Romney loses a key backer to Thompson

Boston Globe ^ | 5/26/2007 | Scott Helman

[Neville72]

Fred Thompson -- " Law & Order " star, former Tennessee senator, and likely late entry into the Republican presidential contest -- just poached one of Mitt Romney's key conservative supporters in Congress.

US Representative Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, who's been with Romney since January, announced today that she is jumping ship and will now back Thompson if he runs.

"Fred Thompson is a man of uncommon talent, character, and judgment," Blackburn said in a statement. "He is a proven statesman and public servant. He is the right person for these challenging times . . . . I sincerely hope that Fred Thompson will choose to seek the Republican nomination for President of the United States."

[libbylu]

I never heard of her, and I doubt she is a real campaign money maker/contributer. From Florida, I say “Big deal”.

[tabsternager]

What are the chances of a former Senator winning the general election?

According to history, not very good. Also, looks matter especially to swing voters, and Thompson looks old. His record in the Senate on immigration isn’t so good either.

I like Romney’s chances the best if he’s the nominee, and I think he’s at least as conservative as Thompson, if not more so.

[stopem]

"I never heard of her, and I doubt she is a real campaign money maker/contributer. From Florida, I say “Big deal”.

;) Could it be that TN has become the "hot state" to watch and would this idolatry for a non-candidate from that state be because another non-candidate from that state may be deciding if he will run again ?

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

Polls don't mean jack this early.

If Romney was smart, he'd offer his services to Thompson in exchange for a possible VP slot. He's not going to beat Fred outright.

[Unmarked Package]

"Marsha and Fred are both from Tennessee. No surprise."

Rep. Marsha Blackburn has an interest in holding a statewide elected office. If she has future plans in state politics, it's wise for her to stay with the native son candidate considering her longtime, personal friendship with F. Thompson and their common roots in Tennessee.

Jason Bonham at MyManMitt.com reported:

According to a very strong source in the [Romney] campaign, "She was getting a lot of state party pressure...She wants to run on a state-wide basis some day."

[ovrtaxt]

Does he have any kind of known history with the FairTax?

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

What are the chances of a former Senator winning the general election?

Doesn't matter. The 2008 Presidential race is unprecedented as the sitting VP is not running. The race is wide open. You got Congressmen, a Mayor, and a private citizen running for President. So "a Senator can't win" doesn't apply.

According to history, not very good.

Yeah, and "according to history" Bush was supposed to lose to John Kerry if the Redskins win before the election.

Also, looks matter especially to swing voters, and Thompson looks old.

Tell that to the women Thompson has dated.

His record in the Senate on immigration isn’t so good either.

He has a solid record on opposing immigration.

[Politicalmom]

Fredipedia: The Definitive Fred Thompson Reference

Please FReepmail jellybean if you want on/off this list. WARNING: This ping list is EXTREMELY active.

[tabsternager]

“He has a solid record on opposing immigration.”

He has a “C” rating.

[Politicalmom]

Lumping together legal and illegal immigration is dishonest.

[George W. Bush]

Some of you may have missed that recent interview where Thompson was checking the web during the interview (during the commercial break and probably a CSS feed on a Blackberry or such) and he mentioned that he could see that even as he was speaking, his opponents were criticizing and distorting his record by selectively quoting his past remarks.

He's a candidate. You don't call the rest of the filed "my opponents" is you aren't in the race.

Fred is looking to do a Howard Dean type of internet outreach and fundraising effort. Alone of the GOP field, he can pull it off.

Somewhere out there, there's an office full of geeks, coding up a sharp fredthompson.com website. At a minimum, it'll be RSS-enabled, have mailing lists, take donations. I would expect they'll organize by states and probably host chatrooms or IMing, perhaps with cellphone support. I wouldn't be surprised if they'll have a few people on staff just to post news releases and defend Thompson's record on the conservative websites like FreeRepublic.

Fred Thompson wants to be the Internet Candidate.

[Donald Rumsfeld Fan]

"Fred Thompson is a man of uncommon talent, character, and judgment," Blackburn said in a statement. "He is a proven statesman and public servant."

