Fred Thompson leads 2008 Republicans in poll

YAHOO NEWS ^ | 190607 | REUTERS

[skimbell]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Fred Thompson, an actor and former senator who has not formally entered the 2008 White House race, leads Republican presidential contenders for the first time, according to a Rasmussen poll

[Jack Hammer]

That’s what I meant; but, although he seems to be running, has he actually “declared” yet?

[andysandmikesmom]

For what it is worth, I heard someone commenting on the fact that Fred Thompson, is going to have to run against himself, as in the Fred Thompson actor, vs, the Fred Thompson, politician...the acting role, that he played on Law and Order is how many people envision Fred, and yet, that role is scripted...so in that sense Fred, the politician may not live up to his acting role...I wish I could remember where I read that, but I cannot, so can only recount what I remember of the article..

I, myself am not making a judgement either way, am just trying to relate what I had read...but whoever wrote the article, found that many people, when they think of Fred Thompson, the man they are relating to is the man they see on Law and Order...the article seemed to be intimating, that Fred Thompson the politician, and Fred Thompson the actor, are two completely different people, with greatly different styles, and ways of speaking and addressing people...I dont know enough to speak on this, but perhaps what this article was pointing out, is something you have yourself witnessed...because yes, it is important what the candidates for office say, but it is also important, in how they say things...if a speaker cannot excite and stimulate the voters, those voters may not even pay attention to what the politicians are saying..

Just a thought...

[Jack Hammer]

Sorry, the wording of my post wasn’t too clear; I am also a “Fredhead.” What I meant was that he hasn’t yet declared, but that all the other candidates seem to be sort of “soft” conservatives at best, or even RINOs. I like Fred, and hope he’ll be our next president. We conservatives deserve at least one candidate who’s really a consdervative, is what I meant.

[SoCalRight]

They’re all scripted. When they’re not, it’s called a “gaff.”

[mnehring]

Real Conservatives also have Duncan Hunter, but the problem with Hunter is he isn’t a sales person. I know this sounds shallow, but as President and leader of a party, you have to do more than preach to the choir, you have to sell real Conservatism to those who don’t realize they are conservatives or have a false impression of what it stands for.

[MeanWestTexan]

“but the problem with Hunter is he isn’t a sales person. I know this sounds shallow”

No, it’s not. A huge part of being president is the bully pulpit; it’s really not that powerful an office without it.

An ineffective communicator (such as President Bush or Hunter -— who is worse than Bush just because he lacks charisma) loses some of this power.

[mnehring]

Maybe Hunter can learn the ropes in a VP seat for, say, 8 years.. ;->

[mnehring]

You should ask yourself, what is the real Conservative response on all of these, especially the Health Savings Account. He opposed that, but he didn’t support more government action.. instead, he opposed the government being your ‘savings nanny’. HSAs are ‘more’ conservative than government control over medical insurance, but they are still having the government taking control over something you should be responsible for... now apply that to the other issues and you have your answer..

[GRRRRR]

Medved spoke at length either yesterday or today (can’t remember stuff problem) and said FRED was the only candidate that directly answers questions and can voice his vision. Medved criticised Mitt directly for giving wandering answer to immigration question. I like Fred...

[browardchad]

Did anyone else hear the talk?

Do you mean this?

Fred Thompson in London

This is the third speech/excerpts I've seen of Thompson's, and I have to say I'm not impressed.

His radio/blog postings are good, and his Michael Moore retort video was impressive, but the speeches are (um, um, um) somewhat vague and disappointing.

[Malesherbes]

I was very disappointed when Fred Thompson opposed tort reform in the Senate. I ascribed it to the fact that he himself is a trial lawyer by (original) profession. So I have some qualms.

However, one of the most solid conservatives in Congress is Rep. John Duncan (Second District of Tennessee) and he is a strong supporter of Thompson. That gives me comfort. There may be the fellow-Tennessean factor, but Duncan would never support anyone he suspected of being a RINO.

[Goreknowshowtocheat]

Vague is actually a good description of what I heard. When you get vague you lose your audience.

[Robbin]

I’m in the same boat, I was disgusted with Newt’s performance in the global warming “debate”
and I’ll never look back....
Robbin

[hoosierpearl]

He was speaking at a think tank. I believe what he said was appropriate for that audience.

[MeanWestTexan]

” was very disappointed when Fred Thompson opposed tort reform in the Senate. I ascribed it to the fact that he himself is a trial lawyer by (original) profession. So I have some qualms.”

