Military Wish List and Duncan Hunter

Services seek $30B in additional funds

The Airforce Times

By William Matthews - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Feb 14, 2008 20:18:54 EST

Just four days after asking Congress the largest defense budget since World War II — $705.7 billion to be spent in 2009 — the U.S. military services each sent wish lists worth billions more.

In all, the services say the big budgets they just delivered to lawmakers leave them $30 billion in “unfunded requirements.”

The Air Force lays claim to more than half that amount, submitting an 11-page, $18.7 billion list of items it wants, ranging from more F-22 stealth fighters and C-17 cargo planes to trainer aircraft shelters and vehicle barriers.

The Navy requests $4.6 billion more, the Army $3.9 billion and the Marine Corps $1.3 billion.

The services submitted these wish lists in response to an invitation from Rep. Duncan Hunter, the senior Republican on the House Armed Services Committee. Hunter released the lists Feb. 14.

In a Jan. 15 letter to each of the service chiefs, Hunter said, “It goes without saying that the fiscal year 2009 defense budget will not include full funding” for everything the services say they need.

But he said the war in Iraq and the war on terrorism make it “more important than ever that Congress be aware of these unfunded requirements.”

Chiefs of the Army, Navy and Marine Corps each sent Hunter a reply thanking him for the opportunity and enclosing one to three pages of requests.

The Air Force sent a shopping list expensive enough to boost its 2009 budget by 13 percent. The list includes:

* $3.9 billion for 15 C-17s.

* $1.1 billion for four F-22s plus advanced procurement funding for 24 F-22s.

* $1 billion for to hire aircraft maintenance workers.

* $380 million for five Joint Strike Fighters and advanced procurement for six others.

* $616 million for five Global Hawk unmanned spy planes.

* $668 million to speed up depot maintenance of aircraft and engines.

* $643 million to buy seven C-37B and one C-40 aircraft.

* $438 million for F-15 modifications.

* $748 million worth of base construction.

The Navy wants $1.7 billion to buy an additional LPD-17 amphibious ship, $941 million for an additional T-AKE cargo ship and $548 million for improvements to maritime patrol aircraft.

The Marine Corps wants Humvees, helicopters, howitzers and other battlefield gear.

And the Army, similarly, wants $1.6 billion worth of Humvees; $625 million worth of “driver vision enhancement” equipment; and $489 million worth of heavy trucks, trailers, palletized loading systems, night vision goggles and other combat gear.

If past unfunded requirements lists are any indicator, the services have a good chance of getting much of what they are asking for, said Winslow Wheeler, a former Senate staffer and defense budget specialist.

The lists make budget analysts cringe because the items “are totally unevaluated,” Wheeler said. “They have not been vetted by the Office of the Secretary of Defense or the Office of Management and Budget.” Instead, they go straight from the service chiefs to members of Congress.

“The real value of the lists is that they give members of Congress who want to plus up spending a reason to do it,” said Christopher Hellman, a defense budget analyst for the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation.

Armed with a service chiefs’ requests, lawmakers can battle more forcefully for spending that creates jobs in their districts, he said.

AMTAC Fair Trade Act

USA : AMTAC to participate in USTR anti-currency manipulation press February 14, 2008

The American Manufacturing Trade Action Coalition (AMTAC) will participate in a press conference hosted by U.S. Representatives Tim Ryan (D-OH) and Duncan Hunter (R-CA) where they will press for passage of their anti-currency manipulation legislation, H.R. 2942, the Ryan-Hunter Currency Reform for Fair Trade Act of 2007. Consistent with the World Trade Organization’s provisions, H.R. 2942 would discourage currency manipulation by China and other countries by giving U.S. producers and workers the right to seek a remedy for injurious export subsidies or dumping under the U.S. countervailing duty (CVD) or antidumping law. The press conference will be held on the same day as the U.S. Commerce Department is scheduled to release its year-end trade figures for 2007. The U.S. trade deficit with China in 2007 is expected to be a record $260 billion, and more than 50 percent of the expected $500 billion U.S. trade deficit in manufactured goods in 2007 will be with China. Moreover, the cumulative U.S. trade deficit with China in manufactured goods has ballooned to $1.1 trillion since that country joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) in December 2001. These deficits are a key factor why the United States has lost more than 3.4 million manufacturing jobs since 2001. The press conference will be held: DATE: Thursday, February 14, 2008 TIME: 12:00 PM Eastern Time SITE: Room HC-7 ADDRESS: United States Capitol CITY: Washington, D.C.

