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Thompson has 'right' stuff vs. Hillary, say conservatives
NY Daily News ^ | September 02 2007 | THOMAS M. DeFRANK

Posted on 09/02/2007 8:34:49 AM PDT by knighthawk

WASHINGTON - Conservative Republicans disenchanted with their presidential options dream that Fred Dalton Thompson is the Great Right Hope for 2008.

Fans of the 65-year-old actor and former Tennessee senator call him a Southern-fried Ronald Reagan clone with impressive name recognition and a folksy appeal who can unite the party - and beat Hillary Clinton.

It won't be a cakewalk for Thompson, who, after several false starts, will launch his candidacy Thursday via his I'mWithFred Web site. He's starting unusually late, has had trouble raising cash and has been soporific in recent testing-the-water outings.

"The wow factor is gone," a Republican operative who isn't supporting any candidate said. "His window of opportunity may have closed."

Yet a GOP mandarin and Bush official who's also neutral thinks Thompson's the winning formula for the party - and for a country craving plain-spoken leadership.

"He's the best bet for us," the official told the Daily News. "He's ideologically and culturally suited to our base, and he's been away from Washington long enough that he's not perceived as part of the mess."

The possibility that Thompson might run instantly catapulted him past John McCain and Mitt Romney in the GOP rankings, behind Rudy Giuliani. That's a good tipoff that many Republicans are uneasy about the rest of the field and willing to give Thompson a serious look.

"The best thing going for him is he's not McCain, Romney or Giuliani," a former White House aide noted.

Thompson is seen by many GOP strategists as a particular threat to Giuliani. Like Rudy, he exudes star quality because of his movie and television roles. His orthodox conservatism attracts party activists fearful Giuliani is soft on social issues.

"Thompson is an authentic, credible conservative," said Curt Smith, a former speechwriter for former President George H.W. Bush. "Giuliani is not."

The lanky, slow-talking actor-pol who played District Attorney Arthur Branch on "Law & Order" supports the Iraq war and opposes abortion and gun control. He wants a smaller federal government and says vice presidential aide Lewis (Scooter) Libby should be pardoned.

Like Reagan, Thompson couches his red-meat ideology in soothing, crowd-pleasing homilies.

"How do people follow when people don't have any confidence in what is said and who is saying it?" he likes to say. Another favorite: "I'm tired of people feeling like they've got to apologize for America."

Aides say that's not just rhetorical fluff. Thompson believes the leadership void in Washington has reached critical mass, and he is determined to overhaul Social Security, Medicare and other cherished entitlement programs.

"For the first time in our history, we have a government that can't do all the basic things we expect our government to do," he says. Backers call Thompson's belated entry a genuine draft and argue his late start can be overcome by his down-home populism and personal magnetism.

"We have a guy with a message that resonates, which is why he'll surprise," a senior adviser said.

tdefrank@nydailynews.com


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Extended News; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; US: Alabama; US: District of Columbia; US: Tennessee; US: Virginia
KEYWORDS: 2008; conservatism; conservatives; electionpresident; elections; fred; fredthompson; gop; hillary; johnmccain; mittromney; republicans; rinorudy; rudygiuliani; rudymcromney; southernstrategy; thebase; thompson; whitehouse
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1 posted on 09/02/2007 8:34:50 AM PDT by knighthawk
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To: MizSterious; Nix 2; green lantern; BeOSUser; Brad's Gramma; dreadme; Turk2; keri; ...

Ping


2 posted on 09/02/2007 8:35:08 AM PDT by knighthawk (We will always remember We will always be proud We will always be prepared so we may always be free)
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To: knighthawk
Not just "conservatives"...

Reagan 'Rats are gonna love this guy....

3 posted on 09/02/2007 8:36:31 AM PDT by mewzilla (Property must be secured or liberty cannot exist. John Adams)
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To: knighthawk

Don’t worry about money. Once Fred announces the floodgates will open.


4 posted on 09/02/2007 8:38:02 AM PDT by vietvet67
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To: knighthawk

our present government is interested in one thing handing our sovereignty away to the highest bidder. ( or maybe whoever is willing to come take it off their hands. )


5 posted on 09/02/2007 8:38:19 AM PDT by television is just wrong (deport all illegal aliens NOW. Put all AMERICANS TO WORK FIRST. END WELFARE.i)
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To: knighthawk

Romney.


6 posted on 09/02/2007 8:41:09 AM PDT by claudiustg (You know it. I know it.)
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To: knighthawk

if she was running against Big Bird, Hillary still would not have the right stuff...


7 posted on 09/02/2007 8:44:35 AM PDT by television is just wrong (deport all illegal aliens NOW. Put all AMERICANS TO WORK FIRST. END WELFARE.i)
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To: knighthawk

if she was running against Big Bird, Hillary still would not have the right stuff...


8 posted on 09/02/2007 8:44:45 AM PDT by television is just wrong (deport all illegal aliens NOW. Put all AMERICANS TO WORK FIRST. END WELFARE.)
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To: knighthawk
"His window of opportunity may have closed."

