Posted on 11/05/2006 4:42:12 AM PST by radar101
U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter announced his intent to run for president in 2008 in downtown San Diego on Monday. While Hunter's intentions left some political observers scratching their heads, other say it's far too early to say he won't be a factor in the presidential campaigning. CYNDY SULLIVAN Staff Photographer
was a moment of power, a demonstration of one man's clout on Capitol Hill. U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter, chairman of the powerful Armed Services Committee, listened to a reporter's question, turned to an aide and told him to get Brig. Gen. John F. Kelly on Hunter's cell phone.
The 13-term Republican congressman from El Cajon was at his private table in the members-only dining room inside the U.S. Capitol. Once the general was on the line, Hunter told the general, who serves as the legislative assistant for the Commandant of the Marine Corps, to please handle questions directly.
With that, Hunter handed the cell phone to the correspondent.
On Monday, one month after that small display of political muscle, Hunter announced that he intends to enter the 2008 presidential race, saying he believes the time is right for a defense-minded political veteran whose career has been made on issues of national defense.
Come Tuesday, the kind of power Hunter is used to could disappear if Democrats win a majority of the 435 seats up for grabs in the House of Representatives.
He would no longer head the Armed Services Committee, a position from which he vaulted from party stalwart to true power broker among Washington's elite. Although Hunter is expected to cruise to re-election over his Democratic opponent John Rinaldi, numerous national polls indicate Democrats are likely to win enough seats to take control of the House.
It may have been recognition of the uphill battle Republicans face in the midterm election that prompted Hunter, a 58-year-old U.S. Army Vietnam War veteran, to surprise the political world by announcing he was forming an exploratory committee to begin raising money for a bid for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination.
"I think I can make a difference," Hunter said Thursday. "Especially when it comes to national security and keeping American jobs and our industrial base. What I plan to do is tell people what I stand for and see if I can attract enough support to win the election."
With no base from which to further his conservative, pro-military and pro-defense beliefs should the GOP lose control of the House on Tuesday, Hunter could see a presidential run as a way to continue to put his own imprint on the debate over national security and the U.S. presence in Iraq and Afghanistan. Or he could be positioning himself for a 2008 vice presidency nomination or a Cabinet post such as defense secretary should the GOP retain the White House in 2008.
Aides say privately that Hunter had been considering testing the presidential waters for some time, and once he made the decision to announce a candidacy he decided there was no purpose in waiting until after Tuesday's vote to do so.
'Ruin the Republican Party'
Hunter's intentions came as a surprise to official Washington, and to Republican Party leaders, whom Hunter says he did not bother to inform before making his announcement.
For more than two decades Hunter has easily won re-election in the 52nd Congressional District, which includes portions of Poway, Rancho Bernardo and much of East County. The question now is whether Hunter be a serious candidate for president, particularly given the abysmal record of members of Congress seeking the presidency ---- none has succeeded since the 1960 election of then-Massachusetts Sen. John F. Kennedy.
Other questions include: What appeal does Hunter have inside the Republican Party; what are his chances of being able to raise enough money to field a competitive campaign and have a solid presence in the early primary states, and how can Hunter, who can come across as a stern Washington insider, appeal to people who have never heard of him before.
David Broder, a Pulitzer Prize-winning veteran political columnist and commentator, said that despite Hunter's long-shot candidacy, he could become a serious contender because of his appeal to the conservative wing of the GOP on the basis of his hard-line stances on defense and immigration.
"It's hard for any member of the House to get traction in a presidential race," Broder said last week during a telephone interview. "But certainly his posture on defense issues stands out. He will share, along with John McCain, the mantel of being the two people who have credibility on that issue."
Morton Kondracke, executive editor of the Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call, said Hunter appeals to the "nationalist and anti-immigration protectionists in the 'fortress America' wing" through his defense work and championing the construction of a fence along the U.S.-Mexico border.
"But I can't conceive of him being the nominee," Kondracke said and then suggesting Hunter is too extreme for a majority of Americans. "He would ruin the Republican Party."
