Peter Hoekstra on Principles & ValuesRepublican Representative (MI-2) |
Stabenow had accepted debate invitations at the Detroit Economic Club and Grand Valley State University, which have held U.S. Senate debates in recent Michigan election cycles. Hoekstra said he wanted debates with more exposure.
Hoekstra responded with a comment issued through his campaign: "Michigan families should be appalled that Debbie Stabenow is attempting to cancel all debates." Hoekstra said "she clearly now feels that she can't defend her record."
Hoekstra plans to attend what his campaign called a health care debate in Lansing--but he likely will be the only candidate in attendance. Hoekstra said: "I will either debate her or an empty chair. It is her choice
Actress Lisa Chan, who portrayed the young Asian woman in the ad, apologized via Facebook last week for her role. Hoekstra did not address Clark's accusations or his television ad, which has since been replaced. Pete Hoekstra's Super Bowl advertisement featured a bike-riding Chinese woman thanking incumbent Democrat Sen. Debbie Stabenow (called Spend-it-now in the promo) in broken English for helping support deficit spending that is aiding the Chinese economy. The ad received national criticism from both sides of the aisle.
Hoekstra addressed claims that his ad is inappropriate and plays on racially-charged stereotypes: "The only group of people that this ad is anti" Hoekstra said, "it's anti-Debbie Stabenow, it's anti-Barack Obama, the spending policies of the liberal left."
"You'll notice that the ad," he continued, "points to the opportunities that America's dumb economic policies--deficit spending, trillion dollars of deficits & debt--it creates the opportunities for counties like China and others to take advantage of our weakness."
When asked about the young woman speaking broken English, Hoekstra responded, "it's not a stereotype at all. This is a young woman in China who is speaking English. That's quite an achievement."
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As Republican Members of the House of Representatives and as citizens seeking to join that body, we propose not just to change its policies, but to restore the bounds of trust between the people and their elected representatives. That is why, in this era of official evasion and posturing, we offer instead a detailed agenda for national renewal, a written commitment with no fine print.