Posted on 03/16/2007 10:12:10 AM PDT by Ultra Sonic 007
As many of you may know, Sam Hunter has recently become the Hunter Campaign's ambassador to Free Republic. He serves as a direct line to Duncan Hunter, under the username "Duncan Hunter Ambassador". You have questions? Sam has answers.
Without further ado, I give you Sam Hunter.
(Opening Statement from Sam Hunter)
"Thank you all for the warm welcome. I am here to represent my father to the best of my ability. I will work hard to respond to every post, although it may take a while to answer all of them, as I am only one person. I look forward to our discussions in the future."
(And just to clear up any confusion...)
"As much as I would love to have the title of a marine, I cannot take credit for that. You are referring to my older brother Duncan D. Hunter. I was there helping Duncan while he was in South Carolina, although my name was not mentioned."
(Just to erase any confusion on the matter.)
Q: Will Duncan Hunter make an appearance at the Gathering of Eagles this weekend?
Sam: I was told that we will definitely have our people there to represent us, and that dad is going to make a strong effort to get there as well.
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Q: Would Duncan consider John Bolton for his VP running mate?
Sam: I spoke with my father this evening, and his response was: "I respect John Bolton very much. But at this time I would say we have not decided on any running mates."
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Q: Do ya think he liked the idea? Did he at least smile or chuckle? Hey - there's a question...does Duncan chuckle?
Sam: He sounded quite upbeat to say the least. And yes, I assure you my father has a great sense of humor and smiles quite often. I might even post pics.
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Q: Will he be treated to the same FR animosity given all other newly registered folk which are usually labeled trolls/"n00bs!?"
Sam: I am a total NOOB! It may take me a while to get the hang of this.
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Q: Are you the one who lives in Idaho?
Sam: Nope, I live in San Diego.
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Q: Are you concerned at all about your apparently low poll numbers? An honest question, not intended to troll or mock, as I can see myself supporting you, especially over Guilani, the apparent appointed nominee for the GOP. However I am concerned about the apparent low poll numbers. Is there any concern? Are there plans in the works to make you, Mr. Hunter, more visible in the coming months?
Sam: I spoke with my father this evening, and his response to this question is as follows: "I have done numerous national radio and television appearances in the last three weeks, my ability to do well when the voters know about me is reflected in my win in the Arizona stroll poll, and our close finish (1%) behind Guilani and Mckain in the South Carolina straw poll. Name identification is a challenge and the answer is hard work. Help us spread the message."
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Q: I hope you haven't left the FR yet????
Sam: I am still here. I was raised in a political family and as such I have developed some pretty thick skin.
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Q: Both President Bush and Mayor Giuliani have said that they think that a pardon of Ramos and Compean is premature, and that the legal process should be exausted before considering a pardon for the two. Does Congressman Hunter agree?
Sam: This was from my father's speech at CPAC: "...And, ladies and gentlemen, at one small, one remote place on that Rio Grande, as almost everybody here knows, two American Border Patrol agents saw a van come across with some 750 pounds of narcotics. And at some point during that apprehension, the drug dealer was winged. He wasn't winged badly. I understand he didn't even collect workman's comp...(Laughter)... before he was back on the job. But for that, these two American Border Patrol agents, Ramos and Compean, were given 11 and 12 years of hard time in the federal penitentiary. That is a greater punishment than the average convicted murderer in this country, who does about eight and a half years. Now, ladies and gentlemen, I've read the transcript. I've talked with the families. And I've met with Mrs. Compean and Mrs. Ramos. And I've read the transcript of the trial. And I would say this. I've been in the Armed Services Committee for 26 years. I've been chairman for four. I have never seen a Marine or a soldier treated in such an unjust way as Ramos and Compean. And as president of the United States, I will pardon Ramos and Compean. (Applause)"
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(The following concerns a post by someone claiming to be Hunter's other son, the Marine Duncan D. Hunter. It concerns the candidate's views on trade.)
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Q: Did your brother contribute this post to this website?
Sam: This is my brother's response to someone who asked him to write up a few sentences about Duncan Hunter's view on trade. This is not an official press release or anything. He also told me that this is a DH friendly website.
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Q: What's Duncan Hunter's position on people like Jane Fonda, who posed for the North Vietnamese during wartime, and ratted out POW letters to their Vietcong captors. What is his position on John Kerry, who lied under oath to Congress that American soldiers in Vietnam were 'baby killers'?
Sam: Dad has stated many times that Senator Kerry's statements about G.I.s in Vietnam were untrue. He also has condemned Jane Fonda's acts of support for the North Vietnamese.
