Duncan Hunter
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Duncan Hunter | |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 3, 1981 |
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| Preceded by | Lionel Van Deerlin |
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| Succeeded by | Incumbent (2009) |
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| Born | May 31, 1948 Riverside, California |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Lynne Hunter |
| Residence | Alpine, California |
| Alma mater | Western State University College of Law San Diego |
| Religion | Baptist |
| Signature |  |
| Website | Congressman Duncan Hunter |
Duncan Lee Hunter (born May 31, 1948) is an American politician. He has been a Republican member of the House of Representatives from California's 52nd congressional district in northern and eastern San Diego since 1981. The district was previously named the 42nd District from 1981 to 1983 and the 45th from 1983 to 1993. Hunter was the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee during the 109th Congress. Hunter sought the Republican Party nomination for President of the United States for 2008,[1] but his campaign failed to attract significant voters or delegates in early primary and caucus states,[2] and he dropped out after unpromising results in the Nevada Republican caucuses.[3]
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[edit] Early life, education, military service, and family
Hunter was born in Riverside, California to Lola L. Young and Robert Olin Hunter.[4] He graduated from Rubidoux High School in Riverside in 1966.[5] He attended the University of Montana from 1966 to 1967,[6] and then briefly the University of California, Santa Barbara,[6] before enlisting in the United States Army in 1969.[7]
He served in South Vietnam from 1970 to 1971 during the Vietnam War[8] in the Army Rangers' 75th Ranger Regiment, attached to the 173rd Airborne Brigade.[9] He participated in 24 helicopter assaults[7] as well as in small-number, night-time reconnaissance patrols.[10] He held the rank of First Lieutenant,[8] and was awarded the Bronze Star ,[7] Air Medal,[8] and service ribbons such as the Vietnam Service Medal.[8] He has said, "I didn't do anything special in the U.S. Army, but I served with very special soldiers I will never forget."[8]
Making use of the G.I. Bill in 1973, he enrolled at Thomas Jefferson School of Law (at the time known as the San Diego campus of the Western State University College of Law) and earned a Bachelor of Science in Law and Juris Doctor in 1976. Hunter worked farming and construction jobs to supplement his income while finishing his degree. After graduation, he opened a storefront legal office where he often provided free legal assistance to the area's Hispanic community. He was admitted to the State Bar of California on December 22, 1976,[11] but has held inactive status since January 1, 1983.[11][12]
Hunter married the former Lynne Layh in 1973. Hunter's son, Duncan Duane Hunter (born 1977), a Captain in the United States Marine Corps Reserve, was deployed to Iraq in 2003 and 2004 and Afghanistan in 2007. Duncan D. Hunter is currently the Republican nominee for the congressional seat his father has held. Hunter has another son, Samuel.
Hunter's family attends First Baptist Church of Alpine, which is affiliated with the San Diego Southern Baptist Association. Hunter's Alpine, California home burned down during the October 2003 Cedar Fire. The loss topped $500,000, but insurance covered most of it.[13] Hunter was critical of then-Governor Gray Davis's response to the fire.[14]
[edit] U.S. House of Representatives
[edit] Initial election and re-elections
In 1980, Hunter was recruited to run for Congress in what was then the 42nd District against 18-year incumbent Democrat Lionel Van Deerlin. Hunter was initially an underdog, but his attacks on Van Deerlin's record on national defense gained traction in a district dominated by military bases and personnel. Van Deerlin did not respond quickly enough, and Hunter narrowly defeated him. He was one of many Republicans swept into office from historically Democratic districts as a result of the "Reagan revolution"; Van Deerlin had been the district's only congressman since its creation in 1963.
