Duncan Hunter Buzz, A Plan to Support the Man

My own thoughts... | 11/07/2007 | DoughtyOne

[DoughtyOne]

During this Presidential pre-Primary and Caucus season, we are evaluating who the best Conservative man for the job is.  Many of us have expressed support for Fred Thompson as the most viable Conservative candidate.  And of those of us who have, I have seen many express a noticable preference for Duncan Hunter, who in fairness we have deemed not be looking viable at this time.

While there is still time, I would like to suggest a reasoned strategy to help create buzz for the best candidate out there.  What I have in mind would continue until the mid to last part of December.  Then at that time we could re-evaluate what the status is, and continue our effort or move our support to the more viable candidate.

I do not want to drag down a good man.  I don't want to continue to support a lost cause.  I don't want to split the Conservative vote at Primaries and Caucuses.  So this does need to be handled in a timely planned manner.

At this point in time it seems to me the two most important questions should be, in our heart of hearts who is the best Conservative candidate with the most consistant record over the last few decades, and how best can we help that candidate achieve more visibility and there-by traction?

From my observation, Congressman Duncan Hunter is the most tested long term Conservative candidate on the radar.  As mentioned earlier, Hunter is barely on that radar, but he is there.  And acknowledging his presence and credentials, it seems a must for me to mention that we have the ability to help the man.  And that being the case, I think we should.

It is important to Conservatism's principles that we create the maximum buzz for Hunter that we can.  We should talk him up whenever possible.  We should provide a link to his site whenever possible.  And we should be ready to explain our own persoal top five reasons we support him, on a moments notice.  We should do it on this forum.  We should do it on other conservative sites.  Whenever there is a poll, I want to urge folks to vote for Hunter.  I still believe that he can catch on if our members will spread the good word far and wide.  And Hunter is the good word this pre-election season.

I do want to acknowledge an important issue before I end these comments.  Fred Thompson is an important viable and supportable fall back position to Duncan Hunter.  It is important that when we get the word out about Hunter, that we make sure to mention that Fred Thompson is also a good man, a man we will gladly vote for if we need to.

Ideally, I would love to see a Hunter/Thompson ticket.  Being realistic, we may have to settle for a Thompson/Hunter ticket.  Well, that's a ticket every Conservative should be able to support in good concience.  And the best way to get that ticket, is to spend some time talking Hunter's numbers up.

Don't settle for my five good reasons to support Hunter.  Go to his site and determine your own best five reasons, the ones most important to you.

Then go out there and talk him up and keep Fred front and center too.  These are good men folks.  As Freepers we should be proud to support either one.  I still think Hunter is the solid choice, if Conservatism is the guidepost.

Those of you who do not support Hunter or Thompson, I'm not here to convert you.  If you can't see the value in these men, I understand.  I would ask that you develop your own thread to talk up you candidate, and not spend time here talking down ours.  No offense intended.  Take care. 

Thanks folks.

Hunter/Thompson 2008

Hunter:           http://www.gohunter08.com/
Thompson:   http://www.fred08.com/

[Man50D]

But what is the difference between Hillary and Rudy?

You don't understand. Socialist Rudy is better than socialist Hillary because he has an R after his name! ;o)

[DoughtyOne]

Thanks LucyBlue. That was a nice accounting of what took place.

I know that some will wince when I mention this, but I’m going to do it anyway. The Ross Perot effect is still out there. It’s exactly what you are referencing. And it’s exactly what Ronald Reagan tapped into.

People are tired of the two main parties not offering what a well grounded person who loves this nation should be offering. They are so desperate that even a kook like Ross could garner 19% of the vote after showing everyone in the nation what an ignoramus he was.

If we get the right Conservative person out there who can deliver the right message, they’ll leave nothing but treadmarks on the political fortunes of Hillary or any other democrat.

Here’s to that eventuality.

[DoughtyOne]

Right you are...

[DoughtyOne]

There you go making me look bad. ;-)

Good for you. Thanks.

[Labyrinthos]

“But what is the difference between Hillary and Rudy? At least Hillary has never cross-dressed (in front of a camera, anyway.) However, there are the rumors of a lesbian relationship with Huma. Honestly, what’s the difference between the two candidates? I can’t identify one.”

For one, when RG was mayor, he literally threw Arafat out of a NYC sponsered event whereas Hillary practically had a menage e toi with Arafat and his wife. National defense is a no brainer for RG.

I also don’t recall RG promising a zillion dollars worth of givaways to buy your vote.