Spokesmen for the Democratic and Republican national committees each said they weren't prepared to comment on a Hunter presidential candidacy because their focus this past week was exclusively on Tuesday's elections.
'Tremendous response'
Since announcing he was eying the presidency, Hunter said he has received a "tremendous response" with calls coming in from throughout the nation and dozens of requests for interviews and television appearances.
"We're serious about this and national security is going to be a primary issue for our country over the next five to 10 years," said Hunter, who sits on the advisory board of The American Conservative Union, a more than four-decades-old Washington group devoted to conservative causes. "I intend to focus on the early primaries and work those states hard."
The key issues on the national security front he says he will talk about include Iran and its intentions to build nuclear weapons; the threat posed by North Korea and its existing nuclear arms, and the emergence of China as the next great superpower.
"All of those developments against the backdrop of national security are going to continue to be very important," Hunter said. "Having a strong defense, maintaining our industrial base and creating an enforceable border with Mexico have a high degree of resonance with most Americans."
Rumsfeld effusive
In late September, Hunter was the guest of honor at a black-tie dinner in a hall at Washington's Union Station, where the hawkish defense group the Center for Security Policy presented him with its annual "Keeper of the Flame" award.
Among those lauding him at the Center for Security Policy banquet that evening was Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who said the Pentagon relies on Hunter's "wisdom, his leadership, his experience and his 'get it done' attitude.'
"It is something when he comes into your office like a whirling dervish and starts discussing a subject first at the national level and then down at the microlevel, and then leaves you pieces of metal on your desk that you can hardly lift and has explained exactly where it goes, what it's for, why it should be there and then wants to know why it isn't. And God bless him for it."
Rumsfeld also said the U.S. is more secure because of Hunter.
"He's never let the troops down, and as a result of his leadership and his hard work, our nation is a safer place today," Rumsfeld told the dinner gathering that included Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The center's president, Frank Gaffney Jr., said last week that a Hunter candidacy could be more viable if the U.S. sustains another terrorist attack in the coming months.
"The war for the Free World will be the most important issue in 2008 and a guy like Duncan Hunter who has a serious grasp on what is at stake will be in an advantageous position come primary season," said Gaffney, who also writes a weekly column for the conservative Washington Times newspaper.
It's about the money
David Drucker, a Roll Call reporter who monitors California's congressional delegation, said he believes Hunter looks at the 2008 presidential election as a referendum on future defense policy, much like the Bush-Kerry race in 2004.
"Duncan Hunter has been around a long time and he feels, and I think rightly so, that the 2008 election is going to be in large part about national security and fighting terrorism. He sees himself positioned to have a chance in the GOP primaries."
While Drucker said he believes that Hunter has virtually no chance of winning, the father of two can have a dramatic effect on the debate, particularly when it comes to defense, Drucker said.
"At the very least, whether you agree or disagree with the guy, he knows the subject. The war on terror will still be a huge factor."
Carole Kennedy, an assistant professor of political science at San Diego State University who specializes in presidential elections, said Hunter carries with him some of the fallout from the corruption of former 50th Congressional District Republican U.S. Rep. Randy Cunningham.
Hunter, like Cunningham, took thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from defense contractors Mitchell Wade of Washington and Poway's Brent Wilkes, two men at the heart of the Cunningham influence-peddling case. Starting in the 1990s and continuing until last year, Hunter received a combined $46,000 from Wilkes, Wade and their associates.
However, no allegations of any wrongdoing in connection with those contributions have been leveled at Hunter.
In the public eye, Hunter has been able to largely shake off his ties to Cunningham, his one-time protege who was sentenced to more than eight years in prison for bribery and tax evasion.
Hunter was the only elected official to appear at Cunningham's sentencing in March and continues to stay in touch with the convicted lawmaker, efforts he says he continues out of friendship and compassion for his former colleague.
Kennedy said Hunter's ties to Cunningham and other scandal-plagued Republicans such as former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay and others "may be a little too close for comfort" for some voters.
