In case you haven’t heard.  WND’s  power house Joseph Farah has endorsed Duncan Hunter for President.  It’s a significant endorsement but not likely to get any press coverage from the MSM.   So that leaves it up to us bloggers to get the word out.   To all who yawn and say “so what. Big deal.  Hunter doesn’t have a chance”.    Call me naïve but I continue to think Hunter can make a difference.  Even if he doesn’t take the nomination, he can influence the direction that the GOP takes.  How so you ask? 

Lets not forget that Hunter ran away with the Texas Straw Poll back in September.  And keep in mind that Texas is second only to California in electoral votes.  Texas has 34 electoral votes.  And Texas, I believe, has a binding primary.  What ever the results of the primary, well the delegates must vote that way at the convention.   If Hunter can take Texas and 2 or 3 other states, say on Super Duper Tuesday, he could wield a lot of power at the convention.  And if he’s ignored and dis’d he can run (or threaten to run) as an independent.   Believe me, it won’t come to that because Hunter is so very well liked and respected by all the other candidates.  He’d be offered a VP or cabinet post.  Or even better he could demand that some of his positions be adopted by the nominee.   Example:  Build the Fence!   Enforce existing immigration laws!  No Amnesty!  And get tough with China and other nations on fair and equitable trade. 

Remember the GOP convention is not till September 9^th!    A lot can happen between now and then.   Would anyone have thought that Huckabee would be at the top of the heap 2 and a half months ago?   So who knows what the situation will be in the next few months.   All of the primaries are in front of us. 

So lets not write Hunter off just yet.   I have it from a good source that Duncan will stay in the race until the convention.    

The Hunter Campaign needs money folks.  Corporate America does not want a Duncan Hunter in power.  And they’re sabotaging his fundraising efforts.   Pull a few dollars out of your wallet or purse, stuff it in an envelope and send it to him.   www.gohunter08.com

Darvin Dowdy

Here we are.  Christmas 2007.  It’s the time of year when we Christians should concentrate a little stronger than we normally do on the gift of salvation that we received from our Savior.  And we should rejoice in the abundance of  his grace that cushions us on all sides.  Almost to the point of being like spoiled children, we are.  Doted upon by our Lord.  Provided with everything we need. 

As I said, we “should” be concentrating on this.  I’m having my difficulties this year, however.  I guess its this election cycle we’re in.  I find I’m more involved in this particular election process than any I’ve ever been through.   I’ve never even voted in a primary election before.  But I view the upcoming primary [its March 4^th in Texas] to be much more important than the November 4^th  general  election.   So I’m visiting blog sites and making my comments.  As if that’s really doing any good.    I have this very thin hope that possibly some of the advisers/strategists from the various GOP presidential campaigns might also be visiting some of these popular blog sites looking for ideas.  Trying to get their fingers on the pulse of Middle America.  Because if a person reads some of the profound comments made on the blogesphere  they’re going to gain insight into the psyche of the  Middle American voter.  Especially here on Townhall.com.    We’ve got the best.  No brag.  Just fact.

But one would like to think that these so called advisers to the campaigns would understand what is at stake here.  And that they’d put their own little delicate ego’s aside and do whatever it takes to win.   Because why?  Well do we want Hillary or Obama in charge till 2016?  If Hillary wins and the dem’s keep both the house and senate we can expect this: ( link1 )  So you’d think that if these advisers and strategists hired by the campaign might see that  things are not  going very well, then they’d seek out help.  From anywhere they can find it.   Not the case, however.  Evidently the trend that the Bush/Rove team started of dis’ing, ignoring and insulting the base is being carried along.   It appears that most of the candidates could care less what you and I as Middle American voters place a  value on. 

We have the Huckabee campaign throwing insults at Rush Limbaugh.  Ed Rollins of all people!  He should know better.  What was he thinking?  What a bone-headed move.   Rush pokes fun at everyone.  This made the Huckabee campaign seem thin-skinned and petty.  Rollins should have used that opportunity to reach out to Rush.  Not insult him.  And what he said was a supreme insult to Rush and, in reality, his 20 million listeners.  Mr. Rollins you had a chance to turn a negative into a positive but you blew it!  Shoot me an email and I’ll tell you how to fix it. Ok?