After the 1980 census, many of the more Democratic areas were cut out of Hunter's district, and he hasn't faced serious opposition since. In his district, he consistently gets over 60% of the Hispanic vote and nearly 70% of the Democratic vote.[citation needed]
In the 2006 general election, he defeated Navy veteran/minister John Rinaldi, a Democrat, and Michael Benoit,[15] a Libertarian. Hunter was re-elected with 65 percent of the vote, a 33-point margin over Rinaldi. During the last month of the campaign, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported that Hunter's Alpine home was listed on tax rolls as a considerably smaller house and property than it actually was. The discrepancy resulted in Hunter paying less in taxes than others in similar-sized properties. "All I know is what the county gives me," Hunter said. "They sent a person on the premises when I bought it. He said, 'This is what you owe.' We simply paid it. We've paid it ever since."[16] Hunter's main reaction to The Union-Tribune article was in the form of a full-page ad in the same paper, including pictures of the "estate" on a dirt road showing the property was in less than optimum condition. The house in question was burned to the ground in the wildfires of October 2003. As of December 2006, the house had been almost rebuilt, and Hunter was still contesting the assessment of back taxes, which had been significantly reduced.[17]
On March 20, 2007, Hunter announced that, as part of his presidential bid, he would not seek re-election to the House of Representatives in 2008.[18] His son, running under the name Duncan D. Hunter, announced his candidacy for that seat, even though he was serving in the United States Marine Corps in Operation Enduring Freedom — Afghanistan at the time.[19][18]
As of July 4, 2007, Hunter had missed 190 votes (31.4% percent) during the 110th Congress;[20]
[edit] House Armed Services Committee
Hunter became chairman of the House Armed Services Committee in 2002. As such, he has sponsored legislation authorizing defense department fiscal year activities from FY2004 to FY2007. During consideration of the FY2006 Defense Authorization Act, Hunter offered an amendment to the bill clarifying enacted policy restricting women from direct combat units. According to The New York Times, Hunter's efforts would have "barred women from nearly 22,000 jobs".[21] Hunter's amendment codified existing Army policy enacted in 1994 under former Defense Secretary Les Aspin that prohibited women from submitting or migrating into combat units or operations. The amendment was subsequently withdrawn in order for a study to be conducted on the rationale and future implementation of the policy.[22]
In November 2004, Hunter and Wisconsin Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner withheld their support for a bill creating a National Intelligence Director (DNI) until specific conditions were met. Hunter argued that the military is the biggest consumer of intelligence and any reforms enacted, including the creation of a DNI, must not endanger the lives of troops on the battlefield. The Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act, which created the DNI position, was passed by Congress and signed by President George W. Bush later that year.
In a House Armed Services Committee hearing on November 9, 2005, Hunter strongly criticized a Defense Logistics Agency "prime vendor" buying program that led to the purchase of $20 ice cube trays and a tiny refrigerator for $22,797 (initially exposed by The State). Hunter stated that he wanted explanations from the companies in question and the government purchasing agents who had approved the purchases, accusing the latter of "absolute incompetence." He further stated that the purchases are "a real slap in the face to the guy making $13,000 a year who is engaged in a firefight in Ramadi," and claimed that "A fairly large amount of incompetence is embedded into the system."[23][24]
On November 18, 2005, in response to Pennsylvania Congressman John Murtha's resolution to terminate the deployment of United States forces in Iraq, to redeploy the forces already involved in Iraq, and to "pursue security and stability in Iraq through diplomacy",[25] Hunter and other Republicans drafted a two-sentence counter-resolution that read:
- Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the deployment of United States forces in Iraq be terminated immediately.
- Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that the deployment of United States forces in Iraq be terminated immediately.
Democrats condemned the bill as a political stunt; they made much of the fact that Hunter himself didn't support his own resolution. The bill was defeated, 3-403, in the House of Representatives.
Hunter became ranking member of the committee when Democrats took control of the House in 2007.
On January 31, 2007, Hunter held a press conference on the 2007 Chinese anti-satellite missile test, stating that it "represents the commencement of a new era of military competition in space." He contended that the United States' ability to engage in warfare depends heavily on its space assets, and opined that the country must take steps to "ensure our forces cannot be targeted through an adversarial space strike."[26]
On April 25, 2007, after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid declared "the war is lost", Hunter wrote "my highest obligation is, like yours, owed to our forces in uniform, especially during this time of war...Given your position of leadership within the United States Government, I find your pronouncement of failure irresponsible and disserving to America's armed forces. In light of the fact that this statement has both been used by our adversaries and has exhibited a marked lack of leadership to U.S. troops, I call on you to resign your leadership position".[27] Hunter further wrote that Reid's declaration "can have no effect but to demoralize the brave men and women, who are honorably fulfilling their mission in Iraq, and to encourage our adversaries...Even if you sincerely believe it to be true, your pronouncement of failure will undoubtedly be used by terrorist leaders to rally their followers — inevitably leading to increased attacks on U.S. and coalition forces".
