Posted on 01/24/2007 8:57:53 AM PST by Antoninus
California Republican Rep. Duncan Hunter will formally announce his candidacy for president Thursday less than two weeks after he took the first official step by filing paperwork with the Federal Election Commission to establish a presidential campaign exploratory committee.
According to a statement released Tuesday, Hunter will make his announcement at the Marriott Renaissance Park hotel in the South Carolina city of Spartanburg located in the states overwhelmingly Republican northwestern region. The breakfast event is titled America: The Strength of Freedom, which also is Hunters campaign slogan.
I will speak about a new American sunrise of opportunity, faith and freedom for the citizens of our great nation, said Hunter.
The choice of South Carolina as the venue symbolizes the strategy Hunter is using, as he seeks to extend beyond his very limited political base in the San Diego-area 52nd Congressional District and overcome a big deficit in national name identification.
The 58-year-old Hunter, a 14-term incumbent who chaired the Armed Services Committee prior to the Democrats House takeover and now is its ranking member, is campaigning both on his hawkish views on defense issues and his equally staunch conservatism on financial and social issues.
In order to gain any traction in the presidential race, he must quickly make an impression on voters in places such as strongly conservative-leaning South Carolina, which in recent years has emerged as a Republican Party stronghold.
South Carolina has several military bases, so Hunter may at least get a hearing from voters there because of his background on national security issues. He is one of the staunchest defenders of the Bush administrations policies in the Iraq war.
Hunter, who has served on the Armed Services Committee since he was elected to Congress in 1980, has a personal background of military service as a member of the Army from 1969 to 1971. He received a Bronze Star for participating in 25 helicopter combat assaults during the war in Vietnam.
In his release, Hunter touted his experience as well as his political leanings, stating that he is considered by many to be the most conservative Republican in the presidential race.
Along with his defense posture, Hunter is a fervent opponent of illegal immigration, and reaffirmed his socially conservative platform Monday on the anniversary of the Supreme Courts 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion.
Hunter, according to the Associated Press, told participants of the March for Life anti-abortion rally on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.: If we have a judicial applicant, a judicial nominee who can look at a sonogram of an unborn child and not see the value of human life ... if I should become president of the United States, he will not receive a judicial appointment.
Hunter, though, faces strong competition for the conservative vote from the only other Republican officeholder who is an official presidential candidate: Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback, who received a 100 percent score from The American Conservative Union in 2005. The other official candidate, attorney John Cox of Illinois, is emphasizing his own socially conservative stances.
Among others who have set up presidential exploratory committees or are considering bids, there are social conservatives such as Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo and former Virginia Gov. James S. Gilmore III who would be directing appeals to that wing of the Republican electorate.
Hunter enters relatively unknown outside defense-related circles. Having never run for office on a larger stage than his congressional district, he will likely find fundraising a significant challenge.
That certainly will not be the case for prospective front-running candidates such as Arizona Sen. John McCain and former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, nationally known figures who have formed exploratory committees and currently lead the GOP field in national polls.
Last week, though, Hunter took a swipe at McCain by releasing a straw poll taken in Arizonas Maricopa County (Phoenix), in which Hunter finished first and the homestate senator ran fourth. Though Republicans in the states most populous county called the results surprising, McCains maverick tendencies have angered members of his party in the past.
I must admit, I think Sam would be a formidable candidate if not for his stand on amnesty for illegals. That's the poison pill for him.
Yeah, Hunter,Brownback even Newt over mitmcguili.
Duncan Hines....This guy makes great brownie mixes.
PETA is deeply saddened.
Duncan Hunter is the best conservative candidate out there. He just lacks national name recognition.
Video of Duncan Hunter can be seen here.
http://www.peacethroughstrengthpac.com/Home.aspx
Snip of interest from 2005. Note new RNC head, Mel Martinez....
http://www.kron4.com/Global/story.asp?S=3463414&nav=5D7lBwNh
Politicians discuss fate of Guantanamo on morning talk shows
WASHINGTON California Congressman Duncan Hunter scoffs at the notion detainees at the U-S prison in Guantanamo Bay are being abused.
On "Fox News Sunday," he read from the detainees' food menu, which included orange glazed chicken, fresh fruit and rice pilaf. He adds sarcastically that he sent for the menu "so that average Americans could understand how we're brutalizing people in Guantanamo."
Friday, Republican Senator Mel Martinez of Florida became the latest lawmaker to suggest that the Bush administration should consider closing the prison, saying "It's become an icon for bad stories."
Thank you. He might be good for something, but having a website that says "under construction / click here to contribute" does not send the right message.
Hope he hires some "net-savvy" help and gets it fixed.
He's the man of the hour!! We will be supporting him!!
Bump for Hunter!!
Anyone in the Houston Area interested in hosting a "Go Hunter 08" Party next week ?
Anyone else in Texas or US interested in hosting parallel events?
An excellent place for his webmeister to start putting some links in place from his website, which as of right now has no content except "contribute here".
Thanks for the link. Hooray Duncan Hunter!
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