Posted on 11/04/2006 3:37:46 PM PST by PghBaldy
Incumbent U.S. Rep. Rush Holt (D-12) says that America needs to get the troops out of Iraq right now and develop more diplomatic ties, and that alternative energy sources must be found before it's too late.
The former rocket scientist from Hopewell is currently campaigning to defend the seat that he won in the House of Representatives in 1998.
According to Holt, the war in Iraq, and how the U.S. can carefully extricate itself from it, is the most pressing issue in the country at the moment. According to Holt, the country needs to immediately withdraw all troops from Iraq, as he believes that the continued presence of troops in that country is only exacerbating the situation. The Iraqis, to Holt, need to have self-determination for what kind of government they would want. While he said he would prefer to leave the particulars to the military, the government needs to immediately adopt a policy of disengagement.
"We're in the middle of a civil war there and our presence, however well the American troops are doing, ... their continued presence is not helpful," said Holt.
His stance on Iraq comes amid a larger criticism on the way the current war on terror is being conducted by the administration. According to Holt, lack of diplomatic engagement and overemphasis on military might has led the U.S. to reap a bitter harvest, such as in the case of the Israeli/Lebanon conflict.
"We have been making no effort to get the international community and the Lebanese army to disarm Hezbollah, and of course the reason they are armed, they say, is they fear invasion from Israel and you know, we had done nothing to provide assurances that they didn't have to be armed," said Holt. "Certainly, once Israel was attacked and rockets were being lobbed into Israeli cities and communities and farms and kibbutzes, we have to condemn that. But it never should have gotten to that stage."
On the same note, Holt believes that further diplomatic engagement is necessary to prevent a nuclear-powered Iran, which he says would be a dire security threat. While he says that, ideally, it should be the center of international nuclear policy to get away from nuclear weaponry in general, at the
same time diplomatic action is needed to prevent further proliferation.
"Again, the administration has taken a hands-off approach to Iran saying that, well, we'll let Europe and Russia deal with that and make some veiled threats about possible devastating military responses, but actually we have not been very engaged," said Holt. "Over the years we have had an approach of name-calling rather than engagement to find ways to get Iran not to enrich uranium."
Holt does, however, support the current administration's policy of denying aid to the Palestinan Authority so long as Hamas, which the U.S. classifies as a terrorist organization, remains in power. Overall, however, Holt feels that the current strategy in the war on terror has been big on bravado but short on results.
"We have to be strong and thorough in our protections, but I think Americans understand that swagger and bravado don't provide real protection," said Holt.
As far as protections go, Holt said that first responders need to be better funded, that transit security on trains and buses needs to be better funded, and that cargo in planes and ports needs to be screened. In addition, he says that the recommendations made by the 9/11 Commission need to be enacted by Congress.
Another thing Holt thinks will protect us is a recommitment to international laws and treaties, especially with regard to treatment of prisoners.
"One of the worst images a country can have is the belief by others that it tortures people. ... The president can assert until he's blue in the face that we don't torture, but he's asking for legislation that says, well, some American interrogators will be bound by a short list of approved procedures, but other interrogators will be free from those regulations. ... That is a terrible position to put our country in," said Holt.
Energy independence, with the development of clean, renewable fuels is another issue that is close to Holt's heart.
"We should greatly reduce our dependence [on fossil fuels] starting 25 years ago," said Holt. "We just have to admit that we cannot continue with our dependence on fossil fuels. It's environmentally unhealthy, it's economically unhealthy, it's unhealthy in general, it's dangerous to people's health, and it is internationally and diplomatically unsustainable."
According to Holt, there is no magic bullet when it comes to ending the U.S.'s reliance on fossil fuels. Instead, he recites a laundry list of possible things that could work toward clean, renewable energies, such as ethanol, wind power, tidal power and even fusion energy. Holt said that the federal government should take the lead and act as an example to others in energy efficiency.
"Our government agencies should be among the most efficient users of energy and among the most innovative users of energy, but they're not," said Holt.
Schools, the military, government cars and more should be made as energy-efficient as possible. Holt then mentioned legislation he introduced that would make it easier for schools to retrofit with energy-efficient technology. Further, he said, the federal government can play a role with loans, restrictions and promoting education about alternative energies.
Holt believes that his stance on the issues and his way of relating to them is why people should vote for him.
"I try to be the kind of representative that I wish I had - someone who will listen with an open mind to all of the people in the district, who will make decisions based on evidence rather than ideology and who will try to anticipate problems rather than lurching from crisis to crisis. And that's why I put a big emphasis on education, on environmental protection, on international engagement ... and encouraging research and development in our economy," said Holt.
What a glittering jewel...
They hope we all have memory loss!
E-Mail Ballots for Military Questioned (Democrats Want to Suppress Military Votes)
he is my congressman....he is an anti-semitic unamerican puke.....what an a-hole.....a good percentage of his constituency are Jews....he shi-ites all over them and maligns Israelis and calls for the protection of the terrorist muzzies....yet...they are lib/dems that continue to vote for him....it is part of the princeton university lib crowd...he had quite a few of constituency murdered on 9/11...I know..I rode the train to NYC with many each day...yet ...this "Jewhating Nazi POS" is on the side of the muzzie terrorists!!!....try going to his website....he already has planned his victory celebration and is selling tickets....of course...he has no place to post messages...lib/dems never actually want to hear from the people unless they are being praised and fawned over!!!!
and now he wants to make sure that the military does NOT vote!!!!!!
This idiot shouldn't be sharing the same first name as the real Rush. He's not even worthy of sharing the last name with Rams' receiver Torry Holt LOL
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