Tom Tancredo presidential campaign, 2008
Encyclopedia
The Tom Tancredo
presidential campaign, 2008 for President of the United States
began with the announcement of candidacy by the Congressman
from Colorado
on April 2, 2007. Since then, the campaign had garnered grassroots support and endorsements from conservative Republicans concerned about illegal immigration
and border security. However, the candidate remained low in the polls and was criticized for his nativist
campaign, which had been described as "single-issued." Tancredo stated that he probably would not win the nomination but hoped his campaign would bring forth more debate on his issue of concern, immigration.
On December 20, 2007 Tancredo withdrew from the presidential race, and endorsed Mitt Romney
.
, making his first appearance at a meeting and a speech in Hudson
and Nashua
on April 4. Following this, Tancredo campaigned in the first caucus
state of Iowa
on April 14 at a fundraiser in Des Moines. Tancredo made over 90 campaign appearances in the state of Iowa (more than any other) and appeared in Des Moines five times. He appeared in New Hampshire approximately 35 times and appeared sporadically in other states in the same time span.
Until June, the campaign never took off in the polls nor in funds and received little media attention, with the exception of the May 15 GOP debate in South Carolina
. However, Tancredo was given an opportunity to discuss immigration and attack the Bush administration
and fellow Republican members of Congress at a GOP debate in New Hampshire on June 5, 2007. His criticism was directed mostly at top tiered candidate John McCain
for his support of the failed "Amnesty bill
." But throughout the night, he continually criticized the policies of the Bush administration, which he labeled as "liberal
." When asked what President Bush's role would be in a Tancredo administration, he reflected on a time in 2003 when he was told by Karl Rove
to "[not] darken the doorstep of the White House" because of his criticism of the president. Tancredo concluded that President Bush would be given the same command if he ever became president. During the debate in regards to immigration and Republican members of Congress, Tancredo said the following:
As July approached and came to its close, Tancredo's standing improved somewhat with the looming Ames Straw Poll
. His strategy to focus on Iowa continued, and the number of grassroots supporters in the state increased. On July 31, the campaign developed an interesting new strategy, offering a trip to Washington, D.C.
and a tour of the capitol to anyone who brought 25 Tancredo supporters to the straw poll. On the day before, supporters in Iowa distributed T-shirts which read "I'm a Member of Tom's Army Against Amnesty." Interviewed supporters were asked why they supported the candidate, they replied, "He really has the concerns of America at heart, he's concerned about the culture of America itself. What's happening to the bedrock of American culture." Tancredo finished in fourth place at the Ames Straw poll with over 14% of the vote. It was won by former Massachusetts Governor
Mitt Romney.
On August 31, Tancredo shifted momentarily to a new issue. On the two year anniversary of the landfall of Hurricane Katrina
in New Orleans, he called for funds to be withdrawn and federal aid be cut off for the recovery effort. He remarked that it was time, "the taxpayer gravy train left the New Orleans station." The move was perhaps a step for the candidate to woo fiscal conservatives and advocates for states' rights
, commenting that "at some point, state and local officials and individuals have got to step up to the plate and take some initiative, the mentality that people can wait around indefinitely for the federal taxpayer to solve all their worldly problems has got to come to an end."
In September Tancredo participated in two debates which received much media attention for the decisions of top tiered candidates to not participate in them. He attended the Values Voters Debate in Fort Lauderdale, Florida
on September 17, 2007. In the straw poll that followed, Tancredo came in seventh place with 2% of the vote. Mike Huckabee
won the straw poll with 63%. Tancredo also appeared at the Black Caucus Debate on September 27 at Baltimore, Maryland which aired on PBS
. During this debate he commented that the economic differences between African-Americans and Anglo-Americans has "nothing to do with race." He also discussed illegal immigration.
