Posted on 10/22/2007 1:28:15 PM PDT by WalterSkinner
Highlights of Duncan Hunter at the Orlando, Fl presidential debate
Bump’n Duncan
Full Hunter transcript. Four (FOUR!) responses in a 90-minute debate.
CAMERON: Congressman Hunter?
Some pretty sensitive issues: gay marriage, abortion. And Tom Tancredo with the highest rankings. Is he the right conservative? And are these issues that are — the Republican Party is in danger of not being conservative enough and losing track and losing connection with its principles?
HUNTER: Well, Carl, you’ve been dividing the party for the last 10 minutes, so let me — let me say something that I think unites them.
This is a historic venue.
(APPLAUSE)
You know, 300 miles off this coast is a place where another party, once a great party, the Democrat Party, lost its identity. And that’s when, in 1961, the Cuban freedom fighters were struggling with a toehold on the beach, trying to take back Cuba from Castro and a Democrat president with an aircraft carrier sitting a few miles offshore said we will not help the freedom fighters.
And a thousand miles away from there is El Salvador, where a Republican president, Ronald Reagan, hung tough, brought freedom to El Salvador.
HUNTER: And you know something? Today, they are fighting side by side with our guys in Iraq.
(APPLAUSE)
We’re the party of freedom.
(APPLAUSE)
CAMERON: I’m not so sure I shouldn’t get 30 seconds to rebut as to whether I’m dividing their party...
HUNTER: Thanks for the question, Carl.
HUME: Well, thank you very much, Congressman Hunter.
GOLER: Governor, I think one of the aspects of your plan required individuals to provide their own health insurance, and I think Congressman Hunter wants to talk to you about that.
HUNTER: Yes. Wendell, I think the governor’s plan goes in exactly the wrong direction, because while it allows for private health insurance, it has lots of mandates.
He has a good piece of those 1,000 or so mandates that drive up the cost of health care. That means that every single plan in the governor’s state has to have certain things.
HUNTER: It’s got to have, for example, fertility coverage. Well, what if you’re 90 years old? We may appreciate Governor Romney’s optimism...
(LAUGHTER)
... but you may not need fertility coverage.
Those 1,000 mandates that we have throughout the States, where we do have mandated health insurance plans, is driving up the cost of health care by about 35 percent. We need freedom. We need to allow people to buy their health care across state lines. That will bring down the cost of health care.
(APPLAUSE)
HUME: Congressman Hunter?
HUNTER: You know, Brit, one thing we need with this smaller generation that’s coming up, that’s going to have to carry these massive loads — economic loads and security loads — is bigger paychecks.
You take a $75,000-a-year job, and you move it to China, and that guy gets a $20,000-a-year job, the amount of money that he or she contributes to Medicare and Social Security falls off the cliff.
Now, we’ve lost over 3 million high-paying manufacturing jobs in the last five years because we haven’t insisted on a level playing field with out competitors. They all get their taxes rebated to their manufacturers. American manufacturers pay double taxes.
HUNTER: And for that reason, we’ve got a trade deficit with countries that have higher labor rates than we have.
Now, what we’re going to have to do is demand a level playing field. That means that we’re going to — I think we should involve ourselves in what I call mirror trade, and that means that if another country is charging us a 19 percent tariff, we’re going to hold up a mirror, and they’re going to see it when their goods come into our country.
(APPLAUSE)
HUME: Congressman, do you really...
HUNTER: Leveling the playing field.
(APPLAUSE)
HUME: ... do you really think we can solve the Social Security and Medicare entitlement programs with trade policy?
HUNTER: Let me give you one statistic, Brit. We have a $161 billion deficit this year. We have an $800 billion trade deficit. And that is closely linked with the ability to take care of our seniors, to take care of Medicare, and to pay Social Security, absolutely.
CAMERON: Congressman Hunter, did you have a comment there?
HUNTER: Yes, just one comment.
You know, President Putin did give us one opening, and I think we should exploit it. And that is that he offered to work with us on sea-based missile defenses. The throat of the — of missiles launched from Iran at western Europe would go over the Black Sea.
HUNTER: I think we should undertake an initiative with Putin’s people and discuss the prospects of putting our Aegis missile defense cruisers in the Black Sea, ask them if they’re interested in an partnership that would protect Western Europe, also protect us.
But, lastly, you know last month, we had a successful intercept above the Pacific Ocean with a missile coming out from Alaska with an interceptor coming up from Vandenberg. And we hit it 100 miles above the surface of the Earth. That was a demonstration of the new success of what Ronald Reagan started with missile defense. We’ve got to keep missile defense strong.
(APPLAUSE)
Every conservative in this country should stand behind Duncan Hunter as President of the United States.
The others want to debate him; but can’t because it will bring attention to him; and take away from their lies.
Thanks for posting these things. I’m on a low bandwidth connection, so the transcript really helps.
B4DH. Please pray for him and his family. He really is the best one in the race and our country needs someone of his calibre to be president.
What an awful set of questions they gave him.
No policy questions, nothing.
I kept flipping back to the debate last night and all I ever saw was Rudy or Mitt. I think I saw Fred once.
I just didn’t have the attention span to watch the entire thing last night.
With all the multimedia stuff on the web you almost need a T1 line these days...
Thank you both for getting Hunter exposure.
We got embedded on DH's website--no wonder that Dearborn debate is being deluged by viewers...
..excellent
I kept flipping back to the debate last night and all I ever saw was Rudy or Mitt. I think I saw Fred once.
I noticed the same, I’m beginning to think Foxnew’s wants Rooty. Definitely so with Hannity - a Foxnews man also.
Thanks, Walter! Duncan Hunter - mature, presidential, and right on! Of course the trade imbalance and high trade deficit with China affects the revenues for SS and Medicare! Our manufacturers have taken the good jobs off shore. Rep. Hunter has a solid solution to bring them home, thus buoy up the middle class again to restore those revenues. If Brit Hume cannot fathom that, he is another scripted empty suit.
Next to come may be China’s nationalization of all corporations located there. Would not surprise me in the least.
Duncan Hunter is the best of the lot. He is right on all the issues and a wonderful human being. If he does not get some traction, he will have to drop out. Hopefully, he will be in the next cabinet as Secretary of Defense or Vice President.
I love the man.
Everyone: Bump for Duncan Hunter in the latest FR poll:
http://www.freerepublic.com/perl/poll?poll=196;results=1
..Hannity has been in the bag for Rudy for a long time
Thanks to both of you.
And I love Hunter’s sense of humor.
If we continue with our support of Taiwan, this could happen...
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