ANAHEIM — Assemblyman Rocky Chavez (R-Oceanside), a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, likened Democratic rival Kamala Harris to socialist Bernie Sanders in remarks to the press corps Saturday at the California Republican Convention.
Harris, the state attorney general, is currently the frontrunner to fill outgoing Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA)’s seat,
“Harris represents the Bernie Sanders of the Democratic Party and I think that that view of the world is not California,” Chavez said.
The Oceanside moderate outlined a number of his own policy positions.
Chavez does not support the Iran deal, he said. He explained that one of the most upsetting parts of the deal is not only that “a bomb could blow up” but that the deal allows for that bomb to be delivered with an ICBM (inter-continental ballistic missile).
“That significantly scares me. Because if you blow a bomb up on the ground, it may impact the area you’re in, but the best way to cause mass destruction is to blow up a bomb in the sky.”
Chavez added that he had top secret clearance while he served in the military, and that he had experience in the nuclear weapons field. “I can tell you having studied it, that is scary, scary dangerous weaponry. It is frightening.”
Chavez said he supports the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, criticizing Harris and fellow Democratic candidate Rep. Loretta Sanchez for opposing the TPP but supporting the Iran deal. He attributed their positions to their “myopic view [and] because the unions don’t want to be competing in the world market…We have democrats who are running for the Senate and putting our economic future at risk because of [opposition to] the TPP.”
Chavez said he believed that America’s strength is derived from its competitive ability in a global market. He added that he wants the U.S. to work more closely with other countries in the Americas.
“If the Americas are safe and strong as an economy, then we as the United States are stronger….We need to expand our relations with the Americas because they actually are our neighbors. And together, as we develop our economies and resources with South and Central America, it will help all of us.”
When asked by Breitbart News if he supports the building of a wall to keep illegal aliens out, Chavez said “a wall would not work. It didn’t work in China. It didn’t work with the Soviet Union. It did not work in England. And it will not work in the United States.”
Photo: file
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