According to the July 2007 edition of Pacific Flyer, Hunter and Cunningham had pressured the Department of Defense to "...advise DARPA to put an immediate halt to bureaucratic delays and get on with the DuPont Aerospace DP-2 testing." The DP-2 is a Vertical Take-Off and Landing, or VTOL, aircraft designed by DuPont Aerospace to transport special operations forces, but has been repeatedly rejected by the Navy, Army, Air Force, NASA, and DARPA. The design, of which all four constructed models have crashed, has had $63 million appropriated to it since 1991, not including a suggested $6 million for fiscal year 2008. Despite the rejections and reports by multiple military and civilian experts that the aircraft will not fly or hover and will incinerate Special Operations forces rapelling out of the aircraft, Hunter has allegedly repeatedly added funding for the DP-2 in "earmarks" and defended the aircraft in recent testimony to the Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight of the Committee on Science and Technology. Hunter has received $36,000 in donations from DuPont Aerospace.[28] According to his testimony before Congress [2], Hunter compares the lack of success of the DP-2 to the trials of perfecting the V-22 Osprey. He alleges that such long-term testing is necessary to keep American forces equipped with the best technology.
[edit] Other legislative actions
On Dec. 8, 2006, Hunter introduced H.R. 6375, which would have required the defense department to post the purpose of all congressional earmarks in annual defense bills, along with the location and a grade according to the utility of the earmark.
Hunter introduced H.R. 552, The Right to Life Act, on February 2, 2005. The purpose of the bill is to "implement equal protection ... for the right to life of each born and preborn human person." In the 109th Congress, the legislation collected 101 cosponsors.[29] Hunter states that The Right to Life Act "would legally define “personhood” as the moment of conception and, therefore, guarantee all constitutional rights and protections, including life, to the unborn without utilizing a constitutional amendment."[30] Hearings for H.R. 552 were scheduled for December 12, 2006, but were cancelled right before the House adjourned.[31]
On April 28, 2004, Hunter introduced legislation that he said could "turn parents into prosecuting attorneys fighting a wave of obscenity."[32] HR 6390 IH, also called the "Parents Empowerment Act",[33] would allow the parent or guardian of a minor to sue in federal court anyone who knowingly disseminates material "that is harmful to minors", or specifically, "any pornographic communication, picture, image, graphic image file, article, recording, writing, or other pornographic matter of any kind",[34] if it is distributed in a way that "a reasonable person can expect a substantial number of minors to be exposed to the material and the minor, as a result to exposure to the material, is likely to suffer personal or emotional injury or injury to mental or moral welfare."[35]
In 1994, Hunter legislatively mandated the construction of 14 miles (23 km) of security fencing on the international land border separating San Diego County and Tijuana, Mexico. In 2005, Hunter introduced legislation calling for the construction of a reinforced fence along the entire U.S.-Mexico border, citing crime statistics as measures of San Diego-Tijuana fence's success.[36] After successfully adding an amendment to a House-passed[37] bill that ultimately stalled in House-Senate negotiations, Hunter's amendment was later incorporated into H.R. 6061, the Secure Fence Act, introduced by New York Congressman Peter King.[38][39] He has said that if he becomes President, the 754-mile (1,213 km) double layer border fence will be built in less than 12 months.
