GOP Nominee
Former Candidates
Jonathan Martin has the story. H/T to comment by Iowa.
While it might not seem like a big deal on the national level, Tancredo did have strong support in Iowa, especially over the summer. They were very active on the local level, and a poll of Iowa GOP leaders predicted he would come in 2nd in the straw poll in an informal survey conducted by Real Clear Politics in early August. He came in 4th with 14%, which was 1961 votes.
Immediately after the straw poll, Tancredo’s organization in Iowa seemed to fall apart, or that is at least what I perceived on the ground. So its unclear if his supporters already went to different camps or not.
UPDATE: Tancredo’s Iowa press secretary told the Des Moines Register that Tancredo has no scheduled campaign appearances scheduled following tomorrow’s announcement.
December 19th, 2007 at 1:40 pm
I would assume if he was going to endorse anyone, it would be Fred. I know he can’t stand Romney, he doesn’t like McCain over the amnesty bill… Fred seems like the natural fit.
December 19th, 2007 at 1:42 pm
#1 - its clear huck, rudy, and mccain can’t stand romney. what is your reason for sayin tancredo cant stand him?
December 19th, 2007 at 1:43 pm
I always liked the Tanc, it just seemed he was a little out of his league when running as a well rounded candidate against others with deeper and wider resumés. But when it comes to immigration, nobody can out-Tancredo Tancredo.
December 19th, 2007 at 1:46 pm
#2.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/new_hampshire/articles/2007/06/24/tancredo_mocks_romney_on_nh_visit/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-aVbmEMswk&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.redstate.com%2F
December 19th, 2007 at 1:47 pm
My guess is, Tancredo drops out and endorses Fred.
December 19th, 2007 at 1:47 pm
I don’t think it will be McCain or Romney either. He attacked both in mailings and radio ads (and Brownaback). I think he attacked Rudy too. I think he stayed clear of attacking Fred from what I can remember.
December 19th, 2007 at 1:49 pm
Plus, he’s close w/ Cong. King, who obviously endorsed Fred. They look alike, its kinda scary. Tancredo was very popular when I heard him speak at King’s big local homecoming dinner. Him and Brownback were the only candidates there. Huckabee was supposed to be there but cancelled.
December 19th, 2007 at 1:50 pm
The problem with Fred is that he may get 3rd in Iowa, but get dead last in NH.. it will be hard for him to spin that going into SC.
December 19th, 2007 at 1:53 pm
Yeah why not?
The debates are over. Tancredo had exposure, time, and audience to promote his flagship issue. Since there are not going to be anymore debates prior to the early voting, now is as good as time as ever.
December 19th, 2007 at 1:54 pm
yep, tancredo will endorse fred keeping in the 2007 tradition of not a soul endorsing Romney because no one running can stand him.
December 19th, 2007 at 1:55 pm
I’m thinking Fred too
December 19th, 2007 at 1:59 pm
#10. And even with everyone against him, Mitt will still find a way to win.
Cool.
December 19th, 2007 at 2:00 pm
The endorsement will be interesting, but I just wonder if his supporters have already scattered to other candidates or not. I believe informal polling showed he had the firm support of 20% of Iowa county chairman. Of all the “lower tier” candidates in Iowa, he had the most support of establishment GOP.
December 19th, 2007 at 2:01 pm
Fred Thompson- Lazy as Charged
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1207/7474.html
Later in the day, I sent an e-mail to Anelia Dimitrova, asking her about the private meeting she had with Thompson at the newspaper office.
She e-mailed me back that Thompson “was so vague that I would be hard-pressed to write a story. Simply put, there is no news peg other than he came to the newsroom with his model wife and a beehive of staffers. When I asked him specifically what he would do as prez for farmers in Bremer County, he resorted to glittering generalities.�
So the sum total of Thompson’s day in Waverly was meeting with a newspaper editor and saying nothing and then meeting about 15 people in a warm firehouse and saying nothing.