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Q: Why did Hunter vote for Meehan's/Shay's "Campaign Finance Reform" legislation which both takes away from free speech and also created the still ongoing problems with the "527" special interest groups?
Sam: Rep. Hunter voted against the Shays-Meehan (aka McCain-Feingold) Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act in the 105th, 106th and 107th Congresses (It finally passed in the 107th Congress P.L. 107-155). During the 109th Congress, Rep. Hunter did vote in favor of H.R. 513, the 527 Reform Act, which would subject 527 political organizations involved in federal elections to regulation under the Federal Election Campaign Act. 527 organizations were operating outside the regulatory framework of the federal election law, thereby allowing such organizations to raise and spend an unlimited amount on behalf of a single candidate. H.R. 513 helped reform this loophole and Rep. Hunter supported the reform. Rep. Hunter believes in free speech, which is why he opposed the Bipartisan Capaign Finance Reform Act, however, if speech in the form of money is going to be regulated for some, it should be done so for all.
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Q: Is your father pounding the doors of the MSM (radio and TV) for spots? Are the "conservative" pundits going out of their way to accomodate him OR ignore him? And IF he is, is he getting rejected or put off by anyone specificically?
Sam: Dad has done lots of TV and radio in the past couple of months across the spectrum. Lou Dobbs, Neil Cavuto, Hardball and Fox and Friends have been especially good, as have Glen Beck, Mike Reagan, Bill Bennett, Gordon Liddy and many others.
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Q: Can you divulge the attitude and level of support your father has in the Senate? The RNC?
Sam: With the big Republican field our take is that the RNC is properly neutral in this primary race.
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Q: I am a Rudy supporter, and there are more than several of us. Do you think it is in the best interests of your dad's campaign to accuse those of us who support Rudy as not being "real conservatives"? Please note that I am not saying you agree with this or not. But I can't help but wonder what you think of this.
Sam: Dad's directions to all of our campaigners and supporters are to carry out a high level campaign emphasizing defense, border security and jobs. He believes that Rudy Guiliani is a good guy, with real differences such as Mr. Guiliani's pro-choice and anti-gun positions.
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Q: What would 'President Hunter' do to shrink the size of the federal government, and give us the smaller government that conservatives have been asking for since Ronald Reagan left office?
Sam: My father believes in limited government, requiring only a large enough bureaucracy to execute the basic functions of the Federal Government, while leaving control of all other aspects of Government to the states and the American people.
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Q: We know he wants to renogotiate the China trade deal (mercifully) and he is not a fan of CAFTA. But what is his stance on unfettered trade deals with good allies such as Canada, Britain, Australia, Japan, Poland, Denmark, Italy etc. Can he assure the skeptics that he is not a strident protectionist?
Sam: Dad's position is that trade deals esentially are business deals between nations. He feels that nations can be good friends and allies and still require a level playing field with respect to trading rules. Presently all the nations you mentioned have the right to rebate all taxes to their exporters. However, under the deal we signed, America does not have the right to rebate taxes to our exporters. This amounts to an unfair advantage. My dad would require our allies to allow us the same favoarable tax treatment that they receive. This would do much to change the one-way street which produced a 804.9 billion dollar U.S. trade deficit last year. Thus, dad is for a two way street in trade, achieved by effective negotiators.
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Q: Would you ask your Dad if he has heard of Deputy Sheriff Guillermo Hernandez in Texas? If not, would you ask him to look into his case also? Another good guy may be going to jail for a long time. Appreciate it. Thanks.
Sam: Thank you for the heads up, I spoke with my father's staff and they are fully aware of this situation, as such my father will be informed.
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Q: Would Congresman Hunter care to comment on the Democrat plan to close the Gauntanamo prison and move the terrorists to US soil?
Sam: Dad did a press conference on keeping Gauntanamo open today, I believe it was all over the news. He believes it is important to warehouse terrorists like Khalid Sheikh Mohammad in order to protect Americans.
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Q: Your Dad has taught you to keep it short and sweet, just the way we like it!
Sam: Dad learned those things from his dad: United States Marine Bob Hunter.
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Q: Thanks so much for joining us here. I have a question for you. I've read that Duncan farmed for a while in Idaho. I would like to hear more about that experience and if that is when he gained his respect for property rights and the hard working American citizen.
Sam: Dad farmed an island in Idaho on the Snake River. He learned not to overload the barge! LOL. He and his partner sunk a grain combine, which quickly took care of all the profits.
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Q: China is becoming a real threat to our national security and economy. With all of our attention on the WOT, their military build up and monetary shenanigans seems to be proceeding unchecked. What would a "President Hunter" do to hold in check China's threat to our national security?
