By Jim Kouri
Monday, March 12, 2007
The legendary test pilot Chuck Yeager once wrote of Rep. Duncan Hunter:
"Congressman [Hunter] is the best candidate for President of the United States of America that I know -- he has integrity, tenacity, courage, and diplomacy. He is intelligent and thoughtful, does his research, and acts on it.
"I have known Congressman Duncan Hunter for over 35 years. Duncan served his country in the Army and is a Vietnam vet. In Vietnam, he served in one of the most dangerous outfits -- the 173rd Airborne Brigade and the 75th Army Rangers."
Yeager doesn't hold back on his enthusiasm for Rep. Hunter, and many agree he's a man deserving of sitting in the Oval Office.
One reporter covering Duncan's presidential run puts it this way:
"Take one-part Abraham Lincoln, one-part Teddy Roosevelt, one-part Dwight Eisenhower, and one-part Ronald Reagan, combine them together, and you have Duncan Hunter, Republican candidate for president."
Like Lincoln, if elected, Hunter's political career would take him directly from the House of Representatives to the White House.
Like Roosevelt, Hunter is willing to oppose the special interests' foreign trade and illegal immigration policies.
Like Eisenhower, Hunter is a war hero.
Like Reagan, Hunter is for a strong national defense, strict law enforcement, secure borders, and is pro-life.
Although he has not been credited as such, Hunter is also receiving the endorsement of rank and file Republicans. He won the Maricopa County Arizona straw poll, being preferred by Arizonans over Senator John McCain.
He was third in the South Carolina straw poll by six votes. McCain received 164 votes, Giuliani received 162, and Hunter received 158 -- each receiving 24 percent of the vote.
This is very significant. Hunter accomplished this with an extremely small fraction of the financial resources of Giuliani, McCain, and Romney -- and even less of the mainstream media publicity and adoration.
It is obvious that Hunter's message of peace through strength, securing the borders, and eliminating the favorable trade laws given to China are resonating with rank and file Republicans - and would probably resonate with many Independents and "Reagan" Democrats as well. If Hunter can obtain the financial resources that the other three already possess he would probably get the nomination.
His credentials are excellent - especially to lead a nation at war. Hunter is a decorated Vietnam veteran. He would be the first baby-boomer president who served in Vietnam. Not only is he a veteran, Hunter's son served two tours in Iraq - one in Fallujah. This would make him the first President since FDR whose son served in combat during wartime.
This "Cincinnatus" family trait would be an inspiration to a nation that desperately needs an inspirational leader.
He believes in secure borders. He is pro-life, pro-Capital Punishment and pro-Second Amendment. However, his most controversial philosophy concerns fair and equitable foreign trade.
This disturbs some Republicans. They misunderstand his attitude as being protectionist. It is not. Hunter believes "American workers are the most productive and innovative labor force in the world. Unfortunately, they are asked to compete in an unfair environment against other workers who make only a fraction of a living wage and are employed by companies that face few, if any, responsibilities to the environment or the long-term prospects of their employees. Our domestic manufacturers are forced to compete against foreign companies that benefit from their country's currency and regulatory regimes."
This is not protectionism. He is for fair trade. He does not want to prevent cheaper, superior, foreign products from being sold in the U.S. He does want to prevent subsidized foreign products from being sold here, while American products are prevented from being sold there.
When he speaks about trade, he alludes to the days when America was the Arsenal of Democracy, saying, "(During WWII) our manufacturing base made more than: ... 2.4 million vehicles; 36 billion yards of cloth; ... 41 billion rounds of ammunition ... our industrial base, was important to collapsing the Soviet Empire ... because it provided the strength in Ronald Reagan's stand against the forces of evil."
Comparing then to now, he make his most salient point, "Today my friends, the Arsenal of Democracy is being pulled away. Massive production of textiles, steel and machine tools are no longer found in South Carolina, or Ohio, or Pennsylvania, nor dozens of other states. ... as Chairman of the Armed Services Committee, when I sent my team to get more steel to protect troops against roadside bombs in Iraq, they found only one company in the U.S. making armor plate grade steel ... When a Swiss company cut off the critical component for our smart bombs only one U.S. company remained which could supply it ... if you want to find where our Arsenal of Democracy has gone, you must look in places like ... China."
Hunter repeatedly states, "... China is cheating on trade and using billions of American trade dollars to build ships, planes and missiles at an alarming rate while, at the same time, taking millions of American jobs. I will reverse this "one-way street" with a new policy of fair trade for the American worker.
This is the crux of Hunter's trade philosophy. For too long, America has encouraged the erosion of vital defense industries because of inequitable trade policies with Asia and Latin America. Hunter wants to ensure that does not continue.
America could use a president part- Lincoln, Roosevelt, Eisenhower, and Reagan. Hunter seems to be it. Pursuant to Title 17 U.S.C. 107, other copyrighted work is provided for educational purposes, research, critical comment, or debate without profit or payment. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for your own purposes beyond the 'fair use' exception, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. Views are those of authors and not necessarily those of Canada Free Press. Content is Copyright 1997-2024 the individual authors. Site Copyright 1997-2024 Canada Free Press.Com Privacy Statement