Nonetheless, Kennedy said the true test of whether Hunter can be a viable candidate boils down to the dollar.
"You can't run for president without a lot of money," she said. "His announcement is a signal that fundraising has begun. It's never too early to get out there and see how much money you can raise."
On Thursday, Hunter picked up an early endorsement from U.S. Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz., a bit of a surprise because of the expected candidacy of that state's GOP Sen. John McCain.
"I have had the privilege of serving ... with Duncan Hunter and know him to be the John Wayne of Congress," Franks said in explaining the endorsement. "He is a man of genuine compassion for humanity and a formidable soldier of freedom."
Franks added that his decision to back Hunter rather than McCain was made because of his "belief that during a time of war political calculations should not decide who someone endorses."
"Duncan Hunter's leadership is right for America," Franks said.
Hunter said that assuming he wins re-election Tuesday as expected, he will work closely with McCain on defense issues regardless of which party controls the House. Hunter will remain on the Armed Services Committee and McCain is expected to take over the Senate Armed Services Committee from Virginia Republican John Warner if the GOP retains a majority in the Senate.
Does that mean a McCain-Hunter partnership may emerge?
"I don't think John wants to be my vice president," Hunter quipped.
Contact staff writer Mark Walker at (760) 740-3529 or mlwalker@nctimes.com
COMMIE-LIB PROFESSOR
Like the Party could not be improved! How about ignoring illegal immigration, spending great amounts, placating terrorists in Iran, Palestine, and Syria?
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." -Manuel II Paleologus
He's the man to get behind. The candidate for these dangerous times and he can more than handle explaining his positions and what he thinks of media and Demonrat attacks.
Considering the tepid level of the search for the possible Republican nominee for the Presidency in 2008, this is none too early to put in a bid. Duncan Hunter may enjoy a little instant fame (or notoriety), and simply fade back, or he may also be the surprise sensation within the Republican party ranks.
We NEED an alternative, and quickly, to John McCain. The kindest thing that may be said of McCain is that he is a "loose cannon". From then on, the descriptions just get less complimentary. His only saving grace would be that he is not so dreadful a choice as Herself, the Cold and Joyless.
We should not be confined to dreadful choices. It would be a wonderful thing, if this country once again had two political parties, both of which favor the United States.
But we now have one party that consistently votes against all the best interests of America, and part of one which joins them from time to time. That is probably a fairly accurate representation of the electorate, many of whom cannot identify what century the Civil War took place, or who was the President during that period.
bttt
WTH?
I'd vote for him rather than Rudy G. or McCain.
He has my support!
I think he'd be wise to avoid taking the nickname of a disgraced Congressman, e.g. Randy "Duke" Cunningham. People would simply hear "Duke" and think they were the same person, or at least connect Cunningham's convictions with Hunter.
Unfortunately true. Not as bad as if his name were 'Obama' but thanks to that puke Cunningham 'Duke' may no longer be a positive nickname.
He is my new GOP'08 candidate. I was hoping a real conservative would run. Here he is.
He was also my congressman when I was an active duty sailor.
So far, the only conservative alternative to McCain seems to be Mitt Romney, but his pedigree--his father, George, was a prominent liberal Republican--and the fact that he is governor of the bluest state in the Union are raising doubts in many minds as to his commitment to the conservative cause.
In an address two weeks ago at the Nixon Presidential Library, Pat Buchanan said that because of the problem of raising funds, all viable presidential candidates will have to be in the race by the end of March, 2007.
Kucinich
Duncan Hunter BUMP!
Timely bump. This article is one of the meatiest I've read about Hunter and presents him from all sides. I'm impressed with the kudos he was given by Rumsfeld.
For anyone who missed it first time around, this is a must-read.
Thank you very much.
My pleasure.
And, by the way...
bump
bttt
Mort and Mara are telling Republicans who our candidate should be. Priceless.
"He would ruin the DC Beltway efforts to liberalize the Republican Party."
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