On September 25, Tancredo became the first presidential candidate to be interviewed on Wikinews
. He discussed gay issues
, immigration, and federalism
among others. When asked who he would back if he had to support a Democratic Party
candidate for president, Tancredo chose Senator
Barack Obama
of Illinois
remarking:
In October with the World Series
approaching and Tancredo's team the Colorado Rockies
representing the National League, he decided to offer a bet with fellow candidate Mitt Romney whose team the Boston Red Sox
were representing the American League. Tancredo proposed that he would drop out of the race if Boston won but only if Romney agreed to drop out if Colorado won. Luckily for Tancredo, the Romney campaign
turned down the bet and Boston won the world series.
On November 13, the campaign released a controversial advertisement called "Tough on Terror" in which a hypothetical terrorist attack occurs in a shopping mall. The ad blames inept border security for the attack and flashes images of an injured child and a wrecked train. After Tancredo gives his approval for the message with the comment "I approve this message because someone needs to say it," a voiceover states, "There are consequences to open borders beyond the 20 million aliens who have come to take our jobs... the price we pay for spineless politicians who refuse to defend our borders against those who come to kill." Since its release, the ad received criticism from some who called it "cheap" and "blatant fearmongering." Bowdoin College
political scientist Michael Franz likened the advertisement to the Daisy ad run by Lyndon B. Johnson
in the 1964 Presidential election
claiming that the election of Barry Goldwater
would lead to a nuclear war
. The other Republican candidates in the race did not comment on the ad.
On November 15, in a move poking fun at Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards
and building on the media coverage aimed at his campaign for the previously mentioned advertisement, Tancredo received a haircut for $400, which was used to donate money to the Autism Society of America
. The haircut was given by David Holden of New Hampshire whose son is afflicted with autism
.
In early December, Tancredo declined an invitation to a Spanish-language debate featured on Univision
as a protest to immigrants who do not learn English. He did, however, participate in the November 28, 2007 debate where he accused his opponents, most notable Mike Huckabee
of trying to "out-Tancredo, Tancredo" on the issue of illegal immigration.
On December 20, 2007 Tancredo dropped out of the presidential race and thus ended his campaign. He cited that it had become apparent to him that he could not win the race but was glad at what he perceived as the new positions of his opponents on illegal immigration, believing that "we've (The Tom Tancredo campaign) forced them into that [rhetoric]..." Tancredo also cited Huckabee's surge as a reason for his withdraw, stating his disagreements with the Governor made it important to help Romney secure the nomination. While announcing his withdrawal, Tancredo also announced that he was endorsing Mitt Romney for President in 2008, citing Romney as "the best hope for our cause [of immigration reform]."
on July 5, 2006. He received 60 of the 327 votes cast or 18% of the vote. Tancredo beat out the second-place finisher Rudy Giuliani
by 15 votes. On February 13, 2007, the American Conservative Union
issued ratings for potential presidential candidates for the 2008 election. Tancredo took first with a lifetime ranking of 99 out of 100. The website ConservativesBetrayed.com polled 525 people who attended CPAC 2007, and 88.1% believed that Tancredo would govern as a conservative. Newt Gingrich
polled next at 87.9%.
In general polling, Tancredo fared far worse than in straw polls. Early polls placed the candidate both above and below the 1% mark. However in November 2007 he slightly moved up in polling, reaching the 2% mark and coming out ahead of his closest rival, Congressman Duncan Hunter
of California
. In a November 16 Gallup poll, Tancredo stood in seventh place at 2%, trailing Congressman Ron Paul
of Texas
by 3%. In a head-to-head matchup done by Rasmussen Reports
on August 29, 2007, Tancredo trailed New York
Senator Hillary Clinton by 13% finishing with 37% to Clinton's 50%. In a head-to-head matchup with Barack Obama administered on the same day, Tancredo finished with 31% to 48% for Obama.
Individual contributions made up the most of the campaign cash that Tancredo received, making up about 97% of his total pocketbook. PAC contributions were comparably low, producing only around $75,500, of the $1,311,869. He granted himself $200 for the campaign and received no federal funding. $88,457 of his money came from interest from the campaign's bank accounts and loans from outside sources. It should be noted that the majority of Tancredo's funds were not disclosed during the campaign As of September 30, 2007 the campaign raised $3,538,244 and spent $3,458,130, leaving only $110,079 cash on hand.
