength, securing the borders, and eliminating the favorable trade laws given to China are resonating with rank and file Republicans - and would probably resonate with many Independents and "Reagan" Democrats as well. If Hunter can obtain the financial resources that the other three already possess he would probably get the nomination.

Hunter is a decorated Vietnam veteran. He would be the first baby-boomer president who served in Vietnam. Not only is he a veteran, Hunter's son served two tours in Iraq - one in Fallujah. This would make him the first President since FDR whose son served in combat during wartime.

This "Cincinnatus" family trait would be an inspiration to a nation that desperately needs an inspirational leader.

He believes in secure borders. He is pro-life, pro-Capital Punishment and pro-Second Amendment. However, his most controversial philosophy concerns fair and equitable foreign trade.

This disturbs some Republicans. They misunderstand his attitude as being protectionist. It is not.

Hunter believes "American workers are the most productive and innovative labor force in the world. Unfortunately, they are asked to compete in an unfair environment against other workers who make only a fraction of a living wage and are employed by companies that face few, if any, responsibilities to the environment or the long-term prospects of their employees. Our domestic manufacturers are forced to compete against foreign companies that benefit from their country's currency and regulatory regimes."

This is not protectionism. He is for fair trade. He does not want to prevent cheaper, superior, foreign products from being sold in the U.S. He does want to prevent subsidized foreign products from being sold here, while American products are prevented from being sold there.

When he speaks about trade, he alludes to the days when America was the Arsenal of Democracy, saying, "(During WWII) our manufacturing base made more than: ... 2.4 million vehicles; 36 billion yards of cloth; ... 41 billion rounds of ammunition ... our industrial base, was important to collapsing the Soviet Empire ... because it provided the strength in Ronald Reagan's stand against the forces of evil."

Comparing then to now, he make his most salient point, "Today my friends, the Arsenal of Democracy is being pulled away. Massive production of textiles, steel and machine tools are no longer found in South Carolina, or Ohio, or Pennsylvania, nor dozens of other states. ... as Chairman of the Armed Services Committee, when I sent my team to get more steel to protect troops against roadside bombs in Iraq, they found only one company in the U.S. making armor plate grade steel ... When a Swiss company cut off the critical component for our smart bombs only one U.S. company remained which could supply it ... if you want to find where our Arsenal of Democracy has gone, you must look in places like ... China."

Hunter repeatedly states, "... China is cheating on trade and using billions of American trade dollars to build ships, planes and missiles at an alarming rate while, at the same time, taking millions of American jobs. I will reverse this "one-way street" with a new policy of fair trade for the American worker.

This is the crux of Hunter's trade philosophy. For too long, America has encouraged the erosion of vital defense industries because of inequitable trade policies with Asia and Latin America. Hunter wants to ensure that does not continue.

America could use a president part- Lincoln, Roosevelt, Eisenhower, and Reagan. Hunter seems to be it.

Is Duncan Hunter committed to a US victory in Iraq?

Probably moreso than any other candidate.

Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA): "I don't care what you call it, a surge, an increase -- what the Republican president is doing is sending reinforcements to Iraq to carry out his plan. And if the Democrats cut off the reinforcements, the American troops will never forgive them and I think the American people will never forgive them. I think the Republican senators should be loud and clear on that issue" ("Hardball," MSNBC, 1/17).

http://hotlineblog.nationaljournal.com/archives/2007/01/hotl ine_after_d_144.html

" The genius of the founding fathers is that they put together a government that can be run by ordinary people. I'm a very ordinary guy, but folks, I have a very extraordinary family. I had a very average tour of duty in the military and didn't do anything special, but my son, Duncan, quit his job and joined the Marines after 9-11 and served two tours in Iraq."

Today my friends, the Arsenal of Democracy is being pulled away. Massive production of textiles, steel and machine tools are no longer found in South Carolina, or Ohio, or Pennsylvania, nor dozens of other states. In fact, as Chairman of the Armed Services Committee, when I sent my team to get more steel to protect troops against roadside bombs in Iraq, they found only one company in the U.S. making armor plate grade steel.

Now, it is in our interest to expand freedom in a difficult and dangerous places called Iraq and Afghanistan. In each nation we are following the basic pattern we've used for many years: 1. We stand up a free government; 2. We stand up a military capable of protecting that free government; and 3. The Americans leave. In both nations we are in the second, difficult phase of standing up a security apparatus. The toughest challenge is in Iraq. The President with his military advisors has put together a plan for Operation Baghdad, which is being executed by moving 21,500 reinforcements to the theater. I've seen the plan. It has a good chance to work. It joins two to three Iraqi battalions with one American battalion in a back-up and mentoring role.

I support the plan. When we are in a shooting war and reinforcements are being called up by the Commander in Chief and the commanders on the ground, no political party should ever stand in their way. If Democrats move to cut off supplies, our troops and our people should never forgive them.

Since the Clinton Administration stepped out of the White House, I have worked with the current administration to more than double the precision firepower of the U.S. military. Let any would-be-terrorist or wrong thinking nation know: if you believe media reports that the U.S. military is unable to handle another threat along with Iraq and Afghanistan, don't bet your life on it, because you'll lose.

http://www.pacificviews.org/weblog/archives/002123.html

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