Posted on 06/04/2007 5:54:41 AM PDT by John Galt 72
Fred Thompson: The Man from Rocky Top
by Matt Carrothers
June 4, 2007
The unwritten rules in the current GOP presidential election cycle have been:
Compare yourself often to Ronald Reagan; Avoid staking out too many specific issue positions; and Get in early.
The conventional wisdom is apparently that Republican primary voters are merely looking for the next Reagan. The problem is that the candidates themselves do not really know what the voters’ desire for another Reagan means. Thus, given the number of candidates in the race, it will take a long time to buffalo the voters into believing that a particular candidate has the ear of our 40th president’s ghost.
Now comes wily ol’ Fred Thompson, breaking all of the rules. That may seem ironic for a man who portrays a stoic, pragmatic district attorney on television. However, a close look at the issue positions, voting record and outward demeanor of this former U.S. Senator, movie and television actor suggests that he is the legitimate conservative that voters demand.
Thompson’s advisers leaked last week that he will finally form an exploratory committee, allowing him to raise money prior to a July 4 formal announcement of his candidacy. When the three leading candidates – Rudy Giuliani, John McCain and Mitt Romney – announced their candidacies in February, Thompson kept his gunpowder dry. He eschewed the two Republican debate debacles, and chose instead to give speeches before select groups of possible supporters in California, Virginia, Illinois and Connecticut. Judging from the leading candidates’ debate performances, a political market exists for Thompson to enter the race, win the voters’ hearts and minds, rise quickly in the polls and amass the financial resources a presidential bid requires.
Fred Thompson has been quite specific on his issue positions. He delivers radio vignettes almost daily, and regularly pens opinion columns that detail his conservative views on fiscal, social and foreign policy issues. Thompson’s recent statements include:
“We’ve tried the ‘comprehensive’ route before…Twenty-two years and millions of illegal immigrants later, that comprehensive plan hasn’t done what most Americans wanted it to do – secure America’s borders. Now Washington says the new ‘comprehensive’ plan will solve the problem that the last comprehensive plan didn’t.
“A lot of folks in Washington suffer from a big misconception about our economy. They confuse the well-being of our government with the wealth of our nation….Taxes are necessary. But they don't make the country any better off.”
“Our founders established an independent federal judiciary to decide cases, not social policy. Yet more and more, that is exactly what it is doing. Roe v. Wade is a classic example.”
In addition to his political conservatism, Thompson possesses intangible qualities that will immediately distance him from the GOP pack. His coffee shop speaking style is comforting to voters in an era of cynicism toward all things politic. Thompson’s countenance is resolute, but he has an easy demeanor as sweet as soda pop that will particularly engender his candidacy to voters from the West, Midwest and his native Southeast.
Fred Thompson’s acting credits help him match Giuliani’s star power, but he is also well-versed on the issues. He has worked in Hollywood and Washington, yes, but he’s a son of the South. The impact of geography on the Republican nomination race cannot be dismissed. Republican voters like to see themselves in their presidents. Voters in 2008 will particularly seek a candidate they can trust. Candidates from New York and Massachusetts are . . . candidates from New York and Massachusetts.
Nor can one dismiss the timing of Thompson’s planned announcement date. July 4 is not just a day on the calendar. It’s The Fourth of July. Moreover, the planned location is Nashville, as in the home of country music. Picture an announcement event replete with bunting, American flags, families, barbeque, country music artists and marching bands playing a nonstop chorus of Rocky Top. Even the most rabid Gator, Bulldog or Crimson Tide Republicans will not be able to hear the Volunteers’ stirring anthem that day without tapping their toes and embracing Thompson’s candidacy. Well, at least they play college football in Tennessee.
A further example of Thompson’s likely appeal can be found in recent poll results. The latest Real Clear Politics national poll average has Thompson tied for third place with Romney at 10 percent, behind McCain at 18 percent and Giuliani at 26 percent. Not bad for a man who has yet to announce his candidacy.
National poll results should always be viewed suspiciously, since the U.S. does not hold national elections. This presidential election cycle is different, though, with delegate-heavy states such as New York, California, Georgia, Illinois and at least 15 others slated to hold their presidential primaries on February 5, 2008, just two weeks after the January 21 Iowa caucuses. Thompson’s likely appeal among voters across a wide ideological spectrum, including conservative Republicans, independents and moderate Democrats, will surely steal support from both the leading Republican and Democratic contenders.
Fred Thompson will not have to invoke Ronald Reagan’s name on the campaign trail to attract attention. His own political conservatism and personality will appeal to primary voters hungry for common sense leadership in the White House. As the late Buck Owens once sang, all he has to do is act naturally.
© 2007 North Star Writers Group. May not be republished without permission.
Fred Thompson born 8/19/42 current age approx. 65
That's mindblowing. Romney looks 10-15 years younger than Thompson.
Voting “young and vibrant” is as ignorant now as it was when Kennedy was elected in 1960. It might appeal to the group of women who vote with their hormones rather than logic, but young and vibrant does not imply anything in terms of leadership and knowledge and should not be a consideration.
That was in Georgia.
It isn’t the women criticizing Thompson’s looks, if you look around here.
Well, I guess if there are guys who are voting based on looks then the same statement applies to them; girlie men I guess.
I hear that. We are in Missouri, and if we could give Kansas City to Kansas and St. Louis to Illinois, we'd be in pretty good shape!
Carolyn
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.