Duncan Hunter Surprises Pundits In South Carolina Straw Poll

Rick Amato Show ^ | 3/2/07 | Rick Amato

[pissant]

The FOX television talking heads were gushing over the usual suspects- Mitt Romney, Rudy Gulliani and John McCain- when the results of the South Carolina Republican straw poll rolled in and left the pundits stuttering and speechless in mid sentence.

In a surprise result not predicted by any of the national political commentators, California Congressman Duncan Hunterfinished second with 110 votes behind Rudy Gulliani's 123 votes with 71 of the 75 precincts reporting.

Arizona Sen. John McCain was third with 86 votes, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney had 59 votes, Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback had 68 votes, and Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee rounded out the front-runners with 18 votes.

The underdog Hunter has now taken first in an Arizona straw poll and second in the South Carolina.

The charm of Duncan Hunter is that he is authentic. In a world of hyper-branding and packaging... where politicial speeches sound as if they are the result of focus group studies... Hunter comes across as unscripted, unrehearsed and firm in his beliefs.

...And do not dismiss his unwavering support for Border Patrol Agents Ramos & Compeon. It is the stuff that resonates with people.

As I wrote in The Washington Times back in November, Hunter has a message that connects with republican voters...particularly those in early primary states such as Iowa, South Carolina and New Hampshire. His message is one of peace through strength, conservative social values and conservative illegal immigration policy.

[pissant]

Thumbs up, Scripter.

[zook]

My biggest surprise was that Rudy got the most votes in a conservative state in a poll that tends to attract conservative voters.

I haven't made my mind up yet, but I'm certainly excited about Giuliani so far. The jury's still out on Hunter, but there's no denying this was a good start for him.

[finnman69]

bwahahahahaha

that's about right

[tumblindice]

Rangers lead the way.....

Military Rules coming around again...
Marine Corps Rules:
1. Be courteous to everyone, friendly to no one.
2. Decide to be aggressive enough, quickly enough.
3. Have a plan.
4. Have a back-up plan.
5. Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everyone you meet.
6. Don't attend a gunfight with a handgun whose caliber doesn't start with
a "4."
7. Anything worth shooting is worth shooting twice. Ammo is cheap.
8. Move away from your attacker. Distance is your friend. (Lateral &
diagonal preferred.)
9. Use cover or concealment as much as possible.
10. Flank your adversary when possible. Protect yours.
11. Always cheat; always win. The only unfair fight is the one you lose.
12. In ten years nobody will remember the detail ls of caliber, stance, or
tactics. They will only remember who lived.
13. If you are not shooting, you should be communicating your intention to
shoot.

Navy SEALS Rules:
1. Look very cool in sunglasses.
2. Kill every living thing within view.
3. Adjust speedo.
4. Check hair in mirror.

US Army Rangers Rules:
1. Walk in 50 miles wearing 75 pound rucksack while starving.
2. Locate individuals requiring killing.
3. Request permission via radio from "Higher" to perform killing.
4. Curse bitterly when mission is aborted.
5. Walk out 50 miles wearing a 75 pound rucksack while starving.

US Army Rules:
1. Select a new beret to wear.
2. Sew patches on right shoulder.
3. Change the color of beret you decide to wear.

US Air Force Rules:
1. Have a cocktail.
2. Adjust temperature on air-conditioner.
3. See what's on HBO.
4. Ask "what is a gunfight?"
5. Request more funding from Congress with a "killer" PowerPoint
presentation.
6. Wine & dine 'key' Congressmen, invite DOD & defense industry executives.

7. Receive funding, set up new command and assemble assets.
8. Declare the assets "strategic" and never deploy them operationally.
9. Hurry to make 1345 tee-time.

US Navy Rules:
1. Go to Sea.
2. Drink Coffee.
3. Watch porn.
4. Deploy the Marines.

[TheRightGuy]

"With 81 of 92 precincts reporting, Giuliani garnered 158 votes. California Rep. Duncan Hunter was running in a close second with 152 votes and Arizona Sen. John McCain was third with 116 votes, according to county GOP officials."

turnout averaging less than 2 voters per precinct?

[Dog Gone]

All these straw polls are PR stunts which every candidate will spend big bucks in an effort to manipulate.

If you do terrible in them, it's not good for your campaign, but it's hardly a representative sampling of what the general public thinks or how they will vote.