Ronald Robinson of the Young America's Foundation
donated $1,000 to the campaign. Michael Bushell, owner of BibleWorks and Pueblo Chieftain newspaper publisher Robert Rawlings both gave $500 to Tancredo's campaign.
Tancredoqualified for and accepted public funds from the Presidential election campaign fund checkoff
. However, he returned the matching funds since withdrawing from the race.
The biggest endorsement that Tancredo received was that of Bay Buchanan, the sister of perennial presidential candidate Pat Buchanan
and former Treasurer of the United States
under President Ronald Reagan
. Immediately following her endorsement she was named the Senior Advisor of the campaign. Other advisors included Phil Alexander, formerly of the Buchanan campaigns in 1996
, and 2000
. New Hampshire advisor, Shelly Uscinski formerly the New Hampshire chairman of the Christian Coalition. Iowa advisor and former U.S. Senate candidate in 2002
Bill Salier. And campaign official Tim Haley, the former campaign manager of Pat Buchanan's Reform Party
run in 2000.
After the October 9, 2007 Dearborn GOP Debate, Tancredo was criticized by the conservative blog
, "Republican Ranting" for stuttering and stumbling, citing this as causing him major problems in the debate. Also cited was the following exchange with Sam Brownback
:
A writer at the blog Farmeruminations, spoke about his experience at the August 12, 2007 Iowa Straw poll stating that "Tancredo...stuttered and stumbled, spoke during the applause, lost his place several times, so had to look at the written copy, not a good performance by any standard."
The campaign was criticized for focusing too heavily on the issue of Immigration, which gave the candidate the appearance of running a one-issue campaign. During an exchange on the August 22, 2007 edition of Hannity and Colmes, Geraldo Rivera
and Tancredo got into a lively argument over sanctuary cities and a murder committed by an illegal immigrant in Newark, New Jersey
. Rivera remarked:
The political website "Political Realm" summed up Tancredo's campaign profile with the statement that "In the end, Tancredo is a single-issue candidate and that will not be enough to carry him over the top." Tancredo himself acknowledged that he is a one-issue candidate making the statement at a speech in to the Conservative Political Action Conference
(CPAC), "If you want to call me a single-issue candidate, that's fine, just so long as you know that my single issue is the survival and the success of the conservative movement in America."
He remarked that his campaign was not about winning the nomination but instead winning over people to his point of view in the race:
Documentaries, topic pages and databases
Interviews
Media coverage
Tom Tancredo
Thomas Gerard "Tom" Tancredo is an American politician from Colorado, who represented the state's sixth congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1999 to 2009, as a Republican...
presidential campaign, 2008 for President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
began with the announcement of candidacy by the Congressman
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
from Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
on April 2, 2007. Since then, the campaign had garnered grassroots support and endorsements from conservative Republicans concerned about illegal immigration
Illegal immigration
Illegal immigration is the migration into a nation in violation of the immigration laws of that jurisdiction. Illegal immigration raises many political, economical and social issues and has become a source of major controversy in developed countries and the more successful developing countries.In...
and border security. However, the candidate remained low in the polls and was criticized for his nativist
Nativism (politics)
Nativism favors the interests of certain established inhabitants of an area or nation as compared to claims of newcomers or immigrants. It may also include the re-establishment or perpetuation of such individuals or their culture....
campaign, which had been described as "single-issued." Tancredo stated that he probably would not win the nomination but hoped his campaign would bring forth more debate on his issue of concern, immigration.
On December 20, 2007 Tancredo withdrew from the presidential race, and endorsed Mitt Romney
Mitt Romney
Willard Mitt Romney is an American businessman and politician. He was the 70th Governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 and is a candidate for the 2012 Republican Party presidential nomination.The son of George W...
.
