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Welcome to the first edition of our insider's email. We have created it to keep you posted on important news about Fred's campaign. INSIDERS NEWS: FRED RAISES NEARLY $13M FOR FIRST FEC FILING; THE CONSERVATIVE REPUBLICAN REVOLUTION OF 1994 Great, exciting news: Our first FEC report will show $12.7M raised from 80,000 contributors. For the quarter we have raised $9.3M with $7M cash-on-hand. More than 60% of our quarter's total of over $9M came since Fred announced with contributions averaging over $200K daily. Some in the media are making comparisons to other candidates' first quarter #'s which misses the point:...

For the first time in over 30 years I am considering supporting a Republican for president of the United States. This may seem a little out of character for me, but I offer the following reasons that led me to make this decision. First, but not least, is the fact I have always been opposed to one party controlling the Senate, the House of Representatives and the White House at the same time, even if it is my own party. Division of powers allows for more checks and balances. Recent actions seem to validate this concern. The second reason is...

At Friends of Fred Thompson our mission is to explain how great a leader and future President Fred will be. We believe to take the measure of a man you must understand his principles. What will be the standards he applies as issues come before him? Fred Thompson has clear principles he has honed through his years of public service. We now have those principles on the Fred08.com website. Here are a few: Individual Liberty. As Jefferson spelled out in the Declaration of Independence, our basic rights come from God, not from government, and that among these inalienable rights is...

The Politico has one of the most interesting articles up about Fred Thompson published in quite a while. Most political observers focus on the polls, who raises what (plead guilty); in short, the details, but the Politico’s Roger Simon takes a closer look at how Fred Thompson handles himself and what kind of person he is and what kind of campaign he has. When Roger asked Thompson whether the considers himself to be an “11th Commandment man” (never speak ill of a fellow Republican), the former senator answered that he’s more of a “12 Commandment man.” The 12th Commandment, according...

RINGGOLD, Ga. -- With endorsements from almost half of Georgia's Republican legislators, presidential candidate Fred Thompson has "phenomenal support" statewide, according to state Sen. Chip Rogers, R-Woodstock, named two weeks ago to head Mr. Thompson's campaign in Georgia. "We're working nonstop to build on the lead we already have here in Georgia," Sen. Rogers said Monday. "This should be a state that should go for Fred Thompson." Sen. Rogers met here with about 10 other North Georgia supporters of Mr. Thompson at Portofino Pizza and Italian Restaurant for a strategy session. Also there were state Rep. Tom Graves, R-Ranger, and...

Though America got where it is today by following a pattern of freedom and prosperity followed, Americans at a present political crossroads may be in danger of choosing instead a path that leads to inevitable demise, said Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson Monday in Marshalltown. Thompson, however, advocated adhering to the country’s foundational principles and doing what is right. “How often, when you do the right thing, it turns out to be good politics too?” he said to a full room at the Tremont on Main. At the core of his campaign, Thompson said he stands behind a federalism based...

For one day at least, Wyoming felt a little like New Hampshire. Three Republican presidential candidates, including former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson, made their pitch to the Cowboy State at a packed forum in Casper on Saturday. The newfound attention comes on the heels of a decision by the Wyoming Republican Party to move its county conventions up to Jan. 5, to be closer to the New Hampshire primary, traditionally the first in the nation. "It behooves all the candidates to pay attention to the state of Wyoming," said Joe Schloss, chairman of the Teton County Republican Party. A crowd...

In South Carolina’s Republican Presidential Primary, the latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey finds Fred Thompson leading Rudy Giuliani 24% to 20%. That’s little changed from a month ago when Thompson held a 23% to 21% advantage. Mitt Romney has moved into third place and is now supported by 15% of South Carolina’s Likely Primary Voters while John McCain is barely in double digits at 11% support. Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee earns 3% of the South Carolina vote while four other candidates split 5% and 22% are undecided. Sixty-three percent (63%) of the state’s Republican Primary voters say that Giuliani...

A couple of months ago - ages in political time, but amazingly short for those older than, say, five years - it seemed that if one Fred Thompson - actor - would decide to run for president, he would immediately receive the support of the conservative base of the Republican Party and he would leave all other candidates behind. In a less rosy picture, he would at least inspire many conservatives; no more “conservatives are unhappy with the candidates” would be the result of a Thompson-announcement. Now, however, at the end of September 2007, it’s quite safe to say that...

Conventional wisdom is hardening around the proposition that Fred Dalton Thompson is too lazy, ill-prepared, tired, old, lackluster, inexperienced, inconsistent and bald to make a successful run for President. Of course, conventional wisdom rarely gets anything right. When it does, it's only by accident. In this case conventional wisdom is not just wrong but comically so. Thompson will win the Republican nomination for two reasons. First, he's a very impressive candidate. Second, there's no realistic alternative. He will win the general election for the same two reasons. Let's start by considering the Thompson's Republican competition. John McCain's candidacy may not...

