Posted on 09/17/2007 6:34:02 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
I have been touting Fred Thompson since January 2007, and it has been several months since I have written an article about him. Among other things, I have noted that Thompson antagonizes no one and would unite the Republican Party – no one really had anything bad to say about him in the New Hampshire debates, and the closest anyone came was John McCain, a close friend of Thompson. I have noted that Fred got the gay marriage issue precisely right – a constitutional amendment which does not require states to give full faith and credit to gay marriages is precisely the correct answer, even if his folksy way of stating it belied the intellect behind it. I have noted that Fred is exactly the right person to get Supreme Court nominees confirmed – did he not usher through Chief Justice Roberts? And I have observed that Fred Thompson has no skeletons in his closet or real "flip flops" on issues.
One other thing: Fred Thompson is an outsider. He left Washington in 2002. He has given up a career as a television star, the successor of Paul Harvey, and a film star after having left office voluntarily because he was sick of Washington. America, by the way, is sick of Washington too. To the surprise of everyone in the Beltway and no one outside the Beltway, Fred Thompson is now four percentage points ahead of Rudy Giuliani and leading the Republican pack. And Fred has just begun to campaign.
No conservative has a great a chance to win the Republican nomination as Thompson and for that reason, all of those Republicans unhappy with the choices prior to Thompson will gravitate to him. Expect, of course, the usual snipes at Thompson by pundits: he has no "fire in the belly" (his ambition is for America and not himself; he is "lazy" (six months ago he was starring in two television programs, making a movie, and sitting in for Paul Harvey); Fred is not a good on the ground campaigner (true – he is a great campaigner, as people will soon notice in New Hampshire and Iowa); Fred is not a good media communicator (The television persona of Arthur Branch in Law & Order? The backup voice of Paul Harvey? The role of POTUS in major motion pictures?); evangelicals, you know, the people who are close friends with so many Beltway pundits, "are uneasy" with Thompson (Mike Huckabee is the only Republican more naturally sympathetic to evangelicals than Thompson, and he will not win the nomination.) The sniping at Thompson is coming from those who do not like the fact that he refused to play by the rules of punditry and from those who have genuine disdain from people who have come from flyover country.
In the end, it will not matter. As conservatives gravitate around a man who is not only the only conservative who can win the nomination but also the only conservative who can beat Hillary, the whole flow of the presidential election will change. Pundits actually help Thompson by continuing to keep his expectation level low, so when he does win the next Republican debate, his stock will rise higher still.
Will Fred Thompson beat Hillary Clinton? Hillary is extremely unpopular, and Fred is liked by nearly everyone. Hillary purports to be the smartest woman in America, and Fred will prove a vastly superior debater because he actually is an outstanding actor and trial attorney. Hillary will not "draw" any votes that she does not already have, but Fred will prove a reassuring figure to moderates and a sympathetic figure to women voters. Hillary has flip-flopped on Iraq and the war on terror so many times that people have lost count, and yet Fred has been about as consistent on every issue as anyone could expect a senator to be. Hillary still seems to have scandals popping up – every during her campaign! – and Fred is as clean as a whistle (in fact, he built his career on convicting a corrupt Southern governor, a point he could slyly make more than once during the campaign.)
Likeability, integrity, wonderful voice, decades of excellent work in front of the camera, solid conservative credentials, inspiring life story, a unifying figure, a love of America instead of a lust for office – this is the Fred Thompson Story. At times it sounds like the Rodney Dangerfield Story, but not for long. Fred Thompson will not just get respect: he will earn it, as our next president.
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Bruce Walker has been a published author in print and in electronic media since 1990. He is a contributing editor to Enter Stage Right and a regular contributor to Conservative Truth, American Daily, Intellectual Conservative, Web Commentary, NewsByUs and Men's News Daily. His first book, Sinisterism: Secular Religion of the Lie by Outskirts Press was published in January 2006.
I’m voting for Thompson or whoever is running against Hillary.
Those are my two favorite candidates.
If George Will is a conservative, my cat is the Queen of Bulgaria.
I get the same feeling about Fred. And the something precious he sees needing protecting is the office of the Presidency. We need the President to be the Nations President once again.
Thompson and Hunter would be the Reagan/Bush of the 2000s. It would be the smart diplomatic pol and the military and strong defense candidates... Would be unstoppable IMHO
compared to the others of the MSM, he is. Then again, compared to the MSM rudy guiliani is president of the John Birch society...
G. Will is a product of the one way communication OLD media.
He does not survive in a two way communication environment.
When is the next Republican debate? I’m looking forward to him proving himself in a widely-watched forum. Maybe put to rest some of these recurring comments about his viability.
:-)
LLS
I think the next debate is Oct 12 or 21st. I am totally ready to see Fred blow them all away with passion and drive.. Viva Thompson.
“There’s only one thing I don’t like about Fred, and I’m hoping it’ll change, as I do want to be able to vote for him.”
Can you share?
It’s his (lack of) opinion on the Schiavo case. He’s got plenty of time to form one, though. Almost 14 months. He strikes me as a man of common sense so I’m hopeful.
I’d also like to hear how Fred feels about the Law of the Seas Treaty, aka LOST or UNCLOS. Googling turned up nothing.
Hey! Did you get a recorded message call from Fred this weekend? I did, and the live attendant actually listened to me.
I note that I’ve had letters from Mitt, Rudy and John McCain, all of whom invoked the great Reagan, but let’s face it: Fred’s the only one with a similar resume.
This sums up the election in a nutshell. Fred is the man.
What he said.
WHAT HE SAID
When is the next Republican debate?
Tonight but he is not going.
There is one tonight.
Thanks for sharing.
I believe he did say on this that it was a state issue and the Feds should have stayed out of it. Sorry, don’t have a link.
His issue on the Schiavo case is a classic federalism issue.
One — he’s very pro-life, and it is apparent the Florida courts dropped the ball.
Two — the federal government, as envisoned by the Founders, was a limited government -— dealt with other countries, military, borders, patents, monetary systems, intra-state roads, and not that much more -— and really shouldn’t have anything to do with issues like this.
It’s a connundrum -— and clearly wrong actions by Florida -— but federal top-down stuff is just the flip side of liberal top-down stuff. Both are wrong.
The entire situation was a disaster, and the focus needs to be on Florida fixing its broken courts and laws.
I got the call on Friday. Unfortunately I was just arriving at work and had to keep the call short. The campaign worker seemed relieved and excited when I told him I had been campaigning for Fred since January. As he was verifying my address, I pointed out my street name (Fred St.). He laughed and said, "You named a whole street for him!" LOL
I ended up being late for work. :(
I “know what ya mean, jellybean!” [couldn’t help it!]
I’m guessing you can’t make it to the breakfast in San Antonio? If you can, though, say the word and I’ll pick you up at the airport!
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