Hunter has repeatedly voted against international trade agreements such as NAFTA, CAFTA and the WTO.[40]
[edit] Cunningham/Wilkes
Hunter has not been implicated in the Duke Cunningham/Brent Wilkes congressional bribery scandal. Although Hunter and Cunningham both served in Vietnam and as San Diego Congressmen, Hunter has never excused or condoned the actions of his friend. “Congressman Hunter does not condone Mr. Cunningham’s actions, nor has he tried to defend them…Congressman Hunter is a close friend of Mr. Cunningham’s, and friends don’t abandon each other during times of difficulty,” said Hunter spokesman Joe Kasper.[41]
It has been suggested that Hunter had ties to ADCS and Wilkes (who was indicted and charged with bribery of a public official in February 2007), but although Hunter and Cunningham were both advocates of the type of automated document conversion technology supplied by ADCS (which customized a German system), Hunter remained an advocate of the American-made product of Tom Casey's Audre. Hunter asked the Pentagon’s chief purchasing officer to "whenever possible, use [document conversion] products that are made in the United States by American taxpayers."[42]
- In 1992, Wilkes was a political consultant for Audre Inc, a firm based in Rancho Bernardo and headed by Tom Casey, which specialized in automated document conversion systems. At that time, Hunter called Wilkes and Casey two “aggressive and enthusiastic promoters of a breakthrough technology.” Congress created a program for the new technology, and Audre won $12.5 million of the $190 million that was allocated for contracts between 1993 and 2001.
- In 1994, Wilkes quit Audre and launched ADCS Inc., which customized a German document conversion system, to compete against Audre and two dozen other software firms for government contracts. Hunter continued to back Audre’s American-made product. Wilkes and ADCS started donating money to Cunningham.
- Between 1995 and 2005, Wilkes and his associates gave $71,500 to Cunningham's campaign and political action committee. ADCS, in turn, received upwards of $95 million in government contracts.[43]
- In November, 2005, Cunningham pleaded guilty to conspiracy, tax evasion, and receiving more than $2.4 million in bribes.
- In February 2007, Wilkes was indicted and charged with bribery of a public official.
In December 2005, Hunter directed that the contributions his campaign received from Wilkes and Wade be given to the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund.[44] "We had options," said Bruce Young, treasurer for Hunter's re-election campaign. "We could keep the money, send it back, send it to the government or send it to a charity. We just felt that because of the situation, we would rather not have the money."[45]More than 100 members of the House and Senate — Republicans and Democrats — accepted money from Wilkes, former MZM Inc. president Mitchell Wade, their relatives, employees or political action committees, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a campaign watchdog group.
[edit] Political positions
Duncan Hunter is a self-described "true conservative". Hunter voted with a majority of the Republicans 88.7 percent of the time.[46]
[edit] 2008 Presidential campaign
On October 30, 2006, Hunter announced his intention to consider running for the Republican nomination for President in 2008. Throughout 2006, his Peace Through Strength PAC raised funds and ran advertising expressing his issues of border security and fair trade. Hunter formally announced his presidential candidacy in Spartanburg, South Carolina, on January 25, 2007.[47]
During 2007, Hunter did well in some county- and state-level straw polls, including a victory at the first GOP Texas Straw Poll on September 1[48] but those results did not transfer to regular polls at national or state levels. Some major polls did not even list Hunter as an option along with Romney, McCain, Huckabee, Paul, Thompson, or Giuliani.[49] When national polls did list Hunter, he consistently got 3% or less support among Republicans.
Conservative commentator Ann Coulter and aviation legend Chuck Yeager both endorsed Hunter as their choice for President, but Hunter received little support from the Republican establishment. Governor Mike Huckabee of Arkansas, who was also seeking the Republican nomination for President, stated that Hunter might play a role in a potential Huckabee administration, noting that he is "extraordinarily well qualified to be Secretary of Defense."[50]
As the caucus and primary season got underway, Hunter began being excluded from Republican debate forums. On January 7, 2008, he held a press conference where reporters thought he would announce his withdrawal. Instead, he surprised pundits by first lambasting ABC News and Fox News not allowing him to participate in previous days' televised debates and then declaring that he would not withdraw from the presidential race: "I am not going to let some arrogant knucklehead executive in a glass office 10 stories above a mall in New York City decide the outcome of this election."[51][52]
In the Iowa caucuses Hunter finished in seventh place with 524 votes or one percent of the total. In the New Hampshire primary he finished in seventh and last place again with 1,220 votes, or less than one percent of the total votes cast. In the Wyoming caucuses he had his best showing, coming in third and scoring 1 delegate to the Republican National Convention. However, in the Michigan primary, Hunter once again placed last, coming in eighth behind "Uncommited" (which received 15,000 more votes than Hunter). On the last day of his campaign, Hunter won just two percent of the vote in the Nevada caucuses, and in the South Carolina primary he received just 0.2 percent of the vote, putting him in last place in both states. He withdrew from the race that night, on January 19, 2008. Hunter subsequently endorsed Huckabee for the Republican nomination.[53]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "GOP chairman takes first steps toward '08 bid", AP, October 31, 2006.
