Thompson picks up Iowa endorsement

Quad City Times ^ | 12/21/2007 | Charlotte Eby

[Conservativegreatgrandma]

I don’t understand what you’re implying but there is not greater man of integrity than Bill Salier. Bill Salier’s endorsement alone is not going to create great new numbers of vote for Fred at the caucus because endorsements in general do not have that king of effect. But, I do believe Salier will have the effect of pushing some of those on the fence over the edge to Fred. Salier is not an ordinary man.

[Conservativegreatgrandma]

Maybe Tancredo did it to hope to boost Romney over Huckabee. Just strange. That is my thought, as well. It would make sense for Tancredo to do this if he thought it might keep Huck from winning the caucus because he is the weakest on the illegal immigration issue.

[HereInTheHeartland]

That is awesome!!
Bill didn’t look happy at Tancredo’s announcement.

I highly respect Bill Salier, his endorsement carries 100 times the weight of Tancredos for me personally.

And I think that many others feel the way that I do.

[TheThirdRuffian]

In Iowa, I would think this is a big deal.

Generally, the No. 2 man is more serious than the No. 1 man in an organization.

[LexBaird]

Can anyone explain to me why there is a massive MAJORITY for Fred on EVERY SINGLE POLL taken here on FR and we’ve got all these folks shilling for Rudy and the likes of him?

If all you want is an echo chamber, why bother coming on line? If all you get is Fred spin, without the spin from the others in the race, your view of the world outside of FR will be severly messed up.

And don't fool yourself. The stuff about Fred is every bit as much shilling as the other guys. For example: Tanc endorses Mitt = no big deal and won't mean anything, but Tanc's local Iowa Chair endorsing Fred is HUGE. Get real. Did anyone outside of Super Wonks even know who Tanc's local Chair was before this article? Do you know who was his Chair anyplace else?

The Moral of the Story is read my tag and don't get hooked on your own Kool Aide. It leads you to take your own campaign propaganda as truth.

[gpapa]

Just like there are issues with all of the other candidates. No one is perfect, even Fred.

[Rick.Donaldson]

It’s an open forum.

Add to that there are some shills for the other guys here, people who just love to pitch sh*t, plus folks who would not know a conservative if it bit ‘em in the a$$, well you get the idea...

An open forum has nothing to do with my question. Nor for that matter does it have to do with the various posts I see. I'm talking more about the fact that, yes given this IS an open forum and there are people voting on those polls that are both members and non-members (AND the results are SHOWN by the way) -- every single poll has shown that Fred Thompson is LEADING everyone by 50% in some cases.

Doesn't matter what the poll says. There are skads of people who don't like him visiting here and voting for others, but over all, I'd say with upwards of 3000 people voting on this site for those polls from around the country this is a pretty good representative poll (while 'not scientific') it CERTAINLY has a very good cross section of people.

What it is TELLING me is that on the "Conservative side" of things, most people here are more Conservative than some of them are willing to admit, and more importantly we have a lot of folks who are hanging in the wings waiting to vote in the primaries and push Fred right out front.

I guess I'm a little confused about WHY the various television polls aren't tracking close to a Free Republic Poll.

Obviously in a television type poll you're going to get people from the FAR LEFT voting too (a kind of reverse-freep, if you will) and this is what is throwing these polls all to hell.

If there were nothing but honest conservatives/Republicans voting, I'm betting that the majority would vote for Fred given the issues.

[Rick.Donaldson]

Just like there are issues with all of the other candidates. No one is perfect, even Fred.

I never said anyone was perfect.

That isn’t the issue. Fred is dead on the issues with what *I* think, ALL of them, with one exception. He appears to think that the government should subsidize fuels. I don’t.

I think the government needs to stay the hell out of that stuff completely.

But, he and I agree on ALL the other issues that he’s taken a stance on.

Hunter agrees with me on all but TWO.

Hunter and Thompson are the most real Conservatives you’re going to find. Rudy is a LIBERAL in my book. Romney isn’t anywhere near the top for me, and I have a personal issue with him. He doesn’t like ham radio operators (it’s be mentioned in other threads, I’m not going to go over it again here — not the place).

