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.
More love from a Mittwitt. Bless your lil liberal heart.
"I am not sure that Mitt is the best candidate we have, though of the front runners he seems to be one of the strongest, but the hatred some of you reserve strictly for him is both pathetic and pathological."
Same crap I heard 4 years ago from the Ah-noldbots, and look at his Socialist and perverted agenda for CA today. I was right then, and I'm right now. Deal with it.
"On my worse day I wouldn’t trash Dennis Kucinich with the venom you people spew against Romney."
Oh, no !
"What happened to civil discourse on this site?"
I was quite civil. I pointed out starting several years ago Joe Isuzu Romney was a liar, a fraud, an opportunist and a party-destroyer. His sycophantic idol-worshipping cretins continued to repeat lies that he had an excellent record. And lied. And lied some more. I'm calling every last damn one of them out on him. I'm through being civil with liars that are hell-bent on destroying Conservatism and this party and repeating the performance that Huckster and Romney did as Governors of their respective states. They were damnable disasters and now they want to take their dog and pony show to DC. Forget it. This is war against the liberal hijacking of our party. The gloves are off. Deal with it.
What happened to Bay??? I had no idea!
I have to say, if we don’t get Thompson (the only person able to be nominated amongst the conservatives) then we get to the point soon where I will focus on regaining Congress, and will not care who wins the Presidency.
If we put up a RINO and the RINO wins the Presidency, we may never see a Republican majority for many, many, many years. I don’t think Republicans had a clue in 1955 just how long they were going to be shut out for, but at least in 1955 there were still Conservative Democrats.
BTW, our party has all of 2 1/2 million dollars for 470 contests for next year. That works out to $5,300 per candidate in an era when it takes hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars PER CANDIDATE in order to be competitive. We may be headed towards a disaster of epic proportions next November.
He has a chance of winning.
Pyrrhic victories aren’t victories.
I sent a lot of $ to Tancredo and I was glad he was in the race. I didn’t donate so that he would become President; I donated to get illegal immigration into the debate. Now I am stunned that he didn’t endorse Fred, or at least Hunter.
I’d demand my money back. Every last cent. He’s not only knifed Duncan Hunter in the back, he’s knifed every person who believe in his cause. An epic betrayal.
But reality is reality.
Support a liberal and you’re still getting liberalism.
It's not always about money.
Many good and decent people like Tom Tancredo just do things because its the right thing to do.
I am totally stealing a line from you for tagline usage!! Thanks! The check is in the mail.
Good and decent people don’t stab their friends and supporters in the back.
If Romney defeats HRC, Obama or Edwards it won't be a "Pyrrhic victory". Romney is less than ideal, but an easy choice over any of those Marxists.
Which? Were they multi-purpose bills or unalloyed ones? It seems to me FDT has a pretty good record (and excellent current positions) on illegals, so please be specific and provide links. Unless you're just a Fredbash Troll, in which case, please do NOT bother responding.
“Now I am stunned that he didn’t endorse Fred, or at least Hunter.”
Tancredo is against illegal immigration. Why an earth would he endorse Thompson?? Thompson did nothing in senate (except voted against enforcement bills). Talk is cheap (and besides, last year he advocated that illegals must have aspirations of citizenship). As Michelle Malkin and NumbersUSA can tell, Thompson record is much worse than Romney’s.
Romney has a real record (ie vetoed college funding for illegals and bi-lingual education early on, before illegals were campaign issue).
and also, Romney has the energy and money to win (unlike, say Hunter or Thompson).
It’s a Pyrrhic victory. Just ask the Republican party of Massachusetts how well Romney worked out for them.
Oh, what’s that ? There IS no Republican party of Massachusetts ?
Thank Joe Isuzu Romney, because he buried it.
RIP, MA GOP, 1856-2007, We hardly knew ye.
So, you would prefer to have HRC, Obama or Edwards as POTUS?!?
I’d prefer genital warts.
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