"There is no distinctly American criminal class - except Congress."
- Mark Twain
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.
I lost respect last year when he endorsed RINO opponent Jeff Crank (and slandered Good Congressman Douglas Lamborn) in his race to replace Joel Heffley (El Paso Co, CO-05). He said any good about all the OTHERs (5) but nothing good about Solidly Conservative (and no one could question his 12 years in the CO-Senate!!...).
Agreed. I think this may be a move to help Romney over Huckabee...because we all know that Huckabee is WAAAAY worse than Romney on illegal matters.
We got the Great president, GWB. He won it for us.
And we have had excellent enforcement of our borders for seven years. After all, this is what winners give us, is national security and sovereignty. Our country is in solid shape, we have seen illegal immigration flow stopped and reversed, and there have been no murders of Americans on our soil by illegal aliens, all under the leadership of our "winner."
And you're not being sarcastic? Are you still living in Japan? Are we to believe most of your posts about protecting America's sovereignty during the last few years are so much BS? Dreadful waste of typing and other people's attention if you're going to go "party hack" at this late date.
I’m voting for him as long as he is running, regardless of his other support.
TIme will tell. But my guess is he will continue to be ignored, especially by the ‘conservative’ media outlets.
Tancredo has cited the rise of Huckabee over and over.
Lots of articles why today:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-tancredo_webdec21,1,6519536.story
They’ve surely “drunk the Koolaid” becuase Romney has flipped on immigration (not to mention his hiring of illigals on his housework twice), as another poster stated only enforced strong immigration laws LATE into his Administration..) Not to mention his liberal record on several OTHERS: I’ll never vote for Mitt! Neither will ANYONE I know..
By the way..I WAS a former Tancredo Supporter in this race!!! ;-P
"There is no distinctly American criminal class - except Congress."
- Mark Twain
You and I and many others, just wish that it were America that reaped the reward of Hunter as our President. That WOULD be a great thing.
We disagree on what “decent” means. Perhaps you meant “descent”.
Once Fred and Duncan are out of the race, where do you think their support will go?
I think it’s obvious.
Lighten up Francis, it was a /sarc JOKE!! ;-)
Forgot his friend Hunter?
A job in the administration.
“enforced strong immigration laws LATE into his Administration..)”
Romney vetoed pro-illegal bills early on in his tenure (ie college funding for illegalos), before illegals were such a campaign issue. Talk is cheap.
Proud Romney EXPOSER.
"The reason Tancredo is supporting Romney is simple."
He's a Judas.
"Of the viable candidate, which Fred Thompson is not,"
Fixed it for you.
"Mitt Romney best represents the strong borders, and anti-illegals movement the flipflopping power-whoring liberal ego that will spend whatever it takes to buy the GOP nomination so he can destroy the Conservative movement nationwide from DC and shrink the size of the Republican party numbers in Congress to the point they can caucus in a phone booth like he did in Massachusetts, and when he's done, turn the nation over to the Democrats in the form of Obama, just like he did his fellow Black Marxist Deval Patrick."
Fixed again.
"Which is why Sheriff Joe Arpaio a grandstanding phony who has endorsed Democrats like Butch Napolitano for Arizona Governor is also supporting him."
And don't forget Joe Isuzu Romney's political hero, the Clintonista William Weld, who never saw a Republican or Conservative (or college he was appointed to run) that he didn't destroy or run into the ground.
"It’s really getting to the point of embarrassing the way you accuse anyone that supports a decent candidate like Mitt Romney of only supporting him for money a flipflopping rich liberal like Joe Isuzu Romney bribes and misleads formerly well-respected Conservatives into supporting his abomination of a candidacy.
Ain't that the truth.
"Tancredo is a champion of the anti-illegal movement backstabbing Judas weasel and sell-out, and to point out that he disgraced his name with your slander is this disgusting betrayal is laughable sad and pathetic."
Sad and pathetic, absolutely right.
"I should Grow Up and stop supporting a candidate who wants to destroy the Conservative movement and the Republican party and support the only viable Conservative in the race, Fred Thompson."
Yes, you should.
If the Tanc’s going to stab me in the back I’m a bit paranoid. Should we expect Santa to burglarize us next? I heard he’s had enough with the milk and cookies and would appreciate a jello shot (amongst other things).
Seriously though, Tancredo’s endorsement may mean squat among the majority of citizens but for those who’ve backed him and his cause for many years this is an insulting betrayal of principles and values. He had nothing to lose after posting he wasn’t running for re-election and had every reason to cap off his legacy on a high note. Somethings seriously F’d up here.
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