Radio talk show host and blogger extraordinaire Hugh Hewitt gave a speech to a very large and enthusiastic crowd at the Radisson Hotel in Aurora, Colorado last night. Hugh urged the Republican crowd to work harder than ever this year in order to prevent Democrats from taking control of the legislative branch in this fall's elections.
One of the most interesting things Hugh did with the crowd was to take a straw poll of their preferences regarding Republican presidential candidates. He only gave the crowd five choices: Romney, Frist, Giuliani, McCain, and Allen. Virginia Senator George Allen was the runaway favorite in this crowd, probably because he is strong on all of the issues that these particular Coloradans hold dear. Giuliani was next, and Frist and Romney seemed pretty even in the show of hands vote. McCain was far and away the least popular. One woman was upset that Hugh did not include Newt Gingrich. Hugh said Newt has no chance, because he has been too outspoken, and had put his views down in written form for a very long time. My own favorite candidate would have been Condi Rice. Hugh said that he believes that Dr. Rice realizes that running for President would be a very difficult way to initiate a person's first run for elected office. I still believe she would be capable of meeting the challenge. Another person was really pissed that Hugh did not include Dick Cheney. Hugh said he has been a guest in the Cheney home, that he formerly worked as chief counsel for Mrs. Cheney, and that he knew that the Cheneys no longer wished to serve in public office after they complete their current term.
Hugh revealed that he is writing a book to be titled, Mitt Romney, A Mormon in the White House? He wants to know if voters would vote against Romney just because he is a Mormon. He said Romney seems like a great candidate. He believes Romney is very bright. He likes the way Romney is taking on the challenge of "Big Dig." Hugh's point is that we should elect whomever is the best candidate, without regard to his or her religious preference. Hugh said he would support whomever the party nominated.
Hugh urged the crowd to come together and support the Republican candidate, even if it is McCain. That comment produced some groans in response from the audience. However, Hugh warned people not to limit themselves to one or two issues. Strong defense, a reverence for life, stopping illegal immigration, gun rights, and reigning in government spending were some of the issues that seemed important to this crowd. But Hewitt warned that we may not get a candidate who is good on all of these issues. Hugh, like myself, believes that the most important priority is to find a candidate who is strong on national defense. We may get someone who is strong on national defense, but not so strong on one or more of those other issues. Hugh asked how many in the crowd had walked a precinct. Many had. He reminded the audience that "this is entertainment; the real impact can best be made by people willing to do the hard work of walking a precinct."
Hugh said he worries most about the threat from the Chinese, and he urged the crowd to read a book written by Jed Babbin on the Chinese threat. He said that the Chinese are very likely to make a move for Taiwan. Second would be the threat from Islamofacists. Third would be the Russians, who are seeing a resurgence of the KGB. Hugh, though, said we must remain allies with Russia in the war on Islamic terror, because the Russians face an Islamic threat in Chechnya. Hugh said he lies awake at night worrying about those threats, in the above-mentioned order, then falls asleep.
There were other issues that were important to the audience. For example, one person drew a huge applause when he said we could better spend elsewhere the nearly one and one-half billion dollars we give to prop up the enemies of the U.S. who seem to be in charge at the United Nations. Hugh agreed, but reminded the crowd to"keep your friends close, but keep your enemies closer." Hugh seemed to think it would even be possible some day to make the United Nations actually become an effective force for good in the world!
One woman asked if it were possible to do anything any more that might be considered treasonous. Hugh said yes, unless you happen to be employed by either the New York Times or the Los Angeles Times. That got a huge roar from the crowd. Hugh urged the people in attendance to write to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and ask that the Justice Department find and prosecute the leaker(s) of our nation's secrets to those two financially struggling members of the old media. Why didn't Congress name the two newspapers in its recent resolution against revealing national secrets? Because the politicians are afraid of them! They either have something they do not want disclosed about themselves personally, or they have a family member who does, and they worry about the power of the vicious press to embarrass or destroy that person. How sad and scary is that?
It was clear that Mr. Hewitt was very popular with this group of Coloradans. In fact, he said his ratings are higher in Colorado than anywhere else his program is aired. He attributed that fact to the long time success of a Denver talk radio show hosted by Mike Rosen. He said that because of Rosen, Coloradans respond favorably to "smart" talk radio. One person asked Hugh if he would ever consider being a candidate for public office. Hugh said that if it were up to him he might, but that because of objections from "the fetching Mrs. Hewitt," and the fact that, like Newt Gingrich, he has a long record of publishing his opinions, he would not.
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