March 29, 2006
Meet John Cox
While waiting for Sen. Sam Brownback to speak at the War on Christians Conference in [the heart of Babylon] Washington today, we came across another presidential candidate who hopes he can seed his '08 aspirations among Christian conservatives.
John Cox has already been to Iowa. He went to New Hampshire, generating more coverage than Sen. Chuck Hagel. He already has an e-mail list. A campaign manager with an Alan Keyes pedigree. A website with comparisons to fellow IL'er Abe Lincoln. A platform. And even a base.
Who?
He was born and raised in Chicago, IL (on the South Side, to boot -- before the renaissance), the son of a letter carrier and a teacher. He made his money as a lawyer and a venture capitalist. He is somewhat well-known to Republicans in Chicago and even ran for Senate in 2002 -- he got a fifth of the vote in the GOP primary.
Craig Bergman is Cox's campaign manager. His opening argument, aimed at those who wonder, is that because Cook County has "more people than Iowa, South Carolina and New Hampshire combined," Cox is better known than, say, Tom Vilsack, Iowa's governor.
That's a base of 2 million, easy, he says. (Cook County has about 5.4 million residents; IA, NH and SC have at least 8 million between them.)
The strategy from here on out is conventional for an unconventional candidate. Bergman scours donor lists in early primary states on the web and Cox pays to send them postcards highlighting his next appearances.
He's headed to South Carolina next week. How is he planning? Bergman bends down behind a desk and pulls out a sheaf of paper. "Right here," he says, pointing to it. "We get the whole map from Mapquest and then I figure out the distances [between cities]. Then we say, "John would come to come to your town." And the invariable response is "who??" [With an extra question mark!]
That's an opening if Bergman ever saw one.
Cox is pro-life. ("The only candidate in the race who is totally pro-life," Bergman claims. He's an NRA member. He's against same-sex marriage and civil unions. He's against government regulation. On trade, he uses the "free and fair" formulation, which suggests he's a mite more protectionist than the conservative consensus.
So -- what distinguishes him from the field? "The rest of the field are career politicians," says Bergman. Cox spent a small part of his late twenties on a Glenview, IL school board. That's the extent of his elected experience.
Cox is on the conservative conference and caucus circuit. He was at CPAC in February; he's been to a dozen county caucuses in Iowa and will return there in April.
Bergman has a scoop: he says Cox will kick off his campaign officially on April 17 in front of the IRS building in Washington. There, he'll call for a complete abolition of the income tax. [MARC AMBINDER]
Posted at 10:30 AM
Comments
This guy is a loon to say the least.
The only time in the past 20 years the Cook County Recorder of Deeds race has ever been in the paper was Cox challenging Gene Moore. Cox spent his own money and promised to get rid of the office to save taxpayer money, calling it duplicative and wasteful (he actually had some decent arguments).
The result?
He got whooped:
Eugene "Gene" Moore DEM) 528,102 58.57%
John H. Cox (REP) 373,626 41.43%
He ran for congress in IL 10 in 2000 (lost), Senate in 02 (lost to friggin Jim Durkin) and now is running for president?
C-R-A-Z-Y
Tom B | 03.29.06 11:56 AM
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Let's see... you say John Cox getting 41% in Cook County is a bad thing? George Bush got 29% in Cook County. Durkin only got 37%. So Cox who does better than any other Republican running in IL is called "whooped" by your standard? You might be one of those 'children left behind'...
Joseph A | 04.11.06 10:23 PM
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Sounds like a solid conservative, who is also working very hard to me. Check this out from the Des Moines Register:
Candidate to bring God into politics
By JEFFREY PATCH
REGISTER STAFF WRITER
July 25, 2006
John Cox, an outsider candidate for the Republican nomination for president in 2008, told a church group at the Capitol in Des Moines that he wants to bring biblical principles back into politics.
Cox, who is Roman Catholic, spoke to about 10 members of the nondenominational Church on the Hill prayer group Monday afternoon.
"We have too many career politicians," said Cox, who owns five real estate and financial services businesses. "We have too many people who have gone into politics to make money."
Cox, 51, of Chicago bills himself as a fiscal conservative in favor of replacing the income tax with a sales tax, reducing the deficit and reforming the tax code.
He also calls himself a social conservative who is against abortion and same-sex marriage
"I was very, very impressed with him. He has my full support," Dee Rudy, a Des Moines Republican who attends Pentecostal Assembly of God Church, said after the service.
"I really appreciate the stand he made on marriage being for one man and one woman."
Since March, Cox has traveled to Iowa five times, New Hampshire four times and South Carolina four times to meet Republican party activists, he said.
"People need to know I'm serious about this, and I'm willing to put in the time and effort," Cox said. "This is not a publicity stunt or something to sell a book."
Cox has convinced volunteers in 25 Iowa counties to serve as county coordinators, he said, and he plans to have all 99 in place by the 2008 caucus season.
Patrick Anderson, Cox's central Iowa organizer, led the worship service Monday and played hymns on a keyboard.
"Government really is God's institution, but it hasn't been much of a trend lately," Anderson said. "We're taking our Christian convictions out of the pew into what we call civilian government."
One Iowan, Greg Forristall of Macedonia, sent Cox a $100 check in June, but Cox has yet to receive major donations from Iowans.
urbangop | 07.28.06 04:37 PM
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He's not going to be President.
name | 05.29.07 03:44 PM
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John Cox is a statesman that speaks well, has good solutions for our country, and in my sensible opinion, a worthy candidate to be the president of the United States. I'm tired of voting for candidates that say one thing and then turn 180 degrees away from their values and what they campaigned about once they're in office. I'm tired of having to vote for a candidate that may not be a bad as the rest!
John Cox is the candidate will need our die hard outrageous support to get him to Washington.
Gerri Wilmer | 09.22.07 10:50 AM
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I don't vote on the basis of who will win. This isn't a racetrack. Cox has my vote, primarily because every other Republican candidate is a sure loser, either on principles (Rudy has none) or in practice (McCain has sold out).
Denny | 09.28.07 04:55 PM
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