My planned speech for Hunter at the Precinct Caucus

Special thanks to SK Johnson who wrote a chunk of it, and inspired a large chunk of what's left.

Why are we here? Or to be more precise, why are we caucusing as Republicans? The cynical might say because we want power. And perhaps there is some truth to that, as there is a power vacuum that encourages the Presidential race to be more contentious. However, I believe what sets our party apart from the Democrats is that we have believed in principles that have worked through the ages. In general, we believe our rights are given by God and not by man (just as the Declaration of Independence states). We believe that we have responsibilities and duties that come with those rights. We believe that our government should protect us, our rights, and not impose a heavy burden on the people. We believe in Reagan's principle of "Trust but verify." We believe that if you reward bad behavior, you get more of it.

Indeed these principles are important -- and our party and our nation has suffered when we have abandoned them. When we have adhered to these principles, our nation prospered. And now there is a new discussion, are the principles of conservatism really relevant in a modern age. Of course our neighbors as the other caucus would say no -- but I believe them to be in error. Understanding the principles of conservatism helps us to understand the way people and governments interact. It allows us to not be naive as Chamberlain was with Hitler, saying "We have peace in our time" by a policy of appeasement. It allows us to look at policies and see whether they encourage laziness or apathy, or are actually beneficial. These principles, while rooted in ages past give us vision into the future, and so are very important.

In 1980, a revolutionary conservative was elected president and along with him a slew of conservative congressmen. One of them was Duncan Hunter, from San Diego California. For the 8 years of the Reagan presidency, Duncan Hunter led the charge to support his policies. If Ronal Reagan wanted it done, more than likely Duncan Hunter would be pushing for it. Small government, strong national defense, and the protection of the family.

However, that didn't mean they always agreed. In 1986, Duncan Hunter stood in opposition of the amnesty for illegal immigrants which both Republicans and Democrats supported, for he saw clearly through the eyes of the principle that if you reward bad or illegal behavior, you will get more of it.

This continuous practice of conservative principles manifested in many ways. Duncan Hunter supported securing the borders long before it was in vogue, and the success of the border fence he got built to the south of San Diego cut human and drug trafficking by 90% and overall crime by 50%. He has worked tirelessly to make sure that the US has such a fence throughout the rest of its border.

Duncan Hunter is pro-life, and not a recent convert to the cause. He has supported a constitutional ban for his entire 26 year career in the congress.

Duncan Hunter supports leveling the playing field on trade so that we can bring back manufacturing jobs. He is in favor of fighting against unfair trade deals, and willing to not turn a blind eye to transgressions of governments like China to undercut the sale of our goods.

Duncan Hunter is a co-sponsor for the original bill to try and implement the fair tax.

There is a chance that you haven't heard of Duncan Hunter before today. There are different reasons for that. The main one is that Duncan Hunter is a congressman from a small part of the country,
which makes it hard to get his name out. But one important reason is that Duncan Hunter maintains his responsibilities as a congressman and has had to leave the campaign trail to fight for important issues. During the campaign, and even in the days leading up to the Iowa straw polls, He wrote a bill to stop the NAFTA highway from being built. He wrote a bill for a congressional pardon of Ramos and Compean, the two border guards imprisoned for injuring a drug smuggler trying to cross the border.

Some have said that Duncan Hunter is a single issue voter, but that is only true if you look at it this way: Duncan Hunter's single issue is the success and prosperity of the United States of America. This is why you don't have to worry about a candidate who is seeking to satisfy a personal ambition. Not only that, but he believes in and has supported many of the issues that have bound Republicans together over the last 26 years. He knows the details, the underlying causes, he has not wasted his time as a representative of the people.

In this way, he is uniquely qualified as the Republican Nominee for President. He will be able to draw in Reagan Democrats with his fair trade policies, he will be able to draw in independents with his ability to articulate issues and speak from conviction (and not based on marketing data!). You can count on him to be clear of scandal because of his integrity and refusal to lie about himself as well as others. He has the fire in the belly to fight the tough battles, and he has done so many times over the last 26 years, and you can count on him as President to not let a divided congress stall his Supreme Court Justice nominations. You can count on him as President to not let a divided congress to harm our position overseas, or to stall the border fence.

The race is just beginning, and Duncan Hunter is far from planning on dropping out. I hope you will give him your vote, and will join him in his dream which he stated in an interview a few months ago: He said, "I would like to see a country where the day I walk out of the White House, after a couple of terms, the American people are more independent of government than the day that I walked in." And if that dream is anything like yours, I believe he deserves your vote.