Sam: Check out dad's speeches on China, these can be found on his website. Basically, he will stop their trade cheating with sanctions and build America's strength in space, deep-strike, and Naval capability.
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Q: Sam, some of us here are justing learning about your father - can you give a fairly brief statement about your father's vision for America should he become President?
Sam: This is Dad's announcement speech from South Carolina. It tells the story much better than I ever could. :)
xxxx
And there you folks have it. Tune in next week for more answers!
On the war, there is an obvious strategy which would win the war (with victory being defined as the US remaining on the ground in Iraq at our discretion, and the government being relatively stable and relatively cooperative). George Bush has overruled it several times. It is this: arm the Kurds and the pro-Iraqi Shi'ites - the government side - and do not stand in the way as they brutally quell the Sunni insurrection, nor when they turn their power on the pro-Iranian Shi'ite militias.
This strategy would result in some really exceptional brutality, but it WOULD result, in the end, in an American victory (as defined above).
Bush has adamantly rejected this approach.
I don't want Congressmen Hunter to endorse it, or to answer what his strategy would be. To actually say that is the strategy, full out, at least before he's the nominee, would alienate a lot of people. But I do want to make sure that Hunter has heard the brief arguing for precisely that strategy.
BTTT
RightWhale has a question.
"I would be interested in what the candidate thinks about the 1967 UN Outer Space Treaty. I would like to see the Treaty repealed."
From johnthebaptistmoore:
"How can all U.S. judicial activism at every judicial level successfully be stopped for always?"
From Victome13:
"On the war, there is an obvious strategy which would win the war (with victory being defined as the US remaining on the ground in Iraq at our discretion, and the government being relatively stable and relatively cooperative). George Bush has overruled it several times. It is this: arm the Kurds and the pro-Iraqi Shi'ites - the government side - and do not stand in the way as they brutally quell the Sunni insurrection, nor when they turn their power on the pro-Iranian Shi'ite militias. This strategy would result in some really exceptional brutality, but it WOULD result, in the end, in an American victory (as defined above).
Bush has adamantly rejected this approach.
I don't want Congressmen Hunter to endorse it, or to answer what his strategy would be. To actually say that is the strategy, full out, at least before he's the nominee, would alienate a lot of people. But I do want to make sure that Hunter has heard the brief arguing for precisely that strategy."
So. What would Hunter do about judicial activism (AKA, tyrants in black)? And what is Hunter's opinion about the strategy Victome just outlined?
No questions as of now, but I have to weigh in to mention how much I appreciate Hunter sending an emissary to this site. It's certainly provoked some thoughtful discussion and provided further evidence of Hunter's conservatism. I simply can't imagine any other candidate willing to mix it up on this forum.
Hear, hear!
That's the thing: the man's fearless.
He doesn't calculate.
He knows who he is.
He knows what he believes.
And he says it.
He's tough. He's fearless. And he's right.
Good show, US007! Keep up the good work.
Hi Sam:
I have a question. Is there any issue where the MSM has completely quoted Duncan Hunter out of context, something he would like us to know what is REALLY the case?
1. Serious voters still know and care about the fact that the presidency is an administrative position and look for candidates with that kind of experience. I'd rather vote for someone who knows right from wrong and doesn't have that experience than vote for someone who's wrong on the issues regardless of experience. However, I think anything that Mr. Hunter could do to highlight administrative experience would help him. I think I read in his biographical information that he worked as a lawyer in the late 70's. Was he part of an established partnership or was he starting on his own? Would there be anything in this part of his background to suggest administrative experience? The closest competitor for my vote is Jim Gilmore who was governor of Virginia, and the one strength he has over Mr. Hunter is experience as a governor.
2. I just bought some campaign buttons from cafepress.com. After buying them, I found another cafepress page selling Duncan Hunter materials and donating part of the proceeds to the campaign. (Unfortunately, this site didn't sell any buttons or magnets.) Has the campaign considered getting someone else to set up a cafepress page with more "Duncan Hunter for President" stuff and a clear message that proceeds from the sale of this stuff would go to the campaign? Many of us love campaign buttons and would be willing to buy campaign stuff even before we commit to the campaign. In addition, T-shirts in particular are good, quick advertising. Someone walking around a gun show in a Duncan Hunter for President T-shirt will generate name recognition. With the glut of primaries on February 5, he will need to build that name recognition this year. People may not commit to him until they see how things go in Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina, but the seeds need to be planted in people's minds before that time.
