I have a question to pose to Hunter’s supporters here.
As everyone knows, Hunter is not going to be the nominee. But he does have a delegate pledged to him, and he does have some modest support, perhaps 1-2%, in many states which have not voted yet. He may have the opportunity to pick up a delegate here and there as he did in Wyoming.
So Hunter is not without some influence in the nomination, however small.
So here’s the question:
Who do you think Hunter will endorse, either before the convention or when brokering a nominee?
Do you think he will throw his support to Fred Thompson, or Mike Huckabee, or someone else?
I think most Hunter supporters assume it would be Thompson, but I disagree. I think it will be Huckabee. Religion and abortion are central themes for Hunter. So is trade protectionism. Finally, Huckabee is _now_ calling for all kinds of drastic measures on the border (never mind his dismal record in Arkansas). To me, it looks like Huckabee is most like Hunter’s kind of candidate based on the issues most important to him.
And now the bonus question:
For the advanced students — No one candidate will be able to win the nomination. It will take two combining their delegates to win. Behind the scenes McCain and Huckabee are forming an alliance against a Thompson-Romney pairing. McCain will not take the VP slot, and Huckabee will defer to him. Huckabee will be giving McCain his delegates at the convention in exchange for the VP slot, as Romney will do for Thompson. Hunter will give his delegate(s) to Huckabee, which then will be transferred to McCain.
Are you comfortable knowing that ultimately, your vote for Hunter will be going to help nominate John McCain — a McCain-Huckabee ticket specifically — either through an actual transfer of delegates, or by simply taking votes from someone else like Thompson?
Hunter is one of my two choices too but if he cannot poll higher and get votes higher than he has been, he is not earning a place in the debates.
It’s clear they chose a criteria that was designed to exclude Hunter.
For example, they could have only included candidates with delegates so far in the race... Duncan Hunter qualifies.
They could have included those that made a showing in NH... Duncan Hunter did as well as Rudy.
No, they chose to go by nationwide popularity polls rather than looking at the only polling that matters—actual votes.
I fear for our country more than ever—when you rely so heavily on the media to tell you which candidates you are allowed to vote for, stick a fork in us, we’re done.
Duncan Hunter is a solid conservative. He has lived his life with honor, and serves in our Congress. He served in Vietnam. His son has done three tours in Iraq.
Duncan Hunter has complied with all election requirements to be placed on state ballots across this nation. He is a valid candidate.
Hunter should be included. It turly is a remarkable slap at conservatism and even to decent U.S. Citizens to deny a voice to this man. I am ashamed of the Republican Party and FoxNews colaborating to deny Hunter a voice in this debate.
If anyone is qualified to be president of this nation, it is Congressman Duncan Hunter.
At this point, if you are on the ballot, you deserve to be heard.
Period!
Should John Cox and Alan Keyes be included too?
Is this a first? I mean, I could understand if it was some porn star or such not being allowed at the debates but this has got to be a first for them to exclude a legitimate candidate who holds an important position in Congress and government and at least registers a percentage on polls and has a delegate. For them to exclude a man who especially fought for his country also enrages me. And I am truly enraged. I blame the entire GOP for this effort as well. It is obvious there’s a dirty game going on here that is crossing the line. The GOP is no longer tolerable.