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Duncan Hunter Chooses South Carolina to Announce Candidacy

-- John -- 01/28/2007

On Thursday, January 25, Congressman Duncan Hunter (R-CA) officially announced his candidacy for President in Spartanburg, SC.  He did not field questions from the press or attendees, and spoke almost exclusively on the core principles of his campaign:  "Border Enforcement"; "The War on Terror"; and "Fair and Equitable Trade."  The next day during a campaign speech at the Charleston School of Law, Hunter made it a point to answer as many questions as possible. He fielded two questions on climate change.
    One audience member asked, "What are you, as President, going to do about global warming?"  Hunter responded that global warming is a problem and that we need to limit our carbon output, and then offered that he differs from other Republican candidates in that he believes we need to convert completely to ethanol fuel and that the catalyst for converting to ethanol should come from the military and the Department of Defense.
    The second question came from Coastal Conservation League Program Director Megan Desrosiers, who addressed coastal South Carolina's vulnerability to rising sea levels and also the efforts of Governors Mark Sanford of South Carolina and Arnold Schwarzenegger of California to develop energy policies to combat climate change.  Hunter aimed for laughs by pointing out that Schwarzenegger owns beach front property, but then added, "I think California's climate change plan is great and I'm glad your governor is paying attention to the issue."  He then chose not to address any specifics in the state plans or elaborate further on his plan to address climate change.