By snoadmin
Incumbent Republican Rep. Dana Rohrabacher and Democrat challenger Jim Brandt spoke Monday afternoon in the University Student Union. Both are running for the House seat for the 46th Congressional District.
Rohrabacher spoke first about his stance on illegal immigration and said he does not believe a mass deportation is needed. In order to stop the mass numbers of illegal immigrants, he said all benefits should be cut for illegal immigrants. This would in turn cause the illegal immigrants to leave on their own.
Rohrabacher also stated that if democratic candidate Jim Brandt were elected, there would be one trillion dollars in more taxes. Brandt responded by speaking against Rohrabacher’s policy on Social Security. Rohrabacher responded by saying he only wants to reform the Social Security system.
A controversial subject that Rohrabacher has received criticism from is his stance on the war in Iraq. He has been criticized on his support for President George W. Bush’s “stay the course” position. In response to the comments, Rohrabacher stated, “We face a great challenge…if we retreat in a cowardly manner, our children will pay the price.”
Brandt, a former Marine, began with the statement “Americans first, politics last.” As the founder and CEO of Pyramid Software, Brandt said that with his background, he has a strong sense of the global economy.
One area of concern for both candidates was global warming. Both Brandt and Rohrabacher admitted that global warming does exist and is a growing problem, but the two differed in what they think is causing it.
Rohrabacher’s thoughts were that global warming is due to natural causes and he wants to “bulldoze the forests and replant new trees.””
Brandt said he believes global warming can only be avoided if alternate energy sources are found. According to Brandt, it is possible that the Earth will run out of breathable air before it runs out of fossil fuels.
