Peace through strength is my belief and conviction“Peace Through Strength” are three words that, when uttered with conviction by a man of principle and great leadership, and backed up by decisive action, had the power to free hundreds of millions of people from the oppression of communism and saved this country from the specter of “mutually assured destruction.”
It was in a speech entitled, “A Time for Choosing”, that Ronald Reagan ignited the conservative movement in America and began the death knell of communism. “Peace Through Strength” became our charge. I firmly believe that it will take continued, unwavering dedication to that same calling to achieve victory against the evil terrorist threat we now confront.
I firmly believe that it will take continued, unwavering dedication to that same calling to achieve victory against the evil terrorist threat we now confront.
I was swept into office by that Reagan revolution, arriving in Congress the same year Reagan arrived in Washington. He ushered in a new era of peace and prosperity by cutting taxes, limiting government and wining the Cold War. It is a time for choosing again.
Do we as a people choose appeasement in the name of tolerance and political correctness?
If so, then we are saying to the world that what we are really willing to tolerate is evil in the World. Or, instead, do we stand firm in our resolve that this nation shall remain a beacon of freedom to people of goodwill everywhere?
Do we as a people choose dependence on a bigger, and ever-more-intrusive government?
Or do we choose self-reliance, recognizing that we know better than government how to spend our money, raise our children, provide for our families. I hope you agree with me that we Americans have the self-reliance and the character to remain free.
Join me in a new American sunrise of opportunity, faith and freedom for the citizens of our great nation.
Yours for America,
Duncan Hunter
Duncan Hunter
Announcement
Speech
January 25, 2007
Thank you ladies
and gentlemen.
The reception
you have given
me and Lynne
warms our
hearts.
The genius of
the founding
fathers is that
they put
together a
government that
can be run by
ordinary people.
I’m a very
ordinary guy,
but folks, I
have a very
extraordinary
family. I had a
very average
tour of duty in
the military and
didn’t do
anything
special, but my
son, Duncan,
quit his job and
joined the
Marines after
9-11 and served
two tours in
Iraq.
I was a less
than average
student, but my
brothers Bobby
and John are
world class
physicists and
Jim is a great
civil engineer.
My son Sam, just
graduated from
San Diego State
University a few
weeks ago.
I was a pretty
average lawyer
on the San Diego
waterfront, but
my sister Bonnie
is a superb
lawyer.
I was blessed in
having a Mom and
Dad who together
embodied
character and
love.
I will tell you
what I was great
in though, I was
great in
marrying over my
head to the most
wonderful girl
in the world,
Lynne. We’ve
been lucky to
have two sons in
whom we could
not be prouder.
They have added
to our family
two lovely
daughter-in-laws
Theresa and
Margaret and
four
grandchildren
whom we dearly
love, Duncan 3,
Sissy and Sarah,
Marin.
This morning at
7:22 A.M. the
first rays of
sunrise
illuminated the
Stars of David
and crosses on
the markers at
Arlington
Cemetery.
Within a few
minutes the East
Coast was
covered with the
morning light.
As dawn moved
across the
cities and towns
of the Eastern
U.S. it revealed
what we’ve
always called:
“the Arsenal of
Democracy.”
America’s
Arsenal of
Democracy is
reflected in the
thousands of
factories,
plants and
businesses that
make domestic
products in
peacetime, but
can be called on
to make military
equipment in a
time of war.
Three times in
the last century
we saved the
world for
freedom: WWI,
WWII and the
Cold War.
In World War II,
our
manufacturing
base made more
than: 100,000
tanks; 2.4
million
vehicles; 36
billion yards of
cloth; 3 million
rifles; 41
billion rounds
of ammunition;
and 41,000
artillery
pieces.
The Arsenal of
Democracy
carried
Eisenhower’s
forces to Berlin
and paved the
way for the
Marines in the
Pacific as they
pushed the
Japanese back to
their mainland.
This great
arsenal, our
industrial base,
was important to
collapsing the
Soviet Empire
and the Berlin
Wall because it
provided the
strength in
Ronald Reagan’s
stand against
the forces of
evil.
