The only REAL social conservative left standing."correction
The only real conservative to be called a liberal.
By none other than the last real true conservative, Fred Dalton Thompson.
Posted on 01/24/2008 6:34:21 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
As soon as Fred Thompson announced he was dropping out of the GOP race, friends, acquaintances and total strangers started trying to win Thompson supporter Rick Moran over to McCain, Huck, Romney or Rudy. Who will he and his fellow depressed Fredheads turn to for their second choice?
Less than 10 minutes after Fred Thompson’s announcement that he was dropping out of the Republican presidential race hit the wires, one of my good internet friends IM’d me.
FRIEND: Sorry to hear about Fred. Gd mn. (Good man) ME: SUCKS THE BIG ONE
FRIEND: He wll b missed.
ME: IT REALLY, REALLY SUCKS
FRIEND: Kinda sucks 2bu right now, huh?
ME: YA. DOPE.
FRIEND: btw – given any thought to supporting Mitt?
ME: ARGGGGHHHH
There I was not ten minutes after my political world came crashing down, with my guts spilled out all over my keyboard and my emotions as raw as fresh hamburger, and one of my best friends was trying to recruit me for his guy, Mitt Romney.
If timing is everything in politics, my buddy violated the first rule by interrupting someone in the process of committing hara-kiri. He could have at least waited until the blood stopped flowing.
And it wasn’t long after that conversation that the emails began to arrive, all weirdly similar. They would start out saying how sorry they were that Fred had dropped out, praising him for being a good guy and a true conservative, and then launch into a sales spiel about their particular candidate and why I should support him.
That was yesterday, and most of those emails were from people I knew. Today, I am getting emails from total strangers. I find most of them extremely annoying.
Here’s an example:
You should DEFINITELY support John McCain now that Thompson has quit. McCain is the ONLY candidate that can defeat Hillary in nov all the polls PROVE it. He is a REAL american hero and will fight the terrorists wherever they are hiding. He is the best candidtae for the repubs and every one KNOWS it.
McCain is the ONLY candidate left in the race who is a TRUE conservative. If you fredheads were smart you’d switch to McCain.
My reply was unprintable but inquired as to the gentleman’s questionable ancestry. It also offered a couple of short but sweet recommendations — in not very clinical terms, I’m afraid — about where and how he could put his sentiments.
Being wooed in this manner would be flattering if the attentions were wanted. I guess now I know how Britney Spears feels. Well, I would if I were an ex-teenage pop star with mental health issues and an impulse control problem. Perhaps a better analogy would be woman being pursued by several suitors, who, while uninterested in spending the rest of her life with them, doesn’t wish to hurt their feelings to the point that they would forego giving her the expensive presents and nights on the town she has become accustomed to.
In this vein, I have decided not to support any candidate in the primaries and to revisit the issue once the GOP chooses a nominee. Judging from what I’ve read from many of my fellow Fredheads, I am not alone in choosing this path — although I’m certainly not in the majority.
For most who supported Thompson, there is that all-important second choice. And to analyze who will probably benefit the most from Thompson’s pullout, you must look from where Thompson’s major support was coming.
Exit polls in South Carolina revealed that Thompson did very well among those who identified themselves as “very conservative” and evangelical. This would seem to indicate that the bulk of Thompson supporters would gravitate toward former Arkansas governor and ordained Baptist preacher Mike Huckabee.
But Fred also scored well among those who thought that illegal immigration and terrorism were important issues. Looking at that evidence, Mitt Romney and John McCain would seem to benefit from Thompson’s withdrawal.
In short, if a Fredhead is inclined to vote according to issues, McCain and Romney could benefit the most. If a Thompson supporter believes ideology or values should be the determining factor, Mike Huckabee could be the likely beneficiary.
My sense is that Mitt Romney will probably receive the biggest boost from Fred’s withdrawal. Most Thompson supporters I know are livid with Mike Huckabee’s underhanded tactics in South Carolina and would never vote for him for that reason. And while some of Fred’s supporters will no doubt be attracted by the strong national security credentials exhibited by John McCain, the Arizona Senator’s track record on illegal immigration would probably disqualify him from consideration by most.
To be honest, I see no reason any of Thompson’s supporters would consider supporting Rudy Giuliani. But people vote for a candidate for many reasons so I’m sure Rudy will get a share of Fred’s supporters.
But all of this leaves me cold. Fred Thompson was not the most exciting candidate and certainly not the best campaigner. It was his philosophy and ideas that captured me and earned my loyalty and support. It is very difficult to simply transfer your allegiance to someone who might represent only a pale echo of your candidate’s qualities. So for that reason, I will sit and watch with interest as the drama of the campaign plays out to the end, hoping that the eventual nominee will be someone I can vote for without too much discomfort.
That’s an excellent question, but it’s nice to be wanted :)
Yeah, how many ways can that 8% be split?
Support Huckabee.
The only REAL social conservative left standing.
Please fax me some of whatever you are smoking and/or snorting.
EX- FredHead here. Now I’ll be shooting for Romney. If he doesn’t get he nod I suppose I’ll hold my nose as I vote for Ron Paul who I’m sure will be running as an independent.
All of the other are flawed, maybe deeply flawed, but all also have a strength or two.
When I put the names out of their respective histories, then the one that Mitt worked for sounds like a left leaning dem or socialist platform.
Abortion - wrong side
Healthcare - REALLY wrong side. Hillary is envious!
Immigration? Wrong side - he supported the McCain/Kennedy bill and called it “reasonable” - The same one that Hillary voted for.
2nd amendment? Wrong. Calls for and is proud of the strict gun control laws in Mass.
Said that he was endorsed by the NRA. - False.
All of the others are flawed but vote for Mitt? Why on Earth would I do that?
Sorry bots. Mitt looks good in a suit and has nice hair. - Thats about it.
A pack of nervy bastards in my estimation.
Hold the line! Force a brokerd convention.
As for wooing us; They can all kis my fat pimply RIGHT butt cheek.
You need a social conservative in the white house to nominate grat judges to the supreme court.
“Please fax me some of whatever you are smoking and/or snorting.”
What is your fax number?
If you’ve been here in 2000, you’d remember how we pretty much in unison supported Alan Keyes. Then we hadda settle for that guy, whatsisname, he’s got a daily screen licking thread here. Are we going to do this again? Not me!
The only REAL social conservative left standing."correction
The only real conservative to be called a liberal.
By none other than the last real true conservative, Fred Dalton Thompson.
At this point it isn’t even a matter of which candidate to choose, it’s more a matter of which principles you’re willing to give up.
They all have ‘some’ good stances or qualities, but they all have baggage in one form or another too, whether it be personal foibles or past policy decisions.
It truly is a matter of choosing the lesser of (several) evils.
were here
I will not give my vote for these jerks, and neither should you if you feel so led.
Let the GOP choke on its own ineptitude, I won't enable them.
I won't be swayed by the "Weeeeelll then! I guess you want President Hillary Clinton then.....Huuuuh!??????"
No. But the GOP is going to have to shoulder part of the blame for that disaster by not giving us a legitimate Conservative to vote for.
By the way - all the Romney "spammers" out there can cease and desist from your Mitt threads.
They are only ticking us off even more.
It’s only human to get caught up in the personality of your candidate. My heart is still heavy over Thompson’s exit. But in the end this war we’re fighting is about ideas. So my goal is to kill as many leftist ideas as possible while preventing them from doing the same to conservatism.
Regarding Thompson, we won’t really know the chances of his resurrection until after Florida and beyond. So the Washington insiders can flap their jaws as much as they want, just don’t believe what they say.
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