Thompson emerges as potential leader as GOP moves rightward [Fred for RNC chair?]

DC Examiner ^ | Susan Ferrechio

[RatherBiased.com]

Republicans desperate to rebuild their party are looking for a new leader, and former Sen. Fred Thompson may seek the job.

Thompson, a Tennessee conservative and former actor, is mulling a run for chairman of the Republican National Committee.

Though he ran a lackluster campaign for the GOP presidential nomination, he remains popular in his party because of his ability to articulate conservative values in a plainspoken way.

“Fred isn’t looking to run for national office again,” a close Thompson adviser said, adding that no official decision had been made. “He is looking to rebuild the party and help elevate the [conservative] movement and its principles.”

While the Republican National Committee considers who will take the helm when the term of the current chairman, Mike Duncan of Kentucky, ends in January, conservatives in Congress are already working to re-brand their party.

[BooBoo1000]

Fred Thompson is too damn old, period. Also he does not have any leadership ability, he has no carisma, he does not creat a fire in the belly. Forget him and Rip, zip or what ever his name is from Utah. empty suit. New blood, new faces, new ideas, and none of the old dinasours now in the Wrecked Republican party. No none of them clean house and do it now/// Fumigate the Senate,and take no prisoners.

[Bull Market]

If “Willard” was a Democrat, McCain would be in love with him. Fact is, he hates his guts. Democrats also hate his guts. It sounds like you do too. That means you stand with McCain moderates and Democrats. Congrats.

[fieldmarshaldj]

"If “Willard” was a Democrat"

Slick Willard. And yes, he's a Democrat operating within the GOP.

"McCain would be in love with him."

Now, now. Juan doesn't love all rodents, he didn't love Slick after all. He just loves his rodent Senate colleagues.

"Fact is, he hates his guts."

Very good judge of character in this case.

"Democrats also hate his guts."

No they don't. They love Slick Willard. Here they all are yukkin' it up together as Slick signs their Socialist legislation into law...

"That means you stand with McCain moderates and Democrats. Congrats."

As you can see, it's Slick Willard that stands amongst the rodentry. Pay no attention to Ted Kennedy and Sal DiMasi. So perhaps you wish to retract your idiotic comments. :-)

[LibLieSlayer]

I like Fred but he folded his tent after NC and disappeared without a word for months. For $2300.00, I deserved a thank you email generated by a single huge carbon copy to his supporters... one email sent to his contact list would have sufficed... not a hard or lengthy thing to write... I got nothing... no thanks and no Conservatism until Palin joined. We need someone to fight for us 24/7 like howeird dean does. Fred is a great man but he is not that man. To say otherwise is to delude ones self.

LLS

[Joe Boucher]

Correct you are.
I’m 55 and my memory is not what it use to be. I see my father in law who is 77 and I think do I want some one who has lost this much being in charge of the nukes?
Thanks for not jumping me for wanting younger lions to emerge.

[jwparkerjr]

With all respect, I think you have fallen prey to revisionist history. There was never a question of is pants and his zipper in the heat of all that was going on. He was under fire for the book he wrote and for the organization he was heading to bring America back to its roots. True, he had been part of a nasty divorce, but that's hardly news in America.

The opposition in those days did everything possible to obstruct anything Newt and the Party was trying to do. They pulled out all the stops and interfered with every aspect of his life and his work on behalf of the Congress.

Please know, I am not giving Newt a pass. I simply want it remembered that at the time of his greatest trials and tribulations the pants and zipper thing were never mentioned. That problem was brought up as an after thought by the Dems to further damage him in every aspect.

It was much more things like the unwavering attacks by the MSM that did him in. Remember the Gingrich that Stole Christmas news mag cover, and the huge deal made of him complaining about having to deplane Air Force One by a back entrance while the President and his minions used the main entrance. Or how ‘bout having his cell phone conversations tapped, recorded and released to the world? The list goes on and on.

Truth is, those who engineered his downfall could have cared less about his zipper and his ability to control it. They simply wanted him out of public life and that was just one more thing they could pile on the man.

The people I want to see heading the Party I would support are Newt Gingrich, Ollie North, John Bolton, Sarah Palin, Duncan Hunter, etc.

Again, please know I am responding to your post with the most respect. I think a lot of what is written and said about Newt these days depends on America's short memory span to demonize him. He and Judge Bork, were the first victims of the Dems’ determination to take back power or make it impossible for those who hold it to put it to its proper use.

I heartily agree with your view that we need a fighter at the top, a newer face. But we need to pay attention to those who engineered the most dramatic political revolution in my lifetime! Did you perchance ever see Newt's DVD series on restoring America? Absolutely fantastic! So great in fact, it was this college course he taught that led to the charges that stuck in the ethics committee. Newt is not the key to solving our problems of today. But I think he deserves to be remembered for what he accomplished and not what revisionist history has made appear to be the facts.

[bert]

Newt was murdered because he has the best mind in American politics. The press hated him because he was too dangerous to the status Quo.

Until the press is killed, there can never be a successful conservative. The only objective of Conservatives should be to kill the press. Once there is media blood and guts and gore on the floor, there can be other considerations.

