Republicans Bullish on Free Trade
In the Republican candidates’ last debate before Iowa’s January 3 caucuses, immigration played almost no role and Iran and Iraq also received little mention. Instead, much of the Des Moines Register-hosted debate centered on questions of economics and trade.
Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX), questioned first, said national debt is “absolutely” a threat to national security. “When a country spends way beyond its means, eventually it will destroy its currency,” he cautioned. Paul also stressed the importance of uninhibited free trade, even with Cuba. “Its time we changed our attitude about Cuba,” he said. “We should be looking to open these markets.”
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) called himself “the biggest free marketer and free trader that you will ever see,” and pledged to “open every market in the world to Iowa’s agricultural products.” Unlike Paul, he did not indicate whether he would include Cuba in those markets. He also pledged to achieve energy independence within five years through a “Manhattan Project.”
Fred Thompson called free and fair trade “the backbone of our economy,” and said NAFTA has been a “good thing” for both the Untied States and Mexico.
Mike Huckabee, who recently surged to the lead in Iowa’s polls, said national debt is “most certainly” a national security threat. He blamed outsourcing of U.S. jobs on “excessive taxation that penalizes the productivity of a company,” excessive litigation, and red tape.
Rudy Giuliani praised NAFTA as “a good thing” that “should be enforced.” NAFTA has “actually helped us,” he said, “It’s brought more jobs to America.” He also said the United States should think about “how much can we sell to these people who are coming out of poverty” as a result of globalization in countries like China and India.
Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-CO) took a different view from most of his Republican opponents, calling NAFTA “a disaster for a lot of places, and especially Mexico.” Tancredo blamed NAFTA for undermining U.S. sovereignty. “Our borders are now meaningless,” he said.
Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA) said he considers billions in U.S. trade loss to China a threat to national security. He also said NAFTA is to blame for a “massive trade loss” with Mexico.
Climate change: In a show of defiance against the host, the candidates refused to give a show of hands signaling which one believes global climate change is “a serious threat and caused by human activity.” Thompson refused to answer the question. Giuliani said climate change “is real.” Mitt Romney said climate change is “absolutely” an “issue for the world,” but emphasized the need for an international effort to combat its environmental effects. Huckabee warned: “We don’t own this earth. We are simply stewards of it.”
