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Flocking To Fred Thompson?
Yesterday, Henry posted a comment I had left in a previous post over at Babalu concerning the results of the Iowa caucus on Thursday and what it meant for Fred Thompson.
My reaction to the results was that Mike Huckabee benefited from support that was largely Fred Thompson's for the taking. Why has Thompson not capitalized from the same type of surge Huckabee is enjoying? Several pro-Fred blogs think the media has something to do with it (so does Fred himself). Check out some pro-Fred blogs here.
I am supporting Fred Thompson in this race, although I can't say I've been 100% sure of that all the time. The deeper we get into the race, however, the more I realize that Fred Thompson is the one that agrees with my views the most, therefore it only makes sense to support him.
It's interesting, because the prevailing wisdom appears to be that Fred is most people's second choice behind whomever they're supporting. In other words, he's solid and doesn't turn people off, but doesn't set them on fire either. Unfortunately, that's not the place to be in when you're trying to win a presidential nomination. Many pro-Fred bloggers believe that once people find out enough about their #1 candidate, they will come to the realization that Fred Thompson is indeed the only consistent, across-the-board conservative, and eventually head to Fred's camp.
That scenario is certainly possible, especially if Romney continues to take hits like he did in Iowa. Increased scrutiny of Huckabee may very well lead his supporters to realize that he's not what he may appear to be. This leaves Fred against Giuliani, who's a moderate, and McCain who has strong moderate leanings as well.
All Fred has to do is somehow channel the "I'm the only rock-solid conservative" attitude and convince people that he's the guy. He's not far off as he enjoys at least lukewarm support. He's been missing the fire that's necessary to rally people to his side. Perhaps now's the time Fred realizes this and goes on a serious offensive.
My reaction to the results was that Mike Huckabee benefited from support that was largely Fred Thompson's for the taking. Why has Thompson not capitalized from the same type of surge Huckabee is enjoying? Several pro-Fred blogs think the media has something to do with it (so does Fred himself). Check out some pro-Fred blogs here.
I am supporting Fred Thompson in this race, although I can't say I've been 100% sure of that all the time. The deeper we get into the race, however, the more I realize that Fred Thompson is the one that agrees with my views the most, therefore it only makes sense to support him.
It's interesting, because the prevailing wisdom appears to be that Fred is most people's second choice behind whomever they're supporting. In other words, he's solid and doesn't turn people off, but doesn't set them on fire either. Unfortunately, that's not the place to be in when you're trying to win a presidential nomination. Many pro-Fred bloggers believe that once people find out enough about their #1 candidate, they will come to the realization that Fred Thompson is indeed the only consistent, across-the-board conservative, and eventually head to Fred's camp.
That scenario is certainly possible, especially if Romney continues to take hits like he did in Iowa. Increased scrutiny of Huckabee may very well lead his supporters to realize that he's not what he may appear to be. This leaves Fred against Giuliani, who's a moderate, and McCain who has strong moderate leanings as well.
All Fred has to do is somehow channel the "I'm the only rock-solid conservative" attitude and convince people that he's the guy. He's not far off as he enjoys at least lukewarm support. He's been missing the fire that's necessary to rally people to his side. Perhaps now's the time Fred realizes this and goes on a serious offensive.
Labels: Fred Thompson
posted by Robert at 10:10 AM
6 Comments:
Interesting. I feel the same way about Fred -- that he's the only candidate who is in sync with my views. But I've invested a lot (well, emotionally, anyway) in supporting Rudy because I think he's good on defense and electable, I think we could do worse than McCain, and I've tried my darnedest to like Romney.
I agree that Huckabee's "surge" has been largely the result of media coverage. The MSM would love for him to be the Republican nominee because (a) he'd be an easy kill in the general election; and (b) his domestic policies, aside from abortion, are objectively liberal. I don't think that I'm alone among Republicans in thinking that, if the choice is between Huckabee or any of the main Dem candidates, I'll have to sit out the election.
So, I'm leaning toward voting for Fred in the Florida primary, assuming that he's still in come January 29th. The "fire" thing is a bit of a conundrum, though, because part of Fred's appeal is that he is something of a throwback to the early days of our Republic, when it was viewed as unseemly to "campaign" for the office of POTUS.
Hey, and don't rule out Republican libertarians -- Fred's position on federalist principles (he was opposed to federal intervention in the Terry Schiavo matter) is right in sync with the libertarian view.
Brant,
Do you think most libertarians are leaning towards Ron Paul instead of Fred? That would be a shame.
At times, I have felt much like you in that I like Fred, but have left myself open to other candidates. In the end, Fred's the one that offers the most consistent views. There's still time, but Fred needs to get moving. Unfortunately in today's era of politics, one HAS to campaign and promote themselves. Let's hope Fred gets that message.
Our responsibility of choosing the best possible candidate for our country relies on our heavily informed opinion...that means research. On the net we have it by the truckload and I don't mean via the mainstream media.
From that research I've found that while other candidates are offering pipedreams Fred Thompson offers what is implementable and what will work.
Fred offers the Flat tax, a strong illegal immigration plan, a strong defense against terrorism with the qaulifications and experience to know what he's talking about unlike the others.
In other words Fred has performed well above any of his competition in addition to being the only man I trust in the race by far to do what he says he will do...and isn't that a big part of it? You bet it is.
Go to his website and look at his principles, issues and white papers and then compare them to the others....frankly, there is no comparison. Then look back on their records of socialism, high taxes and big government and finally see that it is only the media and their spin that could have temporarily derailed full support of Fred Thompson.
I much prefer Thompson over any of the other candidates. Unfortunately his odds look slim. I hope the situation improves for him.
As for libertarians and Ron Paul, I am pretty much a libertarian and I wouldn't vote for Paul in a million years. He has a head-in-the-sand position on national defense, and he seems to have morphed into an economic populist.
Thompson is the best of the bunch. If not Thompson, I prefer Giuliani. I would vote for McCain over Obama, and probably over Clinton, but the latter preference is by a slim margin. I think he would probably be a bad president. If Huckabee is the Republican nominee I will probably not vote, but I don't think he will be the nominee.
Thank you very much for your link! I would add a further comment, but the ones above have said everything I would say already.
I think that as Mitt Romney proves that he is unelectable, Fred will get much of his support.
I'm a NYer (NYS, not NYC). I respect Giuliani for his views in the WOT, but what I would ask you all to consider is this:
Rudy and Fred Thompson have the same views on the WOT, but Fred Thompson is an across-the-board conservative we can trust on all issues important to us - fiscal and social. Those issues are intertwined. I am inclined to believe Giuliani when he says he would nominate conservative justices, but what exactly is Rudy's meaning of "conservative justices?" Is he referring to fiscal conservatism or to across-the-board conservatism? That's where I have a problem with Rudy, although I would vote for him over McCain and especially over Huckabee.
Connie
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