Duncan Hunter Demands Fence Be Built in 6 Months

From Borderfirereport.net

Representative Duncan Hunter Demands Feds Install Border Fence

by Jim Kouri. CPP
Representative Duncan Hunter, R-Calif, author of the fencing provisions of the Secure Fence Act of 2006, has introduced new legislation in the House of Representatives to require the construction of double-layered fencing along the U.S. border with Mexico within six months, according to a memo sent to the National Association of Chiefs of Police.

As previously reported, the language of an amendment submitted by Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, into the Fiscal Year 2008 Department of Homeland Security funding bill, H.R. 2638, specifically exempts DHS from having to build any fence at all.

The Hutchison amendment reads, in part, " … nothing in this paragraph shall require the Secretary of Homeland Security to install fencing, physical barriers, roads, lighting, cameras, and sensors in a particular location along an international border of the United States, if the Secretary determines that the use or placement of such resources is not the most appropriate means to achieve and maintain operational control over the international border at such location."

"While these lawmakers living in their Ivory Towers in Washington continue to play political games with one another and collude with the Mexican government in repeated incidents of violation of US sovereignty by armed Mexicans, the American people are being victimized by illegal aliens some of whom are using fully-automatic assault rifles and other state-of-the-art weaponry, "claims Lieutenant Steven Rogers, a police commander in New Jersey.

Lt. Rogers heads the board of directors of a police-counterterrorism organization called AmeriCop.com. <>

According to a recent report by the Government Accountability Office -- an entity that reports to the legislative branch of government rather than the executive and judicial branhes.-- the increase in the number of incursions is staggering"

17 documented, illegal border crossings into America by armed Mexican soldiers in 2006

29 documented, illegal border incursions of all kinds by Mexican forces in 2006

253 documented, illegal border crossings by Mexican soldiers and policemen to assist drug and weapons traffickers in the past decade

1000 attacks against US Border Patrol agents in 2007

"And who knows what dangerous contraband and materials may have crossed our borders in the absence of a secure southern border?" asks New York police officer Edna Aguayo.

"These politicians must restore the $3 billion dollars to the Department of Homeland Security budget and build the fence demanded by the American people, RIGHT NOW!" she addeded.

Violence on the border increased 31% from 2006 to 2007, and attacks on agents jumped 44% over the same period, according to the recent GAO report.

The result of the Hutchison amendment was to give DHS total discretion to build a fence or not to build a fence in any particular location, removing from the Secure Fence Act the requirement that 700 miles of double-layer fence be built on the border with Mexico.

"When the Secure Fence Act was enacted more than one year ago, the American people were pleased to see the necessary steps were finally being taken to secure the dangerous and problematic smuggling corridors that exist along our border with Mexico," Congressman Hunter said.

Sadly, he recently dropped out of the race for the GOP presidential nomination because his message was ignored by the news media establishment, according to several political observers.

"Liberals will ramble on-and-on about the issues and the news media feverishly cover their stories... most of them filled with psycho-babble and nonsense," says former NYPD detective and US Marine Sidney Francis.

"Instead of adhering to the law and building the prescribed fencing, the Department of Homeland Security began to immediately retreat from the mandates of the bill, indicating its intention to build 370 miles of fence and not the required 700 miles," Hunter continued.

Hunter pointed out DHS has built approximately 75 miles of new fence along the border, of which only five miles is double-layered.

"The reality is that single-layered fencing and vehicle barriers do little, if anything, to stop illegal immigration and the 'virtual fence' alternative being aggressively pursued by DHS remains ineffective and unusable," Rep. Hunter emphasized.

"The legislation I am introducing reinstates the most important elements of the Secure Fence, which were wrongly amended under the omnibus spending bill," Hunter noted. "If we truly hope to bring some sense of security to our southern land border, then we must begin building the appropriate infrastructure in the timeliest manner possible."

Hunter's bill also would eliminate the "consultation" language in the omnibus appropriations bill which required DHS to open for discussion with landholders and residents on the border the wisdom and necessity of building a two-layered fence.

