Posted on 12/30/2007 10:57:43 PM PST by ellery
AMES, Iowa A more fired-up Fred Thompson said yesterday he needs to finish second in Iowa's caucuses this week, and he went on the attack, accusing Democratic leaders of having let their party be hijacked by liberal interest groups.
Campaigning heavily here over the past two weeks, Mr. Thompson has refined his message and yesterday released a 15-minute Web video laying out his qualifications and telling voters they need to pick a Republican nominee who is willing to call out Democratic leaders for abandoning their principles.
"They're all NEA, MoveOn.org, ACLU, Michael Moore Democrats," Mr. Thompson charges in the video, which is on his campaign Web site. "They've allowed these radicals to take control of the party and dictate their course."
He said that gives Republicans a chance to recapture independents and "good Democrats" who agree their party has been hijacked, but he said Republicans must choose someone capable of making that case.
The former Tennessee senator is in the middle of a two-week, 50-stop tour in Iowa trying to gain momentum as the polls show the race tightening. Former front-runner Mike Huckabee has slid back into a tie with Mitt Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, for the lead in Iowa, while polls show Mr. Thompson vying with Sen. John McCain of Arizona for third.
Mr. Thompson told reporters at a stop in Ames that he needs to finish second, though he refused to speculate what would happen if he doesn't meet that goal. Later, speaking to supporters in Webster City, he said, "People say, 'You'd be satisfied with a good third-place finish' No, no, no."
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
Later, speaking to supporters in Webster City, he said, "People say, 'You'd be satisfied with a good third-place finish' No, no, no."
BTTT
“People say, ‘You’d be satisfied with a good third-place finish’ No, no, no.” — setting aggressive goals ping!
If he drops out in defeat, I consider this election over, because the Democrats are going to win.
But...but....”He wants to be coronated without doing anything. Whine, whine, whine.”
Fredipedia: The Definitive Fred Thompson Reference
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That makes two of us.
:) I’ve been staying up late nights reading everything I can — and I can’t get a fix on this race either. I don’t think anyone has a clue what might happen — from what I’ve seen it’s the most wide-open, unpredictable race in years.
Snort. :)
I'm thinking the best thing is to read until I settle on a candidate, then just let the race drift past until it's my time to vote. The amount of energy expended in following this stuff is too high--when some "important" development happens that requires attention, we're told about it from every possible media source.
Just letting the squabbling and foolish predictions happen without my participation seems to be working out.
:))) That, my FRiend, is good to hear.
You’re a very wise person. I wish I could tear myself away!
Thompson's not resting on his laurels.Thompson finally decided to get up off his "laurels" after sitting on them for months. Too little, WAY too late.
Fred in ‘08
I cannot get a fix on how the race is going. I have no idea if Fred is gaining any traction.The answer is no, he's losing ground and will finish at least 4th behind McCain, possibly Giuliani and even Ron Paul.
Not if the nominee is McCain. He won't be everything we hoped for, but at least disaster will be avoided in Iraq and Hillary's plan to appoint Bill to the Supreme Court will be thwarted.
If he drops out in defeat, I consider this election over, because the Democrats are going to win.
I hope you’re right. I don’t have the curious hatred for McCain many here have. Not my choice, but not the devil. I just don’t see how he wins against HRC or Obama if the public is stupid enough to want to vote for them “because”.
Looking at history and all the conflicting indicators (and the complexity of a race with lots of candidates and many undecided voters), the only rational prediction right now is this: time will tell.
I believe that anyone who thinks s/he knows with any certainty what’s going to happen at this point is either engaging in wishful thinking or is attempting to create a false perception of inevitability for a candidate.
The fact is, it’s wide-open.
I’m not doing either (the FRed supporters who still refuse to face the fact that it’s over for him are though). I certainly know that I don’t have the power to create any kind of perception. In fact, it’s this understanding of my own complete powerlessness that is so frustrating. Otherwise I would just make Fred run the kind of campaign he ought to be so he can win.
I mean SERIOUSLY, look at this. Fred is the only high profile solid conservative across the board running for the REPUBLICAN nomination. He is the GOP’s dram candidate in every way, and yet he’s on the BOTTOM of a police-state RINO, a plastic pandering slickster, a religion exploiting fraud who’s in the wrong party altogether, and a moderate “maverick” with a few loose screws who’s already lost the nomination once before. And he’s trailing ALL OF THEM! You have to realize that something is seriously wrong here. And the answer is simple. Fred just doesn’t want it. He doesn’t want to work for it. It would be his if he had. We’re pulling our hair out here over why the Republican can’t gain any traction in the Republican race. This isn’t even the general election. And it it was, he’s such a piss poor lazy uninterested non-campaigner that he’d be doing EVEN WORSE. Which is exactly WHY he’s doing so poorly. No one wants to nominate the guy who essentially says “If Nominated, I Will Not Run!” And that is exactly what everyone is afraid of with Fred. His sense of entitlement to the nomination is what killed his chances of getting it. And we’re all left with a bunch of inferior choices because of it. Frankly, I’m mad as hell about it.
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