Posted on 11/14/2007 11:58:59 AM PST by sierrascrapper
ELKO, Nev. - Republican presidential candidate Duncan Hunter stood out at a Newmont mine site Monday in his suit, tie and loafers.
This was appropriate since standing out is what many believe Hunter must do to make it past the Republican caucus scheduled Jan. 19 in Nevada.
He was at the site as part of a tour of northern Nevada that included stops in Elko, Carlin, Battle Mountain, Winnemucca and Lovelock.
At the mine site, the congressman from Southern California ate lunch, answered employees' questions and toured a quarry, where he turned the tables and asked questions about the gold mining industry.
He voted against the 2007 Hardrock Mining and Reclamation Act of 2007 because of the high royalties the legislation imposes.
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The changes would have made it difficult for mining companies to employ Americans and had the potential for driving mining companies overseas, he said.
Self-sufficiency is important for America, as is the availability of high-paying jobs, he said.
He supports the mining industry, for minerals and other resources, including oil. He has supported opening up Alaskan wildlife reserves for oil drilling.
“We should try to use everything we've got here,” he said. “At the same time we should use our
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alternative energy sources that we're developing,” adding that it should be easier to license nuclear power plants.
He's a throwback to the days of Ronald Reagan - Hunter was elected to Congress the first time in 1980, the year Reagan took office.
He referenced the former president several times Monday morning while addressing a small group at the Elko Convention Center where he talked about issues including the war in Iraq, China, foreign trade and immigration.
A Vietnam veteran and the father of a Marine deployed twice to Iraq and currently stationed in Afghanistan, Hunter said he believed the United States is making progress in Iraq and it would be a mistake to leave.
“In my estimation the Iraq government is going to hold. It's not an extremely capable government but most new governments are not extremely capable ... and the army that were standing up right now... will also hold.”
“As we work in Iraq right now I'm kind of reminded that I've been here before in terms of listening to the political left talking about why they think we need to get out of Iraq yesterday,” he said before referencing America's involvement in the civil war in El Salvador in 1980 under Reagan when people predicted it would be the next Vietnam.
El Salvador is a free country today, Hunter said, and their troops are fighting alongside American troops in Iraq.
America has a three-stage approach to wars like the one in Iraq, he said. The first stage is to stand up a free government, something that has been accomplished, he said.
The second stage is to stand up a military capable of protecting that government. Saddam Hussein's army was more of a political than military organization, he said. American troops are in the process of training the Iraqi military, starting from the ground up.
As the Iraqi troops are able to replace American troops, America can move to the third stage, which is leaving the area, he said.
There is an end to the war in sight, but it's not to that point yet, he said.
He said he doesn't expect a permanent military presence in Iraq, but hopes for a cooperative relationship with the ability for use of the country's air facilities.
Government relations with China is also an area of national security that Hunter wants to address.
The cost of doing business in America is too high compared to the cost of doing business in China, he said. The government needs to make sure that there are no trade policies that push jobs offshore.
China's policies - such as devaluing currency by 40 percent - have made it difficult for American companies to compete without moving their operations overseas, he said.
With the trade deficit and indebtedness, China is essentially America's broker, he said.
“There's an old saying ... in economic circles that you always want your banker to have your best interests at heart,” he said. “China is becoming our banker.”
Reagan would be stunned at the United States' position in relation to China, he said.
Right now, China does not have a lot of leverage, he said, but if the trade and budget deficits continue to grow, China could have influence over American foreign policy.
“I think you've got to stand up to them at some point. If you don't stand up to them and you don't change the direction that things are going ... we're going to end with our grandkids living in a nation that has in excess of $1 trillion of debt to China and as a result of that we'll have an America that is heavily influenced by foreign policy of that country.”
To help level the playing field, Hunter suggested putting duties for Chinese imports to make up for the amount China is devaluing its currency.
It would put American companies on a level playing field with Chinese companies. As it stands, some American companies have found it costs more to purchase the raw materials to make products than the Chinese are selling them for.
Another way to make foreign trade more fair to American businesses is a reflective trade policy, he said. America should mirror tariffs set by other countries.
For instance, if a country charges a 17 percent tariff on American goods, a 17 percent tariff should be levied against goods from that country coming in to the U.S.
Hunter also advocated stricter enforcement of immigration law, saying he was not in favor of offering amnesty, which would just encourage more people to enter the country illegally.
He likened illegal immigration to a boat taking in water.
“We're all bailing water furiously and some liberal (is) saying what you really need is more water, but what we need to do, we need to plug the hole in the boat.
“If we enforce the border ... if you really enforce the border and plug that hole in the boat, then we're going to be able to bail the water and we'll be able to turn America's immigration resources to internal enforcement.”
Building a double fence between the United States and Mexico, a project that Hunter advocates as the best way to curtail illegal immigration, would serve to patch the leak, he said.
Efforts could then be focused on deporting illegal immigrants.
Hunter co-authored a bill that mandates an 854-foot double fence to be built between strategic parts of the United States and Mexico border.
A similar plan is not scheduled for the United States and Canada border because it is better regulated, he said, with fewer people crossing illegally.
Is the length of this fence off by a factor of 5280?
Good. Go Hunter ! The only true conservative in the race.
“He was at the site as part of a tour of northern Nevada that included stops in Elko, Carlin, Battle Mountain, Winnemucca and Lovelock.”
Hitting all the major markets I see.
/sarc
Will he grace us in LV Metro?
Hunter is my man!
But don't tell journalist Bob Herbert about this. He has a piece out in which he attacks Reagan for mentioning "state rights" in a speech in 1980 -- which pretty much means that Reagan wanted to bring back Jim Crow. I suspect that Bob would like to implicate Hunter in this as well, if at all possible.
“Hunter wants GOP to adopt former President’s values.”
Reagan is not the Republican party. He was simply a Republican that understood and was able to tell people what that means.
The elected from the GOP needs to adopt being a Republican, not running away as soon as you get elected.
Those who ignore Hunter on China and other threats do so at the expense of all of us.
From what I understand, he will be visiting Las Vegas again in the near future.
Duncan Hunter ping!
B4DH
Screw adopt being a republican. How about adopt being America First Conservatives. That is Reaganism. The pathetic excuse of a party prior to Reagan is certainly not worth returning to.
Nothing against Duncan Hunter, but I’m tired of ALL of the Republican candidates invoking the name of Ronald Reagan.
This is ridiculous. This is also 2007, not 1980. We live in a different society in a different world with different challenges.
I want to see someone focused on the future, not gazing longingly at the past.
Again, this is a criticism of ALL GOP candidates. Quit romanticizing the Reagan years. He’s gone, has been out of the loop for more than a decade. Let’s get real and move on.
Rant over.
Yes, all except Reagan’s granting of amnesty to illegals.
The only difference is that Hunter really is a Reaganite.
The key is that Reagan upheld TRUE conservative values not these sissy issues that most of the left stand behind.
It’s true that we need to look to the future, but we also must remember to learn from our past. Looking back at how our nation was run under Ronald Reagan is important to our future as a nation. We were a nation to be respected in those days and we need to continue that legacy.
Duncan Hunter came into Congress when Ronald Reagan won the Presidency. While he served alongside Ronald Reagan, Congressman Hunter was able to learn about the values of our nation and how to keep our nation strong and one to be respected and revered.
The thing I dread is that the Republicans are running left and it is obvious that the powers to be within the GOP are grooming Guiliani because he’s seen as electable. The only “bad” candidate among the Republican choices is the one the party’s movers and shakers are setting up and will ram down our throats.
And I believe it's been done already - all 854 feet of it.....
‘Those who ignore Hunter on China and other threats do so at the expense of all of us.’
Good point.
UGGGHHH
Guess I better write to the newspaper and get a correction. Thanks for the heads up!
>Screw adopt being a republican. How about adopt being America First Conservatives.<
I agree! Our next president needs to transcend party to being a president for ALL of the people. Duncan Hunter is the only candidate who does that now. His appeal is not only to the GOP, but to all traditional conservatives.
Let us hope that the American people have not become so commercialized that they will buy anything they see on TV or read. There IS hope for America! And Duncan Hunter is that hope!
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