There’s no guarantee that there will be a 3rd candidate if Rugy gets the GOP nod. I hope that the GOP won’t self destruct if Rudy gets the nomination..
If you think that Thompson can attract larger amounts of moderates, I’ll ask you the same that I asked in my previous post: HOW?? What does he have to offer to the Moderates?
Look, personally I’d rather see a President Thompson than Giuliani BUT I’d rather see a President Giuliani than Clinton... Sure, it’s still a while until the primaries and a lot of things can happen. I’m a strategic voter and I’ll vote for whoever seems to have the best chance against Hillary at the time of the primaries. I’m in Florida and Florida is a early state, so I’ll have to make up my mind until January.. If Thompson will be ahead of Giuliani in matchups with Hillary, I will vote for Fred Thompson.. If Giuliani is ahead, I will vote for him. My number 1 priority is not to have a president Hillary Clinton!
If you won’t belive it, then so be it. However, mark my words, if Rudy becomes the nominee, there will be a third party candidate. And frankly, Rudy would lose even if there wasn’t.
How would Thompson attract moderates? Stop paying so much attention to FR and saying to yourself “These rightwing wingnuts like Fred, so he must be too far right to appeal to normal people.” (I’ll give you a clue: The wingnuts are the ones who spend all their time on FR attacking Fred from the right.) Educate yourself on Fred Thompson and you’ll see exactly how he will attract moderates. Watch his announcement video. Fred speaks to rank and file people. His appeal goes across party lines.
If you can’t find the time to watch the whole thing, just watch the first 2 minutes or so. When Fred says that he’s worked for minimum wage, that wins over so many people it’ll make your head spin.
Fred is a candidate of common sense. Remember when the GOP used to be the party of common sense?
Fred Thompson is a candidate of change. Not just change from Bush, but change from the Bush/Clinton/Bush/Clinton dynasties. The appeal to moderates of avoiding more of the partisan nastiness of electing another one of the Bush/Clintons will be huge.
Fred Thompson is a candidate that runs against the stupidity of Washington. He is doing this at a time when the people are FED UP with Washington’s BS. Congressional approval ratings have never been lower. Fred can use this anti-Washington sentiment to attract LARGE amounts of moderates.
Rudy represents the opposite. Rudy represents unprincipled ‘Republicanism’. He has no core values driving him. His appeal to moderates is what? That he’s pro-choice? I’ve got news for you. Rudy has been supported by and has given support to groups that even pro-choice people find icky and gross. Fred Thompson’s abortion position, which is pro-life/federalist is MUCH more appealing to the mainstream than Rudy’s abortion on demand.
People get so caught up in conventional wisdom that they find themselves unable to step back and look at the big picture. Things were close in 2000 and 2004 because George W Bush was a weak candidate. Bush’s use of religion on the stump, while popular with evangelicals, struck many moderate voters who would have normally voted Republican, as phony. Fred Thompson’s refusal to wear his religion on his sleeve, while still maintaining values that are in sync with the majority of religious voters makes him more appealing to more people. THAT is an example of appealing to moderates. Not some vague idiocy about abortion.
Your reasoning is extremely flawed here. If you help to nominate a surefire loser, you'll get exactly what you fear the most. Acting rashly in fear is a guaranteed way to make sure that your worst fears come true.
Count on it. If you give the 'traditional base' a SLAP-IN-THE-FACE by nominating someone who is 180 degrees out of sync with that base's long-held, core, bedrock principles and values, who do you think will happen?
Energy and enthusiasm for your candidate from your base is important, very important (turnout, volunteer time, etc).
Can you picture a wildly cheering enthusiastic 'base' on the convention floor passionately cheering the acceptance speech from a liberal, pro-abortion, gun-grabbing, pro-amnesty, pro-litigation, gay rights crusader who believes in federal funding for abortion, sanctuary cities and global warming???
I can't.
If you want elect Hillary by dividing the Party and demoralizing the base,,,,
a LIBERAL like Rudy is the RIGHT MAN AT THE RIGHT TIME!!