Free Republic

Steven Stark lays out a scenario whereby all the other candidates, none of whom have wholehearted Republican support, cancel each other out, paving the way for Fred Thompson to receive the nomination at the convention. "When conventions deadlock, history teaches us that yesterday's disappointments become tomorrow's stars. If McCain can't stampede to the nomination and Super Tuesday doesn't produce another clear front-runner, we may not have heard the last of Fred..." I find the idea highly unlikely, though appealing...but stranger things have happened. Whoever would have thought the 2000 election wouldn't be decided for 36 days?

This is a weird article. I was never one who believed that politicians were - on the whole - smart enough to pull off something like this. I never thought the Democrats would pull Hillary in as the Party's savior in 2004. And I'm skeptical of what Steven Stark writes in the above-linked piece. What do you guys think? Is this author on to something, or is he certifiable? If McCain loses in Florida, the Republicans may well be headed to a deadlocked race and convention. And history teaches us that the likeliest candidate to emerge in that scenario is...

I want to speak to every one of you who supported Fred Thompson:I have long ago combed the websites of the candidates, read the threads that chided or extolled their records, and tried to gage their character even though filtered and massaged by their supporters and the MSM. With Fred's withdrawl, and now left without a candidate for the upcoming primary, I have re-reviewed the GOP hopefuls, and dismayed that I am satisfied with none. When I go to the polls, I will still be voting for Fred Thompson, and the more I've thought about it, the more I urge...

A veteran of Louisiana state campaigns offers this ironic suggestion about last night's Louisiana GOP primary — Fred Thompson won, or would have done well, had he not dropped out hours earlier. Louisiana's social conservatives created the winning "Pro-life, Pro-family" slate in early January largely because we didn't know if Fred was still going to be a candidate at the time of our caucuses (turns out that he wasn't, by a few hours). Because we had almost all the state's social conservative leaders for Fred, we were also able to stave off Huckabee by use of this "pro-life, pro-family" slate....

snip - If McCain loses in Florida, the Republicans may well be headed to a deadlocked race and convention. And history teaches us that the likeliest candidate to emerge in that scenario is someone like Warren G. Harding: the prototypical, less-than-stellar candidate to which conventions turn when the going gets rough. This year's Harding? Believe it or not (are you sitting down?), despite the fact that he's withdrawn from the race, is Fred Thompson.

So far, Mitt Romney is winning overwhelming support, according to a poll at FreeRepublic.com, which had been a place where Fred Thompson's supporters congregated.

I was sitting here thinking something that I have thought before several times in recent months. The Republican Party began as a third party championing the cause of abolition and westward expansion. Just was wondering some of your thoughts about if it is time to begin thinking about a new true conservative party dedicated to true conservative principles?

Why did Fred withdraw?Because he is not a clown and did not fit in the circus of 21st century main stream media and Republican party politics.In the spirit of 1776 he answered the call of a segment of the population who still believed that the 'Party' would accept a constitutional conservative candidate.After the first six performances of the primary follies it became apparent that the process of choosing a presidential candidate had become a farce, a comedy of errors.  For a man of integrity who values principle above politics it was just too much.The Republican party has devolved into the...

I was Fred Thompson’s first hire. In fact, I moved from ABC Radio, where I worked with him on the Paul Harvey show, first into the exploratory committee and then the campaign proper. When the campaign turned its focus and limited resources to the mechanics of traditional primary politics, my role ended. FDT’s decision to drop out of the race at this point is entirely logical. It is, nevertheless, truly depressing. This is a particular moment in history. After a brief respite, during which it appeared that the dangers posed by imperialistic totalitarian ideologies had abated, we are facing more...

My Favorite Fred Thompson Columns Well, he’s out. And I’m left with three great questions that inspire only mediocre answers, if indeed there are any answers that can be provided at all: One, why vote against Fred? I don’t mean why did they; I mean why should they have. The best answer I ever heard came from statements like “that’s what we need to do — to amend the Constitution so it’s in God’s standards”? Three…lacking some kind of reform, does our electoral process have any better chance of installing a quality leader at the head of our government,...

...What's clear is that with Thompson out, the crowd on the ideological right grows less crowded. The exit polls from the Palmetto State underscore Thompson's appeal to the most conservative GOP voters. Among the voters who described themselves as "very conservative" Huckabee led the way with 41%, but Thompson claimed 22% percent (McCain placed third with 19% followed by Romney with 16%). "Based on South Carolina, a state that Thompson worked pretty hard, his departure would seem to help Huckabee and Romney probably more so than McCain," said Neil Newhouse, an [unaffiliated] Republican pollster.. Given Thompson's strengths with very conservative...

Fred Thompson's campaign announced via e-mail Tuesday afternoon that Thompson had dropped out of the Republican presidential race. To which one might respond, "Fred Thompson had a presidential campaign?" Thompson announced his candidacy on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" half an hour after, and 3,000 miles away from, the Republican presidential debate in Durham, N.H., last September 5. It was an act of hubris borne of the disconnection from everyday reality that Hollywood stardom often produces even within otherwise sensible people. The Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary exist to give lesser-known and under-funded candidates a shot at winning...

‘We need to deserve to lead. And this is what this is all about; it’s about deserving to lead.” That was Fred Thompson on Saturday in South Carolina during a sincere, passionate, well-grounded speech that sounded like his farewell to the campaign trail. With his announcement Tuesday afternoon that he has withdrawn his candidacy for the Republican nomination for president, we now know it was. It was a bittersweet moment for any conservative who had been watching his campaign and wished it had been a more effective one earlier in the process. It was also a moment for the ages...

It's brilliant actually.

Good news for Huckabee TRIBUNE-REVIEW Salena Zito Posted January 22, 2008 3 :00 PM Democratic strategist John Lapp said, "On first blush, it would seem that (Mike) Huckabee is the main beneficiary of Fred Thompson's withdrawal. Huckabee, Thompson and, to a lesser degree, Mitt Romney were splintering the hard core, evangelical, social conservative vote. With Thompson's withdrawal, Huckabee has the chance to consolidate the far right. However, if Thompson endorses John McCain, that would be a nice conservative credential to have, considering McCain has been struggling with the mainline conservative Republican base."

Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson dropped out of the race Tuesday and, according to a top adviser, can now position himself as a vice presidential candidate.

Fred Thompson quits presidential race Former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson quit the Republican presidential race on Tuesday, after a string of poor finishes in early primary and caucus states. "Today, I have withdrawn my candidacy for president of the United States. I hope that my country and my party have benefited from our having made this effort," Thompson said in a statement. Thompson's fate was sealed last Saturday in the South Carolina primary, when he finished third in a state that he had said he needed to win. In the statement, Thompson did not say whether he would endorse any...

McLean, VA - Senator Fred Thompson today issued the following statement about his campaign for President: "Today I have withdrawn my candidacy for President of the United States. I hope that my country and my party have benefited from our having made this effort. Jeri and I will always be grateful for the encouragement and friendship of so many wonderful people."

This is an open discussion thread on Fred08.com

I don't know about you folks out there, bu it seems to me every day I come here I'm seeing stories from various news sources of Fred Thopson dropping out of the presidential race. I know his mother is ill and it may be distracting him. And I don't want to speak for his mother, but if I was running, I'm sure my mother would be telling me "go fight and win your dream". With all these stories out about Fred dropping out, it seems to me that the MSM is trying to throw Fred under the bus to promote...