I think they got 500 or less political junkies like us to come out and cast a meaningless vote in order to write a news story. If it means more than that, I'm willing to be educated.

[Jhensy]

Don't expect the Rudy-Tooters to show up on this thread. They avoid positive Hunter threads like the plague.

LOL. No, the Rudy supporters don't HATE and look to DESTROY other GOP candidates.

I like Rudy, and I like Duncan. It's possible, you know.

[ichabod1]

I think the support Rudy has among conservatives is because people know that he knows how to fix the border -- zero tolerance policing like he did in New York.

The rub is that that's making the awfully large assumption that he wants to close the border any more than George W. Bush wants to close it.

[hawkboy]

Regional pride. Isn't Yawn Vanity from NYC area?

[Registered]

After the convention, I will support the GOP candidate against the Hildebeast.

I will be right there with ya. The reason I created the image was because the pro-Duncan lobbiests here on FR have done nothing but tear down a number of viable GOP Candidates. If they stop, I sure will. My motivation is to show them that ridiculing any GOP candidate at this stage is not to the benefit of the party. Duncan's candidacy truly is an extreme longshot. Those that truly believe he has a chance to win the nomination should go out and buy lottery tickets.

[TommyDale]

Bad weather reduced the turnout to less than 700 votes.

[TheRightGuy]

ooopps ... note to self ... drink coffee before doing math

[fishtank]

I am so sick of RINOs.

Was that cartoon supposed to be funny?

[TheRightGuy]

my home precinct alone has over 900 registered and we had 80% turnout for the '04 general

[Old_Mil]

Obviously, you can't see the difference between people who don't support a liberal candidate posting actual quotes by Giuiliani and creating cartoons which reflect your personal desire that the second place finisher in last night's straw poll not win the nomination.

[cookcounty]

Can he speak? Can he lose 35 pounds?

[JohnnyZ]

All these straw polls are PR stunts which every candidate will spend big bucks in an effort to manipulate.

True... but some succeeded while others failed. Personally I'm amazed Hunter did this well. It shows he's putting together an effective organization.

[mjolnir]

Hunter's protectionist agenda will definitely bring in blue collar Democrats, but that doesn't make his protectionism a good thing.

I think conservatives make a mistake to identify conservatism with Hunter. As far as I can tell, Hunter is conservative on some issues, on others not, as one would expect. Of course, some would consider voting against NAFTA and even voting for the ruinous Sarbanes-Oxley to be conservative, but I can't. I know some believe he's so great on the WOT that this sort of thing doesn't matter, but aside from McCain (who seems to think foreign terrorists have rights under the Constitution) the other candidates are also solid on it.

The Club for Growth is pretty much my standard on economics for candidates, and they aren't too impressed with Hunter: (http://www.clubforgrowth.org/2006/10/duncan_hunters_voting_record.php):

Since Congressman Duncan Hunter (R-CA) is apparently going to explore the possibility of running for president in 2008, I thought I'd dig up some of his roll call votes. Like most Republicans, he's strong on tax cuts, but he's been part of the big government spending spree of the last 6 years. He also has a protectionist streak in him. Here are some of the more troubling votes:

NO on NAFTA
YES on No Child Left Behind

YES on Sarbanes-Oxley

YES on the 2003 Medicare Drug Benefit

NO on CAFTA

YES on 2005 Highway Bill

YES on the 527 bill (like most Republicans, he flip-flopped, having first voted NO on McCain-Feingold)

Hunter also went 0 for 19 on the Flake anti-pork amendments.

Despite being a member of the Republican Study Committee, Hunter frequently votes NO on their fiscally conservative annual budgets (2006, 2005, 2003...)

We gave him a 49% on the 2005 Club for Growth scorecard. That places him 187th within the House GOP conference, out of roughly 230 members.

National Taxpayers Union shows a more telling trend. He was strong in the early 1990s, getting "B's" and one "A", but as time went by, like most politicians, his score dropped. For the past few years, he's been getting "C's".

[agrace]

This whole thing is very interesting. And not being talked about at all this am on the news, at least what I saw.

[Jhensy]

Exactly right, Registered. Oppose Rudy, sure. But this vicious, childish hatred is a whole 'nother thing, and it's disgraceful here on FR.

Playing right into Hillary's hands. Mind-boggling.