Hunter had his chance. For months and months, I was writing his campaign telling him to start going after Bush, to separate himself from Bush on the Invasion/fence issue and on Red China and to stop talking up the War and start talking about getting rid of the 40 million illegals in the U.S. so that rents can come down, fewer foreclosures will occur, fewer American deaths will occur, where schools will improve by not having to concentrate on educating foreigners who can’t and won’t learn our language and where states will have more tax money (from Americans taking the jobs illegals let behind)—not to mention the 30 billion that would be saved and spent by Americans instead of it being sent home to Mexico every year. I advised Hunter to start talking the economy, but he was like a wind-up toy, blabbering on at every debate about the War and how we’re winning it. When we found out that he had annouced that he wouldn’t run for his House seat, that he was leaving Congress as the end of the year, it took a lot of air out of his balloon. It was perceived that he would instead be grooming his Iraq war-stationed son for his seat which in fact was the case.
The same for Tancredo, who announced he wouldn’t be running again, although rumors are that he’s running for the Senate.
I have no idea what you are talking about. OF COURSE Hunter supports the Iraq war, and he was the first candidate to use the V word, as in victory, while others were trying to nuance their position on an unpopular war.
Hunter’s platform was Peace Through Strength, the re-industrialization of America, sovereignty, and border security.
Hunter IS THE ONLY ONE, then during the campaign, for the past 15 years, and going forward this very day that has been warning about China and its malfeasance. One of his first ads:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28q0qxsrX6E
Hunter is the ONLY one - not Tancredo, not the flip flopping moderates, not Ron Paul - that repeated time after time that the illegals already here needed to be deported.
While Mitt, Huck, McCain, etc tried to demonstrate distance from the Bush administration by giving Obama-speak bullshit talks about America being ‘arrogant’, needing to ‘listen more closely to our allies’ and how our image has been ‘damaged’ around the world, Hunter responded thusly in a debate (and in his speeches):
Cooper: Thirty seconds, Congressman Hunter. The question is, how do you repair the image of America in the Muslim world?
Hunter: “Cooper, Cooper, very simply, to the critics of America I would say this. When you were faced with disease and starvation, the Americans brought food and medicine. When you had earthquakes and tsunamis and floods, the Americans came and helped you. And when you were threatened from outside, the Americans left the safety of their own homes to come and defend you.
I will never apologize for the United States of America.”
When Ann Coulter made her flippant comment about John Edwards at CPAC, Rudy, Mitt and McCain sprinted to the microphones to denounce her. Hunter, despite being at CPAC, did not utter a word. Instead, he later called her a great American.
It goes on and on and on.
Hunter may not have run a very effective campaign, but the man was and is a conservative stalwart, and his positions are and were right on the money.
Hunter was doing all of the above and for the past several years along with legislation.
I live in San Diego and have followed his career for 27 yrs.