Campaign development
Prior to his announcement early in 2007, draft movements sprung to try to convince Congressman Tancredo to run for President of the United States. Tancredo responded to the draft efforts by stating that he would only start a campaign if a candidate already in the race did not extensively address the issue of Immigration and stay committed to conservative principles. After Tancredo's announcement on April 2, 2007, he immediately began campaigning in the strategically important state of New HampshireNew Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
, making his first appearance at a meeting and a speech in Hudson
Hudson, New Hampshire
Hudson is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 24,467 at the 2010 census.The primary settlement in town, where 7,336 people resided at the 2010 census, is defined as the Hudson census-designated place and is located at the junctions of New Hampshire...
and Nashua
Nashua, New Hampshire
-Climate:-Demographics:As of the census of 2010, there were 86,494 people, 35,044 households, and 21,876 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,719.9 people per square mile . There were 37,168 housing units at an average density of 1,202.8 per square mile...
on April 4. Following this, Tancredo campaigned in the first caucus
Caucus
A caucus is a meeting of supporters or members of a political party or movement, especially in the United States and Canada. As the use of the term has been expanded the exact definition has come to vary among political cultures.-Origin of the term:...
state of Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
on April 14 at a fundraiser in Des Moines. Tancredo made over 90 campaign appearances in the state of Iowa (more than any other) and appeared in Des Moines five times. He appeared in New Hampshire approximately 35 times and appeared sporadically in other states in the same time span.
Until June, the campaign never took off in the polls nor in funds and received little media attention, with the exception of the May 15 GOP debate in South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
. However, Tancredo was given an opportunity to discuss immigration and attack the Bush administration
George W. Bush administration
The presidency of George W. Bush began on January 20, 2001, when he was inaugurated as the 43rd President of the United States of America. The oldest son of former president George H. W. Bush, George W...
and fellow Republican members of Congress at a GOP debate in New Hampshire on June 5, 2007. His criticism was directed mostly at top tiered candidate John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
for his support of the failed "Amnesty bill
Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007
The Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007, or, in its full name, the Secure Borders, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Reform Act of 2007 was a bill discussed in the 110th United States Congress that would have provided legal status and a path to citizenship for the approximately 12 to...
." But throughout the night, he continually criticized the policies of the Bush administration, which he labeled as "liberal
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
." When asked what President Bush's role would be in a Tancredo administration, he reflected on a time in 2003 when he was told by Karl Rove
Karl Rove
Karl Christian Rove was Senior Advisor and Deputy Chief of Staff to former President George W. Bush until Rove's resignation on August 31, 2007. He has headed the Office of Political Affairs, the Office of Public Liaison, and the White House Office of Strategic Initiatives...
to "[not] darken the doorstep of the White House" because of his criticism of the president. Tancredo concluded that President Bush would be given the same command if he ever became president. During the debate in regards to immigration and Republican members of Congress, Tancredo said the following:
As July approached and came to its close, Tancredo's standing improved somewhat with the looming Ames Straw Poll
Ames Straw Poll
The Ames Straw Poll is a presidential straw poll taken by Iowa Republicans. It occurs in Ames, Iowa on the campus of Iowa State University, on a Saturday in August of years in an election cycle in which the Republican presidential nomination seems to be undecided...
. His strategy to focus on Iowa continued, and the number of grassroots supporters in the state increased. On July 31, the campaign developed an interesting new strategy, offering a trip to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
and a tour of the capitol to anyone who brought 25 Tancredo supporters to the straw poll. On the day before, supporters in Iowa distributed T-shirts which read "I'm a Member of Tom's Army Against Amnesty." Interviewed supporters were asked why they supported the candidate, they replied, "He really has the concerns of America at heart, he's concerned about the culture of America itself. What's happening to the bedrock of American culture." Tancredo finished in fourth place at the Ames Straw poll with over 14% of the vote. It was won by former Massachusetts Governor
Governor of Massachusetts
The Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the executive magistrate of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States. The current governor is Democrat Deval Patrick.-Constitutional role:...
Mitt Romney.
