Re-draft Duncan Hunter into the Presidential Race

(With all of the written and video obituaries which have found their way onto internet regarding the recent demise of Congressman Duncan Hunter's presidential campaign, we at NWCL would like to offer this gem. There are other voices out there who believe it is still not too late).

Fred Thompson has finally dropped out. There is no one left in the race that can arguably claim to have a conservative record. Despite the current rhetoric from Mitt Romney, Rudy Giuliani, John McCain and Mike Huckabee, there is a solid history of liberalism from these gentlemen. Volumes can and have been written about their respective stints in office that not only outraged conservatives at the time, but that should have been permanent railroad spikes in the coffins of their ambitions for higher office. Instead, like Dracula, the RINOs are undead again, and leading towards 2008 disaster. Disaster not only if they were to lose, but even if they win. The GOP cannot veer left, period. It’s only hope as a viable conservative party is to move confidently back to the right; right back towards its Reagan roots. And despite what the folks at National Review or the Wall Street Journal think, these candidates’ current platforms also include healthy doses of the liberal agenda.

All four of these men were faster than Clint Eastwood drawing a six shooter when the schoolmarm moderator in the last Iowa debate asked for a show of hands for those who deemed ‘global warming’ to be a serious problem. They range from wanting an international binding treaty on global warming to pressing for a mandated cap and trade system to thinking Arnold Schwarzenegger is the a real ‘leader’ on the issue. Egads, have we surrendered to Algore’s propaganda in the Grand Old Party?!?

Duncan Hunter told the FreeRepublic audience in a live on-line interview that he rejects the “alarmism” of Al Gore and others on the subject. And no way would he lead us to an international, sovereignty usurping treaty for this farce of a problem.

Mike Huckabee thinks George Bush’s foreign policy is “arrogant” and that world opinion is sufficient to close down Guantanamo Bay and ship the jihadis stateside. He believes the ‘Golden Rule’ applies to foreign policy and therefore would gladly sit down with the Mullahs for tea and conversation. Folks, he is channeling Barack Obama! He also invokes God’s name to justify a ‘green’ streak that would make Algore proud. He’s so green, he vows to eliminate smoking in public, for the good of you and the planet. Huckabee sought and obtained the endorsement of the New Hampshire chapter of the NEA, the bane of conservatives and conservatism across the nation. And no matter the audience, Huckabee is a panderer with few equals. The only thing missing in his performance at the Values Voter’s debate was his failure to bite his lip to show how much he cared. He claims he is a conservative, but that he is “just not mad about it”. I suppose that gives him a sense of moral superiority, but in reality, it more clearly explains lib-speak such as calling the constitution a “living breathing document” and calling law and order conservatives “racists and demagogues” for wanting to send illegal aliens back home.

Mitt Romney is still sticking to his guns, so to speak, on gun control. One of the few areas in which he has not completely reversed himself is on this issue. He claimed that assault weapons “are instruments of destruction with the sole purpose of hunting down and killing people.” Not only a liberal, but a liberal drama queen, especially since he would not know an assault rifle from a potato gun. Mitt is also a China appeaser. Of course, some of Hunter’s realpolitik rhetoric has rubbed off on him lately, but earlier this year he naively claimed that “China doesn’t want to bury us, they want to see us succeed and thrive so we can buy more Chinese products….I will reach out to them. I’ve already met with their leadership and will do so again if I’m lucky enough to become President, making China a partner for stability in the world”. Someone might want to tell the naive Mittster about the constant Chinese cyber attacks on US facilities such as the Pentagon, their rush into space warfare systems, and their long term goal to strangle the US industrial base. Then again he may not care, since he seems to have no problem with his old company, Bain Capital, partnering with a PLA backed company to buy a US business that makes security systems for the DOD. Of course, he still is defending Massachusetts’ mandated RomneyCare, despite the fact that it is falling apart at the seams after just a few years.

Not much needs to be written about our friend Rudy Giuliani. His pro-abortion stance should be more than sufficient to reject his candidacy. In case it isn’t, then just know this: He is a man who thinks that the 2nd Amendment is for law enforcement officers and hunters, that former ACLU squawker Ruth Bader Ginsburg is a “well qualified” Supreme Court Justice, that a strict constructionist judge could agree that Roe versus Wade IS constitutional, that creating a new, bloated, taxpayer funded “National Catastrophe Fund” (as he panders to Floridians) is a good idea, that Amnesty is not Amnesty, that a “high tech” border fence will stop the stampede, that being here illegally is not a crime, and that deporting the illegal aliens here now is a ridiculous notion.