And poor Fred Thompson!  Wandering aimlessly about Iowa in a magic bus caravan.  Some strategy that is.  Fifteen minutes in one town. In and out.  That’s his strategy.  And his high dollar adviser, Rich Galen, wants him to “get into the mix!”.   That’s his advice to Fred.    What an of empty suit this Mr. Galen is!  And being paid top dollar.   No wonder we’re told by people close to the campaign that Fred lacks enthusiasm.  I don’t blame him.  He should follow his instincts and break out.  Run a “renegade campaign”.    Instead he languishes in 5^th place nationwide at about 11%.  Pathetic. (Fred! I’d be happy to explain to  what a “renegade campaign” is, if you’d give me a call-but hurry!)

And what has happened to the formerly “so confident Rudy”?  Bubbling with confidence, he was.  Much of that cocky  swagger has now evaporated.  Rudy will not let go of his security blanket named Bracewell & Giuliani.   His advisers need to get nose to nose with him and make it clear that if he wants to have a chance at becoming president, he’d best sever ties with B&G - an  albatross around his neck.  But I imagine they’re too worried about keeping their high paying jobs and will not rock the boat.  [Hey Rudy! You need to contact me. I’ll tell you how to pull yourself out of this hole you’re in.  And I’ll remind you of  the fact that you are a very capable person who can and always will survive on his wits and that there’s no need to continue to drag this security blanket around with you.  If you lose and you have to start over, you’ll do it and do it better than before.]

And Mitt!  Who’s advising him?  Oprah?  Dr. Phil?   One more crying spell and he’d best wrap it up and head back to MA.   And he was doing so well!  It all started with his Mormon speech at the Bush Library here in Texas.   Most folks feel it was a good speech. And it was a great speech.  But it made him appear to be the one who keeps bringing the subject up of his Mormonism when most folks were fine with it.  Just wanted him to get on with his campaign and keep his own personal beliefs to himself.   Almost makes him look like he’s go  a bit of a chip on his shoulder about it.   I don’t know who his advisers are but they’d best tell him to put it to rest.   And stop crying!   Mitt needs to lose his Armani suit and wingtips and put on a pair of jeans and boots and spend some time along the southern border.  Especially in Texas.   Continue his talk about sealing the border and punishing sanctuary cities.   A while back Mitt was critical of the United Nations.  Folks loved it!   Then he stopped.   Get back on that subject Mitt!  People were cheering.   Mitt could easily work his way back.  [Mitt give me a call.  I’ll give you a few pearls of wisdom.]

And John McCain.  All I can say is if he, by some miracle, wins the nomination, I’ll probably go pull the lever for him on 11/4/08.  But few of my fellow conservatives will.  Most will simply “Stay at Home”.    Like they did on 11/7/06.   And if McCain is nominated, the dem’s  take all on election day.   No adviser is going to help McCain. 

Ron Paul needs to come clean about his Ukrainian connection.   And why is this not being investigated under the Foreign Agents Registration Act?   Dr. Paul needs to also explain why he refuses to break his ties with Holocaust Deniers and White Supremacists groups.    Where is all of this money  really coming from?   You can not convince me that millions of Middle Americans adore this awkward, bumbling misfit enough to empty out their wallets and purses for him.   These large amounts of money are coming from a more sinister source.  Something just doesn’t smell right.  The truth will come out one day that the internet is being used to funnel  money to certain political candidates so that election laws can be bypassed.  And elections can be manipulated.  Its my belief that the beta test for  this technique started with the Howard Dean campaign in 2004.  And it has been brought forward.   Ron Paul is helping keep the GOP Presidential campaign off balance, out of focus and off message.  Who could possibly want that to happen?  No advice for RP or his Ukrainian mobsters.

