Posted on 02/01/2007 9:02:31 PM PST by GulfBreeze
Long-shot campaigns aren’t new to Duncan Hunter, and now the California Republican hopes a platform of closed borders and restricted trade will beat the odds and lift him to the White House | Jamie Dean
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MYRTLE BEACH, S.C.— U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) is a presidential candidate with "hattitude." That's according to the purple writing on the bright red cap he sported two days after launching his bid for the presidency in a South Carolina hotel filled with men in dark suits. On this breezy morning, Hunter mingled with a very different crowd: some 500 women, mostly 50 and over, in flamboyant purple outfits and outrageous red hats.
Hunter's visit to the regional convention of the Red Hat Society at the Myrtle Beach Hilton wasn't the first stop on his third official day of campaigning for the presidency, but it was the most telling: In a presidential race that promises to be the most expensive in history, one of the least-known candidates in the field needs to hunt for votes wherever he can find them.
Hunting for votes is something the 14-term congressman from San Diego knows about. Hunter, 58, first ran for Congress in 1980 as a young attorney with a storefront law office when his district was only 29 percent Republican. Ronald Reagan was running for the presidency that year, and Hunter's father thought his son could ride the conservative wave. "So we went out in the rain and got our signatures," Hunter told WORLD. "And we won a real underdog race."
Twenty-six years later, Hunter is one of the chief underdogs in the race for the White House: A recent CNN poll found that only 1 percent of likely Republican voters favored the congressman for the presidency.
Despite the odds, Hunter acts like a man who is serious: He was one of the first candidates to announce his intentions, and he unexpectedly announced that next year he will give up the congressional seat he's held more than a quarter-century to focus on his run for the White House.
The congressman shrugs off questions about his slim chances, saying his platform is unique enough to gain traction. During a weekend visit to New Hampshire in early January, he told The Manchester Union Leader: "I think I'll just tell people what I stand for and we'll see if we can't attract a crowd."
At a Saturday breakfast of local Republicans in Myrtle Beach, Lois Eargle arrived early to escort Hunter to his next crowd: The Red Hat Society is a club for women over 50 who meet for tea wearing purple outfits and red hats to celebrate growing old with spunk. Standing near a cluster of palm trees, Eargle was easy to spot in a sharp purple suit and sleek matching pumps, red scarf, red lipstick, red nails, and red jewelry.
After greeting a handful of locals outside, Hunter followed Eargle to her shiny red Cadillac, where her wide-brimmed, red hat sat perched on the back seat. On the drive south, Eargle made polite small talk in a refined Southern accent, but soon grew direct: "Now what makes you think you can beat John McCain?"
It's a good question. Hunter, who supported Sen. McCain (R-Ariz.) in the 2000 campaign, doesn't hesitate: "Because I've got the right position on border security. . . . It sets me apart from the other candidates."
Hunter is famous in his district for his strict positions on border control and immigration. The congressman led efforts to build the 14-mile border wall along the San Diego-Tijuana border, and he has sponsored legislation to extend the wall another 700 miles into Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. The borders are porous, he says, and vulnerable to criminals and terrorists: "The national security issue is even more important than the immigration issue."
But the immigration issue isn't going away, and while some Republican presidential candidates—like McCain—support a guest-worker program that would provide a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants already in the country, Hunter contends "it doesn't make sense" to discuss such programs before the borders are secure. He says perceived benefits could create a rush to cross illegally: "We're like a house that doesn't have any sides. . . . Let's put up walls before we talk about how to adjust the front door."
As for the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants already in the "house," the congressman refused to offer a plan, except to say: "I think we should follow current law. . . . We deport thousands of people a month right now."
Hunter introduced constitutionally questionable legislation this month to pardon two Texas border patrol agents convicted of shooting a fleeing man in the back while on duty. The wounded man was later identified as Osvaldo Aldrete Davila, a drug smuggler attempting to cross the border illegally with 700 pounds of marijuana. Convicted by a federal court in El Paso, agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean reported to prison this month to serve 11- and 12-year sentences.
Federal prosecutors during a two-and-half-week trial said that Davila initially tried to surrender to the agents with empty hands but then continued to flee on foot. Compean fired 14 rounds at Davila and Ramos fired once, shooting him in the buttocks. The agents then cleaned up the scene and filed a false report, according to prosecutors, who said the agents didn't know Davila was a drug smuggler until after the incident.