A well-known evangelical leader is encouraging conservative Christians to give presidential hopeful Fred Thompson and all other candidates a fair chance not long after another prominent conservative leader criticized the former senator for being too weak on key issues. Although he doesn’t endorse Thompson, former Republican presidential candidate Gary Bauer contends that conservative Christians should seriously consider him if they want to avoid a “nightmare scenario” where they are forced to choose between two pro-abortion, pro-gay rights candidates – Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani. “He (Thompson)’s obviously against same-sex marriage. He doesn’t support quite the same constitutional amendment that some...

http://greenvilleonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070926/NEWS01/709260378/1011/NEWS03 Cannot be posted due to copyright issues.

Washington (The Weekly Standard) Vol. 013, Issue 03 - 10/1/2007 - David Holden is a savvy guy. He doesn't consider himself a political junkie, but he has been closely following the presidential campaign as it unfolds around him. Holden runs Hair Biz, a salon at 4 N. Main Street in Concord, New Hampshire. Hillary Clinton's campaign office is two blocks up, and his location, as luck would have it, puts him just a few doors down from John Edwards's headquarters. Hair salon . . . John Edwards . . . Did I mention that Holden is a savvy guy? In...

If former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson is the Republican nominee in 2008, the Volunteer State is likely to cast its Electoral College votes for the home town boy. A Rasmussen Reports statewide survey finds that Thompson leads Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton by fifteen percentage points (54% to 39%). He leads John Edwards by twenty-one points (56% to 35%) and Barack Obama by thirty points (60% to 30%). However, if the Republican nominee is Rudy Giuliani or Mitt Romney, Tennessee’s eleven Electoral votes could conceivably end up in the Democratic column. Clinton has a statistically insignificant two-point edge over Giuliani (46%...

Over the past four months, Rasmussen Reports polling has consistently shown Fred Thompson and Rudy Giuliani holding the top two slots in the race for the Republican Presidential Nomination. During that time, the weekly poll results have shown Thompson’s support ranging from a low of 20% to a high of 28%. Giuliani’s range has been similar, from 19% to 27%. Although Thompson and Giuliani are the frontrunners, both men still have plenty of detractors who say they can’t possibly win the nomination. For the week ending September 23, it’s Thompson 26% and Giuliani 22%. Occupying a precarious niche somewhere between...

There have been so many dismissive or blistering articles about Fred Thompson in recent months, I half expected last weekend to see Larry, Curly or Moe lead a bumbling three-day bus tour through Florida. George Will likens the former Tennessee senator to overhyped New Coke; Robert Novak suggests the late-announcing candidate may have crashed and burned before takeoff; Dick Morris declares him clearly over his head on the campaign trail. These guys need get out of the Beltway for a few days and see what's happening on the ground in places like Florida. They're underestimating hunger among Republicans for an...

The following is a summary of Thompson’s views on the issues of National Security, Federal Budget and Spending/Budgetary Reform, Tax Reform, Healthcare, Government Effectiveness, Building Strong Families, Immigration, Education, Appointment of Judges, Energy Security, and the Second Amendment. National Security In a post 9/11 world, Thompson recognizes the need for America to increase its ability to defeat its terrorist enemies. Therefore, his plans include upscaling the military, improving the missile defense system, enhancing the intelligence community, making homeland security robust enough to protect America from terrorists worldwide, giving backbone the judicial system so it will face the reality of terrorism...

The dueling perceptions of Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson are vividly displayed on a political website. "Thompson Is Clearly In Over His Head," an opinion column headline says - right next to national polls that suggest he is near the top of the GOP field. Two weeks after he entered the race, Thompson's candidacy is as much of an enigma as it was during his summerlong "testing the waters" phase. He has not fizzled or run away with the lead, yet there is evidence that either possibility could happen. Some of the initial reviews of Thompson's entry have been harsh....

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) - Republican presidential hopeful Fred Thompson will attend a candidates forum sponsored by the state GOP next weekend. Wyoming Republicans have jumped their caucuses up to January 5th and Thompson campaign spokesman Jeff Sadosky said Thompson wants to start gathering support in the state based on his "consistent conservative" record. Candidates will speak to Republican precinct committee members and answer questions from them during two meetings on September 29th - one in Casper and the other in Riverton. Both will also be open to the public. The state Republican Party has said Sen. Sam Brownbeck, Rep. Ron...

In a statewide survey of registered Florida voters who said they were likely to vote in next January’s Republican primary, former Sen. Fred Thompson led former Mayor Rudy Giuliani by a six-point margin. The telephone survey of 500 likely voters in the GOP primary - conducted as part of a larger survey for the Florida Chamber of Commerce Sept 6-10 - had a margin of error of 4 percent and was weighted for age, race, gender, and political affiliation. The poll was first reported by our sister publication, Southern Political Report. On the Republican side, the results were: Thompson: 27%...