Stay in, Duncan Hunter

I've been thinking about Duncan Hunter's feisty little press conference the other day and about how much I like the guy and how I wish he was a major contender right now. It's not too much of a mystery to me that he's not doing better; he's more conservative than the average Republican, and despite serving in Congress since 1980, he had a name-recognition issue that he just couldn't kick. Even I couldn't quite place him when I first heard the name and I A: live in his state and B: follow politics a little more closely than Joe Schnook.

And then there's another completely understandable reason he never took off: he's quite suspicious of China and a trade policy that he says was a bad deal. That's different from arguing for protectionism—you can be for free trade and still complain about other countries' violation of it and propose reasonable trade-based retaliation. But I'm afraid Wall Street and the media (esp. Dow Jones and Fox, which are now the same thing) hear that and write him off as a protectionist. The former is a reasonable concern; business interests are an important part of the Republican coalition. The second is just a shame, but that's the media we get.

Despite all that, Dunc has gotten his message through here and there and I'm very impressed with his platform. And he is, like only Romney, someone I've actually come to like more during the campaign. Four or five months ago I wouldn't have recognized him if I bumped into him. Today I'd cross the street to shake his hand.

Yeah, but still: he can't win. So what's he supposed to do now? Stay in, actually.

Here's why: If Mitt, Rudy, or McCainger win the GOP primary, they gotta tack left before the general. It's the way of the world, fellas. Even dear Saint Ferd! would be changing his rhetoric, trying to capture the undecided middle voters while still turning out the hardheads. That's politics, and that's what's gotta happen if we're going to win the election.*

I don't see my preferred Thompson-Hunter ticket materializing, because they're both solid conservatives. That's why I like 'em. But one way that less conservative candidates can keep the base in line is to put a real conservative on the ticket as VP. Hunter can do that. He can act as ballast for Mitt or sweeten the bitter pill that pro-lifers will have to swallow with Rudy or perhaps give us a little (vain) hope that someone inside a McCain White House might actually give a rip about border security. Although Hunter wouldn't actually be inside the White House, or actually have any influence, but you know what I mean.

So: Hunter is prime VP real estate—if he can connect with anyone and get his name out there a little more than he has been. Thompson is, too, but Hunter has Vietnam service and a son who served as a Marine in Iraq, both of which are going to be a nice balance to Romney or Rudy and it doesn't hurt McCain's war presidency credentials a bit either. I think he might be a better ticket-balancing VP pick than Fred. So I don't blame him for staying in at all. No offense to Dan Quayle, but I think Hunter makes a lot more sense as a VP pick for any of the front runners today.

Anyway, all this to say Hunter won't be our next President, and it's a shame he hasn't done better. But he may be Vice President or at least the GOP VP nominee, so I completely understand why he's doubling down and staying in the race. And if he keeps getting his message out there, he's going to attract some attention, especially here in California. Which reminds me of something:

Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein haven't faced a serious Republican opponent yet. The Governator's time is winding down. The state is broke and getting creepy in its attempts to establish surveillance over its citizens. The state's liberal house organ is bleeding readers. California's not the same place it was when it gave us Ronald Reagan, but things here can swing rightwards now and then and it looks like we might be heading that way. I hope Duncan Hunter is in place to take advantage of that when they do.

* Our job as GOP voters is to pick the guy who's telling the truth to us conservatives in the primary and will lie about being moderate in the general, as opposed to the guys who are lying to us about being conservative and then tell the truth about being moderate in the general.