The agents have denied the prosecutors' version of events and said they believed Davila was armed and aggressive. Hunter, who has reviewed court documents, believes the agents and says they should be freed: "Even if you believe the facts as presented by the prosecution, which I don't, these men still received longer sentences than some convicted murderers."
When asked if the agents' sentences should be reduced instead of thrown out, Hunter said an administrative punishment would have been more appropriate, and he says more than 70 lawmakers have signed onto his bill for a pardon. U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton maintains that the evidence pointed to the agents' guilt: "If they believed [Davila] was a threat, why did they abandon him? And if they truly believed the shooting was justified, why did they not report it?" Compean and Ramos are appealing the verdict while hoping for a pardon.
As Hunter talked about border security, Eargle navigated her long Cadillac into a small parking space at the Myrtle Beach Hilton Hotel, and Hunter carried her bulky pink bag inside. On the hotel's second floor, a dozen vendors sat behind long tables in a narrow corridor outside a large meeting room, selling scarves, shawls, sashes, pins, costume jewelry, T-shirts, and hats, all in red and purple.
Inside the convention, Hunter and his communications director were the only men in a room packed full of 500 chattering women in red hats of every variety: cowboy hats, visors, baseball caps, wide-brimmed hats with tall plumes of feathers, and others with huge bouquets of flowers. Easing his way through the tight room, Hunter joked: "This is my first Red Hat event."
A long buffet line wound around large tables with red-checkered tablecloths and elaborate centerpieces with themes like the roaring twenties, beach trips, and New Year's celebrations. As a lady carrying a bright red parasol with purple fringe strode by, Eargle introduced Hunter to tables of lively women eating a hearty brunch: "This is Duncan Hunter, ya'll, and he's running for president of the United States!" Most seemed impressed, but others admitted confusion: "What are you running for, honey?" asked one elderly woman. "President," Hunter replied with a smile. "But today I'm just Lois' bag man."
Hunter donned the red baseball cap he bought for his wife and greeted small crowds of women eager to shake hands and pose for photos with a presidential candidate. A woman with a purple jacket and red satin hat topped with a purple bouquet of flowers hurried over. "I see you all the time on Wolf Blitzer and Lou Dobbs!" cried Maria Jordan from Myrtle Beach.
Adding that she used to be "a John Edwards girl," Jordan said she plans to support Hunter because of his positions on immigration and supporting the military. Moving along with the crush of the crowd, Jordan waved goodbye to Hunter and called out: "Good luck, Mr. President. . . . This is our America!"
Leaning on a nearby wall, Hunter's low-key communications director, Roy Tyler, checked his cell phone and waited on his boss. A long-time Republican and restaurant owner originally from Texas, Tyler met Hunter in 1994 when the congressman frequented his El Cajon eatery, Tyler's Taste of Texas. Both Vietnam veterans, the pair soon became hunting and golfing partners.
Though Tyler has lots of business experience, he's never dealt with the media and admits it's "overwhelming." But he says Hunter is always optimistic about any task, wryly remembering what the congressman told him when he offered him the job: "It probably won't take up too much of your time." Tyler says he worked 15 hours the first day, "and I haven't stopped since."
In the downstairs lobby, Hunter called his wife of 33 years, Lynne. The couple has two sons and four grandchildren. Their oldest son served two tours of duty in Iraq with the U.S. Marines. After chatting for a few minutes, Hunter told his wife: "I miss you too."
On a long ride to lunch, the congressman drove a silver Envoy past empty water parks and miniature golf courses while Tyler composed emails on his laptop in the front seat. The backseat floorboard bore the telltale signs of three days of campaigning on the road: McDonald's wrappers, half-eaten nachos, and empty water bottles.
While checking road signs, Hunter talked about serving on the House Armed Services Committee, which he chaired for four years until Democrats took the House this year. An ardent supporter of the president's plan to send more troops to Iraq, Hunter has helped bolster military pay, size, and firepower during his tenure on the committee.
The congressman is also strongly pro-life: He voted against federal funding for embryonic stem-cell research and recently proposed legislation that acknowledges the personhood of an unborn child.
Hunter says his pro-life convictions grow out of his religious convictions. A Southern Baptist, Hunter says faith and government are intertwined: "Americans get their laws from principles, and they get their principles from God. . . . When those two coincide that's the best form of government you can have."
Last year, Hunter helped save the 43-foot cross atop the Mt. Soledad war monument in San Diego by introducing legislation in the House that enabled the city to transfer the ground directly under the cross to the ownership of the federal government, avoiding the ACLU's legal challenges to the city.
