http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewPolitics.asp?Page=/Politics/archive/200706/POL20070605a.html
flip-flop alert
“How conservative is Fred Thompson?”
He’s the most conservative (soon-to-be) candidate with a shot at winning the nomination, and then the White House.
So I’d say he’s conservative enough.
How conservative is Fred Thompson?
Everything is relative...............
.........he may be considered by some to be pretty conservative for a professional lobbyist and a hollywood actor...................
bttt
I believe Thompson has alot of positives, he is a Southerner, and considering our opponent is going to be Edwards, we also need a son of the south on board.
I’m not so sure Thompson is the right guy though, based on the fact that he’s never been a governor. Being a Senator is different from holding an executive position. My personal contention is go with a southern governor. As far as Huckabee is concerned, he’s just a bit too Baptist for a national audience, and there is an issue regarding the fact that he pardoned a rapist who later went out and committed another crime. The states in the South with Republican governors are: Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, Florida, Texas and Mississippi.
Now, of these, the governor of Florida has been in office for all of 6 months, so he’s out. The governor of Missisippi is personally an attractive choice to me because of his Katrina work, but honestly, at this point in time, Mississippi can’t afford a change in leadership. South Carolina’s governor has shown no interest in it, and he has apparently done things to run afoul of the leadership of the state, meaning, alot of people would work to see him defeated.
So of these, you have two good state based candidates for the presidency, Governor of Georgia and Governor of Alabama. The governor of Georgia was elected on a promise to allow a vote on the 1956 flag, which he reneged on. However, he managed to survive outrage over that and win re-election. While this issue would hurt him some in Southern primaries, it would actually help him in Northern primaries, and in a general election, it would certainly help him by not being a stereotype. Also, from everything I have seen, he has governed in a conservative manner. Governors of Georgia also have a benefit in the Atlanta business community, which would desperately love for another Georgian to go to the White House because they would bring Georgians with them.
The Governor of Alabama would be another choice. His approval ratings were in the upper 20s throughout most of 2005 and yet he managed to come back, and defeat Roy Moore in the primary by a 2 to 1 margin, and then keep the governors office against his Democratic opponent. In doing this, he got the endorsement of every paper in the state, and for better or worse, is the first governor we have had to truly articulate a vision of running the state opposite of the Folsom-Wallace ideal. The main problem with him though is, looking out towards 2010, the statewide office picture seems to favor the Democrats. They are almost guaranteed to win the Lt. Governor’s office if Sparks runs, and if the establishment coalesces around Folsom early, that means the primary battle will be a primarily Republican one. If the governor was actually elected President, it pretty much ensures that we probably have a Democratic governor in 2011.
I’d feel better about Thompson if he had been a governor, but I think along with the governors of AL and GA, he presents the best chance to win the White House against John Edwards.
Thompson is the most conservative electable candidate, and he has my support unless he does something really stupid.
How conservative compared to whom... There are always warts, just look at what Bush is up to these days.
This article is outright contortionist. Most painfully convoluted spinning I’ve read in a long time.
He’s more conservative than Guiliani, although that ain’t a hard mark to top.