U.S. Senate candidate Eric Hovde and Sen. John Thune (R-SD) spoke at the University of Wisconsin School of Business on Tuesday night at an event in collaboration with the American Conservation Coalition and College Republicans of UW-Madison.
The event opened with ACC Midwestern Regional Director Aidan Shank outlining the organization’s effort to champion what he referred to as smart conservative solutions to environmental issues to win over young voters.
ACC, a nonprofit organization dedicated to mobilizing young people around environmental issues through a limited-government approach, is currently the largest conservative environmental organization in the United States with over 50,00 members across 100 campuses, according to Shank.
Shank argued today’s conservatives must continue the legacy of Republican-led environmental action, referencing former presidents Grant and Roosevelt who prioritized conservation and Nixon, who founded the Environmental Protection Agency.
“We should leave the Earth better than we found it,” Shank said. “That’s not the leftist talking point that many people assume it is. It’s actually inherently conservative.”
Thune urged the audience to support Eric Hovde in Wisconsin’s Senate race. The path to a Republican majority in the US Senate goes through Wisconsin, Thune said.
Thune highlighted Hovde’s business experience and character as critical assets for addressing inflation and the economy. In addition, Thune criticized the Biden administration, linking high prices and the border crisis to Democratic policies.
To achieve American energy dominance and reduce inflation, Thune advocated for an “all of the above” energy approach that invests in both conventional and renewable resources including wind power, renewable and nuclear energy and natural gas.
“We ought to have a policy in this country that is unlimited energy,” Thune said. “Harness all the resources that we have, make the best of it and use it as an advantage to make our country more competitive.”
Hovde shared personal anecdotes about being a student at UW, his early political and business careers and his experience with multiple sclerosis.
Hovde spoke passionately about The Hovde Foundation, which he said focuses on medical research and shelters for exploited children, including partnerships to fight human trafficking.
Hovde criticized the Biden administration’s fiscal policies and emphasized his platform’s goal to restore economic stability, which he sees as pivotal for future generations and stems from a profound patriotism.
“They have racked up more debt in less than four years than our country did in its first 230-year history,” Hovde said.
In his first three years and five months in office, President Joe Biden approved $4.2 trillion of new ten-year borrowing, or $2.2 trillion excluding the American Rescue Plan — former President Donald Trump approved $8.4 trillion of new ten-year borrowing during his full four-year term in office, or $4.8 trillion excluding the CARES Act and other COVID-19 relief, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.
Hovde voiced his strong stance on national security and public safety, criticizing what he described as a shift away from law enforcement. He attributed the rise of violence in Milwaukee to reduced staff and morale.
“Defunding the police was the absolute dumbest idea of all time,” Hovde said.
Additionally, Hovde referred to the border as a “rotten onion” with layers of issues, including economic strain, drug crimes, trafficking, and humanitarian crises. He noted the alarming influx of fentanyl and linked the hundreds of thousands of American deaths due to the drug to unregulated border crossings.
There are a myriad of factors that can lead to migration to the U.S. and the use of fentanyl. It should be noted these are stand-alone issues.
Towards the end of his speech, Hovde called for unity.
“We’ve got to stop putting on the blue jersey or the red jersey and fighting amongst each other,” Hovde said. “We’ve got to put on the red, white and blue jersey and come together as Americans because we got a lot to get done.”
Hovde said while he believes mankind affects the environment, he doesn’t believe the situation is as grave as some environmentalists say. He used the argument that in Wisconsin, glaciers have melted and reappeared because the climate is continuously changing.
Rapid glacial melting leading to rising sea levels around the world is a result of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse emissions raising average global temperatures, according to the World Wildlife Fund.
Hovde also argued that transporting oil and gas through pipelines is safer than transporting energy through trucks and trains, which he said causes more spillage.
Oil pipelines are generally about 70 times safer than transporting oil by truck, but when they do fail, consequences can be catastrophic, according to ProPublica.
Students asked questions on topics ranging from abortion to lowering drug prices.
