Monday, 19 March 2007
 

CQ Guest Post: Rep. Duncan Hunter

An Exclusive Post For Captain's Quarters On The Surge In Iraq
Rep. Duncan Hunter

I would like to thank Ed Morrissey for giving me the opportunity to write a guest blog at Captain’s Quarters about the surge in Iraq. The courtesy is much appreciated.

Now, let me take a moment to talk about Iraq. What we're doing in that country is following the same basic pattern that we've used to expand freedom around the world for more than 60 years in places like Japan, Europe, and El Salvador. First, you stand up a free government. Next, you stand up a military capable of protecting that free government, and lastly, the Americans leave.

We've stood up this free government in Iraq and we've also stood up 129 Iraqi battalions that are trained and equipped. What we need to do now is rotate all those Iraqi battalions into combat zones, which will help re-enforce the chain of command, develop combat effectiveness, and help validate the civilian government's control over the military.  ...

Contributed by Bill Faith on March 19, 2007 at 12:05 PM in Duncan Hunter, Iraq, Politics | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Monday, 12 March 2007
 

Duncan Hunter CPAC Interview

Hat tip: Michelle

I've said before, and I still believe, that Hunter doesn't have a snowball's chance of being elected President in '08 -- He'd be a great President but he just isn't electable right now -- but I think he'd make a good VP candidate on a ticket with a Northeasterner at the top, then a great Presidential candidate in '16.

Contributed by Bill Faith on March 12, 2007 at 03:45 PM in Duncan Hunter, Politics | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Tuesday, 27 February 2007
 

Look Who's Coming -- And Not Coming -- To CPAC
Ed Morrissey

... In the past couple of days, almost every GOP candidate announced and presumed have been added to the CPAC agenda. Today both Duncan Hunter and Tom Tancredo announced their addition to the list of impressive speakers addressing conservative activists:

ALEXANDRIA, VA—The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) announced today that California Congressman Duncan Hunter will address the nation’s oldest and largest gathering of conservatives on Saturday, March 3, 2007 at 8:30 a.m. in the Omni Shoreham Hotel’s Regency Ballroom in Washington D.C.

“For more than a quarter of a century, Congressman Duncan Hunter has been a strong and reliable voice in the U.S. House for conservatives, fighting the good fight to keep our military up to speed, up to date, and up to the dangerous tasks our nation asks of them,” said J. William Lauderback, Executive Vice President of the American Conservative Union (ACU), CPAC’s lead sponsor. “What some conservatives may not know is that also during that quarter century Congressman Hunter has proved himself as a Member of solid conservative credentials on a host of other issues important to conservatives, as reflected by his ACU Lifetime Rating of 92. We look forward to hearing from our friend and ally,” concluded Lauderback. ...

Duncan Hunter would make the best President of anyone who's shown any interest. Unfortunately there's little chance he could win a head-to-head battle against Clinton or Obama. Giuliani/Hunter '08! Hunter/Sessions '16!

Full disclosure: Old War Dog Larry Bailey is actively involved in the Duncan Hunter campaign; I hope he's not going to be angry with me for saying I don't thing Hunter can win in '08.

Contributed by Bill Faith on February 27, 2007 at 08:49 PM in Duncan Hunter, Politics | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Thursday, 15 February 2007
 

John Hawkins hired to help generate Hunter buzz

Duncan Hunter Aims to be the Conservative in the Race 
George Will

WASHINGTON -- When Bob Hunter, a Riverside, Calif., businessman, would hear of a conservative's campaign that needed volunteers, he would pile his family into the station wagon and drive off to ring doorbells. Hunter's son Duncan grew up believing in retail politics.

When Hunter returned home after serving as an alternate Goldwater delegate at the 1964 Republican convention in San Francisco, he told Duncan about chatting with another alternate, an amiable fellow, some actor, named Reagan. Who two years later was elected governor. Duncan learned early on about rapid upward mobility in politics.