Rudy is in good company when he takes the debate stage with John McCain when it comes to illegal aliens. McCain cares far more for the pontifications of his buddies Ted Kennedy and Lindsey Graham on illegal immigration than what the American people have to say about it. He too considers paying a nominal fine as sufficient justification for allowing illegals to remain here permanently. McCain also shows an Algorian liberalism in claiming credit where little is due. I’m referring to his on-the-stump bragging about his role in the current success in Iraq. The ‘surge’ as it is called, was the brainchild of General David Petraeus, who was tasked by one Don Rumsfeld to draw up tactics for an effective counterinsurgency. McCain rightly claims that he has consistently demanded “more troops”. But Gen. Petraeus’ call for 21,000 additional troops – well within the ebb and flow of troop rotations over the previous 3 years – was a far cry from the additional 100,000 + Soldiers and Marines that McCain was demanding. And if Don Rumsfeld is the “worst Secretary of Defense in our nations’ history”, as Mr. McCain has declared, then McCain is the worst Senator in the history of the world, going back to the days of the crumbling Roman Empire. Our country does not need a leader with delusions of personal grandeur, especially a liberal one who flirted with the notion of being John Kerry’s vice president.

With the choices left before us, we have come full circle. Conservatives clamoring for a conservative to beat back the Rudy McRomney juggernaut had a brave volunteer in Duncan Hunter. The fringe candidates such as Jim Gilmore, Sam Brownback, Tom Tancredo and Tommy Thompson all dropped out early. Hunter persevered, as long as his meager budget would allow. He anticipated that the conservative media would take the time to learn his record and realize that he was the one guy who had the complete conservative package, without having to change a single fundamental position he has held for the last 25 years. But they didn’t bother.

And just what is that complete package and what are those fundamental positions?

For starters, Hunter is the most knowledgeable man in Congress on our military, it’s history, it’s capabilities, and most importantly, it’s current needs. He has been the chairman of the Armed Services Committee, as is currently the ranking republican. He is a Hawk’s Hawk. As McCain worked with democrats to cut the military budget for a non-existent “peace dividend”, Hunter was scrapping for every last dollar to fight the downward path Bush I and Clinton embarked upon. McCain ran in 2000 on a platform that claimed Clinton neglected the Military, but McCain was not the one in the trenches fighting to save our Army Divisions, our Naval flotilla or our missile defenses; it was Duncan Hunter. Hunter was not only Reagan’s right hand man during the restoration of our military, he was the most vociferous voice in Washington pressing the case for maintaining and improving that restoration. No politician is more responsible for preventing the evisceration of our missile defense systems than Congressman Hunter. And Hunter has gone toe to toe with McCain and the liberals who vow to close down Guantanamo and neuter our interrogation methods. Political correctness is never is a consideration for Mr. Hunter, only our nation’s security. Hunter is also an Army Ranger combat veteran and a proud father – and son - of a US Marine.

Duncan Hunter has also been the most steadfast and determined man in Congress to stop the illegal alien invasion. Ever since he arrived with Reagan in 1981, Hunter has been fighting the RINOs and democrats on illegal immigration. He warned that the 1986 Simpson-Mazzoli immigration bill that granted amnesty to millions of Mexicans would only cause a larger stampede. The weak promises to ‘secure the border’ never materialized, and Hunter was absolutely correct about that stampede. Hunter took matters into his own hands and got the double border fence built in his home county, fighting the Hispanic rights activist, the environmentalists and the RINOs the whole time. Hunter has sponsored or cosponsored over 80 bills and amendments in his career that attempted to slam the door on the ever growing problem. He addressed everything from anchor babies, to sanctuary cities and states, to increases in Border Patrol officers and detention facilities. As often as not, the democrats and Senate RINOs managed to water them down to the point of futility, and the various administrations lifted nary a finger to follow through on the ones that did pass. A prime example of that foolishness occurred just weeks ago when Senators Kay Bailey Hutchinson and John Cornyn gutted Hunter’s Secure Fence Act in the Senate. No longer is the fence mandated by type, location or schedule. In fact, there is no longer any requirement for it being a double fence with a patrol road between. Hunter’s fence in San Diego is testament that such a fence works very well, and Kay Bailey is a testament that a bird brained, open borders shill can be elected even in Texas.

