by Javier Manjarres

Former U.S. Senator and 2012 Senatorial candidate George LeMieux held a media conference call to discuss the issues and his campaign for Senate. LeMieux said that he decided to run for Senate due to the overwhelming support he has received from around Floridians who have committed to volunteer and support his campaign.

The “hot topic” for LeMieux is the country’s out of control national spending and talk of raising the debt ‘ceiling’- the U.S. National debt is currently at $14 Trillion. LeMieux expressed his concern over the prospect of raising the debt ceiling and indicated that he was not in favor of raising the ceiling unless drastic spending cuts and spending caps were first put in place to prevent the debt ‘ceiling’ from ever having to be raised again. LeMieux believes that the current “Gang of Six’ U.S. Senators will be able to negotiate enough spending cuts order to really make a difference and arrive at a compromise.

Senator LeMieux stated that,“There has to have a ‘T’ in front of it, cuts need to be in the Trillions.” When asked as to what distinguished himself from fellow Senatorial candidates Adam Hasner and Mike Haridopolos, LeMieux stated that,“I was first on this issue while in the U.S. Senate” to address this issue during his brief stint in the Senate. Senator LeMieux also took a swipe at current Democrat Senator Bill Nelson for his lack of leadership with regards to NASA- in spite of his ties to the space program by saying that “Bill Nelson championed the space program, but has not stood up to the President about the space program”.  NASA is phasing out the Shuttle program due to budgetary short-falls and has planned the final launches of the space shuttle later this week.

On the issue of illegal immigration, LeMieux said that anyone who thinks that Florida needs an ‘Arizona-style’ immigration law has a ” lack of understanding” about Florida’s illegal immigration issues- Florida’s immigration issues are due mainly from immigrants overstaying their visas, hence making them illegal immigrants.  But LeMieux also contended that Law Enforcement officers  “should be able to check the  immigration status” on routine traffic stops of anyone who is pulled over, regardless of the reason for the stop.  LeMieux added that if someone cannot prove their citizenship or is here illegally, then “they (those persons stopped)will be detained, processed and deported”.

On a related issue, LeMieux opposes any and all trade with the Cuban regime, and  boldly stated that “ the Wetfoot-Dryfoot is not a perfect solution, but it has worked.” Senator LeMieux was questioned about his conservative bonafides, and LeMieux to this opportunity to land some jabs at both his Republican primary opponents, Haridopolos and Hasner.  When asked about Hasner touting that he is the ‘true’ Conservative, LeMieux asserted that, “rhetoric is one thing, talk is cheap- I am the only one with real experience…I’m the most conservative of the three.”

With 15 months to go before the Republican primary election, it’s looking more and more like this primary could well become yet another political ‘battle royale’ between the GOP’s cantankerous factions- stay tuned.