I’m not about to endorse any candidate at this point, but I can say what I’m looking for in a conservative candidate. I suspect that many conservatives are looking for the same qualities.
1. I want a candidate who is strong on traditional/conservative American values. I will not vote for a compromised candidate who is a Republican in name only.
Chris Ademo said it best in his article “Why Fred Thompson’s Day Has Arrived”
Throughout 2006, Republican compromise and capitulation to the big-spending, morally bankrupt agenda of the Democrats left the public largely disillusioned and demoralized. And that public sentiment was clearly reflected in the upheaval of the midterm elections, which shifted the country decidedly into the dominion of the Democrats.
Yet the GOP hardly recognized the lesson of last November, and instead has all too frequently appeared to concede to the guiding philosophies of the political left. While Americans grow increasingly outraged by the Democrats’ “cut and run” response to an ever encroaching Islamist malignancy, Republican reaction to the elections have, until recently, been excessively conciliatory and accommodating. . .
2. I want a candidate who can galvanize the majority of conservatives into one strong voting block. Nothing could be more dangerous to the fate of this nation than to have a Democratic President and a Democratic dominated Congress. It’s highly doubtful that I would vote for an independent candidate because history has proven that this would only serve to dilute the conservative vote.
A Rasmussen poll conducted 4/3/07: Giuliani 26%, McCain 16%, Fred Thompson 14%, Gingrich 11%, and Romney 8%.
Cook Political Report/RT Strategies Poll. March 29-April 1, 200: Giuliani 34%, McCain 17%, Fred Thompson 10%, Gingrich 9%, Romney 6%, and Tancredo 0%.
Republican Fundraising Leaders from YourHub.com
Romney $23, Giuliani $15, McCain $12.5, Brownback $2, Tancredo $1.4 million.
3. I want a candidate who is strong on enforcing a much stricter immigration policy! From my point of view, controlling immigration is the key to every other issue – especially how we conduct the War on Terrorism.
A nation that cannot even keep count of the number of potential terrorists on its own soil cannot successfully conduct a War on Terrorism abroad.
A nation that cannot control its own borders is not a sovereign nation.
A nation of immigrants, who have no desire to assimilate, is just a piece of “up for grabs” balkanized land.
That means that we need a candidate who is not afraid to demand that we seal the borders and slap hefty fines on companies that hire illegals. That means we need a candidate who will not sell out America’s sovereignty to corporate globalization. That means we need a candidate who isn’t afraid to call illegals – ILLEGAL! That means we need a candidate who will not back down from red herring debates about nationalism and xenophobia.
Americans for Better Immigration Congressional Career Grade Cards
Tom Tancredo A+
Fred Thompson C
Newt Gingrich D
John McCain D
Sam Brownback D
Giuliani N/A
Romney N/A
Giuliani is pro-immigration
According to Jason Horowitz in the NY Observer . . .
Giuliani strongly supported a guest worker program supported by President Bush and said during a newly interesting appearance on Meet the Press the following: "There isn't a mayor or a public official in this country that's more strongly pro-immigrant than I am, including disagreeing with President Clinton when he signed an anti-immigration legislation about two or three years ago, which we got some amendments of to protect the rights of immigrants.
Mitt Romney ??? Does anyone really know?
Here’s some of what Romney says today about immigration reform.
Here’s a short excerpt from a recent O’Reilly interview with Romney:
O'REILLY: Would you build a wall between Mexico and the United States and would you put the National Guard on the border?
ROMNEY: Absolutely. We'd put the National Guard there because we don't have the wall yet. You have to have a wall or a fence or electronic surveillance. And you have to have a tamper-proof document to make sure that people who are here are aliens are identified and registered, and people can not hire them unless they're here legally.
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To be brief, I echo your sentiment on immigration and hope the vast majority of citizens come to understand that bleeding heart sympathy is misplaced on those who seek to enter the US by illegal means and lobby for selfish demands while claiming altruistic motives holding up the flag of another country or being supported by special interest that place cultural heritage or foreign allegiance over the principles of being an American citizen.
ReplyDeleteThe consensus at our blog as published initially placed Mitt Romney as our favorite cnadidate with caveats and upon Tom Tancredo's entry to the fray we hold him as the preferred as long as he mounts a credible campaign as a contender. It is too early to select or endorse but not to early to promote what good one can see.
National defense, security, border control, strict immigration laws, policy and enforcement with absolutely no amnesty or subsitutes for it like guest worker permits and visa abuse for corporate profit. So much for being brief.
Posts on these topics are highly recommended and appreciated.