None of the candidates, not even Mr. Huckabee, can match Hunter’s career long efforts to honor and restore our Judeo-Christian heritage and values. Hunter has been sponsoring legislation since the 1980s that would define life as beginning at conception and forward constitutional protection to the unborn. The human life of the unborn is non negotiable with Hunter, who has also worked diligently to prevent federal funds for abortion, to outlaw partial birth abortion and to stop all funds for embryonic stem cell research. Hunter is also the bane of the ACLU, who tried to have the Mt Soledad cross removed in San Diego, only to meet a very determined Hunter who would have none of it. His lifelong, adamant position is that the 1st Amendment does not prohibit religious speech, rather it protects such speech. A few months ago, Hunter helped put the thumbscrews on the politically correct weenies running the National Cemetery Administration who banned the recitation of the customary prayers during the flag folding ceremony (one person complained), forcing them to modify their ruling and re-allow it. Hunter has also been unbending in his position that gays should not be allowed to serve in the military. The gay lobby is not going to be endorsing Hunter any time soon. The rest of the candidates dance around the issue like Fred Astaire, trying to find that middle ground that won’t ‘offend’ anyone.

And Duncan Hunter has been a firm believer in supply side economics and has missed precious few chances to sponsor or cosponsor tax cuts. Hunter’s vision mirrors that of Ronald Reagan when it comes to taxes: Lower taxes stimulate growth and ultimately generates more money into the treasury. He has proposed eliminating the death tax, slashing corporate and individual and capital gains tax rates, eliminating taxes on farmers, oil and gas exploration, tip income, and everything in between. And during this campaign, Duncan Hunter has proposed to zero out all taxation for manufacturers that build their plants on US soil. Now THAT will create jobs and wealth at unprecedented levels, and help restore the Arsenal of Democracy, which is also a very real national security concern.

I could go on and on about Hunter’s rock-ribbed, pro-America, conservative positions on a whole host of issues from his rejection of gay ‘marriage’, to his proposal to slash the bureaucracy budgets – including the Dept of Education, OSHA, the EPA, , the DOE, HUD etc, to his promise to eliminate the NEA and the NEH once and for all, to his proposal to freeze all non military and non security spending, to his calls for slashing regulations to instill nationwide competition in medical insurance and medicine itself, to his rock solid, “absolute right” stand on the 2nd Amendment, to his vow to confront the communist Chinese for their assorted malfeasance on trade and world affairs, to his guarantee to have all 854 miles of border fence up in six months, to his unwavering commitment to deport the illegal aliens, to his uncompromising stand on victory over the the jihadists in all theatres, but time does not allow today.

Suffice to say that Duncan Hunter IS the man that conservatives wanted. But the media would not cover him, the so-called conservative media treated him like a novelty when he is by far the most conservative and qualified man to be commander in chief. It is time for conservatives to rally around this man, as we should have done the first time, and ask him to re-enter the race to defeat the pack of RINOs that are still slugging it out. Fred Thompson was ‘drafted’ in the hopes that a celebrity name, who was somewhat more conservative than the ‘contenders’ could defeat Rudy McRomney. While that is an understandable line of thinking, in reality Fred’s entry diverted attention away from the Reaganite, Duncan Hunter, who needed a rally amongst the most conservative voters to lift his campaign into the first tier. Now that Fred is gone, we should ask Mr. Hunter to return, for the sake of the GOP, conservatism, the Reagan coalition, and the country.

If we all vow to contribute and work our tails off for him, we have a shot. And this time, the ‘conservative’ media will pay attention.

You have absolutely no proof that Fred was a 2008 stalking horse. In fact, Fred was drafted by people who wanted him to run, like me:

DraftFredThompson.com

DraftThompson08.blogspot

YouTube: Draft Fred Thompson Video

DraftFredThompson2008.blogspot

Article: Drafting Fred Thompson - March 2007

"Another Ronald Reagan" Website with a "Draft Fred Thompson" Rally Announcement

ABC News Article: 'Draft Fred Thompson' Renews on Web

And that is just to name a few websites devoted to that purpose, there are many other forums and blogs that were involved.

