Run Fred Run!
Posted on 08/31/2007 10:20:33 AM PDT by Josh Painter
There has been no end to the speculation about why Fred Thompson has waited to officially announce that he will be a candidate for the Republican nomination for President in 2008. Many have opined that it all has to do with contract obligations to NBC for the "Law & Order" series in which he was a cast member. Sounds reasonable, but it's wrong.
Backers of some of former Sen. Thompson's opponents are saying that Fred picked September 6 over Sept. 5 so he could avoid the GOP presidential debate in New Hampshire. They say that Fred is "afraid" of facing his rivals, especially ____________________ (enter the name of your guy here). Not only wrong, but ridiculously so. If FDT is so fearful of that early September debate, then why will he participate in the one later that month (September 27 ) and all the GOP debates thereafter?
The common sense answer is that Fred's campaign hasn't been ready for him to enter the fray until now. The organization's inner circle has been shuffled to get the right people into the right positions, and state and local troops are still in the process of being organized. In addition, Fred has not been actively participating in politics since he left the Senate five years ago. He's a bit rusty, and FDT has been getting himself up to speed on all of the relevant issues and honing his debating skills. This answer makes a lot of sense and has some truth in it, but it still doesn't explain the chosen date. Why September 6, and not the 5th or the 4th?
The answer can be found in the arcane rules of the Federal Election Commission. By waiting until September 6 to formally declare his candidacy, Thompson won't have to disclose any campaign cash donations to Friends of Fred until January 31. By that date some important GOP preliminaries will be over and done with, including the caucuses in Iowa and Nevada, as well as primaries in New Hampshire, South Carolina, Michigan and Florida, the latter a state that Team Thompson has has identified as one of its most important targets.
We've seen what happened with Thompson's earlier disclosure that he raised $3.5 Million in his testing-the-waters campaign's first 26 days. Significantly, that amount is more than ten times greater than what Rudy Giuliani managed to raise in the first month of his campaign's exploratory phase, and it's more than all of the lower-tier GOP candidates were able to raise added together. And it was done without the benefit of using a direct mail campaign or phone trees. Only Mitt Romney raised more money in his first month, but he had the added advantage of being able to write his campaign a personal check for $850,000. Not only did Fred raise more than most of his opponents, he spent less, paying out only a bit over $625,000 from the haul.
But we heard none of this from the liberal media. All we heard from them was that the $3.5 Million Friends of Fred raised "failed to meet expectations." It's become a key part of their anti-Fred mantra. All because some of Fred's backers had mentioned a fundraising target of $5 Million.
And while Thompson was being dissed for raising "only" $3.5 Million, Democrat activists from the DNC down to the most obscure leftist blog were gleefully cheering on internet gadfly and liberal activist Lane Hudson, who filed a bogus complaint against Fred's organization with the Federal Election Commission. The Left, always wanting to have it both ways, ridiculed Fred for not raising enough money, but filed a complaint charging that he raised too much. It is more than significant to note here that one of the first hires by Fred's budding political group was no less of an expert on campaign law than Michael Toner, a former chairman of the FEC. Among his duties is giving Team Thompson advice on just what it can and cannot legally do during the testing-the-waters phase of the campaign. Smart. Very smart.
So perhaps now you can understand why Friends of Fred picked September 6, 2007, of all days, to make Fred's official announcement. It's the earliest possible date which allows Fred to get in the race, yet not have to disclose how much he raised in donations until the end of January. Having been burned by the media and the opposition, who turned his fundraising success story into a sad tale of disappointment, they are following the "Won't get fooled again" strategy.
Again, smart. Very smart.
He, and most of the country, who won't be bothering to watch, anyway.
Very good post, thanks.
I would like to remind everyone again, that neither FRed, nor anyone connected with his committee EVER stated a donation goal, let alone a goal of $5 million.
This was a media derived figure based on a conversation that said FRed is calling X number of supporters encouraging them to help raise X number of dollars each.
“I hope he’s as good as his supporters say he is”
Me too, but I do have a good feeling about the man. I will feel much better after he has endured what are sure to be the ugly first few weeks after he joins the fray.
No matter how well he does, the media is going to attack the performance.
If you don’t take the time to remove it the minor thing will bother you all day.
Well, a whole bunch of candidates put their socks on and rushed out the door without taking the extra time to have everything in proper order.
Some are starting to limp pretty bad and others are complaining that its not fair that Fred isn’t walking on an annoying wad of lint also.
He also said that he “isn’t ready to turn the keys to this country over to Hillary Clinton”.
That alone is reason enough for me to vote for him.
Before I donate to his campaign (or that of ANY candidate) I want to hear a plan to close the borders, continue the Bush tax policies, to REALLY cut the size of the federal government, to institute term limits at all federal levels and to finish Iraq with victory.
I stopped donating to the Republican Party when it became obvious that they were as bad as the RATs in wanting to become entrenched in office forever and would cut deals to help them do so.
I’d like to see him step in and clarify things as well. I guess we’ll see.
FredT isn't POTUS yet. That comes later. Right now he's just challenging conventional wisdom and testing the system like all good political candidates do.
Stop whining.
If Fred is the nominee I will vigorously support him. Unlike some on here, who say its their guy or no vote, which will only guarantee a Hillary victory.
Not quite. The Michigan primary will be Jan 15th and Romney’s native state. Fred will take Michigan IMO.
***********
He's a Romney supporter.
Fred Thompson Fred Thompson Fred Thompson Fred Thompson Fred Thompson Fred Thompson Fred Thompson Fred Thompson Fred Thompson Fred Thompson Fred Thompson Fred Thompson Fred Thompson Fred Thompson Fred Thompson Fred Thompson Fred Thompson Fred Thompson Fred Thompson Fred Thompson Fred Thompson Fred Thompson Fred Thompson Fred Thompson Fred Thompson Fred Thompson Fred Thompson Fred Thompson Fred Thompson Fred Thompson Fred Thompson Fred Thompson Fred Thompson Fred Thompson Fred Thompson Fred Thompson
Thanks, trisham.
Now I get his outburst.
FRedtastic news!! Both FRed and Hitlery seem to be “on fire”...albeit two different types of flames!!
GO FRED! I hope there’s a spot for my other two guys (Tanc and Hunter) in the FRedministration.
-this is the best speculation yet. LOL
Don’t like the bumper sticker. It reads like a nanny-state candidate.
He should try something more like “Victory and Freedom!”
You know that’s got to hurt right now.
The guy with “disappointing” fundrasing who ain’t in the race yet is almost doubling your boy in the polls despite the fact he has been at it since day one and has been spending cash like a drunken sailor...
That’s got to suck...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.