Tancredo Drops Out

Congressman Tom Tancredo has dropped out of the presidential race.

This isn't a big surprise, as his campaign didn't do very well. This is too bad, because of all the candidates, Tancredo's views are closest to those of Reagan. He is a conservative across the board. He has a lifetime 99% rating from the American Conservative Union. He is completely pro-life, pro-gun, and anti-tax. Unlike most of the contenders, he actually regularly votes against government spending bills. Also unlike many of the candidates, he is a staunch defender of American sovereignty against the United Nations and other global entities.

Of course, Tancredo is best known for his views on immigration. He has been relentless in pushing for enforcement of our immigration laws. He founded the Congressional Immigration Reform Caucus. He has unceasingly advocated the cause of immigration reform in the media. He deserves a big chunk of the credit for the defeat of amnesty in 2006 and 2007.

Tancredo visited Western Michigan University in 2005. He spoke to an audience of about 100 college Republicans. His speech was the best live political speech that I have ever heard. He covered immigration, western civilization, education, and CAFTA. It was a great event, and was not marred by the incredibly biased write-up in the Herald.

Unfortunately, Tancredo's campaign never really took off. Becoming an "electable" candidate requires raising a lot of money early in the race from large money donors. Tancredo's stance on immigration made him unpopular with many such people. Also, his campaign simply wasn't run that well.

Yet in a way it was a success. Tancredo had hinted that his main goal was to make immigration a major issue in the campaign and push the other candidates to the right. With the other candidates trying to "out-Tancredo Tancredo" on immigration, as one article put it, this goal has been achieved.

Conservatives owe Tom Tancredo a debt of gratitude.

Michelle Malkin: Tom Tancredo’s exit