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
in New Orleans, he called for funds to be withdrawn and federal aid be cut off for the recovery effort. He remarked that it was time, "the taxpayer gravy train left the New Orleans station." The move was perhaps a step for the candidate to woo fiscal conservatives and advocates for states' rights
States' rights
States' rights in U.S. politics refers to political powers reserved for the U.S. state governments rather than the federal government. It is often considered a loaded term because of its use in opposition to federally mandated racial desegregation...
, commenting that "at some point, state and local officials and individuals have got to step up to the plate and take some initiative, the mentality that people can wait around indefinitely for the federal taxpayer to solve all their worldly problems has got to come to an end."
In September Tancredo participated in two debates which received much media attention for the decisions of top tiered candidates to not participate in them. He attended the Values Voters Debate in Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Fort Lauderdale is a city in the U.S. state of Florida, on the Atlantic coast. It is the county seat of Broward County. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 165,521. It is a principal city of the South Florida metropolitan area, which was home to 5,564,635 people at the 2010...
on September 17, 2007. In the straw poll that followed, Tancredo came in seventh place with 2% of the vote. Mike Huckabee
Mike Huckabee
Michael "Mike" Dale Huckabee is an American politician who served as the 44th Governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007. He was a candidate in the 2008 United States Republican presidential primaries, finishing second in delegate count and third in both popular vote and number of states won . He won...
won the straw poll with 63%. Tancredo also appeared at the Black Caucus Debate on September 27 at Baltimore, Maryland which aired on PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
. During this debate he commented that the economic differences between African-Americans and Anglo-Americans has "nothing to do with race." He also discussed illegal immigration.
On September 25, Tancredo became the first presidential candidate to be interviewed on Wikinews
Wikinews
Wikinews is a free-content news source wiki and a project of the Wikimedia Foundation. The site works through collaborative journalism. Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales has distinguished Wikinews from Wikipedia by saying "on Wikinews, each story is to be written as a news story as opposed to an...
. He discussed gay issues
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
, immigration, and federalism
Federalism
Federalism is a political concept in which a group of members are bound together by covenant with a governing representative head. The term "federalism" is also used to describe a system of the government in which sovereignty is constitutionally divided between a central governing authority and...
among others. When asked who he would back if he had to support a Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
candidate for president, Tancredo chose Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
of Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
remarking:
In October with the World Series
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...
approaching and Tancredo's team the Colorado Rockies
Colorado Rockies
The Colorado Rockies are a Major League Baseball team based in Denver, Colorado. Established in 1991, they started play in 1993 and are in the West Division of the National League. The team is named after the Rocky Mountains...
representing the National League, he decided to offer a bet with fellow candidate Mitt Romney whose team the Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
were representing the American League. Tancredo proposed that he would drop out of the race if Boston won but only if Romney agreed to drop out if Colorado won. Luckily for Tancredo, the Romney campaign
Mitt Romney presidential campaign, 2008
Mitt Romney was a Republican Party primary candidate in the 2008 United States presidential election. On January 3, 2007, two days before he stepped down as governor of Massachusetts, Romney filed to form a presidential exploratory committee with the Federal Election Commission...
turned down the bet and Boston won the world series.
Bowdoin College
Bowdoin College , founded in 1794, is an elite private liberal arts college located in the coastal Maine town of Brunswick, Maine. As of 2011, U.S. News and World Report ranks Bowdoin 6th among liberal arts colleges in the United States. At times, it was ranked as high as 4th in the country. It is...
political scientist Michael Franz likened the advertisement to the Daisy ad run by Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
in the 1964 Presidential election
United States presidential election, 1964
The United States presidential election of 1964 was held on November 3, 1964. Incumbent President Lyndon B. Johnson had come to office less than a year earlier following the assassination of his predecessor, John F. Kennedy. Johnson, who had successfully associated himself with Kennedy's...
claiming that the election of Barry Goldwater
Barry Goldwater
Barry Morris Goldwater was a five-term United States Senator from Arizona and the Republican Party's nominee for President in the 1964 election. An articulate and charismatic figure during the first half of the 1960s, he was known as "Mr...
would lead to a nuclear war
Nuclear warfare
Nuclear warfare, or atomic warfare, is a military conflict or political strategy in which nuclear weaponry is detonated on an opponent. Compared to conventional warfare, nuclear warfare can be vastly more destructive in range and extent of damage...