3. Speaking of gun shows, T-shirts, and name recognition, how much organization is being done with those who are already committed to the campaign? I've heard from one or two people who signed up at the website that they've heard nothing or almost nothing. I realize that putting things together is a slow process, but getting like-minded folks together to start making little efforts will start building that name recognition. If two or three supporters living within an hour's drive of one another are in contact, they could come up with some ideas and encourage one another to take action. For instance, I don't try to go to every gun show in the area, and I miss most of them. However, if I were already a volunteer and knew someone who felt the same way, we could try to visit a gun show every month or so and wear "Hunter '08" T-shirts or buttons. If most of us spent some time thinking about it and talking to someone who felt as we do, we could find other places where we could do some low-key campaigning of this kind.
I'll likely have more to say later about issues, but I appreciate your efforts here. The idea of having the candidate's son talking to everyday folks is a good one.
>Dumbing down the world.....<
You did'nt ask me, but I don't think a president has control over "dumbing down the world". You can thank the NEA and the ACLU people for doing that. It began several decades ago, and gets worse every year since. Changing it must be done at the local level. (Frankly, why the U.S. Government allows these seditious organizations to operate at all is beyond me.)
If I may, I will quote DHA: "My father believes in limited government, requiring only a large enough bureaucraxcy to execute the basic functions of the Federal Government, while leaving control of all other aspects of Government to the states and the American people."
Answers alot of questions, doesn't it?
PING
That would be refreshing compared to all the wussies out there apologizing over themselves for every single little thing trying to please the liberals who hate them anyway. So what? They can take their hate and stuff it--America needs a President who will stand up for America and tell Hillary et. al. and her media bullies to shove off!
To this day, the U.S. is still the closest to being the only fully capitalistic country in the entire world, and we, as an entire country, still need to improve upon this as much as we truly can. We are alone in being a capitalistic country. Everybody else in the entire world who comes the closest to being fully capitalistic countries are still very socialistic countries today. If more countries are truly just like the U.S., then the calibur of anti-Americanism that still exists throughout the world would probably decrease! How can the U.S. succeed in fully promoting "full capitalism" to the rest of the world and not just only fully promoting democracy to the rest of the world from now on?
More questions!
From johnthebaptistmoore:
"To this day, the U.S. is still the closest to being the only fully capitalistic country in the entire world, and we, as an entire country, still need to improve upon this as much as we truly can. We are alone in being a capitalistic country. Everybody else in the entire world who comes the closest to being fully capitalistic countries are still very socialistic countries today. If more countries are truly just like the U.S., then the calibur of anti-Americanism that still exists throughout the world would probably decrease! How can the U.S. succeed in fully promoting "full capitalism" to the rest of the world and not just only fully promoting democracy to the rest of the world from now on?"
And from pray4liberty:
"Is Duncan Hunter that tough-guy candidate who will tell the intelligentsia to shut up and not apologize for it? Will he tell the uncompromising truth and let the chips fall where they may? Could he care less about causing controversy, will he have the balls to take those bullies head-on and beat them?"
Some of Congressman Hunter's critics here on Free Republic make an issue of his voting for Sarbanes-Oxley. I haven't heard anyone explain their reasons for this criticism in detail, but I can make a couple of guesses. As I read it, Sarbanes-Oxley is going to cost businesses more to operate in the United States. Businesses already spend millions of dollars trying to comply with various federal laws. Audits are expensive, and Sarbanes-Oxley appears to create more audits or audit-like reviews and more regulations to follow and paperwork to file to show compliance. If we make operating a business in the United States more expensive, we create another incentive for that business to pick up and move overseas. I realize that there was tremendous pressure at that time for legislation that would stop another Enron/WorldCom debacle, but creating a more hostile business climate is risky for the country. What about Sarbanes-Oxley justified putting this extra expense on the companies that operate in this country?
Bill
I guess anyone who doesn't want to be backstabbed might care. What you're saying is news to me and I'll bet not one in ten thousand people have heard about it. But about a million or more just heard Delay sling the "protectionist" mud at DH today. A good defense isn't sticking one's head in the sand so I gave a head's up on what's going 'round.
Hi Sam.
Welcome to Free Republic.
I have a question about earmarks. I have read that your dad is for earmarks regarding the military and making sure the military has what it needs when it needs it, etc.
I also read that your dad is not for all earmarks. Does he have any suggestions on how earmarks should be reformed, so that we the taxpayers don't have to pay for a bridge to nowhere in order to also ensure the military has what it needs?
It's great his son's are fully involved and that Sam is reaching out here on FR. The Hunter family needs to be First Family!!
I'm from NY, too. We can do our part with money, too at http://www.gohunter08.com
Vicomte is from the NY/Conneticut area, and he's been asking about helping out too.
You might want to FReepmail him and get in contact with him bushfamfam.
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