Presidential Candidate: Asa Hutchinson

July 1, 2023 |

Asa Hutchinson campaign website: Asa for America! (asa2024.com)

By Ashley Bean Thornton

I have been summarizing the opening campaign speeches from the presidential candidates to see if I can sift out what they actually plan to do.  In this post I summarize Asa Hutchinson’s announcement speech.   I have shortened, rearranged, and paraphrased quite a bit, but I tried to stick pretty close to his own words and to be fair in summarizing what I assume to be his platform for 2024. I tried to include as much about how he plans to do these things as I was able to deduce from the speech. – ABT

What he says he did…

In the U. S. House of Representatives —

  • I stepped up to take on runaway federal spending, to fight for a strong national defense, to support the life of unborn children, and to unleash the private sector of our economy.
  • While I was in Congress, we balanced the federal budget, and it is high time we did it again.

As Governor of Arkansas —

  • We cut taxes and created record surpluses.
  • We increased pay for teachers. We reduced regulations. We recruited industry, and the private sector grew by over 100,000 jobs.
  • I demonstrated how we can lead through a pandemic without closing down every business and shutting down our schools…Our businesses survived and prospered, and we had more days of in-classroom instruction in our schools during the pandemic than almost any other state.  Yes, that’s right, we beat Florida and Texas.
  • I’ve been chief executive of our state for eight years, and that means I know how to balance the budget. I did it every single year.
  • As governor of Arkansas, I had a priority and I expanded access to computer science education. And the result was going from 1,100 students who took computer science. To over 23,000 students taking computer science. We went from 20 certified teachers to over 650 who are certified to teach computer science in our classrooms. We made it required to be offered in our rural schools as well as our urban schools. The result is that Arkansas led the nation in computer science education and made a real difference in tech opportunities for young people.
  • In Arkansas I reduced the state executive workforce by 14%, and there is a lot more room for improvement in Washington than even in Arkansas.

As Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Agency/ Under Secretary for Border and Transportation in the Department of Homeland Security —

  • I have served our country in times of crisis.

 What he says he will do…

China – We cannot yield to China in terms of global leadership. When the Biden administration conducted its disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan, we left our friends abandoned and our allies confused. America looked weak, and that weakness was seen as an opportunity for Russia to invade Ukraine, and then for China to threaten and be aggressive toward Taiwan. Let me assure you as president, I will bring out the best of America. We will stand with our allies, and we will stand with our friends.

Culture – This campaign is about courage. It is about making the tough decisions to rebuild our economy, to give peace a chance through America’s strength, and to renew the American spirit of freedom, opportunity, and the rule of law… As a nation, our democracy’s resilience comes from our shared values, and it comes from our willingness to sacrifice for the cause of freedom…My parents taught me that we are all equal, and yet we all struggle in life. And because we struggle, we need grace and compassion toward others. It is my hope that those farmland values will once again guide our nation and bring us closer together.

Debt – Both Democratic and Republican administrations bear responsibility for our current $31 trillion national debt.  I would like to say we will be debt free in ‘33. Well, it might take longer, but we must start.

 Economy – First, we need to get our economy back on track. To turn our economy around, we have to stop the “break the bank” federal spending that has led to high inflation and rising interest rates…We will reduce the burden of government. We will lower the federal deficit, and we will unleash the power of the private sector. Our families will have more to spend and save for their children’s future.

Education – As governor of Arkansas, I had a priority and I expanded access to computer science education. And the result was going from 1,100 students who took computer science. To over 23,000 students taking computer science. We went from 20 certified teachers to over 650 who are certified to teach computer science in our classrooms. We made it required to be offered in our rural schools as well as our urban schools. The result is that Arkansas led the nation in computer science education, and made a real difference in tech opportunities for young people. It is critical that we follow this model as a nation if we are going to compete with communist China. The fact is that US test scores in math and science are falling behind other countries. The top five math scoring countries are in Asia and the United States places 11th as a nation in terms of math education. We must do better for our students. As president, I will expand computer science education into every grade school and high school in America. I will focus our higher education to produce more engineers and scientists so that we can compete.

Energy – We need a pro-growth energy policy that is not focused on limits, but on production. We should not limit American growth, but rather we should unleash our energy producers.

Entitlements/Income Supports – When it comes to those who depend upon Social Security and Medicaid, I will assure the strength and reliability of those programs into the future. Right now, Social Security is financially stable into 2033. Medicare is stable into 2028.As we have successfully done in the past, I will immediately convene an independent commission to assure the future of Social Security and Medicare long into the future, this commission will be modeled after the 1983 Commission that was chaired by Alan Greenspan. It led to legislation that successfully extended the life of these vital retirement programs for all Americans. Americans need to have confidence in their future. And this action will stabilize and ensure the future of supplemental retirement programs Americans depend upon.

Fentanyl/Drug Cartels – I will go after the cartels who are killing Americans with a deadly drug, fentanyl.

Immigration – We must secure our southern border…The rule of law also applies to our southern border. I have 3 words that will work to protect our country from the human suffering that results from an open border, and that is “enforce the law.” Our nation is the land of immigrants who make up the fabric of our democracy. And in order to respect those who follow the legal path to come to this country, we must reform our asylum laws, devote more resources to support the border patrol, and quickly remove those who come into our country illegally.

Military – There are some who want the United States to disengage from the world and to isolate ourselves. Isolationism only leads to weakness and weakness leads to war. Americans want peace, and the best way to secure and preserve peace is to have the most prepared military in the world.

Police/Crime – What separates the United States from the rest of the world is our commitment to justice. The rule of law is the foundation for peace in our communities. I am the only candidate running for president with a breadth of experience in law enforcement. I will enforce the law and demand that local prosecutors do the same. Lawbreakers must be held accountable…

There are a few misguided leaders who say we should defund law enforcement. We should defund the FBI. I am here today in support of our law enforcement heroes. The argument to defund police is designed to undermine our rule of law. We should not defund the police. We should not defund the FBI. But we do need serious reform to refocus the core functions of our federal law enforcement. We must make them more focused, more accountable, and successful in protecting our citizens. The FBI needs to be trimmed down and focused on its number one duty: leading our counterterrorism mission.

Ukraine – Today’s threat is the Russian invasion of Ukraine. I join with those who say we don’t want an unending war in Ukraine, and the best way to avoid a long war is to help Ukraine win today.

Work/Labor/Unions/Employment – We must once again embrace the dignity of work. Our federal government should not reward those who sit at home when they have the ability to work and provide for themselves. As president, I will open doors for more worker training and better pay. And we will require work for able bodied welfare recipients. This will grow our manufacturing workforce and we will prove that we can still make things and manufacture things in the United States of America.

An important solution to this challenge is lifting the penalty for those who want to stay in the workforce after the age of 62. Right now, if you retire on Social Security, you are penalized for continuing to work, you should be able to both claim Social Security and work.  Remove the penalties and let those who want to work continue to do so without government penalties.  Right now we have nearly 10 million job openings in the US and by making this change, we will add 1,000,000 to the labor pool and increase the income of retirees at the same time.

Voting/Elections/Political System/Government Administration – Too often our businesses and families are held back by a federal bureaucracy that is out of control, heavy-handed and wasteful.  As president, I will reduce the federal civilian workforce by 10%. You can believe me when I say I will do this, because I have done it. In Arkansas I reduced the state executive workforce by 14%, and there is a lot more room for improvement in Washington than even in Arkansas.

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