Hunter noted that provision potentially opened fence construction to endless challenges.

President Bush signed the Secure Fence Act of 2006 on Oct. 26, 2006.

Hunter's new legislation has been referred to the House Homeland Security Committee for further consideration.

Violence along the border with Mexico will likely increase this year as the administration bolsters Border Patrol staffing and adds more fencing and technology to catch illegal immigrants, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said Tuesday.

On Saturday, US Border Patrol Agent Luis Aguilar, 32, was killed in California's Imperial Sand Dunes recreation area, run over by suspected drug smugglers as he was laying down a spike strip to stop their fleeing Hummer.

Aguilar's death has drawn attention to escalating violence on both sides of the US-Mexico divide, which Chertoff and other administration officials attributed partly to heightened border security measures.

"Experience shows that the more successful you are in putting pressure on criminal organizations, the more violent they will become in fighting back," said Chertoff, who wore a pin depicting a Border Patrol badge draped in black. "The sad, tragic fact is that the increase in violence is very consistent with other metrics we've had that show we're getting increased success with stopping the flow across the border."

In an interview with The Times and the Associated Press, Chertoff and Border Patrol officials said the agency considered the agent's death a murder -- the first since 1998 of a Border Patrol agent -- and was working closely with Mexico to investigate. The Hummer's driver appeared to swerve not just to avoid the spike strip, but to "hit the agent intentionally," one witness told investigators.

Mexican officials reportedly found the Hummer, empty and burned, in Mexicali.

Chertoff and other officials said Aguilar's death highlighted a need to continue such initiatives as a fence.

Several border groups have sharply criticized Homeland Security's plan to build a border fence on private land. Many residents, mayors and business owners also object to Chertoff's announcement that if necessary, his agency will seize land from unwilling property owners in order to continue construction.

"I know it gripes some people; they don't want it on their property," Chertoff said.

But, he continued, "if the [Border Patrol] chief says to me building a barrier, building a fence would make it safer in this particular area . . . I'm going to use every available tool, including the courts."

Meanwhile, conservatives critical of President Bush's policies on illegal immigration have cited Aguilar's death in renewing calls to pardon Ignacio "Nacho" Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean. The two were Border Patrol agents, sentenced in 2006 to more than 10 years in prison after shooting an unarmed Mexican drug smuggler in the buttocks as he fled to Mexico. (They were found guilty of violating his civil rights and trying to cover up their actions.)

"Obviously, Aguilar didn't know if he could use his gun to shoot at this car coming at him," Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach) said on Fox TV.

Border Patrol officials strongly disputed that.

"It's not a fair comparison, and it diminishes our shock and heartbreak," said National Deputy Chief Ron Colburn.

During a Washington DC press conference, Chertoff said there was no indication that Aguilar had time to defend himself.

Both Colburn and Chertoff stressed that Border Patrol agents are allowed to use force to defend themselves. Chertoff said that agents have been attacked with firearms, knives, bats, steel pipes, vehicles, boats and slingshots.

Border officials say the burgeoning violence is rooted partly in criminal organizations' turf battles and lawlessness on Mexico's side.

Some 2,500 Mexicans died in drug-related violence in 2007, and the nation's president, Felipe Calderon, has made combating drug cartels his government's priority.

Chertoff linked the jump in violence to an array of U.S. enforcement measures, including fencing.

He said that his agency had built about 170 miles of pedestrian fencing and 130 miles of vehicle barriers.

He also cited increased Border Patrol staffing -- which now stands at 15,000 -- and policies in which illegal immigrants are deported and not released.

The administration has set up protocols that allow Homeland Security to coordinate with Mexico when violence crosses the border.

Chertoff said that Mexican officials reacted promptly after Aguilar's death, and that he had discussed with them additional steps they might take "to turn up pressure on cartels."

Chertoff added that the violence would require continued close cooperation, including joint intelligence-gathering and investigations on both sides of the border.

Jim Kouri, CPP is currently fifth vice-president of the National Association of Chiefs of Police and he's a staff writer for the New Media Alliance (thenma.org).

Romney Drops Out

Mitt Romney shocked a lot of conservatives when he announced he was suspending his campaign for President at the CPAC conference today.
You can be sure there is a lot of arm twisting going on between Mike Huckabee and the Republican party muckity mucks right now and he may withdraw before I can get this posted.
I hope not, for even with as much concern as I have had for Mike Huckabee he is considerably more conservative and better suited to be President than John McLiebercain and/or Hillary Obama-mama.