. The other Republican candidates in the race did not comment on the ad.
On November 15, in a move poking fun at Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards
John Edwards
Johnny Reid "John" Edwards is an American politician, who served as a U.S. Senator from North Carolina. He was the Democratic nominee for Vice President in 2004, and was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004 and 2008.He defeated incumbent Republican Lauch Faircloth in...
and building on the media coverage aimed at his campaign for the previously mentioned advertisement, Tancredo received a haircut for $400, which was used to donate money to the Autism Society of America
Autism Society of America
The Autism Society of America was founded in 1965 by Bernard Rimland, PhD, together with Ruth C. Sullivan and a small group of other parents of autistic children. Its original name was the National Society for Autistic Children; the name was changed to emphasize that children with autism grow up...
. The haircut was given by David Holden of New Hampshire whose son is afflicted with autism
Autism
Autism is a disorder of neural development characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. These signs all begin before a child is three years old. Autism affects information processing in the brain by altering how nerve cells and their...
.
In early December, Tancredo declined an invitation to a Spanish-language debate featured on Univision
Univision
Univision is a Spanish-language television network in the United States. It has the largest audience of Spanish language television viewers according to Nielsen ratings. Randy Falco, COO, has been in charge of the company since the departure of Univision Communications president and CEO Joe Uva...
as a protest to immigrants who do not learn English. He did, however, participate in the November 28, 2007 debate where he accused his opponents, most notable Mike Huckabee
Mike Huckabee
Michael "Mike" Dale Huckabee is an American politician who served as the 44th Governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007. He was a candidate in the 2008 United States Republican presidential primaries, finishing second in delegate count and third in both popular vote and number of states won . He won...
of trying to "out-Tancredo, Tancredo" on the issue of illegal immigration.
On December 20, 2007 Tancredo dropped out of the presidential race and thus ended his campaign. He cited that it had become apparent to him that he could not win the race but was glad at what he perceived as the new positions of his opponents on illegal immigration, believing that "we've (The Tom Tancredo campaign) forced them into that [rhetoric]..." Tancredo also cited Huckabee's surge as a reason for his withdraw, stating his disagreements with the Governor made it important to help Romney secure the nomination. While announcing his withdrawal, Tancredo also announced that he was endorsing Mitt Romney for President in 2008, citing Romney as "the best hope for our cause [of immigration reform]."
Polling
About one year before entering the race, Tancredo won the Macomb County Straw Poll in MichiganMichigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
on July 5, 2006. He received 60 of the 327 votes cast or 18% of the vote. Tancredo beat out the second-place finisher Rudy Giuliani
Rudy Giuliani
Rudolph William Louis "Rudy" Giuliani KBE is an American lawyer, businessman, and politician from New York. He served as Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001....
by 15 votes. On February 13, 2007, the American Conservative Union
American Conservative Union
The American Conservative Union is an American political organization advocating conservative policies, and is the oldest such conservative lobbying organization in the country.-Organization:...
issued ratings for potential presidential candidates for the 2008 election. Tancredo took first with a lifetime ranking of 99 out of 100. The website ConservativesBetrayed.com polled 525 people who attended CPAC 2007, and 88.1% believed that Tancredo would govern as a conservative. Newt Gingrich
Newt Gingrich
Newton Leroy "Newt" Gingrich is a U.S. Republican Party politician who served as the House Minority Whip from 1989 to 1995 and as the 58th Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999....
polled next at 87.9%.