I am not saying that RG is the best candidate. Fight this out in the primaries. But if he (or Romney) emerges as the victor, then we had better support him, or Hillary will be the next POTUS.

(BTW, I am not worried about the cross-dressing thing: Just about every Republican president over the last half century and many of their top policy makers have belonged to the all-male Bohemian Club, whose members have a long tradition of dressing in drag and frolicing naked in the woods during the Club’s annual retreat. IIRC, many top Republicans over the years have also belonged to the Hasty-Pudding Club at Harvard University, which is an all-male theater group, whose members also dress in drag to play female roles. And I wonder how many Republican icons have dressed in drag at the Gridiron Clubs annual lampoon and at similar events.)

[DoughtyOne]

Paul Wyrick has said it as well as anyone, and that is that Arkansas conservatives have nothing good to day about Huckabee. I personally like the guy, but I’m not able to vote for him.

I do agree with your take to a certain degree. Hunter and Thompson supporters should not talk down the other candidate.

Huckabee can be quite appealing with his delivery. He may have attracted those votes without any help from a tiff between the two more Conservative players. Who knows though, you may be closer to the truth on that than I. I just don’t know.

[Jim Noble]

Note to republicans: You want my vote in the general election (and campaign cash) give me a conservative or forget it. I'm a conservative long before I'm a republican.

What percentage of the electorate will support a candidate who meets your definition of "conservative", and,

Do you even care?

[DoughtyOne]

You raise some good points and I like the fact that we’re discussing these issues. This is the time to separate the wheat from the chaff. If Duncan is not as strong as I have intimated, it’s up to folks like you to plead your case.

I’ll look deeper and be glad to acknowledge any findings. It’s not my intent to recommend anyone who is less a Conservative than someone else.

Come back to this thread over the next few days. Let’s take a good look at the pros and cons and let the chips fall where they will.

Thank you.

[Labyrinthos]

4 horrible years of Jimmah begat 8 glorious years of Reagan. sometimes you have to break a few eggs to make an omelet.

I understand what you are saying, I really do. But times are different now in that back in the "Jimmy Days" we were not involved in a world-war against terrorism. This war is going to continue for many years to come and I suspect that it will escalate at home and abroad if we show weakness by electing a POTUS who swapped spit with Arafat and his wife and was directly responsible for the release of FALN terrorists.

[samtheman]

For one, when RG was mayor, he literally threw Arafat out of a NYC sponsered event whereas Hillary practically had a menage e toi with Arafat and his wife. National defense is a no brainer for RG. I also don’t recall RG promising a zillion dollars worth of givaways to buy your vote. I am not saying that RG is the best candidate. Fight this out in the primaries. But if he (or Romney) emerges as the victor, then we had better support him, or Hillary will be the next POTUS.

Also, RG is promising to appoint Scalia's. Everyone scoffs at that promise, but what if it's true? I believe it is true, as a matter of fact.

As for Hillary, I GUARANTEE who she will appoint:

Marxist lawyers who believe in European law and are 35 years old and will rule over us for the next 50 years.

Be an ideological purist in haste; repent in leisure.

[RoadTest]

“I too am one who cannot support a liberal Republican”

I feel the same way. But if I vote for a third (Conservative like Hunter) candidate who can’t win, I’ve taken away a Republican vote, allowing the Democrat candidate to move ahead by that amount. That’s what I don’t want to happen.

[Go Gordon]

What percentage of the electorate will support a candidate who meets your definition of "conservative", and, Do you even care?

53% supported Bush last go-round. Clinton got 43 and 46% I believe. If the electorate was informed of whatever conservative was up for election, probably between 53 and 55%. Duncan Hunter is my man, BTW. But the republican establishment has not pushed for him. Reminds me of California/Arnold/McClintock(sp?). Well California pubbies, you wanted Arnold, now live with him.

Do I care? Damn right I do. I have three kids and already (at age 48) have three grandkids, with I'm sure more on the way over the next 10 years. However, I taught my kids the values of conservatism. They are self sufficient and can take care of themselves. As a family, we'll all survive a four year mess with no problem. So for the good of the country in the long run (say the next 50 years) we either get it right now, or we have to back to the drawing board.

At some point, the large group of government teat suckers that vote RAT every election need to be told, in their face, that their downtrodden lives are a result of their voting for, and electing RATs. Look at every major hell hole city in the country. Around my neck of the woods, that would be Philadelphia, Camden, Trenton, etc. - they are all run by RATS, and have been for many years.

