Legislation to overhaul the immigration bill is not dead yet, Rep. Duncan Hunter, a foe of the proposal, warned last night in an interview on Pundit Review Radio.
Hunter, an underdog Republican presidential candidate, also discussed the war in Iraq, diplomacy in the Middle East and the challenge of competing in a 10-man primary field, among other things.
Winning the support of conservative bloggers is a necessity for Rep. Duncan Hunter to claim the Republican presidential nomination in 2008 — or so says the candidate in a video appeal to those bloggers.
The Californian made a specific appeal to Free Republic, Human Events Online, Michelle Malkin, Newsmax, Townhall.com and WorldNetDaily.
“I’ll build the border fence in six months — that’s all 854 miles,” Hunter said. “I’ll continue the fight against global terror. I’ll rebuild national defense. I’ll protect the Second Amemdment. I’ll appoint originalist judges and give you the kind of conservative leadership that you expect in the White House.”
Rep. Duncan Hunter of California is an underdog in the bid to win the Republican presidential nomination for 2008, but his support for a crackdown on illegal immigration resonates with some conservatives.
Bryan Preston of HotAir interviewed Hunter about that and other issues earlier this month at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference. “I think this message of strong national defense, of controlled border … and finally bringing back high-paying manufacturing jobs to this country that are going to communist China right now, those three issues are resonating with the American people,” Hunter said.
He also dismissed criticisms of the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for terrorist suspects, noting for starters how well the prisoners eat.
“The Guantanamo menu for their inmates is better than most American families have on a daily basis,” Hunter said. “… [T]hey had honey-glazed chicken for these guys who have murdered and pillaged and done terrible things to people. … They have better medical care than most HMOs provide.”
Not long before the Nov. 7 election that toppled Republicans from control of Congress, lawmakers voted to authorize a fence along the southern U.S. border to fight illegal immigration.
Now that Democrats are in control of both the House and Senate they aren’t too keen on providing the money necessary to build the fence. The Homeland Security Department also has voiced some reluctance about following through with the fence plan.
But Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., is dedicated to the cause — in part because he said a similar stretch of fence along the California-Mexico border at San Diego helped reduce the smuggling of humans and drugs by 90 percent.
“The fence works,” Hunter, who on Jan. 25 is expected to announce a run for the presidency, said in a promotion for the Web site www.peacethroughstrength.com. “And the new law provides for it to be built 700 miles across Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. … Let’s make sure Homeland Security builds the border fence. It works — and it’s the law.”
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