Marsha Blackburn, R Tenn.

[The Pack Knight]

Not to my knowledge, and I have looked. I’m fairly certain there was no Senate version of the FairTax bill for Thompson to cosponsor or remark upon while he was still there. I’ve been unable to find any mention from him about the FairTax, either support or opposition.

It, or some other tax reform, would fit in very well with the rest of his message. He speaks a great deal about government overreach and inefficiency, and is there any better example of that than the IRS?

So far, 6 of the 10 declared candidates have advocated significant tax reform. Hunter, Tancredo, and Huckabee are on record supporting the FairTax. Brownback and Tommy Thompson have taken the frankly lame position of supporting an “alternative flat tax” in addition to the current tax code, where, I gather, the taxpayer would fill out two returns and pay the lesser. Ron Paul, of course, wants to do away with nearly all federal taxation.

The rest seem content with tinkering with the current code, with some noises about cutting various brackets or instituting various credits. McCain is in favor of a “flatter, fairer tax” but not the flat tax or the FairTax.

[Unmarked Package]

The successful candidate will be the one with the ideas, leadership ability, character and ability to execute the plan. Many politicians have ideas but lack the experience, talent or drive to execute the plan.

The task of running for President is the most demanding and stressful job interview imaginable. To be successful, it requires near perfect execution in hundreds of complicated activities; many are public but most are behind the scenes.

Through his many successes in creating and turning around businesses, rescuing the 2002 Olympics, and as chief executive of Massachusetts, Gov. Romney has demonstrated repeatedly he is one of the most brilliant executive managers in the U.S. in the last 50 years. Romney can certainly build the right team and execute a plan to get the desired results.

Romney campaign advisors, some who have worked for other candidates now in the race, state unequivocally that Mitt Romney is the hardest working and most energetic candidate they have ever known.

With energy and the proven ability to execute a plan, I definitely like Gov. Romney’s chances in this race.

[WFTR]

Rep. Marsha Blackburn has an interest in holding a statewide elected office. If she has future plans in state politics, it's wise for her to stay with the native son candidate considering her longtime, personal friendship with F. Thompson and their common roots in Tennessee.

I had the same thought when I read the article. She needs to support Senator Thompson to remain viable to run for governor or to replace Lamar Alexander in the senate. (I also think that Romney/Alexander would be a stronger ticket than Romney/Thompson.) If Fred Thompson becomes president, I won't be surprised if Lamar Alexander ends up back in the cabinet at some level.

The headline of this blurb overplays the importance of this change. I don't know how Tennessee apportions delegates, but if Fred Thompson runs, no one else is going to get more than a few delegates from Tennessee. The fact that Marsha Blackburn originally supported Mitt Romney means that those who still don't trust Mr. Thompson because of things he did in the Senate may be influenced towards Mr. Romney because of her previous support. In terms of counting delegates for the nomination, this move means nothing.

Bill

[Principled]

Does he have any kind of known history with the FairTax?

Not that I'm aware of. I have looked into it only slightly and haven't found anything. I wish he knew the benefits of the fair tax and the benefits derived from the millions who support fair tax friendly pols. Let me know if you find anything out, ovrtaxt... I'll do the same -

~prince

[perfect_rovian_storm]

I think he’s at least as conservative as Thompson, if not more so.

LOL. He might be talking that way today. Yesterday: Not so much. Who knows about tomorrow?

Besides, he doesn't even have a prayer of winning his own home state, which is a slight hindrance when considering a run for the presidency.

[perfect_rovian_storm]

He has a “C” rating.

From a group that lumps legal and illegal immigration together to make the grade.

This kind of silly trolling just won't go over here.

[wardaddy]

Marsha Blackburn is my rep by one block...thank God....otherwise it wouild be foolio Cooper.

Marsha is a handsome lady and very very conservative

ACU high 90s....

[perfect_rovian_storm]

I also think that Romney/Alexander would be a stronger ticket than Romney/Thompson.

ROFL!! You Romney guys crack me up. That's the funniest line I've read in a while.