Colorado Congressman Tom Tancredo has said he’d run for president if no other serious candidates emerged to carry his anti-illegal immigration banner. So far, none have picked it up.
The Littleton Republican is now marshalling forces, raising money and taking the preliminary steps to make a run for the White House.
Some will consider Tancredo a “fringe” candidate. Calling Miami a Third World country and suggesting bombing Muslin holy sites like Mecca are the kind of comments that earn you the label.
So, his bid will be dismissed by many in the chattering classes. But Tancredo has associated himself with people who have proven that angry insurgents can shape presidential elections.
According to a Tancredo aide, his state director for New Hampshire led the charge for Pat Buchanan in 1996 when he defeated Bob Dole in that state’s primary. Buchanan’s sister, Bay, is chair of Tancredo’s Team America PAC. The Buchanans know a thing or two about insurgent campaigns. Pat Buchanan’s needling of President George H.W. Bush during his 1992 re-election campaign contributed to the derailment of his presidency.
Tancredo opened a campaign headquarters this week in Arlington, Va., not far from the campaign offices of Sens. Hillary Clinton and John McCain. He also has hired a state director for Iowa, the country’s first caucus state, where he enjoyed a warm reception last weekend. And money already is trickling in from people concerned about U.S. borders that leak like a sieve. Insurgent candidates who tap a popular vein can gain traction and cash. Witness Howard Dean’s effort in 2003. (They can also disappear overnight. Witness Dean in 2004.)
The GOP front-runners will never satisfy Tancredo on his pet issue. McCain, Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani are advocates of guest-worker programs that are anathema to Tancredo, though conservative candidates like Ron Paul and Duncan Hunter may be closer to his views.
In June, Tancredo intends to tell his 6th Congressional District constituents – and the salivating Republicans who want to run for his seat – whether he intends on seeking re-election or going full steam in his presidential campaign. Filing deadlines would allow him to make a final decision next spring, long after Iowa and New Hampshire.
The temptation is to think that Tancredo’s appeal is too narrow for the wide canvas of a presidential campaign. But those Pat Buchanan connections are a reminder that an insurgent effort can sometimes have a lingering half-life.
