Minuteman leaders give support to Paul
By JASON PULLIAM • REGISTER STAFF WRITER • December 28, 2007

Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul Thursday picked up endorsements from several individual leaders of the Iowa Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, an anti-illegal immigration group.

Ron Duncan, the deputy director of the group's Iowa chapter, and Mark Land, Taylor County Minuteman leader, each offered the Texas congressman their personal endorsements.

Craig Halverson, director of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps Iowa chapter, said the group as a whole will not endorse a candidate, but its members are free to support candidates as private citizens.

"As a citizen, I kind of lean towards Ron Paul, but I don't really want to jump out there too strongly because of my position," Halverson said.

Halverson added that the bulk of another Iowa grassroots group, Citizens for Tom Tancredo, has also backed Paul.

Tancredo dropped out of the race last week and endorsed former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. Tancredo's former Iowa campaign chairman, Bill Salier, endorsed Sen. Fred Thompson's bid for the Republican nomination the day after Tancredo withdrew.

Illegal immigration has ranked among the top presidential campaign issues for Republican voters, according to a recent poll from Rasmussen Reports.

Halverson declined to provide the membership numbers of Tancredo's citizens group or the Iowa Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, but described the state's Minuteman branch as one of the nation's fastest-growing chapters.

Paul predicted attracting support from more voters concerned about the immigration issue and agreed with the Minuteman position that insecure borders and illegal immigration threaten U.S. sovereignty.

"National sovereignty to me is very important because our rights come from our Constitution," he said. "If we undermine our own government, we undermine our individual rights. I see this as very important (to) defend our freedoms."

Reporter Jason Pulliam can be reached at (515) 284-8214 or jpulliam@dmreg.com
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