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Quin Hillyer is a conservative, but not a Fred Thompson lackey. His observations? I am firmly convinced that Fred Thompson still has a real shot at the nomination...I watched him with Wolf Blitzer just an hour or so ago and he came across very very well indeed. He really is hitting on ALMOST all cylinders now, more so every day since beginning to really engage about December 1. ...it is also worth noting that the utterly scurrilous Politico story yesterday almost certainly depressed Thompson's vote in Iowa. As I said on Fox News yesterday, for a news outlet to publish...

I won’t go as far as Nathan in actually asking people to vote for Fred Thompson in Iowa, but I will say that I hope they vote for him. While I have a few areas of substantial disagreement with him, I tend to agree with him on Social Security, national security, taxes, budget reform, and the second amendment. To be honest, I like the campaign he’s running. I know I probably won’t get a lot of agreement on that, but let me say it again: I like the campaign that Fred Thompson is running. I like that he has put...

Well, that's the rumor from Zogby polling. Musing on the Thompson campaign, there was an interesting post earlier this week by Paul Marks at Samizdata: "Fred Thompson: Too Sane to Be President?" Marks writes that the media equates a passion for campaigning with a passion for governing and serving one's country -- I'd note that "Campaign Carl" Cameron of Fox News has been particularly derisive of Thompson in this regard -- but that they're actually two different things. Marks: "But what sort of person is passionate about the political process? Not getting things done - but the process of gaining...

Mike Huckabee pulled a move this afternoon that was too cute by half: he called a press conference to announce he was pulling a negative anti-Romney campaign ad, and then showed the ad to the assembled press -- obviously hoping he would get mileage out of the ad while taking credit for being a "nice guy." As I mentioned in a comment at Holy Coast earlier today, I was curious about a Jonathan Martin article posted yesterday at Politico which include the news that blogger Joe Carter has left the Huckabee campaign. Carter joined the campaign to much fanfare just...

While Fred Thompson is not leading the polls, Thompson does have a msjority of endorsements from prominent conservative bloggers.

NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - Anyone with dreams of being a talk radio star -- ranting about sports and politics, chatting with callers, sharing recipes or car-buying tips -- can play host on their own show, right on the Web. BlogTalkRadio, Talkshoe and Skypecasts are among the Web sites that have become popular for would-be radio jocks, and all it takes is a computer and a telephone. "You can create a show within five minutes and be on the air within 15 minutes," said Alan Levy, the CEO of BlogTalkRadio, a site he started shortly after his father fell ill...

Finditt, an online portal providing news and press release distribution and video uploading opportunities among its many services, has invited the Fred Thompson campaign and its supporters to upload presidential campaign videos to the site. As a means of gaining added exposure and spreading the Fred Thompson campaign message supporters can utilize the services of Finditt as an effective platform to reach voters prior to the upcoming Republican primaries. One of the benefits of uploading videos through Finditt is that the video can be included inside a press release distributed through Finditt and TransWorldNews sites. This provides the Fred Thompson...

In blogger poll, after blogger poll it has been Fred Thompson hands down, despite the efforts of Ron Paul bots. Most conservative bloggers I know have either came out and endorsed him, or are rooting for him. Below are just a handful. John Hawkins of Rightwing News, Erick Erickson of RedState.Com, Pejman of RedState, Eugene Volokh of Volokh's Conspiracy, Polipundit of Polipundit, Ala from Blonde Sagacity, Beth at My Vast Right Wing Conspiracy, Kender at Kender's Musings, Gribbit at Gribbit's Word, Bill Quick of Daily Pundit, Misha of Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiller, Bob Krumm, Brandon at Conservative Superiority, Curt at Flopping Aces,...

Mike Huckabee campaigns as religious Baptist. Yet how religious is Huck? Robert Novak, in the Washington Post, questions the depth of Huckabee’s Baptist support: More than personality explains why not all his Baptist brethren have signed on the dotted line for Huckabee. He did not join the “conservative resurgence” that successfully rebelled against liberals in the Southern Baptist Convention a generation ago. Ann Coulter goes farther, and questions both Huckabee’s intelligence and sincerity of his supposed religous convictions. Hat Tip: Allah Pundit: Hot Air, Huckabee is a liberal Arkansas politician, who would be a democrat, if the party was not...

I have made my choice. I will share it in a moment. It was not as simple as analyzing the numbers. There is (or should be) an emotional response to the candidate, at that’s what makes this year’s contest a little different. I will break down my emotional thoughts on all of the remaining candidate, in no particular order. I think most of us have a strong emotional attachment to Rudy Giuliani. He helped Sheppard New York through 9/11. People remember a steady hand and strong leadership. They remember seeing him at the scene. It helps his supporters ‘forget’ about...