Last but not least, my candidate.  Cong. Duncan Hunter.  Well sir you have blown it.  Since July 15^th I’ve been advising you from my streetlevel.townhall blog and I know for a fact that my input did reach former burger flipper, bus boy and restauranteur  Roy Tyler.  My “Hey Duncan Hunter…” series provided you with ample suggestions on how to put some life into your fundraising operation.  Had you listened to me and implemented some of my suggestions, you would be a top tier candidate right now.  Many will say its arrogant of me to make this claim but I stand by it.   And I’m not upset with Mr. Tyler for ignoring my input but he needs to step aside now before its too late and let someone with some fresh ideas   And who might that be?  Well there’s a certain young lady who helped me in getting my suggestions to Tyler.  I won’t mention any names but she’d be my pick.  Bottom line Duncan is -  there’s still time!  The other GOP candidates have no better strategy.  You can still win or at least make a significant showing in the primaries.  Or maybe you simply ran for president because having “Former Presidential Candidate” will look good on your resume.  If that’s the case you’ll lose some of my respect, sir.  A lot of people have sacrificed to keep your campaign going and if you knew all along that you did not really want to win, well shame. Shame.   That’s not the worst of it.  The fall of Hunter, Tancredo and even Thompson have severely hurt the cause of protecting our nations Sovereignty and borders.    Sir, if you did not get in this race to win then what’s the point?  

Well I feel better now.  Like I’ve unloaded a heavy burden from my shoulders.  I feel like I can go on to my family Christmas party tonight and  be in the Christmas spirit.  

Lets try on Colossians 1:17 – “He [Christ] is before all things and in him all things hold together.”  

Well that promise about sums it up.  I think that promise would be inclusive of the United States of America, as well.  Huhm?

“A Very Merry Christmas to All and a Happy New Year”

Darvin Dowdy   

I’m going out on a limb and make a prediction here and I really have no basis or strong evidence for doing so.  Just my gut instinct.  Here goes:  “Whoever wins the ‘08 Iowa and New Hampshire GOP primaries will not be the next President”.  Gosh why did I do that to myself?  Oh well its too late now.  I could edit it out at a later date but I won’t.  I’m standing by this.  Honestly its more wishful thinking than anything else.   However,  the Iowa and New Hampshire GOP primaries have long outlived their usefulness in the process of choosing a GOP presidential candidate.  Which may not hold true on the democrat side.

This fetish with the New Hampshire and Iowa during presidential elections is something relatively new and can be traced to the rise in power of the Main Stream Media.  In 1952 some friend of Eisenhower just wrote him in  on the NH Republican ballot.  And he won by a landslide!  And that got the media’s attention, big time.  So the MSM, such as it was at that time,  sort of turned the NH primary happening into an ongoing good luck charm for future presidential candidates.  And the candidates themselves, afraid to upset the media played along like puppets on a string.   As they continue to do to this day. 

And then there’s the Iowa caucus.   The Iowa caucus dates back over 100 years.  The word “caucus” is actually an Algonquin Indian word meaning a meeting among tribal leaders.   No one paid much attention to the Iowa caucus until the unknown Jimmy Carter won back in 1976 surprising most everyone.  And after that, you guessed it, the MSM made another media circus out of it and that also continues to this day. 

In both cases one can understand the heightened awareness of these 2 primaries – back then.  The public found out, in no uncertain terms, that a specific individual wanted to be president and it gave the candidate instant name recognition if they needed it.   Ike needed no name recognition but few knew he was interested in being president until after that ’52 NH primary.  Additionally, no one knew who that Georgia peanut farmer was until after the Iowa caucus (except for Georgians).   After that Jimmy Carter was a household name.  

Fast-forwarding to the 21^st century.  The old MSM is a shadow of what it used to be.  There are now cable news networks galore, talk radio and the internet!  Folks can now get a political email commercial on a Blackberry while waiting for their fast food order.  Candidates are even trying their hands at comedy on the Tonight Show and others venues.   Plus presidential campaigns seem to start earlier every year.  So much so that by the time the primaries come around even the most apolitical among us know at least something about the candidates, their campaigns and where they stand on the issues.  

So you see my point?   New Hampshire with its pathetic  four (4) electoral votes is simply not needed any longer as some sort of political barometer.  And Iowa with its measly  seven (7) electoral votes – what’s the point?   This is old school, 20^th century politics.  These two political non-events, created and kept alive by the MSM, no longer pertain.  Not to mention that both are liberal states and the nation, as a whole, is migrating to the right.  Or wanting to move  right-ward if they could get the GOP politicians/candidates to cooperate and move off of dead center.   

If I were asked by one of the GOP candidates (minus Ron Paul) I’d tell them not to place all of their eggs in the “primary” basket.  And to break lose from the traditional and conventional GOP campaign strategy (or lack there of).    As for Dr. Paul, well he certainly doesn’t need my advice.  He seems to have found a fruit bearing money tree somewhere.  DD