Election 2006... Rep. Dave Camp & Mike Huckleberry

Running up to the November election, Northern Express will publish candidate interviews. We essentially email the same questions to each candidate and ask for a response. Incumbents are also asked specific questions about their record.
Here is the first round of candidates. The incumbent is U.S. Representative Dave Camp, a private practice lawyer before his political career. He represents the geographically massive 4th Congressional District that includes all or part of 14 counties.
Camp was first elected to Congress 16 years ago and now sits on the House Ways and Means Committee. It’s considered one of the most powerful committees in the House (shaping legislation in the areas of health care, Social Security, tariff and trade laws). He was re-elected in 2004 with 64 percent of the vote.
Camp ran against Mike Huckleberry in 2004 and is facing him again. Huckleberry and his wife, Linda, own a restaurant and a meat market/deli in Greenville. A community activist most of his life, he served on the boards of the Downtown Development Authority and Chamber of Commerce, serving as its president twice. He has been in marketing and sales management most of his life.
NE: What possessed you to get into politics?

Camp: Two events -- volunteering at an early age on the campaign of a family friend who was running for judge. The second was working with a number of local non-profit, service organizations as a lawyer in private practice. 
Huckleberry: I entered the political arena in 2004 when Electrolux announced that it was moving 2,700 jobs to Mexico for what I call an opportunity to “exploit poor and uneducated people and to pay starvation wages.” I knew that many of the workers would have their lives turned upside down, and it would hurt our community and all of the small businesses. My opponent made the statement that “Trade agreements were good for America, good for Michigan and offered great opportunity.” He, at that time, had voted for 14 trade agreements and has also voted for CAFTA. I began speaking out against the unfairness of those agreements and the danger they presented to America. People started encouraging me to run against him because of my passion against outsourcing American jobs to Mexico and Communist China.

NE: What were your greatest accomplishments in the last term?

Camp: 1. The enactment of the Pension Protection Act: As a part of the final negotiating team on this bill, I am particularly pleased that it had the support of automakers and autoworkers (the UAW). I am also pleased the legislation provides relief to the struggling airline industry, which is why Northwest and its pilots union supported the bill.  It was the first overhaul of the nation’s pension laws in three decades.
2. Enactment of Consumer Tax Credits for Alternative Fuel Vehicles: I authored the law to provide consumers with a $3,400 maximum tax credit for the purchase of a new hybrid, clean diesel, or other alternative fuel vehicle. 
3. Passage of Research and Development (R&D) Tax Credit: I am a leading advocate in the House for extending and expanding tax credits for R&D. The manufacturing sector is the largest user of the R&D credit and Michigan ranks as one of the top 10 states in reported R&D activity. This credit directly helps our manufacturers keep jobs in America.

NE: What do you feel is your opponent’s greatest single weakness?

Camp: Inexperience.
Huckleberry: His blind faith loyalty to G.W. Bush policies, including his “stay the course” in Iraq no matter the cost in lives and debt.

NE: What’s the key issue that keeps you awake at night?

Camp: The threat of another terrorist attack on our homeland.
Huckleberry: The economy and jobs. America can stand up to all the important issues, but it can’t do so without jobs and an economy that rewards only the wealthiest of Americans.
NE: Do you think Michigan’s job problem has more to do with bloated SUV inventories and Third World wages, or do we blame the government?

Camp: Michigan is in a single-state recession, with many factors contributing to the problem, especially the state’s unique Single Business Tax.  At the federal level, I believe that reducing regulations, lowering taxes and better enforcing trade agreements can help our economy.
Huckleberry: They all deserve the blame! We can’t compete with Third World countries and their poverty wages, lack of environmental standards, and inhumane working conditions. Michigan is hurting the worst because we are an industrial state. As far as SUVs go … what were they thinking?

NE: What do you think of tax breaks for specific businesses (such as $14.5 billion in incentives to Exxon Mobil Corp., ConocoPhillips and other oil and gas producers to drill wells in the Gulf
of Mexico)? Is this corporate welfare or is it necessary that we subsidize the private sector?

Camp: I do not favor corporate welfare, but do believe that lowering taxes for manufacturers and entire sectors of the economy can help spur job growth. 
Huckleberry: This is corporate welfare at its worst! This amount of money should have been invested in alternative energy projects. I am not against tax breaks for the private sector for some projects, but when energy companies are making record profits or any corporation gets welfare because of their campaign contributions… it is sickening!

NE: Representative Camp, you were in the news for accepting $500 from former lobbyist Jack Abramoff. At that time, you said you’d return the money and work for more disclosure of lobbyist activities and strict limits on what they can do. Did you?