- ^ "Rep. Hunter drops out of GOP presidential race", Associated Press for USA Today, 2008-01-20. Retrieved on 2008-01-20.
- ^ CNN Political Ticker
- ^ Ancestry of Duncan Hunter
- ^ Duncan Hunter: Member, United States House of Representatives. California State Government Guide to Government. Retrieved on 2007-11-09.
- ^ a b Representative Duncan L. Hunter (CA). Project Vote Smart. Retrieved on 2007-11-09.
- ^ a b c Jill Konieczko. "10 Things You Didn't Know About Duncan Hunter", U.S. News & World Report, 2007-01-29. Retrieved on 2007-11-09.
- ^ a b c d e Once a Solider... Always a Soldier: Soldiers in the 109th Congress. Association of the United States Army. Retrieved on 2007-11-09., p. 100.
- ^ Biography. U.S. Representative Duncan Hunter. U.S. House of Representatives. Retrieved on 2007-11-09.
- ^ From the desk of Gen. Chuck Yeager: Congressman Duncan Hunter. Chuck Yeager. Retrieved on 2007-11-09.
- ^ a b Duncan Lee Hunter - #71300. Attorney Search. State Bar of California. Retrieved on 2007-11-09.
- ^ Inactive members of the California bar may not currently practice law in California. They have chosen this status voluntarily and may transfer to active at any time upon request. See Member Status Definitions. State Bar of California. Retrieved on 2007-11-09.
- ^ Josephine Hearn, "A Hill of credit-card debt", The Hill, March 10, 2005.
- ^ Jeff McDonald and Brian Hazle, "In the line of duty: Novato firefighter killed, 3 injured as flames overrun crew", San Diego Union-Tribune, October 30, 2003.
- ^ Benoit, Michael (10/25/2006). Mike Benoit - Libertarian for Congress, California's 52nd District. Michael Benoit for U.S. Congress. Retrieved on 2007-09-02.
- ^ Jeff MacDonald, "Hunter got break on taxes for home", The San Diego Union-Tribune, October 8, 2006.
- ^ Jeff McDonald and Philip J. LaVelle, "Rep. Hunter still disputing $667 property tax bill", The San Diego Union-Tribune, December 1, 2006
- ^ a b ASSOCIATED PRESS. "Duncan Hunter's son looking to replace him in House", San Diego Union-Tribune, March 21, 2007.
- ^ Duncan D. Hunter Congressional Campaign Leads Race for Funds. hunterin08.com (2007-10-16). Retrieved on 2007-11-09.
- ^ Members of Congress / Duncan Hunter / Missed Votes. The Washington Post. Retrieved on 2007-07-04.
- ^ "Then and Now, Female Soldiers Just Do Their Jobs", accessed November 11, 2006
- ^ "National Defense Authorization Act for FY2006", House Armed Services Committee
- ^ Lawmakers condemn buying program, accessed January 17, 2007
- ^ Zimmerman, Sacha. "Insane Government Spending: Hot Plate Special", Reader's Digest, 2007-02. Retrieved on 2007-01-17.
- ^ "The Library of Congress","Thomas", November 17, 2005
- ^ "Hunter to Discuss New Era of Military Competition", KFMB-TV, 2007-01-31 accessdate=2007-02-01.
