Free Republic

In many ways, South Carolina has the future of the Republican Party in its’ hands. Up until now, the Republican primaries have only flirted with defining what the Republican Party wants. Independents in New Hampshire helped push McCain to victory in a small state with little Republican presence. Michigan rescued Romney and was the most populace stage for a Republican primary yet. However, even that win comes with an asterisk in a largely Democrat state with a fair share of activists who were urged to muddle with the Republican primary by fringe left leaders. But his margin of victory should...

God-o-Meter caught up with Fred Thompson and his wife Jeri at various South Carolina events this week and has cobbled together this Q&A from a few separate exchanges. God-o-Meter has lots more to say about the Thompsons' answers--and will--but it has to head off to interview Ron Paul at Bob Jones University. God-o-Meter: Do you think religion is playing too big a role in the presidential race? Fred Thompson: I don’t have any feelings a long those lines. I think people have a right to express themselves, including people of faith, no question about it, and they’re participating and I’m...

THE ISSUE Republicans have three different winners POINTS OF DEBATE None of the Republican candidates save for Ron Paul and Fred Thompson offer anything resembling freemarket conservatism THE STAR’S VIEW It’s no wonder Republicans are having a hard time settling on a candidate Republican voters are having a hard time settling on presidential candidates, now that the party has three separate winners after its first three major primaries. In Michigan on Tuesday, Republican Mitt Romney salvaged his political campaign, which had been withering following losses in New Hampshire and Iowa. Arizona Sen. John McCain failed to attract the significant numbers...

Back in 1964 when I was PR director of the GOP Truth Squad in the Goldwater presidential campaign, a film of a Ronald Reagan speech was broadcast on the local station in the city where we were campaigning at the moment. Reagan, then a private citizen, was electrifying. He laid out exactly what was at stake in the campaign while providing an explanation of what America was all about and the philosophy that makes us what we are: a nation operating under a Constitution that spells out exactly the very limited role that government is allowed to play in its...

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The Economist on the grand coalition of the Republican Party: Business conservatives can never win a majority without the support of “values voters” (there just are not enough people around who look like Mr Romney). “Values voters” can never produce a viable governing coalition without the help of the business elite. The Republicans have seen revolts against their ruling coalition before—remember Pat Buchanan’s pitchfork rebellion against George Bush senior—and they have always succeeded in putting it back together again. They need to do the same now. Enough Republicans believe enough of the Reagan mantra—less government, traditional values and strong defence—to...

Marc Ambinder declares Fred the winner: On points, Fred Thompson won the debate. Every answer was thoughtful and well-crafted; his tone matched the tone of the question; he wisely refrained from interjecting in the back and forth squabbling. He very deftly reminded viewers that he served on key Senate national security panels and is bringing his experience to bear. Even his insults were subtly and gently constructed In some ways, Thompson did McCain’s bidding. You skeptical readers can tell me that if Thompson had finished a solid fourth in Iowa, I might not be writing about Thompson at all, that...

Wondering about the early response to Fred Thompson’s closing argument to the people of Iowa, I just spent a moment skimming the comments on YouTube. About a fifth of the several hundred posts seem unimpressed, but the rest are positive—many simply glowing. A sampling: If you call yourself a conservative, you need to vote for this man! Wow. Watch the whole thing; it's a little long. I had to wipe a tear from my eye at the end. THIS should be our next President. I know who I am voting for now. Ladies and Gentlemen: The President of the United...

If Fred Thompson is nothing else he’s honest, or at least as honest as politics will allow one man to be. Presidential candidates through necessity are forced to make promises they know they can’t keep. Occasionally a candidate will say something in an unguarded moment being totally frank with his or her audience they wish later they hadn’t. At a town hall meeting in Burlington Iowa Fred Thompson was explaining becoming president wasn’t an obsession of his. He had a life before he decided to run and he’ll have a life if he isn’t the voter’s choice. The media’s reporting...

On the Internet as of sometime this afternoon, Fred Thompson’s closing argument to the people of Iowa. Whereas Romney is saturating the airwaves with attack ads, Thompson pays the voters the courtesy of speaking calmly, and in detail—the video runs to just over 15 minutes. Why should the good Republicans of Iowa support Thompson? Because, the candidate argues, he can win. I believe I am the only candidate in this race who can bring our party to victory in the fall. First, because of the firmness of my principles and the trust that that engenders. Secondly, because of the detailed...