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. In
fact, 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.
Now, if you want
to find where
our Arsenal of
Democracy has
gone, you must
look in places
like Korea,
France and,
perhaps more
ominously,
China.
China is
cheating on
trade. They are
piling up over
200 billion U.S.
dollars each
year as a result
and they are
buying ships,
planes and
missiles with
American trade
dollars.
They have
purchased
Russian
Sovreignny Class
missile cruisers
designed to
destroy American
aircraft
carriers.
They have built
between 750 and
1,000 medium
range ballistic
missiles and
they have 17
submarines under
construction.
How are they
cheating? China
gives 17% tax
rebate to their
exporters and a
17% penalty to
our businesses
who export to
them. In
addition, they
maintain a 40%
currency
devaluation just
to make sure the
U.S. business
doesn’t win.
This is not free
trade. This is
not fair trade.
It’s cheating
and if we put up
with it, then we
are disserving
not only
business and
workers, but
also our
security.
If this was a
football game,
it means China
has put 74
points on the
score board
before the
opening
kick-off.
Our own head of
the Federal
Reserve Board,
Mr. Bernanke,
went to China a
few weeks ago
and wrote a
speech
describing
China’s currency
manipulation as
a “subsidy.”
Then he pulled
those words out
so as not to
anger his
Communist hosts.
I thought
Republicans
didn’t believe
in appeasing
Communists.
This isn’t a
game. It is
pulling apart
American’s
Arsenal of
Democracy which
has saved the
world three
times in the
last century and
will be called
on to do so
again.
As President, I
will make sure
that our
businesses and
workers get a
level playing
field. I will do
this because our
security is at
stake.
We will be able
to do this
because we still
have the most
important thing
in a trade deal:
we have the
market, and to
reach our market
other nations
will have to
make a deal that
gives our
citizens a
chance to win.
Today starts a
time for
choosing for
every American
manufacturer and
worker. Choose
to give in to
China’s
cheating, to the
one-way street
that takes good
profits,
businesses and
jobs and makes
us a debtor
nation to a
country which
has never shown
mercy.
Or, choose to
join me to
enforce fair
trade with a
two-way street
that gives every
business and
worker the
chance to
succeed.
Will you join
me?
Now our
businesses and
workers need
more than fair
trade to
prosper. They
also need
freedom. When
government
leaves a few
dollars in the
pocket of a
businessman and
he’s able to
expand his
business, buy
new machinery
and hire new
workers:
everyone wins.
The new workers
pay taxes and
revenues
increase.
Workers and
businesses need
something else,
they need
government to
cut the massive
regulation that
keeps businesses
from opening and
workers from
jobs.
In lots of
places it takes
longer than it
took to win WWII
to subdivide 10
acres of land
for businesses
or homes.
Throughout
America good
creative people
are waiting for
months and years
for bureaucracy
to move.
I’ll have a new
motto to move
the federal
bureaucracy out
of the way. Our
motto will be:
“Get them their
permits while
they are still
young.”
This morning, an
hour after the
American sunrise
first appeared
at Arlington
Cemetery, it
began
illuminating a
little town in
Texas called
Kingston.
Kingston is the
birthplace of
Audie Murphy,
our most
decorated
soldier in WWII.
349 miles away
that same
sunrise shines
on Cuero, Texas,
the home of Sgt.
Roy Benavidez,
the Special
Forces Sgt who,
during the
Vietnam War,
went on a rescue
mission of his
comrades armed
only with a
bowie knife. And
1,697 miles from
Benavides’s town
is Scio, New
York, the home
of Marine
Corporal Jason
Dunham who gave
his life to save
his buddies in
Iraq.
These three men
are all tightly
bound to each
other and us by
this: they all
won the Medal of
Honor for
Heroism and they
all fought for
the American
interest of
expanding
freedom.
