Posted on 12/20/2007 4:11:53 PM PST by pissant
DES MOINES -- Congressman Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., ended his bid for the presidency just two weeks before the Jan. 3 Iowa caucuses Thursday, handing fellow Congressman Duncan Hunter a loss and giving Mitt Romney a gain.
Tancredo announced Thursday afternoon what many speculated -- he's stopping his efforts to seek the Oval Office.
Tancredo then endorsed Republican Romney.
"Congressman Tancredo ran a spirited campaign focused on issues that are important to many Americans," Romney said. "I thank him for his support. While we don’t agree on every issue, we agree on the need to keep America strong. I look forward to working with him and other Republicans to achieve that end."
That move surprised many Republican insiders, who thought the congressman might swing his support to Fred Thompson. Thompson was endorsed Monday by Iowa Congressman Steve King, a close friend of Tancredo's. King also weighed in on Tancredo's decision, and praised his efforts in moving the illegal immigration debate.
"The measure of his success is in the platforms of every Republican candidate and even in that of the Democrats," King said. "No candidate has had so profound an effect on any public policy of America. Every Republican has taken the no amnesty pledge and adopted a tough-on-illegal-immigration stance. Tom Tancredo has been so successful that much his political capital has been co-opted by his opponents."
However, Hunter may have been surprised about the Romney endorsement. Just two hours earlier at an IowaPolitics.com-Drake University forum in Des Moines, Hunter's Iowa campaign director Greg Grant said Tancredo had a gentleman's agreement with the fellow congressman.
"I believe his departure will benefit Duncan Hunter the most," Grant said a couple hours before the Tancredo announcement. "Duncan and Congressman Tancredo had a gentlemen's agreement if one of them backed out they would support the one that is still in the race. When you look at Tancredo's objective as far as immigration, Duncan is right in line with Tom Tancredo's issue."
Tancredo has been very critical of the Republican's stance on illegal immigration and said it was a driving factor why he entered the race.
"For the past 10 years I have dedicated my public life to the critical issue of illegal immigration," Tancredo said. "I believed then –as I do now—that massive uncontrolled illegal immigration threatens our survival as a nation. I could not stand by and let open border politicians and corporate lobbyists sell our country out to the highest bidder. Then earlier this year when I feared that the issue would not be championed by any of the top candidates I threw my hat in the ring. It was the only way I could be certain that the candidates would be forced to take a stand."
Tancredo has been very critical of national frontrunner Rudy Giuliani about his stance on illegal immigration. Romney has also criticized the former mayor for allowing New York to be a "sanctuary city."
There was a sense Nov. 13 that Tancredo saw his campaign sinking as he acknowledged he likely wouldn't be elected president. He said Grover Cleveland was the last member of the U.S. House to be elected president.
With the Iowa caucuses just 14 days out, many were curious why Tancredo would pull the plug on his campaign unless he could shape the outcome of the caucus. Romney and Huckabee are locked in a tight battle for the Jan. 3 title, and one Republican insider thinks that endorsement could make a difference with Tancredo supporters who closely follow the immigration issue.
Regardless, Hunter is in to stay.
I doubt too many Tanc supporters are going to run to the Romney camp anyway.
I appreciate what Tancredo added to the mix, but that is pretty stupid with the front runner in flux.
Probably not. But Hunter could have used the media attention.
He’ll get it when his numbers come up with a new influx from Tancredo.
“Et tu, Tomás?”
Well I’m glad Hunter is in to stay. I find Tancredo’s endorsement shocking.
So the Tank has stabbed Hunter in the back? Is that what I'm reading?
LOL! For Tancredo it has always been about $$$$$, and it seems that Gov. Perfecthair showed enough $$$$$$ to Tancredo.
Hunter is a great guy.
Michelle Malkin wrote today that Romney, Hunter and Paul had better record (in actions, as opposed to talk) than Fred. I really can’t understand how the myth about Fred’s enforcement got started. Anyway, Hunter gets somewhere between 1-2% so there isn’t much point to vote for him.
I’m not saying Romney is a terrible / unacceptable candidate and cannot deny he’s one of the frontrunners, a good campaigner, well-financed (by himself, heh!).
But I’m surprised that TANCREDO endorsed him: Tancredo’s signature issue has been illegal immigration, and Romney has been, at BEST, mediocre on that issue.
Ironically, Giuliani — one of the candidates who’s fare WORSE than Romney on that issue — accurately pointed out in a recent debate that Romney basically did nothing about it until the very end of his term, when with great fanfare he finalized a “local police shall report arrestees who are illegals to ICE” policy. ... Which incoming Gov Deval Patrick promptly rescinded.
Hunter or Thompson were the more intuitive picks for an exiting Tancredo. Odd.
Shocking, offensive, and pig-ignorant stupid. Dumbest thing Tanc ever did since he went to FL and blasted Hispanic-supporting REPUBLICANS. Apparently he’s never heard of Los Angeles and the masses of illegal rodents out there. Well, now he’s endorsed a rodent with Precious Willard.
Oh, and I withdraw my support for Tanc in a future Senate race. Go fish, buddy. You BLEW it.
Bingo.
The Tanc supporters that were there today seemed to have the same feeling on their faces, from my observation.
Tancredo wanted to support a winner so he supported Romney!
Quite simple.
Hunter has just about as much chance of getting the nomination as Tancredo did. And Fred has failed to catch fire. That's very hard for me to admit, I have a Fred Thompson bumper sticker on my car.
But Huckabee is starting to scare the crap out of me. I don't know what I fear most--Huck losing to Hillary, or Huck taking over and adopting the Rats' pro-amnesty agenda anyway. If I can believe that Mitt was lying to the liberals in Massachusetts to get elective office there, then perhaps I can be persuaded that he's telling the truth on being tougher on illegal immigration.
Right now, I intend to vote for Thompson in the New York primary, but if he's failed to even place second in even a single state by that time, I might vote Mitt just to stop Huck.
So one is supposed to support something for which you disagree rather than something to which you attest?
Cool. What did Hugh say about Tanc’s endorsement of Mitt? Hugh literally hates Tanc.
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