Posted on 02/08/2007 1:49:38 PM PST by GulfBreeze
California Congressman Duncan Hunter announced in October that he would be seeking the 2008 Republican presidential nomination. He recently made his candidacy official. Now in his 14th term in the House, Hunter's district includes portions of San Diego. From 2003 through 2006, he was chairman of the powerful House Armed Services Committee, a role he had to relinquish in January due to the Democratic takeover of the House.
Hunter prides himself on being in the mold and tradition of Ronald Reagan, who was first elected President the same year Hunter was first elected to Congress. Although many believe he came in on Reagan's coattails (pulling an upset victory over an incumbent Democrat by a narrow margin), he has won reelection by wide margins ever since. In addition, he continues to be popular with ''Reagan Democrats," consistently getting over 70% of the total Democratic vote.
Hunter is a socially conservative Baptist who is very popular with evangelicals and the far right. He strongly opposes abortion, embryonic stem cell research, and gay marriage. In addition, he favors a crackdown on illegal immigration and the construction of a fence along the entire border between the U.S. and Mexico. In spite of this, he usually draws around 60% of the Hispanic vote in his district. His continued unwavering support of the war in Iraq also makes him popular with neoconservatives.
He will likely have to compete with Mitt Romney, Sam Brownback, Mike Huckabee, and Tom Tancredo for social conservative votes in the primaries. In order to be successful, he will need to convince voters in Iowa and New Hampshire that he is the most genuine and most viable social conservative in the race. So far, he is the only Republican candidate who has purchased TV time in New Hampshire. This is obviously an attempt to build up some early name recognition, of which he currently has little or none.
Although a tremendous long-shot, there is a scenario in which he could conceivably win the nomination. He would first have to come out of Iowa and New Hampshire as the leading or possibly only social conservative still in the race. At a minimum, he would need to put Huckabee away in those two early states. Otherwise, the former Arkansas Governor would likely lock him out of the southern conservative vote, effectively ending his candidacy when the southern block of primaries is held. However, with Huckabee gone and Hunter the top social conservative contender remaining in the pack, he would be poised to perform well in the South, as well as his native West. Winning the South is obviously part of Hunter's required scenario for capturing the nomination. It was no accident that he made his official announcement in South Carolina.
Folks,
From what I have read about Duncan Hunter, the fact that he was an AIRBORNE RANGER in the South East Asia War Games in the '69-'72 time frame says a lot to me.
Who else of the current crop of potential '08 POTUS class (a) had the gumption to jump out of a perfectly good airplane, and (b) has ever heard a shot fired in anger?
It is (IMHO) way to early to totally commit to a candidate, but Duncan Hunter is looking better and better to this old soldier.
Candidate A was a lifelong Republican and his father was a Republican Senator. Candidate B, on the other hand, used to be a Democrat and was a card-carrying member of a union. Would candidate A be necessarily better than candidate B?
Well, John McCain jumped out of aircraft hit by missles, twice.
He'll need alot of help. Seems like only FR is pushing his name around. I want a guy like this to be POTUS.
You can check his position on all the issues at the link I posted.
There you go again with your keenly insightful, detailed logical arguments.
Well, Hunter should get elected Governor of California or Senator from California a couple times, then we can talk.
Thanks for the ping.
While what you say is true when it comes to the current situation, it need not be so over the long run.
What this poll says is that the obsessively-well-informed prefer Duncan Hunter. We are the folks who carry the debate to the public at large over the long run. We have two years to get it done. That's plenty of time.
Oh, I can hear it now... the candidate has to be "electable." Well we've had two fine examples of that in George Bush and Arnold Schwarzenegger, and the Republican Party is a consequent shambles on both fronts. Further, as a committed globalist, I fully expect Rudy to take a dive for Hillary right on cue. I don't trust Romney's opportunistically whimsical positions, and McCain is an obvious nut case. As for whether Hunter comes across in head to head competition, he recently placed first among GOP activists in Arizona.
The sooner the GOP figures out that allowing the mediots to pick their candidate is a sure loser, the better.
And landed on his head, twice. And it shows. mcpain *spit*
Why, Mitt got your tongue?
You guys who roll out the "first he should..." nonsense crack me up. You assume that our nation can survive long enough to wait for that sort of thing to happen. That's not a sure thing if we get another Dem in the White House, and backing compromise candidates is a pretty sure way of doing that.
I did--and I love the link! Thanks!
Unfortunately that's all they have to offer.
He could not get elected to either or he would have run. At this point the best I can see him doing is getting the VP nod. Giuliani/Hunter.
Hunter's background exceeds that of most Senators and govs.
What? Giuliani at over 14%? Are you all crazy? Yeah, he had a tough stance after Sept. 11th, and that's to be respected, but the guy makes some of the *Democrat* candidates look conservative.
If Giuliani wins, expect a poor base turnout. The Dems will turn out in droves for their candidate, and we'll get pounded. Rudy is:
* Pro-choice as hell (goodbye, hopes of overturning Roe for the next couple decades...)
* Pro-gay. Opposed Bush's ban, extended same-sex benefits for NYC, etc.
* Supports affirmative action
* Supports funding for the arts, and lots of it (at least it's only for art he likes, but still)
* Opposes prayer in school
* Wants to reduce oil prices by opening our reserves (i.e., OPEC gets mad at us, they can hold us hostage)
* Gun rights restriction (Rudy, did you ever read that constitution?)
* Likes the "guest worker" program
* All of the liberal staples.
Seriously. How can you support this guy? Did his reaction to 9/11 blind you to everything else you care about? As though any of the other candidates we have running (with a few exceptions) wouldn't have been as tough about terrorism?
I don't see this happening. For one thing, Huckabee is pro-illegal. He is also a squish, another one of those Republicans who think they can "work" with the Democrats. And he's a nanny-stater to boot.
The social conservative vote will be between Hunter or Tancredo, IMO. Brownback also doesn't stand a chance.
Go Dunc!
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