2008 hopeful touts faithful GOP record


By KAREN LOVETT, Telegraph Staff
klovett@nashuatelegraph.com

Published: Thursday, Apr. 5, 2007

HOLLIS – When Colorado’s Holy Family High School held a mock election during the presidential race of 1960, the students supported the Catholic contender, John F. Kennedy.

In a landslide victory, it was Kennedy, 90, Richard Nixon, 2.

Presidential hopeful Tom Tancredo was one of the students in the lonely minority, and he joked to a crowd in Hollis on Wednesday that he “never found out who the other one was.”

The Colorado congressman said the story displays his lifelong dedication to the Republican Party. That, he hopes, will help earn him a nomination.Tancredo stopped in at Pete’s Gun & Tackle in Hudson and Castro’s Backroom Smoke Shop in Nashua before landing at Alpine Grove in Hollis on Wednesday evening. Some 60 people greeted the congressman, who focused his comments on immigration reform.

Tancredo said he believes the nation is at risk, both in battles overseas and at home with the nation’s 12 million to 20 million illegal immigrants.

He supports securing the country’s borders and not giving illegal immigrants jobs. His Web site added that employers who break the law should be prosecuted. Tancredo applauded the efforts of New Ipswich police Chief W. Garrett Chamberlain, who in 2005 cited an illegal immigrant for trespassing, action that drew national attention.

Tancredo touted his consistent, conservative record. He is pro-life, supports a flat or national sales tax and believes more money should be spent on national defense, even if it usurps funding for other areas in the health and human services and arts endowments.

As for his chances in the big race, Tancredo said he’s realistic. He referenced a recent joke cracked by talk show host Conan O’Brien, who said while Hillary Clinton, Giuliani and Romney have already raised millions, Tancredo has raised two children.

“It’s David and Goliath, I know that,” he said. “But on the other hand, David won.”

He pointed to a listeners’ poll conducted by Laura Ingraham, a syndicated radio host. In it, Romney was leading the pack with 33 percent, and Giuliani and Tancredo were tied at 27 percent

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