IowaPolitics.com BlogWatch

Duncan Hunter endorsed Mike Huckabee today. Some pundits treat the endorsement as de minimis because Duncan doesn't bring a ton of his own voters to the table. However, there is a hidden value-Hunter's incredible value as a surrogate. Most Republicans felt that Hunter's foreign policy and geostrategic vision are spot on but never seriously considered his candidacy because of name ID or political electability. Hunter helps Huck complete a blank in the resume.

Labels: Duncan_Hunter, Mike_Huckabee, Mitt_Romney

Congressman Duncan Hunter's campaign dialed up my phone tonight for
yet another tele-conference call with Iowans. Being the political
junkie I am, I obviously took the opportunity to listen in to it for
awhile. Like the last one that his campaign hosted a week or so ago, I
didn't get a chance to listen to all of it. Though, what I did listen
to was fantastic. Duncan was on the phone the whole time with Phyllis
Schlafly, the prominent conservative icon associated with Eagle Forum.
I entered into the call with Duncan, not surprisingly, talking about
border security. Along with Tancredo, this is a very important issue
for Congressman Hunter and he uses it well. He noted that there are
Democratic Governors in neighboring states (he cited Richardson in New
Mexico and Napoliatano in Arizona) that claim that whatever size fence
you build, you'll just find a whole lot of one foot longer ladders.

Labels: Duncan_Hunter

Tonight, I attended Representative Dwayne Alons' fundraiser in
downtown Hull. Rep. Alons and his wife Clarice are two of the nicest
and most dedicated people you will ever meet. I was pleased to attend
this event. They had upwards of 100 people there and so it was a very
good event for him. I got to spend a good quantity of time talking to
two fellow bloggers: Mike Tate with Tancredo and Vincent Harris with
Huckabee. Both of these guys are in college (Tate goes to school in
Pennsylvania and Harris in Texas) and they are both playing HUGE roles
in the campaigns of these two fantastic campaigns. I'm definitely a
fan of their work. As I have mentioned many times, the 'new media' is
the wave of the future and these guys, both about 20 or 21, are way
ahead of 99.999 percent of everyone else with their knowledge of this
and how it applies to political campaigns.

Labels: Duncan_Hunter, John_Cox, Mike_Huckabee, Tom_Tancredo

Tonight, I listened in to Congressman Duncan Hunter's tele-conference
call for a few minutes. This is another fascinating use of technology.
Governor Mitt Romney's campaign has utilized this a few times in the
past in order to reach out to a lot of supporters and potential
supporters without expending a lot of resources or asking people to
take time to drive to an event. Because I was not expecting the call
and it came at an inopportune time, I was unable to listen to all of
it. However, what I did listen to was fantastic. Congressman Hunter is
a talented speaker and is a strong communicator who has a real clear
vocal quality. He's not as stylish as Huckabee or as suave as Romney,
but he is easily one of the top speakers in the Republican crop. Not
surprisingly he spoke of immigration, a strong military, and trade
during the few minutes I listened to him. He continues to drive home
his credible position on immigration and talks in depth about how he
has been able to successfully build a wall on the San Diego/Tijuana
border.

Labels: Duncan_Hunter

The internets are ablaze with righteous indignation that libertarian slash GOP longshot Ron Paul has been excluded from Saturday's Iowans for Tax Relief/Iowa Christian Alliance debate. The conspiracy minded even note that Iowans for Tax Relief's Ed Failor Jr. is a major McCain backer. But McCain's not even showing up. And the Daily Iowan, while also objecting to Paul's exclusion, makes the point no one else has bothered to mention: "Romney, the debate's "front-runner," has the support of a whopping 12 percent of GOP voters, according to a June 20 poll conducted by Newsweek. Huckabee, Thompson, Brownback, Tancredo, and Hunter and are polling at an abysmal 4, 2, 2, 1, and 0 percent respectively." ... by joining a forum of second and third tier candidates, Romney runs the risk of reducing himself to their level. Meanwhile, Paul is playing the classic card of the uninvited, holding a counter-debate event immediately following. Such events usually rally a candidate's own die-hards, but are rarely if ever persuasive. Paul's protestation of exclusion from this bush-league event reeks of the paranoid.

Labels: Duncan_Hunter, John_McCain, Mike_Huckabee, Mitt_Romney, Ron Paul, Sam_Brownback, Tom_Tancredo, Tommy_Thompson

... Fox asked much harder questions and allowed the candidates to go at it. We, the Republican voters, are adults and we should demand far more of this and far less of the commercials, the stump speeches etc…. Nothing instructs like dialogue. It also makes the Democrats look like the intellectual cowards that they have become. ... we're going to rate each debater on a scale of 1-30.
Sam Brownback ... 1st debate/25 2nd debate/21;
Jim Gilmore ... 1st debate/24 2nd debate/21;
Rudy Giuliani ... 1st debate/21 2nd debate/27;
Mike Huckabee ... 1st debate/25 2nd debate/27;
Duncan Hunter ... 1st debate/23 2nd debate/24;
John McCain ... 1st debate/23 2nd debate/24;
Ron Paul ... 1st debate/21 2nd debate/20;
Mitt Romney ... 1st debate/25 2nd debate/24;
Tom Tancredo ... 1st debate/21 2nd debate/22;
Tommy Thompson ... 1st debate/21 2nd debate/21.

Labels: Duncan_Hunter, Jim_Gilmore, John_McCain, Mike_Huckabee, Mitt_Romney, Ron Paul, Rudy_Giuliani, Sam_Brownback, Tom_Tancredo, Tommy_Thompson

Tonights Republican debate was a lot better than the last one. The questions were better and the crowd was more involved. Here are some thoughts I jotted down during the debate...
* Everytime I see Mike Huckabee, I wonder why he isn't gaining any traction. His counter to Rudy on abortion was clear and a lot better than Brownback's simplistic attempt.
* I think Rudy Giuliani won because of him interjecting on Paul's comment, even though I think Paul had an important point.
* Tancredo did pretty well. His line about people should have conversions on the road to Damascus and not on the road to Des Moines got a loud ovation and was a clear shot at McCain, Rudy, and multiple choice Mitt.
* I think Gilmore, Brownback, Tommy Thompson, and Hunter should drop out. Hunter might have some credibility on immigration, but is overshadowed by Tancredo.

Labels: Duncan_Hunter, Jim_Gilmore, John_McCain, Mike_Huckabee, Mitt_Romney, Rudy_Giuliani, Sam_Brownback, Tom_Tancredo, Tommy_Thompson