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He's no Rudy or Mitt
By Michael Johnson
This document was published online on Wednesday, December 19, 2007
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A Republican presidential candidate will make a campaign stop in Cody on Thursday.
But don't feel bad if you've never heard of him.
Dr. Hugh Cort, a practicing psychiatrist from Mountain Brook, Ala., stumping on the campaign trail to become the next president, will meet and greet people at an informal event 7:30-10 a.m. Thursday in the Governor's Room of the Irma Hotel.
Cort is in Wyoming to attend a Big Horn County caucus in Greybull at 7 p.m. Thursday.
According to Carol Armstrong, newly elected president of the Park County Republican Women, Cort asked to meet with other Wyoming Republicans during his visit.
“I know nothing about him,” she said. “He asked for time with the Republican Women. Since he's a Republican, it behooves us to welcome him. We can't take a position as to who we support, but we can show him some Western hospitality and give him an opportunity to meet people.”
Armstrong, who also leads Shut Out of Yellowstone in the group's fight to keep the east gate open to winter use, is planning to take Cort on a snowmobile trip into the park before his appearance in Greybull.
“He wants to see Yellowstone by snowmobile,” she added. “We may not get too far into the park, but I'm sure he'll enjoy seeing it.”
Cort, a lifelong Republican, is a member of Physicians for Life and a member of the President's Club of the Republican National Committee.
Cort describes himself as a “Christian conservative who believes in traditional values.” He supports amendments to the U.S. Constitution banning abortion and stating that marriage is between a man and woman only.
But who is Cort and why is he visiting Wyoming?
“Wyoming is the second state to have its caucus behind Iowa, so it's important for us to hit those early states,” he says. “I've been to Iowa about 15 times and New Hampshire about six times, and we're getting to be well known in those states. We want to get to know these folks in the early caucus states.
“I'm not a politician, which is good in many ways,” he added. “If I can do well in these early states, we can get some national attention to our issues.”
Cort's main platform is fighting terrorism. He said he was “living a nice, happy life” until the Sept. 11 terror attacks and then decided he might be able to help.
“I'm a counter-terrorism expert,” he added. “I started doing some counter-terrorism research, attending conferences around the country and was introduced to experts in the field.”
He said he's uncovered plans by terrorists to detonate nuclear bombs in 10 cities and hopes people will listen to his plan to stop that from happening.
And, in an ad designed to get his message out and garner national attention, Cort has a spot running in the early caucus states depicting the Capitol being blown up by a nuclear bomb.
In the commercial, Cort is standing in front of the Capitol and says, “This is our nation's Capitol and it's a beautiful sight. If Osama bin Laden has his way, it won't be here anymore.” He goes on to explain how Bin Laden plans to explode nuclear devices.
He concludes by pointing toward the Capitol and saying, “I'm the only candidate who can prevent this.” The ad, which can also be seen on his Web site (www.cortforpresident.com) ends with the Capitol exploding.
“We're getting plenty of attention for it,” he adds.
Other hot-button issues Cort plans to talk about include immigration, abortion, gay marriage and the national budget.
“I'm in favor of building a border fence and staffing it adequately with guards,” he said. “We need to get the borders secured because many terrorists are coming through it, as well as illegal immigrants.
“I also want to balance the budget,” Cort said. “I've been really disgusted with Republicans when they were in charge of Congress. They spent like drunken sailors, except that drunken sailors spend their own money.”
Concerning his pro-life and pro-marriage stances, Cort already has his inaugural speech planned.
“The first words of my speech will be, ‘I hereby issue an executive order banning abortion and homosexual marriage,'” he said.
Cort said being an “unknown” is a constant fight. He hopes an upcoming appearance at a “Lesser Known Candidates” forum on C-SPAN later this week will help him close the gap on the other candidates.
“It's hard to run for president and get media attention,” he said. “I'm not a senator, congressman or governor, so people don't pay attention to me and I understand that. The other candidates have been those things and paid their dues. I don't have time to pay my dues because I know Osama bin Laden wants to blow up America.”
Cort has been campaigning since February and has appeared on local TV, but has yet to break onto the national scene as a serious candidate for president.
“Our TV ad should help,” he said. “The answer to getting known is campaigning. We'll be quite well known in Wyoming once we get there.”
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nishma from nepal wrote on Mar 25, 2008 9:15 AM:
I am really so thankful for the help you have extended to me during my exchange-student period in Montana....I am happy that u are still busy with yellow stone..The book "yellowstone in my mind" that u have given me is still very close to my heart...lots of warm regards..
Nishma from nepal "