But while Hunter is socially conservative, not all his policies gel with the GOP. He vigorously opposes current free trade agreements, saying they are not fair to the United States and siphon away jobs from Americans. He voted against NAFTA and similar agreements. "I'm not against trade," he said. "I'm just for smart trade."
When asked about compassionate conservatism and the government's role in helping the poor, Hunter said the government should help people help themselves, and he circled back to his fair trade ideas: Fairer trade means more jobs for people in need.
Hunter says he isn't worried about something he'll need for his presidential campaign: lots of money. Some election watchers estimate candidates will need at least $100 million by the end of the year to compete in the primaries. Hunter, who raised about $1 million in the last election cycle, says he doesn't think he needs that much: "I don't need image consultants and I don't need pollsters telling me what my positions should be. . . . I know what I stand for."
Hunter dismisses criticism leveled by his Democratic opponent in the last election about contributions he received in the past from Brent Wilkes, a contractor connected to former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham (R-Calif.). Cunningham, a long-time friend to Hunter, is now serving an eight-year prison sentence for accepting more than $2 million in bribes. Hunter says he returned all the money Wilkes contributed over the past 20 years, adding that Cunningham's fall was "one of the great tragedies I've seen in my life."
The congressman says he has thought about running for the presidency for a long time, and that he's in the race to win. But whatever the outcome, he says: "I'm in the process of advancing ideas. . . . I think that's what all the candidates are doing."
After a seafood lunch near the shore, Hunter and Tyler planned to squeeze in nine holes of golf, courtesy of a Democratic state senator who owns a local country club. Despite their packed schedule, Hunter was optimistic: "There's plenty of time."
Actually, the better reason to give to the campaign for those who like Mr. Hunter is that an influx of donations of any size will be a sign of support. If the number of contributors to his campaign were suddenly five or ten times the number giving to other candidates, that early sign of people voting with their checkbooks would get the media's attention. For the time being, the big money is going to follow McCain, Guiliani, and Romney because they are considered the candidates "who can win." If the little money followed someone else in a big way, the big money might start to change.
Bill
I still haven't made up my mind about Governor Romney. What are the two or three biggest factors in your supporting him?
sp=remove
Fair trade, we put the same restrictions on a country's good as they put on ours.
Republicans Can't Win Without Christian Conservatives
SOURCE: http://72.14.203.104/search?q=cache:QS6fK2c8AP0J:pewforum.org/events/index.php%3FEventID%3D115
Americans who regularly attend worship services and hold traditional Christian religious views increasingly vote Republican, while those who are less connected to religious institutions and more secular in their outlook tend to vote Democratic, according to a major study by the Pew Forum.
Some of the conclusions of this report were already evident in 2004 exit polling data. For example, voters who attend church more than once a week (16 percent of all voters) chose Bush over Kerry by a margin of 64 – 35 percent.
Likewise, those who attend Christian denominational Churches on a weekly basis (26 percent of voters) supported the President by a 58 – 41 percent margin. Also very telling, those who never attend Church (15 percent of voters) overwhelmingly supported Kerry 62 – 36 percent.
The study further found that traditionalist elements within each religion tended to vote Republican, while modernist groups within the religions trended towards the Democrats. A multiple regression analysis of exit poll and public opinion survey data from 2000 and 2004 enabled the Pew Research Center to assign a relative weight to various demographic markers.
Interestingly, church attendance was tied with race as the most significant factor. But even that number is deceiving; in that race is only an important factor due to the high level of support the Democrats receive from black voters.
These trends represent a major shift over the past forty-five years. White Christian Evangelicals in 1960 favored Democrats by a two-to-one margin; now they are Republican by a 56 – 27 percent margin. Seventy-eight percent of them voted for President Bush in 2004.
In 1960, 71 percent of Catholics were Democrats and now Democrats have only a slight edge among Catholics (44 – 41 percent) and Catholics voted for President Bush (52 – 47 percent) in 2004. These trends have also brought an increased acceptance of religion in the public square.
While Americans do tend to favor the separation of church and state, 70 percent of voters want their President to have strong Christian religious beliefs. Likewise, the study reveals that 52 percent of Americans believe that Christian churches should express political views. Surprisingly, support for political involvement of churches is strongest among younger voters age 18 to 29 (59 percent).
