James Niedzinski
Equinox Staff
On Thursday, Oct. 13, Republican presidential candidate Jon Huntsman visited Keene State College in hopes of stirring up the collegiate vote.
His visit to KSC was sponsored by the American Democracy Project and the Keene State College Student Republicans.
Formerly, Jon Huntsman acted as the U.S. ambassador to Singapore under President George H.W. Bush and the governor of Utah from 2005 to 2009; most recently he was the ambassador to China from 2009 to 2011.
“I’m not going to pander, I’m not going b.s., I’m not going to bluster, I’m not going to sign pledges, I’m not going to soldier into NYC and meet Don Trump. There are some things I’m just not going to do,” Huntsman said in his opening words.
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In his speech, Gov. Huntsman stated America is in deep decline and a shadow of what it used to be in his time.
“I’m running for President of the United States because I think it is totally unacceptable, particularly for people in your generation, to accept the premise that we are about to pass down the greatest nation there ever was, the United States of America to your generation,” Huntsman said.
He outlined how America today is less productive, less guided, and more divided than any other time in history. Gov. Huntsman stated that the lack of bipartisanship is keeping this country from progressing forward and facing issues.
In addition to his views on bipartisanship, Gov. Huntsman also addressed the issue of our economy and growing deficit.
“We have a cancer growing in the country called debt, and I would term it as a national security problem. And I hope all you students pay attention. When you are 60 or 70 percent of your GDP, that is debt,” he said.
“That isn’t just a spending problem, that becomes a national security problem, because your country can’t grow very well when you’ve got debt at that level,” Huntsman said.
He added that the solution to our growing deficit is tax reform, regulatory reform, and energy independence, which he defined as “weaning ourselves from our heroin-like dependence on foreign oil.”
Gov. Huntsman also shared an anecdote about speaking at a fallen soldier’s memorial service. As governor, Huntsman visited Kabul, Afghanistan to speak to Utah’s National Guard. Second Lt. Scott B. Lundell was killed in action the day before, and Governor Huntsman was asked to speak at his memorial service.
“Every time I think about Afghanistan, and the toll that we have taken and the price we have paid for over four years, I think about the Lundell family. It’s very personal,” Huntsman said.
This segued into Huntsman’s views about our ongoing wars.
“We’ve achieved our objective. We don’t need to nation build in Afghanistan when this nation so desperately needs to built right here at home,” Huntsman said to some applause.
Afterwards, Huntsman opened the floor to questions posed by both students and residents of Keene. Some questions involved how Huntsman will bring the Republican Party together and work across the aisle, what kind of people he would choose in his cabinet, issues surrounding outsourcing, and problems with infrastructure. Huntsman stated that China is weakening economically, and its growth rate is slowing.
This will result in a higher unemployment rate and political instability in China and the U.S. power will grow, attracting investors and the strength of the American dollar.
He also addressed a question on the high campaign spending in the current election cycle.
“We’ve got a lot of work ahead, and it pains me that we have a system of financing in campaigns today that isn’t closer to the people, which is where I like to sit,” Huntsman said.
James Niedzinski can be contacted at jniedzinski@ksc.mailcruiser.com.