In WWII, we
prevailed and
brought freedom
to millions of
people in dozens
of countries. In
Vietnam, we
failed to expand
freedom. In
Iraq, our
success hangs in
the balance, but
the proposition
that expanding
freedom is an
American
interest cannot
be questioned.
Who can argue
that it is not
in our interest
to have a free
and democratic
Japan on the
other side of
the Pacific?
That it is not
in our interest
to have nations
like Poland as
U.S. allies
today.
When Ronald
Reagan brought
down the Berlin
Wall, we freed
hundreds of
millions of
people from
behind the Iron
Curtain. That
was in our
interest.
Now, it is in
our interest to
expand freedom
in a difficult
and dangerous
places called
Iraq and
Afghanistan. In
each nation we
are following
the basic
pattern we’ve
used for many
years: 1. We
stand up a free
government; 2.
We stand up a
military capable
of protecting
that free
government; and
3. The Americans
leave.
In both nations
we are in the
second,
difficult phase
of standing up a
security
apparatus. The
toughest
challenge is in
Iraq. The
President with
his military
advisors has put
together a plan
for Operation
Baghdad, which
is being
executed by
moving 21,500
reinforcements
to the theater.
I’ve seen the
plan. It has a
good chance to
work. It joins
two to three
Iraqi battalions
with one
American
battalion in a
back-up and
mentoring role.
I support the
plan. When we
are in a
shooting war and
reinforcements
are being called
up by the
Commander in
Chief and the
commanders on
the ground, no
political party
should ever
stand in their
way. If
Democrats move
to cut off
supplies, our
troops and our
people should
never forgive
them.
We have a debt
to Audie Murphy,
Sgt. Roy
Benavidez,
Corporal Jason
Dunham and the
more than
600,000
Americans who
gave their lives
in the last
century for us.
Our obligation
is to stay
strong and
remember George
Washington’s
warning: “The
best way to
prevent war is
to prepare for
it.” And Ronald
Reagan’s policy
of achieving
peace through
strength.
For the past 26
years on the
House Armed
Services
Committee, the
last four as its
Chairman, I have
endeavored to
make us strong.
Over the last
eight years
we’ve increased
pay of our
uniformed
personnel by
40%; we’ve
enlarged the
Army by 30,000
and the Marines
by 5,000; we’ve
brought medical
coverage to the
National Guard
and their
families and
we’ve modernized
our forces.
Since the
Clinton
Administration
stepped out of
the White House,
I have worked
with the current
administration
to more than
double the
precision
firepower of the
U.S. military.
Let any
would-be-terrorist
or wrong
thinking nation
know: if you
believe media
reports that the
U.S. military is
unable to handle
another threat
along with Iraq
and Afghanistan,
don’t bet your
life on it,
because you’ll
lose.
Lots of security
challenges
remain for our
nation. Iran
appears
committed to the
development of a
nuclear weapon
and North Korea
already has some
and is racing to
build missile
delivery
systems. China
is emerging as a
military
super-power,
stepping into
the shoes of the
former Soviet
Union.
We must continue
to develop broad
military
capability for
the U.S.
We must be able
to fight
conventionally
as well as
prosecuting the
war against
terror with an
emphasis on
intelligence and
special
operations.
We must remain
strong and build
new strengths in
space and
cyber-space.
Today we have
the first
missile defense
in our history.
It’s a limited
capability. As
President I will
build on it, so
that if one day
missiles are
fired at our
cities we can
stop them.
Two and a half
hours after the
sunrise first
touched
Arlington
Cemetery, the
first rays
reveal the
Southwest
border. There a
thin green line
of U.S. Border
Patrolmen guard
a vast 2,000
mile border.
They need
reinforcements
and they need a
border fence.
In San Diego, we
built the double
fence that
reduced the
smuggling of
hundreds of
thousands of
people and tons
of drugs by more
than 90%. The
fence works and
the new fence
law that I wrote
extends the San
Diego fence more
than 700 miles
across the
Arizona, New
Mexico and Texas
borders.
As President, I
will complete
the border fence
from start to
finish in six
months. The
“mission
impossible”
crowd who runs
Washington, DC
is trying to
stop it, but we
will overcome
them.