When he was supposed to go out and find voters in shops and diners, talk to them and answer their questions, he decided to skip it and get back on his luxury bus instead.
That’s not retail politics. That’s not Iowa. And that’s not laconic. That’s lazy.
December 19th, 2007 at 2:05 pm
Tancredo might not endorse anyone at this stage. He complained about everyone on immigration, espeacially because of the Univision debate.
I wouldn’t be surprised if he sat out on endorsing right now.
December 19th, 2007 at 2:10 pm
15, He could go Duncan Hunter.
December 19th, 2007 at 2:17 pm
Pete,
“The debates are over. Tancredo had exposure, time, and audience to promote his flagship issue. Since there are not going to be anymore debates prior to the early voting, now is as good as time as ever.”
You’re right. He can now claim victory on the issue- with Huck, Romney, Rudy, and McCain all taking a tougher line on immigration, without having the embarrassment of pulling 2%. He also knows that from where he is pulling, the media will declare that as proof that tough borders is an election loser.
December 19th, 2007 at 2:24 pm
#16, Thats possible, but why is Hunter still in it?
December 19th, 2007 at 2:33 pm
Hunter is the only other hardline purist on immigration, but that endorsement would really be pointless. If Hunter is doing any campaigning still, the media isn’t covering it, and when the results came in, the story would be “hard liners on immigration team up and get 2% in Iowa.” They don’t want that. I wouldn’t be too surprised if Hunter drops out too.
On the other hand, would the timing affect federal matching funds? Not that it would help their campaigns, but they may have debts to pay off. Can you get matching funds after you drop out?
December 19th, 2007 at 2:37 pm
Hunter is a great guy, the nicest Brownback opponent I met on the campaign trail. His style is to show up at major Republican events, nothing more, nothing less. He has no campaign struture or grassroots support. I doubt Tancredo would endorse him.
December 19th, 2007 at 2:51 pm
Who said he’d be endorsing anyone?
He could be holding a press conference to claim that he’s had his victory (everyone’s trying to out-Tancredo Tancredo) and that he’s dropping out to focus on his House duties.
December 19th, 2007 at 2:53 pm
i am sure he will endorse somebody begrudgingly. it sure as heck is not going to me huckabee.
December 19th, 2007 at 2:53 pm
cry me a river mitt. cry me a river.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=N7p4mioawIA
December 19th, 2007 at 2:58 pm
drat. wrong thread.
December 19th, 2007 at 3:08 pm
Prediction: Tanc will endorse Huck.
December 19th, 2007 at 3:09 pm
in other drug related news, factcheck.org just caught romney fibbing about huckabee on meth
December 19th, 2007 at 3:28 pm
In other drug related news, factcheck.QUACK caught sampo fibbing about factcheck.org.
factcheck.org says:
“The legislation Huckabee supported, meanwhile, did shorten the amount of time a convict would have to serve before being eligible for parole from 70 percent of the sentence to 50 percent. But Arkansas has strict meth laws that remain on the books, and they are far tougher than those in Massachusetts.�
Mitt fibbed about what Mitt did. Mitt was truthful about what Huck did: Huck shortened the time convicted Meth dealers would have to serve before parole eligibility.
December 19th, 2007 at 3:28 pm
4 - I don’t think either of those demonstrate Tanc “hates” Roney. It’s different than with McCain, you can just feel the hostility emanating from him. I don’t really get that sense from what Tanc has said about Mitt. Maybe a mild disdain, but not “hate”.
December 19th, 2007 at 4:49 pm
Tancredo probably won’t endorse for a while yet…I think Fred is his most likely choice if/when he does, but wouldn’t be suprised to se him back Duncan Hunter (if he’s still in the mood to be quixotic). A Tancredo endorsement might be just to make Hunter semi-relevant. If Tancredo wasn’t such a hawk and we weren’t in a war, I could almost see him jumping on the Ron Paul bandwagon.
