Posted on 05/02/2007 3:50:21 PM PDT by pissant
Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) hopes to emerge as the authentic conservative in the GOP presidential field by presenting himself as strong on national security and focusing on two issues his fellow candidates spend little time talking about: cracking down on China for devaluing its currency and building a fence along the U.S. border with Mexico.
"What we're going to do is carry this message: strong national defense, enforceable borders and a two-way street on trade," Hunter said in an interview with The Politico.
The interview was one in a series of sessions with Republican candidates in advance of today's GOP Presidential Candidates Debate. The event is being hosted by the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in conjunction with MSNBC and Politico.com.
Ten candidates have accepted invitations to participate in the debate, the first of the cycle for Republican presidential candidates. It will air exclusively on cable's MSNBC, with full coverage on MSNBC.com. The Politico will stream the debate live on Politico.com, providing an exclusive and unprecedented opportunity for viewers to ask and vote on questions via the Internet.
Hunter said his major contrast with the leading GOP candidates is on trade with China. He said most of the Republican front-runners were "captives of their support base" -- multinational corporations. In contrast, he said he would take a much more aggressive posture against China if elected president.
"I will stop China from cheating on trade," said Hunter. "I'm going to enforce trade rules, and devaluing your currency … is cheating on trade. That's a government subsidy by any definition."
Hunter, who served in the Army during the Vietnam War, sharply criticized Democrats for legislation setting benchmarks and a withdrawal date for troops in Iraq. He has called for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to resign from his leadership post after saying the Iraq war was lost.
"We're involved in a test of wills with the terrorists, and the idea that an American leader announces that we've lost in the middle of this shooting war does a real disservice to our people," said Hunter. "It can only be interpreted by the enemy as a very encouraging sign."
He acknowledged, however, that the war was having a "slightly degrading effect" among Republicans and could hurt the party's political prospects in 2008.
"What you have to do is take the positions you think are right, and let's see how the waves of politics ... how they handle that message," said Hunter. "I think you have to accept (that) if it's detrimental to the campaign, then so be it. At least you did the right thing."
When asked about the call of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) on "Fox News Sunday" last weekend to close the prison in Guantanamo Bay, Hunter strongly disagreed.
"The idea ... that we move those people to prisons into the United States, where they can impart their bomb-making skills to American criminals, is, I think, one of the most ludicrous suggestions in the last several months," Hunter said.
"The inmates at Guantanamo eat better than any prisoners in the world. There have been no murders in Guantanamo, and there's no member of Congress who can say that about any prison in his district."
Excerpts from Hunter interview On immigration, Hunter is one of the few candidates to call for the deportation of the nearly 10 million illegal immigrants nationwide. Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.), another border security hawk, has suggested that simply cracking down on employer hiring would suffice.
"I don't think there's anything wrong with asking folks who come in illegally ... to go home. We deport thousands of people every month," said Hunter. "I don't see any other way to re-establish the currency of American law than to keep the law."
Hunter believes that, based on strong performances in key straw polls in Arizona and South Carolina, he can become a presidential contender. That is, if he can get his name identification raised.
"If you've noticed, in places where people know me, like the Arizona straw poll, we won without even being in the state," Hunter said. "What that shows is, when I get my message out, we do very well. What I've got to do is get my message out."
See..you DID teach me something!
..and I am a better person for it!
Oh! She says, clapping her hands together in glee!
GOODIE! :)
BTTT for Duncan Hunter!!!!!!
BTTT for SURE!
Have you seen this:
http://www.myspace.com/duncanhunter
BTTT for later!
THANK you!!!!
Hunter is STRONGLY pro-LIFE, has done more to stop illegal immigration than even Tancredo, and I LOVE the fact that he understands the China threat.
“Yes, and don’t forget, the very honorable Rep. Henry Hyde, retireed, also endorsed Duncan Hunter, and Michael Reagan speaks very highly of him as well”
And he also has the very important endorsement of upsdriver!! Gotta be worth something!:)
>...MOsby is is one of THE most honest ladies I’ve EVER had the priveledge to meet...whatever she says is for real!!!!<
I don’t think I’ve ever crossed threads with her before, but do you think I offended her in some way? I’m very honest, too, and say what I think. Sometimes it may come across crisply, but I try to make a point with few words. To me, disagreement is the beginning of conversation, don’t you agree? To a liberal it is the red flag to begin a battle. :o)
Hold on...I’m listening to something. BRB....
(please)
>And he also has the very important endorsement of upsdriver! Gotta be worth something!:) <
You bet it is, upsdriver. It’s worth a lot!
I appreciate seeing this on every Hunter thread. It’s a nice resource for anyone not familiar with him. I vote you keep posting it!
I’m gonna send you & M0sby a FRmail...
:)
Am I RIGHT THERE WITH YOU Paperdoll!
No worries here.
We DID cross threads earlier today...but no worries..
We are FOR SURE on the same side here!
And..I, like you, point these things out so we can move on!
RIGHT?
I gotta go (for now)...but thanks for the PINGS..and the BUMPS!!!
I will be here waiting for more PINGS!
LOL!!!
NIGHT NIGHT!!!
Mosby
Why? WHY must you do this to me? ;)
I checked out the myspace! Lots of friends of Duncan and lots of nice comments posted. could spend a lot of time reading all of those!! Thanks for posting the link.
Looks like I’m in good company here this evening!
My take on why Fred Thompson is waiting to announce his candidacy is because he doesn’t have the stamina to campaign for a long time, I read somewhere that he doesn’t intend to campaign the way the others will such as walking thru snow in Iowa going Church to Church, door to door, etc. (wish I could find the article about that)
Fred Thompson, obviously has health problems that intefere with his day to day stamina. We need a younger healthier more energetic man like Hunter. Most of the Fred-heads are voting to see Jeri not really voting for Fred it appears, on another thread where I mentioned some things like this a poster said “yeh and we get a hot first lady” As a woman I prefer a CLASSY, intelligent first lady like Nancy and Laura that represent our Country and their husbands well. Jeri Thompson worked as a media consultant for the GOP so obviously they are pushing her as much as pushing Fred, but if Thompson can’t complete his duties are they going to have his wife conduct matters? I like Mr Thompson as far as his stance on different issues EXCEPT the fact that he is a neocon and Globalist first and foremost he said so on Hannity’s show and that really bothered me. Talk about a one issue man.
And those are some of the reasons I feel the best man for the job is Hunter. he is young, energetic and the Presidency and this country won’t be manipulated by a opportunist wife.
The rest who are running are to controversial for various reasons. And at least Hunter will not bow down to the Hollyweird types he is not connnected to the Hollywood types. He is his own man.
lol...has he broken 1% yet?
..thank you, we do what we can...
Never underestimate the persistance of idiots.
If you don't want Rudy, work your butt off to prevent it from happening! I am!
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