March 28, 2024
BANGOR DAILY NEWS (BANGOR, MAINE

Pat Buchanan Buchanan’s core is old-time conservatism

Q. Maine has a rich timber resource. Papermaking is the cornerstone of the state’s economy. Most companies are modern, capital-intensive and efficient. The American papermaking industry can compete strongly in world markets. What specific policies do you propose to remove trade barriers hindering paper sales to Japan and other nations? — A. A Buchannan administration will play hardball in trade talks. We believe in free and fair trade with nations that practice free and fair trade. We will demand reciprocity and make no unilateral trade concessions. Nations that adopt a closed-door policy to American exports will not find an open door to American markets. — Q. Maine has several military bases that serve as the foundation for local economies. The state also is home to several defense industries. The end of the Cold War and the various proposals to cut military spending stand to weaken the state’s economy. What proposals do you have for reinvesting the Peace Dividend? And do you have other ideas to help communities recover from base closures or devense-industry slowdowns? — A. The bases that should be phased out are the ones defending our rich and prosperous allies, like Germany and Japan. With the end of the Cold War and the Soviet threat, our allies are now our economic competitors whose economies we should not have to subsidize with U.S. tax dollars. Why do we need 200,000 troops in Bavaria when the Red Army is going home? We must, however, remain militarily strong, and funds for defense research and development should not be cut. — Q. The military is considering reusing Loring Air Force Base, slated for closure, as an eastern site for an anti-missile base as part of the Strategic Defense Initiative. Do you favor Star Wars in its present form? Is the military reuse of Loring wise or should residents of Limestone continue to work toward its civilian reuse? — A. Yes, the Strategic Defense Initiative should be deployed. The U.S. military must remain fisrt on land, sea, in the air and in space. — Q. The Free Trade Agreement between the United States and Canada, by most measures, has been successful. However, in a couple of resource industries — timber and fishing — some Mainers would find the results disappointing if not business-threatening. They say that their Canadian counterparts benefit from hidden government subsidies in the form of low stumpage fees on government-owned forest land, liberal fishing regulations, and off-season unemployment benefits. What proposals do you have to level the playing field? — A. Although we must have a level playing field to compete fairly, we should not be satisfied with that. We must play to win. One way to compete fairly is to alleviate the regulatory burden on American business that drives up production costs. Many foreign competitors do not share these costs. Next, we must provide investment and tax incentives to boost productivity and competitiveness, giving our businesses an important economic advantage. — Q. The United States and Canada have the longest unprotected border in the world. Yet the countries and their citizens have stark differences. What steps would you take to improve the relationship? — A. The U.S. and Canada are good friends and no doubt will remain good friends. We should continue to work to find ways for Canadian and American economic exchanges, but on a fair basis that gives no unwarranted advantages to our Northern friends. By being good neighbors, we can encourage Canada to patronage American business.

PATRICK J. BUCHANAN

AGE: 53. Born Nov. 2, 1938, in Washington, D.C.

OCCUPATION: Political commentator.

FAMILY: Married Shelley Ann Scarney, then a White House receptionist, May 8, 1971. No children.

EDUCATION: Georgetown University, 1961; master’s in journalism, Columbia University School of Journalism, 1962.

ELECTED OFFICES HELD: None.

OTHER PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: Editorial writer, St. Louis Globe-Democrat, 1962-64, assistant editorial editor, 1964-65; executive assistant to Richard M. Nixon at law firm; White House special assistant, speechwriter 1969-72, special consultant 1972-74 (into Gerald Ford’s tenure); columnist, radio/TV political commentator, 1975-85, 1987-; White House director of communications, 1985-87.

MILITARY SERVICE: None.

PLATFORM:

Advocates “America First” Republicanism, almost-complete disavowal of foreign aid, painting it as prime example of wastefulness of Congress and distorted values of administration, and favors punitive response to “predatory” trading practices, especially by Europe, Japan.

Criticizes Bush for “breaking his word” not to raise taxes and then doing so. Buchanan took a no-tax pledge, and urges deep cuts in spending, saying that as president he would “shut the government down from November to January to force the Congress to stop wasting money.” Says he would accept higher deficits for first year as tradeoff for sharply lowered taxes.

Decries decline of America’s “moral standards” and catering to special interests, among which he lumps most minority racial and religious groups. Stance includes limits and quotas on immigration.

Proposes charging foreign governments a $1 million fee to register lobbyists to represent them in Washington, saying Washington is “crawling” with representatives of foreign governments, particularly Japan’s.

Opposes legal abortion; supports the death penalty.

Has reputation for being able to divorce public views from private relations; he is friends with many of the liberal colleagues he politically opposes, and he calls Bush “a decent, honorable, patriotic guy.”

Has been widely accused of anti-Semitism in wake of criticism of Israel and Jewish lobby, particularly American Israel Public Affairs Committee; once called Washington “Israeli-occupied territory” and has vigorously defended John Demjanjuk (convicted in Israel of war crimes) against accusations he was notorious Nazi prison guard Ivan the Terrible.

CONTACT: Campaign headquarters 703-683-5004.


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