In general polling, Tancredo fared far worse than in straw polls. Early polls placed the candidate both above and below the 1% mark. However in November 2007 he slightly moved up in polling, reaching the 2% mark and coming out ahead of his closest rival, Congressman Duncan Hunter
Duncan Hunter
Duncan Lee Hunter is an American politician. He was a Republican member of the House of Representatives from California's 52nd, 45th and 42nd districts from 1981 to 2009....
of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. In a November 16 Gallup poll, Tancredo stood in seventh place at 2%, trailing Congressman Ron Paul
Ron Paul
Ronald Ernest "Ron" Paul is an American physician, author and United States Congressman who is seeking to be the Republican Party candidate in the 2012 presidential election. Paul represents Texas's 14th congressional district, which covers an area south and southwest of Houston that includes...
of Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
by 3%. In a head-to-head matchup done by Rasmussen Reports
Rasmussen Reports
Rasmussen Reports is an American media company that publishes and distributes information based on public opinion polling. Founded by pollster Scott Rasmussen in 2003, the company updates daily indexes including the President's job approval rating, and provides public opinion data, analysis, and...
on August 29, 2007, Tancredo trailed New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
Senator Hillary Clinton by 13% finishing with 37% to Clinton's 50%. In a head-to-head matchup with Barack Obama administered on the same day, Tancredo finished with 31% to 48% for Obama.
Financials
Ronald Robinson of the Young America's Foundation
Young America's Foundation
Young America's Foundation is a conservative youth organization, founded in 1969, with a focus on sharing conservative ideas with students through conferences, campus lectures, seminars, posters, and activism initiatives.-History:...
donated $1,000 to the campaign. Michael Bushell, owner of BibleWorks and Pueblo Chieftain newspaper publisher Robert Rawlings both gave $500 to Tancredo's campaign.
Tancredoqualified for and accepted public funds from the Presidential election campaign fund checkoff
Presidential election campaign fund checkoff
The presidential election campaign fund checkoff appears on US income tax return forms as the question Do you want $3 of your federal tax to go to the Presidential Election Campaign Fund?...
. However, he returned the matching funds since withdrawing from the race.
Advisors and endorsements
List of People endorsing Tom Tancredo |
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Tancredo's endorsers include:
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The biggest endorsement that Tancredo received was that of Bay Buchanan, the sister of perennial presidential candidate Pat Buchanan
Pat Buchanan
Patrick Joseph "Pat" Buchanan is an American paleoconservative political commentator, author, syndicated columnist, politician and broadcaster. Buchanan was a senior adviser to American Presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Ronald Reagan, and was an original host on CNN's Crossfire. He sought...
and former Treasurer of the United States
Treasurer of the United States
The Treasurer of the United States is an official in the United States Department of the Treasury that was originally charged with the receipt and custody of government funds, though many of these functions have been taken over by different bureaus of the Department of the Treasury...
under President Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
. Immediately following her endorsement she was named the Senior Advisor of the campaign. Other advisors included Phil Alexander, formerly of the Buchanan campaigns in 1996
United States presidential election, 1996
The United States presidential election of 1996 was a contest between the Democratic national ticket of President Bill Clinton of Arkansas and Vice President Al Gore of Tennessee and the Republican national ticket of former Senator Bob Dole of Kansas for President and former Housing Secretary Jack...
, and 2000
United States presidential election, 2000
The United States presidential election of 2000 was a contest between Republican candidate George W. Bush, then-governor of Texas and son of former president George H. W. Bush , and Democratic candidate Al Gore, then-Vice President....
. New Hampshire advisor, Shelly Uscinski formerly the New Hampshire chairman of the Christian Coalition. Iowa advisor and former U.S. Senate candidate in 2002
United States Senate elections, 2002
The 2002 United States Senate election featured a series of fiercely contested elections that resulted in a victory for the Republican Party, which gained two seats and thus a narrow majority from the Democratic Party in the United States Senate. Senators who were elected in 1996, known as Senate...
Bill Salier. And campaign official Tim Haley, the former campaign manager of Pat Buchanan's Reform Party
Reform Party of the United States of America
The Reform Party of the United States of America is a political party in the United States, founded in 1995 by Ross Perot...
run in 2000.
