Open Letter to the Iowa GOP – Choose Wisely, Choose Hunter

Guest Editorial

Alexander J. Madison - December 31, 2007

Dear Iowegians,

Every presidential election season, your state has the opportunity to help shape the election going forward. Unfortunately, too many times, you have selected a dud during the Iowa Caucuses. In 1976, you picked Gerald Ford, proponent of the ERA and abortion rights, over a very conservative Ronald Reagan. In 1980, you chose a very moderate Bush over Reagan. And twice you picked a milquetoast named Bob Dole. Granted, the choices are sometimes between dud and duddier, but this year is different. This year you have a chance to select a rock-ribbed conservative Reaganite to make up for not choosing the original Reaganite when you had the chance. The name is Duncan Hunter.

Congressman Duncan Hunter is a representative from California’s 52^nd legislative district. Mr. Hunter put his college career on hold to volunteer with the 173^rd Airborne Rangers to fight the communists in Vietnam. Like Reagan, Hunter believes that war was not only very winnable, but was indeed a “noble cause”. And the killing fields that followed our departure from that conflict are a bold testament to their vision over the head-in-the-sand lack of vision (which continues to this day) from the defeatist democrats and RINOs.

Duncan Hunter also entered office with Reagan in 1981, at the ripe old age of 32. He immediately was able to join the Armed Services Committee in Congress, where he has remained to this day, as former Chairmen, and current Ranking Republican. It was in large part due to Mr. Hunter’s efforts, teaming with folks like Jack Kemp and Henry Hyde, that Reagan was able to ramrod our historic military buildup through Congress in the 80s, which revitalized every branch of our Armed Services. Jack Kemp even credits Hunter with being the go-to guy for strong-arming the very controversial ‘Star Wars’ Strategic Defense Initiative through the House. The results of that persistence and vision is paying off in spades, despite the howls of leftists worldwide, as we today have working missile defense systems either in field, or soon to be fielded; including laser based systems for which Reagan was mercilessly ridiculed by the ignorant ‘academics’ and the press. Hunter was and is perhaps the staunchest anti-communist to sit in Congress. He was the leader most responsible, aside from Reagan, for stemming the commie-creep in Central America during the 1980s, and his disdain for communism has never ebbed.

Duncan Hunter is the ONLY candidate that realizes what China is up to, both militarily with its rapid armament increases, and economically, with its long term strategy to undermine the United States’ industrial base. Hunter is dead set against the ‘one-way’, idiotic trade deal we have with the Chinese, will put a quick end to further technology transfers to the communist nation, and will build up our own military to the point that a Chinese invasion of Taiwan would be nothing short of a quick suicide mission for communism. All the other candidates tip toe around the issue of China. Hunter plans to step on their throat.

When it comes to the 2^nd Amendment, the 10^th Amendment, lowering taxes, fighting the ACLU and political correctness, standing firm against the gay agenda, and sweeping out useless bureaucrats and bureaucracies from the federal government, Duncan Hunter is the only choice.

Unlike John McCain and Mitt Romney, Hunter won’t find anything in the Constitution to justify supporting a ban on ‘assault weapons’ or ‘cheap handguns’. Hunter has a perfect lifetime record with the NRA and the Gun Owners of America. Both Mitt and McCain are liberals in this arena.

Unlike Fred Thompson, Hunter won’t have to lie about previous pro-choice sympathies. Unlike Fred, Hunter has a perfectly consistent record on the life of the unborn, and has sponsored legislation for many, many years to give full constitutional protection to the unborn – legislation that Fred does not support.

Unlike McCain and Thompson, Hunter certainly will not run roughshod over the 1^st Amendment for the sake of ‘campaign finance reform’. And Hunter will work to ditch the last vestiges of McCain-Feingold-Thompson, if the courts don’t do it first.

Unlike Mike Huckabee, Rudy Giuliani, John McCain, Mitt Romney and Fred Thompson, Hunter did not and does not buy into the global warming nonsense in any way, shape or form. The only guarantee we have of avoiding a binding, sovereignty usurping, international treaty on global warming is to place a President in power who does not believe the GW alarmism and does not believe in sovereignty usurping international treaties.

Unlike Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee, Hunter does not have some convoluted explanation for why the socialized medicine experiments in Massachusetts (RomneyCare) and Arkansas (ARKids) are a good thing that deserves replication nationally. Indeed, Hunter wants to get government out of the way and reduce the regulations on health insurance by killing off mandates and regulations.

Unlike Mike Huckabee, Hunter will not be contemplating how to mandate and enforce a nationwide ban on smoking in public places, nor will he be scheming to introduce more arts and music and healthy snacks into the nation’s public schools. The NEA, who apparently like Mr. Huckabee, despise Congressman Hunter – a genuine supporter of school choice.

Unlike Rudy Giuliani, Hunter does not have to pretend he is a conservative. A man who sued 26 firearms manufacturers to essentially put them out of business has no business seeking the office of the Presidency on the GOP ticket, unless gun control, abortion rights, gay ‘rights’, and eminent domain abuse are now part of the GOP platform.

Unlike Rudy Giuliani, Mike Huckabee, Fred Thompson, John McCain, and Mitt Romney, Hunter does not have to lie through his teeth when it comes to his record on illegal immigration. While it is hilarious to see these guys try to ‘Out –Tancredo Tancredo’ on the issue, only one guy truly does out-Tancredo the Colorado Congressman. While Duncan Hunter has sponsored or cosponsored 85 bills and amendments to stop illegal immigration in this country dead in its tracks, not one of these others lifted a finger during their careers, and range from bad to worse on the issue. While ‘The Road to Des Moines’ and last springs citizen revolt led these supposed conservatives to finally see the light – at least in rhetoric, Hunter has been fighting the RINOS and dems on this for 27 years. Hunter wrote the border fence bill (recently defanged by the RINOS), and Hunter is the ONLY one who has vowed to actively deport those currently squatting here illegally.

And finally, Duncan Hunter is the most experienced in warfare, defense systems, foreign policy and the security of our nation. If we are intent on defeating the islamists ASAP- without worrying about offending anyone, keeping terrorists out of our country, and rising to meet the future threats posed by the China-Russia-Iran-Venezuela axis, then we better elect a Reaganite this time around.

If not, we may have to put up with an idiot who thinks we need to close Gitmo and end waterboarding because the world disapproves (Huckabee, McCain), or someone who thinks we just need to be more humble and accommodating on the world stage (Huckabee), or someone who can’t figure out that enriching China is a fools errand (Fred, Mitt, McCain), or someone who has no clue about our military needs and capabilities and would not know an IED from an IUD (Rudy, Huckabee, Mitt).

The choice is clearer than it has been since 1980. Don’t let history pass you by….again.

Most Sincerely,

Alexander J. Madison

Photo: Presidential Candidate, Duncan L. Hunter is on the left with other Army Rangers in Viet Nam.