George Pataki, who served as governor of New York for 12 years from 1995-2006, is seriously considering running for the Republican nomination for president. The Republican field is filling up and promises to be very interesting. Governor Pataki was visiting New Hampshire and participated in a lively interview with Chris Ryan and Rebecca Ackerly. When he was asked why the governor feels that now is the right time for a run, Pataki claims that the country and the world are both calling for leadership by the United States. He also claims that the “progressive” agenda of President Obama and the Democrat party is creating an intrusive government presence which has to be pushed back. He feels that his record as governor demonstrates that he knows how to decrease the size, scope, and influence of the federal government. He pointed to his record of reducing taxes in New York each year. He also was proud of having a budget surplus by cutting the size of government and reducing the number of welfare recipients in his state. He feels that this is what needs to be done on the national level. Pataki wants to reduce the size of the federal work force, lower the federal tax burden, and reform the entitlement programs, so that people will look for opportunities rather than depend on the government for their lives. Governor Pataki put forward several suggestions about how to improve economic conditions in the country and in New Hampshire, the governor pointed to how he improved the business climate in New York by lowering tax burdens, giving incentives, developing the infrastructure, and helping to provide a qualified workforce. He feels that we can use community colleges to train a work force to meet these needs. He also feels that Obamacare discourages small businesses from growing. In his view, the tax structure also needs to be reformed in order to unburden individuals and businesses so that our economy can grow.
Pataki was also asked about the recent senate intelligence committee report which was critical of the CIA’s anti-terrorist interrogation practices. The governor questioned the accuracy of the findings and the motives of Senator Feinstein’s report. He was governor of New York at the time of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center. For that reason, he feels that we need to be aggressive in order to prevent another terrorist attack. Pataki does not believe that the senate report is accurate, and he it is politically motivated. He questioned the finding of the report that the enhanced interrogations did not develop credible or useful intelligence. Pataki prefers to accept the claims of CIA directors and interrogators that useful information in the war on terror was gained by these methods. He also pointed out that the senate report makes no recommendations about what the agency should do in the future. The governor also criticized that the committee did not interview anyone at the CIA. Fundamentally, Pataki rejects that the interrogations were illegal or torture. In his view, terrorists are not subject to the Geneva Conventions and for that reason they are not subject to the same considerations as a captured soldier in wartime. He does maintain that as Americans we should use “civilized” techniques and operate within the rule of law.
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