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.
Let’s see what’s going to happen. There will be plenty of chance for the candidates to discuss the issues. If Fred Thompson will be able to become better known and if you are right that he will attract moderates, then there should not be a problem passing Rudy in polls vs. Hillary and then I’ll vote for him.. If Thompson can’t get the message to the moderates out before the primaries, how will he do it for the general elections? I’ll watch and see.
I’ve been scanning through Fred Thompsons website and watched all his videos. I personally like Fred and think that he is the best GOP candidate. However, many people are not looking at his website. Many people are voting based on perception. The perception about Rudy is that he is “America’s Mayor” etc. etc. and many people will just vote for him based on that, without even knowing where he stands on the issues.. Many of the Libs will vote for Hillary because they liked Bill Clinton even though he and Hillary and completely different. It’s all about perception. Most of the voting population is NOT all that well informed (unfortunately). If people would be well informed and would vote based on the issues, no democrat should ever be elected...