.........Yes or no, do a candidate’s supporters reflect on that candidate?......
They can, but not always. But I think you’re being unreasonable in your thinking that only the ones you’re seeing, only the ones who are making fools of themselves are the only ones out there. That’s all I was getting at.
Sure, Fred has followers who are fools. So does Mitt. And McCain, and every other candidate out there. But I don’t think that any of their followers taken as a whole are represented in a majority by the foolish; that is, the foolish are the minority.
Besides, I think the more important question would be don’t your enemies reflect upon the candidate. I say yes, the fact that the media have more or less self proclaimed themselves as enemies of Fred says a lot. Considering how far to the left the media is.
..............Based on the representation that Mr. Thompson has received from his most rabid supporters on Free Republic, I’m not inclined to vote for him at all............
So indeed you are looking at nothing else but the foolish.
......Instead, the worst of his supporters are driving me away and likely driving away other voters who would otherwise have been happy to support Mr. Thompson if he had won the nomination.............
Perhaps this may help..........
I’ve been undecided for a long time, but recently became a fredhead because of his stance on campaigning. He’s not ambitious like most others, rather he’s in it to serve the country.
I think part of what’s driving some fred supporters up the wall, and that includes myself as well but I try extremely hard to keep my composure; History is what it is. We know what wins elections, and that’s conservatism. We’ve all been complaining about the lack of conservative leadership in washington. Right now, we have a chance to change that. But those who are leading the primaries aren’t really all that conservative. So in other words, all of those who have been complaining all of these years about the lack of conservative leadership were nothing more than whining in the wind? I choose not to believe that, but on the surface it does appear that way. And that appearance can...... and I think is...... driving some people up the wall.
What is unfortunate is that the Huckabee folks are all ready to vote for another big spending “compassionate” GWB conservative. I don’t know about you but I’m sick of the hybrid monstrosities that attempted to graft on conservative ideas onto liberal bureaucracy. All it has accomplished is giving legitimacy to a phony conservatism.
I disagree with the perception of Fred Thompson as being significantly more conservative than Mitt Romney. I still see him as being part of the John McCain/Chuck Hagel/Lindsey Graham group because those were his close associates in the Senate. He's the best of that group, but I still see him as part of that group. I don't believe that he would govern any more conservatively than Mitt Romney would, and I believe that Mitt Romney would be more effective.
The important point is that you and other good Thompson supporters are willing to talk about issues. We may disagree about how conservative each of these candidates would be as president, but honorable people can disagree about these kinds of things. Others seem to have gone to great lengths to make the issue personal, and when they make it personal, they split the support that they need to unify in the general election.
Best of luck in supporting your man.
Bill