Who torpedoed Fred Thompson in Iowa?

Vanity | 27 August 2009 | Question

[TexasGunRunner]

Back during the 2008 Iowa Cacuses, a rumor was circulated the night before that Fred Thompson was going to pull out of the race.

During an interview the next day, Thompson said he knew who was behind it, but refused to discuss beyond saying it cost him "a couple of points".

I understand during the election, nobody was going to admit who did it, certainly not until after November. OK, November came, went, and now the socialist-in-chief has everybody distracted, so, I ask:

who did it?

[TexasGunRunner]

I'm looking for insider information here, not just wild speculation (although that could be fun).

Is it in any way tied to the "McCain campaign insiders" who provided lies and misinformation to Vanity Fair for the hit piece on Sarah Palin?

Is this person or persons guilty of any other intra-party/conservative movement dirty tricks and shananigans?

I want to know because life is much safer when you know who you enemies are before they strike.

Thanks,

[US Navy Vet]

Uhh Fred. He NEVER ran a REAL campaign.

[Gene Eric]

Fred was my pick, but unfortunately Fred did not share my enthusiasm.

[SierraWasp]

Who cares anymore? Talk about somebody just “cutting and running” from running!!! Phhhhhhhht!!!

[fso301]

Who torpedoed Fred Thompson in Iowa?

Safe to say Fred.

[rvoitier]

This is wild speculation!

I don't know for sure but sounds like something Romney would do. He's vicious and power-mad behind that pretty-boy smile.

[RushIsMyTeddyBear]

Fred was my guy. *sigh*

[lovecraft]

Yup Fred torpedoed Fred...

Nothing else to it...

[I see my hands]

Thompson: Purposeful disrupter.

[SE Mom]

It wasn’t the Democrats.

[Dixie Yooper]

Uhh Fred. He NEVER ran a REAL campaign.

I always thought he was too tired to start one. His voice always has a certain lack of enthusiasm and always made me feel like taking a nap.

[Toespi]

His wife.

[okie01]

Who torpedoed Fred Thompson in Iowa?

Fred, more than anybody else. He seemed unwilling to make the effort.

So far as your rumor is concerned, the smart money was on the Romney campaign.

[ansel12]

We can only guess at this point but Romney was the likely suspect at the time and still is.

[arthurus]

I hoped Mr. Thompson could do it but he never got his engines off idle.

[perfect_rovian_storm]

Romney and his loving sycophants both on the ground and in the media.

The media created the nonsense that he was lazy and wasn’t trying, when if you looked at his schedule, he was actually doing more than any of the others. Hell, he was doing more than McCain did in a lot of the GE campaign. The media meme about laziness stuck though. Even a lot of folks here bought into it, as you can see in the responses on this thread.

The Romney people were willing to do whatever they had to do to keep us divided enough for their guy to win. They saw Fred as a huge threat. They threw everything at the wall and the lazy thing is what stuck.

Tis a shame, but it’s all in the past now.

Queue Romney apologists in 3...2...1...

[Paperdoll]

As I recall FDT pulled out of the Presidential racd exactly three days after DLH did. Imagine that!

[wiggen]

look at how McCains people went after Palin after the election. They were just as capable although for all his other faults i don’t believe McCain himself would condone it.

[bassfishing]

“I don’t know for sure but sounds like something Romney would do. He’s vicious and power-mad behind that pretty-boy smile. “

I think it was you.

Hate will get you nowhere.

[TexasGunRunner]

SIGH...this is why FR can be so exasperating at times...

Look, this isn’t about Fred. Yes, he ran a poor campaign, blah, blah, blah... that’s not the point.

As I said in my question, there was a rumor spread around the night before the caucus that he was going to quit. He didn’t start the rumor, somebody else did.

I would like to know who.

Why? ...because (again as I stated above), I’d really like to know who my enemies are and dirty tricks like that suggest other serious character flaws.

Was it Romney, Huckabee, McCain, somebody in their camps, the candidates themselves, somebody else with an axe to grind against Fred...

Given the “insider trashing” of Sarah Palin, I am also curious if it is the same people. Again, I’d like to know.

While they can’t be discussed at the time, we can safely discuss them now.

[svcw]

Speculation - same group that tried to destroy Gov Palin. (Not JM)

[TexasGunRunner]

OK, that makes sense and jives with popular media tale being pushed...it also jives with the “insider” attacks on Palin coming from former Romney supporters in the McCain campaign.

Other then pretty good reasoning, are you privy to anything to independently support this theory?

Thanks,

[Nuc1]

I agree with you. Further, after McCain clenched the nomination, Fred's web site had Mission Accomplished plastered on it. Fred ran to guard McCain from conservatives. All the empirical evidence points that way. Making it is hard to conclude otherwise.

[azcap]

I don’t think Romney or Huckabee had anything to do with Fred quitting. I imagine they just looked at Fred and said “Wow, that is all he’s got?” Fred was my man. I waited and waited for him to get in the race - and after he finally announced I waited and awaited for him to get in the race. Fred, God Bless him, was the Al Capone’s Vault of presidential candidates.

[McGruff]

Yes maybe Fred did get into the race too late but when do you start? 1, 2, 3, 4 years before the Iowa Caucus? Do you move to Iowa and praise the wonders of Ethanol for a year?

Once Fred did get into the race he spent every minute touring the state. As soon as that was over he got on the bus to South Carolina and spent every minute campaigning there. In the debates he questioned Global Warming while the others didn't until he spoke up. So spare me the lazy talking point. Try to think on your own.