In 1969, he dropped out of college, joined the army and was sent to Vietnam. From there he mailed his pay to a friend who purchased for him an island in Idaho's Snake River, where Duncan farmed after his discharge. Then another friend said a San Diego law school would admit him without a college degree. In 1980 he was a lawyer with a storefront office in San Diego's Hispanic community when his father walked in and told him he could be a congressman. Never mind, his father said, that this district was only 29 percent Republican. Reagan was at the top of the ticket.

Duncan says his Baptist minister, respecting the separation of church and state, told parishioners they should vote for the Reagan of their choice. They distributed 400,000 Duncan brochures. Today Duncan is in his 14th term representing eastern San Diego County. Three weeks ago he formally launched his presidential candidacy.

Why does he think he can become the first House member elected president since James Garfield in 1880? Why does he think he can do better than the two strongest House candidates in recent elections?  ...

My take, folks? Out of everyone who's shown any interest in running in '08 I think Duncan Hunter would make the best President, but I don't want to see him at the top of the Republican ticket. As The Gray Dog explained here, the "Duncan who?" factor is just too big to overcome. There's no point in putting the best man available at the top of the ticket only to watch him lose to a Dhimmicrat.  On the other hand, I think a Giuliani/Hunter ticket is just what the doctor ordered and I hope that's how things will turn out.

***

Big Announcement: I Am Now
Consulting For The Duncan Hunter Campaign
John Hawkins (Hat tip: Greg Tinti)

A little more than a week ago, I mentioned that I had gotten a gig helping one of the presidential contenders build up his web presence, but that I couldn't mention who it was at the time. When they gave me the go ahead, I promised to post again and give you all the details. Well, at long last, that time has now come.

On February 3, Nathan Tabor from TCV Media got in touch with me and asked if I'd be interested in consulting for the Duncan Hunter campaign. We bantered back and forth, came to a basic understanding that Saturday, and then finalized the deal the next day. Long story short, TCV Media brought me on board to be their point person in building up buzz for Duncan Hunter online.

Since I am a blogger who's doing some consulting on the side, not a consultant doing blogging to get his name out there, I did attach a condition to my employment that Nathan was willing to go along with: ...

In fact, after I interviewed Hunter back in December, I liked him so much that I actually offered to set up some interviews for him with bloggers to help get his name out there. In the end, none of them actually came off and ironically, I am now getting paid, in part at least, to do exactly the same thing. ...

Contributed by Bill Faith on February 15, 2007 at 01:42 AM in Duncan Hunter, Politics | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Saturday, 03 February 2007
 

Veterans to organize support
for Hunter presidential campaign 
U.S. Veteran Dispatch --- February 02, 2007

Saying he's "more of a Reaganite than Ronald Reagan," a group of military veterans are backing the presidential candidacy of U.S. Congressman Duncan Hunter, (R-Calif.)

Hunter has served 13 terms in the House representing the San Diego area, home to a major navy base, and was chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. He remains the ranking Republican member. Hunter announced his race for the presidency earlier this week in South Carolina.

Larry Bailey, a retired U.S. Navy Seal, is behind the push by his fellow veterans.

"Duncan has been a friend for 20 years," Bailey said. "He was in the 173rd Airborne Brigade (and the 75th Army Rangers), and saw some tough, tough times. He was an enlisted guy, and he received a Bronze Star."

Hunter has been ahead of the pack with his support for the military and national security, Bailey said. ...

U.S. Veteran Dispatch Publisher Ted Sampley, a former Green Beret and Vietnam veteran, has placed his name and the endorsement of this Web site behind the Hunter campaign.

"He's conservative, pro-defense and his basic belief is that if you want peace, you have to pursue it through strength," Sampley said. "He knows what the American people want. We're trying to set up a 1-million-vet Web page for people to sign up for Hunter and declare their support."... 

A Hunter's Warriors Web site also is on the way, Bailey said.

"The Web really enhances our ability to contact people," he said. "We're expecting a real groundswell. The Rolling Thunder guys are behind him, and we're working with another guy whose son was killed in Iraq and he wants to do a rally in Washington to counter (Jane) Fonda and (Cindy) Sheehan." ...

Any man worthy of Larry Bailey's and Pete Webster's support can count on mine as well.

Contributed by Bill Faith on February 3, 2007 at 06:17 PM in Duncan Hunter, Politics | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack