http://www.eyardsigns.com/create.php?card_id=3679
Posted on 12/04/2007 5:50:55 PM PST by pissant
Looking to retire after 27 years on the House Armed Services Committee, including two as chairman, Rep. Duncan Hunter isn’t eager to talk about the “L-word.”
“I don’t care about leaving a legacy,” the California Republican said in an interview. “‘You do the best you can for the country every day’ — that’s my motto.”
The committee’s top Republican, Hunter is retiring at the end of his 14th term, deciding to focus on his bid for the Republican presidential nomination rather than mounting a reelection campaign to the House.
Yet his legacy may very well live on with his son, Duncan D. Hunter, a Marine who served in both Iraq and Afghanistan and is now running to succeed him.
And the son has not been shy about offering his father some advice now and then.
In April 2004, while the congressman was in the middle of a committee hearing in Washington, he received a satellite phone call from his son in the midst of the siege of Fallujah, not so subtly asking his father why his unit was being ordered to stop attacking when it had the insurgents on the run.
“I ended up with this young Marine officer cussing me out on a cell phone,” Hunter recalls with a laugh.
Within minutes, the congressman was on the phone with top Pentagon brass, relaying his son’s message and demanding answers.
Hunter’s family has deep military roots. His father served in World War II, and he was an Army Ranger in Vietnam, earning a Bronze Star.
Away from the committee, the past year has been a tumultuous one for the congressman, as his presidential bid has failed to surge, leaving him an asterisk in the polls.
Hunter is particularly stung by criticism from Democrats that he did not conduct tough enough oversight of the Iraq war while he was committee chairman, citing efforts to bolster protections against improvised explosive devices and to provide “jammers” to scramble the triggers insurgents were using to set off roadside bombs.
“We produced 10,000 portable jammers and moved them out to the battlefield — from a concept to the field — in just 70 days,” he said.
In fact, Hunter’s zeal to come up with protective body armor to defend against improvised explosive devices earned him the derisive nickname “SpongeBob HunterPants” after a military staffer fabricated a picture of Hunter wearing the bulky contraption, drawing comparisons to the famous children’s television character, according to an account in The Washington Post.
When he was in charge, Hunter said, “this committee moved up the production of armored Humvees by seven months” after he took his case directly to the steel mills that manufactured the plating.
Despite their differing views on the war, Hunter says he and the committee chairman, Rep. Ike Skelton (D-Mo.), are the “best of friends” and maintain a positive working relationship.
“We arm-wrestle on issues that take on a political edge,” Hunter said, “but we find a great deal of common cause.”
Though his days on the committee are numbered, Hunter still has at least one more fight left, defending against what he sees as increasing military threats from China, which is bolstering its military capabilities as American manufacturing increasingly moves offshore.
While the theme fits nicely with his presidential campaign promise to defend against the loss of manufacturing jobs overseas, Hunter said he sees military implications.
“We have got to look at the horizon carefully,” he said, warning that military technology can be compromised when companies move production offshore.
Hunter said he would like to see next year’s Defense Authorization Bill tackle the China issues, especially undersea capability, electronic warfare and the ability to strike deep behind enemy lines.
Hunter has requested a meeting with President Bush and other top lawmakers to discuss the Chinese threat but has yet to hear back from the White House.
And after nearly three decades of tackling military issues on Capitol Hill, Hunter has some advice for his “hard-charging” son as he campaigns to succeed him in the House.
“He is going to leave one battlefield and go to the next,” the congressman said. “I am firing from all sides myself right now.”
Yes, and it is interesting to compare his children to those of the others.
We need someone who realizes that a wide-open border is part of the WOT and Homeland Security.
We need someone who understands the future threats of China, Russia and Iran.
There is ONLY ONE who fits these needs:
Hunter’s family has deep military roots.
His father served in World War II, and
Duncan Hunter was an Army Ranger in Vietnam, earning a Bronze Star.
Duncan Duane is a Captain in the Marine Corps having served 2 tours of duty in Iraq and recently returned from a tour in Afghanistan.
Duncan L. Hunter has served 27 years on the House Armed Services Committee, including two as chairman
THIS man, DUNCAN HUNTER, is the man we need as the President of the USA, Commander-in-Chief and leader of the free world!
Duncan Hunter visiting with a few "friends" during a recent impromptu dinner.
LOL! Good for you. The reward system always works. ;*)
That is a fantastic video! I came across it accidently last week and immediately e-mailed to friends across the fruited plain.
P.S. Jesse is a great friend of a recent endorser of the Huckster. I was shocked when that endorsement came out and more surprised after seeing the video with Jesse.
Duncan Hunter is the man we need as President. He is worth supporting and someone you can actually vote for. No ‘settling’ there.
His big ‘flaw’ is ‘name recognition’. If he got the GOP nomination that would take care of that and there is no more impressive a man and someone who exudes so much leadership than Duncan Hunter. No one compares as far as I’m concerned.
Duncan Hunter: I like that great old Senator Henry ‘Scoop’ Jackson who was one of the great democrat strong defense leaders of our time. He said,
‘in time of war national policy should emanate from our shore with one voice’
Hugh Hewitt: How many years have you chaired the Armed Services Committee?
Duncan Hunter: I have chaired it for four years. I’ve been on that committee for 26 years.
Duncan Hunter is the only man to lead America in these times. The others are nothing more than ‘name recognition’ with nothing to back it up.
Just exactly right!
You bring up a good point which makes me wonder how Huckabee got name recognition while Hunter did not? Do you think the MSM (aka libtards) are trying to pick our candidate who will fail in the general election?
Rhetorical question, right?
If a flim flam artist like Huck can be the flavor of the week, then certainly a patriot like Hunter can.
We both know that isn't going to happen, and why.
Yes, and we are going to continue to push Hunter’s name out there
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