Washington, DC, Apr. 13, 2005 (Culture of Life Foundation/CWNews.com) - A memo authored by a prominent Democratic strategy organization calls the decline in support of white Catholics for Democrats "striking" and "a big part of the 2004 election story." One of the analysis' key findings is that Catholic voters are becoming more pro-life, which the authors called "a factor in the recent losses and one of the blockages for Democrats, at least in the Midwest."
The data also reveals that young Catholics are more pro-life than their parents and that bishops who speak out against pro-abortion politicians help bolster the pro-life vote.
The abortion issue is particularly potent for a group called "Democratic defectors" who either identified themselves as Democrats or voted for Bill Clinton in 1996 but voted for President Bush in the last election. Among this group, "26 percent believe that abortion should be illegal in all cases, nearly three times the number for all Catholic Democrats."
The memo was issued by Democracy Corps, a research and tactical advice organization founded by Democrat strategy virtuosos James Carville, Stanley Greenberg and Bob Shrum. Titled "Reclaiming the White Catholic Vote," it is based on data from a nationwide survey of more than 1,000 white Catholic voters.
The decline in the white Catholic vote has been steady over the last decade. Clinton won it by seven percentage points; Al Gore lost it by seven points; and Sen. John Kerry lost it by 14 points. The data provided in the report provides a fascinating window into the much discussed Catholic vote and makes it clear Democrats are losing ground because of their stance on a range of cultural issues.
It turns out that one of the most contentious and visible issues in the 2004 election, the denial of the Eucharist to pro-abortion politicians, did not hurt the pro-life side as many said it would.
The poll found that when white Catholics were asked whether or not they were more or less likely to vote for a Democrat that "is denied Communion by the area's bishop for voting to support abortion rights" 49 percent said they were less likely while 33 percent said they were more likely.
The memo also made it clear that the abortion issue is not going away. "Although the pro-life position is strongest among seniors, Catholics' current pro-life position does not appear likely to lessen with time.
While middle-age Catholics lean toward keeping abortion legal, voters under 30 are more pro-life: 53 percent believe abortion should be illegal in most cases." The pro-life position could be a winning one for Democrats according to the study.
Fifty-nine percent of white Catholics say they are more likely to support a Democratic candidate who is pro-life and 35 percent say they are less likely, giving a pro-life Democrat a 24 point advantage. Even on the East Coast where Catholics are less pro-life, a pro-life Democrat has a 12 point advantage over a pro-abortion candidate.
The memo advises Democrat candidates to get around the issue by presenting themselves as one who "[b]elieves in a woman's right to choose but believes all sides should come together around the common goal of preventing and reducing the number of abortions, with more sex ed, including abstinence, access to contraception and more adoption."
This common ground approach is reminiscent of a recent speech given by New York Senator and likely presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton, in which she softened her approach to abortion by calling it a "tragic choice." In the speech she said faith-based abstinence should be embraced but also called on increased funding for "family planning services," a euphemism for contraception, abortifacients, and abortions.
SOURCE http://www.cwnews.com/news/viewstory.cfm?recnum=36492
Duncan is the one to watch.... go Hunter
You are talking about a Ranger, be careful...
"Never shall I fail my comrades. I will always keep myself mentally alert, physically strong and morally straight and I will shoulder more than my share of the task whatever it may be. One-hundred-percent and then some."
My sentiments exactly...
The only way the Left can win is to destroy the Republican Party from within. They have lost the public argument and cannot win on the issues, they have to have despotic judges do it for them and they have to undermine conservatives in the Republican primary.
Hunter CAN pull the party together---and more---much more. Hunter's recent call for pardonning border agents (read below) was a masterful stroke. Hunter knows that anti-amnesty is a rare consensus issue---he will get support from many on the entire political spectrum. Read on:
Bush Considering Pardon for Border Agents Convicted of Shooting Mexican Drug Runner
Fox News | 1/19/2007
FR Posted on 01/19/2007 by Antoninus
WASHINGTON — President Bush promised to review a case for a possible pardon of two former U.S. Border Patrol agents serving time in prison for shooting a Mexican drug runner. Bush said in an interview with KFOX-TV in El Paso, Texas, Thursday that he would "take a sober look at the case" as it works its way through the appeals system.
Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., introduced a bill on Thursday to pardon the agents, joining a growing group of supporters of the men, including Reps. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., and Ted Poe, R-Texas. Hunter collected 76 co-sponsors on a House bill he introduced that would pardon the agents. The bill is the first of its kind in Congress, said Hunter spokesman Joe Kasper. The legislation is likely to head to the House Judiciary Committee for consideration.