Camp: I did vote for legislation to reform Congressional ethics laws and increase disclosure of federal earmarks, grants, and contracts, and I will continue to do so. I believe the public has a right to know where money is being spent in the political system.  The contribution was donated to the Red Cross.
Huckleberry: The rules are not strict enough. We now have a “bought and paid for government” (corporatized government). These lobbyists and the corporations they represent do not give money to legislators to vote in our favor. Look at insurance, pharmaceutical, and energy companies and their profit margins the next time you pay for their products, and then remember they are the biggest contributors to this Administration. …The Administration has made almost no effort to correct this outrageous misuse of the public trust!

NE: Why don’t Canadians dump trash in their own country instead of Michigan? What do you think of Senator Stabenow’s solution?

Camp: Senator Levin and Senator Stabenow’s “deal” was well intentioned, but when it came to actually granting Michigan the ability to keep Canadian trash out, it wasn’t worth the recycled paper it was printed on.  However, the House has passed a bill that actually gives states like Michigan the legal authority to restrict foreign municipal trash from entering the state.
Huckleberry: It’s because we charge 21 cents per ton while other states charge $6 or more per ton. The Democrats from the state and federal level have worked to stop this nonsense. They have met with resistance every step of the way. I think Senator Stabenow’s solution is the best we could do. I only hope in the future we are able to do more.

NE: What can we do now to reduce global warming?

Camp: One of the biggest areas we can improve climate conditions is by shifting away from fossil fuels, especially in the automotive industry.  Laws I authored provide financial incentives for automakers to produce and consumers to purchase the new generation of alternative fuel vehicles - cars and trucks powered by ethanol, bio-diesel, hybrid-electric engines and even fuel cells.
Huckleberry: We need more renewable energy, we need better gas mileage, and, more importantly, we need to take this issue seriously! I use E-85 in my 1996 Chrysler and it runs great on it, even though it is not a flex engine.

NE: Do you believe that President Bush should have sought out search warrants before wiretapping American residents in the fight against terrorism? Why or why not?

Camp: The NSA program surveils communications between people in the United States who are receiving or making phone calls to suspected terrorists overseas.  I support a surveillance program that protects the privacy rights of law-abiding citizens.
Huckleberry: Absolutely YES! Are we a nation of laws or aren’t we? I am not weak on terrorism. The fight should be done legally.

NE: Knowing what you do now, do you think we should have invaded Iraq?

Camp: Yes.
Huckleberry: No, no, no! This was intentional deception combined with unintentional incompetence. We must find a plan to come home… starting tomorrow!

NE: What’s the solution there?

Camp: The solution for a stable, democratic Iraq rests with training an Iraqi police force and military capable of flushing out pockets of insurgent activity.
Huckleberry: Building a true coalition. Other countries have a vested interest in peace in that region.

NE: Looking at the bigger picture of growing Islamic extremism, what should this country do beyond fighting terrorism?

Camp: The U.S. should continue to engage in traditional diplomacy and economic diplomacy to spread democracy.  By aiding moderate movements across the globe I believe we can further limit the violence practiced by some extremists.
Huckleberry: We could start by leading by example. We can’t be using the same tactics as our enemy and declare we are fighting for democracy.

NE: How would you respond to middle class people struggling with high interest rates on their credit cards and mortgages, gas prices, and escalating health care costs?

Camp: Reliance on credit cards can be very dangerous and that is why I have supported financial literacy classes within the public school system.  People must understand the financial impacts of relying on high interest loans to pay for products.  As for gas prices, we must use a combination of greater conservation, stabilizing supply and shifting to new fuels.  With regard to health care, one of the most important reforms we can make is giving small businesses the ability to band together to provide health care for their workers in the same manner large corporations are able to, and for the further expansion of health savings accounts.
Huckleberry: It all falls back to jobs and an economy that benefits all Americans, not just the wealthiest. The tax breaks have been tilted toward the rich. How about tax breaks that benefit working families and small businesses? How about a health care system like the rest of the developed nations have? I am a big supporter of universal health care that helps ALL Americans while my opponent supports band-aids and gimmicks that help campaign contributors.

NE: On a much lighter note, what’s your favorite TV show?

Camp: Just about anything on “Animal Planet.”
Huckleberry: I LOVE “Hannity and Colmes.” Sean cracks me up!!

NE: Your favorite saying?

Camp: Don’t sweat the small stuff.
Huckleberry: If you’re not appalled, you’re not paying attention.

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