Posted on 04/08/2007 7:04:41 PM PDT by Sub-Driver
For Thompson, Delay Is Costly Money, Support Head To Declared Candidates In Run for White House By CHRISTOPHER COOPER April 9, 2007
WASHINGTON -- If Fred Thompson decides to run for president, he will have some powerful supporters: The self-described "Tennessee Mafia," a group of Republican politicians from his home state well-versed in the craft of national campaigns. What the actor and former senator may lack is the financial juice that fired the group for more than a quarter century, driving local and national campaigns with astonishing amounts of cash.
"Mafia" members include Howard Baker, a former Republican senator, ambassador and White House chief of staff, who himself ran for president in 1980; Sen. Lamar Alexander, a former two-term Tennessee governor who ran for president in 1996 and 2000; and Bill Frist, the former Senate Republican majority leader, who considered, then rejected his own run for the White House for 2008.
Egged on by a campaign to draft him and buoyed by polls that suggest he would be a serious contender even though he hasn't declared, the conservative and blunt-spoken Mr. Thompson has said he is considering jumping in and may make a decision as early as next month. But in a presidential campaign that is likely to be the most expensive yet -- three candidates have already banked over $20 million in donations -- dithering would seem to be a liability.
Mr. Thompson's deliberations have already cost him a natural ally. Ted Welch, a wealthy Nashville businessman with an uncanny knack for raising political cash, has long been the go-to guy for Republicans seeking the highest office.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
i remember too well the georgia “mafia”
of jimmy weasel carter!
Thompson does scare me.
He scares me because I think the “base” is rocketing head first into nominating this guy, skipping the vetting process because he’s “litmus test pure” on the socon issues, while not even considering whether he’s electable in the general.
independents don’t know him. if he’s nominated, the media is going to spin him as “an actor who dabbled in politics”, “he didn’t even serve two full senate terms”. and not to mention the Leno/Letterman jokes about his wife’s age (or lack of).
Go over to DU...there are some insightful threads about the fear of Fred...and their reasons are sound.
Fred will raise 100 million in 6-8 weeks. And it won’t emanate from big corporations. It will come from mom & pop businesses and average Americans.
I will, too.
Who has Ted Welch signed on with?
If you'd like to be a FRedHead let me or Howlin know.
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How about him stating in 1994 he was firmly in favor of Roe v Wade... he gets a pass and Rudy doesn’t?
Romney
He’s even getting paid to address the nation via Paul Harvey’s show...
Can you provide a quote?
I believe this has been shown to be false.
Murphey:
Some conservatives got flustered by your comments on abortion and Roe vs. Wade. Would you like to explain your position on abortion?
Thompson:
Government should stay out of it. No public financing. The ultimate decision must be made by the women. Government should treat its citizens as adults capable of making moral decisions on their own.
Thanks.
Certainly far better than Mr. Champion for Choice Rudy...
Bet Fred don’t run it is his wife who wants it and Fred is most likely leary of debt and spending his retirement at this age!
If the Libertarians are happy with him, then we're all in business it seems.
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