Hang in there Mike Huckabee... you're all that's left.
-red

Obama The Real Liberal, Hunter The Real Conservative

Liberal and Conservative Scores of the Presidential Candidates

Lifted with hat tip from The Dakota Voice Blog:
I knew Obama was liberal, but I don't think I would have believed it until I'd seen it with my own eyes.

National Journal says Barak Obama was the #1 most liberal senator in 2007, while Hillary Clinton came in at a modest 16th. Hillary did improve her liberal score from 2006-2007, coming down from 32nd to 16th. I wonder if Obama will dig Hillary about her low score at the Democratic debate tonight?

The article didn't seem to have a link to the actual 2007 ranking itself, but there was a link to report through 2007.

For 2006, of the congressmen running on the GOP side, it lists Duncan Hunter as most conservative (why wasn't the GOP supporting a real conservative?) at a rating of 84.0, followed by Tom Tancredo at 73.3, then Sam Brownback at 70.3, John McCain lagging far behind at 56.7, and Ron Paul taking up the rear at 39.0.

It was his libertarian views that brought Paul down so low. I appreciate Ron Paul's respect for the Constitution, but libertarianism doesn't equal conservatism, especially with his dangerous position on Iraq and the war on terrorism.

If you look at the lifetime conservative rankings up to 2006, current front runner McCain improves to 71.8, but still considerably below the 82.5 lifetime conservative rating of Duncan Hunter.

McCain's conservative score is interesting to watch. It drops from the 80s in the 1980s to dip a little in most of the 90s, but then around 1998-1999-2000 (when he became a media darling), he dips down into the 60s and 50s and keeps dropping.

McCain's a conservative, huh? Go pull my other leg, now.

Sooner Thought Wrong (as usual)

There seems to be a never-ending supply of bad information coming out of a local bloggers computer. Apparently his google button doesn't work. While proclaiming his hero "Jihad Joe" Biden to be the next Vice President he can't resist taking a poke at Duncan Hunter without doing any research first.
He also continually touts his "civil discourse" which he demonstrates here...
"They sure as shit aren't writing pieces like this about the Duncan Hunters and Tom Tancredos of the world...(note: emphasis in this article mine)--Editor

(with apologies for that 4letter word appearing on this blog)
Maybe I can help him out here, since my google button seems to work okay.

From National Review online Dec 12 2007
"Can we all agree that Duncan Hunter is going to be Secretary of Defense in the next Republican administration?"

From Californians for Romney... Their "Dream Team"
"A Vietnam veteran and Army Ranger, Duncan Hunter has served on the House Armed Services Committee for the last 27 years. He is also the author of the Secure Fence act, and has a son who recently returned from a couple of tours of Iraq and is U.S. Marine. No more stupid questions from the media to the Defense Secretary about "would you send your son to Fallajuh?" They would already know the answer.

If Romney is smart he will put together the best conservatives have to offer for his administration, after all as Ronald Reagan said, "Surround yourself with the best people you can find, delegate authority, and don't interfere as long as the policy you've decided upon is being carried out." Duncan Hunter fits the bill.

From Vice Presidents.com
Why Duncan Hunter Should Be the Next VEEP...
1. Experience Points!
Duncan Hunter has served in the House of Representatives since 1980! He was Chairman of the Armed Services Committee during the first two years of the Bush Jr. presidency. Within the committee, Hunter was one of the strongest critics of a Defense Logics Agency that misspent military funds, demanding explanations for incompetence. He also has a law degree and began a storefront practice that serviced the Hispanic community, sometimes without compensation.

2. He’s a Patriot!
Every other sentence out of John McCain’s mouth refers to his Vietnam service, but little did you know… Duncan Hunter also served in South Vietnam. He recently made an innovative proposal to President Bush that suggested they recruit State Department members from Abu Ghiraib and other military hospitals, instead of their independent agency.

3. He’s a Uniter, Not a Divider!
In his home state of California, Hunter receives 60% of the Hispanic vote and 70% of the Democratic vote! In the 2006 election, Hunter beat Democrats and Libertarians alike.