"We cannot turn our back on agents Compean and Ramos or the rest of the men and women proudly serving in the U.S. Border Patrol. These two agents deserve our full support and the congressional pardon provided by this legislation," Hunter said in a statement.
Hunter also sent a letter to the director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons requesting the two former agents be segregated from the general prison population — some of which the ex-agents may have helped put away.
Thank you:)
I know some would like to think our vote doesnt matter, but it does. they cannot elect a republican without the base.
theres alot of hype, but i dont think rudy will make it.
Go Duncan!!
I trust someone will let us know when that happens.
PING - Antoninus please ping the list - Thanks
ROTFLMCO----just seeing that in print is a laugh riot (nyah, nyah, we already know the answer).
So now that Rudy's handlers emailed this post to his campaign hdq, betcha good ol' Judy will soon be forced to mutter conservative-sounding phrases in an effort to continue the Rudy-as-conservative fiction---AND to fool the conservative base.
As Borat indicated to Rolling Stone---you can tell those "dumb" Christians anything and they'll believe you.
I absolutely agree with you.
I even called the campaign office about a week ago and said the same thing to them about that picture.
I have no idea what they were thinking using that one.
Just some background info on Hunter and his outspoken nature to go where not many(I don't think any) Republicans go with their spineless nature.
Hunter on Abu Ghraib(courtesyhttp://www.larouchepub.com/other/2004/3128goss_hunter_block.html : )
Probably the single loudest obstructionist voice in the House of Representatives in support of the Cheneyac "Beastman" policy in Iraq has been Armed Services Committee chairman Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.). Hunter has been able to use his position to block any meaningful inquiry into the Abu Ghraib prison scandal and at every public opportunity, has railed against those who are demanding such an investigation. He even went after his GOP counterpart in the Senate, John Warner (Va.), for holding three hearings in two weeks on the scandal, practically accusing Warner of treason.
Under great public pressure, Hunter has since held one hearing, for part of one day, and has no intention of having any more. During debate on the Fiscal Year 2005 Defense Authorization bill, on May 19, Hunter declared, "We have had enormous publicity the last number of days about the mess at Abu Ghraib. I estimated we have probably devoted as much media attention to that mess involving now, as identified, some seven personnel, as we did to the Normandy invasion. And that is an imbalance. It is time to refocus." What did he want to refocus on? "The 135,000 great personnel doing their job in Iraq."
On June 14, when the committee took up a resolution of inquiry sponsored by some 40 Democrats, demanding the Pentagon be more forthcoming with documents relating to the prison scandal, Hunter placed the 6,000 pages of the report on the abuse and torture of prisoners filed by U.S. Army General Anthony Taguba (the Taguba Report) on a table at the head of the hearing room and railed at the Democrats, "Isn't that enough for you?"
Hunter on Guantanamo(courtesy http://washingtontimes.com/upi-breaking/20050613-033125-4935r.htm:)
California Republican Duncan Hunter held a press conference to discuss the treatment of detainees at the island jail, and spent his opening statement going over a daily menu for prisoners that included oven-fried chicken and fresh fruit.
"This is what Osama bin Laden's bodyguards will eat several times a week. Lemon chicken, rice, broccoli, carrots, bread and two types of fruit," Hunter said, inviting a reporter to come eat with him.
Hunter was digging himself out of small hole he got into over the weekend when he said on a news program that the White House is divided over whether to close the jail.
"I think they've come to the conclusion, some members of the White House have come to the conclusion that the legend now, that the legend is different than the fact, and when that's the case you go with the legend that somehow Guantanamo has been a place of abuse and you close it down and you shorten the stories, you shorten the heated debate and you get it off the table and you move on," he said.
Liz, did you see the thread yesterday about 'Mrs Giuliani III', the "First Lady of The Hamptons"?
I LOL, this was my post......
And not only did I read the article about this "First Lady", I went through that whole magazine, sheesh. These Hampton people make Kerry, Dubya and the Kennedy's look like peasants. So it's apparent that Rudy cleaned up BIG time milking 9-11 for all it's worth (or he was very frugal living on his Mayor's salary /s). 'Little people' they AIN'T.
Phony, phony, phony and PHONY!
Ann Coulter On Rudy Giuliani : "I Think He's The Only Republican Who Can't Beat Hillary."
The more I read about Hunter, the more I like him. I think he's got a chance in this race. It's too early how good that chance is, but it's a start.
He is going to be on the cover of World magazine.
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