Apparently agriculture is not a main agenda item during the Iowa State Fair for many Republicans. During the Des Moines Register’s Soapbox series speeches, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina and Senator from South Carolina Lindsey Graham failed to discuss any ag issues in detail and only Walker and Fiorina made comments but only when answering crowd questions. I may be going out a limb here, but in a state where one of the top economic earners is the agriculture industry, and you are at a state fair where agriculture is the spotlight, you’d think it would be an important point of discussion. Well, there are still a few speeches to go so maybe there is still hope. Well if not ag, then what are their issues? Let’s take a brief view.
All the candidates want to take the power out of Washington, D.C. and bring it back to the state houses and to the hard working people. All of the candidates also believe that our debt needs to be reigned in and replaced with a bi-partisan balanced budget.
Scott Walker is calling for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to be reigned in. He said they are killing the farmers (he was referring to WOTUS, or the Waters of the U.S.) and is pushing for an all above energy strategy. He approved the Keystone Pipeline on the first vote and continues to do so. In terms of climate change he said that there needs to be a balance between sustainable environment and a sustainable economy. He does not support the “ethanol mandate” or the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) but because it is in place and there is an industry based on the legislation the country needs to support the bill. However, he is pushing for consumer choice at the pump through market access and availability at the pump for higher blends of ethanol. His state has offered grants for retail stations, especially those independently owned, to be able to put flex fuel pumps and offer additional ethanol blends.
Listen to why Wisconsin Governor wants to be president here:Scott Walker at the Iowa State Fair
Lindsey Graham spent the majority of his time discussing his military strategy. He said there are, “Too many terrorists. Too much debt. Too few jobs.” He has been in the Air Force for 33 years and spent time in Iraq and Afghanistan while he was in the reserves. He stressed that he is the first candidate to push to go back to war not end war. “If I’m elected we going to go back and pound them into the sand,” he said of Iraq. He did not address energy, environment or agriculture so we’ll have to continue to follow his campaign to see if and what his stance is on these issues.
Listen to why Senator Lindsey Graham wants to be president here:Lindsey Graham at the Iowa State Fair
While some candidates didn’t use any of their time to take questions, Carly Fiorina dedicated the majority of her time in answering questions. Like others, she believes the minimum wage should be increased but not uniformly; rather, the pay should be comparable to the cost of living which is different not only from state to state but from city to city. She too took aim at the EPA and stressed innovation rather than regulation will be more effective. And like Walker, she too doesn’t support ethanol mandates and believes they should be phased out. Needless to say, this position is not too popular in country’s largest ethanol producing state. Similar to Graham, she did not directly address agriculture or the environment.
Listen to why Carly Fiorina wants to be president here:Carly Fiorina at the Iowa State Fair
Click here to read our coverage of the Des Moines Register Presidential Soapbox series at the Iowa State Fair.