4. He was ahead of his time on immigration policy!
The erection of a border security fence may sound like recent news to many, but Hunter mandated a 14-mile fence between San Diego and Tijuana back in 1994. In 2005, he cited its success and called for the extension of the fence across the entire US-Mexican border. His voting record received an “A” grade from Americans for Better Immigration.

And This from The Conservative Voice.com
"Why Duncan Hunter Will Be In The Cabinet"
"Duncan Hunter is congenial, motivated, competent and experienced. His legacy with the “House Armed Services committee” cannot be equaled. Our next Republican president will do well to include Duncan Hunter in their cabinet. Why settle for a second stringer with inadequate experience, when you can have a seasoned veteran like Duncan Hunter that knows all the playbook, and is a leader in the huddle?"

From RedState.com
"1A-In the strength department was Representative Duncan Hunter. Hunter has almost solidified the Vice-President slot for himself. No other candidate on stage should even be considered as a possibility. Hunter is the man. He simply doesn’t have the charm and star power to be the nominee, but man does he have gravitas. Buckets of it. He is the Cheney of 2008, but with 55 electoral votes in his back pocket. A Giuliani/Hunter ticket might win California."


There is plenty more where these came from, but my google finger is getting tired.
I suggest Sooner Thought learn to do some thinking before typing... sooner or later maybe he will.

Abortion Victims Remembered

From HumanEvents.com

Abortion Victims Remembered

by Rep. Duncan Hunter

Posted: 01/22/2008

Thirty-five years ago today, seven of nine Supreme Court justices voted to make abortion a legal right in this country. In the landmark case of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court dramatically changed our nation, ushering in an era that disrespects human life and fails to acknowledge our responsibility to value and protect life from the moment of conception.

Every year since the Supreme Court pronounced its verdict in Roe v. Wade, a courageous and dedicated group of individuals have traveled to Washington to remind us of this unfortunate decision. The March for Life brings together pro-life activists from across the country to commemorate the Court’s infamous ruling and to raise a voice on behalf of the unborn children who remain vulnerable and unprotected by our laws. This year’s 35th March for Life provides an opportunity for us to once again reflect on the harm caused by Roe v. Wade and the destructive policies it promotes.

The numbers alone are shocking: over 1.3 million abortions are performed in the United States each year and over 50 million abortions have been performed in this country since 1973. The death of an entire generation of Americans is nothing short of a national tragedy. Together, with the March for Life and the many other groups that work to bring attention to this injustice, we must continue our efforts to overturn Roe v. Wade.

Over the last decade, I have introduced legislation in Congress that would do exactly what the Supreme Court failed to do in the case of Roe v. Wade: recognize the personhood of the unborn. My bill, the Right to Life Act, makes clear that life begins at conception, that the unborn child is indeed a human being, and that he is therefore entitled to all the rights and protections afforded an American citizen. In the 110th Congress, the Right to Life Act has once again attracted strong support, with 100 Members of Congress signing on as co-sponsors.

In addition to the growing support the Right to Life Act continues to receive, I am also encouraged by recent reports indicating that the number of abortions being performed in this country has dropped to the lowest level since 1976. This news means that more women are abstaining from risky behavior and even foregoing abortion in favor of motherhood or adoption. Thanks to the efforts of the pro-life advocates here in Washington today, more Americans are surely opening their hearts to the truth that human life has intrinsic value and dignity.

Despite this welcoming news, Roe v. Wade continues to undermine our national commitment to protecting the life and liberty of the most vulnerable among us. For this reason, we must continue supporting legislation like the Right to Life Act and appoint judges who understand that respect for human life lies at the heart of our Constitution.
Our next President will likely have an opportunity to make at least one nomination to our nation’s highest court. I hope that when he does, he will remember the millions of Americans that have participated in the March for Life since its inception, and the Constitutional rights afforded to every American, including the unborn.

Part Two of "Find The Conservative" (If you can)

Fred Thompson called it quits today following his poor performance in the South Carolina primary making it a little tougher to find any conservative among the remaining candidates.

Conservatives can now feel free to choose from the remaining liberal left-leaning candidates.