In my last post, I said there were a couple things in Thompson’s interview with the news staff of the Waverly (Iowa) Democrat newspaper worth more thought. Here’s one of them. KD: Tell me, why do you want to be president of the most beautiful, most powerful, most unique country in the world? FT: To keep it that way. That’s every generation’s obligation, to keep it that way. And I think we’re at a crossroads right now. I think we have got to come to terms with our position in the world, for the 21st century. We know what our...

Seven major pollsters issued new national numbers for mid-December, after the last Republican debate in Iowa, which was hosted by the hostile Des Moines Register which is for the record, endorsing the Hillary Clinton campaign. An overall average of these seven polls is below. With Fred Thompson running 5th with only 11.3% support nationally, can Thompson really win the RNC nomination and if so, how? Can Fred Thompson Surge? The "front-runners:" Mayor Giuliani has been running the longest. He has peaked in the 20’s several times now, only to slide in the polls immediately after. He should be running strongest...

SoCalPundit.com endorsed Fred Thompson for the Republican nomination not because he was the candidate raising the most money or the candidate with the most name recognition (though in a national election I think he would) but because he is the true conservative candidate in the GOP field. All due respect to Alan Keyes of course. After a shaky start to a late campaign, it looked like Fred was dead in the water. But a Google search for the candidate today reveals some indication that Fred is catching up in Iowa and other early primary states where Fred must make a...

I finally decided to come out and support a candidate, all the way. I've always leaned toward Thompson ever since I heard he was thinking of running, but decided to give the other guys due diligence. I have, and I am a bigger Thompson supporter because of it. I should list the reasons when I have more time, but it came down to four issues of equal importance: National Security, Illegal Immigration, Gun Rights, and Judicial Nominations. The rest was icing on the cake, Fred is a fiscal conservative willing to cut spending, even the political hot potato called entitlement...

I want to marry Fred Thompson and bear his children. I'm not pledging him my vote in the New Hampshire primary, though -- I'm not quite ready for that level of commitment. I've said numerous times that I think one of the key elements in winning the presidency has to be a sense of humor. The American people seem to prefer to vote for the candidate who comes across as warmer, funnier, more ready to laugh at themselves and with people than one who is not. That trend has held true in every election since 1980, and (once you skip...

As regular VC readers know, I am one of several conspirators who is supporting Fred Thompson's campaign for President. I cannot speak for the others, but my reasons for supporting Thompson include his commitment to federalism, his candor on important issues other candidates would prefer to avoid (e.g. entitlements), and his record on regulatory reform and government oversight over the past thirty years. For National Review's pentultimate issue (the one before they endorsed Mitt Romney), I authored an article making the conservative case for Thompson. For those without subscriptions to the print magazine, here is an excerpt: Sen. Fred Thompson...

A quick note about my various Huckabee postings. As many (most) readers know, I am supporting Fred Thompson in the Republican primary (and wrote an article explaining why in NRODT). This is not the reason why I have been posting so much that is critical of Huckabee, however. Rather, I find Huckabee's record and various positions to be particularly problematic, far more so than any of the other candidates. (Note I have not been posting items critical of the other candidates, even though I prefer Fred.) In my view, Huckabee is a big government populist liberal, not a conservative. In...

For those of you who spend a lot of time online and hang out at community-driven web sites like Real Clear Politics and Digg.com, you’ve seen how left-wing “swarms” can overwhelm online votes and comment boards. That is why we are creating a new email action list at FreedomSwarm.com — so that we can match the liberals with targeted online campaigns of our own. If you join the FreedomSwarm you’ll receive an email once or twice a week with an action list. It should be interesting and a lot of fun, and you can unsubscribe at any time. Go ahead...

If you thought there was something odd about CNN's YouTube Republican presidential debate you are correct. As it turns out, at least nine of the “undecided Republican voters” have subsequently been identified as Democrats who have taken stands in support of one or another of the current Democratic presidential candidates. CNN President Jonathan Klein was quick to defend loading the questions in this fashion. “Who better to show the unsuitability of these Republican candidates than knowledgeable Democrats?” Klein asked. “The American people deserve to see these poseurs exposed to critical scrutiny. Our only disappointment is that the revelation of the...

Like noxious bugs swarming over a crumbling tenement, followers of Ron Paul have invaded the blogosphere. Their target is anyone who dares to criticize their hero. Bloggers have dealt with them in various ways. Some have tried banning them outright. Others allow readers to engage them in back-and-forth debates that can easily take a thread to several hundred responses. I used to find the Paulites annoying, but recently I had a revelation: Far from being scorned, Paul’s rabid fans should be welcomed and encouraged. We should do everything we can to make certain they keep pushing their man, sending him...