Fred Thompson is a federalist, and opposed it on federalist grounds, in that tort law is state law (unless one happens to be on a boat in federal waters)

Fred Thompson wrote a piece on exactly this subject and bascially schooled an NRO editor almost as good as he did Michael Moore.

The article is available here on F.R.

Oh, and his original profession was a United States prosecutor.

[MeanWestTexan]

“That’s what I meant; but, although he seems to be running, has he actually “declared” yet?”

Why on Earth would he make it official and be forced to stop his free ABC Radio campaign ads, er, I mean radio commentaries?!@#

He’s not stupid. I admire that in a candidate.

[Josh Painter]

FiCon wrote: "I’m a fiscal conservative, as the name may reveal, and I’m curious about the Thompsonmania."

I'm also a fiscal conservative, and here are just a few of the many reasons I'm supporting Fred Thompson:

Thompson... indicated a willingness to criticize his own party's failings, particularly on government spending and a desire to return Republicans to their limited-government moorings.

- Stephen Hayes, The Weekly Standard, June 18, 2007 Issue

During his eight years in the Senate, Thompson had a solid record as a fiscal conservative. The National Taxpayers Union gives him the third highest marks of any candidate (trailing only Paul and Rep. Tom Tancredo). While he sponsored or cosponsored legislation over the course of his career that would have resulted in a net increase in federal spending of $3.1 billion, that is the smallest increase among the contenders. (By comparison, John McCain? would have increased spending by $36.9 billion). He generally shared McCain’s? opposition to pork barrel spending and earmarks, and voted against the 2002 farm bill. He voted for the Bush tax cuts and has generally been solid in support of tax reduction.

- Michael D. Tanner, Cato @ Liberty, May 31, 2007

Supporters... hope his high name recognition as an actor and radio commentator, his conservative stands on issues like immigration and government spending, and his strength in the South will differentiate him from a field that has not yet struck a chord with the Republican base.

- Carl Hulse and Patrick Healey, The New York Times, May 30, 2007

Senator Thompson is a strong fiscal conservative. He's not happy with how bloated the government has become, or how it mishandles the taxpayer's money. He has spoken out against the wasteful government pork, and the problems with earmarks in Congress. What seems to gall him more than anything on the pork issue though is that he believes the states could do better than the federal government could with a host of projects. In recent interviews he has pointed to things such as Alaska's "Bridge to Nowhere" which benefits few in Alaska (less than 70 people, at last count) and yet the American taxpayer is being handed the bill. To him, this is intolerable.

- Thomas Clark and Marcie Packard, Common Conservative, May 17, 2007

What I was really surprised to find in the bill was what looked like 25 billion dollars in pure pork. Since a lot of the people who voted for the bill campaigned against pork, I was puzzled.

I’m puzzled there’s $283 million for dairy farmers in an emergency war-funding bill. But there’s also $74 million for peanut farmers so, I figured our soldiers are eating a lot of peanut butter sandwiches; they need more milk to wash them down with...

- Fred Thompson, National Review Online, March 26, 2007

On the Republican side, Fred Thompson’s record on spending puts the rest of the field to shame, and is even more conservative than that of Newt Gingrich. Perhaps Thompson’s supposed lack of accomplishments in the Senate are the result of a legislator who erred on the side of ensuring that government didn’t grow, didn’t spend more, didn’t meddle more in people’s lives, and generally left Americans alone. In an age of two big-governnment parties, it isn’t surprising that such a candidate is garnering interest.

- DaveG, Race 4 2008, March 24, 2007

He voted to eliminate the ‘marriage penalty’ and for across-the-board spending cuts.

- Dave Hinz, The HinzSight? Report, March 6, 2007

Sen. Fred Thompson (R-Tenn.), ranking minority member on the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee, issued the two-volume report Government on the Brink, the first in years seriously to address waste, fraud and abuse within the federal government.

According to the Thompson report, "Because of its size and scope, and the terrible way it is managed, the federal government wastes billions and billions of your tax dollars every year. The waste, fraud and abuse reported to the Governmental Affairs Committee each year is staggering. Of course no one knows exactly how much fraud, waste and mismanagement cost the taxpayers because the federal government makes no effort to keep track of it."

Using data provided by a variety of official sources, including the IGs of each federal agency and the GAO, Thompson's Government on the Brink provides a comprehensive guide to each agency's strengths and weaknesses...

- Kelly Patricia O'Meara, Insight on the News, October 22, 2001



Freducate yourself!

Fredipedia: The Definitive Fred Thompson Quick Reference

Fred Thompson FAQ: THE Fred Thompson Web Resource

[Goreknowshowtocheat]

I expected macro clarity, but I got insufferable vagueness.