Thompson is number one for me for a lot of reason, NOT ALL of them having to do with the issues.

He is polite, personable, HONEST, and tells it like it is (I’ve met him several times in the past and have heard him speak as a Senator).

My personal opinion of a candidate has to be formed around their personality, as well as issues. McCain, for that reason isn’t someone I want to see as President. I don’t like him for some reason. Sorry, can’t quite put my finger on it, but something about him BUGS me — and his pushing various leftist agendas simply to be seen as “in the middle” were the last straw.

No, gpapa you’re right, NO one is perfect, but when it comes to being President, they have to be RIGHT.

[ejonesie22]

Actually it has everything to do with your question. By being an open forum ,anyone, including the people you mention, can join. Furthermore, anyone can vote on the public side of the polls by simply showing up.

As far as other polls not showing Fred, remember something I have said before. Polls measure attraction to bright shiny objects. The things that attract the attention of those polled at that moment. One other issue is that polls are answered by folks who at home when called. A lot of real Republican support comes from the upwardly mobile and the young professionals with kids as well as others who are more active in their communities than most. These are the types that rarely get sampled, simply because they are not at the house.

One additional factor, FR polls are of people that are above average in political interest and activity, so it does not translate directly into public opinion.

[LexBaird]

If that's true, this was awfully sh!tty on Tancredo's part. That endorsement might have given Hunter enough of a bump to put him on the map.

Face facts. If you piled 100% of Tanc's support on top of 100% of Duncan's support, you still couldn't even see the map from the top. If Tanc endorsed anyone but a front runner, he would be all but throwing away any influence his campaign has earned. Hunter will not earn the nomination. Paul will not earn the nomination.

For Fred or McCain to earn the nomination will require beating huge odds involving having two of their three opponents melt down and shifting almost totally to them. Could happen, but likely won't. If Huck busts, it will be Mitt v. Rudy. If Mitt busts, it'll be Huck v. Rudy. If Rudy crashes, it'll be Mitt v. Huck.

Fred and John Mc can pile up 2nd and 3rd place finishes from now 'til June, and all it will net them is a few scattered delegates. Unless they want to be VP, that nets them nothing, even if it goes to convention. If it goes to a brokered convention, it will be #1 v. #2, with #3 as Kingmaker.

[gpapa]

I concur with your sentiments that Hunter and Thompson are the closest we can get to viable conservative candidates. The others are just not my cup of tea.

[Blue Highway]

you sound like a tired old MSM shill. Get with the times. Fred is surging.

[codercpc]

What it tells me is that a whole lot of people were "purged" from this website earlier this year. And a whole lot of other people that have visited or joined this website have been scared off by the threats of purges if they didn't drink the Fred KoolAid.

If I had not been a long time poster, I would have come to this site, realized my opinions either A. Didn't matter, or B. Would be "spammed" by anti - conservative slurs. So why would I have bothered to stick around, or vote in a poll?

I love this site, and unless I am kicked out I will continue to post here, because there is a huge amount of great info, and stories here, but to use a Free Republic poll as a indicator of how the general public will vote is asinine. I bet that on DU, or KOS, Hillary and Obama voters are not reflected in reality either.

[Blue Highway]

The media wants to blind the sheeple into thinking Fred Thompson doesn’t exist, and so far they did a good job. This 3 week tour through IOWA has opened eyes and ears of would be voters. I am expecting a big difference with actual votes than what the polls show now.

[codercpc]

Get with the times. Fred is surging.

WHERE?

[DWar]

“Why is there an issue with supporting Fred?”

Because he can’t win.

Emphatic, single minded, conservative true believers who know that Fred is right on most of the issues and so he appeals to them... refuse to recognize that he will never appeal to the average voter. They are willing to lose rather than compromise on anything.

Many who support Romney do it out of a large dose of pragmatism, wanting the most conservative who is also electable to get the nomination. They’ve learned the lesson of Barry Goldwater in 1964.

[LexBaird]

Doesn't matter what the poll says. There are skads of people who don't like him visiting here and voting for others, but over all, I'd say with upwards of 3000 people voting on this site for those polls from around the country this is a pretty good representative poll (while 'not scientific') it CERTAINLY has a very good cross section of people.

