Tom Tancredo and the definition of conservatism

The American voter imagines that there are only two political philosophies. Pete Stark sits somewhere on the left and Jean Schmidt sits somewhere on the right and the rest of us fit somewhere on a continuum between them.

The truth is much messier. And nowhere is that more obvious than in the case of CD6 representative and 2008 presidential contender Tom Tancredo.

Tancredo is trying to position himself as a conservative. In The Denver Post, he was quoted as saying, "It appears to me that there is a void, which I think I can fill, (being) a true conservative with a conservative history."

But Tancredo's biggest fans are not the free-traders and religious fundamentalists that the average voter thinks of as conservative. Read what three prominent conservatives have written about him:

1. RedState questioned Tancredo's conservatism: A person with even modest social conservative convictions would simply not be funded by an organization whose activities are as repugnant as FAIR's."

2. Captain's Quarters derided Tancredo's aspirations: "Front runners in presidential politics usually get there by having a broad policy outlook and developing the kind of experience that lends credibility to their executive potential. Single-issue legislators rarely fare well when throwing their hats in the ring -- Bob Dornan springs to mind here -- and usually wind up as a laughingstock, and their issue marginalized. Tancredo's exploratory committee might want to take all of this into consideration before wasting political donations better used to help the eventual Republican nominee win the general election."

3. Robert Novak blamed Tancredo for Republican failures: "Although no more than 25 House Republicans follow Tancredo's rigid line, that is enough to obstruct a coherent Republican posture... In trouble on Iraq and federal spending, Republicans are being lured into a nativist posture that is political fool's gold."

The most passionate Tancredo backers are not Republicans the way that, say, George Will is a Republican. They're paleoconservatives, a school of the conservative movement that emphasizes family, cultural identity and a strong military. Things get blurry after this. Because it's easy for troubled souls to confuse "family, identity and strength" with "eugenics, race and violence." And that's how you get conflicts like the one RedState was writing about.

Over the last few days, Tancredo hasn't proved himself capable of winning over mainstream Republicans. He's hired a key Pat Buchanan supporter to run his campaign in New Hampshire. And despite his instance that he's popular in Iowa, the latest polls show him getting only 2% of the likely Republican primary vote. This might feel familiar to Tancredo. His 1998 election was the result of a five-way primary that he won with only 25.7% of the vote.

Maybe Tancredo's base isn't the GOP at all.

Over the past year, I've become convinced that a healthy percentage of the CD6 representative's support lies outside his party. I've personally heard anti-globalist Democrats sing his praises. Online, I've seen self-identified liberals post pro-Tancredo statements. It makes sense, in a way. After all, it's not just Republicans who feel uncertain about the future, insecure in their jobs, and scared of an increasingly multicultural country.

Let me put it another way. In the days before the 2006 election, Republican nominee Doug Lamborn in CD5 was pulling only 2% among Democrats. I will eat my computer if the same was true for Tancredo in CD6.