We need more
agents, we need
the fence. I’ll
tell you why.
Since 9-11,
border security
has become
national
security. In
2005, we stopped
155,000 people
coming across
from Mexico who
weren’t citizens
of Mexico. They
came from nearly
every country in
the world,
including from
Communist China
and Iran.
You know, for
all the critics,
America has the
most generous
legal
immigration
system in the
world. I call
that the front
door. And as
President, I
will have a
message for
folks who want
to come to our
wonderful
country: “Knock
on the front
door because the
fence will be up
and the back
door will be
closed.”
There is another
message here: it
takes more than
walking across a
border to be an
American. It
takes the
willingness to
serve your
country when
called. It takes
the commitment
to be honest in
your work and
the heart to
help your
neighbor. To be
a person like
Wendell Cutting,
who in January
2005 was
discovered to be
missing from his
sick-bed where
he lay with
terminal cancer.
“Where is
Wendell?” we
asked. Then we
got our answer,
he was on a
plane to the
center of the
tsunami disaster
scene. There,
sick with chemo-therepy,
he aided the
victims with his
beloved Rescue
Task Force. “God
re-energized
me,” he told me
later.
What’s most
special about
Wendell was he
was not alone.
Millions of
Americans help
across our
nation and
across our
globe. To our
international
critics I say:
When you had
floods the
Americans were
there. Asking
for nothing,
taking nothing,
only helping.
When you had
fires and
earthquakes and
tsunamis, the
Americans were
there. When you
had disease
Americans
brought
medicine, when
you were hungry,
the Americans
brought food.
When you were
attacked,
Americans left
the safety of
their homes to
defend you.
Sometimes the
Americans came
under their
government, but
many times they
just came
because of the
goodness of
their hearts.
America is great
because America
is good.
The reason our
citizens are
good is because
of our faith and
because we
believe that all
mankind is
endowed by our
creator with
inalienable
rights. We
believe in the
value of the
human soul. When
we appoint
judges, we are
handing great
power, the power
of life and
death, to
individual
people. As
President, I
want judges with
discernment. If
a judicial
candidate can
look at a
sonagram picture
of an unborn
child and not
see a human
being worthy of
protection, I
will not give
him an
appointment to
the court. I
will, however,
get him an
appointment with
an optometrist
for a set of eye
glasses.
This country
spends millions
of dollars a
year searching
for life on
distant planets.
We should be
able to see it
easily in the
beating heart of
an unborn child.
I said at the
start of this
speech that the
first rays of
sunlight lit up
Arlington
Cemetery at 7:22
this morning. In
2 and a half
hours from then
the sunrise will
spread across
America and
reaches another
national
cemetery 3,000
miles from here
on the Pacific
Ocean. That
cemetery,
Rosecrans
National
Cemetery, stands
guard over the
entrance to San
Diego Bay.
In 1945, a young
Marine returning
home from the
South Pacific to
San Diego wrote
these words:
“I think that
just to be able
to live with
your wife and
family...to be
able to take
care of them
every day is the
greatest
privilege a
person can
enjoy.” 61 years
later another
Marine returned
to San Diego
from a place
called Fallujah
and wrote: “At
some point in a
dangerous
environment you
forget about
your own safety
and you try to
keep your men
safe and place
your own life in
the hands of
God, but your
family, your
wife and kids
never leave your
mind. Families
lift our country
up. They support
us with
fidelity,
morality, faith
in God, and
raising the next
generation of
Americans.”
The first Marine
was my dad, R.O.
Hunter, to whom
I owe all that I
am or ever will
be. The second
was my son
Duncan, here
today. These
letters over 60
years apart
reflect the
truth of
America: God
still loves this
nation. We are
still a people
of character and
strength and
kindness.
My fellow
Americans, with
the support of
our families,
with faith in
God and with
confidence in
the goodness of
the American
people, let’s
begin this race
for the
Presidency.
Let’s win.
Source: Hunter
For President |