[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".

[Chesner]

I brought up the same exact issues with a Hunter supporter earlier this week. I was told the Club for Growth is not reliable because as a 501(c) corporation, it is on "corporate welfare".

Protectionism, "Yes" on Sarbox, Medicare Drug Rx plan, No Child Left Behind; "No" votes against the RSC fiscally conservative budgets, a "C" from the National Taxpayers Union... not exactly an economic conservative, IMHO.

[jmc813]

I think that Hunter's moderate record on spending, while I strongly disagree with it, might help him in the campaign. He'll be able to drop all sorts of "I voted for such and such for the children" bits, which will help him capture more of the moderate vote.

[itsahoot]

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

Got you Bucannon paint brush out already I see.

[nctexan]

"voting for the ruinous Sarbanes-Oxley to be conservative"

The vote for Sarbanes by all who voted for it was a typical unthinking 'feelgood' vote with horrible unintended consequences.

It certainly was not good for business and offered the public little in return.

[MinorityRepublican]

Duncan Hunter needs to elaborate more on his economic platform other than merely having "protectionist" tendencies.