Earlier this evening I asked if the results of recent special elections had thrown enough cold water on Congressional Republicans to get them to wake up and return to their conservative senses. Well, the master satirist Iowahawk has painted the picture of the Congressional GOP's downfall better than I can with a series of letters from fictional Congressman Jerry Bristol. Check it out. The other good news to cheer up my day? Fred Thompson is back, with his inspirational and no-nonsense conservative commentary as a Townhall blogger (H/T Michelle Malkin). I was a loyal Fredhead for a couple months there, before the wheels came off his campaign. He wasn't destined to be President, but perhaps he'll do much better as an online conservative … [Read more...]
Mitt for President
Sadly - but arriving with an increasing sense of inevitability - Fred Thompson has dropped out of the race to be our next President. A classy departure worthy of an honorable man who ran an honorable, if less than inspirational, campaign. Most telling is his lack of endorsement: a non-endorsement that has to hurt John McCain. Yes, my predictions for South Carolina clearly were wrong, altogether too much made from the heart rather than the head. I'm not ashamed of holding out hope for Fred while hope was still there. Nor should my blogger friend Steven be ashamed of holding out hope for his man Huck (though we disagree on his candidacy). I share the sentiments of Dr. Rusty Shackelford at The Jawa Report (H/T Hugh Hewitt):Dear fellow … [Read more...]
South Carolina Predictions
If Michael (picking McCain) and Steven (picking Huckabee) can do it, let me venture a stab-in-the-dark prediction at today's South Carolina Republican primary results. Because, with Rasmussen seeing an extraordinary amount of uncertainty and the unusual weather apparently driving down turnout, this one is up in the air. So without further ado, here is my prognostication: Huckabee ... 28 Thompson ... 24 McCain ... 22 Romney ... 13 Paul ... 7 Giuliani ... 6 Such a finish would knock McCain down a couple notches and give Thompson the boost he needs heading into Super Tuesday as a viable competitor with Huckabee in the Southern states and with Giuliani & Romney in some of the other states (provided Rudy can win Florida, of course … [Read more...]
Fredmentum Firsthand
"The man finally comes around," writes Red State's Erick Erickson for Human Events, as he travels with the Thompson campaign in South Carolina:Though barely mentioned in the national media, Senator Fred Thompson has been on a barn storming tour crisscrossing South Carolina for more than a week. In a unique approach, he is not just going to major media markets, but to rural areas of South Carolina. On my first day on the trail with Senator Thompson, he drew a crowd of 180 people to a small Mennonite restaurant in Abbeville, South Carolina — population 26,000 with a median income of $15,370. He capped off the day at the Orangeburg-Calhoun County Technical College in Orangeburg, South Carolina with over 200 people braving a rare snow shower … [Read more...]
David Limbaugh: Give Fred Thompson a Second Look, Answer His Call
David Limbaugh eloquently tells conservatives why now is the time to give Fred Thompson a second look and fearlessly answer the call of his campaign:Fred does not run from his record -- more to the point, he doesn't need to. He shoots straight without the constant self-serving reminders that he does, as in telling us he's driving the "Straight Talk Express." More importantly, Fred is right on the issues, and there's little doubt his positions are firm. Research his stances; read his position papers. You'll find he's very strong in all areas important to mainstream conservatives, including national defense, taxes, spending, life, immigration, federalism, appointing originalist judges, health care and education. I'm not drooling over … [Read more...]
Why South Carolina Should Pick Fred
At the American Spectator, Quin Hilyer makes the best case I've seen for South Carolinians to support Fred Thompson in Saturday's primary:If I were a South Carolina Republican voter on Saturday, then for parochial, tactical, and philosophical reasons, I would vote for Fred Thompson. This doesn't mean that I would not have voted for Mitt Romney in Michigan on Tuesday, if I were a Michigander, or that I would not vote for Rudy Giuliani in Florida later this month. Voting in each state, especially in a drawn-out nomination battle, involves particularly local considerations as well as national ones. But for South Carolinians who are mainstream conservatives, those local considerations seem to cry out for a boost for Fred Thompson. Read … [Read more...]
Why Not Huckabee? The Slime
Why as a conservative don't I support the presidential candidacy of Mike Huckabee? Another great example is highlighted this morning by Jim Geraghty at NRO's Campaign Spot:The Thompson campaign has video of one of those pro-Huckabee push polls. More than a few South Carolina readers have reported the same calls, as well as Campaign Spot Senior South Carolina Correspondent. I'm neither impressed by the Huckabee campaign, nor from Common Sense Issues, the group behind the calls. Sure, the Huckabee campaign says they don't support this, and they're calling on it to stop. But let's see some anger. Let's have Huckabee call up Davis, the guy who's doing this and say, "stop it, you're hurting my campaign." Come on out and denounce Davis … [Read more...]
Romney Wins, Now What?
Mitt Romney recorded an impressive win in the Michigan primary tonight. Hats off to him. Now here's hoping that Fred Thompson surges back to take South Carolina and Rudy makes a comeback with a Florida victory. It will drive all the pundits mad, simply mad - especially those in the MSM beginning to mourn McCain's demise. Can you imagine it? The phrase "Republican frontrunner" will set off unending fireworks on all the cable news programs. So should the word "momentum," which professional and amateur prognosticators appear to have put too much stock into this far. Huckabee's Iowa win got him what? Back-to-back third-place finishes. And McCain went from one week as the New Hampshire darling to badly beaten in Michigan the next. So who … [Read more...]
GOP Primary Thoughts for the Day
Today is the Michigan Republican Presidential primary: Here's hoping that my home state can do its part to derail the McCain Train before it carries the whole Republican Party and conservative movement off the cliff. Meanwhile, Fred is on fire in South Carolina: See here and here for a sample of the details. On the other hand, Paul Mirengoff at Powerline opines that a McCain Michigan victory catapulting him to frontrunner status coupled with Fred's rising status as the leading conservative challenger in South Carolina might do wonders for Fred's campaign. Perhaps, but I'm not willing to take the chance with McCain. Today, I cheer for Romney. … [Read more...]
Fred Wins
The consensus of serious analysts on the right side of the blogosphere is that Fred Dalton Thompson won tonight's South Carolina debate, aired on Fox News. Here we go (in no particular order): 1. Jim Geraghty, National Review Campaign Spot: "Winner: Thompson. This performance was so commanding, I wanted his last answer to echo back to the lights in the back of the auditorium, blow out all the lamps and spotlights, for the theme to “the Natural†to play, and for him to trot around the stage in slow motion while sparks showered down in the background." Jared has to appreciate the reference. 2. Erick at RedState: "Fred Thompson owned this debate. He owned it. He dominated." 3. John Hawkins, at Right Wing News: "1) Fred Thompson … [Read more...]