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Jim Gilmore
Transcript of Jim Gilmore during the third Republican presidential primary debate in New Hampshire (2008 election) (June 05 2007)
BLITZER: Governor Gilmore, let me go to you. You chaired this commission. Do you think it was appropriate that members of Congress would authorize the president to go to war without reading that national intelligence estimate? JIM GILMORE, FORMER GOVERNOR OF VIRGINIA: You know, I think the people who are in Congress who are responsible for sending this country to war, with the enormous dangers that it has geopolitically and strategically, ought to read at least that kind of material. I know they get a lot of stuff and they can't read everything. But you know what, Wolf? I think the true business is this: The interests of the United States is in creating as much stability as possible in the Middle East. There is a very great danger to this country: our interests in Israel, our interests in energy and in other ways. There is a giant danger of the Middle East becoming an unstable place. Saddam Hussein was unstable, and so taking him out was good there. But we certainly didn't anticipate the further instability that was to come after.
BLITZER: Let me bring Governor Gilmore in. What do you say about the potential use of tactical nuclear weapons if that's what it takes to go deep underground and destroy those Iraqi facilities? GILMORE: One of the central problems of the Middle East is the desire for Iran to dominate that portion of the world, because of what they are doing. And that is why I believe that they are seeking this kind of nuclear capacity. That is one of the reasons why we are, in fact, in Iraq. And that's why our soldiers, when they fight and die there, are in fact serving the interests of the United States. Nobody ought to have any doubt about that. With respect to Iran, the policy I would follow would be dual. Number one, we need to work with our European allies in order to put in appropriate sanctions. We need to communicate directly with the Iranians that we are going to offer them an opportunity to work with us. But we are also going to say that having a nuclear weapon is unacceptable; they need to understand it. And all options are on the table by the United States in that instance.
BLITZER: Conservative credentials is the topic, sir. You've gotten a lot of mileage out of lumping Messrs. Giuliani, McCain and ROMNEY together by calling them Rudy Mc ROMNEY. (LAUGHTER) Now, with former Senator Fred Thompson likely to join you at the next debate, in your opinion, is he conservative enough for America or are we changing the name now to Rudy Mc ROMNEYson? (LAUGHTER) GILMORE: Well, we've gotten a little mileage out of Rudy Mc ROMNEY. I know the mayor one time said that it would make a good ticket, and it would. But it isn't a conservative ticket. And we don't know what Fred Thompson is either. I think he's a fine man. He served in the Senate a term and a half. Let's see exactly what his views are. I'm coming forward and offering my views as a 40-year battler for conservative values and conservative principles on behalf of the people of the United States. And I have the record to back it up. I've been a prosecutor. I've been an attorney general. I've been a governor. I governed as a conservative. I cut taxes for the people of the Commonwealth of Virginia. I've stood by these principles for years and years. The question is that when Fred Thompson comes into the race, as I believe he will -- and maybe even Speaker Gingrich may come into the race. They'll have to stand on their records and stand on their credentials and offer their ideas the same way that every person here on the stage is doing. I look forward to that day, and I look forward to the debate.
BLITZER: Governor Gilmore, you agree? GILMORE: I agree that if you make profits of the open marketplace, that that's an appropriate thing to do. I also believe that they should be going in and putting this additional money into additional drilling, into additional exploration. But it's going to have to be bigger than that. We're going to have to in fact look to all sources: ethanol, biomass, coal, clean coal, the opportunities for natural gas, and nuclear power. And by the way, nuclear power will help this whole issue of global warming. And one more point in direct answer to your question: The Kyoto treaty was, in fact, fatally flawed. That was a treaty that in fact was going to basically just transfer our money directly to Russia for nothing, because they were going to get credits because simply that their economy had declined. The truth is, we're going to have to get a program in place, an international diplomatic answer, that is going to include every nation of the world in this entire project. And that includes China and India. (APPLAUSE) BLITZER: I just want to do a quick 'yes' or 'no. ' And I'm going to go down the rest of the group and let everybody just tell me 'yes' or 'no': Would you pardon Scooter Libby? GILMORE: No. I'm steeped in the law. I wouldn't do that.
QUESTION: My question is whether you believe that a conservative platform can also include a conservationist agenda. And, if so, how? VAUGHN: Governor Gilmore? GILMORE: The question was whether or not a conservative agenda can also have a conservation agenda. And I think that it can. Certainly, when I was governor of the state of Virginia, we worked very hard in order to make Virginia a beautiful place and a place where we could in fact be welcoming to people, and that it would be a nice community for people to visit. But at the end of the day, this is going to come down to the question of whether or not conservatism can match up with energy independence, which is a national security issue and it is a fundamental part of conservatism. Conservatism means empowering people. It means cutting taxes and controlling government spending. It also means national security. And national security means a lot of different elements right at this time. And we're discussing some of them tonight. And I can assure the people who are families here tonight, their young people, young men and women who are on the battle lines, and people who are committing their lives, they are in fact serving the national interests of this country in a time of major crisis. The other two issues, however, would also go to the issue of the immigration issue, which I want to come back to at some point, but also energy independence. And energy independence also can serve the interests of conservation. . .
BLITZER: All right.
GILMORE: . . . particularly if we use nuclear power and other clean forms of energy so that we can in fact make this a clean society that is also safe and secure for the nation.
BLITZER: Thank you very much, Governor.
BLITZER: Governor Gilmore? GILMORE: Let me answer the question. Principle is the difference. The Republicans have always been a part of principle, and when we deviate from that, the people of the United States remember it. Let me say this. Number one, on the issue of immigration, it violates the principle of the rule of law, and if we pass this bill and support it as Republicans, we will lose again. Spending, if we continue to earmark and spend and spend, we will be violating our principles. And finally on taxes, the president has a pretty good tax program, as a matter of fact. It's not only helped the economy, but helped regular people. And Hillary Clinton is wrong when she says that we should eliminate those tax cuts. (APPLAUSE) QUESTION: What would you do to include moderate Republicans and to bring back to the party those independents who were formerly registered Republicans? VAUGHN: Governor Gilmore, speaking with you.
GILMORE: Glad to. When I was a candidate for governor, I was told that a conservative couldn't appeal to moderate areas in the state of Virginia. And I rejected that because I believe that conservatism still stands for all people. It stands for everyone. It goes to this question that my colleagues were talking about, what's an American? An American is someone who is noble, someone who is greater than just themselves and their own personal interest, and someone the rest of the world can look up to, and someone who believes in liberty and freedom. And when I ran for governor, I went to the moderate communities and said, listen, we're going to talk about empowering people. We're going to talk about giving back more tax money. We're going to talk about the value that is yours around the kitchen table to decide where your child is going to go to school or whether or not you can pay the tuitions or whether you can pay the mortgages. And you earned this money. We understand very well that you have to pay taxes, but we also understand the value of every single person as a taxpayer.
Sam Brownback
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