Looks like my County pretty well shows support for Fred!
Poll last week for Sussex County, Delaware:

Fred Thompson 48%
Rudy Giuliani 14%
Mitt Romney 10%
Mike Huckabee 7%
John McCain 5%
Newt Gingrich 4%
Ron Paul 4%
Tom Tancredo 4%
Sam Brownback 1%
Chuck Hagel 1%
Duncan Hunter 1%
Tommy Thompson <1%
Tom Coburn <1%
Jim Gilmore <1%
George Pataki <1%


9 posted on 09/02/2007 8:45:46 AM PDT by DelaWhere (I'm with Fred!)
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To: DelaWhere

He makes you have a log-in????? Why? No other website insists on having our personal information.


10 posted on 09/02/2007 8:50:21 AM PDT by napscoordinator
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To: knighthawk
“"The wow factor is gone," a Republican operative who isn't supporting any candidate said...”

Scott Thomas Beauchamp

11 posted on 09/02/2007 8:52:39 AM PDT by johnny7 ("But that one on the far left... he had crazy eyes")
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To: knighthawk; Sturm Ruger
Here's a link to an excellent article detailing Fred's stand on various issues. It was posted earlier today by Sturm Ruger.

FRed BUMP!

12 posted on 09/02/2007 8:56:36 AM PDT by upchuck (Today there are 10,000 more illegal aliens in yer country than there were yesterday. 10,000! THINK!)
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To: knighthawk

I hope Fred lives up to the hype. All of the declared frontrunners have lost me. Right now I’m a Tancredo guy, but would love someone more viable.


13 posted on 09/02/2007 9:03:57 AM PDT by COgamer
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To: napscoordinator

Try this:

http://www.imwithfred.com/Events/public/findevents_nonmembers.aspx


14 posted on 09/02/2007 9:23:00 AM PDT by LibFreeOrDie (L'Chaim!)
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To: napscoordinator

I read articles on the site without logging in...


15 posted on 09/02/2007 9:25:19 AM PDT by gcruse (...now I have to feed the dog as if nothing has happened.)
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To: napscoordinator

Yep, Asks you to log in.... Guess it helps keep those those who are not upfront and open supporters out.


16 posted on 09/02/2007 9:27:43 AM PDT by DelaWhere (I'm with Fred!)
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To: knighthawk

“It won’t be a cakewalk for Thompson, who, after several false starts, will launch his candidacy Thursday”

False starts my shiny hiney, the only group predicting an earlier entry were the Press and his opponents and his staff shuffling is one of the MAIN reasons to have a testing the water phase. Everything is proceeding according to plan.


17 posted on 09/02/2007 10:09:39 AM PDT by traderrob6
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To: knighthawk
Bump! Go Fred Go!


PRESIDENTIAL MATERIAL.... for sure!


18 posted on 09/02/2007 10:22:40 AM PDT by W04Man (I'm Now With Fred http://Vets4Fred.net)
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To: knighthawk

He could run as a common sense Washington outsider with Ronald Reagan-class communications skills, Thompson’s name recognition is still limited, but his celebrity means his face recognition is unusually high and very favorable.

“He’d have instant credibility within the party and would be a very formidable candidate against any Democrat in November,” said former U.S. Sen. and Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham. “He has a very solid conservative record, but like Reagan, he has been able to charm many who may not agree with him on every issue.”

Bob Beckel, who managed 1984 Democratic nominee Walter Mondale’s campaign, called Thompson potentially a Democratic electoral nightmare because of his communications skills and ability to appeal to swing voters.

Thompson’s candidacy is intriguing to some because of his potential to appeal to independents and moderate Democrats, like McCain? and Giuliani. But unlike they, his background and charisma could fire up the GOP base, which is searching for a champion.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2007/03/thompson_could_fill_the_missin.html

*

Which is more likely, that the extremely polarizing Hillary can appeal to red state NASCAR dads, or that TV and movie star Thompson — with his deep voice and folksy, reassuring, Reagan-like manner — can woo the ever-anxious, blue state soccer moms? Let’s face it; the man is a 6’5 tower of walking gravitas...

http://www.intellectualconservative.com/2007/03/22/fredheads

*

Democrats who dismiss Thompson as an “actor” are being foolish. He is a great campaigner, winning two Senate elections by more than twenty points, is seen as a straight talker who thinks for himself, anti-corruption, for campaign finance reform, strong on national security, fiscally conservative, a self-made rich guy who likes guns and hates the malfunctioning federal government we have today. Democrats had better think long and hard on who will be running against Fred Thompson in 2008 when picking a nominee.

Thompson has said if he enters the race it will be because the current Republican field is unsatisfactory, and it is, but the Democratic field has nobody who can run against Fred Thompson and win for sure.

http://www.moderatingthemadness.com/2007/03/watch_the_independent_voters.html

*

Fan blogs for “Law and Order” note that since the show is especially popular among women, a Thompson race could help close the GOP’s “gender gap.” The most pithy comment is from Craig Hammond, a former mayor of Bluefield, W.Va. He told the Bluefield News: “He’s the tall timber we’ve been waiting for. He’s the total package. He can hold the red states and pick up a few blue ones along the way.”

http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110009798


19 posted on 09/02/2007 10:26:59 AM PDT by Josh Painter ( "Frankly it [all the criticism] makes us more resolute." - former Sen. Fred Thompson)
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To: Sturm Ruger

Fred bump.


20 posted on 09/02/2007 10:29:41 AM PDT by trisham (Zen is not easy. It takes effort to attain nothingness. And then what do you have? Bupkis.)
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