Duncan Hunter Gives Voters One More Reason to Vote for a Democrat in 2008
January 26, 2007
Republican Congressman Duncan Hunter made it official today, he's running for President in 2008, and he is offering the American people more of the same failed course. According to CNN, Hunter reiterated his support for President Bush's failed strategy in Iraq and for the President's plan to escalate the war as he made his announcement. [CNN.com Political Ticker, 1/25/2007]
But Hunter's not just out of touch with the American people on his support for President Bush's failed leadership in Iraq, he has also supported the President's reckless fiscal policies that have led to record deficits and growing debt. Hunter is also out of touch with his opposition to stem cell research that could offer millions of Americans hope, and even used his time in Congress fighting to make it harder for women to serve and take jobs in the military.
"Duncan Hunter represents a Republican Party that's out of touch with the vast majority of the American people and seemingly disconnected from reality," said Democratic National Committee spokesman Luis Miranda. "We welcome Hunter's candidacy, which together with his fellow Republican presidential contenders, serves as a potent reminder of why the voters rejected the Republican Party's failed leadership in November, and why they’ll reject it again in 2008."
Hunter: Everything's Going Really, Really Well In Iraq. Hunter said, "In Iraq, we've stood up the government, we've done number one. We are standing up the military, and right now we've got 114 Iraqi battalions that are trained and equipped." Asked about the appearance that Baghdad appears to be getting worse, not better, Hunter said, "Baghdad is a big city. We've stood up 114 Iraqi battalions, and the way for us to leverage those Iraqi battalions is with the embedded American teams. Those are 10-man teams that know communications, know logistics, provide leadership. They embed with those battalions, and you've got a lot of areas of Iraq where there's no activity. So you take some of those folks that are in benign areas, and this--these combat operations are an opportunity for every Iraqi battalion to go in and to get combat experience." [CBS News Face the Nation, 10/29/06]
Hunter Unsuccessfully Tried to Prohibit Women From Serving In Forward Support Companies; Forced the Military to Get Congressional Approval Before Opening More Jobs to Women. In 2005, Hunter got the Armed Services subcommittee on military personnel to include a provision that would have banned women from being assigned to the Army's "forward support companies" in a defense appropriations bill. However, the full committee rejected it after the Army said it could bar women from 21,925 jobs. Instead, Hunter included a requirement that the Pentagon get congressional approval before opening additional jobs in combat zones to women. [AP, 5/25/05]
Hunter Voted Against Expanding Federal Stem Cell Research. Hunter voted against the final passage of a bill to loosen restrictions on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research, siding with social conservatives who call the research immoral over patients who have debilitating diseases. President Bush announced in August 2001 that he would allow the federal government to back the research, but only on stem cells that had already been created. Since Bush's announcement, many of the groups of stem cells that were thought to be available for research have turned out to be unusable, and others are now thought to be unsuitable for experiments involving transplantation into patients. Under the bill, the federal government could fund research involving embryonic stem cells no matter when they were created. The stem cells would still have to come from embryos donated by fertility clinic patients who no longer planned to use them to become pregnant. The bill would authorize research on embryos that would be discarded otherwise. The bill passed, 238-194. [Los Angeles Times, 5/25/05; Chicago Tribune, 5/25/05]
Hunter Supported Bush Administration's Fiscal Recklessness. Duncan Hunter voted for Bush's 2001 and 2003 tax breaks for the wealthy and voted against responsible "pay as you go" rules, which would require Congress to pay for any new spending, three times in 2004. In addition, Hunter has voted twice to raise the debt limit in the past four years, increasing the debt ceiling by at least $1.3 trillion.[HR 1836 , Vote #149, 5/26/2001; Vote #225, 5/23/2003; Vote #535, 11/18/2004; Vote #317, 6/25/2004; SCR 95, Vote #97, 3/30/2004; Vote #536, 11/19/06]
Hunter a Duke Cunningham "Ally". According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, "Hunter was an ally and friend of former Rep. Randy 'Duke' Cunningham, whom Hunter helped get elected in 1990.Cunningham is serving more than eight years in federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy and tax evasion and admitting to taking more than $2.4 million in bribes from defense contractors. Hunter has received more than $40,000 in campaign donations from two of the contractors in the Cunningham scandal, Brent Wilkes and Mitchell Wade, and their associates." [San Diego Union Tribune, 10/31/2006]
Hunter's Border Wall a PR Ploy, "Down Payment" Could Go to "Other Projects". Hunter announced he was running for President today "espousing hard-line views on immigration." [Spartanburg Herald-Journal, 1/25/07] What Hunter did not mention was that the border wall he sponsored along the U.S.-Mexico border in the last Congress was a public relations ploy for the Republican Congress' electoral campaign. The Washington Post reported that in the Congressional bill, funds "allocated for the fence" can be diverted "to other projects." [Washington Post, 10/12/06] Hunter also did not address that the Republican bill for the border wall provided only a "down payment on its construction" that Republicans would use to "campaign in the weeks before the midterm elections." [Washington Post, 10/6/06]