John McCain- Arizona liberal maverick voted against the Bush tax cuts, supports the McCain/Kennedy amnesty for illegal immigrants and authored the McCain/Feingold Campaign finance bill. John McCain on abortion... "But certainly in the short term, or even the long term, I would not support repeal of Roe v. Wade, which would then force X number of women in America to [undergo] illegal and dangerous operations." On Sunday, on CNN's "Late Edition," McCain reiterated that he would not have an abortion "litmus" test for a running mate or Supreme Court nominees."

Mike Huckabee- Arkansas liberal raised taxes more than democrat Bill Clinton as Governor of Arkansas in less time, opposes enforcing illegal immigration laws and supports free education in our colleges for illegal immigrants. Huckabee also pardoned more criminals as Governor than Bill Clinton sold pardons to as President.

Rudy Giuliani- NY liberal, pro-choice, pro-gun control and against enforcing illegal immigration laws.

Mitt Romney- Spent most of his career convincing Massachusetts voters that he was liberal only to discover he is now a "conservative" running for President. Pro- socialized healthcare, pro-China, still supports embryonic stem cell research funded by tax revenue.

Ron Paul- not worthy of consideration. Called the border fence "insulting", blames US for the 9/11 attacks and proposes closing all US military bases in foreign countries. Paul's answer to America's drug abuse problem is to legalize all drugs. He does have the endorsement of "Hookers Are Us" though, so he's got that going for him. LOL

Let's Play "Find The Conservative"

As rumors fly about Fred Thompson possibly being the next Republican to withdraw from the Presidential race, one thing is for sure. There is no true conservative remaining in the race for president.

This from OutsidetheBeltway.com-

..."The idea that Fred Thompson represented a major reversal of this course (away from Reagan conservatism) is a testament to his status as a chimera upon whom one could impart one’s wishes for an ideal candidate rather than any reality. As an actor, he often played the sort of no-nonsense, gruff talking, straight shooting leader that conservatives love; as a senator, though, he was rather ordinary.

Indeed, as the Washington Times pointed out last summer, his voting record put him to the left of Bill Frist.
His lifetime ACU rating of 86 is barely ahead of John McCain’s 82 — and he was a consistent supporter of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance legislation that earned its namesake so much enmity. As the Washington Post put it, “the two shared remarkably similar voting records in the Senate.” John Little links a now-no-longer-online Congressional Quarterly study which “found that Thompson and McCain voted the same way on 83 of 102 CQ-defined ‘key votes’ (81.4 percent) during the eight years the two men served together.”

For reasons mostly of style rather than substance, though, the conservative establishment pined for a Thompson campaign and has done whatever it can to derail McCain, as a front page piece in yesterday’s WaPo explained.

[Rush] Limbaugh led the way with a verbal blitz, not just against McCain but against his closest rival in South Carolina, former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee.

“I’m here to tell you, if either of these two guys get the nomination, it’s going to destroy the Republican Party. It’s going to change it forever, be the end of it,” Limbaugh fumed on his radio show Tuesday. It was a line of argument that he kept up all week long.

[Former House Majority Leader Tom] DeLay resurfaced on Fox News Friday to excoriate McCain for working with “the most liberal Democrats in the Senate,” for passing an overhaul of campaign finance laws that “completely neutered the Republican Party,” and single-handedly thwarted oil drilling in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

“McCain has done more to hurt the Republican Party than any elected official I know of,” said DeLay, the former House majority leader, who was personally damaged by McCain’s Senate probe of lobbyist Jack Abramoff, a probe that implicated numerous DeLay associates.

Conservative blogger Patrick Ruffini, on the Web site of popular radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt, implored South Carolina Republicans on Friday to vote for Huckabee, simply to extend the nomination fight in hopes that another candidate could derail McCain.

And Jim DeMint, South Carolina’s ardently conservative senator who is backing Mitt Romney, issued a message Friday to “fellow conservatives,” warning that “Washington experience is the problem, not the solution. We cannot afford to have a President who has fought for amnesty for illegal immigrants, voted against the Bush Tax Cuts, and curtailed our First Amendment rights in the ill-conceived campaign finance legislation.” He never mentioned McCain’s name, but his meaning was clear.

The irony that so many of these people are lining up behind Mitt Romney, a guy who was a Massachusetts liberal until he started running for president, is simply bizarre.

Ruffini has set up an unscientific online poll aimed at Thompson supporters and they overwhelmingly (2,404 of 3,304, or 73%) say they’d switch to Romney. As of this writing, 2024 of 2302 wouldn’t be swayed even if Thompson were to endorse McCain.