[Clock King]

The problem is the American people. Even if Congress has low approval ratings, it doesn’t matter. The people keep voting Pelosi and Frank, and Kennedys’ into office. So why should they care. They know they are the elite and untouchable. Let the ‘little’ freshman congress people take the blame.

[EmilyGeiger]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2129994/posts

I love Fred, voted for Fred, but I do think I want Steele in the seat.

[Mr Rogers]

You posted my post before I could!

I gave the same amount, and also am tired of him. He can discuss ideas simply, which is good. He is also just slightly to the right of McCain, which is NOT what we need. He would recruit Dem-lite candidates.

[Mr Inviso]

I’d love to see Fred in a position like that. The Chairman of the RNC is primarily an ideological position, which is exactly where someone with the right ideas like Fred is needed. He doesn’t have to manage the party, they have lots of people on staff for that. The key here is to have someone who can articulate conservative principles in a way that “regular” people can understand them. Fred did a fine job of that during his campaign, and prior to that with his Web pages and subbing for Paul Harvey. Chairman of the RNC should NOT be someone who is running for future office, having to do both would be a distraction. I’m pretty sure that Fred is done with that, unfortunately, Newt probably isn’t. Both of them are good ideologues, but Newt has the public appeal of a toxic waste pit these days, even after his flip-flop on energy from Global Warming Guy to Newt the Driller.

Others like Michael Steele or Sarah Palin are OK, but it’d be better to have them actually SERVING as candidates and office holders, rather than having to serve time as “party hacks”. They’re a lot younger, more energetic, and so on, and are going to be the “public face” of the party. RNC chair is not typically the one out front like the candidates are. King-maker, not king.

[calex59]

I have replaced Fred with Sarah. And that's all I have to say about that.

Ditto.

[GoldenPup]

...because Fred was doing as many of both as any candidate

With exactly zero results...proves my point.

[RightMike]

Oh that’s ridiculous. Fred ran himself and didn’t endorse mcCain til he was the only one left. So did every other Republican in the country. So by your defintion everyone would be toxic.

Fred thompson is 100% different than McCain. He actually articulates conservative principles, which McCain never did. Why you’d want to not include thompson in any Republiacn resurgence is beyond me. He’s one of the few people who can effectively articualte our message.

Just because his campaign wasn’t successful doesn’t mean a thing. Either was Steele’s in Maryland and Gingrich was ousted in 1998, when we almost had an electoral disaster in Congress. Romney, one many thing would be a quality leader, had megabucks and his campaign was a disaster, a bigger one than Fred, who never had the cash.

I think all of them have something to offer, so throwing ANY of them under the bus would be a huge mistake. that includes Fred, Romney, Steele, or Newt.

[RightMike]

Um, not sure what you’re talking about. I only donated $150 and I got a nice letter in the mail from Fred thanking me for my commitment and support. Maybe yours got lost in the mail.

I thought it was fine. Over the summer Fred had several commentaries on TownHall.com, perhaps you missed those, and recorded perhaps the most eloquent case for McCain online, plus his speech was the best of the convention, second only to Sarah’s.

And, Fred now has a PAC and he’s been supporting conservative candidates nationwide. Perhaps you should pay more attention to what he’s actually doing rather than paying attention to spin reported by Huckabots, who are still mad Fred ruined them in south Carolina.

[LibLieSlayer]

Everything you mention about Fred is true... and I pay homage to those things in my comments... but he is no fire in the belly warrior that will get down and dirty with the best of the dims. We need someone on Good Morning America that will b!tch slap stuffoneupyourbutticus or sawyer with with facts, truth and ideology.

We need the smoothness of Rush coupled with the sheer battle readiness of Ann Coulter. We need someone that can square off against howeird dean on deFace the Nation and prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that dean is the biggest fool that ever served as party chairman. We need someone as savvy as Lee and as polished as Reagan. Fred is a Great Statesman and Patriot but he is not the Gladiator that we need right now. We need a George Patton and we need him right now!

BTW, I have never received any email or snail mail thanking me for my support. It could have gotten lost but I have received more than a few emails from Fred Pac. I saw his letter on his website but that was it. He certainly found me when he was asking for a donation for juan mcAmnesty... whom I donated to after Palin was chosen. I have every single email archived. Fred also quit abruptly after North Carolina, when he could have shaped the debate through at least one more state and 5 news cycles. I also have my receipts that I printed out from the website where I donated the $2300.00.

LLS

[NavVet]

No “0” results is what we got as a result of letting the drive media convince us that Fred couldn’t win.

Turnout was the same this year as 04 overall, with a slight Dim increase and a slight GOP decrease. In other words, a RINO couldn’t motivate the base to turnout. Palin, helped but we needed a conservative at the top of the ticket to have a chance.

But hey, keep repeating that “no fire in the belly line” and in 2012, you can repeat the mantra that Palin doesn’t have “gravitas” or that Jindal has “no experience” etc. and maybe we’ll get lucky enough to have Lindsay Gram lead the ticket.