Long ago, my town and county was run by RATs (30+ years ago. The republicans ran on the slogan "Had enough?". The county and town has been in 100% control of pubbies ever since.

Again, do I care? Yes, but I'm more interested in the long term solution, not the feel good short term bragging rights to be on the winning team, even if I don't like QB, RB, WRs or coach.

[DoughtyOne]

The economy has expanded for 50 straight months, a record, and is due to take some serious backsteps over the next year or two (price of oil/gas, Iraq/Iran/Syria, cutting down the number of illegals, inflation, etc.). If a rat is in office for the economic mess we're venturing towards, combined with the rats' sick obsession with tax increases, punishing business, "taking away profits from oil companies", etc., they'll destroy the economy. The rats will get blamed and a conservative will once again have to come to the rescue.

I'm not sure how old you are, but you did mention Carter.  Do you think folks remember how bad Carter was?  Heck, nearly half the people who were old enough to know their backside from a hole in the ground back then are probably dead by now.  I'm not convinced folks would learn something they wouldn't forget in two weeks anyway.

Remember President Reagan and the reinforcement he commited us to as it relates to love of nation, the city on the hill?  Four years after he left office we put a worthless two bit punk hustler into the Oval Office.

That is why it is so critical we put someone in with good morals.  During their term, they need to find a way to intill some of them in the populace, so four short years later we don't put someone worse than Clinton in the Oval Office.

As for voting for a leftist, I couldn't do that.  They'll get there soon enough if a conservative doesn't get the nomination on our side.

You will rue the day you ever voted for a person who does something damaging to this nation.  Don't soil yourself by doing that.  I still feel bad about voting for Dole in 1996.  I feel very bad about voting for Bush in 2004.

Take a pass, but don't soil your good character.

[Man50D]

But if he (or Romney) emerges as the victor, then we had better support him, or Hillary will be the next POTUS.

There is essentially no difference between Giuliani and Clinton as the list below shows.

Giuliani/Clinton/Dem vs. GOP Platform Comparison
Issue	Giuliani	Clinton	Dem Platform	GOP Platform
Abortion on Demand	Supports	Supports	Supports	Opposes
Partial Birth Abortion	Supports Opposed NY ban	Supports	Supports	Opposes
Roe v. Wade	Supports	Supports	Supports	Opposes
Taxpayer Funded Abortions	Supports	Supports	Supports	Opposes
Embryonic Stem Cell Research	Supports	Supports	Supports	Opposes
Federal Marriage Amendment	Opposes	Opposes	Opposes Defined at state level	Supports
Gay Domestic Partnership/ Civil Unions	Supports	Supports	Supports	Opposes
Openly Gay Military	Supports	Supports	Supports	Opposes
Defense of Marriage Act	Opposes	Opposes	Opposes	Supports
Amnesty for Illegal Aliens	Supports	Supports	Supports	Opposes
Special Path to Citizenship for Illegal Aliens	Supports	Supports	Supports	Opposes
Tough Penalties for Employers of Illegal Aliens	Opposes	Opposes	Opposes	Supports
Sanctuary Cities/ Ignoring Immigration Law	Supports	Supports	Supports	Opposes
Protecting 2nd Amendment	Opposes	Opposes	Opposes Supports bans	Supports
Confiscating Guns	Supports Confiscated as mayor. Even bragged.	Supports	Supports Supports bans	Opposes
'Assault' Weapons Ban	Supports	Supports	Supports
Frivolous Lawsuits Against Gun Makers	Supports Filed One Himself	Supports		Opposes
Gun Registration/Licenses	Supports	Supports		Opposes
War in Afghanistan	Supports	Supports Voted for it	Supports	Supports
War in Iraq	Supports	Supports Voted for it	Supports Weak support	Supports
Patriot Act	Supports	Supports Voted for it 2001 & 2006	Opposes	Supports