Criticism
The campaign was criticized for as wide ranging issues as Tancredo's speaking abilities and performances in debates to the categorization of his campaign as "unwinnable" and "one-issued."After the October 9, 2007 Dearborn GOP Debate, Tancredo was criticized by the conservative blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
, "Republican Ranting" for stuttering and stumbling, citing this as causing him major problems in the debate. Also cited was the following exchange with Sam Brownback
Sam Brownback
Samuel Dale "Sam" Brownback is the 46th and current Governor of Kansas. A member of the Republican Party, he served as a U.S. Senator from Kansas from 1996 to 2011, and as a U.S. Representative for Kansas's 2nd congressional district from 1995 to 1996...
:
Tancredo: Sam, I don’t, your mom, if she was a postal worker, believe me, she didn’t need a union on top of civil service benefits
Brownback: Don’t pick on my mother
Tancredo: I’m sure she was a sweetheart.
Brownback: Leave my mother out of this.
Tancredo: Especially with regard to, need I say it, illegal immigration…
Brownback: My mother is not an illegal immigrant.
A writer at the blog Farmeruminations, spoke about his experience at the August 12, 2007 Iowa Straw poll stating that "Tancredo...stuttered and stumbled, spoke during the applause, lost his place several times, so had to look at the written copy, not a good performance by any standard."
Geraldo Rivera
Geraldo Rivera is an American attorney, journalist, author, reporter, and former talk show host...
and Tancredo got into a lively argument over sanctuary cities and a murder committed by an illegal immigrant in Newark, New Jersey
Newark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
. Rivera remarked:
First of all, this was the 60th homicide in Newark this year, and I'm sure Congressman Tancredo has not opined about any of the other homicides, and only became interested in this one when it became clear that one of the six alleged perpetrators came to this country illegally at the age of 11. That's one thing.
Number two, why was this person, this one of the six around to commit this hideous crime? He was out because he had a 31-count indictment for the rape of a child, and he was out on $15,000 bail, instead of the requisite $450,000 bail that he never could have made and never would have been on the street.
It had nothing to do with his immigration status. And it's just being used by advocates of this crushing anti-immigration policy to make a cheap political point.
The political website "Political Realm" summed up Tancredo's campaign profile with the statement that "In the end, Tancredo is a single-issue candidate and that will not be enough to carry him over the top." Tancredo himself acknowledged that he is a one-issue candidate making the statement at a speech in to the Conservative Political Action Conference
Conservative Political Action Conference
The Conservative Political Action Conference is an annual political conference attended by conservative activists and elected officials from across the United States....
(CPAC), "If you want to call me a single-issue candidate, that's fine, just so long as you know that my single issue is the survival and the success of the conservative movement in America."
He remarked that his campaign was not about winning the nomination but instead winning over people to his point of view in the race:
External links
Official sitesDocumentaries, topic pages and databases
- PBS NewsHour with Jim Lehrer — Vote 2008: Tom Tancredo
- Tom Tancredo Ranking in Spartan Internet Political Performance Index Weekly
- SourceWatch Congresspedia — Tom Tancredo profile
- Genealogy of Tom Tancredo
Interviews
- July 1, 2007 interview, Rocky Mountain News
- Interview with Tom Tancredo at Right Wing News
- Tom Tancredo talks about his book In Mortal Danger: The Battle for America's Border and Security
- Tancredo on the Record by Amanda Griscom Little
Media coverage
- Run, Tom, run! by Jane Chastain
- Onward and upward: looking to 2008 by Ken Marotte
- Denver Post Column: "Tancredo for president in 2008? Well, why not?"
- Congressman: Destroying sites option if U.S. attacked
- mp3 audio file of "bomb holy sites" radio interview(alternate site)
- Rating by League of Conservation Voters
- Rolling Stone Article on Tom Tancredo
- NPR tackles Tancredo by Brent Bozell
- Tancredo's anti-immigrant credo gaining by James P. Pinkerton
- Tancredo's Raw Truth About Terrorism by Diana West