Posted on 01/13/2008 1:01:49 PM PST by TornadoAlley3
Six days before South Carolina Republicans go to the polls, the spat between the Southerners who need to win that crucial primary -- former Sen. Fred Thompson, R-Tenn., and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee -- continues to get uglier and uglier, even as both men tread more lightly on the candidate who leads the most recent poll in that state, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.
"Fred Thompson talks about putting America first, and yet he's the one who is a registered foreign agent, lobbied for foreign countries, was in a law firm that did lobbying work for Libya," Huckabee charged Sunday morning on CNN.
Thompson, who had launched an aggressive attack against Huckabee's record during Thursday night's GOP debate in Myrtle Beach, S.C., responded by insinuating that Huckabee is in truth nastier than his sunny demeanor, is unprepared for the presidency, and is making personal attacks while Thompson is "talking about issues concerning this country."
Huckabee has "raised enough money now to get some hit pieces and dredge up personal stuff and personal accusations against me," Thompson told CNN. "And now you're seeing the real Mike Huckabee come out. So, I think we've done a favor to the American people. Because these are serious times, and they require somebody that knows what they're doing and doesn't walk into a situation with foreign representatives and heads of foreign nations with training wheels on."
Since 1980, no Republican has won the presidency without first winning the South Carolina primary. But in this year's unpredictable GOP contest, with any number of possible nominees and no clear frontrunner, the South Carolina primary has taken on extra importance -- for Huckabee and Thompson in particular.
Huckabee needs to demonstrate that his Iowa caucus victory Jan. 3 wasn't a fluke, and that his scotch-tape-and-rubber-bands campaign is capable of going national. For his part, Thompson needs to win somewhere. Anywhere.
Addressing the substance of Huckabee's charges, Thompson Sunday acknowledged he was "in a law firm that did some lobbying work for Libya," but his involvement was minimal. He said he'd registered with the government because of "five minutes' worth of contribution" to discussions about another client, Haiti.
"It was totally consistent with the policies of this country, where a dictatorship had taken over that country and we were opposing that," Thompson said.
During the Republican debate Thursday night, Thompson -- about whom even his supporters complain of less-than-energetic campaigning -- showed remarkable pep and vigor, attacking Huckabee for having overseen a net tax increase as Arkansas governor, for having pushed merit scholarships for the children of illegal immigrants, and for having suggested he would sign a nation-wide ban on smoking in public places. He took issue with comments Huckabee made that the Bush administration had demonstrated an "arrogant bunker mentality" in its foreign policy.
"On the one hand, you have the Reagan revolution," Thompson said during the debate. "You have the Reagan coalition of limited government and strong national security. On the other hand, you have the direction that Gov. Huckabee would take us in. He would be a Christian leader, but he would also bring about liberal economic policies, liberal foreign policies. .. That's not the model of the Reagan coalition. That's the model of the Democratic Party."
Huckabee didn't respond much during the debate, but appearing on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" Friday morning, he took his well-known wit literally below the belt, joking, "I think Fred needs some Metamucil. I think it would help a lot. He was in a bad mood last night."
Campaigning Friday in Michigan, Huckabee went on the attack more substantively.
"It was real interesting hearing Fred Thompson talk about Ronald Reagan last night," Huckabee said. "Because Fred Thompson supported [then-President] Gerald Ford in 1976 and not Ronald Reagan. He supported [then-Sen.] Howard Baker in 1980 and not Ronald Reagan. I appreciate his recent conversion, but some of us were for Ronald Reagan back in the early days; our legacy goes back a little further."
Huckabee also tried to paint Thompson as having been an undistinguished senator.
"Eight years is a pretty long time to get a check from the federal government and not be able to say" he was responsible for any major legislation, Huckabee said.
On Saturday, Thompson called the criticism of his previous support of Ford and Baker as "kind of silly. Howard Baker was my mentor and personal friend in Tennessee for years and years. If you check the record, Gov. Huckabee supported Democrats on a fairly consistent basis in his days in Arkansas politics. I don't think he wants to get into that discussion. We'll see."
Of Huckabee's Metamucil's joke, on Sunday morning Thompson said "his response was to return fire with some potty humor. That's the best he could come up with for the last three days."