As for 2000...first of all, that was 8 years ago and they no longer share many of the views they did back then, secondly he has flat out denied that charge:

Fred Thompson told the Orange County Register in an interview, “A Republican, especially a conservative Republican – you’re going to have a large group of people you line up with on most votes. John and I certainly fit that category. But we have different views on some issues. We’ll have a good discussion about it. But John is my friend and will remain my friend, regardless of what we do.”

On the issues, Thompson parts company from McCain on the Bush tax cuts (which Thompson supported and McCain voted against), the patient’s bill of rights (a pet project of McCain’s which Fred opposed on federalist grounds), McCain-Feingold (which Fred originally supported, but now freely admits the limitations on political ads were wrong and should not have been included in the law) and the McCain-Kennedy immigration bill (which Fred opposes).

McCain also favors protecting sexual orientation by civil rights laws, which Fred Thompson opposes. McCain favors more federal funding for health coverage, which Fred opposes. Fred voted to preserve the budget for drilling in ANWR, while McCain voted to kill it. Finally, Thompson favors allowing churches to provide welfare services, which McCain opposes.

Over the years, Fred has become more conservative, while McCain has become decidedly less so.

A quote from Thompson: “When you look at the approach of Governor Huckabee and Senator McCain, they clear are moving away from what I consider to be the sound constitutional traditional principles that the Reagan coalition was founded upon.”

When asked whether he’s doing the job for John McCain by going after Huckabee, Thompson pointed out that he mentioned McCain as well and that he considers this mantra to be one of Huckabee’s talking points. “I had several policy differences that I had with him when we were standing there, man to man, face to face, he didn’t answer any of them. Now three days later he comes back with accusations like this or that, it’s all about process and doing someone else’s work. The notion that I’ve been doing what I’ve been doing for the last several months day and night, to be some kind of a stalking horse for someone else, is beyond ludicrous,” he said.

And that’s not the only situation in which he went after McCain either. In an interview with Glenn Beck he criticized his former colleague in the Senate for voting against the Bush tax cuts and for his stance on immigration.

There are some real policy differences between McCain, Huckabee and Thompson and the latter is right to point those differences out.

Source

Fred attacks McCain in an interview with Glenn Beck:

SENATOR THOMPSON: I think the basis of it is national security, national defense. John was right, I think, with regard to Iraq and he stood tough during tough times and I think he turned out to be right. And I was the same place the whole time and have been. We agree on that. But John is wrong on some other important things and he was wrong when he voted against the Bush tax cuts.

GLENN: But wait a minute. I mean --

SENATOR THOMPSON: He says he's changed his mind about that now and, you know, sobeit. But, you know, I was there during part of that time and I voted the other way. I believed the other way then, I believe the other way now. He's certainly wrong with regard to the immigration bill that they tried to get the American people sign off on last year and they gave a resounding no and now everybody's getting tough on the border. But on taxes and immigration, especially, you know, I think he's wrong. But so is Huckabee as far as that's concerned.

GLENN: But he's also wrong with McCain/Lieberman where he wants to sign treaties for global warming. He wants to give away sovereignty on global warming. This guy is not a conservative.

SENATOR THOMPSON: No, I think he's in the wrong direction on that, too. I think that that's absolutely true. But, you know, he's like everybody else. You know, he has his strong suits and his weak suits. But I think that the direction that he and Huckabee and others really, I think Giuliani and where Romney has been in the past all are going in a so-called moderate direction, which is going to lead to, you know, so-called big government conservativism or bigger government conservativism anyway.

GLENN: That doesn't even make sense.

SENATOR THOMPSON: And they all are there or still there in one form or another. I mean, you can take any of these fellas from a conservative test standpoint and they've been lacking for most of their careers.

Source

Contrast this with Hunter, who has apparently sold his soul and his supporters for a position in a potential Huckabee administration...it is about ego with him, always has been, his cocky attitude is the main thing that I abhor about him. Sorry pissant, you need to face the fact that you've been conned by your demi-god that you worshiped so much.

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