If you want to fix something fix the way our candidate is selected. By the time you get to the Republican only primary states the MSM has already picked our candidate. If the RNC pulls the same crap next time they can stick their RINO where the sun don't shine. I'm writing in who I want. I voted for the biggest RINO of all. I won't again. Maybe I'll write in Fred if Palin isn't on the ballot.

[MARTIAL MONK]

Fwed is fixin’ to surge.

[US Navy Vet]

Let’s face it the GOP by in large in 2008 ran a SHITTY campaign from start to finish(Iowa, NH to election day) Sarah was the ONLY bright spot. We definatly ran our scrubs and Second teamers. Bush’s unpopularity did not help either.

[American_Centurion]

Speculation - same group that tried to destroy Gov Palin. (Not JM)

Makes perfect sense. They have a penchant for going after REAL conservatives.

[abb]

Fred ran to guard McCain from conservatives. All the empirical evidence points that way. Making it is hard to conclude otherwise.

That is precisely what took place.

[Dixie Yooper]

With all the dirty tricks that came out of Obama and Hillary's camps, I wouldn't be surprised if one of them did it just to further water down the opposition party's pitiful pool of candidates. Then there's the wonderful media, always ready to make news when there isn't any...

[MilspecRob]

Thompson did.

[TexasGunRunner]

OK, so Duncan Hunter (an awesome person who I admire greatly) stayed in the race too long. What does that have to do with the question?

I’m sure you’re not accusing Hunter of sabotaging Thompson, perhaps you are trying to imply Thompson sabotaged Hunter?

Whatever, I can’t guess what you meant...how about just writing it out directly. I promise not to repeat any of it at your senate confirmation hearings.

[Kakaze]

By the time you get to the Republican only primary states the MSM has already picked our candidate.

Happened to me too,my primary vote had no affect on the presidential election.

If the party wants support, especially money,they had better find a way to make these primaries closed or on the same day.

[TexasGunRunner]

I doubt that...some of Fred’s best zingers and philosophical outakes were directly at McCain.

Whatever, he didn’t start the rumor.

[Charles Martel]

Speculation - same group that tried to destroy Gov Palin. (Not JM)

IMO, that's a very good speculation. Thompson would've been extremely hesitant to say anything which would hurt McCain's chances. Had it been Romney, Giuliani or Huckabee, or anyone involved with them, I think Fred would've called them out.

[Fiji Hill]

The GOP lineup for 2008 amounted to a bunch of has-beens and never-will-bes. Let’s hope they don’t make that same mistake in 2012.

[WillVoteForFood]

Unfortunately, Thompson put a bullet in his own campaign. He never really seemed to want it and I got the sense his wife was really the one who wanted him to be POTUS.

[TexasGunRunner]

Dude, did you even bother to read the post?

This isn’t about his quitting. This was about the rumor he was going to quit.

If you, being the big fan you were, remember, he went on to South Carolina.

Why is it so difficult for people to read a sentence or two?

[Choose Ye This Day]

That’s a good way of putting it. That sums up my feelings perfectly.

[TexasGunRunner]

Great...I agree with everything you just wrote...it was beautiful

...BUT do you know WHO PLAYED THE FRIGGIN DIRTY TRICK ON HIM in Iowa!!!!!!!!!!!!!

arrrrgghghhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[DannyTN]

My first speculation would be Romney, his campaign torpoedoed Huckaby with false allegations after Huckaby won Iowa.

It would be consistent if they thought Fred was a formidable candidate to torpoedoe him with falsehoods as well.

[Alex Murphy]

"I am not consumed by personal ambition. I will not be devastated if I don't do it. I'm not particularly interested in running for president."

- Fred Thompson, 12/29/2007

...and the Iowa Caucus took place just five days later, on January 3, 2008.

[ReagansRaiders]

Romney has never had a problem with torpedoing fellow GOPers. Just look at what he did to Steve Forbes in 1996.

Gee, doesn't that language echo the type of class warfare arguments that Ted Kennedy et al. were so good at employing? Never trust Mitt Romney.

[perfect_rovian_storm]

No, sorry. Just my opinion from observing the action over time.

[stainlessbanner]

Fred’s talk show is good for naps, too

[TexasGunRunner]

Is there anybody on Free Republic that can read? Please. I asked a simple and very specific question about a very specific event. I'm crying here...I just want to know who played the dirty trick...not whether he was a canard (I seriously doubt he was), not statements about GOP ineptness, nothing about his timing...this ISN'T FRIGGIN ABOUT FRED...it is about the person or persons who spread a false rumor the day before the Iowa caucuses. That person is a dirty rat b@$+@rd and I want to know who they are. Thanks,

[Tolsti2]

I dunno why, but I really liked Fred. I was hoping to vote for him in the primary, but he was basically out by the time Texas got to vote.

[Choose Ye This Day]

SIGH...this is why FR can be so exasperating at times...

You are looking for insider information on who did what to whom.

Problem is, you’re asking a bunch of folks on an anonymous internet board. We’re pretty much all, by definition, OUTSIDERS.

All you’re going to get is theories, guesses, and suppositions based on previous biases.

I’m not saying you have no right to ask the question. I’m just saying you shouldn’t be surprised or annoyed by the answers you get.

[TexasGunRunner]

Again, not what I am talking about.

The night before the Politico and several other MSM reporters said they were told Fred was going to formally withdraw from the race. Obviously he didn’t and even enjoyed a (very slight) bump in South Carolina.

Perhaps I dreamed it...obviously nobody really knows.

[Choose Ye This Day]

SOMEONE somewhere knows.

But I highly doubt anyone HERE knows.

It’s one thing to ask good questions. It’s another thing to ask them of the right people.