I heard a speech the other night, on Mark Levin's radio show. Yeah, it was that "second rate movie star", Ronnie Reagan. Yeah, the Gipper. But he spoke and I listened, riveted to my car radio to the last fifteen minutes of his speech about supporting the soldier and our country because it is the only world we know and the only country that we will ever have if we choose to keep our values and moral center HERE - or what is left of it. The speech was given on behalf of Barry Goldwater and given in 1964. It...

FRED THOMPSON'S disappointed fans have something to cheer about at last. After sinking to single digits in the polls, the former "Law & Order" actor is making a comeback. Over the past month, Thompson has walked away from several very strong performances in GOP debates. In the latest one, he held command over the entire field and won the day by refusing to play "hand shows" on stage at the direction of the moderator. "I said, 'Nope,' and everybody pulled their hand down and looked around," Thompson later recalled. "I just said to my buddies up there, 'How are you...

<p>The Republican primary in Colorado will soon be upon us; and even before Iowa and New Hampshire, one thing should be eminently clear: there is only one candidate who throughout his career has been consistently Conservative and who will be able to lead a prosperous America into the second decade of the 21st century.</p>

That’s the verdict rendered in this article. It’s just another example of the case conservatives should be making on Fred’s behalf. Here’s one of the key sections of the article: In short, Thompson holds the same conservative positions of all the other candidates combined, and has none of their flaws. In fact, any close observer of the campaign season would tell you that Thompson has been on the receiving end of barely any substantive attacks on policy issues. This is no coincidence. And it is the reason he has had to bear the brunt of shallow attacks about his demeanor,...

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...

Memo to readers: With his superb performance in Wednesday's debate in Iowa, Fred Thompson_has made a monkey out of me. By early afternoon on Tuesday, the column that appears below, one which posits that Thompson's presidential campaign might still find a way to win, was ready in exactly the form it appears here. But I thought the column would still remain exactly on target throughout the week, so (for various reasons) I aimed for a Friday release. At the time, I thought that until Thompson began his Iowa bus tour on Monday the 17th, my_contention that he "ain't dead" yet...

<p>"...It was an odd time for a dispassionate look at federalist theory. Fifteen people had been killed in one of the worst school shootings in US history. Even the National Rifle Association had scaled back its annual meeting.</p> <p>But in many ways, it was signature Thompson: a defiant faith in his own judgment, an indifference to political fallout, and a near zealotry about the limits of government. A few days after his hearing, he not only opposed a juvenile-justice overhaul backed by his own party but was one of just three senators to vote against funds for a set of antiviolence programs.</p>

State Sen. Eric Johnson was among the first prominent Georgians to jump on the Fred Thompson for President bandwagon. The Savannah Republican helped persuade dozens of state lawmakers to endorse the former Tennessee senator earlier this year. But he remained relatively quiet after Thompson officially entered the GOP race this summer. Until last week, that is. That was when Thompson slipped to fifth place in one national poll after doing only a little better in other recent ones. Earlier, he'd led in one national poll and stayed near the front of the pack in others. Against that backdrop, Johnson weighed...

In addition to his solid policy proposals and committment to federalism, here’s another feather in Fred Thomspon’s cap for me, ‘Right With God’ But Not Churchgoer Says Thompson Asked about his religious beliefs during an appearance before about 500 Republicans in South Carolina yesterday, Fred Thompson said he attends church when he visits his mother in Tennessee but does not belong to a church or attend regularly at his home in McLean, Va., just outside Washington. The actor and former senator, who was baptized in the Church of Christ, said he gained his values from “sitting around the kitchen table”...

As a lifelong Democrat, I view with amusement their candidates' debate. My choice would be "none of the above." Regardless of the facts, people tend to believe what they want to believe. All the candidates propose what the people want to hear, rather than concrete proposals. The most realistic candidate is Dennis Kucinich, who witnessed UFOs flying. The problem is he looks as if he flew in on one. Of all the presidential candidates, there is one who stands out. He seems to have more intelligence, leadership qualities and would restore the image of our country to the rest of...