- ^ Rep. Hunter Calls on Harry Reid to Step Down as Senate Majority LeaderFox News, April 26,2007
- ^ Dunlap, W: "Shameful Waste", "Pacific Flyer", 28(7): 4–11.
- ^ Right to Life Act 2005 list of cosponsors and text of bill, accessed October 30, 2006
- ^ The Official Site of Duncan Hunter for US President in 2008 | Core Principles
- ^ U. S. House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary Hearing Information, accessed February 1, 2007
- ^ http://www.family.org/cforum/fnif/news/a0031904.cfm bad link
- ^ http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c108:H.R.4239: bad link
- ^ "H.R.4239: Parents Empowerment Act","108th US Congress"
- ^ "New Censorship Bill Turns Parents into Prosecutors", Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, May 18, 2004
- ^ Hunter's Proposal for Strategic Border Fencing Passes the House. Decline about the same nationally during the same period: US Violent Crime, Dept. of Justice.
- ^ http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?c109:3:./temp/~c109CsEfyh:: illegal immigration reform bill
- ^ Chet Barfield,"Border fence will be built", San Diego Union Tribune, October 7, 2006.
- ^ "Rep. Duncan Hunter Praises Crackdowns on Illegals", Associated Press, 2007-01-29. Retrieved on 2007-02-01.
- ^ VOTE DATABASE: 2005 House Key Votes for California, Freedomworks.org, accessed October 30, 2006
- ^ “Hunter is ‘Duke’s’ friend ’til the end”, The Hill, The Newspaper for and about the U.S. Congress, March 7, 2006
- ^ “Contractor 'knew how to grease the wheels'”, San Diego Union Tribune, December 4, 2005
- ^ “Contractor 'knew how to grease the wheels'”, San Diego Union Tribune, December 4, 2005
- ^ “Hunter is ‘Duke’s’ friend ’til the end”, The Hill, The Newspaper for and about the U.S. Congress, March 7, 2006
- ^ [1], December 8, 2005
- ^ Members of Congress / Duncan Hunter. The Washington Post. Retrieved on 2007-07-04.
- ^ Republican Hunter announces 2008 bid. The China Post, Taiwan (January 27, 2007).
- ^ Republican Party of Texas:
- ^ Real Clear Politics: Republican Primary polls, July 10, 2007.
- ^ Mike Huckabee - Presidential Election of 2008 - Elections - Evangelical Movement - Religion - Politics - Republican Party - New York Times
- ^ mediabistro.com: TVNewser
- ^ The Gate: N.H. Countdown: Of Knuckleheads, Huckaburgers & Crybabies (01/07/08)
- ^ "Drop-out Duncan Hunter Backs Huckabee", FoxNews.com, 2008-01-23. Retrieved on 2008-01-23.
[edit] External links
| Duncan Hunter |
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Biography |
[edit] Official sites
- Presidential Campaign Website
- Congressional website
- Congressional Campaign website
- MySpace
- NATIONAL "meetup" Group
[edit] Documentaries, topic pages and databases
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
- Campaign contributions at OpenSecrets.org
- Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
- Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
- Current Bills Sponsored at StateSurge.com
- New York Times — Duncan Hunter collected news stories and commentary
- Genealogy of Duncan Hunter
- PBS NewsHour with Jim Lehrer - Vote 2008: Duncan Hunter
- SourceWatch Congresspedia — Duncan Hunter profile
- Duncan Hunter at the Open Directory Project
[edit] Media coverage
- USA Today — Duncan Hunter associated with Randy "Duke" Cunningham/Brent Wilkes scandal, November 29, 2005.
- MonksMedia Radio Network – Duncan Hunter Supporters Radio
| Preceded by Lionel Van Deerlin |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 42nd congressional district 1981–1983 |
Succeeded by Daniel E. Lungren |
| New district | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 45th congressional district 1983–1993 |
Succeeded by Dana Rohrabacher |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 52nd congressional district 1993 – present |
Incumbent | |
| Preceded by Bob Stump Arizona |
Chairman of House Armed Services Committee 2003–2007 |
Succeeded by Ike Skelton Missouri |
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