He added that he was happy to compare his record to Huckabee's, whom he described as "having raised taxes $500 million more than he cut." He described Huckabee's criticisms of the Bush administration as "blame-America-first comments," and pointed out, correctly, the Huckabee campaign chairman Ed Rollins had called the Reagan coalition dead.
Huckabee, Thompson charged, "talked around the subject and smiled and giggled and told a couple of jokes. When I came back, I said, 'You know, this is about the heart and mind of the Republican Party, because I don't believe it [the Reagan coalition] is [dead].'"
Said Huckabee, "The Writers Guild strike needs to end soon. Fred's got to get some better lines. Calling me a liberal would be laughable in Arkansas, where people recognized -- if anything, they called me this ultra-conservative guy. ... It's always interesting to me, when people get desperate, they start grabbing for anything."
Thompson responded that he had been asking questions about Huckabee's support for closing down the prison at Guantanamo Bay, his support for public programs for the children of illegal immigrants, and the fact that he was endorsed by a teachers' union.
"These are substantive issues," Thompson said. "These are not personal attacks. If the governor wants to get into personal attacks and things that happened some years ago and things that they've done and allegations, there's enough on the record in Arkansas that will keep us busy for the rest of this campaign."
Or at least until Saturday.
Is that hand headed for a wallet? Probably...
Looking at a politician's past record is an excellent predictor of his future behavior just like looking at a racehorse's past performance is indicative of future performances. Once a horse has developed a chart with several performances going back sometime, he seldom rises above his best past performance. I believe the same can be said about a politician.
Huckabee really is a Huckster. He majored in communications - a Slick Willy Jimmy Carter.
The MSM is promoting Huckabee over Romney or Fred for a reason - he’d lose the general.
I would have to agree but who he supported years ago isn't the record I give a crap about. The record of his stance on his issues speak the loudest.
He voted against Reagan? Maybe but it was other times.Reagan was not president and their as a race with other candidates.Sometimes you have to choose between some candidates and the choice maybe difficult...
So what ?
You are just missing the point and making anachronisms...
Today it’s a question of ideas and political choices AND NOT a question of votings...
Sorry for you but FRED THOMSON’s political record and statements is CONSISTENT with REAGAN’s legacy...
Sorry so long.Bad try
I’m loving the Huck vs. Fred feud . .
Okay but see here is the thing. Once Reagan had the nomination what did Fred do. And frankly 1976 was a stupid thing to hold up. Reason being is that Ford was the Veep at the time and generally that is who you support.
The debate of who you supported in a primary is nonsense to bring to the table. I support fred. But i will support who ever has the nomination in the end.
All Fred has to do is ask "Which one is the conservative, me or my good friend, John McCain?"
I can forgive Fred for supporting Baker, his close friend. But any conservative from that generation knows the ACID test was ‘76 vs. Ford. Ford had his position by virtue of being a RINO since Nixon was so weak. Reagan would have been President in ‘76 but for the Freds of the world.
I see Fred as a man on the set. Watergate, Baker crony, and actor who honed his career in the Senate — leaving with a record of achievement on the scale of John Kerry.
Since you obviously aren’t for Fred, please tell us which major candidate most closely represents your political views and would make the best President.
How does support equate a jump to vote??? And was that not in the primary? Grasping at straws is grasping at straws. There are many people in the south that voted for and supported Howard Baker. Do you want them to stop voting just for you. If there is any question of judgment I think I would direct it in your direction and the liberal you support.
(and pardon thousands of violent offenders...and bring the terrorist 'detainees' to the US where they'll soak up millions of taxpayer $ on lawyers as they go, one by one, through our court system, with all the 'rights' of a US citizen...etc etc
Yep, that works...not
If the worse thing you can say about Fred is that he supported the wrong Republican 25-30 years ago, you are quite desperate!
Since you obviously aren’t for Fred, please tell us which major candidate most closely represents your political views and would make the best President.
Remember that when the "Huckster" is the nominee.
The Press should be pointing that kind of stuff out but they don’t.
So Fred supporting the sitting President in 1976, and his fellow Tennesseean, Howard Baker, in 1980 until RR got the nomination is a "predictor" of exactly what?
You mean like Huckster supporting a Dem in 2000?
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