Posted on 06/19/2007 5:40:00 AM PDT by pissant
A strong military, cracking down on illegal immigration, fairer trade and conservative family values are his priorities, Republican presidential candidate Duncan Hunter told local Republicans during a visit to Burlington on Monday.
The California congressman brought his Reaganesque brand of conservative politics to the Ramada Inn for a luncheon fundraiser.
And judging from the reaction of the 55 or so who came to hear him speak, the congressman and his message scored points with local Republicans, some of whom knew little about Hunter before the luncheon.
Hunter, 59, represents a portion of San Diego County that shares a border with Mexico. Swept into Congress when Ronald Reagan won the presidency in November 1980, the former Army Ranger and Vietnam veteran is mounting a long-shot bid for the White House with an unabashedly conservative agenda.
As the former chairman and current ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, Hunter has clout on Capitol Hill, but is virtually unknown outside of Washington, D.C., and Southern California.
Despite doing well in straw polls in California, Arizona and South Carolina, he has struggled to gain name recognition and break into the first tier of major Republican candidates with front-runners Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney and John McCain.
But that is beginning to change, Hunter said Monday. For the first time, the congressman said he climbed above 10 percent in polling in California. “We are doing well. We kind of came from a standing start just a couple of months ago. The other guys have been running a couple of years.”
Hunter was instrumental in getting two fences built across a roughly 60-mile stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border in his district and authored House legislation that requires the Department of Homeland Security to extend the fences more than 850 miles into Texas.
So far, only 13 miles of a single fence has been built, Hunter said. On Monday, he pledged to finish both fences by the end of his sixth month as president. He also favors legislation from House colleague and presidential candidate Tom Tancredo requiring the federal government to withhold funds from “sanctuary” cities — towns that refuse to turn over criminal illegal aliens to the U.S. Bureau of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement.
Hunter also promised work for fairer trade policies. China, he said, has taken 1.8 million U.S. industrial jobs by unfairly devaluing its currency and excessively taxing imports. Better trade policy will keep jobs and businesses in the U.S and strengthen national security. Moreover, countries like Switzerland withhold vital military equipment when they don’t agree with America’s foreign policy, he said.
“As president of the United States, I will make sure we have a level playing field, and I will keep China from cheating on trade.”
Referring to Reagan’s “peace through strength” foreign policy, Hunter said “an arsenal of democracy” — a strong military and robust domestic industries to supply it — are vital to expanding and ensuring freedom around the world.
“We won the world for freedom in World War I, World War II and the Cold War largely because we had that manufacturing base, that arsenal of democracy.”
When it comes to Iraq, it is vital for the U.S. to have a friend in the region, Hunter said.
He wants U.S. forces to remain in Iraq until the Iraqi military is able to stand on its own.
“I think we’re going to be successful,” he said. Hunter’s mark of success in Iraq is a “modicum of representative government” that refrains from state-sponsored terrorism for at least five years.
Nevertheless, expanding freedom in Iraq “hangs in the balance,” and new nuclear threats are emerging in Iran and North Korea, he added.
On the issue of abortion, Hunter said as president, he will only appoint pro-life judges to the federal bench.
The crowd’s biggest applause came as Hunter waxed patriotic. Some politicians and foreign countries criticize the U.S., he said, despite America’s historic willingness to provide humanitarian and military aid. “As president of the United States I will never apologize for the United States of America. Our country is a great country.”
Dad-gum pissant, ya beat me to it.
Hunter bump!
LOL. Sorry.
Thank you for the great article. Duncan Hunter is the best candidate on protecting American sovereignty and is the only candidate who has pledged to make sure that the judicial appointments he would make as President are pro-life as well strict constructionists.
That bill raised my opinion of Tencredo by about three stairs. Shame his supportes don't talk like him
Hunter I have always liked, just like a lot of people. It's the name recognition problem that worries me because he's not from the "cool" House, the Other House (Sometimes referred to accurately as Animal House). He barely gets a chance to talk in the pre-debate debates!
To quote Hunter:
According to Office of Management and Budget, 28% of federal programs are either ineffective or have results that are not demonstrated. Reforming, combining or eliminating those programs remains among my highest legislative priorities.
The more I hear the more i like......
Hunter seems to get it.... Now if he can overcome the juggernaut of RudyMcRommney.
And that is indeed how our president should regard our country, and not engage in endless Carter-esque apologies.
Ulp! Oh, NO! He's TOAST! UNLESS the Democrats have so overused the Bush/Cheny/Halliburton/TAX CUTS TO THE RICH mantras that voters stop paying attention...not likely because they're learing Marxist principles in grade school now.
Hard row to hoe, but it can be done.
He is slowly getting more exposure. Considering his competeition, he will get stronger as the weeks go by.
On top of it, none of this State Dept nuanced foreign policy. Shoot straight - always.
By the way, there is a HUGE chasm between Duncan Hunter’s history and policies on National Security and Illegal Aliens and the phonies who just discovered these issues when they decided to run for president. It’s ALL about credibility. Only Hunter has it.
Peace Through Strength was Reagan’s slogan, and it is also Hunter’s.
Hopefully.
Keep ‘em coming, guys. I know you two are huge on Hunter and actively look for articles online.
He can only get more exposure.
... just putting my tagline on this thread... please continue your discussion...
Just sent my first donation to any candidate this election. It went to Hunter.
A strong military, cracking down on illegal immigration, fairer trade and conservative family values are his priorities, Republican presidential candidate Duncan Hunter told local Republicans during a visit to Burlington on Monday.
***My priorities as well. Thanks for posting the article.
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