This just goes to show that politics is largely irrational. People say that issues, judgment, and experience matter but, in reality, personality and style are what drive attitudes about candidates.

Nothing shows that better than last week’s Pew study on public perceptions of the ideology of the 2008 candidates. Republicans see Hillary Clinton as decidedly more liberal than Barack Obama, for example, while the general public and Democrats (correctly, in my view) see the two as rather similar ideologically with Obama somewhat further to the left. Regardless, all the candidates are much closer together on important public policy issues than the graphs would indicate.

We don’t choose candidates, though, based on a blind examination of their policy papers. Rather, we weigh them as personalities for “gravitas” and “leadership” and “toughness” and the degree to which they “care about people like me.” Fred Thompson is folksy and affable and therefore must be just like Ronald Reagan.

The beauty of long, grueling campaigns, though, is that they reveal people for who they are. Thompson doesn’t have the passion to do what it takes to be president. That probably just proves that he’s sane, really, but presidents have to spend four years working ridiculously long hours under constant scrutiny. People who want semi-normal lives, therefore, are unsuited for the job.

McCain, Romney, Huckabee and Giuliani are still in the running. One of them will ultimately win the nomination and run against the winner of the Hillary Clinton-Barack Obama playoffs in the Democratic Conference for the presidential championship.

None of them are my ideal candidate. It’s quite possible that Huckabee is far enough from my ideal that I’d prefer one of the Democrats; thankfully, it’s looking like I’m not going to have to make that version of Hobson’s choice. Otherwise, as distasteful as I find aspects of their agendas and personalities, I can’t imagine that Hillary Clinton would be my preferred alternative."
-end quote.

Note: Ron Paul isn't mentioned for a variety of reasons beginning with him being a Libertarian and not a true Republican conservative, continuing with his considering building a border fence "insulting", his views on drugs, prostitution and probably worse of all, his foreign policy of isolationism and appeasement.
No one would mistake Rudy Giuliani for a true conservative. Mitt's newly found conservatism is very questionable at best, Mike Huckabee is left of Bill Clinton on taxes, immigration and letting criminals go free. John McCain and Fred Thompson are virtually twins separated at birth.

There is no true conservative left in the race.
Happy Hunting.

Rush Limbaugh Revealed Which Candidate Is "Authentic"

There has been a lot of speculation over the past month or so about who Rush Limbaugh thinks is an authentic conservative.
Rush has said over and over who is NOT a true authentic conservative.
Rush has also said on more than one occasion (before January 19) that there was only one true authentic conservative in the race for President.

On January 3rd 2008 Rush said who the authentic candidate was, but America didn't pay attention... at least not voters in Nevada or South Carolina.

From The Rush Limbaugh Radio Show, January 3 2008.
BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: Here's Steve in Walnut Creek, California, hello, sir, great to have you with us.

CALLER: Redeemed dittos, Rush.

RUSH: Thank you.

CALLER: You know, this is like talking to the president of the United States.

RUSH: Well, I appreciate that, sir. Thank you.

CALLER: I've listened to you, and I know that you are trustworthy, you're a man of faith, conviction, and passion, and I think Duncan Hunter is also such a man. And my question to you is, in the event of a brokered convention this fall, do you think there could be a draft Duncan Hunter movement?

RUSH: Well, I wouldn't rule anything out. If we go to a brokered conventional, you understand what that means?

CALLER: I believe it frees the electors for --

RUSH: Yeah, it means everything is up for grabs.

CALLER: Right.

RUSH: "It means anything can happen.
A lot of people think we're headed in that direction based on how close and tight everything is, but that's way down the line. Duncan Hunter is a great guy, and he truly is authentic. It's a mystery why some people don't get out of the bottom tier or the lower tiers in campaigns. But, remember, this is his first chance, it's his first time going up in a national audience, and he's got a future ahead of him if he wants to try to continue to do this. Whatever happens here does not rule him out forever."

END TRANSCRIPT

Now we know that the one true "authentic" conservative candidate running for president dropped out of the race.
There you go folks.
Happy Hunting.

GoHunter2012

Video Tribute To Duncan Hunter

Duncan Hunter... May God Bless.
(video by Walter- WS2007)