GOP candidates united in praise for agriculture, divided on renewable fuels

DES MOINES - A new crop of presidential hopefuls sowed the seeds for the 2016 campaign Saturday by singing the praises of agriculture, fair trade and energy independence in the state that will begin winnowing the field of candidates early next year.

The inaugural Iowa Ag Summit, organized by Iowa entrepreneur and philanthropist Bruce Rastetter and funded with the help of corporate sponsors, drew nine aspiring 2016 Republican presidential candidates - former Govs. Jeb Bush of Florida, Mike Huckabee of Arkansas, George Pataki of New York and Rick Perry of Texas; current Govs. Chris Christie of New Jersey and Scott Walker of Wisconsin; U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina; and former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania.

New York businessman Donald Trump, former Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio had accepted invitations but were unable to attend the day-long event at the Iowa State Fairgrounds. Several potential 2016 Democratic candidates were invited but declined.

During one-on-one discussions with Rastetter, the potential GOP candidates took turns criticizing President Barack Obama, his administration and his Democratic allies, blaming them for overreaching federal regulations that impede agriculture and the economy, seeking an overhaul of immigration law and calling for the repeal of Obamacare.

However, differences emerged in areas of food labeling and renewable energy tax credits for ethanol and wind. Cruz and Perry stood their ground in support of their oil-state interests in bucking support for renewable fuel standards they viewed as government interference in the free market.

Renewable fuels

Cruz said ethanol has established itself as a 'major player” within the energy industry and commands a market share that would continue even without a federal mandate such as the Renewable Fuel Standard. While supporting biofuels, the Texas senator said he prefers allowing the marketplace to decide rather than having the government pick winners and losers.

Perry took a similar stance but said he wanted states to decide whether to support various energy-related tax credits. He said he made the right decision for Texas as governor in seeking RFS waivers.

Bush, Santorum, Christie, Huckabee, Pataki, Walker and Graham espoused support for the RFS, which renewable energy advocates contend provides more than $5 billion to Iowa's economy and is vital to energy independence and national security.

'What would the world be like if we weren't dependent on foreign oil from people who hate our guts?” Graham said.

Huckabee said America's food, fuel and military firepower should not be outsourced. While supporting the RFS, Pataki said it should be phased out in favor of market forces.

One of the non-presidential candidate speakers, U.S. Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, called the RFS 'the Holy Grail,” while Gov. Terry Branstad said the Obama administration's foot-dragging in extending the standard is creating uncertainty that is impeding investment in renewable fuel technologies and is depressing corn and other commodity prices.

'Right now the president's energy policy is a bumper sticker,” said Christie, who was interrupted by a protester for a second time while campaigning in Iowa. His remarks also were disrupted in January during King's Freedom Summit.

Protests noted

'I'm glad to see that New Jersey has come to Iowa. It's great to see that,” Christie said in making light of the interruption. 'I'll deal with you here the same way I do in New Jersey,” he added as uniformed police officers escorted the heckler out of the Elwood Family Center where 1,000 summit participants had gathered. Branstad's remarks also were interrupted briefly by a heckler.

Walker, who got an enthusiastic greeting from summit participants, noted labor union members showed up at the fairgrounds to protest his presence. He said he supports free, fair and open trade that is especially important for agriculture and he wished Obama would coordinate on that more closely with states.

The prospective GOP candidates supported GMO food products, noting that environmentalists who oppose that element of science turn around and champion science about global warming. But they were divided over requiring country-of-origin labeling of food products.

Bush, who made his Iowa debut as a likely 2016 presidential candidate, said as a consumer he liked to know where his food came from, but Graham called it 'a backdoor way” of putting farmers out of business.

Walker said if food is safe, 'there's no need to distinguish it.”

Rural Roots

Each candidate noted his agricultural bona fides: Walker said he lived in Plainfield for seven years while his dad was a minister in northeast Iowa; Christie noted he comes from the Garden State; Pataki said he grew up on a family farm in New York state; Perry touted his rural background and his stint as Texas agriculture commissioner; Graham and Huckabee both noted they hail from rural states.

Bush noted that agriculture was the second-largest industry behind tourism in Florida, where he served as governor for eight years. 'It's a big darn deal,” he said.

Bush also noted he spent time in Iowa campaigning for the past successful presidential campaigns of his dad and brother, while Santorum noted he has been in all of Iowa's 99 counties after winning the 2012 GOP caucuses.

Huckabee, the 2008 winner of the GOP Iowa caucuses, lamented that America has a cultural divide between urban and rural that is contributing to a 'disconnect” between urban centers on both coasts and 'fly-over country” in between.

Among Saturday's summit attendees was Liz Garst, a Coon Rapids farmer and banker also known for her Democratic political involvement.

'One of the wonderful parts of living in Iowa is that you get to personally see, hear, talk to whoever our next president will be,” Garst said. 'That might be a Republican, and I like to look them over and know what they're like - even though I won't vote for any of these people.”

Chris Petersen, a Clear Lake farmer and Iowa Farmers Union board member, admitted feeling out of his element at the gathering organized by Rastetter, who he referred to as 'the kingpin of ethanol and industrialized animal agriculture.”

'I like to see what's going on,” he added.

Petersen was not disappointed by the absence of potential Democratic candidates. 'Why would they come to this?” he said. 'Quite frankly, I would be embarrassed if a Democrat showed up.”

Digging into Details

Chuck Laudner, a GOP activist who has allied with Trump, who plans to tape an interview with Rastetter later this month, praised Rastetter for organizing an event that put the spotlight on agricultural interests and required prospective candidates to take positions on complex issues.

'Any candidate can come to Iowa and say repeal Obamacare, but when it comes to agriculture you have to dig down into the details,” Laudner noted. 'If they didn't have this event, candidates may not be confronted with these questions at all. I think this is a starting point. I think this tees it up so it's an issue all the way through the campaign.”

Rastetter said Saturday's discussion was important because the planet will add 2 billion people over the next 40 years to its 7 billion inhabitants, so it will be vital to provide efficient, effective and technologically advanced food production methods to feed the world's population.

Chris Hill, a former combat pilot and current airline captain from New Hampshire who is an announced 2016 GOP presidential candidate, handed out materials to the more than 200 credentialed reporters who covered the event but was not allowed to speak.

'Let's face it, if you aren't part of the establishment, they're not interested,” Hill said.