Tom Tancredo on Principles & Values Republican Representative (CO-6)

Won't debate in GOP primaries; will debate Dems

We also discovered that primary election debates pose a major downside risk but don't offer much upside. Relatively few people who watch them do so with open minds.

Tancredo has said that if he prevails in the primary, he will debate his Democratic opponent in the general election. That also is the correct decision. General elections engage a much larger electorate, a larger undecided contingent, a wider audience, and greater contrast on the issues.

Obama is greater threat to our way of life than any enemy

Denounce the cult of multiculturalism

Won’t vote GOP if nominee is lesser of two evils

A: I am absolutely tired and sick and tired of being forced to go to the polls and say I’m going to make this choice between the lesser of two evils. I really don’t intend to do that again. I am hoping, of course, that whoever we nominate will be the principal flag carrier for the Republican Party, but if that is not the case, no, then I will not.

Degrading morals could make us lose clash of civilizations

A president has relatively few options available to him in order to direct the moral course of the nation, but can certainly be profoundly influential. George Washington was by himself a leader, and set the soul of this nation, created the soul of the nation. Ronald Reagan, constantly uplifting the nation. Bill Clinton redefined morality to the level of an alley cat. We know that this can happen. We know presidents have this kind of thing. I guarantee you that I will try my level best as long as I breathe to take us in a different direction.

Defining mistake: waiting 30 years to accept Jesus as savior

A: I have no doubt of what the greatest mistake in my life has been. And that is that it took me probably 30 years before I realized that Jesus Christ is my personal savior.

We can no longer afford political correctness

A: Hope. Hope in America itself. We made mistakes that have turned our friends against us, have encouraged our enemies. I believe that it is going to take a leader committed to speaking out about the values of Western civilization. We can no longer afford political correctness. We have to tell people that there is something good--not just good, but great--about who we are. That will restore America’s faith in itself and the world’s faith in America.

Only Republican to appear at NAACP annual convention

After he came out, Tancredo wandered around the empty stage, not knowing which podium to use. “Oh, right here?” he said when led to the center lectern. “Oh my gosh, this is amazing. Do you think we should wait a few minutes to see if these other guys show up?” Tancredo said, drawing a big laugh from the crowd. The NAACP has set up placards for all of the Republican candidates at each podium--highlighting the no-shows except for Tancredo. “Do they know something I don’t know, is that it? I think actually I know something that THEY don’t know.”

That line drew a loud cheer from the audience, clearly appreciative that Tancredo had bothered to show up. He noted that while he & the organization “don’t agree on every issue,” they share “a very common cause.”

As president, would tell Bush to never visit White House

A: Some time ago, 2003 I think it was, I got a call from Karl Rove who told me that because of my criticism of the president, I should never darken the doorstep of the White House. I have been so disappointed in the president, not just the immigration issue, but the massive increase in government that we call Medicare prescription drug, that I’m afraid, as president, I’d have to tell George Bush exactly the same thing Karl Rove told me.

Bush’s mistake: ran as conservative; governed as a liberal

A: The biggest problem, I think, in this administration has been the fact that the president ran as a conservative and governed as a liberal. That is what has really been the basis, I think, of the distrust that has developed among the Republican base. It’s well-founded. We have to do something about that.

Opposes McCain as nominee; wouldn’t support him if nominated

A: McCain also said, essentially pointing to, you know, the unwashed masses, all the stupid people out in the US who are demanding a fence, if they really want it, he’ll give them a g-d fence. It goes to show you what his attitude is toward the American people. I mean, he’s quite an elitist there.

Q: If he’s the Republican presidential nominee, would you vote for him?

A: No, I would not. And I’m going do everything I can to make sure that he is not the Republican presidential nominee.

Audacious agenda: limited government & individual freedom

I have always wanted to advance the agenda of limited government and enhanced individual freedom. I want to participate in the reintroduction of the concept that America is a unique place, not just a place we can reap the economic & political benefits afforded by the labors of those who lived before us. I want our borders to be secure and those who have violated them to be deprived of the benefits lawful citizens enjoy. I want immigrants seeking that citizenship to assimilate & sever their ties to their country of origin. I want to do what I can to defend the West in the clash of civilizations that threatens humanity.

The parts of my agenda that have generated the most trouble for me deal with the security of our borders and with my criticism of what I refer to as the “cult of multiculturalism.”

Label “lightning rod” suits me fine

There is a price to pay for standing up for what I believe rather than going along. My differences of opinion with my GOP colleagues & m willingness to voice them mean that I almost certainly will never be the chair of a major House committee. After Karl Rove told me to “never darken the door of the White House” because of my criticism of the president, I expected no calls to confer with him on immigration issues. If ever Congress does pass immigration reform, my name won’t be on it as a principal sponsor. During a debate with a colleague, he said I should resign from the party because my views were not the same as his or the president’s

We’ve lost 1950s selfless devotion to civic duty

Today, our schools and almost every social institution send a totally different message. Civic duty, for instance, is currently considered by too many office holders as an obligation to erase any vestige of pride in the symbols or the substance of the land of the free and home of the brave.

Terrorists have no identity crisis, while we do

The terrorists who seek to kill us know exactly who they are. They have no identity crisis. They know and believe with all their being the philosophy and religious underpinnings of their worldview. They are intent upon spreading it with word and deed, by violence, if necessary.

We must use our schools, churches, and government to reestablish an allegiance to the principles of Western civilization. Those principles are embodied in the Judeo-Christian ethic and whether we follow them or not will surely determine the fate of the nation.

Religious affiliation: Presbyterian.

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