Dear Brigade,
Read and post this far and wide -- GREAT column!
GO PAT GO!!!!!!!!!
Linda
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San Francisco Chronicle
Friday, March 24, 2000
Buchanan Says U.S. Must Respond to Oil `Conspiracy'
In San Francisco, he calls for end to foreign aid
Carla Marinucci, John Wildermuth, Chronicle Political Writers
Pat Buchanan, the Reform Party presidential hopeful, charged American
political leaders yesterday with sitting on their hands while oil-producing
countries engage in a ``price- rigging conspiracy'' to gouge American
consumers for billions of dollars at the gas pumps.
Charging that Mexico, Saudi Arabia and Iraq are ``engaged in a trade war
against this country,'' Buchanan called for the United States ``to retaliate
with economic weapons'' against oil-producers that he said are withholding
oil to jack up prices.
``As president of the United States, I would cut off all foreign aid . . . to any
nation which conspired to withhold oil and gouge the American people,'' the
fiery former host of CNN's ``Crossfire'' said. ``I would put tariffs on all those
(responsible) nations.''
The tough talk from the Republican-turned-Reform candidate came in San
Francisco yesterday, where Buchanan appeared at a Reform Party fund-
raiser. In good spirits, and wearing an eye-opening purple tie and lavender
shirt, Buchanan downplayed rifts that have torn the Reform Party,
culminating in the recent defection of its most famous elected leader,
Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura. ``He said it was a dysfunctional party . . .
(but) he left and it's been functioning very, very well,'' Buchanan said.
Buchanan -- who will deliver the keynote address at an anti-war conference in
San Mateo today -- insisted the presidential race this fall will be a three-way
contest fought ``in the court of public opinion.'' But his greatest potential this
time around is clearly as a spoiler, the candidate who can siphon off votes,
particularly from Texas Gov. George W. Bush, the presumptive GOP
nominee.
And with his feisty words on the gas crisis, Buchanan touched on a hot-
button issue that threatens to put an otherwise placid electorate up in arms --
even in booming economic times. Armed with his populist message,
Buchanan has signaled that he means to remain a thorn in the side of
Democrat Vice President Al Gore and Bush until the election.
In a later interview with The Chronicle, Buchanan threw jabs at both major
party leaders. He:
-- Predicted that Bush, who is anti-abortion, should prepare for a mass
exodus of conservative GOP followers at the Republican National Convention
should he announce a pro-choice running mate like Pennsylvania Gov. Tom
Ridge. ``They should get out of the way of the exits . . . because the pro-life
people would be deserting in droves,'' Buchanan said.
-- Said that, while he is pleased Bush is being ``home-schooled in foreign
policy,'' he doesn't intend to let the Texas governor off the hook in a
presidential debate. ``The first question,'' Buchanan said with a mischievous
grin, ``is, `Who's the prime minister of Estonia?' ''
-- Vowed to continue his own fight to be on stage with both Gore and Bush in
nationally televised presidential debates in the fall. And once he's there,
boring will be banished, he promised. ``You'll be able to scalp tickets,'' he
said with a laugh.
-- Burst into sustained laughter when asked about Gore's attempt to seize
campaign finance reform as a campaign issue. ``It's great to know that
there's still entertainment in politics,'' he said.
Buchanan seized the opportunity in San Francisco to address issues that
have been the bread and butter of his past political efforts, such as
immigration.
In a departure from Gore and Bush, who have courted Silicon Valley,
Buchanan called for a freeze on the H1-B visas Silicon Valley companies
want expanded to bring more technically trained workers into the United
States.
``The first claim on those jobs should belong to young people and American
workers,'' Buchanan said. ``If (Silicon Valley companies) have to raise pay a
little to attract them, so be it.''
Buchanan also called for rolling back legal immigration to the United States,
now about 1 million people per year, to 250,000 or 300,000 for at least five
years. That would give the country time to deal with the new residents and
help avoid what he called the ``Balkanization'' he has seen in other countries
with unassimilated minorities.
Buchanan minced no words on illegal immigration.
``I will stop illegal immigration cold if it means putting the 82nd Airborne on
the California border,'' he said.
But Buchanan got most fired up on the gas issue, saying that Mexico, a
NAFTA trade partner, appears to be colluding with the Persian Gulf nations,
``who we defend with American blood and treasure.''
He called for exploratory drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in
Alaska, tariffs against OPEC nations and an end to all foreign aid to those
countries until oil production is increased.
``I'd tell them that if they don't change, find someone else to defend them,''
said Buchanan, who confessed to driving a 15-miles-per- gallon Lincoln
Navigator SUV. ``They'd pump so much oil we'd be drowning in it.''
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