Then you have no understanding of what "good cross section" means. The polls here are meaningless amusements. They are entirely self selecting and skewed in their questioning. When that happens, the results are a foregone conclusion. The only people voting are those who WANT to vote and are motivated to push a candidate. It is no different than the T.V. popularity polls for American Idol that the Sanjay Fans spammed or the post debate polls at Fox that the Paulistinians spammed.

Those who believe their own spin are doomed to the fate of Katherine Harris supporters in 2006. When they get home from Trick or Treating at the polls, all they have is a bag of rocks.

[Rick.Donaldson]

If all you want is an echo chamber, why bother coming on line? If all you get is Fred spin, without the spin from the others in the race, your view of the world outside of FR will be severly messed up.

I don't want an 'echo chamber', I was asking why I am seeing what I am seeing. Someone answered it though.

And don't fool yourself. The stuff about Fred is every bit as much shilling as the other guys. For example: Tanc endorses Mitt = no big deal and won't mean anything, but Tanc's local Iowa Chair endorsing Fred is HUGE. Get real. Did anyone outside of Super Wonks even know who Tanc's local Chair was before this article? Do you know who was his Chair anyplace else?

Without EXCEPTION no one here knows me personally (there are a couple of folks who visit here who've met me in person and perhaps know me well enough to make comments about my personal background, but not truthfully enough to make comments about me fooling myself) so you can't really say I'm fooling myself. I'm sure that's not what you were saying though.

The Moral of the Story is read my tag and don't get hooked on your own Kool Aide. It leads you to take your own campaign propaganda as truth.

I am, sorry to say, sitting this "campaign thing" out this time. I am reading ALL of the material on every candidate, including all the Democrats as well. So, there's no "kool aide" -- which I think is a somewhat insulting remark (I know you didn't mean it that way, but several people have used it to insult myself and others around here on occasion because they somehow believe us simply to be 'brainwashed'.) I assure you, I'm no one's puppet, and I don't get brainwashed. I've spent way to many years watching society come apart because of dumbasses who think that "the Liberal way is the right way" -- when it is exactly WRONG in nearly every, single case.

What I find fasinating is the fact that so many people are LOOKING for something bad to say about Fred Thompson and so far, haven't really found anything other than "he entered the race too late", like THAT is going to prevent someone from becoming President.

Obviously, being DISHONEST from the get-go didn't stop CLINTON from getting elected. Being an HONEST person, as Fred has so far shown himself to be shouldn't preclude him from becoming President.

I guess I'm pretty Conservative, which according to some makes me everything from a NAZI to a KOOK.. or anything in between. I'm inclined to read whatever I can on everyone, good and bad and.. gasp, make my OWN DECISION.

I don't drink kool aid anyway :)

[Blue Highway]

Surging with the people, the polls won’t show that. Obviously the polls have been slanted against him. Look at the poll here and compare it to any of the major polls. See a little difference between the two?

[Rick.Donaldson]

Actually it has everything to do with your question. By being an open forum ,anyone, including the people you mention, can join. Furthermore, anyone can vote on the public side of the polls by simply showing up.

Well, I DO understand this, but this isn't what I was ASKING.

Specifically, those that DO join the site and vote, many of whom are "non-members" are voting for Fred as well. It seems to me that the persons who are her voting for Rudy, or Romney or even Clinton are a very large number when you read the threads, because there are lots and lots who are apparently planning to vote for them.

When it comes down to the votes, there are vastly more people for Fred, than post here.

I think what I am getting at is simpler than your explanation though. Let me rephrase things...

IF there are SOOOOO many votes for Fred, why are there so many MORE threads, people and opinions for, say Rudy?

It's just an interesting trend I've been noticing here.

I'm not suggesting there shouldnt be conversations about all the candidates. I'm simply wondering about the numbers.

I've done polls for college courses, stats classes and even taken computer data to make decisions on, say what sort of software is "best" for particular uses.

The interesting thing is, I KNOW how polls work. I'm seeing some discontinuity here based on the polls I'm seeing, and the actual threads I'm reading. MOSTLY these questions are rhetorical, but apparently there is something kind of odd I'm seeing.

I'm surprised others haven't been noticing this.