There’s no denying that the possibility of former Tennsesse Senator Fred Thompson running for President has conservatives excited. Power Line has the best explanation for why that I’ve seen so far:
[T]he Republican party is a conservative outfit but neither of its two leading presidential contenders is solidly conservative. That leaves a gap — the space that George Allen or perhaps Bill Frist was expected to fill. Their absence gave Mitt Romney the opportunity to occupy the the conservative niche, and for me he does. However, many conservatives have their doubts on this score, or they doubt his electability. And even I have to admit that right now Thompson appears more electable than Romney.
In a sense, then, Thompson looks like the perfect blend of the Allen/Frist/Romney/Gingrich and McCain/Giuliani “factions.” He seems to combine the conservatism of the former cluster with at least some of the popularity and stature of the latter pairing. This is not to suggest that Thompson is a national hero like McCain and Giuliani. But in addition to a long and distinguished record of public service, he has the good fortune to play a distinguished public servant on television. Millions of Americans see Thompson exercise sound judgment every week as the district attorney on “Law and Order.” I’m reliably informed that the show’s creator, Dick Wolf, developed the persona of this fictional D.A. specifically for Thompson, and that the actor/politician protects his image by pushing back when he thinks his lines don’t portray him in the proper light. But the point isn’t whether we’re seeing the real Fred Thompson on the show; the point is that, if Thompson runs, millions of America will see the character when they see the candidate, and to that extent will like what they see.
What’s important about this, I think, is that, right now, most of Thompson’s popularity as a candidate arises out of the roles that he has played on television and in the movies. That will be enough to at least get him consideration that other candidates in the race like Huckabee and Brownback will never get. Where he goes from there will depend on whether Republican voters find that the candidate has lived up to their predetermined image.
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March 27th, 2007 at 8:54 am
On a website the other day, some conservatives put up a script from a movie of what Thompson had to say as an example of how Conservative the man is. He was lazy as a Senator and quit to go back to acting. You could never tell where his acting left off and his job as a Senator began. After John Glenn got the best of him on the China investigation, he quit and went back to acting. Guess he didn’t like being in a losing role in the Senate. He was never the most energetic Senator and would be hard pressed to carry on a 50-state primary campaign.
Then you have the problem of his TV shows not being able to be shown since he was an actor in them.
He is nothing more than an actor playing around as being a candidate and what happens when he got tired of playing President? Would he resign and go back to acting. He is no Ronald Reagan who was the two-time Governor of California before running.
No person will ever suit some of the far right conservatives. Most of them didn’t like George Allen either because he wasn’t conservative enough. That fringe element of the Republican Party want a candidate to run that could never win but they would stand on principle. The pragmatic Republicans are taking back power from the far right and why most of Allen supporters went to Rudy and can see right through Thompson.
March 27th, 2007 at 10:01 am
I hate it when Dems (namely Eddie above) masquerade as ’sensible’ Republicans and prattle on about the supposed weaknesses of GOP candidates. Eddie clearly not Republican and does not understand what appeals to conservative voters.
Allen had appeal because he was a mainstream conservative with an upbeat mesaage. Sen. Thompson looks to be the same. No GOPer ever looked at either candidate and said they are not conservative enough. Those conservatives DO NOT exist.
March 27th, 2007 at 1:51 pm
Eddie is right on the fact that Fred T. was known as kind of a lazy Senator.
As far as his appeal, I think part is TV, part is the fact that he doesn’t hold the political baggage of McCain, and personal baggage of Guiliani and Romney.
The closer to the center group in the GOP will find him much more appealing than a Tancredo or Brownback.
June 2nd, 2007 at 3:03 pm
It amazes me that a politician is considered “lazy” if he hasn’t been some kind of firebrand on the “hill”. He went to Washington to do a job and, from all that I have read, did it. When he saw that he wasn’t needed, as the government had taken on more of a housekeeping role, he left to pursue other interests. I really wish that other Senators, in particular, would have this attitude so that we didn’t have a Ted Kennedy or William Byrd in the Senate.
When his country called, namely George Bush, to help get one of the best Chief Justices of the Supreme Court through the confirmation process, he was more than willing to serve.
The time he has taken to confirm his decision to run for the Presidency shows that he is interested in what the people think. He is not trying to force his candidacy down our throats.
Read his record. Except for McCain-Feingold, it is stellar, and he has explained the error of his ways in that bill. With his competition consisting of mainly Northeastern Republicans, who could never have been elected in their home states on a conservative platform, and McCain, who will never survive the illegal immigration bill and has finally went totally insane, I believe that he is our, the Republicans, only hope against the attack machine that will be used by the Democratic Socialist Party. Today, a candidate not only has to have the right message but also the ability to communicate that message in the face of Stalinist tactics and rhetoric. He can do this where the others fail. Charisma means a lot today as was proved by Bill Clinton, who had no substance at all but a lot of charisma.
This is an extremely important election from several points. First, and foremost, we need a candidate that will continue the war on terror as it is, i.e., a shooting fight, not a diplomatic farce. Talking to Jihadists is like talking to Nazis only they have their god on their side, they think. Next, there is the problem with our open borders. We need a President that is committed to the closing of the borders, both South and North. This was evident in recent developments with the Fort Dix six and TB Andy. We also need a President that isn’t afraid of offending certain Muslims in our own country and with our “supposed” allies. Please read “Now They Call Me Infidel” by Nonie Darwish to be enlightened on this. And finally, we need a President that is for smaller government and is willing to fight for Social Security reform and lower taxes.
Frankly, I do not see this combination in any other candidate, even Republican. Although I would vote for a Republican, no matter who, over one of the Stalinist Democrats, I would prefer to vote for a Republican with the total package. For I believe that Senator Fred Thompson, contrary to what Dr. Dobson has said, is a Christian in the true meaning of the term. Not a Bible thumping hypocrite but a man that tries to live, in a quiet way, by the principles that our Saviour put forth.
May G-D be with us,
W Howard Baker
Bardstown, KY