Giuliani/Clinton/Dem vs. GOP Platform Comparison
Issue	Giuliani	Clinton	Dem Platform	GOP Platform
Abortion on Demand	Supports	Supports	Supports	Opposes
Partial Birth Abortion	Supports Opposed NY ban	Supports	Supports	Opposes
Roe v. Wade	Supports	Supports	Supports	Opposes
Taxpayer Funded Abortions	Supports	Supports	Supports	Opposes
Embryonic Stem Cell Research	Supports	Supports	Supports	Opposes
Federal Marriage Amendment	Opposes	Opposes	Opposes Defined at state level	Supports
Gay Domestic Partnership/ Civil Unions	Supports	Supports	Supports	Opposes
Openly Gay Military	Supports	Supports	Supports	Opposes
Defense of Marriage Act	Opposes	Opposes	Opposes	Supports
Amnesty for Illegal Aliens	Supports	Supports	Supports	Opposes
Special Path to Citizenship for Illegal Aliens	Supports	Supports	Supports	Opposes
Tough Penalties for Employers of Illegal Aliens	Opposes	Opposes	Opposes	Supports
Sanctuary Cities/ Ignoring Immigration Law	Supports	Supports	Supports	Opposes
Protecting 2nd Amendment	Opposes	Opposes	Opposes Supports bans	Supports
Confiscating Guns	Supports Confiscated as mayor. Even bragged.	Supports	Supports Supports bans	Opposes
'Assault' Weapons Ban	Supports	Supports	Supports
Frivolous Lawsuits Against Gun Makers	Supports Filed One Himself	Supports		Opposes
Gun Registration/Licenses	Supports	Supports		Opposes
War in Afghanistan	Supports	Supports Voted for it	Supports	Supports
War in Iraq	Supports	Supports Voted for it	Supports Weak support	Supports
Patriot Act	Supports	Supports Voted for it 2001 & 2006	Opposes	Supports

[Pistolshot]

A noble effert D1, however, I do need to point out that some of the Duncan supporters here have turned a lot of us, that would support him, off to his candidacy.

The vehement and continous attacks on Freds character, wife, stances, whether true or not, the parsing of words, to emphasis their points, have left a lot of us not even considering Hunter. Some of them are so hateful and nasty, I wouldn't want to be associated with anything they are associated with.

Couple that with the dismal effort his own campaign staff is performing on Duncans behalf, Many, many opportunities to get Duncan face time, and noteriety have been lost. So many flubs by his campaign directors, I would have fired after the first incident.

There are many, many reasons to support either of these men, but what you will see in the posts that follow will be those who are either in one camp or the other, and because of some of Duncans supporters here, will never support Duncan.

Case in point. Polls.

Most of the major polls show Duncan anywhere from 1-5% and for the most part less than the margin of error. When this is pointed out to the Duncan supporters, they say polls don't matter, but when a poll shows Duncan with a high percentage, take the Texas straw poll, then polls matter.

That kind of delusion and unrealistic observation and the way it's presented, make Duncan look like a fool, and it's his supporters that do that, not Duncan.

Another case.

The fires in San Diego County, part of Duncans district, were a perfect opportunity for his campaign to get him a LOT of face time, working with the governor, working with the locals, speaking and standing WITH the President when he came, not Feinswine. There was a LOT of commercial footage that could have been used to promote Duncan.

Now, when I pointed out that failure, I was told......."He had more important things to do.".....and..... "He won't use the situation for political gain."

Admirable, if you are running for re-election in your district. But he's running for POTUS, not a district. Face time, recognition, and being seen LEADING is important to any campaign from school board to POTUS.

This is the failure of his campaign.

Now, while I think that a Thompson/Hunter ticket would possibly be a good combination, I don't see it happening. Hunter won't take the 2nd spot, IMHO, simply because he would want the top job and not be relegated to being the gopher for the President. My opinion only.

Most candidates who win the nomination choose someone from their campaign to run with them, and that makes sense. You want someone who reflects your views in case something happens to you. There are a lot of good people in the Thomson campaign, and his pick will be from there.

[Man50D]

I feel the same way. But if I vote for a third (Conservative like Hunter) candidate who can’t win, I’ve taken away a Republican vote, allowing the Democrat candidate to move ahead by that amount.

It's impossible to know who can and can't win until at least well into the primaries if not later. Regardless of that fact voting for someone based on perceived electability creates a slippery slope of sacrificing principles simply for the sake of winning. That is precisely the type of reasoning that has caused the GOP to gradually move towards an increasingly socialistic ideology at the expense of what was once its core conservative principles and resulted in the GOP losing control of Congress.

[Calpernia]

His age is relative though. How many 60 year old men can change a tire ;)

[Go Gordon]

Take a pass, but don't soil your good character.

By taking 2 steps back in order to be able to take as many steps forward as one would like is not character soilization. Its called sacrifice. I never thought I would think this way, but there is no other way. Either turn it around this time, or make damn sure it gets turned around next time.

[Calpernia]

Mike Gallops is running one. I participated in it yesterday.

[RasterMaster]

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