We also aren’t sure he’s dropping yet..for all we know he could be announcing an endorsement from Pat Buchanan (Which would make NH even more fun).
December 19th, 2007 at 5:05 pm
I think the other candidates truly are jealous of Romney; his intelligence, his experience, his values, his work ethic, his good looks, his great family, etc.
December 19th, 2007 at 5:32 pm
QuackNHack and Sampo,
No “fib” at all. Romney compared their records as governors
Romney fought to INCREASE penalties for Meth offenders and succeeded (in the face of a liberal democratic legislature).
Huckabee fought to DECREASE penalties for Meth offenders and succeeded (in the face of a conservative democratic legislature).
Put another way (something I saw at another blog) . . . Gov. Romney made his state’s bad laws better while Gov. Huckabee made his state’s good laws worse.
It’s about leadership.
- Gov. Romney Worked To Prevent Methamphetamine Abuse From Becoming A Problem In Massachusetts. “As the use of the illicit drug methamphetamine continues to sweep through the Midwest and the West Coast, the Romney administration is taking steps to prevent the drug from becoming a crisis in Massachusetts. Legislation filed by Gov. Mitt Romney would heighten the penalties for the possession of methamphetamine as well as toughen penalties for the possession of the chemicals used to produce it. It also would allow the state to improve its tracking system of the sale of those chemicals.” (Erik Arvidson, “Romney Acts To Boost Meth Penalties,” The [Pittsfield, MA] Berkshire Eagle, 8/15/05)
- Gov. Romney’s Legislation Included Treatment For Addicts And Tougher Penalties For Dealers. “The first step called for in the blueprint is the creation of a new council to bring together the 13 state agencies that provide substance-abuse services. Each receives a portion of the $250 million the state spends each year on treatment and services, but there is no coordination among them, Healey said. Gov. Mitt Romney yesterday signed an executive order creating the council, of which Healey will be chairwoman. Among other recommendations, the plan calls for passage of $9.1 million in supplemental spending to expand detox and treatment services, passage of a bill to crack down on the manufacture and distribution of methamphetamine, and real-time tracking of heroin overdoses to help identify regions with the greatest need.” (Julie Mehegan, “State Tackles Drug Abuse,” The [Pittsfield, MA] Berkshire Eagle, 5/16/05)
- The Legislation Toughened Sentencing For Meth Manufactures. “As with heroin, methamphetamine is cheap to produce and easy to purchase. The bill would criminalize the possession of 45 kinds of drugs considered ‘precursor’ drugs if the person has the intent to produce methamphetamine. The punishment would be either 2 1/2 years in jail or five years in prison.” (Erik Arvidson, “Romney Acts To Boost Meth Penalties,” The [Pittsfield, MA] Berkshire Eagle, 8/15/05)
However, Huck WORKED to decrease Meth sentences (and succeeded):
- Huckabee Supported A Measure To Reduce Mandatory Minimums For Methamphetamine Makers. “Methamphetamine makers could shorten their mandatory time in prison with good behavior under legislation approved Tuesday by the Arkansas House. The bill, by Sen. Jim Luker, D-Wynne, is part of a legislative package intended to help control the state’s burgeoning prison population and is supported by state prison officials, the state prosecutors’ association and Gov. Mike Huckabee.” (Melissa Nelson, “Arkansas House Approves Bill To Reduce Mandatory Prison Time Of Meth Offenders,” The Associated Press, 3/8/05)
- March 21, 2005: Huckabee Signed SB 387 Into Law. “Also Monday, Gov. Mike Huckabee signed into law legislation allowing imprisoned methamphetamine abusers serving time under the state’s mandatory 70-percent rule to shorten their sentences with good behavior.” (Melissa Nelson, “Senate OKs Higher Ed Funding Formulas,” The Associated Press, 3/21/05)
- Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Editorial: “Call It The Relief Bill For Meth Manufacturers.” (Editorial, “A Perk For Drug Dealers,” Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 3/16/05)