GOP candidates speak in Red Oak
Red Oak hosted two Republican presidential candidates last week during their town hall meetings throughout southwest Iowa.
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee led a town hall meeting at Pizza Ranch last Wednesday, and Sen. Ted Cruz spoke to Iowans at the Red Coach Inn on Friday.
Huckabee, who won the 2008 Iowa caucus, spoke to Red Oak citizens about his excitement to be back campaigning in Iowa.
“We’re thrilled to be back in Iowa,” Huckabee said. “Winning the caucuses eight years ago was a great thrill. It put us on the way to what we thought would be a White House victory. We didn’t quite get there. Iowa was good to me. The first chapter in my book called ‘Do the Right Thing’ is titled ‘I love Iowa,’ because I remember the night of the caucuses, we won, shocked a lot of people, [and it] really put us far in the process. I just want to say something to you folks here in Iowa. If the rest of America had been as smart as you guys were, we would not be going through the mess we’ve been going through for the past six and a half years.”
The former governor said he doesn’t expect people to vote for him simply because they did in 2008, he wants to earn their vote. He said he doesn’t want to just win the election, but he also wants to lead the country.
“I don’t expect anybody to say ‘oh, we voted for you before, it automatically means we’re going to do it again,’” Huckabee said. “We know we have to earn your vote. We have to convince you that I can not only win the nomination, and not only win the election, but you also need to know can the person you elect lead this country. It’s not enough to just win an election if you can’t lead. For six and a half years, we had someone who could win elections, but he didn’t know how to lead.”
Huckabee went on to speak about his stance on issues such as foreign policy, ISIS, education and taxes. He said he wants to introduce the Fair Tax, a flat tax that would abolish the Internal Revenue Service.
The former governor also spoke about Iowa’s importance in the agriculture industry and keeping the federal government out of farming.
“Let the regulations of agriculture be handled at the local level. There’s nobody sitting in Washington who knows better how to run a farm in Iowa than the people in Iowa,” Huckabee said. “Americans need to be grateful for the farmers, whether they’re in your home state or my home state, because thanks to the efficiency and the safety and the extraordinary production capacity of American farmers, Americans only spend about 7 percent of their income to put food and fiber on the table.”
On Friday, Sen. Cruz led a two-hour-long town hall meeting to try and gain support from southwest Iowans.
“The men and women in this room are the heart of our campaign,” Cruz said. “You’re why I’m optimistic. The only force strong enough to turn this country around is the grassroots, is we the people, rising up. And I’ll tell you, I’m humbled to have the chance to stand with each and every one of you.”
The senator from Texas went on to speak about the “crisis” the United States is in and his belief the 2016 election could be one of the most important elections in history.
“We’re here because we love our kids ... [and] our grandkids. And we’re here be-cause our country’s in crisis,” Cruz said. “This is not a typical election. I think the stakes have never been higher. There’s an urgency to what we’re facing. We’re at the edge of a fiscal and economic cliff. We’re bankrupting our kids and grandkids. We’re seeing our constitutional liberties being taken away [in] Washington [D.C.] like never before. And America has receded from leadership in the world. I think this next election is now or never. That if we continue another four or eight years down this road, we risk doing irreparable damage to the greatest country in the history of the world.”
Cruz also spoke on issues such as ISIS, military and taxes. He, too, is forming a flat tax approach and wants to do away with the IRS.
“I can tell you we are, right now, actively designing the details of our tax plan,” Cruz said. “So, what I have described is that it should be a simple flat tax that is uniform that allows people to fill out their taxes on a postcard.”
He also spoke discussed veteran’s affairs, stating all health care should be about “empowering individual patients.”
Both candidates are vying for a win at the GOP Iowa caucus Feb. 2, 2016.